Now for Portland, Southwest Washington and all of Oregon, this is COIN News 6 at 11 PM.
News that's to the point.
Rain falls on the Northwest again bringing welcome relief to some, but for others still
no indication this long dry season is letting up.
Measurable rainfall but still not enough.
Good evening, I'm Kelly Day.
And I'm Mike Donahue.
The Northwest desperately needs the rain for agriculture, drinking water and to reduce
the fire danger.
Tonight we still need more.
Take a look.
In Portland today, twelve hundredths of an inch fell.
In Salem, seven hundredths.
And in Vancouver, nearly a quarter of an inch of rain.
But does it put even a dent in the deficit from a long dry winter?
COIN News 6 reporter Amy Frazier is downtown tonight with some answers.
Well Mike, it feels a little more tonight like a typical March night.
It's cold out.
You can see your breath when we talk.
But certainly we know this has not been a typical March.
It hasn't been a typical winter.
In fact, things are so dry that meteorologists with the National Weather Center say, you
know, today's rain really didn't make much of a difference and they don't expect things
to get much better.
A wind of change blew in with falling petals and then turned to much needed rain.
It's the first significant rainfall we've had in nearly a month and a half.
This winter, every drop counts.
I think that my flowers needed this.
I'm very thankful for it.
I didn't have to go water, but I enjoyed the sunshine.
It's only March and already Brad Trumbull is trying to rescue his thirsty lawn.
The lawn was looking terrible, so I thought I'd get out and put some fertilizer on it
and let the rain soak it in.
Others are giving the rain some mixed reviews.
Well, it's cold and miserable and it's kind of a shock and a big disappointment.
But it's OK.
It's back to normal now.
You don't have to be all nervous that the rain's coming because it's here.
But maybe not for long.
Meteorologist Jack Bull with the National Weather Service says we're heading towards
some more typical temperatures, but he doesn't expect a big catch up when it comes to rain.
It's like the pattern for the next week is cooler, cloudier with some rain at times,
but certainly nothing that's going to help bring us anywhere, improve things significantly.
Normally between December and March we'll get about 14 inches of rain.
This year we've only had a little more than seven inches.
So far weather experts say they don't know why exactly it's been so much more sunshine
than rain.
Now, of course, a lack of snowfall up on Mount Hood is part of our expected water supply
problem.
We're told tonight Mount Hood could get around six inches of snow or so.
So that sounds like good news.
However, you have to consider that so far we've had about 20 percent of what's normal
up there on Mount Hood.
So again, meteorologists are saying it's just not all that significant at this point.
Reporting in downtown Portland, Amy Fraser, Coi News 6.
The river levels across the state of Oregon are suffering from the long dry season too.
You can see it for yourself here.
This is video from News Chopper 6 today of the Columbia River.
We did some checking and nearly all of Oregon's river levels are below average.
Some are seeing record lows.
Today's rain helped firefighters put a stop to one of the first significant brush fires
of the season.
What started as a slash burn turned into the rain dance fire in the hills near Stevenson
in Washington, Schamania County.
From one point wind gusts of up to 50 miles an hour combined with extremely dry conditions
to whip those flames out of control.
The fire spread very quickly, but today's rain did help calm the flames.
Coi News 6 reporter Tim Maestas has more from Stevenson.
Time to clean up and go home.
Today was crazy.
Hours after a small but sudden fire in the hills above Stevenson.
Could have been a really big one.
The rain saved our rear.
Clearing rain helped calm the effects of strong winds, very dry conditions and flames on four
acres of cleared land and two acres of brush and timber.
I am concerned about the brush and timber and making sure it doesn't go any further
in that.
Recent slash burns are believed to be the cause of the fire that sparked up on this
wet but very windy day.
Hotspots kept firefighters busy for hours.
Got pretty lucky here really.
Thanks to the rain that showed up after weeks of no rain at all.
A total of six acres burned.
By 8.30 the fire was 100% contained.
