In brief: ‘Vulnerable’ man back at home
A “vulnerable” adult who went missing this weekend has been located.
Jeffrey Williams, 53, returned safely to his group home Saturday night, about 10 hours after disappearing from a McDonald’s restaurant, Spokane police said Sunday.
It was unclear Sunday where the man, who suffers from mental issues and has difficulty in social environments, had gone, but police thanked the community for its help in the search.
Thousands flee forest fires in Canada
KELOWNA, B.C. – About 11,000 residents of a subdivision threatened by a forest fire in southern British Columbia have been evacuated, officials said Sunday.
Helicopters, air tankers and firefighters were attacking the 1.35-square-mile blaze some 170 miles east of Vancouver.
“You had to get out. We just did what we were told. We just picked up our belongings and got out,” Wilf Carey said as he went to register at the evacuee center.
Carey’s house was among 6,500 homes deemed in danger. At least three homes were destroyed, but no casualties were reported.
Another 6,000 people in a nearby subdivision were told to be on evacuation alert, according to the British Columbia Forest Service.
It’s not clear what caused the blaze, though Assistant Fire Chief Lou Wilde was “quite certain lightning wasn’t a factor.”
A second fire was burning about 6 miles north at the nearby Rose Valley Reservoir, where another 1,500 homes were under evacuation alert. A third fire, farther north at Fintry, was also burning.
Oregon to allow hemp farming
EUGENE – Oregon is on the verge of becoming the first Western state to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp.
Dena Purich, who owns a hemp clothing business, is excited about the possibility that the supply chain is one step closer to her Eugene-based Earthbound Creations.
Purich and her two employees design and assemble men’s sports shirts, women’s skirts and other garments from hemp grown in China.
A spokesman for Gov. Ted Kulongoski said he plans to sign Oregon’s new hemp bill into law.
Oregon will then become the seventh state to allow farmers to grow hemp, even though the federal government says it’s an illegal crop.
Deputy killed in crash wasn’t using seat belt
SHOSHONE, Idaho – Idaho State Police say a Lincoln County deputy sheriff not using a seat belt died after being thrown from his patrol car Saturday.
Police say the car driven by Deputy Joshua Eggelston, 35, overturned near Shoshone after the left rear tire went flat and he was unable to control the vehicle.