http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/index.php Portland and surrounding area community news and information http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124657400463956600 SHERWOOD – After surviving 99 days – much longer than doctors had anticipated – Leah Grace Jarmer, the struggling newborn with a rare and fatal birth defect, succumbed to her illness in the early hours of June 27 while sleeping in the arms of her father Luke. Since birth, Leah ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124663582716267800 Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, one of the region’s largest fire districts, banned most outdoor burning this week. The fire district that covers nine cities and parts of Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties issued the ban Wednesday, July 1. It covers backyard burning, agricultural ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124663404247031600 A 49-year-old man was arrested Thursday afternoon in connection with the robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank in Raleigh Hills. Washington County sheriff’s deputies caught Brett Matthew Johnson using a K9 team that tracked him to a nearby apartment. Johnson was taken into custody when he tried to ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124657360391909200 TUALATIN – Call it, “The Case of the Disappearing Libraries.” Like characters in a detective novel, Tualatin residents living in the city’s Clackamas County section have been trying to uncover a mystery. Why were their library cards canceled on July 1? The answer, it ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124649807162097500 The Tigard-Tualatin school board set a budget last week that eliminates 60 teaching positions and halves elementary music and physical education programs, but does not cut as close to the bone as options considered earlier this spring. The nearly $107 million budget the board approved last ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124649681744589800 In the action-thriller “Public Enemies,” which opened Wednesday, Johnny Depp’s character John Dillinger holds up banks and fights off FBI agents — all while wearing a holster made in Tigard. Ted Blocker Holsters on Tigard Street produced the leather holsters worn by Johnny ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124649824114630600 TIGARD — Tigard’s newest park adds not only a pocket of public green space and a 3 million gallon reservoir to the landscape of Bull Mountain — it also adds a teeter-totter. The seesaw is a rare and highly coveted piece of playground equipment, according to neighborhood ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124649848234627700 TIGARD – Tigard High Band members and boosters will be selling fireworks at a stand on 99W just north of McDonald Street through July 4. They are also running a smaller stand in the parking lot of Tigard High, located at 9000 S.W. Durham Road. Fireworks prices range from 50 cents to $100 ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124649772940692800 TIGARD – The city of Tigard will host its 23rd-annual old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration on Saturday, July 4, at the Tigard High soccer field, located at the corner of Hall Boulevard and Durham Road. Admission is free, and gates open at 6 p.m. The fireworks show will begin at dusk ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124645431099102100 Family Circle magazine has named Sherwood as one of the best towns and cities for families, according to a recent national survey. In its August issue, the magazine lists the city as one of the perfect places to call home based on such criteria as affordable housing, good neighbors, green spaces ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124589446652860000 State Sen. Bruce Starr and about a dozen lawmakers raced the clock to pass a bill this week that would increase the penalty for killing a pregnant woman. Fueling their legislative push is the disturbing death of Tigard’s Heather Snively, who has become a symbol of the need for the state ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124589370573460000 A portion of Interstate 5 is about to undergo a much-needed makeover. The Oregon Department of Transportation kicked off its $23 million Interstate 5 Preservation Project this month — a partially federal-stimulus-funded undertaking that will make extensive improvements to the highway’s ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124595220117016600 TUALATIN – The intersection of Herman Road and Teton Avenue will be closed this weekend while the city continues to improve the junction as part of the ongoing Herman Road Project. The intersection will be closed to north and southbound traffic along Teton Avenue. Drivers can use nearby 90th ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124595204672153800 TUALATIN – Some utility rates are set to rise slightly on July 1, but residents looking for some relief on their bills may be pleased to see one price that will stay steady – the cost of water. Despite Portland recently raising the cost of the water that it sells to Tualatin, the city ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124595137202586000 TIGARD — Though the torrential downpours over the weekend cleared Cook Park and the 2009 Tigard Festival of Balloons more than once, organizers said that overall, the event was a success. “Attendance was down, but the people that did come down had a good time,” said Cindy ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124589336376045200 TIGARD — Dr. Feelgood’s Pub will be issuing its last call — for now — in the coming weeks since the Oregon Liquor Control Commission decided on June 18 to cancel its liquor license. The commission determined that family-owned Tigard pub has “a history of serious and ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124589405376322700 In hopes of reinstating one teacher at each of the district’s 15 schools next year, the Foundation for Tigard-Tualatin Schools is embarking on its most ambitious fundraising campaign ever, called “Bridging the Gap.” The goal is to raise $1.3 million by the end of August, in time ... http://www.tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=124589296051044000 Audree Nethercott has never had trouble finding work until this summer. The 18-year-old graduate of Tualatin High recently spent a day and a half wandering Bridgeport Village, collecting applications from places that sell everything from running shorts to wedge heels to to noodle dishes. “I ...