Deadly force in the name of self-defense?

A Sutherlin man was sentenced to 19-months in prison Friday (Aug. 7) for criminally negligent homicide. Last summer, the man shot an intoxicated intruder who appeared to have stumbled into the wrong house in the middle of the night and went to sleep on the couch.

The man pleaded no contest to the charge in June but said early on that he was acting in self-defense the night he shot the intruder.

The sentencing has generated some interesting comments from people in Douglas County. At the heart of comments is one question: “Can a homeowner use deadly force to protect their home?”

The man was originally facing a second-degree manslaughter charge as well, but the charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. Members of the district attorney’s office reportedly worried that a many people — i.e. jury members — would think the Sutherlin man had the right to shoot the intruder and, therefore, decided that the plea agreement was the best route.

Here’s the link to the story where you can read more about the case and see what News-Review readers have to say about the 19-month sentencing.

Williams Creek Fire

Photo taken by News-Review photographer Robin Loznak

Since July 28, I’ve been covering the Williams Creek Fire, located about 35 miles east of Roseburg.

I went out to the fire line Tuesday to get a closer look at the burnout and mop-up efforts. My Nomex gear is a bit big so our photographer had me stop for a sad firefighter shot, which ended up making me look similar to Dopey (you know, like Snow White’s seven dwarfs).

As of this morning (Aug. 6), the fire was up to 6,577 acres and was 50 percent contained.

Now covering public safety and courts!

As of mid-July, I am now the public safety and courts reporter! I will also continue to cover health and fitness and the soldiers from the local Oregon National Guard company.

I managed to get a taste of all aspects of my new beat my first full week in the position (July 20-24).

During that first week, I covered a case where a man was defending himself and had racked up about a dozen charges while in jail. During the second day of his trial, he pled guilty to the charges. The following week he pled guilty to most of the remaining charges. In all, he will serve 140 months in prison.

During that first week I also covered a fatal logging accident, a fatal car crash and a fatal motorcycle crash. For each of those stories, I had the tough task of calling the victims’ families to ask about their lost loved ones. All of the families were willing to talk to me, and I had the opportunity to tell readers about the victims in each of these tragedies.

The week ended with a house fire that destroyed a motor home a couple had been living in and a farmhouse that had been in the family for decades.

It was an exhausting week, but I loved every minute of it. I had been hoping to get on the public safety and courts beat for some time and was thrilled when the opportunity arose. I studied political science in college and focused on courts and law. The political system has always intrigued me.

I look forward to what each day brings on this fast-paced beat. (This week it’s several-thousand acre wildfire burning abut 35 miles from Roseburg.)

Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association awards

The News-Review was named the best newspaper of its size in the state during the annual Summer Publishers Convention of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association in mid-July.

In addition to winning the General Excellence award, the newsroom staff took home 25 awards in the ONPA’s Better Newspaper Contest.

I won three awards in the contest, which judged work printed in 2008.

I was given the second-place award in the “Best Feature Story: General” category for a story I wrote about Roseburg’s Charlie Company of the Oregon National Guard. I spent the weekend with the soldiers in Redmond, Ore., and wrote a story about their one-weekend-a-month training. The soldiers have since deployed to Iraq. Here is the link to the story.

I won third place in the “Best Feature Story: Personality” category for the story I wrote about Frank Lane, a local man who grew up on a California homestead. Here’s his story.

I also won third place in the “Best Writing” category. This category required me to submit three pieces of writing to be judged. I submitted the story about Frank Lane (see above), an enterprise story about women smoking during pregnancy and a health feature about a young man who was battling cancer. Blake Krieg died from cancer in December 2008.

It’s been humbling to have my work recognized by my peers during my first full year as a reporter.

Society of Professional Journalists awards

The News-Review picked up seven awards in the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2008 Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition.

The newsroom staff shared a second-place award in the multiple-day comprehensive coverage category for its six-day series titled “Without A Net,” which concerned the federal timber safety net’s effect on Douglas County’s budget.

My story in the series focused on the possible closure of the Douglas County Health Department’s Prenatal Clinic. I spoke with a young woman who relied on the clinic for health care. She said without the prenatal clinic, she likely would not have received any health care during her pregnancy nor been able to kick her drug habit. A local physician group, the local hospital and the health department have since worked out a partnership to keep the clinic’s doors open.

As for individual SPJ awards, I was given an honorable mention award in the personalities category for a story I wrote about a local man who grew up on a California homestead. Here is the story of Frank Lane.

The News-Review competed against other newspapers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska with circulations of less than 25,000 subscribers.

The award winners were announced in late May.

Melrose Marble Madness captures world record

More than 730 Douglas County residents came together one sweltering Saturday afternoon to break the world record for the largest marble tournament.

“I think it’s really cool because Roseburg is a little city in Oregon and not many people know about it,” 13-year-old Raluca Gosman said of the new title. “Maybe now they’ll start to find out about it.”

I covered the record-breaking event and captured a slice of the action on video. Here’s the link.

DUII simulation hits home with high school seniors

The mock DUII crash gave more than 100 students at North Douglas High School in Drain a very real reminder of what can happen when a person drinks and drives.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputy Brian O’Dell staged the scene on the school’s football field just hours before the teens would begin painting their nails, styling their hair and getting dressed for prom.

As the scenario unfolded on the field, students in the stands wiped tears from their eyes, shocked at how real the crash seemed.

“It’s not something you think about every day,” said junior Hannah Cain as tears rolled down her cheeks. Earlier this year, one of Cain’s friends died in a car crash.

“It just really hit a sensitive spot,” she said of the mock crash.

I also shot a video of the scenario. The complete story and video can be seen here.