NW today: More big loads arrive in Lewiston
What’s news in the Northwest today:
LEWISTON — Eight more Korean-made modules for Imperial Oil arrived at the Port of Lewiston Sunday, joining a dozen other loads of oversized cargo that have yet to receive permission to roll up U.S. Highway 12. Eight other modules from Imperial Oil arrived at the port the week of Oct. 15. A total of 40 loads are expected to reach Lewiston before the Snake and Columbia river system is closed to barge traffic in early December for 14 weeks for rehabilitation of the locks at Lower Monumental, The Dalles and John Day. The Imperial Oil modules are bound for the Kearl Oil Sands project in Alberta, Canada, where a crew of 2,500 is working on a site near an open pit mine for bitumen.
Pesticide used to save “legacy” pine trees
GREENOUGH, Mont. — As mountain pine beetles began to threaten centuries-old trees in the University of Montana’s experimental forest, friends of the research station took action. Organizers contacted UM’s forestry alumni, faculty and friends last year seeking funding to spray pesticide on the “legacy” ponderosa and lodgepole pine trees at the Lubrecht Experimental Forest. Kate Cenis is director of fundraising and alumni relations for UM’s College of Forestry and Conservation. She says they raised enough money to spray about 600 trees with a pesticide that kills pine beetles as they bore into trees.
Land trust purchase a boon to migratory birds
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Migratory songbirds from central Washington to central America will benefit from a 338-acre purchase of an increasingly rare swatch of oak woodland near the Klickitat River. Vancouver-based Columbia Land Trust and the American Bird Conservancy announced the $700,000 purchase Friday. It marked the third property —totaling almost 600 acres — that the two conservation organizations have partnered to add into the Klickitat River Conservation Area since 2005. The deal helps to piece together a conservation plan spanning a migratory corridor stretching from Central Washington to Honduras.
Initiative targets licenses for outfitter clients
BILLINGS, Mont. — Voters in Montana will decide next month whether to abolish guaranteed hunting licenses and jack up fees for out-of-state clients of professional outfitters. Under the ballot initiative, I-161, about 7,800 outfitter-sponsored licenses would be replaced by an equal number of non-resident licenses available through public drawings. Fees on nonresident licenses would increase by roughly half. The proposal would reverse Montana’s practice — first established in 1986 — of setting aside licenses for outfitters’ clients.
High seas close Northwest coastal entrances
ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard has closed the Columbia River bar and most other entrances to coastal ports in Washington and Oregon because of dangerously high waves. An official at the command center in Astoria, Ken Stuber, said today that 30-foot seas from the storm that hit the Northwest prompted the closures over the weekend. He says swells are likely to continue after the winds subside, so the clousers are likely to extend through Monday. He says no ships have required help during the storm. Large ships that are equipped to handle the seas can still request a crossing during the closure. In addition to Columbia River, other affected crossings include Grays Harbor, Wash., Tillamook, Depoe Bay, Yaquina, Umpqua and Coos Bay.
Central Oregon woman charged after man shot in face
PRINEVILLE, Ore. — A 45-year-old Prineville woman has been charged with attempted murder after a man was shot in the face with a rifle. Tommi Jo Harmon is accused of shooting 48-year-old Timothy Peel in the right cheek with a .22-caliber rifle from close range after a domestic dispute last Friday night. Crook County sheriff’s deputies arrested Harmon without incident during what was described as a “high-risk” traffic stop in Prineville. Harmon was also charged with assault, reckless endangering, pointing a firearm at another, driving under the influence of intoxicants, driving while suspended and tampering with evidence.
Two memorials for 4 fallen Lakewood police officers
TACOMA — Two memorials are under construction for the four Lakewood police officers who were shot to death last November at a coffee shop. The News Tribune of Tacoma reports one memorial outside the police department headquarters is a granite wall and plaza to honor the four and those who might die in the future in Lakewood. The other memorial with four flag poles is being erected outside the Parkland coffee shop where the four were killed. Organizers hope both memorials will be completed by the Nov. 29 anniversary of the deaths.
Boise Police arrest shooting suspect
BOISE — Police in Boise arrested a shooting suspect after a car chase west of downtown in Idaho’s capital city. Jorge Baird was arrested Monday morning after leading police on a short chase that ended when he drove his car over spikes laid on the road by authorities. At one point during the pursuit, police say Baird threw a handgun out the window of his car. It has been recovered. The Idaho Statesman reported that Jake Patrick Roach was shot just after midnight Saturday at a Boise residence.