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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2019)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 ܂ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Missing Mt. Angel man’s body found arated Sunday morning. Fennimore found his way to a store in Glide on Highway 138 (North Umpqua Highway) and alerted authorities on the evening of Feb. 4. Searchers located the pair’s maroon Vance 2008 Chevrolet Colorado on Feb. 6. Search efforts were halted Feb. 9 be cause of heavy snowfall and didn’t resume until Sun day. Before halting the search, Vance’s wife, Halie, said investigators told her they had narrowed his location but could not continue looking because of snow 10 to 12 feet high. Vance said she was at work Sunday when she re ceived a call that her husband had been found. David Davis and Virginia Barreda Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK The body of a 30yearold Mt. Angel man was locat ed Sunday morning two months after he went missing in the Umpqua National Forest. Douglas County Search and Rescue volunteers re turned to the Clearwater area and located Jeffery Vance just before noon. Vance went missing Feb. 3 after he became separat ed from friend Anthony Fennimore, 29, of Salem. Fennimore told deputies he and Vance walked away from their pickup after they had experienced car trou bles on Friday, Feb. 1 in the area of Clearwater and sep While she is unsure exactly where he was found, Vance said it took the team more than five hours to re trieve his body. After a twomonth wait, Vance said hearing the news was “terrible.” “I’m not naive,” she said. “No one can be out there that long in the snow, but I was secretly hoping...he was hiding out and would show up. But I knew better.“ The Douglas County Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting a death investigation, but authorities say there are no immediate indications of foul play. Virginia Barreda is the Breaking News Reporter with the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at 503-399-6657 or at vbarreda@statesmanjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2. Error hanging up proposed rock quarry This photo shows a statue of the goddess of Justice balancing the scales. DAMIEN MEYER, AFP/GETTY IMAGES More than 40 officers listed as questionable witnesses Whitney Woodworth Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK The sale of mineral rights for a proposed site for a rock quarry south of Silverton is under scrutiny after comments from those who live around the property. BILL POEHLER | STATESMAN JOURNAL State Lands re-examining sale of mineral rights Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Nearly a year after approving the sale of mineral and geothermal rights to the owner of a property south of Silverton who wants to open a rock quarry, the Oregon State Land Board is considering reexam ining its sale after it finally opened the matter to pub lic comment. The property borders Silver Creek and is about 1,500 feet from Silverton Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for Silverton. During the delayed public comment period, many in and around Silverton raised concerns about the po tential for contamination of Silver Creek an active mining operation could have. But the land use is not under the purview of the State Land Board and is instead a matter for Marion County, which approved the use for the site in 2015. See ROCKS, Page 3A New roadkill salvage law proves popular Ben Botkin Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Three months in, Oregonians have embraced a new law that lets them claim for food deer and elk killed along the state’s highways. More than 200 permits were issued by March 31, and primarily where expected: rural areas with an abundant supply of both wildlife and motorists. Ur ban areas and farflung, sparsely populated counties, not so much. The law allows people to take deer and elk killed by vehicles, whether their own or someone else’s. Other animal species are not included. Highways near small and mediumsize towns are roadkill hotspots. Residents near La Grande in east ern Oregon and Klamath Falls in southern Oregon ap plied for the most roadkill permits, state data show. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which administers the roadkill permit system — offi cially known as road salvage permits — provided the data in response to a public records request from the Statesman Journal. Agency officials expected people to apply for the new permits, but they didn’t know what type of vol See ROADKILL, Page 3B Online at SilvertonAppeal.com Vol. 138, No. 18 News updates: ܂ Breaking news ܂ Get updates from the Silverton area Photos: ܂ Photo galleries Serving the Silverton Area Since 1880 A Unique Edition of the Statesman Journal 50 cents ©2019 Printed on recycled paper Lists kept by district attorneys across the country track law enforcement officers who prosecutors re fuse to call as witnesses because of their history of dishonesty, unreliability and even criminal activity. In Marion County, nearly four dozen current and former officers are included on the socalled Brady index — officers whose participation prosecutors be lieve would undermine their cases at trial. They include Oregon State Police troopers, Marion County deputies and Salem Police officers along with eight civilian employees, such as Department of Hu man Services caseworkers. Some are officers who forged evidence and inves tigators exposed for botching criminal cases. Some resigned quietly amidst internal investigations. Some are still working in law enforcement. Many current and former officers say they were unfairly placed on the list and have not been able to appeal their Brady designation, despite essentially being barred from investigating cases and working with inmates. Marion County prosecutors acknowledged the Brady index provided to the Statesman Journal is not a full list of unreliable witnesses in law enforcement. The names and documents relating to ongoing civil litigation, criminal cases and personnel discipline were redacted or withheld. The Marion County index — obtained through a public records request by the Statesman Journal — contains the names of 47 former and current troop ers, deputies and officers along with eight civilian employees. Next to most names on the list, in all capital let ters, is the phrase, “DO NOT CALL" as a witness. Sean Banks, a deputy arrested on theft, tampering and misconduct charges is not on the list. Nor is a former detective investigated for repeated untruth fulness, including during a child abuse investigation. An investigator's dishonesty and misconduct can have widereaching effects. Prosecutors recently confirmed multiple criminal cases were dismissed due to Banks' lack of credibility. District attorney officials said they have not com pleted their formal analysis on Banks and other for mer officers, which is why they don't appear on the See MISCONDUCT, Page 2A saturday morning NEVER TASTED So GOOD! BREAKFAST Made Fresh on the Grill Every Saturday Morning 7:00AM to 10:30am Saturdays Only $ 99 5 EA. TWO FRESH EGGS, TWO STRIPS OF BACON OR TWO SAUSAGE LINKS OR ONE SLICE OF COUNTRY HAM, YOUR CHOICE OF HASHBROWNS OR HOME-FRIED POTATOES AND TOAST. MAKE YOUR SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST AND GROCERY SHOPPING ONE CONVENIENT STOP! HAVE YOUR BREAKFAST READY WHEN YOU ARE. 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