Firefighters were allowed to go home.
Just cross your fingers and.
Now they have more time to think about a fire season that surfaced so early.
You can ask anybody.
I don't think anybody's ever fought a brush fire in March.
Firefighters describe the rain as both a blessing and a curse.
Some of their trucks got stuck in the mud, but bottom line they say had it not rained,
they'd probably still be out fighting those flames.
Ben Stephenson, Tim Myestas, Coin News 6.
Roaring winds kicked up sand and created driving havoc in several parts of Washington state.
This video is from Yakima where gusts up to 50 miles an hour blame for near zero visibility
and several car accidents.
The high winds also brought down trees, knocked out power, even tore the roof off a gym.
The swirling dust briefly closed Highway 26 near Othello.
And winds are still blowing the rain sideways in some places tonight.
Let's check in now with meteorologist Katie Baker for the very latest.
Well we're seeing the highest winds across the central and eastern part of the state.
Look at these wind gusts and this is just in the last half an hour.
Pendleton at 31 miles per hour.
Same story for La Grande.
35 miles per hour in John Day and 28 miles per hour for the Dows.
It is a little bit calmer as you head into Cascade Locks and things have really calmed
down across the metro area.
If you head outside right now, Portland only at five miles per hour and we're just calm
winds right now for Vancouver.
So we are seeing headway as far as the winds go and we'll talk about it.
The rain will return for tomorrow.
That's all coming up in your forecast first.
New information tonight from a fire at the Boeing plant on 190th and Sandy in Gresham.
Firefighters credit employees for putting their emergency response plan into action
when smoke was discovered coming from duct work near a hand finishing and grinding operation.
The cooperation paid off.
Because we trained together for our hazmat teams, they have an emergency response team
and so it works very smoothly.
So for now there aren't any employees that have been injured, no firefighters injured.
Boeing employees followed a well rehearsed plan and evacuated themselves safely.
Portland Fire also sent trucks.
Thanks to the partnership, firefighters are familiar with the metals and chemicals that
are used at the plant.
Actor Robert Blake is celebrating tonight at his favorite Italian restaurant.
Jurors say they couldn't put the gun in his hand.
We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant Robert Blake not guilty of the
crime of first degree murder of Bonnie Lee Bakley.
Jurors also acquitted Blake of soliciting his wife's murder and the judge dismissed
a second solicitation charge.
Bonnie Lee Bakley was shot outside a Studio City restaurant back in May of 2001.
Her husband has always maintained though that someone else killed her after he left their
car.
The gun was found but no DNA or physical evidence linked Blake to the crime.
He was innocent and I needed to be proved that he was guilty.
This small band of dedicated warriors saved my life.
Blake's lawyer says prosecutors based their case on testimony of two stuntmen who were
not worthy of belief.
Convicted family killer Scott Peterson is getting a cell on death row with a view of
the San Francisco Bay and that's where his pregnant wife's body was found.
The judge sentenced Peterson today to die for a cruel and heartless murder.
Our family is going to make it.
We're stronger because of this and Scott got what he deserved.
Venting at Scott Lacey's brother Brent said you slept in the same bed you ate the food
she cooked knowing you were going to kill her.
Scott's father then shouted you're a liar and stormed out of the court.
Tears flowed as Lacey's mother imagined the unborn baby begging for its life.
Daddy please don't do this to me.
Please there's another way.
Lacey's sister Amy sobbed as she stared at Scott and called him a monster with no heart.
After three years the Blazers Damon Stoudemire may finally get to put felony marijuana charges
behind him.
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled the search of his Lake Oswego home in February of 2002
was illegal.
While responding to an alarm at Stoudemire's home Lake Oswego police found the front door
open when they arrived at the scene.
After a routine search police say they found more than a pound of marijuana.
Lake Oswego police say this has not changed their policy though on searching homes.
