1st Oregon News Minute from the AP

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury has convicted a Portland man who opened fire on police officers last year, rejecting his insanity defense. The Oregonian reports that 62-year-old Ralph Turner faces at least 10 years in prison on the attempted aggravated murder conviction handed down yesterday. Police went to a Portland duplex after Turner’s fiancée reported in a 911 call that he was suicidal. Turner began firing when officers knocked on his door. Sentencing is scheduled for May 18.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A judge has sent jurors back into deliberations in the case of a woman accused of manslaughter after her sport utility vehicle struck and killed two teenagers in Salem. The Salem Statesman Journal says the jury reported yesterday it had acquitted 31-year-old Sophia Downing of the most serious charges while convicting her of lesser counts. But the jury foreman reported that only seven jurors had voted for the acquittals, while a majority of at least 10 jurors was required.

BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) — A public uproar over plans to close thousands of miles of roads on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Eastern Oregon has prompted the U.S. Forest Service to reconsider. A Forest Service spokesman said yesterday that Northwest Regional Forester Kent Connaughton pulled the new travel management plan. The Forest Service began a nationwide assessment of its roads in 2005. Officials released a plan last month calling for 3,600 miles of road closures out of 9,000.

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — Crabbers on the South Coast of Oregon say they’re trying again to stop rogue crabbers who steal the catch of fellow fishermen. The fishermen call it “pot piracy” and say the theft of crabs from baited pots costs them each thousands of dollars a year. But it’s a hard charge to prove in court — unless a deckhand turns in a thieving captain. The World newspaper reports that the Oregon Crabbers Protective Association offers $5,000 rewards for information leading to a conviction.