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TuesdayApril 1, 2014

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$10 for $20 Towards Dinner Entrees

empowering the community ❘ www.heraldandnews.com — Klamath Falls, Oregon — 75 cents

40 local soldiers to bedeployed to AfghanistanKlamath Falls Army National Guard unit prepares for August departure overseas

Jack Dow, 83Lillian Edwards-Decker, 75

— See page A4

Annie’s Mailbox..........................B4Obituaries...................................A4City/Region........................... .....A2Classified................................C1-5Comics, crossword.........................C6 Forum.........................................A6Law enforcement.......................A4Lotteries.....................................B3Sports.....................................B1-3

dAily briefing inSide indeX ObituArieSArea Girl Scout camp preserved

Camp Low Echo, which was put up for sale last year, has been saved by a private foundation that plans to restore and reopen it. See page A2.

Cover Oregon has last sign-up push

With a monthlong enrollment extension, the state health care market-place is urging residents, especially young people, to sign up. See page A5.

400 evacuated after explosion

A natural gas process-ing plant was the source of a large explosion Mon-day, injuring four and prompting an area evacu-ation. See page A5.

Vol. No. 23,583

Lose With hydrationMore than one-third of Americans are overweight as defined by a body mass index of over 25.

Visit healthyklamath.org for resources

start noW:Eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer foods high in fat and sugar. Drink more water instead of sugary drinks. Limit TV watching in kids to less than 2 hours a day and don’t put one in their room at all. Try going for a 10-minute brisk walk, 3 times a day, 5 days a week.

Charter school in the works

new opportunity for local childrenHope Art Academy will focus on Klamath Falls elementary studentsBy SAMANTHA TIPLERH&N Staff Reporter

Tasha Meyer has a vision of a school which integrates the arts into project-based learn-ing. It’s a place where students and teachers shape learning together and apply lessons to real-world endeavors.

It’s a charter school called

Hope Art Academy.Meyer, who recently

resigned her role as CASA director to pursue the charter school, submitted an appli-cation to the Klamath Falls City Schools district last week. Her goal is to have the pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school up and running by the fall.

200 pre-enrolledMeyer said she is work-

ing with the owners of 707 High St., the former Baptist Church which had been con-sidered as a new home for the Gospel Mission, to house the school in the building which takes up a full city block downtown.

She also said she already has 200 students pre-enrolled through the Hope Art Academy’s website.

Dispensary on trackOpening day for local medical marijuana outlet planned for April 7, after product testing is complete

See page A2

Alternative education: Tasha Meyer, the former director of CASA, is pursuing her vision of bringing an arts-focused charter school to the Klamath Falls City Schools district. If all goes according to plan, Hope Art Academy should have pre-kindergarten through eighth grade classes in operation by this fall.

Submitted photo

See CHARTER, page A3

By TRISTAN HIEGLERH&N staff reporter

About 40 personnel of the Klamath Falls-based Oregon Army National Guard unit will be deploying to Afghanistan this year. Come August, the personnel will be sent overseas, providing security to a U.S. Air Force base in that country for about nine months.

Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Hurst said Charlie Troop’s (First Squadron, 82nd Calvary Regiment) unit strength is currently at 78, with personnel from across Oregon and Northern California making up the rest of the troops shipping out.

“We’re over 100 percent, we’re look-ing really good and on schedule for what we need to do,” Hurst said.

Their assignment is the protection of the Shindand Air Base in the western part of Afghanistan in the Herat prov-ince.

Training for the deployment is set to start in May, Hurst said. There will be a send-off ceremony in Bend on June 17 at the Vince Genna Stadium, he added. Bravo Troop from Redmond and a small headquarters troop from Bend are also being deployed.

From the Bend ceremony, the troops will be sent to one of two Texas bases for a month-and-a-half of intensive mis-sion training.

See DEPLOYED, page A3

OIT student may design next Blazers floor

Submitted graphic

Today is the final day to vote for OIT student Austen Flint’s design for the Portland Trail Blazers court remodel. Cast your vote at www.nba.com/blazers/createthecourt.

Flint

By BRETT A. SOMMERSH&N Sports Reporter

He said designing “NBA jerseys and things like that” is one of his hobbies in his spare time.

Turns out, Austen Flint’s latest side project could become one heck of a resume builder as one of three finalists to create the next floor of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.

Flint, an Oregon Tech sophomore and member of the Hustlin’ Owls men’s basketball team, submitted his design a couple of months ago and was thrilled to receive an email last week inform-ing him his design was chosen for the final fan vote to select the winner.

“I was pretty pumped about it,” Flint, a busi-ness management major, said. “I was pretty excit-ed.”

The fan vote has a short window, however, and Flint believes today is the final day to vote, with the possibility of extending through Wednesday, according to the contest rules.

To view all three final submissions and make a selection, visit www.nba.

com/blazers/createthecourt.Flint and other par-

ticipants used an online submission platform that allowed for the possible creation of 184,320 unique floor designs.

Flint’s design features a two-tone court design, with the floor inside the three-point line a lighter shade compared to the rest of the floor, a Trail Blazer red-painted lane and a Rip City mark on the sidelines.

“I wanted to go off what

they have at the moment and what the NBA is going with (now),” Flint said. “They are going with more two-tone courts. I think they are the best-looking courts now.

“(Portland) is a proud franchise. They haven’t changed their uniform very often, or made changes very often. I tried to keep it mod-ern, but it keeps the Trail Blazer look.”

The Trail Blazers haven’t had an entirely new floor

design since 2002-03. “It would be pretty cool

(to be selected),” Flint said. “They don’t give fans the opportunity to do this kind of thing very often. To be in the top three is pretty exciting. If they chose that design and put that in next year, it would be cool.”

The winner’s floor design would be put into use for the 2014-15 season.

bsommers@heraldandnews.com; @BAsportswriter

Winning look could see NBA play by 2014-15 basketball season