Civil War ... and other Oregon news

NEWS VARIETY

Civil War may commence without Rodgers

CORVALLIS — Oregon State freshman star Jacquizz Rodgers is doubtful for Saturday's Civil War game against Oregon because of a shoulder injury.

A Rose Bowl bid is on the line for the No. 17 Beavers (8-3, 7-1 Pac-10) in the annual rivalry game against the Ducks (8-3, 6-2), but Rodgers, the Pac-10's leading rusher, could be watching from the sidelines.

"Quizz is very doubtful. He is feeling better but we don't want to put him at risk and there might be something with his shoulder that it might not be right for him to play," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said Tuesday.

Rodgers injured his shoulder on Oregon State's second possession last Saturday against Arizona. The Beavers went on to win 19-17 on a field goal in the final seconds.

Riley characterized the injury as a second-degree sprain. He said a final call about Rodgers' status would come later this week.

Read the rest of this story here

_____

Gas prices drop in time for Thanksgiving

AP photo

PORTLAND — Motorists have reason to give thanks.

The national average for a gallon of gas dropped 18 cents in the past week to $1.88. That’s the lowest price in more than three years.

Oregon’s statewide average for regular unleaded fell 19 cents to $2.03. Despite the lower fuel prices, Marie Dodds, spokeswoman for AAA Oregon/Idaho, says the number of Thanksgiving travelers is expected to fall 1.4 percent from last year.

_____

PDX projects fewer passengers this holiday

PORTLAND — Officials expect fewer travelers at Portland International Airport this holiday weekend, but warn fliers not to expect a quick trip to the boarding gate.

The airport projects 42,500 fliers per day Wednesday, Sunday and Monday. Though roughly 11 percent below the 2007 peak, such numbers would still represent the airport’s busiest days of the year.

“Travelers should still be prepared to experience very heavy conditions,” said Steve Johnson, a spokesman for Portland International Airport. “People should still arrive two hours before their flight leaves.”

The expected decrease in travelers also won’t result in extra space on a flight. Airlines will offer almost 3,000 fewer domestic flights a day during the Thanksgiving season, an 11 percent decline from last Thanksgiving, according to the Air Transport Association of America, an airline trade group.

That means many planes will be at or near capacity, making it more difficult to rebook flights on the ground and leaving little elbow room in the sky.

The number of flights at Portland International Airport dropped by 12.2 percent from October 2007 to October 2008, while the number of passengers at the airport fell by 8.4 percent, The Oregonian newspaper reported.

“The general trend now is for aircraft to be full or nearly full, whereas a few years ago we saw more empty seats,” Johnson said. “That’s why it’s very important to be on time. It can be a challenge to rebook a flight.”

The crowded conditions won’t be limited to airports. Transportation officials expect a small decrease in people traveling by car, but that prediction was made before gasoline prices dropped sharply in recent weeks.

The day before Thanksgiving is also the busiest day of the year for Amtrak, and the passenger rail line expects more people this year than last.

_____

S. Ore. county sees fall in room tax revenue

KLAMATH FALLS — Klamath County, home to Crater Lake National Park, is not likely to see an annual increase in its hotel-motel room tax for the first time in 14 years.

The Herald and News in Klamath Falls reports the county would have to generate more than $390,000 in the last quarter of 2008 to reach last year’s intake.

The county has collected $119,000 less from the tax in 2008 than it did by this time in 2007.

Those in the lodging and tourism industry attribute the decline to the bad economy and high summer gasoline prices.

_____

Ore. city offical accused of giving teens alcohol

LYONS — Authorities say the administrator of the town Lyons in Linn County and her husband have been accused of providing alcohol to minors.

The Linn County sheriff’s office said Wednesday its investigation started after it got an anonymous tip about teenagers as young as 13 being allowed to drink at an August party.

The sheriff’s office says 49-year-old Mary Martha Mitchell was arrested Monday and 44-year-old Daniel Lee Mitchell was cited to appear in court.

_____

Federal court allows rights suit to go to trial

EUGENE — A federal appeals court has decided it will a try a $1 million civil rights case filed against a Eugene police officer and the city.

