STATE TROOPER SHOT-THE LATEST
The Latest: Wounded trooper remains in critical condition
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police have identified the trooper who was critically wounded in shooting Christmas night.
The agency said on its Facebook page that 32-year-old Nic Cederberg underwent surgery at a Portland hospital Monday. He remains in critical condition, surrounded by friends and family.
Cederberg was shot multiple times by a homicide suspect after police found a deceased woman at a home in King City. The suspect died in an exchange of gunfire.
Cederberg has been with state police for seven years and is a U.S. Army veteran.
CHILD ABUSE-PRESCHOOL
Bend preschool to open for child abuse victims
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A new preschool program that serves victims of child abuse and neglect is set to open in Bend thanks to a $448,000 grant from the Central Oregon Health Council.
The Bend Bulletin reports that the money will allow MountainStar Family Relief Nursery to start a program for 22 students who are too young to enter kindergarten. The grant will be distributed over a three-year period.
The organization, one of 32 relief nurseries in the state, aims to prevent child abuse and neglect by providing therapy and other services to child victims of abuse. Its goal for the new preschool is to combine therapeutic services with a preschool curriculum.
MountainStar Executive Director Tim Rusk says this type of program can significantly reduce neglect and abuse.
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CHINESE IMMERSION
Eugene School District wants to add Mandarin Chinese program
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The Eugene School District is looking to implement a Mandarin Chinese language immersion program next school year.
The Register-Guard reports that the program would first be offered to students in kindergarten and first grade at Crest Elementary School. District officials say the program would expand to the next highest grade level each year until a full K-12 program is established.
If approved, the Mandarin Chinese course offerings would be the district’s fourth language immersion program. The district already offers programs in Spanish, French and Japanese.
District officials estimate it’ll cost about $221,000 to get the Chinese program up and running in the 2017-18 school year, mostly for salaries.
The school board is set to vote on whether to begin implementation of the program at a future school board meeting.
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PENDLETON FIRE-CITY ATTORNEY
Pendleton city attorney’s home heavily damaged in fire
(Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com)
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — A Christmas blaze heavily damaged the home of Pendleton’s city attorney.
The East Oregonian reports the fire started shortly after 6 p.m. and quickly engulfed the third story. City Attorney Nancy Kerns and her husband Carter escaped along with an unknown number of guests.
Pendleton fire chief Mike Ciraulo said firefighters tried to attack the blaze from the inside but were forced to retreat. Emergency personnel sprayed the third floor from a ladder and outside lines, quelling the blaze enough for fire crews to re-enter.
The chief said the third floor was a total loss and the second floor sustained heavy water damage and light fire damage.
The city attorney watched the firefighters while draped in a blanket on a freezing night. She said: “Everyone’s safe and everyone’s OK.”
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DEATH PENALTY-ELMORE
Prosecutor asks Inslee to allow child killer’s execution
(Information from: The Bellingham Herald, http://www.bellinghamherald.com)
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Clark Richard Elmore has an execution date in less than one month.
But the odds of Washington state going through with it are slim. Gov. Jay Inslee pledged two years ago to halt executions while he’s in office, and he was just re-elected.
Despite that, Whatcom County prosecutor Dave McEachran went to Olympia last week to persuade Inslee to make an exception for Elmore, a Bellingham man who raped and murdered a child in 1995.
He acknowledged to the Bellingham Herald that his effort is a long shot. But he says he brought the case file and crime scene photos to show the governor the horror the jurors saw before condemning Elmore to die.
Inslee has yet to take any action in the case. He can grant a reprieve or commute the sentence to life without parole.
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HISTORIC BRIDGE
Group aims to preserve 134-year-old Springfield bridge
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) — An Iowa-based nonprofit has targeted one of the Oregon’s oldest bridges for preservation.
The Register-Guard reports the 134-year-old Hayden Bridge in Springfield has been little used over the past quarter-century.
But the North Skunk River Greenbelt Association sees value, and hopes to raise nearly $100,000 to re-deck the wrought and cast iron truss bridge.
In recent years, the group has restored or crafted plans to restore more than 30 historic bridges across the country, mostly in the Midwest and East Coast.
Executive director Julie Bowers says she learned of the Hayden Bridge two years ago from a news article about Weyerhaeuser’s plan to demolish it. She contacted the company and flew out to Springfield to discuss ways to save it.
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COLD BAKER CITY
Baker City shivers to coldest Christmas on record
(Information from: Baker City Herald, http://www.bakercityherald.com/)
BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) — Baker City had its coldest Christmas on record and maybe its whitest.
The Baker City Herald reports the temperature at the airport fell to 6 below zero in the final hour of Christmas.
That’s the coldest holiday temperature on record at the airport, where statistics date to 1943.
The previous record was 3 below zero, set on Christmas Day 1948. That same year, the city had 7 inches of snow on the ground for Christmas. The newspaper reports that the current depth, though not official, is more than 7 inches.
The temperature was just 6 degrees late Monday morning. With freezing temperatures expected for the rest of the month, this December will likely be one of the coldest on record.
The temperature hasn’t been above freezing at the airport since Dec. 11.
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NUCLEAR PLANT
Northwest’s only nuclear plant resuming operation
(Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com)
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The Northwest’s only nuclear power plant is reconnecting to the regional power grid after an unplanned shut down.
The Tri-City Herald reports that the 1,190-megawatt Columbia Generating Station resumed late Saturday night.
Energy Northwest says power levels are slowly rising and should reach 100 percent within 72 hours of restarting.
The plant shut down following a malfunction at a substation.
The newspaper reports that the malfunction caused the line that connects the plant’s main output transformers to the substation to reject the load. A primary breaker opened too slowly and a secondary system kicked in and opened other breakers, causing the plant to separate itself from the grid and shut down.
Columbia Generating Station sends enough power to the Northwest grid to power a city the size of Seattle.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
