1st Oregon News Minute from the AP

AP-OR–1st NewsMinute,381
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

TALENT, Ore. (AP) – The police chief in the southern Oregon town
of Talent says a young woman’s quick cell phone call may have saved
her when she was attacked near a park. Chief Mike Moran says the
18-year-old woman had her cell phone in her hand as she walked back
from meeting a friend on Oct. 13. When a man quickly appeared and
grabbed her by the neck, she managed to hit a speed-dial button
that connected her with the friend. The chief says the friend’s
voice seemed to scare off the attacker, but officers later arrested
Stephen Shinske of Talent.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) – A Southern Oregon man is being held
after he was stopped leaving a football game and authorities say a
subsequent search of his house and car turned up military rifles,
bullets and a book about a sniper killing people at a sporting
event. Raphael Enrique Amoroso was arrested Oct. 7 on a charge of
driving under the influence after leaving a high school football
game in Grants Pass. Federal authorities have asked that he be held
without bail while they investigate firearms charges. The
27-year-old Amoroso hasn’t been indicted.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Marion County plans to release 56 low-risk
offenders and close part of the county jail in what Sheriff Jason
Myers says is a response to a cut in state funds. Thomas Bergin of
Clatsop County, president of the statewide sheriffs association,
says other counties are going to face similar problems. In Lane
County, the jail size was cut by 84 beds earlier this year to help
balance the budget. The Salem Statesman Journal says the Marion
County move will mean eliminating five vacant corrections officer
positions. Some other deputies will be reassigned.

RAINIER, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon Transportation Department says a
section of U.S. Highway 30 will be dedicated to a Rainier police
chief shot and killed in January. Transportation spokeswoman
Kimberly Dinwiddie tells KGW that the “Chief Ralph Painter
Memorial Highway” will stretch from milepost 30, in St. Helens, to
milepost 48, in Rainier. A new state law allows such memorials.
Rainier Mayor Jerry Cole is scheduled to preside at a dedication
ceremony Monday. Daniel Butts of Kalama, Wash., is charged with
aggravated murder in Painter’s Jan. 5 shooting.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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