Month: December 2016

DENVER (AP) – The Obama administration has released five possible plans for limiting mining on federal land in the West to protect the vulnerable greater sage grouse, but it isn’t saying which it prefers. The proposals released Thursday range from banning new mining activity on about 15,000 square miles for up to 20 years to

(Updated to add info on COIC session for laid-off McGrath’s workers) In the wake of McGrath’s Fish House’s sudden closure last Friday, some former employees of the Bend restaurant are now scrambling to find work over the holidays. The restaurant had been late on its lease payments for several months, and the owner of the

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A federal judge has denied Oregon refuge occupier Ryan Payne’s request to withdraw his guilty plea. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (https://goo.gl/vRw6cL ) that U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown ruled Wednesday that Payne’s plea in the Oregon case wasn’t, as his attorney argued, contingent on reaching a plea agreement in a case

A 22-year-old Redmond man was struck by a pickup truck and killed Tuesday night as he walked in the eastbound travel lane of Highway 126 east of Redmond, Oregon State Police said Wednesday. It was the second fatal vehicle-pedestrian crash in six days in the Bend-Redmond area. Troopers and other agencies responded around 8:30 p.m.

A three-county, on-and-off police pursuit Wednesday morning ended in the arrest of two men near Culver after spike strips and an Oregon State Police maneuver to force their car off the road, troopers said of Central Oregon’s third police chase in nine hours. The pursuit of the 1994 silver Buick began in Prineville around 9:45

One week after a pedestrian was struck and killed in Bend, Ryan Hunt’s family and friends gathered Wednesday evening for a heartfelt candlelight vigil, walking along Third Street to the overpass where he was hit by more than one car. They wore reflective and flashing gear on their dark path to advocate traffic and pedestrian

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – Chimezie Metu had 19 points and eight rebounds and No. 22 Southern California stayed undefeated with a 70-63 victory over Oregon State on Wednesday night in the Pac-12 opener for both teams. Jordan McLaughlin added 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals and Jonah Mathews had 10 points for the Trojans

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – CJ McCollum scored 20 points and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 102-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. Meyers Leonard added 16 off the bench for the Blazers, playing without leading scorer Damian Lillard for the second straight game because of a sprained

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Dillon Brooks hit a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to give No. 21 Oregon an 89-87 victory over No. 2 UCLA on Wednesday night in the Pac-12 opener for both teams. Brooks, who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds, grabbed Bryce Alford’s missed free throw with 8.9 seconds to go,

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) – Officials say a Bellingham man has died in an avalanche near White Pass Ski Area south of Mount Rainier. The Bellingham Herald reports (https://goo.gl/9sBN3Y ) 31-year-old Adam Roberts was skiing out of bounds with a friend Tuesday evening when he triggered an avalanche. White Pass Ski Area spokeswoman Kathleen Goyette confirmed

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – A 27-year-old man who killed a woman while fleeing from Medford police in a pickup has been sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison. Oregon State Police said in a news release that Robert Franklin Brooks of Gold Hill was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to manslaughter, attempting to elude police

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Officials have issued an air stagnation advisory for much of south-central Oregon through Friday afternoon. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued the alert Wednesday based on information from the National Weather Service. The advisory includes Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Medford, Ashland, Altamont, Klamath Falls, Beatty, Bly, Chemult, Crescent, Gilchrist and

A 17-year-old from the Marion County town of Aumsville, at the wheel of his grandparents’ pickup truck, led Redmond police on a pursuit early Wednesday morning, soon followed by a high-flying crash and later arrest officers said. After the officer lost sight, the pickup hit a snow berm on a dead-end road, which sent it

An attempted traffic stop for a bad brake light led to a Madras police chase early Wednesday morning as a passenger took the wheel and sped away, leading to a collision with the pursuing patrol car and the later arrest of a Washington state fugitive, Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins said. A sheriff’s deputy stopped

The use of residual forest biomass for rural development faces significant economic hurdles that make it unlikely to be a source of jobs in the near future, according to an analysis by economists at Oregon State University. In a model of the forest industry, researchers in the College of Forestry combined an evaluation of costs

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) – A fire at a Douglas County elementary school has destroyed a historic gymnasium. The News-Review reports (https://is.gd/bxgbND ) that the two-alarm fire at Lookingglass Elementary School reduced the gymnasium to smoldering ruins Tuesday. No injuries were reported and the blaze was contained to the gym. Winston-Dillard School District Superintendent Kevin Miller

ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) – A baby in Eastern Oregon entered the world in a Dodge Durango after her parents couldn’t quite get to the hospital in time. The Argus Observer reports (https://is.gd/h6InxB ) Channa Williams of Vale delivered her daughter shortly before 7 a.m. Monday. She and her boyfriend had pulled into the parking lot

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Eugene city officials are considering boosting the proposed City Hall project’s budget by almost 50 percent. The Register-Guard reports (https://is.gd/uIjRJ9 ) that a proposed cash infusion would give the project $8.7 million, boosting the authorized budget 46 percent to $27.45 million from its present authorized amount of $18.75 million. The proposed

GREEN, Ore. (AP) – A memorial honoring how the community came together after the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College has been unveiled south of Roseburg. The News-Review reports (https://is.gd/bPINpA ) the memorial is in the community of Green, in front of the Pacific Power operations center. A 70-foot-tall flagpole that flies a large flag

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) – A California man arrested following the death of his brother in Bonanza, Oregon, has been arraigned on a murder charge. Travis Kimball returns to court next week for a preliminary hearing. A probable cause statement filed by Oregon State Police said the 52-year-old Kimball called 9-1-1 Monday to report that