Month: December 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Vera Katz, a former three-term Portland mayor and first female speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, has died. She was 84. In a statement, her family said she died Monday but did not give a cause of death. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon is remembering her as an “indomitable

(Update: Updated damage figure, info on Saturday duplex fire) A fire early Sunday morning in the roof and ceiling by a woodstove chimney caused about $26,000 damage to a home in the Tollgate subdivision northwest of Sisters, but the two occupants escaped uninjured, officials said. Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District crews were dispatched around 3:30 a.m.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – A homeless man stole a van from a bakery and rammed it into a building. That building just so happened to be a police precinct. Employees at Sweet Frostings Blissful Bakeshop in Spokane were loading a gingerbread house into a van early Sunday morning, when a man screaming profanity and threats

Wells Fargo bank branches throughout Oregon and S.W. Washington are helping out those in need by collecting donations of food and toys this month. All of the donations made at each branch will stay in the community where they were given to support local residents. The company’s annual toy drive in Oregon and S.W. Washington

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – The reward for information regarding the killing of two wolves in northeastern Washington state has grown to $20,000. The Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wildlands on Monday said they had doubled a previously announced reward by Conservation Northwest for information leading to conviction in the killing of the wolves. Over

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A man authorities say kidnapped a woman and her child and held them at their home has been arrested after he took her to a store and she mouthed the words “help me” to several people. Christopher Hahn-Collins, 25, of Salem, is scheduled for a hearing Monday afternoon at Marion County

How people who live close to burned forests feel about landscape recovery — whether they sense overwhelming loss or see positive signs in the growth of new vegetation — depends largely on their attachment to the area and on their appreciation for the ecological role of fire. In a survey of more than 800 people

Redmond High School sophomore JJ Riddell was recently elected to serve a one-year term on the executive board of the Oregon Association of Student Councils. The elections took place in November at the annual fall conference in Seaside, where a group of 1,500 students and advisors from over 100 high schools were in attendance. “The

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Higher rents are becoming an issue in Spokane County, where a new report says half of renters are spending over 30 percent of their income on rent. Rents in the Spokane market have increased notably over the past year and a half. That’s according to Terri Anderson, co-director of the Spokane

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A woman has died following a house fire in Salem. The Statesman Journal reports that more than a dozen firefighters responded to reports of smoke billowing out of the home early Sunday morning. Firefighters noticed fire in the back portion of the building, entered the home and knocked the fire down

(Update: Adding lifetime driver’s license revocation) A Prineville man was sentenced Friday to three years in prison, three years probation and a lifetime driver’s license reovation for a 2016 drugged-driving crash on Highway 126 west of Redmond that killed a Madras man. Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby imposed the sentence on Justice Knight Collins,

Good Monday Morning, Those fortunate enough to avoid the fog or see it dissipate through the morning hours will have a chance to warm into the low 40’s. Those staying socked in with the fog may not see temps get much above freezing, if that warm. Breezes, if any, will be light and of the

A 22-year-old Lebanon man faces DUII and other charges after crashing his pickup through the front window of a house and into the living room Saturday night. Fortunately, the residents had just gone to bed and were not in that part of the home, Linn County Sheriff Bruce Riley said. Deputies responded shortly before 10:30

SEATTLE (AP) – A Seattle police report says two officers had no alternatives when they fatally shot a woman who pulled a knife on them. The Seattle Times reports ( http://bit.ly/2iOkThv ) the Force Review Board report provides detail of the findings that led to the board’s unanimous vote Nov. 14 that determined the controversial

AARP Oregon on Friday named “Capitol Caregivers” of 2017 in recognition of their support family caregivers in Oregon. Honored for the legislative efforts are Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, Sen. Jackie Winters, Sen. Richard Devlin, Sen. Tim Knopp, Rep. Nancy Nathanson, Rep. Dan Rayfield, and Rep. Greg Smith. These leaders advanced policies to support Oregon’s family

(Editor’s note: A third person named in the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office news release was not charged with a crime and has been removed from the article.) A driver who avoided a traffic stop in downtown Redmond on Sunday afternoon tried to hide the stolen pickup in an alley and fled, prompting a search of

(Update: Noting the Hasty Team members are volunteers) An extensive weekend search was conducted for evidence related to the Thanksgiving Day fatal shooting of a beloved trumpeter swan near Sunriver, as a reward fund has grown to $1,500, police said Sunday. Ten volunteers with the Sunriver Citizen Patrol’s Hasty Response Team and two Sunriver police

Jefferson County firefighters quickly knocked down a fire that damaged the kitchen of a home along Highway 97 south of Madras Sunday morning, officials said. Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 crews were called out around 10:15 a.m. to a fire in the single-story home in the 4800 block of Southwest Highway 97, Captain Kasey

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – Marie Gulich and Taylor Kalmer combined for 41 points on 17-of-23 shooting and 19th-ranked Oregon State blasted San Jose State 110-62 on Sunday, breaking 100 points for the first time since 2015. The Beavers (6-2) were high-octane from the start, posting the program’s highest single-quarter score 31-16 after the first 10

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Two Willamette Valley pot shops say they’re getting harassed for having a similar name to another marijuana business owned by a white nationalist. The Register-Guard reports that Oregon Growers Analytical, known as OG Analytical, is a state-accredited marijuana testing lab, whose owner has been linked to white pride events and neo-Nazi