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Klamath Bucket Hits The Road Saturday, September 28, 2002 By Diana Wunderle DLWunderle@aol.com The Klamath Convoy departed Klamath Falls Saturday morning, amid a flurry of accusations leveled against the agricultural community involving recent salmon kills on the Lower Klamath River. Newspaper headlines and photos of dead fish on the Lower Klamath riverbanks have set a tone that the Klamath Irrigation Project operations are to blame. Klamath County commissioners John Elliot and Al Switzer were joined by businessman Donnie Boyd and Dan Keppen of the Klamath Water Users Association in sending off the convoy by addressing a crowd of supporters on the steps of the Klamath County Government Building. Keppen refuted the misrepresentations which directly linked the fish kills to the Klamath Irrigation Project, saying it was a matter of record that higher temperatures have been the norm this September. That fact combined with the fifth highest record return of adult Chinook salmon represents clearly contributing factors, said Keppen. “Any biologist familiar with the situation isn't identifying a cause, because no cause can yet be identified," Keppen said. “The biologist who is talking does not know anything.” Donnie Boyd told the crowd that water flows in the Lower Klamath were currently at 90%, in spite of the continued drought ... and, he noted, higher than four out of the last ten years, when there were no salmon kills. Bill Ransom, acting as wagon master of the Klamath Convoy, spoke of the impending threat to farmers, as evidenced by lawsuits filed against the project, and read aloud from the letter addressed to the Klamath Relief Fund which requested assistance in the Florida “Sawgrass” struggle. After a benediction, donations to the auction were accepted, which included a saddle and a hand painted bucket and shovel A call came from the crowd to pass the bucket, and cash donations of more than $500 were made to start the convoy off. The convoy traveled through Redding and Red Bluff, stopping in Sacramento for an interview with Deborah Huffman of ABC News 10, then on to Tracy, where a rally is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m., at the West Valley Mall, off of I-205. The convoy's next stop will be at the California Capitol Building, at 11:00 a.m. Monday. The convoy crew consists of: Barbara Hall Bill Morrison Grant Gerber Rocky Pat Ratliff Kehn Gibson Mr. & Mrs. Wallace Diana Wunderle |