OUTDOOR SCHOOL-OREGON
Oregon weighs whether all kids should get outdoor education
MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST, Ore. (AP) — Each year, thousands of Oregon parents hug their children goodbye and send them into the wilderness for up to a week to learn about their state’s natural wonders.
Outdoor School was groundbreaking when it started more than a half-century ago. More than 1 million children have gone through this rite of passage so far.
But now just half of Oregon’s 11- and 12-year-olds take part because of funding cuts in local school districts.
Now, backers of a statewide ballot measure want to use a slice of lottery proceeds to guarantee a week of Outdoor School for all children.
Experts says if it passes, Measure 99 would make Oregon the only state with dedicated funding for outdoor education, including students in charter, private and home schools.
Detractors say taking the lottery money would hurt other important initiatives, including economic development programs.
SEX OFFENDER’S RELEASE
Coos County DA seeks jailing of man accused of child rape
(Information from: The World, http://www.theworldlink.com)
COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — Coos County’s district attorney is asking a judge to put a Coquille man accused of raping a young girl back in jail after he was ordered released pending trial.
The World reports that Frank Noakes is charged with several sex abuse charges and was released on his own recognizance in September.
Court documents say a girl under the age of 14 reported that Noake sexually assaulted her twice in June. In one incident, she described having to kick him off of her to get him to stop.
District Attorney Paul Frasier filed a motion to revoke Noakes’ release after police reported that he made unlawful contact with the mother of the alleged victim.
The woman told police she had been at Noake’s home “to discuss something he was unable to” in jail.
A judge will consider Frasier’s motion Monday.
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TRAILER PARK ATTACK
Man sentenced for attack at White City trailer park
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A 44-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in prison for attacking several people while searching for his estranged wife at a White City trailer park.
The Mail Tribune reports Scott William Austin was sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to burglary and assault charges stemming from the February incident. An attempted murder charge was dropped as a part of a plea deal.
Prosecutors say Austin’s wife sought help from neighbors on Feb. 8 after he sent her threatening text messages.
Austin had recently been released from jail for domestic violence when he entered a neighbor’s trailer and began attacking several men inside.
The neighbor fired a handgun through his trailer to stop the attack.
Austin’s attorney says her client is “intelligent” but has long struggled with alcoholism.
FLORENCE SEX ABUSE
Florence man accused of abusing teens after photo shoot
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A Florence man is accused of sexually abusing his girlfriend’s teenage grandchildren after offering them $100 each to model for him in his apartment.
The Register-Guard reports that new documents in the case against Randy Kent Clay were unsealed this week in Lane County Circuit Court.
Clay had signed a contract for the modeling job that said he could take photos of the girls, ages 13 and 16. Court documents say he later amended the agreement to say the girls could drink alcohol with him and watch R-rated movies.
The alleged sexual assault took place in August after Clay photographed the girls in what police described as sexually suggestive poses and positions.
The girls’ mother notified authorities after finding the photos.
Clay’s November trial on sex abuse charges was canceled last month and hasn’t yet been rescheduled.
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MISSING HUNTERS
Search suspended for hunter missing in southwest Oregon
GOLD BEACH, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say the search for a missing hunter in the southwest Oregon wilderness has been suspended.
Curry County Sheriff John Ward said in a news release that the extensive ground search for 41-year-old Shawn Higgins of Coos Bay was suspended Tuesday.
He says searchers have found no signs, clues or indication of where Higgins might be in the vast, rugged search area.
Higgins and his 21-year-old son Trevor Higgins were reported missing Oct. 14 after they failed to meet up with a relative while hunting.
Trevor was found by search crews last Tuesday over two miles from where he entered the woods between Grants Pass and Gold Beach. Ward says he was taken to a hospital with severe hypothermia.
Crews of up to 100 people participated in the search.
RANCHING STANDOFF-THE LATEST
The Latest: Judge finds Oregon standoff juror isn’t biased
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in the trial of those who occupied an Oregon wildlife refuge sent jurors home for the day after finding no indication that a member of the panel was biased.
U.S. District Judge Anna Brown questioned a juror in her chambers Tuesday after receiving a note saying he had mentioned during deliberations that he was “very biased.” The note from a fellow juror asked whether that panel member could still be considered impartial.
Despite finding no sign of bias, Brown is giving defense attorneys until Wednesday to find case law that would support further investigation.
Another note asked whether the jurors must reach verdicts for all seven defendants or if they can reach them for just three. Brown said they must consider each charge for each defendant separately.
The notes indicate the jury is having difficulty reaching a consensus after three days of deliberations.
POLICE CHIEF-MISDEMEANOR CHARGE
Former Portland police chief faces misdemeanor charge
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former Portland police chief has been indicted on a misdemeanor charge for accidentally shooting a friend during a hunting trip.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Larry O’Dea has been indicted in Harney County on a charge of negligently wounding another.
The indictment states he “unlawfully and by failing to use ordinary care under the circumstances” shot his friend.
O’Dea resigned as Portland police chief in June, ending a nearly 30-year career amid criminal and internal investigations into whether he was forthright after the shooting during an April camping trip in eastern Oregon.
O’Dea’s lawyer couldn’t immediately be reached Tuesday. He previously said in a statement that O’Dea did not purposely point his gun at any person and did not knowingly discharge a firearm in the direction of his lifelong friend.
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DISTRICT ATTORNEY-GAG ORDER
Oregon DA says judge’s gag order violates free speech
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A district attorney in Oregon is objecting to a judge’s gag order on a murder case, saying it violates freedom of speech and infringes on both his ability to consult with the victim’s family members on potential plea bargaining and on his rights to communicate with the citizens he was elected to represent.
Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel pushed back against a judge’s order in a motion filed Monday.
The judge has ordered all parties in the case from making any extrajudicial statements about it that could reach the public. Edward Lara, of Redmond, is charged with murdering 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer, of Bend.
Lara was a security guard at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. His trial is scheduled for October 2017.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
