Month: December 2016

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a wrong-way driver died Saturday after colliding with three other vehicles on U.S. Highway 26 near Beaverton. The Washington County sheriff’s office says 20-year-old Madeline Duncan of Beaverton died in the crash that occurred shortly after 1 a.m. Authorities say the driver and passenger in one of the other

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A 27-year-old man who killed a woman while fleeing from police in a pickup has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The Mail Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2i0RNJl) that Robert Franklin Brooks of Gold Hill also pleaded guilty Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court to attempting to elude police in a vehicle. Authorities say that

Clear skies after days of snowfall sent most of Central Oregon plunging well below zero early Saturday as the stormy week was followed by a bitter cold snap. The region’s coldest temperature reading, as reported by the National Weather Service in Pendleton, was -28 at the ODOT reporting station at Horse Ridge, east of Bend.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a 23-year-old Eugene man stabbed to death a 19-year-old woman he met online and then buried the body under a house owned by his boss. The Register-Guard reports (http://bit.ly/2gWvGpV) that court documents recently filed in Lane County Circuit Court say that Erick Joaquin-Espinosa then went to work at his

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has set a Jan. 31 deadline for the National Guard in Oregon to post test results and cleanup schedules for lead at armories. The Oregonian reported (http://bit.ly/2gWqFxs) Friday that Brown calls the handling of the problem “absolutely unacceptable.” Roy Swofford is the Oregon Military Department’s head of

GRESHAM, Ore. (AP) — A 16-year-old male has been taken into custody in connection with the stabbing death of a 20-year-old man at Gresham’s Main City Park. Gresham police say the Clackamas County teen was taken into custody without incident on Friday and is being held in a juvenile detention facility. James Arrington was found

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Evan Payne scored 19 points and Long Beach State rallied in the final minutes to beat hosts Oregon State 71-67 in the Dam City Classic at the Moda Center on Friday night. Stephen Thompson Jr. and Drew Eubanks had 17 points apiece for the Beavers, who have lost four straight. Oregon

Oregon’s Water Resources Department needs to better balance its workload between its responsibility for managing current water demands and planning for future water needs, according to an audit released by the Oregon Secretary of State on Thursday. Water supply falls short of demand nearly every year in many places throughout Oregon, and there are indications

A couple days after the big dump on Central Oregon, some streets are still piled high with snow. No one likes driving in too much of it, and luckily, most of the main roads in Bend, especially downtown, have been adequately plowed. The big question is – what to do with all that snow? The

In response to statements by the Executive Branch that it may be weeks before new information is released to the public about Russian interference in the U.S. election, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Friday the American people cannot wait that long to get the facts. “This is a national crisis that must be fully explained

Oregon Secretary of State Jeanne P. Atkins will preside over Oregon’s Electoral College vote in the Oregon Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Salem at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 19. “This is a key part of every American presidential election, but it has garnered an unprecedented amount of attention this year,” Atkins said. “I

Firefighters tackled a fire in the sawdust-filled wall of a small, older southeast Bend apartment building Thursday morning that investigators traced to a cigarette tossed in the bark dust outside, officials said. Firefighters responded shortly before 8 a.m. to the reported fire in the interior wall of a small apartment house at 163 SE Davis

The brutal cold hitting Central Oregon is hard for everyone, but especially for those who cannot easily escape it. “I can actually see the temperatures and the bitter cold on the people’s faces when they come in at night. It’s pretty sad,” Jason Klain, a resident of Bend’s Shepherd’s House Ministries, said Friday. Sub-zero overnight

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — After snow brought Portland to a standstill this week, state officials have decided to expand the use of rock salt on wintry roads — something many other states have done for decades. Don Hamilton, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said Friday the department will begin using rock salt during

On Friday, Mt. Bachelor opened its first new chair lift since 1996, making it the sixth largest ski area in the nation. The name of the lift? Cloudchaser. “Today is living exactly up to why we named the lift Cloudchaser,” said Drew Jackson, director of sales and marketing for Mt. Bachelor. “It’s cloudy and foggy

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A study conducted by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission has found that African-Americans in the state were convicted of felony drug possession at more than double the rate of whites in 2015. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (http://bit.ly/2hsnT3H ) that conviction disparity held true in methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine cases statewide. State Criminal

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — Linn County Sheriff Bruce Riley says a body found in a snowy driveway has been identified as a man from Albany. Deputies and detectives responded Wednesday night after a caller reported that a stranger was deceased in his driveway east of Albany. The man’s wallet contained cash but no photo identification.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — The company that wants to build a natural gas pipeline in southern Oregon will file a new application with federal regulators, even though they have been denied a permit twice. Jordan Cove LNG told The Mail Tribune on Friday (http://bit.ly/2hXV0cG) that it will seek to work more closely with landowners who

Three Bend-area residents have pleaded guilty to charges related to a firearms trafficking ring taken down by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Seattle Field Division. The investigation found guns were being bought in Central Oregon and sold to gangs in California, in exchange for money and drugs. ATF announced Thursday it

Despite progress in digging out from a major snowstorm, the Redmond School District decided Thursday evening to cancel classes for a third day Friday, followed by Sisters and Jefferson County, who made the closure call early Friday morning. Meanwhile, Jefferson County School District 509-J said it would delay Friday’s classes by two hours and Culver