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Voters Say NO Salem-Keizer Transit District Levy

The defeat means the district will have to make more cuts to service next year.

(SALEM) - Voters in Marion and Polk counties narrowly defeated the Salem-Keizer Transit Districts $6.8 million levy.

The majority of the levy would have been used to maintain the current level of transit services in Salem and Keizer and restore some of the services reduced this September.

Rumsfeld Steps Down

Rumsfeld, 74, was in his second tour of duty as defense chief.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is resigning after six stormy years at the Pentagon.

President George W. Bush said former CIA head Robert Gates, president of Texas A&M, will replace Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld is the most prominent public advocate of Bush’s global war on terror and is the architect of an unpopular war in Iraq.

His resignation comes in the aftermath of Republican losses in midterm elections that cost them control of the House, and possibly the Senate, as well. Surveys of voters at polling places said opposition to the war was a significant contributor to the Democratic victory.

Bush said he and Rumsfeld agreed that "the timing is right for new leadership" at the Pentagon.

Governor Proclaims November as Prematurity Awareness Month

The March of Dimes is working to increase attention to this growing crisis in Oregon.

(SALEM) - Because premature birth is a growing crisis (up 26 percent in Oregon since 1990), Governor Kulongoski has declared November as Prematurity Awareness Month.

Kelsey Spor of Portland was born 14 weeks premature and weighed just 1 pound, 3 ounces—not much bigger than a can of Coke. Doctors told Kelsey's parents, Charlene and Albert that their daughter would not survive and to begin making arrangements. Today, Kelsey is ten years old, but suffers from several serious health issues related to her premature birth.

Kelsey's story is not unique. In Oregon, one in ten babies is born too soon and premature birth is the leading killer of newborns.

Mt. Angel Man Dies in Highway 22 Crash

Wet pavement and speed may have contributed to the crash.

(DETROIT) - A Mt. Angel-area man died Tuesday evening in a single vehicle crash along

Highway 22 about fourteen miles east of Detroit.

Voters Narrowly Defeat Chemeketa Bond Levy

Chemeketa’s student population has grown 31 percent since the last levy passed in 1996.

(SALEM) - Marion County voters approved an $89 million bond levy, while voters in Linn, Yamhill and Polk counties voted against the levy that would have financed capital construction and improvements to existing buildings at the college.

The estimated levy cost to taxpayers would be 27-cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For a taxpayer with a $150,000 home, the estimated cost would be $40.50 per year.

Searchers Find Body of One Missing Woman, Another Remains Missing

The two women were both last seen wearing light blue hooded rain jackets and gray rain pants.

(LINCOLN CITY) - A search resumed this morning for two women who were reported missing Tuesday after they went for a walk around Glenn Avenue in Gleneden Beach and never returned.

The Depoe Bay Fire Department says they have recovered the body of one of the women.

The search began yesterday for 78-year-old Elma Benefiel, of Beaverton, and her daughter-in-law 61-year-old Jan Benefiel, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, but the women were not found. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Coast Guard and others searched until midnight.

More information will be released once the family has been notified.

Rainy Roads May Be Factor in Fatality

Tragic accidents like this one are mounting during this stormy weather

(DETROIT) - At 5:15 PM Tuesday, Oregon State Police was enroute to a fatal traffic crash on Highway 22, about 14 miles east of Detroit at milepost 66.

The highway was reportedly blocked by this single vehicle accident, apparently with one fatality.

More information will be relayed as it becomes available.

Afghan-Iraqi Freedom Memorial to be Dedicated Nov. 11th

“The Memorial will be a place of healing and reflection for all visitors, especially for families, who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

(SALEM) - The dedication of the Afghan-Iraqi Freedom Memorial, on the grounds of the Oregon Veterans’ Building in Salem, will be held on Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11th at 2:00 PM. Governor Ted Kulongoski will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony. Jim Willis, Director of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Oregon’s Adjutant General, Major General Fred Rees, will also speak.

Planning and fundraising efforts to establish a memorial to honor all Oregon servicemembers who have been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan has been supported by Oregonians from around the state.

Groundbreaking for the Memorial occurred on June 14th, 2005. Crews of volunteers began erecting the Memorial on September 11th, 2006.

Accident on South Coast Claims Two

Officials say that weather conditions at the time of the accident consisted of heavy rain, high winds, and wet pavement.

(LAKESIDE) - Two people have died and a third was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon in a two-vehicle traffic crash on Highway 101 about 1/2 mile north of Lakeside.

Oregon State Police say the preliminary investigation indicates that at about 3:00 PM on November 7th, a 1997 Ford Mustang driven by 53-year old Weldon Russell Frizzell, from North Bend, was northbound uphill on Highway 101 near milepost 221 when, for an unknown reason, it swerved broadside across the centerline into the southbound lane where it was struck in the passenger side by a southbound 2005 Chevrolet Ventura van.

Both vehicles came to a stop in the southbound lane.

State Highway Update: Tuesday 4:20 PM

ODOT urges motorists to use extreme caution in coastal areas. Drivers should be wary of mud slides, falling trees and standing water on highways.

(SALEM) - Rain is forecast through next Monday, though lighter showers are expected after Wednesday. The water on the roadways may recede, but many will remain closed until further notice. Here is the latest state highway update.

In Lane County
• Both lanes of U.S. 101 between Florence and Yachats are expected to open at 5:00 PM. A 7:00 AM mudslide at milepost 174, 10 miles south of Yachats, closed the road.

In Lincoln County
• Highway 229 remains closed about 10 miles north of Siletz because of high standing water. The most impacted area is between mile points 14.5 and 16.5.