HOUSE FIRE-PETS DEAD
4 pets die in Eugene house fire, 5 people displaced
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Fire officials say three dogs and a cat have died in a house fire that destroyed the Eugene residence and displaced five people.
The Register-Guard reports that the fire broke out Sunday morning. Fire Chief Lance Lighty says firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames coming out the windows of the home.
Three adults and two children had managed to escape in the home’s backyard.
The pets that died had been trapped inside a bedroom.
Lighty says fire crews were able to extinguish the flames in about 15 minutes, although the blaze still caused an estimated $175,000.
The Red Cross is providing the family with temporary housing.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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STATE TROOPER SHOT-HOME
Wounded Oregon state trooper leaves hospital after 48 days
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon State Police trooper who was shot several times during a Christmas night shooting is out of the hospital.
Oregon State Police said in an email Sunday that Trooper Nic Cederberg has returned home. Cederberg is an Army veteran and seven-year veteran of the department.
Cederberg’s wife, Hayley Shelton, said in a Facebook post that they returned home Friday after 48 days in the hospital. While they have a long road ahead, she says she is confident her husband will face the next recovery phase with determination, strength and a positive attitude.
Authorities say the trooper was shot Dec. 25 by homicide suspect James Tylka following a car chase. Tylka was then killed by police. Officers pursued Tylka after finding his estranged wife dead outside his suburban Portland home.
PIPELINE PROTEST-CHARGES REFILED
Charges refiled against pipeline protester after hung jury
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — Charges have been refiled against an Oregon man who tried to shut off an oil pipeline north of Seattle last fall to make a statement about climate change.
The Skagit Valley Herald says the charges were refiled against 60-year-old Kenneth Ward, of Corbett, in Skagit County Superior Court Wednesday, after a jury failed to reach a verdict Feb. 1.
Ward faces felony burglary and sabotage charges for the Oct. 11 incident in which he broke through a fence and turned a safety valve along the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline near Burlington. That pipeline carries crude oil from Canada to refineries in Washington.
During his trial, Ward admitted to breaking into the facility and turning a valve on the pipeline. He said he hoped to inspire a transition off of fossil fuels.
MOUNT HOOD-MISSING SNOWBOARDER
Missing snowboarder found near Mount Hood
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — A 19-year-old snowboarder reported missing after riding out of bounds of the Timberline Ski Area on Mount Hood has been found safe.
Mountain Wave Search and Rescue said in a Tweet early Sunday that rescuers found the teen. He had been reported missing Saturday evening.
KGW-TV says that the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Sunday afternoon that the snowboarder had been found safe.
He had been riding with a group of people but had gone out in front of them and later couldn’t be found.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Nathan Thompson says the snowboarder’s tracks led into a canyon area where people commonly get lost.
COAL EXPORT-WASHINGTON
Coal-export terminal backer appeals denial of state sublease
(Information from: The Daily News, http://www.tdn.com)
LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Developers of a proposed coal-export terminal in southwest Washington have challenged the state’s denial of an aquatic lands lease for the project.
The Daily News reports that Millennium Bulk Terminals and Northwest Alloys appealed the state’s decision in Cowlitz County Superior Court Feb. 2.
Before leaving office, Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark rejected a request from Northwest Alloys — originally made in 2010 — to sublease the state’s aquatic lands to Millennium for the project.
The companies say the decision infringes on their property rights. They’re also challenging Goldmark’s assertion that they didn’t provide adequate information about Millennium’s financial standing.
A Department of Natural Resources spokesman declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
The proposed terminal in Longview that would handle up to 44 million metric tons of coal a year. The coal would arrive by train from Montana, Wyoming and other states to be stored and loaded on ships for export to Asia.
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LOTTERY TICKET DELIVERY
New Jersey is 1st state to offer lottery courier services
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A company that made headlines when an Iraqi man used its services to buy an Oregon lottery ticket worth $6.4 million is hoping to take advantage of a first-in-the-nation law to courier New Jersey lottery tickets.
Malta-based Lotter Enterprises and its subsidiary Locallotto Inc. successfully lobbied for the New Jersey law. Founder Marcel Klugman says he’s hoping to lobby other states for similar laws so he can do business there as well.
Federal law prohibits couriers to traffic in lottery ticket sales among states, but couriers still operate in the U.S. and haven’t been found to be illegal.
New Jersey was the first to authorize and regulate lottery couriers. Customers purchase tickets online through the courier, which arranges for winning tickets to be held until the holder picks them up.
CHEERLEADER LAWSUIT
Cheerleader sues Oregon school district after fall
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former high school cheerleader has filed a $20 million lawsuit, contending she suffered brain damage when she fell during a stunt and slammed her head on a floor mat.
Alexis Lisle fell on Feb. 18, 2015, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday against the North Clackamas School District.
The Oregonian/OregonLive says the 16-year-old Lisle was a Milwaukie High School cheerleader.
The lawsuit says Lisle was standing on top of a base formation of four other teammates when she fell backward and hit the mat.
The suit claims the district failed to appoint a properly trained coach, failed to adequately train team members in following safety rules for the sport and failed to assign spotters who might have caught Lisle’s fall. The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
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MURDER FOR HIRE
Murder for hire case in Oregon is finally resolved
(Information from: KPTV-TV, http://www.kptv.com/)
GLADSTONE, Ore. (AP) — Nearly six years after Debbie Higbee-Benton was killed in her Gladstone hair salon, all three people involved in the murder-for-hire plot have been sentenced to prison.
On Friday, 59-year-old Susan Ellen Campbell pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. She was sentenced to life in prison.
Earlier in the week, her son, 36-year-old Jason Jaynes, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Higbee-Benton’s murder.
KPTV reports that a jury convicted Lynn Benton last October on charges of aggravated murder and criminal conspiracy for the death of his estranged wife.
Higbee-Benton was found dead in her Gladstone hair salon in 2011. Prosecutors said she was shot, beaten and strangled.
Detectives say Benton, a former Gladstone police sergeant, hired the mother-son duo of Campbell and Jaynes to kill Higbee-Benton for $2,000.
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Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.