TEEN-CUSTOM SOCKS
Oregon teen sells $1 million in custom socks
(Information from: KATU-TV, http://www.katu.com/)
SHERWOOD, Ore. (AP) — Seventeen-year-old Oregon resident Brennan Agranoff spends his days going to school, doing chores and running his custom-design sock business.
Television station KATU reports that it’s no simple hobby: Agranoff is the founder and CEO of HoopSwagg, and he has already sold $1 million in custom socks.
Agranoff gets about 100 new sock orders every day for the more than 500 designs that he comes up with himself. He’s produced socks based on the Portland Airport carpet, socks with a galaxy theme and even socks printed with pictures of the goats his family owns.
His dad, Brian Agranoff, invested in the business and says parents should never underestimate the power kids have to do something cool.
Brennon Agranoff plans to graduate from high school early and work for his company full-time for a bit before pursuing college.
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CHURCH GRAFFITI
Portland police investigate reports of hateful graffiti
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Detectives with the Portland Police Department’s bias crime unit are investigating after someone painted graffiti at a church and school.
The police didn’t disclose the details of what the graffiti said or depicted, but described it as “hate graffiti.”
Some called police to report the graffiti at Trinity Lutheran Church and School on Saturday morning. Officials are asking anyone with information about the incident or surveillance video to please let them know.
VA FACILITY-TREATMENT SHIFT
VA facility cuts beds, focuses on rehab and reintegration
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Local Veterans Affairs officials have had their hands full for the past year, changing the culture of the Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics from a home for aging soldiers to a mental health and substance abuse treatment facility.
The change was mandated by new federal regulations, and already the officials have seen progress.
The Mail Tribune , a Medford newspaper, reports that between March 2016 and March 2017 the facility’s graduation rate has jumped from 55 percent to 80 percent. Michael Weld, the chief of residential care, says that’s thanks in part to new evidence-based practices and treatment programs.
The Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics is the last of the large residential VA facilities to undergo a residential redesign. In September the facility reduced the number of beds from 525 to 366. Still, VA officials say they expect to serve as many as 150 more veterans in the coming year than previously because they have improved the admission process and made other changes.
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COWLITZ TRIBE CASINO
After years of work, Cowlitz Tribe opens casino this week
(Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com)
SEATTLE (AP) — The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is opening its new $510 million casino this week, an effort years in the making.
While Cowlitz officials hope the complex will draw some 4.5 million visitors, providing an economic boon to the tribe and the region, others are not so optimistic.
The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde own the Spirit Mountain Casino in Oregon’s Coast Range, and they fear Spirit Mountain could lose 41 percent of its revenue when the Cowlitz casino opens Monday near La Center, Washington.
Cowlitz Tribal Chairman William Iyall told the Seattle Times that opening day marks a triumphant moment for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and signifies the end of a 160-year journey back to the tribe’s homeland.
The tribe refused in 1855 to sign a treaty and move into a proposed reservation site. It took decades of campaigning to persuade the federal Interior Department in 2000 to grant the Cowlitz legal status as a tribe.
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SEX ABUSE SENTENCE
Eugene man sentenced to 25 years in prison for abusing girl
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A western Oregon man who sexually abused a girl for about eight years has been sentenced to 25 years in prison with no chance of parole.
The Register-Guard reports that 47-year-old Gary Linn Evans received the sentence Friday in Lane County Circuit Court.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree sodomy, and counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and first-degree rape.
Evans technically remains a Eugene parking enforcement officer, but a city spokeswoman says he’s on unpaid leave.
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ECLIPSE GATHERING
Oregon officials approve solar eclipse gathering
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
PRINEVILLE, Ore. (AP) — Central Oregon officials have lifted the attendance cap to 30,000 for a music and arts festival scheduled to coincide with a solar eclipse in August.
The Bulletin reports in a story on Friday that Cook County commissioners approved new event permits for the gathering.
The event is being held from Aug. 17 to Aug. 23 on 200 acres that’s part of a 50,000-acre ranch owned by Craig Woodward within the Ochoco National Forest.
The Aug. 21 solar eclipse will be visible in the U.S. along a narrow path from Oregon to South Carolina.
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ROAD RAGE ROLLOVER
Police: Idaho road-rage incident injures Oregon couple
(Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com)
BURLEY, Idaho (AP) — A Utah man authorities say caused an Oregon couple’s vehicle to roll three times in southern Idaho in a road-rage incident and then tried to get at the injured couple in the vehicle has been taken into custody.
The Times-News reports in a story on Saturday that 27-year-old Marco Antonio Garcia-Garcia of Salt Lake City is being held in the Cassia County Jail on $500,000 bond.
He is charged with two counts of aggravated battery.
Police say Garcia-Garcia rammed his Toyota Camry into the couple’s Toyota Highlander on Interstate 84 at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday.
Court documents say the Oregon couple was taken to a local hospital to be treated for cuts, bruises and concussions.
Garcia-Garcia is scheduled to appear in court on May 4.
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FATAL PARK SHOOTING-PORTLAND
Third suspect arrested following killing at Portland park
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police have arrested a third suspect following the shooting death of a high school student in an Oregon park.
Police in Portland arrested 19-year-old Miguel Thompson on Friday evening near a shopping mall.
He’s being held in the Multnomah County Jail and faces charges of first-degree murder and robbery.
Police say Thompson and two other teenagers on April 11 killed 17-year-old Shawn Scott Jr. near a busy light-rail stop and a shopping mall.
Scott died from a single gunshot wound to the head. He was a junior at Union High School in Vancouver, Washington, a few miles north of Portland.
Eighteen-year-old Kole Jones of Gresham is in custody and charged with murder, first-degree robbery and unlawful use of a vehicle.
A 17-year-old boy charged with first-degree robbery says they wanted to steal the victim’s belt.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.