Latest Oregon news, sports, business and entertainment

 

PORTLAND POLLUTION

Portland glass factory installs pollution controls

(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Portland glass-making company that drew ire after poisonous heavy metal hot-spots were discovered in the city is back to full operation after installing new pollution controls.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Bullseye Glass is back to making enough stained glass to meet customer demand for the first time in months.

State regulators announced in February they discovered hazardous levels of cadmium and arsenic in the air near Bullseye. The business is the target of lawsuits alleging that it was negligent and reckless in burning heavy metals in furnaces that lacked pollution controls.

Jim Jones, Bullseye’s vice president, says Bullseye installed a device known as a baghouse, which filters and controls emissions of toxic metals, last month. Bullseye won’t have to test the air coming out of the baghouse for pollutants until early next year, but state officials say they’re confident the baghouse works.

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FUGITIVE-WIFE CHARGED

Wife charged with helping Tacoma shooting suspect flee state

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Authorities have charged the wife of a Tacoma shooting suspect with helping him flee to Oregon.

The News Tribune reports that 51-year-old Tracey Tamara Norris was charged Friday with first-degree rendering criminal assistance. A not-guilty plea was entered on her behalf at arraignment.

Investigators are trying to find her husband, 50-year-old Yancy Ray, who is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Hyson Sabb on Sept. 3.

Detectives say they questioned Norris, and she told them she took her husband to Kent, but she couldn’t remember exactly where. They say she admitted being in Portland two days after the shooting, but that she claimed she was visiting relatives without him.

According to court documents, detectives found an eyeglasses receipt from a Portland store when they searched her house. They say Ray had left glasses behind at the shooting scene, and surveillance video from the store showed the couple together.

The FBI announced Friday that Ray might be staying in the Portland area.

BLUEBERRY HARVEST

Oregon blueberry yield expected to set new record

(Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com)

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Blueberry Commission estimates a record-setting 100 million pounds of commercial blueberries have been harvested across the state this summer.

The Statesman Journal reports the count hasn’t yet been finalized, but the estimate puts this year’s harvest about 4 percent higher than in 2015.

Many Oregon blueberry growers started earlier this year, around May or June, and finished the growing season a couple weeks early with higher yields.

The commission’s Brian Ostlund attributes the higher yields to plants reaching maturity. It takes blueberries three to four years to produce fruit.

Growers also experienced milder summer temperatures compared to last year, when several counties were under drought declarations.

The commission anticipates continued growth and is looking to expand into new international markets in China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

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ESTACADA FATAL SHOOTING

Authorities investigating Estacada homicide

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a 39-year-old Portland man.

Clackamas County sheriff’s deputies had responded to a disturbance call at an Estacada home Saturday morning. They found 39-year-old Dominick James Perry suffering from life-threatening injuries.

He was taken to a hospital and later died.

The sheriff’s office says Perry died from a single gunshot wound and that his death has been ruled a homicide. The shooting is considered an isolated incident.

Authorities are searching for a white 1996 Ford F-150 pickup truck with Oregon license plate 902AJZ. They are asking anyone who sees the vehicle to call 911 and not approach it.

COLUMBIA RIVER SEARCH

Coast Guard ends active search after boat found adrift

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Coast Guard has ended a search of the Columbia River near Portland after a small fishing boat was found adrift with no one on board. But authorities are asking boaters in the area to keep an eye out for signs of a possible victim.

The agency says another boater reported seeing the 16-foot vessel adrift early Sunday morning about a mile east of the Interstate 205 bridge. Fire department boats from Portland, the Port of Portland and Vancouver, Washington, helped retrieve the boat, which had fishing gear, ice, a lifejacket and various personal items.

Petty Officer 1st Class Levi Read (LEE’-vy REED’) says authorities have not confirmed that anyone is in fact missing, but all signs point to that.

The boat is registered to 62-year-old Brian Schmitz of Sandy, Oregon, but authorities aren’t sure if he was the person who took the boat out or if he had loaned it to someone. They were unable to immediately get in touch with Schmitz on Sunday.

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This story has been corrected to show that the boat was discovered Sunday morning, not Saturday.

RESIDENT DETAINS INTRUDER

Man, son detain intruder who tried to bite them

(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man is facing charges after authorities say he entered a home and tried to bite the residents as well as deputies who responded.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the homeowner and his 14-year-old son were holding the 25-year-old man down on Wednesday when a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived and called for backup.

Deputies handcuffed the man after he tried to bite them.

Authorities say the 25-year-old was trying to poke the man and his son with a screwdriver and torch.

The teen used a power grinder to hold the man off.

Both the 14-year-old and his dad were bitten and bruised.

Paramedics sedated the man and he was booked into jail upon his release from the hospital.

Authorities suspect the man was on bath salts or a narcotic.

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EUGENE OFFICER SHOOTING

Eugene Police: 2 officers shoot, injure man

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Two Eugene police officers shot and injured a man while responding to a physical dispute at an apartment early Saturday.

Police Chief Pete Kerns said at a news conference Saturday that the man has been in intensive care at a local hospital but is expected to survive.

The chief says a man called 911 before 1 a.m. to report another man was drunk and hitting his girlfriend. The caller said there were firearms in the apartment.

When officers arrived, they confronted a man outside who was holding a gun and is believed to have called 911.

Kerns said both officers fired and the man struck but he did not provide details about led to the shooting or what happened inside the apartment.

Kerns didn’t say how many shots were fired.

The officers were not injured. They will be placed on administrative leave, as is routine in such cases.

No arrests have been made.

GRANTS PASS SHOOTING

Man dies 2 days after he was shot at home near Grants Pass

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — A 24-year-old man has died at a hospital two days after he was shot at a home near Grants Pass.

Oregon State Police say Michael Hockersmith died Saturday morning.

Ronnette Gideon was arrested Friday on charges of attempted murder, assault and unlawful use of a firearm. The Daily Courier says the 46-year-old woman is the mother of Hockersmith’s estranged wife.

State police say Hockersmith showed up Thursday at the home of Gideon and Richard Weiss, and got into a confrontation with them. Police say she shot Hockersmith.

Police are also investigating arson at the home. Detectives were investigating that afternoon when they heard glass breaking and saw large flames coming from a broken window. Several fire crews tackled the blaze, which damaged the home extensively.

Weiss told the Daily Courier that Gideon’s daughter had been staying at the home to avoid her husband and that Hockersmith had followed her to area from Alaska.

 

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.