FORMER OFFICER-LAWSUIT
Ex-Prineville officer claims unlawful termination
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A former Prineville police officer has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the central Oregon city and its former police chief for $5 million.
The Bend Bulletin reports Bryan Burton claims the former chief retaliated against him after he arrested the daughter of a Crook County undersheriff for driving under the influence of intoxicants. Burton’s lawsuit says his former boss and Undersheriff James Gautney were friends and that the chief hired Gautney as an “independent investigator” to monitor Burton’s work performance.
After his daughter’s arrest, Gautney submitted a report in October 2014 detailing poor performance by Burton.
Burton claims that report was inaccurate and included false evidence to ensure he was disciplined.
Burton, who earned an Employee of the Year award in 2012, is seeking economic and noneconomic damages.
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COQUILLE POLICE K-9
Coquille Tribal Police get new K-9
(Information from: The World, http://www.theworldlink.com)
COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — The Coquille Tribal Police has hired a new drug officer, a 1-year-old English Springer Spaniel trained to sniff out three types of narcotics.
The World reports that the dog named Ben will help officers search for methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine. He’s replacing Stormy, a black lab that sniffs out those drugs as well as marijuana.
Fewer police agencies in the state have been using dogs like Stormy since Oregon legalized pot. Many of the dogs that can sniff out four scents are given to other states or used in places where marijuana is prohibited, such as in airports and schools.
Tribal officers have been putting Ben through search drills and the dog helped officers seize meth during a vehicle search last week.
Ben was purchased for about $15,000.
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MAN-DOG KILLED
Man, dog struck and killed on Highway 101
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
YACHATS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a man and his dog died after they were stuck by a car on Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast.
The Register-Guard reports that 37-year-old Travis Eppinghaus was walking in the northbound lane of the highway, carrying his dog, Tuesday night when he was hit by a car driven by Amy Hartz of Waldport.
Oregon State Police Lt. Cari Boyd says Hartz also was headed north on the highway.
Boyd says Eppinghaus was wearing dark clothes at the time of the crash. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His dog also died of injuries suffered in the collision.
Boyd says Hartz stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.
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PEDESTRIAN KILLED-BEND
Pedestrian killed by motorist in Bend
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Police say a pedestrian has been struck and killed by a motorist in Bend.
The Bulletin reports the crash involving more than one vehicle as reported Wednesday evening and the pedestrian had died by the time authorities arrived.
Police have not released the names of the pedestrian or those in the vehicles.
The area was expected to be closed to traffic for up to six hours.
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FATAL SHOOTING-LA PINE
2 dead, 1 injured in La Pine area shooting
(Information from: KTVZ-TV, http://www.ktvz.com/)
LA PINE, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say two people were killed and another wounded in a shooting at a home south of Bend.
KTVZ-TV reports Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies confirmed a fatal shooting occurred Wednesday morning near La Pine.
Sheriff’s Captain Paul Garrison says authorities responded to the home and located a man near the home on the side of the road with a gunshot wound.
Deputies then learned someone was inside the home. Garrison says a special operations team responded and found the bodies of two people inside.
Detectives say they believe one of the people found could be the suspect.
Garrison says deputies don’t believe there is further danger to the community.
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UO PROFESSOR-BLACKFACE
University: Prof who donned blackface violated policy
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The University of Oregon says a law professor who donned blackface for a costume at a Halloween party violated the institution’s anti-harassment policies, but any punishment she receives will remain confidential.
The Register-Guard reported Wednesday that the university found Nancy Shurtz’s costume had a devastating impact on the law school and created an atmosphere of tension and hostility.
The university released a 29-page report on its investigation.
Shurtz has said previously that she wore a white coast, stethoscope and black face paint to portray Dr. Damon Tweedy.
Tweedy is a black doctor who wrote a best-selling memoir about his experiences with racism in medical school and in his profession.
Shurtz says she was trying to provoke discussion about racism in society and had no ill intent.
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A previous version of this story misspelled Shurtz’s last name. The correct spelling is Shurtz.
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PUBLIC LAND STRUGGLE
1 year after refuge takeover, quieter land battle unfolds
JOHN DAY, Ore. (AP) — A year after Ammon Bundy and his followers took over a national wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon’s Harney County, a quieter, less visible struggle over public lands is occurring in neighboring Grant County.
This fall, a judge dissolved a Grant County commission that provided input in the management of public lands. Members of the Public Forest Commission are angry, saying they’ve lost a tool given to them by voters to oppose federal overreach.
They say the government is tightening access to natural resources by closing roads and curtailing logging and other industries that allowed previous generations to be self-sufficient.
Judge W.D. Cramer ruled this fall that the ballot measure that created the commission to manage public lands violated the U.S. and state constitutions and federal statutes.
SMALL OREGON EARTHQUAKE
Small quake strikes Oregon; no damage reports
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A small earthquake has been reported east of Salem, Oregon.
The U.S. Geological Survey website says the earthquake happened at 3 a.m., about nine miles from Sublimity — a small town west of Silver Falls State Park.
There have been no reports of damage, but Brenda Fuquay Chappell tells the Statesman Journal that windows and dishes rattled at her home in Lyons.
The magnitude 2.5 quake occurred about 11 miles beneath the surface.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
