SHERIFF’S OFFICE EMPLOYEE-SENTENCE
Ex-sheriff’s office employee gets probation for lying
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — A former Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office employee charged with lying to federal agents investigating theft allegations against a former sheriff’s captain has been sentenced to three years of probation.
The Bend Bulletin reports 36-year-old Krista Mudrick was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to making false statements. She was accused of lying about where the $200,000 stolen by former Capt. Scott Beard came from.
Beard received a five-year prison sentence in September.
Court documents say he stole the county money between 2014 and 2015 while he oversaw the finances of a regional drug task force.
Mudrick is accused of benefiting from the stolen funds by receiving gifts from Beard, which included a car, cosmetic surgeries and a gym membership.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Papagni acknowledged that Mudrick is a low risk to reoffend.
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BODY FOUND-MULTNOMAH CHANNEL
Boater finds body of woman in Multnomah Channel
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say they have recovered the body of a woman from the Multnomah Channel in the Portland area.
The body was reported by a boater who spotted it in the water on Monday.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and turned the body over to the medical examiner’s office.
The woman has not yet been identified.
RAPE ARREST-COQUILLE
Man arrested on charges of rape, sexual abuse of minors
COQUILLE, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say they’ve arrested a 57-year-old man south of Coos Bay on charges including rape, sexual abuse and luring a minor, among others.
The Coos County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Ivan Warnock was arrested Monday at his home in Coquille.
The sheriff’s office says his arrest warrants stemmed from a grand jury indictment of Warnock after an almost yearlong investigation by authorities and the state Department of Human Services.
Authorities say the investigation began after a March 2016 report of possible sexual abuse of two girls over age 12 in Coos County.
Warnock was booked into jail. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.
PRINEVILLE-WOMEN ATTACKED
Prineville man charged in stabbing of 2 women, rape attempt
PRINEVILLE, Ore. (AP) — Prineville police say they arrested a 25-year-old man after finding two women with stab wounds and an attempted rape in progress.
The department said in a news release that officers stopped the rape Sunday after responding to a 911 call about a stabbing on Elk Street. The women were taken to a Central Oregon hospital for treatment of stab wounds to the face and neck.
Anthony Smith of Prineville was booked into the Crook County Jail on charges of assault, burglary, kidnapping, menacing, attempted rape and attempted murder. He was held on $965,000 bail.
Police Sgt. Mark Monroe told KTVZ it was a home-invasion attack and the suspect was a stranger to the victims.
SALEM FATAL SHOOTING
Detectives investigating fatal shooting in Salem
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Police say two people were shot in Salem, and one of them died at a hospital.
Salem police Lt. Dave Okada says witnesses told police late Sunday that someone on foot fired gunshots at a light-colored jeep. The jeep and the person on foot both left before officers arrived.
While investigators were at the scene, a vehicle pulled up to a hospital with two people who had been shot. Okada says a man died at the hospital and another person was treated for gunshot wounds.
Police have yet to release the identities of anyone involved.
BUILDINGS COLLAPSE-ONION DAMAGE
Onion storage buildings collapse, raising onion prices
(Information from: Capital Press, http://www.capitalpress.com/washington)
NYSSA, Ore. (AP) — Heavy snow has caused dozens of onion storage sheds in eastern Oregon and Idaho to collapse, resulting in as much as $100 million in damages.
The Capital Press reports that about 50 onion buildings collapsed under the weight of up to 40 inches of snow. The general manager of Owyhee Produce in Nyssa, Oregon, says three of the company’s storage sheds and a building housing one of its packing lines have collapsed.
Owyhee manager Shay Myers called the situation “an absolute catastrophe” and estimated the total damage to the onion industry in southwestern Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon, could be near $100 million.
The production loss has dramatically increased the price of onions. A 50-pound bag of yellow jumbo onions was about $3.50 before the collapses and is now nearly $10.
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SNOW-CONSTRUCTION
Historic winter freezes construction in booming Bend
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — The record snowfall in Central Oregon has been a detriment to the region’s resurgent construction industry.
The Bulletin newspaper reports work ground to a halt when the snow and ice started accumulating in early December. That left builders behind schedule and over budget.
Estimates vary, but many buildings — from single-family homes to large commercial projects — are running between one and three months behind schedule.
It’s too early to know the impact on Central Oregon’s economy, but the harsh winter could lead to layoffs in construction, an industry that has added many jobs over the past two years.
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STATE REPRESENTATIVE-ALS
State Rep. Vic Gilliam, afflicted with ALS, resigns
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — State Rep. Vic Gilliam has resigned two days before the start of Oregon’s legislative session.
The 63-year-old Silverton Republican has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Gilliam told his constituents more than a year ago he would step down if his symptoms worsened. He said Monday that several changes in life show it’s time to resign.
Gilliam was appointed to represent House District 18 in 2007.
House Republican Leader Mike McLane said a statement that Gilliam embodies what it means to be a public servant, and he has relied on Gilliam’s counsel, moral clarity and unfailing wit.
ALS is a progressive, fatal neurological disorder. The disease attacks the ability to voluntarily control muscles and people typically live three to five years after a diagnosis.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.