AP Regional News

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) – Oregon State Police say a California man and an injured pedestrian he stopped to help along an Oregon highway have suffered serious injuries after they were struck by a drunk driver. Police have arrested 20-year-old Chet Newell, of Klamath Falls, on  investigation of assault, drunk driving and other charges.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – An Eagle Point man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after he admitted to a violent home invasion robbery in August. The Mail Tribune reports Pete Alvarado pleaded guilty yesterday in Jackson County Circuit Court to two counts of second-degree robbery.

RAINIER, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon Medical Examiner Office says the death of a woman whose body was found in her car over the weekend has been ruled accidental. Searchers last saw the 19-year-old Rainier-area woman on Nov. 13 and labeled her disappearance highly suspicious. Dr. Christopher Young tells the Longview that Nichole Sherman died of injuries to her head.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Gov. John Kitzhaber’s natural resources policy director says while the state can’t replace recently expired federal timber payments to some Oregon counties, it is working to determine other ways it can help the cash-strapped region. Richard Whitman says the Legislature might consider changes to state law to make it easier for counties to merge or share resources. Leaders from the counties dependent on the lapsed payments met with Kitzhaber yesterday.

 SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A man accused of killing another man during a bar fight in West Salem has been found not guilty of murder by a Polk County judge. The Statesman Journal says family members hugged Brent Phillips as he was released from Polk County jail yesterday afternoon. Judge William Horner ruled Phillips was acting in self-defense when he killed Christopher Lindsay. Phillips was accused of cutting Lindsay’s throat outside The Fifty Pub & Grub on Jan. 24. Friends of Lindsay sobbed outside the courthouse.

TONASKET, Wash. (AP) – Authorities say a British Columbia man drove about 225 miles after his 75-year-old wife died in the car next to him, uncertain whether he could cross the Canadian border with her. Tonasket police say the 71-year-old man didn’t know what to do, so he kept driving. The man was vacationing in Oregon when his wife began suffering a medical condition. They were trying to get home to Oliver, B.C., but she died near Pasco, Wash.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Wesley Matthews scored 17 points in 23 minutes as the Portland Trail Blazers built an early lead and beat the Utah Jazz 110-90 in the teams’ preseason opener last night. Nicolas Batum started in place of LaMarcus Aldridge and had 13 points in 22 minutes and the Blazers led by as many as 24 points. The Blazers head to Utah tomorrow night for the second exhibition, the only warm-up games before the start of the lockout-shortened regular season.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Paul Allen is emphatic: He has no plans to sell the Portland Trail Blazers. In a rare and wide-ranging discussion with reporters last night, the Blazers’ billionaire owner shot down recent talk that he is planning to sell the team in the near future. He would not, however, say how long he will keep the Blazers. He says numerous factors would play into that decision, including his health. The Trail Blazers opened the preseason last night with a 110-90 win over the Utah Jazz.