We still have a responsibility the people that have alarms in their homes if it goes
off police response requested we get there we find a door open anywhere that somebody
can get access we're going to go in we're going to look because I think that's what
the community wants us to do.
Citizens have privacy rights in their homes and no matter what the intentions may have
been of the police it was simply unjustified to come into his home and conduct that search.
Now Stoudemire still faces misdemeanor marijuana possession charges in Washington and Arizona.
Stoudemire has completed a drug treatment program and claims that he has been drug free
for more than a year.
Another Oregon State football player is in trouble with the law tonight defensive tackle
Ben Seigert is charged with DUII but that's just the beginning.
Police say when they pulled him over in his truck last week they found stolen sheep in
the back.
Seigert number 97 here told a local newspaper he had nothing to do with the stolen sheep.
Police say he and former player Brent Bridges took the ram from the OSU agriculture department
where it was part of a study.
No charges were made regarding that is the sheep.
Police try to get a jump on St. Patrick's Day drunk drivers by going after them tonight.
There are more than 2,000 outstanding warrants in Clackamas County for people who are accused
of driving drunk.
Most of them have not shown up for court.
A special warrant sweep with local police and sheriff's deputies targeted those and
other non-violent offenders today and they took nearly 50 people into custody.
Most of them were only in jail for a few hours but police still think sweeps like this do
make an impact.
And police in Seattle are taking a proactive approach to keep drunk drivers off the road
this St. Patrick's Day as well.
SeaTac police are handing out 1,300 personal alcohol test strips.
They're handing them out to restaurants and bars.
That way customers can measure their own blood alcohol content before they get behind the
wheel.
Police hope that if drinkers test anywhere near the legal limit they won't drive but
call a cab instead.
Camping out.
It's as American as apple pie but these people are doing it to get a slice of the American
dream and their piece of some prime real estate.
And an oily sludge kills a duck and threatens others.
Tonight the search is still on for whoever did this to a local creek.
The US Senate votes to move forward with plans to drill in the Arctic wilderness but is it
a done deal?
You're watching COIN News 6 at 11 p.m. with Jeff Giannola and Kelly Day.
COIN News 6, news that's to the point.
Would you wait in line for days to purchase your dream home?
Maybe.
Would be homeowners are doing it.
They're braving the cold tonight.
They're camping out to be the first to buy hot properties down in Newburgh.
COIN News 6 reporter Jolie Winoga met some of these dedicated home buyers.
Trailers, tents and RVs.
It has the looks of a campground.
And it's just a nice pleasing neighborhood.
Or at least it will be in a year or two.
Folks waiting and camping patiently for these lots to go on sale Saturday.
A hot real estate market means desperate measures to get that dream home.
There's such little on the market and you gotta move quick and we did.
First in line, Brad Sweet.
He and his trailer got here Monday afternoon.
A five day wait but well worth it he says.
His living quarters, well a castle compared to Don Archer.
You're gonna have to live in one way.
This is the best.
Whose home is this SUV.
Some people might say you're nuts.
Yeah probably but my wife doesn't think so.
And inside well take a look he has all his creature comforts of home.
His sleeping bag, pillow and of course you can't forget about the ice chest.
So what attracts people to this area of Newburgh?
The housing market is hot and so is this nine hole golf course.
Still even the brokers are surprised.
Flabbergasted we were expecting people to come in probably two days early but coming
out five days early was quite surprised.
So the long wait and countdown continues.
16 people in line to purchase their future homes.
Until then it's all about killing time.
Sleeping seems to be a popular activity around here.
The rule is if you leave you lose your lot.
Eventually 300 of these lots will be sold but at this point only 31 are available with
of course 16 already reserved.
Living in Newburgh, Joel Iwanaga, Coin News 6.
Houses in the development known as the Greens at Spring Book range from 300 to 500 thousand
dollars.
Cleanup crews will work all night trying to remove oil from a creek in Gresham.
Between 50 and 60 gallons of waste oil clogged Burlingame Creek which runs through the Gresham
golf course.