The lawsuit was filed in 2005 by former Eugene resident Cortez Jordan, who says Officer Wayne Dorman singled him out for a search because he is black.

Jordan’s lawsuit says he left a nightclub with four white friends in 2004 when Dorman stopped him.

He says Dorman intentionally inflicted emotional distress, and the officer’s actions amounted to battery and unreasonable search and seizure.

The city filed a motion in 2005 asking to dismiss the case, saying that Dorman had probable cause to stop Jordan and ask if he was carrying a gun and that Jordan had consented to the search.

_____

Baby-sitter sentenced for abusing Ore. girl

MCMINNVILLE — A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually abusing a girl for whom he was baby-sitting.

The sentencing of William LeRoy Brooks was conducted under tight security Monday with his friends and relatives wearing T-shirts that read “Convicted Without Evidence” and “Justice?” Four deputies were stationed in the courtroom.

A jury found Brooks guilty in October of sexual abuse and related charges.

Judge John Collins said at the sentencing hearing that he was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt Brooks was guilty of abusing the girl, younger than 12, in December 2006 at his residence in Sheridan.

_____

Ore. man gets 25 years in rape of 6-year-old

EUGENE — A mother who let a 47-year-old man stay at her home when he fell on hard times says she looks at how her daughter has changed and she’s glad he’s going to prison for raping the 6-year-old.

The mother spoke in court Tuesday after Mark Craig Brunson of Springfield pleaded guilty to rape, sodomy and sexual abuse.

She told the judge her daughter is haunted — fearful and anxious around other people.

Prosecutors say Brunson admitted abusing the girl twice and made a plea deal. He was sentenced to 25 years. Under Oregon law, the sentence is the mandatory minimum sentence, meaning he’s not eligible for programs to get out early.

He has a record dating to 1985, mostly of drug offenses.

_____

Accused Salem church burner out of mental hospital

SALEM — After spending more than two years in the state mental hospital, a man accused of setting fires inside a crowded Salem church is ready to face charges of arson, assault and attempted murder.

Daniel Chan, 55, was arraigned Oct. 27, 2006, but soon moved to the Oregon State Hospital after injuring himself twice in jail, according to court documents. At the time, Marion County Circuit Judge Terry Leggert determined Chan was unfit to proceed.

Four times since then, state hospital officials ruled that Chan was unable to assist in his defense. Last month, however, examiners determined Chan had improved enough to help his attorney.

“I am comfortable with going forward,” Chan’s attorney, Olcott Thompson, told Marion County Judge Joseph V. Ochoa at a hearing Tuesday.

Chan is accused of starting the fires during a Wednesday evening worship service. Chan allegedly threatened a taxi driver with a knife before rushing into the church with a gas can and igniting fires until he was tackled.

Witnesses described Chan as shouting incoherently as he spread the flames that burned several people and caused hundreds to evacuate.

Chan drowned his 5-year-old daughter in 1989 and was found guilty by reason of insanity. He testified he heard sirens that compelled him to kill, according to archived news reports.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Chan was committed to the state hospital until he was released in 1996. Chan was living in the Salem area under supervision of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board right up until the night of the incident at Peoples Church in northeast Salem.

Sam Miller, an associate pastor at the church, said the damage has been repaired and the people injured that night still attend. “They have physically healed and they’re doing fine,” he said.

_____

Heat lamp blamed for fire that killed Ore. chicks

ROSEBURG — Fire investigators think a heat lamp caused a fire that destroyed a building full of baby chickens in Douglas County last week.

Douglas County Fire District No. 2 said roughly 100 chicks perished in the Friday night fire in the community of Melrose. Firefighters stopped the flames from spreading to structures that housed rabbits in cages.

The chicks had recently been bought and a heat lamp was placed in the 400-square-foot structure to keep them warm. The fire district warned that heat lamps can spark fires when placed too closely to flammable materials.

_____

Seattle prepares to close schools

SEATTLE — The Seattle schools superintendent has recommended closing seven school buildings and eliminating or relocating several programs to save money.

Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson told the school board Tuesday night the plan may be modified after public hearings. Some parents protested school closure plans in 1988 and 2006.

Goodloe-Johnson will make her recommendation Jan. 6, and the school board takes a final vote Jan. 29.

The district has to cut expenses by at least $24 million for the 2009-10 school year.

Seattle has the largest school district in Washington with about 44,000 students and 100 buildings.

_____

Salmon advocates ask for more water over dams

By JEFF BARNARD
AP Environmental Writer

GRANTS PASS — Salmon advocates and the state of Oregon are asking a federal judge to order more water spilled over Columbia and Snake River dams to help young salmon migrate downriver to the ocean.

The motion for an injunction was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland.

It is part of the litigation over how to balance hydroelectric needs against threatened and endangered salmon in the Columbia Basin. Water spilled over the dams doesn’t go through turbines to generate power, costing the Bonneville Power Administration millions of dollars.

Liz Hamilton of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association said evidence shows that increased spill is responsible for improved salmon returns this year, and the dam operators should do even more.

U.S. District Judge James Redden is scheduled to hear arguments on the merits of the latest challenge to the Bush administration’s plan for balancing salmon and dams — known as a biological opinion — on Jan. 16, and rule on the motion seeking more water over the dams sometime afterward.

_____

Judge: No reprieve for condemned NW sea lions

By JOSEPH B. FRAZIER
Associated Press Writer

PORTLAND — A federal judge says state governments can proceed with plans to kill up to 85 California sea lions a year for five years in the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam, where they gather annually to plunder the spring chinook salmon run.

The Humane Society of the United States went to court to block the killings, claiming among other things that the sea lion predation was relatively insignificant compared to threats such as dams, fishing and hungry birds.

A Humane Society official, Sharon Young, says the group will appeal.

Charles Hudson of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission said the decision validated the analysis that the federal agency NOAA Fisheries did in granting “airtight authority” for the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho to go ahead with sea lion removal.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman said in September that he had hoped to rule in a couple of weeks to give the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals time to decide the case before the spring salmon run and the return of the sea lions.

He ruled that while other factors may contribute to a decline in salmon stocks, the government doesn’t have to take that into account in determining whether to remove predatory sea lions.

Barring a reversal, Hudson said, there still should be time for the states and tribes to get removal plans in place.

In March, NOAA Fisheries authorized the states to kill up to 85 sea lions described as the worst predator offenders and repeat visitors to the dam.

The agency listed about 60 — identifiable by branding, scars or other markings — for “immediate removal” based in part on observed predation. The order encouraged trapping them if possible for placement in aquariums or zoos. Those that can’t be trapped would be shot by marksmen from the shore. Those who are trapped but cannot be placed could be euthanized

Several sea lions were trapped and sent to marine parks or zoos before six were found dead in a trap at the base of the dam last spring. Two endangered Steller sea lions and a California sea lion pup were among the six that had been trapped for relocation.

Although gunshots were ruled out, federal officials have not determined a cause of death. The plan to kill or permanently remove sea lions has been on hold since then.

The California sea lions, once in sharp decline, are far from endangered and now may number near 300,000. They are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammals Protection Act.

_____

Former Vegas showgirls try to save the show

By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
Associated Press Writer

Lou Anne Harrison Chessik, a former showgirl and a producer of the 2008 Las Vegas Showgirl Art & Costume exhibition, poses at the Nevada State Museum & Historical Society in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2008. An exhibition at the museum memorializes the heyday of the showgirl. AP Photo | Jae C. Hong

LAS VEGAS — A place that rarely preserves its past is now trying to preserve its pasties.

Make that pasties and crystal bras, feathered head pieces, fans and thongs — anything that documents the existence of an increasingly rare bird: the showgirl.

“We were the original Las Vegas,” said Lou Anne Harrison Chessik, the former showgirl behind a new exhibit that memorializes the garb and glamour of her withering art. “It’s important to me that we understand this history.”

