Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Smokers will note the tax on cigarettes in Oregon goes up 13 cents on Jan. 1. In a special session last fall, state lawmakers decided to raise the cigarette tax to $1.31 a pack. The money supports the Oregon Health Plan and general fund. Portions are dedicated to cities, counties, transit and programs for mental health and to reduce tobacco use.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police say one person is dead after a crash about 3 a.m. today in southwest Portland. A vehicle hit a tree, and a passenger was ejected and killed. The driver was trapped and had to be removed by Portland Fire and Rescue. The driver was taken to a hospital with traumatic injuries.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Officials say a fire that destroyed a barn on Christmas Day was caused by someone igniting a lighter inside a fort made of hay bales. The Eugene Register-Guard reports that the fire southwest of Eugene caused an estimated $80,000 in damage. Fire officials say a young man had ignited the lighter in order to see while inside the fort that had been set up in the barn. The bales caught fire, and the flames spread.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 10 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers held on for a 116-112 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers last night. Aldridge wasn’t even sure he was going to play against the Clippers because he had his wisdom teeth removed on Sunday. He still had pain before the game, and not much to eat. But he played anyway, and the Blazers won their seventh of the last eight.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
