WASHINGTON COUNTY NEWS

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

Tigard High School Principal Jon Schuhl resigned today after less than five months on the job.

Tigard-Tualatin School District officials said the resignation resulted from an April traffic stop in Sunriver in which Schuhl refused to take a breath test. According to court records, Schuhl, 37, pleaded no contest and entered a diversion program.

Continue reading "Tigard High principal resigns after traffic incidents" »

The case: Two Vancouver men involved in an Aug. 15 scam at a Tigard bank turned themselves over to authorities several weeks later.

The two dressed as security guards and stood next to the night deposit slot of the Wells Fargo Bank branch at Washington Square, according to Jim Wolf, Tigard Police spokesman. The slot was covered by an engraved "out of order" sign, and the two offered to make deposits for customers the next day when the bank opened, Wolf said, making off with hundreds of dollars. Police found out about the incident the next day when one of the bank's customers checked with the branch about a deposit the night before.

Continue reading "News Update: Fake bank guards get 30 days jail, probation" »

The fifth annual Beaverton Tree Lighting ceremony is set to begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 at The Round Fountain Plaza, 12600 S.W. Crescent St.

Centerpiece of the event is the lighting of a 55-foot Douglas fir, donated to the city by the Oregon Department of Transportation. The tree had been scheduled for removal from an ODOT right of way on Oregon 6 near Banks.

Continue reading "Beaverton will hold tree lighting ceremony" »

TIGARD -- Union Gospel Mission will use "Civil War" collection barrels for its Thanksgiving food collection event from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Furniture Outlet, 14255 S.W. Pacific Highway.

There will be two barrels at the event, one decorated in Duck colors and the other in Beaver colors, to motivate football fans to donate, according to mission officials.

Continue reading "Civil War-themed food collection drive is Saturday" »

HILLSBORO - A lightweight extension cord that was pressed into the heavyweight duty of carrying power to a space heater and a travel trailer overheated this morning and caused a one-alarm fire at a northeast Hillsboro home.

No one was injured in the 6:25 a.m. fire at 1594 N.E. Sunrise Lane, said Storm Smith, spokesman for Hillsboro Fire & Rescue. The fire was caused by the overloaded extension cord, which in turn ignited combustible material in the garage, where the extension cord was plugged in.

Continue reading "Overloaded extension cord sparks fire at Hillsboro home" »

BEAVERTON - A convenience store on Southwest Murray Boulevard was held up last night at knifepoint, Beaverton Police said.

The robbery happened at 9:20 p.m. at the 7-Eleven store at 4715 S.W. Murray Blvd., said Beaverton Police spokeswoman Det. Pam Yazzolino.

Continue reading "Update: Beaverton police seek convenience store robber" »

TUALATIN - A Tualatin police motorcycle patrolman was released from the hospital this morning after being in a collision yesterday that threw him from his bike, a police spokeswoman said.

Officer Grant Johnstone is at home resting for a few days, said Tualatin Police spokeswoman Jennifer Massey.

Continue reading "Tualatin officer returns home after crash" »

SHERWOOD -- Sherwood High School was closed today and students sent home because of an anonymous bomb threat called into the school.

Classes were to resume tomorrow when the building was found to be safe, school officials said.

Hillsboro has plenty of elbow room to grow, and property owners to the north face the prospect with glee or dread

HILLSBORO -- They each have their attachments to the open land. It may have been a place for adventures in the middle of the night with a twin brother, fertile soil on which one rode tractors as a teenager, or ground on which others built their family home, raising children and sheep.

They all came for a life in the country. Now, farmers, retirees and others who live on prime, verdant land north of the city face a turning point: sell or stay put.

Unlike many other cities in Washington County that are boxed in by tracts of buildings, Hillsboro has plenty of room to spill over into rural landscapes.

And that's what the city, now the county's most populous at 88,300, is doing.

Continue reading "On the land, awaiting 'progress'" »

HILLSBORO -- Red-light cameras could soon make their debut in Hillsboro.

The city's transportation committee -- composed of Councilors Ed Dennis, Aron Carleson and Olga Acuna -- will consider the plan Tuesday.

Lt. Henry Reimann of Hillsboro police said the city is particularly interested in promoting safety at four intersections in Hillsboro that consistently make the Oregon Department of Transportation's Top 15 list for most accidents: 185th Avenue at Northwest Walker Road and at West Baseline Road, and Cornell Road at Northwest Cornelius Pass Road and at Northeast Brookwood Parkway.

Continue reading "Hillsboro considering red-light camera test" »

TUALATIN -- A bronze sculpture that was tentatively scheduled to arrive in December will be dedicated at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the plaza at the Tualatin Public Library, said Becky Savino, program coordinator in the city Community Services Department.

The Colorado foundry that completed the work of sculptor Linda Prokop had a space in its schedule and moved up the casting, Savino said. Prokop, who lived in Washougal, Wash., when a city committee selected her proposal, now resides in Loveland, Colo.

The life-size sculpture, titled "The Storyteller," shows a woman, seated on a stool, telling stories to four children. The work will be fixed with rebar on an 8-foot circular pedestal in front of the library at 18878 S.W. Martinazzi Ave.

The $55,000 bronze is one of seven new artworks selected for the library from a $100,800 budget. The 22,000-square-foot building, which opened in August, is a community gathering place, and a focus for culture and learning, City Councilor Ed Truax said. Art makes the place more inviting, he said.

Turkey trots, relays and charity races attract young and old on Thanksgiving Day

Few holidays can bring out runners quite like Thanksgiving.

Some want to burn a few hundred calories before sitting down to a big feast. Others want to raise money for charity. Many families say they like to have a laugh together or squawk about to let off steam.

They'll find several opportunities this year in and near Washington County, including Sherwood's Give n' Gobble, a popular 5K fun run and walk that supports area food banks.

Continue reading "When did running become a T-day staple?" »