EUGENE, Ore. - The IQs of preschool-aged children who belong to low-income families improved after parents took a child-learning course, University of Oregon experts said.Researchers found that the intelligence scores of children ages 3 to 5 whose parents took an 8-week class about parenting techniques improved, The Washington Times reported Saturday. The study included 28 children."Our findings are important because they suggest that kids who are at high risk for school failure can be helped through ... [full story]

PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon's only moose herd appears to be thriving in the northeast mountains this winter, state wildlife biologist Pat Matthews said.He said the deep snow and occasional sub zero temperatures are to the the animals' liking, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Monday."In the winter when it gets above 23 degrees, they start looking to cool themselves down," he said. "In the summer, anything above 60 degrees is too warm for them." Moose watchers may even ... [full story]

TOLLGATE, Ore. -- Three adults and four cub scouts were injured Saturday morning in a two-vehicle crash when a pickup fishtailed on an icy section of Highway 204 in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon, crossed the centerline, and was struck by another pickup, police reported.   Seven people, including four 12-year-old cub scouts from Kennewick, were injured when a pickup fishtailed on an icy section of Highway 204 in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon Saturday morning - OSP ... [full story]

COOS BAY, Ore. -- Police report that the death of a 46-year old Coos Bay man was likely a suicide. His body was discovered Friday lying on boulders at the base of a 100-foot waterfall in Golden & Silver Falls State Natural Area after park employees reported an abandoned vehicle. Dale Martin Thomas, 46, had been reported missing by family members earlier in the week, and missed a court appearance on a misdemeanor charge on ... [full story]

CORVALLIS, Ore. - A Springfield, Oregon man was killed early Saturday when he lost control and crashed his motorcycle as he fled from a deputy attempting a traffic stop for speeding in northeast Corvallis. According to a Benton County Sheriff’s Office news release, a deputy observed Jesse Robert Smith speeding just before 1 a.m., Saturday, February 16, but Smith failed to stop and continued driving his motorcycle at a high rate of speed. While rounding ... [full story]

Oregon State Police and the Marion County Homicide- Assault Response Team are continuing an investigation into the death, now ruled a homicide, of an inmate found deceased in his cell at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem on Thursday morning. An autopsy performed on Antonio Barrantes-Vasquez, 36, has determined the cause of death -- homicide by blunt force trauma, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office announced. Barrantes-Vasquez was serving time for a 2003 second-degree assault conviction in Multonomah County, ... [full story]

OREGON CITY, Ore. - An Oregon community college student was receiving a psychological evaluation after the school told authorities he posted musings online about "a killing spree."Clackamas County sheriff's deputies asked the 23-year-old Eagle Creek man, a student at Clackamas Community College, to stop by the sheriff's office Friday -- the day after a gunman killed five people and then himself at Northern Illinois University. When he did, police took him to a hospital for ... [full story]

PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon leads all U.S. states in use of the word "squaw," regarded as a slur against American Indian women, in the names of geographic locations, a report said.The word is used in the names of peaks, rivers, creeks, gulches and even streets throughout the state, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Sunday. Lawmakers in the state called for doing away with the practice years ago, but it does not seem as though the names will ... [full story]

LAKE OF THE WOODS, Ore. -- Two drivers were seriously injured late Thursday afternoon when their SUVs crashed nearly head-on after one man lost control on an icy spot of Highway 140W about 30 miles west of Klamath Falls, police reported.   Troopers report excessive speed may have contributed to a head-on collision on Highway 140W near Lake of the Woods Thursday afternoon. Both drivers received reportedly serious injuries. - OSP photo  Oregon State Police (OSP) Sgt. Robert ... [full story]

BROOKS, Ore. -- A 70-year old driver maneuvering his van inside his garage crashed through the interior wall into his northeast Brooks residence, striking his wife. The couple was transported to the hospital when they suffered non life-threatening injuries, deputies reported. Robert Appledoom, 70, a resident at 8255 65th Avenue NE in Brooks, Oregon, for an unknown reason drove his 1998 Dodge Caravan through an interior wall about 7 p.m., Thursday, a Marion County Sheriff’s ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore. -- The Marion County Homicide-Assault Response team and Oregon State Police are investigating the suspicious death of an inmate found in his cell Thursday morning. The deceased male, whose name is being withheld pending notification of family members, was an inmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. According to a news release issued by the Oregon Department of Corrections, the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Portland will perform an autopsy. [full story]

WEST LINN, Ore. -- Nearly a dozen officers and a police dog were unable to track down a man who led police on a car chase before losing control of his vehicle which then jumped a curb and plunged down an embankment. The suspect, who has an outstanding arrest warrant for auto theft and prior arrests for weapons charges and eluding police, fled on foot and evaded capture, police reported.   Citizens are asked to contact West Linn ... [full story]

Two drivers were badly injured in a head-on crash on Highway 26 Tuesday afternoon, and all lanes of westbound traffic were closed to allow a LifeFlight helicopter to land and transport a man with possible life-threatening injuries to a local trauma center.   Firefighters removed a portion of this car to extricate the injured driver. The other injured driver,a male, was flown by LifeFlight helicopter with possible life-threatening injuries. TVFR photo. According to Tualatin Valley Fire & ... [full story]