AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1102
OBAMA-NATIONAL MONUMENTS
National monument proposals in vogue as Obama prepares exit
WASHINGTON (AP) — The race is on to win President Barack Obama’s attention as he puts some final touches on his environmental legacy.
Conservation groups, American Indian tribes and lawmakers are pushing him to preserve millions of acres as national monuments. That designation often prevents new drilling and mining on public lands, or the construction of new roads and utility lines.
The flurry of activity is creating enthusiasm — and tensions — in parts of the country.
Serious efforts are underway in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Maine and elsewhere to create new national monuments. Proponents also are looking to protect vast swaths of ocean bottom off the coasts of New England, California and Hawaii.
Obama has created or expanded 24 national monuments, the most of any president. Almost nobody thinks he’s done yet.
ROLLOVER-FIVE INJURED
5 injured in rollover crash in central Oregon
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A central Oregon man has been cited for reckless driving and driving under the influence following a rollover crash that injured five people.
Oregon State Police say 23-year-old Shawn Seagraves Hall of Redmond was also cited while in the hospital for reckless endangering and assault.
Police say Hall’s 2001 Isuzu left Highway 20 east of Bend about 1 a.m. Saturday and rolled multiple times.
Authorities say the occupants had to be extricated from the vehicle and sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious.
Police are investigating.
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This story has been corrected to say the driver is from central Oregon, not central Idaho.
REDWOOD HIGHWAY FIRE
Man in custody after southwest Oregon fire burns 3 homes
SELMA, Ore. (AP) — A 35-year-old transient authorities say is responsible for starting a blaze that destroyed three homes along Highway 199 in southwest Oregon is in custody.
Oregon State Police say Marcus Yeoman was already in custody on an unrelated warrant on Saturday and being lodged in the Josephine County Jail.
Yeoman was cited for reckless burning.
Investigators say Yeoman built a campfire that led to the wildfire on Friday that destroyed the homes and at least five outbuildings.
The 50-acre blaze was mostly contained as of Saturday. Fire crews are monitoring fire lines and watching for hot spots or flare ups.
STATE EMPLOYEE-LAWSUIT
Jury awards nearly $1 million to ex-state official
(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A former state employee has been awarded nearly $1 million in a whistleblower case.
The Statesman Journal reports that a Marion County jury delivered a verdict Friday in favor of Martin Plotner, who was the director of the state Office of Emergency Management.
Plotner had sued for $625,000 after he was terminated over allegations by a labor union that he retaliated against employees for engaging in union activities.
However, the jury found that Plotner was fired in 2013 for reporting mismanagement and potential lawbreaking within the Oregon Military Department, which operates the emergency management office. The jury also says he was fired, in part, because he filed a sexual harassment claim against a high-ranking official.
Officials from the Military Department did not return calls seeking comment.
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ONION DISEASE
Idaho and Oregon onion growers seek solution to bulb rot
(Information from: Capital Press, http://www.capitalpress.com/washington)
ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) — Scientists are trying to figure out the cause of a new plant disease in eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho that’s damaging onion crops.
The Capital Press reports that Oregon State University researchers are conducting field trials to determine what’s triggering onion bulb rot.
The disease damages the inside of an onion while the outside looks fine.
OSU Cropping Systems Extension Agent Stuart Reitz says the disease is caused by a plant pathogen but it’s not clear what conditions are making onions susceptible.
Officials say the problem became more serious in 2014 and 1025.
One theory is that high temperatures cause the top of the onion to not completely close, leaving a small opening where a fungal pathogen can enter.
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TRAVIS OUTLAW ARREST
Former NBA player Travis Outlaw arrested on drug charge
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Former NBA forward Travis Outlaw has been arrested on a felony marijuana charge.
Spokeswoman S. Williams told The Associated Press on Sunday that the 31-year-old has no comment.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that he was arrested and released Tuesday on $10,000 bond.
The Starkville Daily News reports that he turned himself in.
A July 15 indictment accuses Outlaw of possessing more than 250 grams (nearly 9 ounces) but less than 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the drug. The indictment doesn’t give any other details, including how he got the drug.
The Portland Trail Blazers drafted Outlaw from Starkville High School in Mississippi in 2003. He also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, New Jersey Nets and Sacramento Kings. He was waived in 2014 by the Philadelphia 76ers.
MERCURY SPILL
Authorities investigating mercury spill in Keizer
(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)
KEIZER, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say crews have recovered 5 ounces of mercury apparently spilled by an apartment resident in Keizer.
The Statesman Journal reports that federal investigators and city agencies have been at the Wyatt Lee Apartments since Friday investigating the July 29 spill.
Authorities say the mercury has been tracked to several residents’ doorways.
The spill was near a storm water drain and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is trying to determine if there are traces of mercury in the water.
EPA officials say they’ve reached out to apartment residents, especially families with children.
Mercury exposure can harm the brain, heart, lungs and immune system.
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HYDRO PROJECT
Scientists tackle mercury woes in river on Idaho-Oregon line
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A multiyear study of mercury contamination is underway in a three-dam hydroelectric project on the Idaho-Oregon border that’s part of a power company’s effort to renew its license with the federal government.
Idaho Power says the five- to eight-year study now in its second year is needed to better understand the high mercury levels in fish in the Hells Canyon Complex on the Snake River.
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey running the study say initial findings indicate nutrients from upstream agricultural areas appear to be contributing to a process resulting in low oxygen levels and bacteria producing a form of mercury that works its way up the food chain.
Scientists say 96 percent of smallmouth bass in the system contain so much mercury they’re unsafe to eat under Oregon standards.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
