OREGON-PLANE CRASH
Family members who died in plane crash had zest for life
HARRISBURG, Ore. (AP) — The three members of a California family killed in an Oregon plane crash are being described as fun-loving go-getters with a zest for life.
The Friday crash killed 42-year-old John A. Zitting; his wife, 37-year-old Karen Blackmore Zitting, and their 17-year-old son John “Brendan” Zitting. Also killed was the pilot, 67-year-old Mark Aletky of Acton, California.
Mark Zitting of Heber City, Utah, described his brother John as a man who lived life to the fullest, loved to travel and loved the ocean.
Mark Zitting told the Los Angeles Daily News that the family members from Thousand Oaks, California, were good people and set great examples for others.
The crash occurred as the family was flying to Eugene, Oregon, so that Brendan, their only child, could tour the University of Oregon.
HANFORD TOURS
Annual Hanford tours to start April 17
(Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com)
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The annual tours of the Hanford portion of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will start on April 17.
Registration for the popular tours opens online at 8 a.m. Monday.
The Tri-City Herald reports that about 14,000 bus seats are available to tour either Hanford’s historic B Reactor or the old Hanford town site.
The town site tour takes visitors to areas inhabited by settlers and tribes before they were evicted in 1943 to make way for the secret nuclear weapons project. Hanford was one of three Manhattan Project locations where workers raced to create a nuclear weapon before Germany.
The B Reactor tours take visitors to the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor. It produced the plutonium for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, to end World War II.
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XGR-DUELING-BAN
Oregon voters may decide to toss constitutional ban on duels
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — In the next general election, Oregon voters may be asked to make an usual change to the state Constitution that harkens back to that famous summer day in 1804 when a bitter rivalry between Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton and U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr was settled with a fatal gunshot.
Senate Joint Resolution 44 would repeal Article II, Section 9 from the Oregon Constitution, which says anyone who offers, accepts or knowingly participates in a duel can’t hold public office.
The proposal had its first hearing Wednesday and Republican Sen. Brian Boquist, its chief sponsor, said it’s one of several archaic laws that just don’t make sense in modern times. That measure and other proposals in Salem have an April 18 deadline to clear their initial committees.
OREGON CHILD DEATH
Lack of food, medical care identified in girl’s death
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Central Oregon authorities say a lack of food and medical attention contributed to the death of a 5-year-old girl whose parents face charges.
The Bulletin reports that 33-year-old Estevan Garcia and 31-year-old Sacora Horn-Garcia of Redmond appeared in court Friday and are charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal mistreatment.
A judge ordered them held without bail. Garcia is the girl’s father and Horn-Garcia her stepmother.
Officials say paramedics responding to a 9-1-1 call on Dec. 21 found the girl unconscious and not breathing. She was pronounced dead at a Redmond hospital.
The attorneys representing the couple declined to discuss the case Friday, and a judge later imposed a gag order.
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OREGON DEPUTY INJURED
Police: Man who struck deputy with car taken into custody
WOODBURN, Ore. (AP) — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says a man who fled after striking and injuring one of its deputies with a vehicle near Woodburn during a traffic stop has been taken into custody.
Officials say police in Salem at 4:30 p.m. on Friday arrested Juan Martinez.
Police say that’s about four hours after Sgt. Jason Hickam was injured.
Officials say Hickam fired a shot at Martinez after he was struck by the car.
Hickman was taken to a hospital where he was treated and later released.
Martinez was being held in the Marion County Jail.
OREGON-PLANE CRASH-THE LATEST
The Latest: Family on college visit when small plane crashes
HARRISBURG, Ore. (AP) — Friends say three family members were on a college scouting trip when they died in a small plane crash in Oregon, the Oregonian/Oregonlive reports.
The friends say that John A. Zitting, 42, of Thousand Oaks, California, his wife, Karen Blackmore Zitting , 37, and their son John Brendan Zitting, 17, were headed to Eugene to visit the University of Oregon. The newspaper reports that John Brendan Zitting was interested in attending the university.
The father was president of TruNorthe LLC, a construction management company in California.
The pilot, who also died in the crash, was Mark Gregory Aletky, 67, of Acton, California. He worked at TruNorthe.
Sean Sullivan, marketing director for TruNorthe, tells the Oregonian/Oregonlive: “They were great people.”
Sullivan adds: “His son was going off to college and that’s why they were going to Oregon.” He adds that the younger Zitting, a senior at West Lake (California) High School was also considering the University of Arizona and other schools. The son was the couple’s only child.
SEATTLE MAYOR-SEX ABUSE LAWSUIT-THE LATEST
The Latest: Attorney: Mayor not being truthful about claims
SEATTLE (AP) — An attorney for a man who claimed Seattle Mayor Ed Murray sexually abused him decades ago — allegations Murray has forcefully denied — says Murray isn’t being truthful.
A lawsuit filed Thursday by a man identified only by initials had accused Murray of sex abuse of the then-teenage boy in the 1980s. Murray on Friday denied the allegations, and he said he felt sad for the “troubled” individual making the claims.
The man’s lawyer, Lincoln Beauregard, said in a statement after Murray’s comments that the mayor’s representatives have never asked for his client’s identity and that if Murray is being truthful “he should have no idea who my client is … how can he paint him as ‘troubled.’ ”
In the lawsuit filed Thursday, however, the man had said he sought mental health counseling following the death of his father and was taking part in addiction-recovery programs.
OREGON WINDY WEATHER
Strong winds knock out power across western Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Strong winds knocked out power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses in western Oregon.
Pacific Power says outages were reported Friday morning in cities from the Willamette Valley down toward the California state line, including Albany, Bandon, Grants Pass, North Bend, Roseburg and many other communities.
The utility says crews have restore power to thousands of customers, but more than 60,000 homes and businesses still had no lights at 9 a.m.
The lights were also going out in Portland, as gusty winds tossed debris across downtown streets and forced construction workers to hold on to their hard hats.
Portland General Electric reports nearly 100,000 customers were without power at 9 a.m. in the three-county metro area. Another 13,000 customers were without power in the county that includes Salem.
Some schools canceled classes or delayed bus routes because of outages and downed trees.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.