WASHINGTON COUNTY NEWS

Oregon local news from Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and more

A 7-Eleven store in the 4700 block of Southwest Murray Boulevard was robbed at gunpoint about 9:20 p.m. today, said Washington County emergency dispatch.

The suspect was at large. No injuries are reported.

Further details were not immediately available.

-- Jacques Von Lunen; jacquesvonlunen@news.oregonian.com

ALOHA - Decomposed human remains were found yesterday afternoon along a walking path south of the Tualatin Valley Highway in Aloha, the Washington County Sheriff's Office reported.

Following a search today for further evidence, investigators identified the body, said Sgt. David Thompson, a sheriff's spokesman. However, police did not release the name or other details pending notification of the family.

Washington County Major Crimes is investigating the case as a homicide because investigators could not determine the cause of death.

Thompson said a passer-by found the remnants of a human foot in the brush along a path at Southwest 160th Avenue and Southwest Shelton Street about 1 p.m. yesterday. Search dogs found the rest of the body about 30 feet away.

The body was decomposed, and the separation of the foot was likely due to a natural process rather than dismemberment, Thompson said.

-- John Snell;
johnsnell@news.oregonian.com
-- Jacques Von Lunen; jacquesvonlunen@news.oregonian.com

Even as gas prices declined from record highs in July, motorists in September continued to drive less than they did a year ago, a report by the Federal Highway Administration said today.

Americans drove 4.4 percent less, or 10.7 billion fewer vehicle miles traveled (VMT), in September 2008 than September 2007, the eleventh-straight month of declining driving. The trend is most evident in rural interstate travel, which fell by 8 percent that month, while urban interstate travel declined by 3.9 percent.

In Oregon, driving dropped by 6.8 percent on rural arterial roads, by 2.6 percent on urban arterial roads and 4.2 percent on all estimated roads. The Oregon data may be less reliable, because it is based on estimates from nearby states or the national average, and not on data collected by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

As Americans drove less, they also paid about $3 billion less gas tax than expected in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, prompting U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to call for more sources of money for transportation projects. Transportation spending increased by $2 billion.

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The crash-heavy portion of Northwest Cornelius Pass Road in Multnomah County could see some safety improvements, pending the results of an analysis by the Federal Highway Administration.

Federal agents visited the road in July to track traffic patterns and assess potential safety concerns. A task force assembled by the Oregon Legislature will examine the audit after it is sent to Multnomah County at the end of this month.

Depending on what the audit says, the task force could call for increased ice-warning signs, safety railings and other precautionary measures. The task force, a group of 10 elected officials and citizens, will meet Dec. 9 at the Sauvie Island Grange at 3 p.m. to discuss the audit.

Oregon and Washington scored the highest rank for roadway safety laws, in a report released today by the Emergency Nurses Association.

The report, "2008 ENA National Scorecard on State Roadway Laws: A Blueprint for Injury Prevention," examines roadway safety laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and scores each based on 13 criteria.

TUALATIN - A police motorcycle officer was involved in a traffic crash while on duty this afternoon, Tualatin Police reported.

Details were sketchy, but police spokeswoman Jennifer Massey said the crash happened at 3:15 p.m. at Southwest Sagert Street at Southwest 93rd Avenue, between Southwest Boones Ferry and Southwest Tualatin-Sherwood roads.

"Ambric was unable to secure additional financing in the current economic environment and has suspended all operations not associated with the sale of the company or fulfillment of existing customer production requests through its long term supply agreements," the company said in a statement.

Ambric designed high-performance chips for video and other media-rich applications. The company was founded in 2003, and launched its first chip at the start of this year.

I'll update this post later, and have more in the paper tomorrow.

Update below:

ALOHA - Decomposed human remains were found yesterday afternoon along a walking path south of the Tualatin Valley Highway in Aloha, the Washington County Sheriff's Office reported.

The remains have not been identified, said Sgt. David Thompson, a sheriff's spokesman. He would not say whether the body is of a man or woman, or of an adult or child.

Thompson said a passerby found the remnants of a human foot in the brush along a path at Southwest 160th Avenue and Southwest Shelton Street. He said the rest of the body was found about 30 feet away. Thompson said the body had apparently decomposed over time and that the separation of the foot was likely due to a natural process, rather than the dismemberment of the corpse.

- John Snell;
johnsnell@news.oregonian.com

HILLSBORO - Several county offices were closed this morning after a bomb threat was phoned to Washington County authorities.

The closed offices were located in the Washington County Courthouse, the adjoining Justice Services building and the District Juvenile Services Building, said Sgt. David Thompson, spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

TIGARD - Two men robbed a Taco Bell restaurant in Tigard last night, assaulting one employee before leaving.

The men entered the restaurant at 13305 S.W. Pacific Highway at about 9:30 p.m., said Jim Wolf, spokesman for Tigard Police. Wolf said one man was carrying a handgun and used it to threaten and assault one of the five employees at the restaurant.

Soon after Tualatin police and family members reported 91-year-old Marie Patterson Willis missing from her townhome, Lake Oswego officers found her tonight.

She was recognized about 11 p.m. during a traffic stop. Quick work by both agencies gets the credit, said Capt. Brad King, a Tualatin Police Department spokesman.

BEAVERTON -- Facing a bleak state budget and projected enrollment decline, the Beaverton School District will again roll out the welcome mat for out-of-district students next fall.

Superintendent Jerry Colonna said the district will accept transfers for fall 2009 to allow neighboring students to attend its less-populated schools and to boost revenue since they have excess capacity.