MEGABUCKS JACKPOT WINNERS
Salem couple wins $6.8 million jackpot
(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A Salem couple has won $6.8 million in the Oregon Lottery’s Megabucks Jackpot.
The Statesman Journal reports that Angela and Brian Feiring won the jackpot Saturday after purchasing a lottery ticket at a south Salem gas station. Lottery officials say the Feirings opted for the lump sum cash payment and took home about $2.2 million after taxes.
Angela Feiring says the numbers they chose for their winning quick-pick ticket included their daughter’s birth date.
The Shell gas station will receive a 1 percent selling bonus of $68,000.
The couple has become the Oregon Lottery’s 257th Megabucks millionaires.
Officials say the lottery has put more than $11 billion toward economic development, watershed development, public education and state parks.
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CYBERBULLYING-OFFICERS
Chicago woman claims she was cyberbullied by Oregon officers
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says authorities are investigating a Chicago woman’s claim that she was bullied on Facebook by a sheriff’s sergeant.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Sheriff Jason Myers says in a statement that an investigation has begun into whether Sgt. James Coleman violated sheriff’s office policy.
Liz McArthur claims she was cyberbullied by both Coleman and Salem police Officer Chad Galusha after she posted on Facebook that she planned to take part in a women’s march in Washington, D.C. to protest the election of Donald Trump.
Coleman and Galusha didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment by KATU-TV.
Salem police spokesman Lt. Steve Birr says Galusha didn’t do anything “that isn’t protected First Amendment speech” and that his actions were representative of the police department.
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ELK POACHED-CHARGES
3 elk poaching suspects face charges in Union County
(Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com)
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) – Three Union County residents have been charged with poaching two bull elk, including one man who remains at large.
The East Oregonian reports authorities said Tuesday they were able to identify the three suspects with help from community members. Oregon State Police had asked for the public’s help in finding those responsible for the killing of the large elk on Nov. 16.
Nathan Crouch, Dylan Crouch and Brianna Black, all of Elgin, face misdemeanor charges of aiding in a game violation.
Authorities say they’re still looking for Nathan Crouch, who may have fled the state. He faces additional charges of hunting on closed land, unlawful taking of a bull elk and other crimes.
State police say the wanted suspect also poached a large bull elk a few years ago.
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FOSTER CARE SETTLEMENT
Oregon agrees not to put foster kids in hotels or offices
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – In a settlement of a lawsuit, the Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed not to house foster children in hotels or its offices unless it is an emergency.
In September, lawyers for foster children filed a class action lawsuit alleging DHS broke the law by failing to find them appropriate housing. In the suit, attorneys described the practice of housing kids in hotels, offices, hospitals – and a jail, in one extreme case.
The Salem Statesman Journal reported on Tuesday that the settlement was reached between the agency and lawyers for foster children on Nov. 17 and announced on Tuesday.
A joint statement from DHS and Youth, Rights & Justice said the settlement stipulates DHS won’t place children in jails without charge or hospitals without a medical reason.
SEATTLE HOME PRICES
Seattle area home prices surge – biggest growth in US
SEATTLE (AP) – The Seattle area has the hottest housing market in the country – the first time in nine years that Seattle has led the United States in home-price growth.
The Seattle Times reports the typical single-family home across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties cost 11 percent more in September than a year prior, according to the monthly Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday. That marked the biggest increase among the 20 major metro areas covered.
Seattle narrowly topped Portland, where home values gained 10.9 percent. For the prior eight months, Seattle had seen its home-price growth sit second in the country behind Portland.
Overall, Seattle prices are rising twice as fast as the rest of the country, as they have for most of this year.
FATAL HIT-AND-RUN
21-year-old sent to prison for fatal Portland hit-and-run
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A 21-year-old man who fatally struck a pedestrian with his car in Portland and then drove away has been sentenced to one year in prison.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Frederick James Ryerson Jr. was sentenced Monday after pleading no contest to hit-and-run driving and driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Ryerson had been driving his Honda Civic in September 2015 when he hit 34-year-old Christopher Brian Chandler, who later died at a hospital.
Police had tracked Ryerson down after a friend of Chandler’s spotted the Honda with noticeable damage parked on a street near the crash site.
Ryerson admitted that he hit Chandler but said at the time he hadn’t realized he struck a person.
Ryerson apologized in court Monday.
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LONGSHOREMAN’S DEATH-CITATION
OSHA cites company after longshoreman dies at Longview dock
SEATTLE (AP) – Federal regulators say simple safety measures could have kept a dockworker from falling to his death aboard a cargo ship in Longview last June.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday cited the dockworker’s employer, SSA Pacific, for what it described as willful safety violations aboard the Forest Trader. The agency proposed a fine of just under $125,000, and noted that it has cited SSA Pacific or its parent company, SSA Marine, for similar violations in Florida and Oregon in the past three years.
Longshoreman Jim Meadows died after falling 10 feet onto the ship’s metal deck while helping load timber at a Weyerhaeuser Co. dock. OSHA inspectors said the company failed to install netting or temporary platforms to protect workers from falls even after Meadows’ death.
A spokeswoman for SSA Marine said the company did not have an immediate comment. The company has 15 days to contest the citation.
STATE OFFICIAL-GIFTS
Oregon says former board director accepted gifts
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon officials say the executive director of the Oregon Educators Benefits Board accepted pricey meals and gifts from insurance and consulting firms during his eight months on the job.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the board director, James Raussen, was placed on paid leave in September and resigned earlier this month.
The Oregon Health Authority released documents Monday in response to a public records request by the Oregonian/OregonLive and other media outlets. Some of the documents say Raussen went out of his way in state vehicles to attend wine tastings in Hood River and Walla Walla, then inaccurately told officials he had paid his own way.
Raussen could not be reached for comment.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
