SCHOOL VANDALISM-ARRESTS
Police arrest 5 teens for nearly $600,000 damage to school
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland police say officers have arrested five teenagers in connection with vandalism at a high school that caused nearly $600,000 in damage.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the five teens were arrested in late October.
Police say a security camera captured some of the Oct. 15 incident at Roosevelt High School, which caused severe flooding and left classrooms in a newly-built part of campus unusable for the semester.
Surveillance footage obtained by the newspaper shows a group of boys running down hallways and entering and then leaving an unlocked science classroom. Before they sprint away, one of them is shown putting out a wet-floor caution sign.
Police say the boys — two of them 15 years old, two of them 16 and the other 17 — have been charged with criminal mischief and burglary.
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JUDGE INDICTED-DAY
Oregon judge indicted for allegedly providing gun to felon
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A Marion County Circuit judge in Salem has been arraigned on felony charges that he twice provided a felon with a gun.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Vance Day was arraigned Thursday.
Day is also accused of misdemeanor official misconduct for allegedly using his official duties twice to obtain a benefit in late 2013 and early 2014.
The indictment doesn’t give details about the benefits, but it names Brian Shehan as the felon Day allegedly aided and abetted in the crime of “felon in possession of a firearm,” also in late 2013 and early 2014.
An Oregon Department of Justice spokeswoman told the newspaper she couldn’t provide further details about the charges Thursday.
Day couldn’t be reached for comment through his defense attorney, Mike De Muniz.
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BULL TROUT LAWSUIT
Feds eye central Idaho forest road use following lawsuit
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials are reconsidering how roads and motorized trails in a portion of the Sawtooth National Forest could harm threatened bull trout following a lawsuit by an environmental group.
As a result, a federal judge on Wednesday put the lawsuit by WildEarth Guardians on hold until Feb. 14 while the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service analyze how motorized travel and climate change could harm critical habitat for bull trout.
The lawsuit filed Sept. 30 says that the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2010 designated 15 streams and their tributaries as critical habitat in the Fairfield Ranger District.
The lawsuit contends the federal agencies didn’t consult to make sure motorized use in the forest doesn’t harm bull trout following the critical habitat designation.
ADOPTION CITIZENSHIP-DEPORTATION
Attorney says adoptee from South Korea deported from US
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The immigration attorney for a man who was adopted from South Korea almost four decades ago by Americans says he has been deported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ordered Adam Crapser be deported because of criminal convictions including assault and being a felon in possession of a weapon.
Crapser was brought to South Korea when he was 3, but no one ever sought U.S. citizenship for him. He and his older sister were adopted by Americans, who later abandoned them. The siblings then were separated and sent to live in foster and group homes.
When Crapser was 12, he moved in with an abusive family. Crapser later got into trouble with the law.
Attorney Lori Walls told The Associated Press in an email Thursday: “Adam got deported last night.”
MOUNT HOOD SNOW
Storm brings snowfall to Cascade Range
MOUNT HOOD, Ore. (AP) — Up to 4 inches of snow had fallen on Oregon’s Cascades by Wednesday morning.
The Oregonian reported that the National Weather Service said higher elevations had picked up even more with Mt. Hood Meadows reporting 9 inches of powder overnight.
The weather service added that temperatures were expected to rise briefly Thursday and storm clouds were likely to lessen.
Another wet system is expected to roll through this weekend.
HOMELESS REST STOPS
Eugene to offer ‘rest stops’ for homeless across city
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Homeless people in Eugene will be able to receive temporary shelter across the city as officials have voted to expand the city’s “rest stop” program.
The Register-Guard reports that the City Council on Wednesday voted to expand homeless camps to other parts of the city and to make what was a three-year pilot program permanent.
Currently the city has five rest stops in the Whiteaker neighborhood. Each camp allows up to 20 people to legally camp and sleep at designated areas managed by nonprofit organizations. Rest stops are intended to be a temporary solution where homeless people can find some stability and connect to social services.
According to city data, last year, more than 260 people stayed at the rest stops and Opportunity Village, with 55 people moving into permanent housing after.
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HANFORD VAPORS
Some Hanford workers worry about raising vapor concerns
(Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com)
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Some Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers are worried about raising concerns about exposure to chemical vapors escaping from nuclear waste storage tanks.
That’s according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inspector General.
The Tri-City Herald says the report was released Wednesday and found that seven of 52 workers interviewed were worried about fear of retaliation related to potential vapor exposures.
But the report said most workers felt they were free to express their concerns with management and had not experienced retaliation.
Chemical vapors associated with nuclear waste held in underground tanks have been blamed for symptoms such as shortness of breath and nosebleeds and may cause serious neurological and respiratory illnesses.
The waste is left from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons.
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OREGON KILLING-DEATH SENTENCE
State to seek death penalty for Oregon man accused of murder
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Officials say the state will seek a sentence of death against a Redmond man charged with killing a woman whose body was found near an Oregon highway.
Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel said in a news release he informed the court of the state’s intention Wednesday. Edwin Lara is charged with murder in the July death of 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer.
Authorities say Lara kidnapped and tried to sexually assault Sawyer as she took a late-night walk and then killed her to cover up his crimes.
Hummel says he made the death penalty decision after considering the facts of the case and with input from Sawyer’s family and law enforcement. The trial is set to begin October 10, 2017.
A grand jury also indicted Lara on federal charges Wednesday including carjacking, kidnapping, and two counts of brandishing a firearm. Authorities say Lara fled after the killing, kidnapping another woman in Salem, Oregon, and taking her to California.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
