PET PIG KILLING
Man accused of killing neighbor’s pig with bow and arrow
ST. HELENS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been arrested in connection with the killing of a pet pig with a bow and arrow near St. Helens.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office says deputies arrested 54-year-old George Bainbridge Wednesday on charges of animal abuse, and criminal mischief.
Authorities say the pig died after it was shot with two arrows from a compound bow on Monday.
Deputies made the arrest after serving a search warrant at Bainbridge’s home, which is next door to the home where the pig lived.
He is lodged in the Columbia County Jail on over $36,000 bail.
TOXIC ARMORIES
Military seeks $21M to clean lead-contaminated armories
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Military Department is seeking $21.6 million from the federal government to clean up toxic armories around the state.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Wednesday that the money would go toward cleaning armories in Portland, Ashland, Backer City, Bend, Coos Bay, Eugene, McMinnville, Ontario, Pendleton and Salem.
The state’s request to the National Guard Bureau comes after an 18-month investigation by The Oregonian that revealed widespread lead dust problems in armories nationwide.
The 2016 investigation showed that state military leaders tried to cover up how long they knew about the problem and downplay its severity. The Oregon military has recently increased disclosure about its toxic armories.
In December, the National Guard Bureau, which oversees state units, said it would pay for armory cleanups, the first time it has made such a commitment.
___
TRIBE MEMBER MANSLAUGHTER
Tribe member guilty of manslaughter in wife’s stabbing death
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal court jury in Reno has found a tribe member guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the December 2014 stabbing death of his wife at their home in the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation on the Nevada-Oregon state line.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden in Nevada said Wednesday that 45-year-old Nelson Ray McKee could face up to 15 years in federal prison at sentencing May 15.
Trial took six days in U.S. District Court, which has criminal case jurisdiction in Indian country.
McKee is a member of the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe.
His wife is identified in the indictment as C.L.J. She was a member of the Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone.
Police reported finding her stabbed in the chest and McKee extremely intoxicated, with knives, whiskey bottles and blood in the kitchen.
WOLF STUDY
State to conduct 5-year study of wolf impacts in Washington
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The state has launched a study to determine how eight years of growth in the wolf population is affecting other species.
The study by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the University of Washington is scheduled to last at least five years.
It will assess the health of deer and elk herds in northeast Washington, where they support hunting and other recreational opportunities while providing prey for wolves and other predators.
Researchers will also examine the response to wolves by other predators, especially cougars.
Wolves were wiped out in Washington early in the last century. But in recent years they have begun returning to the state from Idaho and Canada. As of last June, there were 19 wolf packs and at least 90 wolves in the state.
LEBANON KILLING
Oregon man charged with murder in Valentine’s Day killing
(Information from: Albany Democrat-Herald, http://www.dhonline.com)
ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man has made his first court appearance in connection with the shooting death of his estranged wife.
The Democrat-Herald reports that 33-year-old Jason Garlinghouse of Lebanon was arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday.
Police say Garlinghouse called 911 to report the shooting on Valentine’s Day, telling a dispatcher his wife had attacked him.
Police found Sparki Sue Garlinghouse dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
A probable cause affidavit says she was holding a bread knife in one hand and clutching a set of keys and two children’s backpacks in the other.
The couple had reportedly been separated at the time and were in the middle of a custody battle.
___
TOBACCO-LEGAL AGE
Already 18? Lane officials say don’t worry about tobacco law
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Lane County commissioners say a proposed ordinance that would boost the legal age for using tobacco products from 18 to 21 should include a clause to exempt people who have already turned 18.
The ban would bar only those who turn 18 after the ordinance takes effect.
The proposed increase in the legal age for tobacco is part of a growing campaign to pass similar local and state laws throughout the country.
The Register-Guard reports the ordinance might be approved as early as next month and it would then take effect in mid-April.
___
JOSEPHINE SHERIFF’S CUTS-TREATMENT CENTER
Josephine County mental health facility to shut down
(Information from: Daily Courier, http://www.thedailycourier.com)
HUGO, Ore. (AP) — A remote residential treatment facility in southern Oregon for people with mental health issues will close because there is not enough law enforcement to staff it.
The Daily Courier reports that staff at the Josephine County-owned Hugo Hills facility was told last week that there are not enough sheriff’s officials in rural areas of the county.
Options of Southern Oregon Executive Director Karla McCafferty says the facility is closing because there is not enough staff to handle a safety situation.
The fifteen patients with significant mental illnesses that live at the facility will be placed in other Options facilities or returned to their home counties.
There is no timeline for when the facility might close.
___
KLAMATH DOUBLE HOMICIDE
Suspect identified in 2012 double killing in Southern Oregon
(Information from: Herald and News, http://www.heraldandnews.com)
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — A detective testifying in a drug trial in southern Oregon said investigators have identified a suspect in the deaths of two men who were found buried on a ranch more than four years ago.
Eric Shepherd is a former Klamath County sheriff’s detective now with Medford police. He identified Joaquin Lopez as the suspect in the double homicide that led to the large-scale drug bust known as Operation Trojan Horse.
The Herald and News reports that Shepherd disclosed the suspect’s name at the trial of Jose Buenaventura Vinals, who is being tried on drug and racketeering charges.
Shepherd testified that detectives worked with Vinals to obtain information about Lopez. Police believe Lopez fled the area after the killings.
The bodies of 32-year-old Everardo Mendez-Ceja (say-hah) and 38-year-old Ricardo Jauregui (how-reh-gee) were found in October 2012 outside Bonanza, Oregon.
Jauregui’s burned-out truck was found six miles away.
___
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.