Date: 07/15/2013 10:53 AM
AP-OR–3rd NewsMinute/312
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Hundreds of people gathered in Portland’s Peninsula Park yesterday to protest George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. KGW reports speakers used a megaphone to share concerns and frustration about what they consider racial inequality in the criminal justice system. The peaceful rally was one of many across the country after Zimmerman was found not guilty Saturday of murder or manslaughter.
TROUTDALE, Ore. (AP) – A man is dead after a house fire yesterday in Troutdale. The Oregonian reports 52-year-old Jeffery Averette had moved into the house two days earlier to care for his 69-year-old mother who suffered a stroke. Authorities suspect the fire may have been started by smoldering fireworks that had been set off Saturday night to celebrate Averette’s move back home from Nashville, Tenn. Neighbors kicked in a door to rescue JoAnne Kaneaster from the living room, but they couldn’t reach Averette in a bedroom.
BEND, Ore. (AP) – Investigators say a 14-year-old girl is to blame for a fire that broke out Thursday at a transient camp near Bend and burned nearly four acres of trees and sagebrush. Deschutes County deputies say the fire likely spread from a fire pit near her tent that was not properly extinguished the night before. KTVZ reports the girl was cited on several charges and her mother was cited for failure to supervise a child.
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) – For the 34th year, volunteers scanned the waters and banks of McKenzie River, cleaning up 70 miles of the waterway. The Register-Guard reports that Saturday’s annual McKenzie River Cleanup attracted 60 to 70 volunteers who plucked trash out of the river and garbage on riverbanks. The river is popular for fishing, rafting and boating, and it’s Eugene’s source of drinking water.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