There are just two large-scale showgirl revues left on the Las Vegas Strip, a far cry from the 1960s when every respectable casino housed its own flock of beauties in boas. Their bloodlines may trace back to the French cancan girls of the 19th century, but it took the one-upmanship of Las Vegas to make them icons. Now, they’re fading from the stage, and Chessik and others are part of a still young movement to make sure they’re not forgotten.

To that aim Chessik has created the annual Showgirl Art Competition, an exhibit in its second year on display until August at the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas. It is likely the only state museum to display a G-string a spin and a twirl away from 225 million-year-old Ichthyosaur fossils.

The costumes on display include glittering skivvies designed by Cher’s costume designer Bob Mackie, a cherry-colored feathered flurry called “Red Heat Wave” and other high art of the genre.

But the exhibit’s focus is artwork depicting the bare-chested performers themselves. It includes the work of Terry Ritter, a dancer-turned-artist who set up her easel backstage at the shows to create dreamy portraits.

More improbably, it includes the artwork of high school students, who were likely stunned by their luck when a still lean, leggy Chessik, 51, and a group of former dancers arrived in their classroom to regale them with the history of the showgirl.

The homework: paint portraits of dancers. Think Edgar Degas, think Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.

Chessik knows this is a new world for most teenagers — even teenagers in Las Vegas. The French-Canadian acrobats of Cirque du Soleil now dominate the entertainment scene of the Strip. The word “showgirl” has been adopted by far less glamorous establishments.

“A lot of strippers and different groups use the name, ’showgirl’ now,” she said, somewhat embarrassed.

“The movie ’Showgirls’ didn’t help,” added Tom Dyer, the museum’s exhibit manager.

This wasn’t always so. Some of the first showgirls in Las Vegas were classically trained European ballerinas who arrived to perform in “Lido de Paris,” a review imported in 1958 by producer Donn Arden.

“Lido” was among the first topless shows on the Strip and initially caused a stir, which Arden quieted by inviting the chief of police and the city council to the opening. Arden was prepared to cover up the girls if the city fathers disapproved, said Peter Michel, director of special collections at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which houses Arden’s papers.

“But they didn’t. They thought it was fine. As a matter of fact, they thought it was wonderful,” Michel said. “And because it was so popular and attracted so many tourists, it guaranteed that it was going to be to be copied.”

As Arden’s shows went through various iterations, he continued to demand his dancers be trained dancers. They were known as the tallest showgirls on the Strip.

Chessik found her way to Las Vegas because at 5-foot-11 she was considered too tall for most New York ballet companies. She was well-paid, loved performing and had the discipline to stick with a gig that forced her to re-audition every six months.

Arden’s “Jubilee!” at Bally’s casino still maintains the requirement. Along with “Les Folies Bergere” at the Tropicana, it is a sort of museum exhibit of its own — an artifact appreciated for its connection to the bliss and possibilities offered by an earlier time.

“Jubilee!” has updated over the years, but still includes a nightly sinking of the Titanic and a tribute to Samson and Delilah.

“It’s over the top, it’s kitsch, it’s all those things we associate with Las Vegas culture,” Michel said. “It still epitomizes a lot of what we consider Las Vegas to be.”

_____

Rich and famous ritzy resort’s financial woes still unresolved

By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press Writer

BUTTE, Mont. — A Yellowstone Club bankruptcy hearing recessed Tuesday with no firm plan in place to prevent a shutdown of the exclusive Montana resort for the rich and famous.

The club, which caters to the extraordinarily rich and counts Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt among its members, is trying to get a loan so that it can keep its doors open for the ski season, its busiest time of year.

But its current lender, Credit Suisse, wants extra protections before it hands over more money. Club members, who want to see their ritzy private resort near Yellowstone National Park stay fully operational, say Credit Suisse is asking too much.

Another firm, CrossHarbor Capital of Boston, Mass., is pitching a $20 million loan to get the resort through the winter. That plan is preferred by The Yellowstone Club and its members.

CrossHarbor Capital said it has invested at least $100 million in the club, including ownership in some of the once-prized real estate parcels. The firm has a long history with club founder Tim Blixseth and his former wife, Edra, who now controls it as part of a recent divorce settlement.

