News Digest
Sunday, January 20, 2008 1:59 AM PST
OREGON - Not a candidate, but Oregon governor plans busy election year
SALEM (AP) — He won’t be on the ballot in 2008, but expect to see and hear a lot from Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski in this election year.
High on his to-do list:
— Help Hillary Rodham Clinton become president.
— Persuade voters to reject Republican Kevin Mannix’s initiative to impose mandatory sentences for drug dealing and property crimes.
— Build public support for proposals he plans to submit to the 2009 Legislature — his final one as governor — to create a ‘‘long-term fix’’ for Oregon’s transportation system, provide major new funding for Oregon schools, further attack global warming and expand health care coverage.
‘‘It’s going to be an exciting year,’’ the 67-year-old governor said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Oregon DA says officer acted reasonably in killing
ST. HELENS (AP) — The district attorney says a police officer acted reasonably to protect his family when he killed a man who was armed with a 9 mm pistol, high on methamphetamine and running toward his front door. Sgt. Greg Stewart, 35, of the Portland police was at home and off duty in early October when the man was pounding on doors in his subdivision in Scappoose in Columbia County.
IDAHO
Former Troy clerk
accused of misusing
public funds
TROY (AP) — Former Troy city clerk Gary LeFors has been summoned to appear in 2nd District Court next week on a felony charge of misuse of public funds. Authorities say an investigation determined LeFors took more than $100,000 for personal gain between December 1999 and last June. LeFors was fired by the city after bills for nonexistent purchases were discovered.
In court documents, LeFors told a city auditor that he had been taking money regularly.
The Latah County Sheriff’s Office says an audit determined the money was missing, unaccounted for, or covered up by improper accounting practices while LeFors was employed by the city of Troy.
