SPACE HEATER-GIRL BURNED
Junction City teen burned by propane heater
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – A 14-year-old girl is recovering from third-degree burns after a propane space heater caused her to catch fire in the garage of her Junction City home.
The Register-Guard reports Delanie Shelton remains at a Portland hospital after suffering burns on her neck, back and right arm on Dec. 8.
Shelton’s mother, Jennifer Ray, says her daughter had been standing next to the space heater to keep warm when it sparked a flame that caught onto her jacket. Ray says she jumped on the teen and rolled her around on the ground to put the flames out.
Ray then drove her daughter toward a hospital but was stopped by police for speeding. The officer saw what happened to the girl and called for an ambulance that took her to the hospital.
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POWER PLANT FIRE
Fire breaks out at White City power plant
(Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/)
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Officials are investigating a blaze at a wood debris-fired power plant in White City that forced an evacuation of the facility.
The Mail Tribune reports the fire broke out at Biomass One on Wednesday. Fire crews were able to guide employees to safety and no injuries were reported.
Jackson County Fire District 3 spokeswoman Ashley Lara says the flames were confined to a section on the second floor of the concrete building, which is equipped with a gaseous fire-suppression system.
Lara says the power plant is still operational except for in the damaged section of the facility.
Investigators and Biomass One staff are working to determine the cause of the fire.
According to its website, the 30-megwatt power plant burns about 335,000 tons of wood and debris annually.
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NATURAL GAS-IDAHO
Idaho homeowners fight Texas company over natural gas well
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – A group of southwestern Idaho homeowners who say their mineral rights are being taken away is fighting a Texas company that is asking Idaho officials to settle the matter so a natural gas well can be drilled.
An attorney representing five homeowners in a subdivision near Fruitland told Idaho Department of Lands officials Wednesday that the amount of money the homeowners will receive if Houston-based Alta Mesa puts in a well is a bad deal for the homeowners.
The process for such impasses is called integration, and in Idaho can begin when owners with at least 55 percent of the mineral rights agree to lease.
Alta Mesa says it has leases for at least 66 percent in the proposed 640-acre area.
The hearing was extended into Thursday, with a decision by state officials required within a month.
TRUMP-PUBLIC LANDS
Conservatives seek ally in Trump in Western land disputes
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Conservatives who have long complained about the government’s control of vast Western lands hope they will have a new ally in Donald Trump.
The president-elect has sent mixed signals about how he might manage land and whether he would relinquish federal authority over millions of acres.
He has pledged to honor Theodore Roosevelt’s tradition of conservation in the West. But he has also said he will “unleash” energy production there and has railed against bureaucrats in land-management agencies.
Dozens of demands for land handovers have surfaced in Western state legislatures in recent years. More are sure to be offered in Congress during the Trump administration.
Karla Jones works for the American Legislative Exchange Council, which develops bills for conservative lawmakers. She says many conservatives see this as a “rare opportunity.”
BAKER BABY DEATH
Oregon mom charged in infant son’s co-sleeping death
BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) – Manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges have been filed against a Baker City woman whose 5-week-old son died in September while the two were co-sleeping.
Court records show Beth Speelman was also charged with possession of methamphetamine. She was arraigned Tuesday and a plea hearing has been set for January 5. Speelman remains behind bars with bail set at more than $200,000.
At least six Baker County babies have died from positional asphyxiation linked to co-sleeping since 2009, though this is the first to result in criminal charges. Generally, arrests in such cases only occur when authorities believe the parent of the child was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The Baker City Herald reports that a billboard in town warns parents about the dangers of co-sleeping and free cribs are given to Baker County parents who can’t afford one.
OAKRIDGE QUARRY
Lane County board gives preliminary OK to Oakridge quarry
(Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Lane County commissioners have tentatively approved a rock quarry near Oakridge.
The Register-Guard reports that 30 opponents watched the board’s discussion Tuesday, following a rally in downtown Eugene.
Local winery owner Ed King proposed the quarry in an area known as “TV Butte.” It’s estimated to hold as much as 17 million tons of high-quality rock that could be crushed into gravel for road construction.
Though voting in favor of the quarry, the commissioners moved to add operating conditions, including periodic noise monitoring, regular watering of access roads to limit dust pollution, and requiring the use lower-emission diesel trucks.
Left unaddressed was concern about the possibility of Native American artifacts and burial sites on the hillside. A firm hired by King found no indication of potentially significant archaeological sites, but opponents say the study wasn’t thorough.
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CRASH-SURVIVING KITTEN
Kitten survives car crash, fends for self before being found
(Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com)
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) – A gray housecat named Cleo is finally going home after surviving a car crash and fending for herself in unfamiliar country for two weeks.
The East Oregonian reports that the 7-month-old kitten ran off after her family was involved in a car crash while moving from Utah to Washington. Amanda Egan says a tire blew on her van during the Nov. 28 trip, causing it to swerve, roll and land on its top
Egan and her three children were not hurt, aside from scratches and bruises.
The family’s Chihuahua-pug mix ran into traffic and was killed.
Cleo could not be found and was assumed dead – until a Pendleton resident called and reported finding the kitten in her barn. Robin Harris noticed the snuggly cat’s collar and quickly got in touch with Egan.
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OCHOCO-OFF-ROAD VEHICLES
Interest groups still don’t agree on Ochoco trail plan
(Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com)
BEND, Ore. (AP) – Government agencies and environmental, hunting, horse and off-road vehicle groups are still at odds over proposed trails in an Oregon forest.
The Bulletin reports that people attending a Tuesday meeting in Prineville found fault with the U.S. Forest Service’s draft decision, which calls for 137 miles of trails for summer off-highway vehicle use at Ochoco National Forest.
Off-highway vehicle advocates say they’d like to see trails that are accessible to more vehicle types.
The agency says it used the most recent data available to predict elk calving areas, but several people, including hunters and a state biologist, argue that the Forest Service’s analysis is flawed and could displace elk.
Forest Service officials will respond to the latest objections by late January. After that, the Ochoco Forest supervisor can approve, modify or reject the draft decision.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
