Browse All News Articles on Salem-News Page 2316

Inmate Work Crews Support Washington County Woodcutters

The Washington County Jail used a work crew of 6-8 inmates, depending on the day, to buck up the trees and then split and stack the wood.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Washington County Jail inmate workers have been working with the Washington County Woodcutters, Incorporated, an organization that splits and delivers firewood to elderly Washington County residents to heat their homes in winter.

National Average Dips below $2 a Gallon in Time for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving travelers this week will encounter the lowest gas prices since February of 2005.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Thanksgiving travelers will see gas prices that haven't been this low since February of 2005, according to Marie Dodds with Oregon AAA. The national average drops 18 cents this week to $1.88, while Oregon's average plummets 19 cents to $2.03.

Dodds says the return of substantially lower gasoline prices provides some economic relief to drivers at a time when it's sorely needed. Oregon's average is $1.12 lower than it was a year ago, while the national average is $1.20 lower." The national average dipped below $2 a gallon last Friday for the first time since March of 2005, and then fell another dime between then and today.

Beaverton Police Believe Rape Suspect May Have More Victims‏

Anyone with information regarding this investigation or similar incidents is asked to call Detective Viola Valenzuela at 503-350-4010.

(BEAVERTON, Ore.) - Beaverton Police detectives investigating a rape and sodomy case, say their work led to a Washington County Grand Jury indictment against 21-year old Silvestre Cervantes-Avila. He is alleged to have attacked a 19-year old female victim.

Beaverton PD Detective Pam Yazzolino, says the incident occurred on November 10th 2008 at approximately 4:30 AM when the suspect took the 19-year old victim to his Beaverton apartment and forcibly raped and sodomized her at gun point.

"The name the suspect gave to his victim was "Martin" and the gun used was a black, semi-automatic with white pearlized handles. After threatening and abusing his victim Cervantes-Avila let her go but made a point of keeping her underwear."

A Call for a National Economic Recovery Act

The first thing that President-elect Obama should do is to begin to restore the confidence of the American people by demonstrating that he is willing to put the economy back on the right track.

(BERKLEY, Calif.) - Arthur Blaustein was chairman of the President's National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity during the Carter Administration.

Salem Downtown: Shut Off Your Gas!

Leak causes gas mains to be shut off to Salem Downtown until further notice.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Salem Fire Department responded to a large gas leak at the corner of Cottage and Court Streets at 1:44 PM, where the YMCA is located. Gas mains have been shut off to a large area of the downtown area.

The community needs to shut down their gas appliances and restart them after the gas has been turned back on, which is unknown at this time, according to fire officials.

Newspaper Publishes Iraq War Photographer`s Story

Meet a war photographer with a real artistic flair.

(EUGENE, Ore.) - The story of a freelance photographer that I traveled to Iraq with recently is now published in the Eugene Register Guard Newspaper. Justin King had never been in the military, nor had he spent time in a war theater, but this Eugene resident known throughout the world for his guitar skills, showed us all that he had exactly what it takes to shoot amazing images under less than ideal conditions.

Justin spent time with a number of units under the Army's 101st Airborne attached to the air base at Balad known as Camp Anaconda. He traveled to Baghdad as well, spending part of a day learning the history of some of the city's sites that many people are familiar with, through television coverage of the war.

Justin's guitar work is world famous, though you could spend days with him and not even know he plays. In the war zone Justin was a photographer, that is unless people recognized him; then he was a guitar virtuoso again.

Veterans Call First Military Execution Approved in 50 Years Illegal

Veterans advocates say a signature from George W. Bush cleared the way for an illegal execution.

(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) - A group of veterans advocates say the federal decision to execute a soldier for crimes he committed two decades ago is illegal, and would in fact constitute Murder, one of the crimes Private Ronald A. Gray was convicted of committing.

It would be the first military execution in almost fifty years. The last execution took place in 1961 when a soldier was hanged for raping and attempting to kill an 11-year old Austrian girl. President Eisenhower approved that execution.

The announcement that Gray would receive a lethal injection came on July 28th 2008, after George W. Bush approved his death sentence. The President was known for an enthusiastic approach to capital punishment as the governor of Texas, when he insisted that mentally retarded criminals would be executed alongside sane and mentally competent convicts.

Change Is A’Comin’

If Obama were truly interested in “creating jobs” he would cut taxes and spending and abolish regulations that hogtie our productive capacity.

(CHEYENNE, Wyoming) - Millions of Americans have voted for Barack Obama to “fix” our economy and are breathlessly awaiting his inauguration so that he can implement his plans to “Get America back to work.” Are those voters ever in for a surprise.

In a Nov. 22nd radio address, Obama stated that “We are facing an economic crisis of historical proportions” (true enough) and that “We must do more to put our people back to work and get our economy moving again.”

How does our new president-to-be intend to achieve this result? Obama declared that “I have already directed my economic team to come up with an Economic Recovery Plan that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011,” and that “We’ll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms, solar panels, fuel-efficient cars and alternative energy technologies…”

Marine Veterans Lead Petition Drive

El Toro Marine Air Station veterans are collecting signatures for a petition to President Elect Obama and Congress to require the DOD to notify Marine and Navy veterans of El Toro and other military bases on the EPA Superfund list of the risks of exposure and health effects to contaminants. Please help the Marines by signing the Petition.

(SOMERDALE, N.J.) - The Defense Department has 1,400 military sites contaminated with trichlorothylene (TCE). Of the 1,255 EPA Superfund sites, the Pentagon owns 129, the most of any entity.

Missing Sixteen Year Old Female Located in Rhododendron

The girl was located in Rhododendron and taken into protective custody until her mother arrived.

(TIGARD, Ore.) - Police say a tip from a citizen in Rhododendron late this afternoon ultimately resulted in locating sixteen-year old Maelissa Larson of Tigard.

The girl was reported missing on Saturday after her mother discovered she left her home along with her teenage sister.

Late Saturday night it was reported that the girls got separated near Sandy, Oregon. The sister was picked up by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and returned to her family.