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Grand jury: Silverton officer justified in shooting
Police responded to domestic violence disturbance Feb. 14
Virginia Barreda
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A Silverton police officer was justified in shooting a
man on Valentine’s Day, a Marion County grand jury
ruled.
Marion County District Attorney officials said 21-
year-old William Bluestone first shot himself in the
chest; then a second shot was fired by Silverton Police
officer Timothy Hein.
The Grand Jury unanimously ruled Hein’s use of
deadly force was justified.
Timeline of events
In a timeline laid out by Marion County deputy dis-
trict attorney Matt Kemmy, events unfolded as follows:
Around 12:40 p.m on Feb. 14, officials with the Sil-
verton Police Department responded to reports of a
domestic violence disturbance at an apartment at 911
Reserve St.
Officers responded to call from a woman who said
she had been assaulted by her husband, William Blue-
stone, at her apartment in Silverton earlier that morn-
ing. She said after the assault, William Bluestone
forced her out of her apartment and would not let her
take their 3-month-old child.
The woman gave police consent to enter her apart-
ment and provided them with the key.
Officials determined William Bluestone also had a
probation violation arrest warrant at the time.
When officers arrived at the apartment, they
knocked on the door and loudly identified themselves.
No one answered, but officers could hear noises inside
the apartment, including a baby crying. Eventually,
police used the key to enter.
Police removed the baby and a male juvenile from
the apartment before they found William Bluestone
hiding under a bed.
William Bluestone told the police he had a gun.
The officers then backed out of the room and took
cover on either side of the doorway. Ofcs. Hein and
Jonathan Lamoreaux attempted to negotiate with Wil-
liam Bluestone in an effort to get him to surrender
peacefully.
During the negotiation, William Bluestone partially
crawled out from under the bed with a gun in his hand.
Police ordered Bluestone several times to drop the gun,
but he refused and instead alternated between point-
ing the gun at his own head and chest. He also put the
See JUSTIFIED, Page 2A
Wilderness
permits system
finalized
Forest Service to launch program for
Three Sisters, Jefferson, Washington
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Kennedy High School's girls basketball team won the 2020 2A state title, beating Monroe 48-26 in the
championship game. ANDRE PANSE / SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
Kennedy girls wins 2A
state basketball title
Pete Martini
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Kennedy High School has built quite a girls basket-
ball tradition in recent years, bringing home the ulti-
mate hardware on a routine basis.
The Trojans just completed a 26-4 season and
capped it by winning the OSAA Class 2A state cham-
pionship in Pendleton.
It is the third state title in five seasons for Kennedy
under co-head coaches Kerry and Peter Hall, who also
captured championships in 2016 and 2018.
“There has been a lot of ha rd workby the girls dur-
ing the Summers and off seasons. Parents getting in-
volved and getting them to tournament basketball at a
young age,” Kerry Hall said about the keys to building
the successful program. “Girls being willing to try new
things and consistently work hard at practices and in
games to get better.”
This season’s team cruised through the postsea-
son, beating Heppner 64-26, Coquille 50-36, Bandon
51-33 and Monroe 48-26.
In the championship victory against Monroe, sen-
ior Sophia Carley had 20 points and 13 rebounds to
lead the Trojans. Ellie Cantu had 16 points, four re-
bounds and two assists.
“Sophia came ready to play this weekend and it
See KENNEDY, Page 2A
The U.S. Forest Service has put finishing touches
on a plan that will transform hiking and camping in
three of Oregon’s most popular wilderness areas.
Now, they’re preparing for launch.
The federal agency worked for almost three years
to craft a system that will require hikers and campers
to purchase a permit before entering the Three Sis-
ters, Mount Jefferson and Mount Washington wil-
derness areas, with the goal of limiting crowds, envi-
ronmental damage and adding solitude.
The final details ironed out included when permits
become available, how many people can purchase
and where they can be bought — critical details for
anyone planning a trip into the 450,000 acres of Ore-
gon’s most iconic backcountry.
The first block of permits goes on sale April 7, but
will become available throughout the summer. The
permits are required May 22 to September 25.
Although similar systems exist across the United
States, the scale and complexity of this system is un-
precedented for Oregon, and maybe even the United
States, and is likely to bring some growing pains, offi-
cials acknowledged.
“This is new to us, it’s new to the public, and I’m
sure we’re going to learn a lot this first year,” Forest
Service spokeswoman Jean Nelson-Dean said.
“We’ve worked hard to get this right, but we’re also
open to ways to improve the system as it goes into
place.”
The Statesman Journal has covered this story in
depth since it was first proposed three years ago.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new
permit system, including how to get permits, where
they’re required and the penalty for breaking the
rules.
Why did this happen?
Oregon industry considers
action on climate order
Now that Gov. Kate Brown has given state agencies
a mandate to cut greenhouse gas emissions, business
interests are calculating their next move, including a
potential lawsuit.
Brown took executive action Tuesday to enact a
strict and declining cap on greenhouse emissions.
Her order aims to cut pollution from transportation
fuels, natural gas and industrial polluters. She is also
directing state agencies to cut their own emissions
and to make Oregon buildings and appliances more
efficient.
“The short answer is yes, there will be litigation,”
said Shaun Jillions, executive director of Oregon
Manufacturers and Commerce. “Now the question
becomes, when is that going to happen? We assem-
bled our legal team already. They are looking at it right
now.”
Brown’s order is a blunt epilogue to an effort by
See ACTION, Page 2A
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The plan was developed because of the growing
number of people hiking and backpacking in the
three wilderness areas, a region of snow-capped vol-
canoes and mountain lakes between the Willamette
Valley and Bend.
Visits more than tripled in the Three Sisters since
2011, leading to increases of trash, human poop and
environmental damage in sensitive alpine areas pro-
tected under the strongest form of environmental
law.
The main issue is Oregon’s population growth,
particularly in Central Oregon, which is only expect-
ed to continue.
Officials have stressed that the system isn’t meant
to limit overall numbers. It’s more about “redistribut-
ing” people to avoid massive crowds in just a few
places. Over the past few years, 55 percent of the
crowds in the Three Sisters have been concentrated
on five trails.
“For some of the most popular hikes, it will be
tough to get a permit,” Matt Peterson, architect of the
system for the Forest Service, said in May. “But if a
person can’t get a permit for a weekend in August,
they might end up going on a weekday, or in the fall,
or even trying a different area. It will redistribute use
See PERMITS, Page 3A