Tonight the source of that oil is unknown.
Wildlife experts say a duck was coated with it and died.
Two others also were coated.
They are undergoing treatment tonight at the Audubon Society.
All other ducks were removed from the area.
Officials are racing to remove the oil before it affects drinking and groundwater.
We're hoping to get I'd say like in the 98 percent plus range of it out of the creek
today and there's just a certain a small percentage that is going to take time to get out and
that's going to have to occur naturally through the course of the water flowing and us collecting
it.
If you know anything about how that oil got in that creek you can call this number 503-667-8414.
It's a tip line.
The extension is 55016.
A closely divided Senate votes to approve oil drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife
Refuge.
Today's vote was on an amendment that would have struck the provision from the budget
bill.
On this vote the A's are 49, the N's are 51.
The amendment is not agreed to.
Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has fought for 24 years to open the refuge to drilling.
Both he and the other Alaskan senator voted no on the amendment.
Both Oregon senators voted yes as did those from Washington state.
President Bush says drilling could reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil by
one million barrels a day but environmentalists are vowing to keep up the fight by trying
to get the ANWR provision stripped from the final budget document.
ANWR is not currently in the House budget bill so this issue is bound to come up again
at a later date.
Mixed results for Governor Kulagowski in a new poll on how he's doing as the leader of
Oregon.
The poll finds that 46% of Oregonians approve of the governor's performance, 24% say they
disapprove, 30% say they don't know if they approve or they have mixed feelings.
Perhaps most disappointing for the governor, only 58% of Democrats give him their full
support.
One sign the governor may be losing the allegiance of some of his core supporters.
Meteorologist Katie Baker joins us now.
Now you told us it was going to be cooler out there but when I went out at 7 I was surprised.
I know.
It's cold out here again.
We've been so spoiled for so long just our perspective has completely changed but this
is normal.
This is what it should be like.
Yes we head into the middle of March and the good news is things are going to calm down.
Winds are calming down right now across the area.
As I showed you earlier eastern central Oregon still seeing some gusty winds but the majority
of the wind warnings, high wind warnings have been canceled.
Just a few wind advisories out there.
Across the Portland area calmer winds tonight and we're going to be back to sunshine for
tomorrow but it's not going to be the very warm temperatures that we've become accustomed
to over the last few weeks.
Forty-two degrees as you wake up for tomorrow.
Starting out with the clouds and then we're going to clear out.
We're going to see some sunshine partly sunny skies.
Fifty-six for your daytime high.
This is pretty close to average for this time of year even though it definitely does feel
cooler.
Taking a look at our radar we'll take you through the afternoon showing you all the
rain that moved on through right around three o'clock.
That's when we had some of the heaviest rains across southwestern Washington, Vancouver
on down into Portland.
It started to lighten up a bit as you headed south but it definitely was a wet day for
many folks.
Here's another view of that cold front just sliding on through not only bringing the rain
but bringing the wind.
We had very high winds up in the mountains up to around 61 miles per hour in the lower
elevations still very gusty across the gorge at 55 miles per hour.
Some of the totals in Portland 1200s of an inch and close to a quarter of an inch in
Vancouver so fairly impressive for one day.
It's just a drop in the bucket so to speak as we look at our total rainfall for the entire
winter.
This is a dry day is better than another dry day for the record book so we can be thankful
for it.
We're watching this cold front move on through as we head into tomorrow.
It's going to be a different story staying dry partly sunny skies temperatures will be
in the mid 50s up and down the Oregon coast 58 degrees in Salem.
Look for sunshine up in the mountains your snow level at 3000 feet.
We're seeing some snow and some rain up there for tonight and for tomorrow.
Four to six inches of snow winds are dying down though less than 25 miles per hour.
Still breezy also for Baker City and for Burns and breezy for the Dow 61 with some sunshine
partly sunny skies all in the mid 50s across the metro area.
