Oregon, Eugene | featured news

HILLSBORO — A former high school cheerleader is suing the Hillsboro School District and her coaches, claiming they failed to protect her from head injuries.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — At its last meeting of the year Tuesday night the Olympia City Council is considering further restrictions on transients sitting on sidewalks and camping downtown. The Olympian reports ( http://bit.ly/12mX0ip ) the council is considering speeding up procedures so the measures would take effect Jan. 18.

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield School Board members, faced with replacing a well-respected district superintendent who retires in June, said they won’t make the decision in a vacuum and invited interested educators, students and community members to apply to be on a search committee to help narrow the field.

SALEM — Removing or cutting voter-approved mandatory minimum prison sentences for some violent crimes and letting more nonviolent offenders shorten their sentences through good behavior were among money-saving proposals that a high-profile commission sent today to Gov. John Kitzhaber and the Oregon Legislature.

Lane County home sales rose in November by almost 13 percent compared to the same time last year, while pending sales rose 9 percent, according to the Regional Multiple Listing Service. The median sales price rose by almost 9 percent, to $180,000, the RMLS said.

HomeSource Family Charter School has agreed to shut down at the end of the school year in a deal reached with the Bethel School District last week.

Eugene police went to two Churchill High School students’ homes earlier this afternoon after a school resource officer at Churchill received “third-hand information” from a teacher regarding a reported threat involving students who may have been planning to bring guns to school on Friday.

COTTAGE GROVE — An apparently accidental fire caused significant damage to a Cottage Grove home this morning, South Lane County Fire and Rescue officials said. No one was at the home on South Second Street when the fire started, officials said. Firefighters responded to the blaze at 4:17 a.m.

With a big assist from Oregon Community Credit Union, Mayor Kitty Piercy and St. Vincent de Paul quickly exceeded their fundraising goal to help 40 homeless families during the holidays. The Eugene-based credit union contributed $20,000 to the St.

Police arrested a 41-year-old woman early this morning on a drunken-driving charge after her sport utility vehicle slammed into a tree and overturned in downtown Eugene. Catherine Lynn Kelly is being held in the Lane County Jail.