AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1122
TRAIN DERAILMENT-WATER
DEQ says ground water contaminated after Mosier crash
(Information from: KATU-TV, http://www.katu.com/)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A monitoring well installed after last month’s train derailment near Mosier, Oregon, has detected oil contamination in the ground water.
The state Department of Environmental Quality tells Portland station KATU that drinking water is not affected in the Columbia River Gorge town because those wells are uphill from where the oil train derailed June 3.
The agency said Wednesday that four monitoring wells were installed after the wreck, and one revealed significant oil contamination.
DEQ plans to install a treatment system that injects air into the underground water. The oxygen will stimulate the existing microbes that live in the water to break down the oil.
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ELECTIONS DIRECTOR RESIGNS
Oregon elections director resigns ahead of November election
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The director of Oregon’s Elections Division has stepped down with just three months to go until the November general election.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Director Jim Williams cited personal reasons for his resignation in a letter Tuesday. He says he’s leaving “with a heavy heart and regret,” but did not elaborate on his exit.
Williams has overseen the division, which handles a range of elections services from registration to campaign finance reporting, since 2013.
Deputy director of the Elections Division, Brenda Bayes, will serve as interim director.
Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins says in a Wednesday email to elections staff that a permanent replacement will be appointed by the next secretary of state.
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METH TRAFFICKING SUSPECT-ARREST
Terrebonne man has home raided, arrested on meth charges
BROOKINGS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities have raided the home of a central Oregon man who they say has been trafficking methamphetamine in the region for a long period of time.
Police had been investigating the suspect for several months before his Saturday arrest. He was held on suspicion of possession, delivery and manufacture of meth before posting 10 percent of $65,000 bail.
Authorities say the suspect had been returning from Portland when they stopped him on Highway 97. They allegedly found $30,000 in cash in his pickup truck.
Detectives also executed a search warrant on the man’s Terrebonne home, where they say they found meth, drug records and a gun.
Bend police Lt. Ken Mannix also says two of the suspect’s vehicles were seized.
The case remains under investigation.
OIL TRAINS-FINE
Spokane may fine railroads shipping oil or coal through town
(Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com)
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The Spokane City Council is thinking of fining railroad companies that ship crude oil or coal through downtown Spokane.
The companies would be fined hundreds of dollars for each train car under a law the City Council will consider placing on the November ballot.
The Spokesman-Review says the proposed law would make such shipments a civil infraction punishable by a fine of up to $261 for each train car.
The Spokane City Council earlier this summer condemned Union Pacific Railroad for resuming the transport of crude oil through Mosier, Oregon, following the derailment of a train that had passed through Spokane hours earlier.
The City Council will vote Monday on whether to add a law that would authorize fines for oil and coal train operators to the November ballot.
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JUDGE THREATENED
Ore. man accused of posting Craigslist threat against judge
OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — A Sandy, Oregon, man has been arrested by authorities who say he threatened a judge and sheriff’s deputies online.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that several people reported seeing a Craigslist post that featured a rifle pointed at a window and a profanity-laced message aimed at a county judge and deputies.
Investigators determined Jonathan Snyders was responsible and that the judge had recently signed a stalking order against him.
Detectives served a search warrant on the man’s home and seized the firearm that appeared in the Craigslist post.
The 39-year-old was booked into jail on charges of harassment, stalking and violation of a protection order.
RANCHING STANDOFF-LAST OCCUPIER
David Fry filing emergency motion for pretrial release
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The last holdout during the occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon continues to try to get out of jail before trial.
The attorney for David Lee Fry served notice Wednesday that he intends to file an emergency motion with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A federal judge in Portland last week denied Fry’s most recent attempt at pretrial release.
Judge Robert Jones said he remains concerned about Fry’s mental instability, suicidal statements at the time of his surrender and that he traveled to Oregon during the Ammon Bundy-led protest in violation of the conditions of his probation.
Fry strongly disagreed with the decision, calling the judge a liar and other names as he was led from the courtroom.
RANCHING STANDOFF
Young occupier pleads guilty in Oregon standoff case
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The youngest occupier from this winter’s takeover of an Oregon bird sanctuary has pleaded guilty.
At the federal courthouse in Portland, 21-year-old Travis Cox admitted Wednesday that he conspired with others to impede federal workers from doing their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Prosecutors will recommend that Cox serve eight months of home detention with credit for time served.
The defendant from Redmond, Oregon, was arrested in Utah in April. He’s the ninth man to plead guilty to conspiracy among the 26 people indicted in the case.
Most of the other defendants — including occupation leader Ammon Bundy — are scheduled to go to trial in September.
UO RAPE INVESTIGATION-WHISTLEBLOWER SUIT
UO settles whistleblower suit with 2 former employees
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The University of Oregon has agreed to pay $425,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by two former employees over allegations that the school retaliated against them for speaking out about a student’s therapy records being accessed.
The Register-Guard reports UO spokesman Tobin Klinger said Tuesday the university doesn’t admit guilt in settling with Jennifer Morlok and Karen Stokes.
The two women, who worked at the university’s counseling center, claimed they were shunned, criticized and threatened with dismissal after bringing to light news that the university had obtained the student’s therapy records.
The student had sought counseling in 2014 after a sexual encounter with three UO basketball players, whom she accused of rape. The players said it was consensual.
Morlok resigned last October, citing intolerable conditions. Stokes left shortly after.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
