Date: 07/16/2014 04:00 AM
AP-OR–1st NewsMinute/321
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Authorities in Medford, Oregon, say they’re growing increasingly worried about a string of fires that may be the work of an arsonist. The Medford Mail Tribune reports that police say 13 suspicious fires over the past three weeks may have started with the June 25 blaze that leveled a former fruit-packing plant downtown. While that fire hasn’t yet been ruled an arson, police say there are too many similarities between it and a dozen other fires to ignore.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon’s timber harvest topped 4 billion board feet for the first time since 2006. The state Department of Forestry said yesterday that the harvest has risen four consecutive years since the recession low of 2.7 billion board feet in 2009. The 4.2 billion board feet harvested in 2013 represents a 12 percent increase from the year before. The agency says the increase can be chalked up to a strong export market and a domestic recovery tied to housing.
SHERWOOD, Ore. (AP) – Police in the Portland suburb of Sherwood say they found two small children wandering outside unattended in 90-degree heat when they responded to a call. The 3-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl were being watched Monday evening by other residents in the area. Officers say the children were partially dressed and unkempt. Police say the children’s mother was found passed out in a nearby home.
MANTECA, Calif. (AP) – Authorities in California have arrested two men on suspicion of stealing three Volkswagen minibuses that were customized to look like bright orange Tillamook cheese blocks. Manteca police said Brian Lancaster and Ryan Monaco of Sacramento were pulled over yesterday and taken into custody. The minibuses, worth $100,000 each, were stolen Saturday from a hotel parking lot in Manteca, where they had stopped on a tour promoting the Oregon-based Tillamook County Creamery Association’s dairy products.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
