Date: 07/13/2012 09:29 AM
OR–2nd NewsMinute/268
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Fire has heavily damaged a Salem apartment building and displaced 17 people. No injuries were reported in last night’s fire at the Bridgewest Apartments. Residents say the fire appeared to start on the building’s lower level and spread to the upper units. The cause is under investigation.
LAGRANDE, Ore. (AP) – Oregon State Police say genetic tests confirm that an animal found dead in northeast Oregon’s Union County in March was a gray wolf from the Imnaha pack. State police are investigating because earlier tests determined the cause of death was a criminal act. Investigators have not said how the 97-pound animal died. State police say wolves are protected by the state Endangered Species Act throughout Oregon.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Multnomah County plans to restart a trap-neuter-return program to reduce the stray and feral cat population. The program was suspended a few months ago after the death of a cat that apparently spent weeks in a cage. Multnomah County Animal Services says the program will be reactivated in August after new safety protocols are finalized and a coordinator with management experience is hired.
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) – The owner of a derelict barge left in the Columbia River has pleaded guilty to two criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Bret Simpson pleaded guilty yesterday to failing to report a discharge of oil and unlawfully discharging oil into the Columbia near Camas, Wash. The Coast Guard spent eight months and $20 million in a federally funded cleanup. The barge was a 431-foot-long converted World War II-era ship.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.