Date: 08/08/2014 03:59 AM
AP-OR–1st NewsMinute/260
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – The University of Oregon’s governing board has appointed Provost Scott Coltrane to lead the school on an interim basis after President Michael Gottfredson’s abrupt resignation. The board approved the decision unanimously yesterday. Yesterday’s meeting was the first since the university’s new governing board gained the power last month to hire and fire the president.
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) – Some residents of the 275 homes evacuated in the path of a wind-driven wildfire in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge have been allowed to return. Fire spokeswoman Tina O’Donnell said that the danger to the community of Rowena about 75 miles east of Portland had eased and structural fire teams were cutting brush and trees to create safe zones around homes.
BEND, Ore. (AP) – A judge has rejected the self-defense claim of a Bend man convicted of killing a houseguest after a drunken Super Bowl Sunday and sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The Bend Bulletin reports that attorneys for 33-year-old Luke Wirkkala argued he should have the possibility of parole after five or 10 years. Oregon law calls for the possibility of parole in first-degree murder cases.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A light-rail commuter train has struck and killed a man in northeast Portland. The Oregonian reports that a witness said it appeared the man staggered, stumbled and tripped on the tracks yesterday morning before the train knocked him to the side. The pedestrian’s name has not yet been released.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