CrossHarbor also spent a year trying to buy the club, and says everyone who has a stake in it will suffer if it has to shut its doors for the ski season. Property values would plummet amid a flurry of negative news, the firm argued.

“We believe the club needs to operate,” testified Samuel T. Byrne of CrossHarbor. “We need to see the place stabilized. We have a lot of money invested up there.”

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher said he would issue an order soon — and appeared to take a dim view of the Credit Suisse plan that required the club to raise $7 million by selling golf court building lots. The judge said he believed it unlikely they could do so within 60 days.

Kirscher gave both sides the better part of Tuesday to try to reach a deal, and held a closed door session with more than a dozen attorneys involved in the case. But the talks ended in late afternoon, leaving the judge to issue an order. Kirscher gave no indication when that might be.

Credit Suisse offered to extend its current lending agreement until Dec. 5. But it is opposing the CrossHarbor offer because it would take precedent over the money owed them. Credit Suisse argued CrossHarbor is too wrapped up in financial lives of the Blixseths and the club to be given the senior position in the deal.

The Yellowstone Club sought protection in bankruptcy court on Nov. 10. A $4.5 million loan recently arranged through Credit Suisse was enough to sustain the club for only three weeks.

Kirscher said the current economic turmoil is making it more difficult for the Yellowstone Club to make financial arrangements. But even the judge seemed surprised that a club that caters to the wealthy could be running out of money, saying it seemed to him one of them could just “write a check” to make the whole case disappear.

Less than two years ago the club’s owners were pursuing ambitious plans that they said included the world’s most expensive home, a $155 million, 53,000-square-foot behemoth complete with heated driveway. That project was never built. Now the Yellowstone Club is one of at least four high-end resorts that have sought bankruptcy protection in recent months.

_____

Feds recover bookmark that reportedly belonged to Hitler

By MANUEL VALDES
Associated Press Writer

These photos, provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, show the stolen 18-carat gold bookmark, alleged to belong to Adolf Hilter, circa 1943, that was seized by ICE agents in Seattle, Wash., Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008. Federal prosecutors said the bookmark, reportedly given to Hitler by his long-time mistress, Eva Braun, was among several items taken in an auction-house heist in Madrid six years ago. AP Photo/Immigration and Customs Enforcement

SEATTLE — Authorities have recovered a stolen 18-carat gold bookmark that reportedly was given to Adolf Hitler by his long-time mistress, Eva Braun.

Christian Popescu, a Romanian national, was arrested Tuesday outside a Bellevue Starbucks after trying to sell the bookmark to an undercover agent for $100,000, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court.

Federal prosecutors said the bookmark was among several items taken in an auction-house heist in Madrid six years ago. At the time, some antiquities experts questioned its authenticity.

The bookmark is engraved with a portrait of Hitler as well as an imperial eagle and swastika, and its inscription indicates that Braun gave it to Hitler to console him after German forces surrendered at Stalingrad.

Inscription

“My Adolf, don’t worry,” it reads, adding that the loss was “only an inconvenience that will not break your certainty of victory. My love for you will be eternal, as our Reich will be eternal. Always yours, Eva. 3-2-43.”

Whether authentic or not, federal agents said its theft broke the law.

“Artifacts of historical significance are not souvenirs for illegal sale to the highest bidder,” Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of ICE’s office of investigations in Seattle, in a statement.

Investigation

The operation began when ICE learned a man was trying to sell the bookmark in the Seattle area. An informant contacted Popescu, who confirmed he had the bookmark and provided pictures. Popescu told the informant he wanted $150,000 for it.

Spanish authorities estimated the value of the bookmark at between $13,000 and $17,000, according to court documents.

Investigators set up a meeting with Popescu at a Starbucks coffee shop in Bellevue, where the Romanian man showed an undercover agent the bookmark, charging papers said. He was arrested in the parking lot as the agent paid him $100,000.

Popescu was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Wednesday in Seattle on one count of sale or receipt of stolen goods. It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer.