Date: 08/10/2012 09:29 AM
OR–2nd NewsMinute/245
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
LONDON (AP) – Bend resident Ashton Eaton won the Olympic decathlon gold medal by 198 points last night. Eaton set the decathlon world record at the U.S. trials in June and backed it up with an Olympic victory with 8,869 points.
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – A lightning-caused wildfire in southern Oregon’s Lake County has grown dramatically, prompting officials to urge some residents near a reservoir to leave their homes. Fire officials estimated last night that the Barry Point Fire has burned nearly 12 square miles and made a push toward Drews Reservoir. Authorities advised residents on the reservoir’s south shore that they should consider leaving.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Gov. John Kitzhaber has called for phasing out nontribal commercial gillnet fishing in the mainstem of the lower Columbia River. The governor proposes that those gillnet fishermen transition to off-channel areas such as Youngs Bay. The Oregonian reports that such areas are stocked with hatchery fish, so the theory is that gillnetters could still haul in a healthy harvest without inadvertently catching wild, endangered fish.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – An environmental group is asking the state of Oregon to start controlling pesticides that kill salmon. Northwest Environmental Advocates has petitioned the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to adopt the recommendations of federal fisheries scientists on how to keep pesticides from harming fish. The group says that if the department doesn’t act, it could lose more than $4 million a year in federal funding.