AP-OR–2nd Right Now/1149
WILDFIRE OUTLOOK-PREPARATIONS
US wildfire-fighters making plans for 2016 season
The nation’s primary wildfire-fighters are getting ready for the 2016 season, which is expected to be worse than average in Hawaii, Alaska and the Southwest.
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will meet with regional forest officials Tuesday to discuss plans and preparations. The Forest Service is part of the Agriculture Department.
Last year, wildfires burned a record 15,800 square miles nationwide. Seven Forest Service firefighters died.
Forecasters said earlier this month the potential for significant fires this season will be average or below-average in most of the nation, but dry conditions could make thing worse in some regions.
The Forest Service spent more than $1.7 billion on firefighting last summer. Officials say fires are eating up a growing share of the agency’s overall budget.
ELECTION-OREGON PRIMARY
Sanders relying on Oregon to help keep campaign alive
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is banking on his strong base of progressive Oregonian supporters in Tuesday’s primary in his hopes of beating the odds and taking his campaign all the way to the Democratic National Convention.
Speaking from a car in Puerto Rico, where the Democratic primary is early next month, Sanders told The Associated Press on Monday a strong turnout will mean a win for his campaign in Oregon, self-proclaimed Sanders country.
Sanders emphasized the role the state plays in his long-shot attempt at claiming the Democratic nomination through a brokered convention in July. He’s held three Oregon rallies since last month. Front-runner Hillary Clinton — who suffered a big primary loss in Oregon against President Barack Obama in 2008 — sent Bill Clinton twice but has not visited herself. She spent Monday campaigning in Kentucky, where the primary is also Tuesday.
ROSEBURG SHOOTING-FEDERAL GRANT
Oregon college awarded grant for recovery from mass shooting
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Umpqua Community College will receive nearly $530,000 in federal money to help it recover from a mass shooting on campus last fall.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that state lawmakers announced the U.S. Department of Education award Monday. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Rep. Peter DeFazio said in a news release the money would help the school cover costs related to the Oct. 1 shooting in Roseburg that left 10 dead, including the shooter, and nine injured.
Plans for the grant include funding a student support and wellness director, a recovery advising specialty, a mental health therapist and additional security personnel.
The money is being provided through the federal School Emergency Response to Violence grant program, which awards money to schools affected by violence or trauma.
___
ELECTION-OREGON-BOTTLED WATER
Columbia Gorge is stage for hot dispute in Tuesday primary
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — One of the hottest issues in Oregon’s Tuesday primary is a battle over bottled water that is playing out in the scenic Columbia River Gorge.
Residents of Hood River County are voting on a ballot measure that would block Nestle from building a bottled water plant in Cascade Locks.
Town leaders and many of the residents support the idea because it would create jobs that are badly needed in the economically struggling town. But Nestle’s plan has drawn opposition from orchard owners, Native American tribes and some residents.
ELECTION-OREGON-MARIJUANA
2 Oregon counties ponder pot production, sales in primary
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two Oregon counties might rescind bans on marijuana production and sales — which are allowed by state law — during Oregon’s primary election Tuesday.
The ballot measures are taking place in Klamath and Grant counties. Grant County Judge Scott Myers noted that the proponents of the measure named it 12-58, the same radio call sign used by some law enforcement bodies for narcotics activity.
Myers said last week that he’d be more than surprised if it passes in the largely conservative county in eastern Oregon.
Shortly after Oregon voters decided to legalize marijuana, the state allowed cities and counties to ban marijuana production and sales where at least 55 percent of voters opposed legalization. Over 100 cities and counties have since “opted out,” according to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
FATAL CRASH-COTTAGE GROVE
Cottage Grove teen killed in crash on Highway 99
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after a teenager was killed in a two-vehicle collision near Cottage Grove.
The Register-Guard reports that rescue crews had responded to the crash site on Highway 99 on Monday. They arrived to find 18-year-old Connor Fitch, of Cottage Grove, suffering from serious injuries. He was taken to a hospital and later died.
The other driver, 25-year-old Bryan Ross, of Eugene, was not injured.
Police say Fitch had been heading north on the highway in a Subaru wagon when he veered off the east shoulder and crossed into the southbound lane. Ross, who was driving a commercial van, then struck Fitch’s vehicle on the rear passenger side.
___
WILDFIRE REHAB
Feds taking comments on fire break plan in Idaho, Oregon
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials are taking public comments on a plan to build about 400 miles of fire breaks in southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon following last year’s massive wildfire in the area.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says some of the fire breaks that follow road corridors have already been built on an emergency basis.
The agency is considering the environmental effects of creating more fuel breaks using mechanical and chemical treatments, plantings and targeted grazing.
The project is part of a $67 million rehabilitation effort following a wildfire last year that scorched 436 square miles of sagebrush steppe that supports cattle grazing and some 350 species of wildlife, including sage grouse.
Comments are being taken through May 27.
PRIMARY-SANDERS
Bernie Sanders hoping for high voter turnout to win Oregon
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders says he’s hoping for “a very large voter turnout” in Oregon this week to secure a win against Hillary Clinton in the state’s primary election.
Sanders told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Saturday that his agenda is one that Oregon residents “feel comfortable with” living in “one of the most progressive states” in the U.S.
The Vermont senator has not yet won in a state with a closed primary like Oregon’s, where only voters who are registered as Democrats or Republicans can pick a presidential nominee on their ballot.
But Sanders says “if voter turnout is high, we will win.”
In Oregon, roughly 160,000 voters proactively took steps this year to make themselves eligible to cast a presidential ballot during the closed primary on Tuesday.
___
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