We're going to squeeze out another day of sunshine on Friday and then unsettled weather
as we head into the weekend a little bit of rain here and there overall staying fairly
consistent but St. Patrick's Day looks like it's going to be a good one for tomorrow.
Okay thank you very much.
A nine-year-old girl who vanished from her Florida bedroom is still missing tonight.
Did this convicted sex offender know what happened to Jessica Lunsford?
The new information next.
Police in Florida want to question a sex offender in the case of a missing nine-year-old girl.
Jessica Lunsford disappeared February 23rd from her home of Sassaw home.
Authorities want to question John Cooey.
He lived near Lunsford but recently left the area.
Cooey did go to police in Savannah Georgia to be interviewed but police couldn't find
him for a second interview.
Cooey has an extensive criminal record including indecent exposure and carrying a concealed
weapon.
They were beaten and police did nothing.
Those are the claims by eight people who filed a lawsuit against the city of Seattle following
a violent Mardi Gras riot there four years ago.
Today that lawsuit was thrown out by a federal judge who ruled the city could only be liable
if the actions of police put the victims at greater risk.
One person was killed, dozens more injured during that riot in downtown Seattle.
Tonight the OSU Beavers came from 18 points behind to send their NIT game into overtime.
Learn if state advanced when Ed returns with sports news.
And a quick programming note for you.
A change due to the NCAA basketball tournament.
You will not see Cooey News 6 at noon, 5 or 6 o'clock tomorrow or Friday.
We'll have lots of basketball on.
But you can tune in for a special edition of Cooey News 6 at 9 p.m. and then of course
our regularly scheduled newscast at 11.
Hello everybody.
Nice seeing you again.
This one cut the Beavers to the bone.
Tonight they're out after a heart ripping loss to Cal State Fullerton.
And oh the misery, the Beavers came from 18 second half points down.
And here in overtime David Lucas gave state a 76-74 lead.
Then JS Nash made it 81-78.
Beavers, we knew they had this baby.
But no, it was tied.
And then at the buzzer Cal Fullerton's Ralphie Holmes with the Diger.
That made your final after overtime 85-83 Fullerton.
So it's one and done in the NIT for state.
At Houston's Tracy McGrady went right down the Blazers middle as the Rockets posted their
most lopsided victory over Portland.
The high mark came when Travis Outlaw barbecued the 7 foot 6 inch Yao Ming.
Just say Yao-sa.
What a pleasant surprise Travis Outlaw is.
Many of his family and friends were in Houston tonight as Travis made national highlights.
But in the fourth Mike James put the Rockets up 30.
The final is 108-77 Houston.
Tonight Ben Oregon's blind musher Rachel Sodoris dropped out of the Iditarod 430 miles from
the finish line.
Rachel explained she gave up for the well-being of her dogs.
At 19 years old she was the first blind musher to compete in the Iditarod.
Today the race was won by Norway's Robert Sorley.
On King on you great husky.
Robert Sorley overcame insomnia and a dwindling dog team for a second victory in only three
tries.
Sorley finished the race with only 8 dogs, half the number he started with.
And Sorley wins 72 grand in a truck.
Finally come here you, somebody call Gritz Gresham.
Robert Hogan caught this baby outside Las Cruces, New Mexico.
It's as big as a three year old kid.
42 inches.
Old Ray says it almost pulled him into the water.
He says he's going to keep it.
I'd fry that baby for him.
What is that a catfish Ed?
Big old catfish.
Big old.
His hand is stuck in its mouth.
Looks like somebody I used to know.
We're not looking to ask who.
Thanks Ed.
Look at the weather.
The rain is back.
Well we're looking at just a few isolated showers right now but drying out some sunshine
for tomorrow and Friday and then back to a few showers for the weekend.
That's a little more like it.
It is doesn't it?
For this time of year.
Finally.
Okay thanks Katie.
Thanks for joining us tonight.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Remember now we just have a 9.30 and 11 o'clock newscast tomorrow.
Right.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Bye bye.