Articles labeled: oregon

Apparently someone in Milwaukie, Oregon has a penchant for exotic pets. Think of the ecosystem balance, people!

At first, 17-year-old Nicco Phillips thought the animal sitting in the middle of the street was a baby deer.

Then he noticed it had a kangaroo-like head.

“I thought, what the heck is it?” Phillips said.

His girlfriend initially thought it was a large rabbit.

The Milwaukie High School student noticed the exotic animal about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“It was letting me pet him but wouldn’t let me grab it,” Phillips said. “It started walking away and I followed and finally grabbed it from behind and picked it up.”

The animal appears to be a Patagonia Cavy, also known as a Patagonian Mara, a large rodent native to central and southern Argentina.

A transsexual woman in Oregon who has undergone testosterone therapy, reconstructive surgery, and lives as a man is now claiming to be 5 months pregnant.

Oregon resident Thomas Beatie told “The Advocate” magazine that carrying a daughter for her wife Nancy is an “incredible” experience.

The article carried a photo showing Beatie with an enlarged midsection, purportedly the result of being pregnant. Neighbors, however, think otherwise.

“Quite frankly, I think it’s a hoax,” neighbor Ron Schlieper told KATU News in Bend, Ore. “I saw him a few days ago and he didn’t look like that,” he said, referencing the photo posted on the Advocate.com Web site. “He was walking down the street with who I thought was his wife, Nancy, and I don’t recall seeing a belly. If that (picture was taken) a month ago, he would have been much bigger just a few days ago.”

Schlieper said Beatie’s wife said she was pregnant, KATU News reported. Another neighbor said the couple left their house every week for fertility treatments in Portland.

Looks like Birdie Avery pissed off a few delinquents in her life or Lebanon Oregon is a cr@phole or insanely boring…

LEBANON, Ore. — A Lebanon couple said Tuesday they were the victims of a sick joke after someone used their name to list a baby for sale.

An ad on Craigslist.org said the baby’s mother wasn’t coming back. It also said the posters of the ad were out of “tweak,” or drugs, and would sell the baby for $1,000.

An e-mail address attached to the ad included the name Birdie Avery. But a woman who shares the same name in Lebanon said she doesn’t recognize the baby. She said she and her husband don’t own a computer.

When our kid was in third grade, he barely knew how to make a phone call much less prank 911 to report a school shooting. So we find this story of a 10-year-old in Salem, Oregon who made such a call a bit troubling:

The Willamette Valley Communications Center received a call at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday from somebody claiming to be an eleven year old female, stating that somebody had been shot in the arm while on the playground at Bush Elementary School.

Several officers responded to the scene and arrived in less than five minutes, but they were unable to locate any shooting victims. There were several students and parents about on the playground where the shooting allegedly occurred, but none had witnessed any shooting or violence. In checking with school officials, they were also unaware of any such incident.

Officers worked closely with school officials and interviewed several children before arresting a 10-year-old female student for calling in the false report. The student was charged with Disorderly Conduct in the First Degree, Misuse of 911 and Giving False Information to a Police Officer, then was released to her parent.

Where did she make the call from? Perhaps this is another example of why 3rd graders shouldn’t bring cell phones to school. And going off on a tangent, isn’t 10 a little old for third grade?

Niemann-Pick Type C, an extremely rare condition that generally affects school age children, is a fatal disease that blocks the body’s ability to metabolize cholesterol, which leads to neurological deterioration. The disease is so uncommon that previously it’s been difficult to diagnose as well as secure funding to research a cure. But now a pricey, experimental drug is giving the parents of these afflicted children hope:

The Hadleys are banking their hope on Zavesca, [a] drug that has slowed progression of the disease in some patients.

“It gives us time,” Bryan Hadley said. “We believe strongly in our faith and that God or doctors, or a little of both, will find a cure.”

The drug will cost about $108,000 per year per child, Hadley said. Their insurance will cover 50 percent, but the financial burden remains overwhelming. He is a wholesale distributor of cell phone accessories, and his wife works in real estate.

Bryan grew up in Salem and graduated from North Salem High in 1989. His family and friends have rallied to organize two local fundraisers to help with medical expenses and to benefit the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation. The former football coach lost three of his four grandchildren to Niemann-Pick.

A wine-tasting event is March 7 at Capitol Chevrolet, and a basketball exhibition March 8 at Chemeketa Community College. For tickets, contact the Salem Family YMCA, (503) 581-9622.

“Because it’s so rare, there’s not a whole lot of money going into research for this,” Bryan Hadley said. “That’s why we’re trying to raise awareness.”

The Supreme Court made the right decision, in my opinion, when they offered to allow a 12 year old boy, who’s parents went to court over a dispute about circumcision (the case started when he was 4). The father, who converted to Judaism, wanted to force the boy to get circumcised while the mother did not.

All this money and time and resources wasted over a decision that is RIGHTFULLY the boy’s to make anyway. Why the parents would not respect the boy enough to ask, is beyond me. Let this boy’s voice be heard and hopefully, his decision will not be swayed by the self interests of his parents.

This is not a newborn, but a boy who is almost a teenager. Nobody should force a child, beyond newborn, to mutilate their body via circumcision against their will.

PORTLAND — The Oregon Supreme Court says the wishes of a 12-year-old boy must be determined in a dispute between his divorced parents over whether he should be circumcised.

The father, who lives in Olympia, converted to Judaism in 2004 and wants the boy to be circumcised as part of the faith, saying the decision is best left to the custodial parent. Lower courts sided with the father.

The mother, who lives in Oregon, appealed to the high court, asking for custody and saying the operation could harm her son physically and psychologically.

While this child’s parents claim the drawing was inspired by an episode of The Simpsons, one has to ask, why the hell is a 1st grader watching The Simpsons?!? Just because it’s a cartoon, doesn’t mean it’s appropriate.

I don’t know that I agree with the suspension. This little boy needs counseling, not a punishment that leaves him without resources, social skills, and an education, and the parents need parenting classes if they think it’s appropriate for him to watch The Simpsons. Obviously, he is showing some sort of violent tendacies, probably from watching inappropriate television. Duh. (Wonder if he plays violent video games too.)

The school claims that he actually got expelled for threatening to shoot other students in the head. (Niiiiiice). Now I am the first one to tell people to lighten up when kids do stupid things, but let’s face it, this little boy either has some issues or is a royal brat. In either case, the parents needs a wake up call.

EAGLE POINT — A first-grader was suspended Tuesday for drawing a stick figure shooting another in the head with a gun and allegedly threatening students.

Little Butte School officials sent 6-year-old Ryan Weathers home after receiving complaints from parents saying he threatened their children, said Douglas Weathers, the boy’s father.

“He’s not a violent kid,” Weathers said. “He did not mean any harm.”

What the hell? Is this really the road we’re going down in this country? First, a Michigan legislator wants to issue teachers conceal and carry permits, now a teacher in Oregon who already has a permit has gone to court for her right to bring her gun into the classroom:

The standoff between the teacher and the school district has grabbed the attention of both sides of the national gun debate.

After a student shot dead 32 people at Virginia Tech University in April, some pro-gun advocates have argued that teachers and perhaps students should be armed to prevent such tragedies in the future.

“The right to protect yourself is natural, God-given and should not be taken away,” said Kevin Starrett, executive director of the Oregon Firearms Federation, which is paying for the teacher’s legal bills.

“State law unequivocally allows her to do this,” he said.

I know creating mass hysteria over an isolated and rare incident is a great way to push your cause, but I don’t think having a bunch of Dirty Harry’s teaching our kids is a real wise way to deal with school safety.