Month: December 2016

BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) – Baker City had its coldest Christmas on record and maybe its whitest. The Baker City Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2i03cMz ) the temperature at the airport fell to 6 below zero in the final hour of Christmas. That’s the coldest holiday temperature on record at the airport, where statistics date to 1943.

An autopsy was conducted Monday at the state Medical Examiner’s Office on a 31-year-old Bend man who was shot and killed by police who say he was resisting arrest during a downtown Bend traffic stop Friday night. Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said no preliminary results had yet been provided, and that interviews with

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) – The Northwest’s only nuclear power plant is reconnecting to the regional power grid after an unplanned shutdown. The Tri-City Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2ivx6FG ) that the 1,190-megawatt Columbia Generating Station resumed late Saturday night. Energy Northwest says power levels are slowly rising and should reach 100 percent within 72 hours of restarting.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland police say a 16-year-old boy died and another teenager was critically injured when the car they were in crashed after a night of caroling. Sgt. Pete Simpson says five teenage boys were in the vehicle early Christmas morning, traveling from Happy Valley to Wilsonville after singing at the homes of

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) – A professional ski guide has been named director of the Wallowa Avalanche Center. The East Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/2igYKa4 ) that Victor McNeil succeeds Kip Rand, who died in an avalanche last winter while backcountry skiing near Chief Joseph Mountain in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. The nonprofit center provides regular updates and

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) – Authorities say a Washington man standing outside an SUV after a minor accident was hit and killed by a third vehicle that lost control on an icy highway in northwest Oregon. Oregon State Police Capt. Bill Fugate says the collisions happened Saturday on Highway 30 about 15 miles east of Astoria.

CORNELIUS, Ore. (AP) – “Rogue One” has been a smashing success at the box office, but not every moviegoer has been riveted by the Star Wars story. Sheriff’s deputies in suburban Portland say a man awoke to an empty theater Saturday morning after falling asleep during the movie. When he tried to leave, he triggered

OAKRIDGE, Ore. (AP) – As woodstove smoke continues to raise pollution levels in Oakridge, Lane County is looking to expand its authority to enforce clean air rules in areas near the community. The Register-Guard reports (https://is.gd/T7xiWr ) that Oakridge, a small city in the foothills of the Cascades, has been declared non-compliant with federal air

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Firefighters say a man was taken to Salem Hospital after his car crashed into a Dairy Queen on Christmas morning. The Marion County Fire District says firefighters responded to the Salem business at 3:10 a.m. The man was trapped inside his vehicle and the Jaws of Life freed him. The cause

A 57-year-old La Pine woman was killed Friday evening when she lost control of her pickup truck on snowy Highway 97 south of Sunriver and it was struck by an oncoming semi-truck, Oregon State Police said Troopers and medics responded around 5 p.m. to the reported two-vehicle crash on the highway near milepost 155, south

The Ochoco National Forest wants everyone to enjoy a safe and happy holiday season. So forest managers are reminding the public that several winter logging operations are underway and to expect log hauling traffic on certain roads throughout the winter. Logging truck operators may have reduced visibility during snowy weather and may require longer stopping

Beginning no earlier than January 4, the Prineville District BLM will start using Recreation.gov to issue boater passes for the Lower Deschutes River in Central Oregon. The fee to float the river remains the same: $2/person/day, with an additional $6/person/day on peak weekend days during the summer. With Recreation.gov, a new $6 per entire transaction

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., urged federal officials Thursday to make much-needed federal timber sales payments as quickly as possible to Oregon counties in need of funding for schools, roads and law enforcement. In letters to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the senators noted that congressional failure to reauthorize

Bend police on Friday identified the pedestrian who was struck and killed Wednesday evening on Northeast Third Street near the Bend Parkway overpass. Lt. Clint Burleigh said 26-year-old transient Ryan Patrick Hunt died at the scene of the crash, which occurred around 6:35 p.m. Wednesday. Police said three vehicles were involved in the crash: a

There is a belief that positive thinking has power beyond science and medicine. Jennifer DeGraaf may be proof of that. In June, DeGraaf, 39, was rendered speechless during a meeting, then suffered a seizure. She knew something was wrong. Her previous bout with cancer in 2013 — stage three breast cancer — left her a

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) – A Jackson County judge is asking county commissioners to appoint a new sheriff who takes traffic enforcement seriously after a spike in traffic fatalities. The Mail Tribune reports Friday that (http://bit.ly/2il1bvs) Judge Joseph Charter counts more fatal wrecks through November — 33 — than any year since 2005. Charter believes

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Medford-based car dealership Lithia Motors has reached a deal to buy Terminal 1, a massive warehouse in Portland, for $12.5 million. Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services said Friday in a news release that the bid was nearly $1.4 million more than other bids. It isn’t immediately clear what Lithia will

A Christmas miracle occurred at the Humane Society of Central Oregon when Gracie, a 4-year-old border collie mix, arrived Thursday after being missing for more than nine months. The owner was visiting Bend in March when her dog escaped March 13th. The dog had a microchip identification that confirmed the dog’s owner. Tears of joy

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – The nation’s largest railroad has agreed to more thorough inspections and maintenance improvements after a fiery derailment and the discovery of more than 800 potential safety violations across its sprawling network. Details on the agreement between the Federal Railroad Administration and Union Pacific Railroad were obtained by The Associated Press. A

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office late Thursday identified a Sunriver-area man who they said fatally shot his son’s girlfriend and wounded his son before killing himself Wednesday morning. Jeffrey Thunder Ford, 20, told NewsChannel 21 on Thursday that his father, Jeffrey Randle Ford, 56, shot him and his girlfriend, Brandi Schopper, 19, Wednesday morning during