The Columbian

Cleanup with a Bang; Contractor Starts Sifting for Old Munitions at Camp Bonneville

Business is starting to boom at Camp Bonneville as a cleanup contractor starts unearthing unexploded rockets, grenades and other military fireworks at the defunct range north of Camas. Tetra Tech of Pasadena, Calif., is sifting through the top six inches of soil at an old landfill where the Army once destroyed munitions and buried the remains. That effort has yielded 400 items - - including spent shell, scrap and 25 unexploded items -- since work started in May, said Ben Forson, senior enviro...

Grass Roots: Sun, Rain or Sleet, Solar Panels Pump Out Power

Noranne Clayton loves the rain. "To somebody from the panhandle of Texas, the rain is a miracle," she said. "I never get cranky about the rain." But she loves the sun, too, and she's making it work for her. In January, Clayton decided to invest $13,000 in a dozen solar panels for the roof of her already energy-efficient home.

Scientists Map Sudden Oak Death Genome

SAN FRANCISCO - Researchers announced recently they've completed the genetic blueprint of the blight-causing culprit responsible for sudden oak death, a plant disease that's wiping out forests and hurting nurseries across the country and especially in California. The $4 million effort funded by three federal agencies also produced the genetic sequence of a close cousin responsible for destroying millions of dollars worth of soybeans each year.

Volunteers Rebuilding Beloved Lookout

SNOW CAMP MOUNTAIN, Ore. - Stephen and Cris McCollum were supposed to spend their wedding anniversary in 2002 at Snow Camp Fire Lookout, but the Biscuit fire got there first, roaring up the mountain and turning the remote outpost to ashes. "The day it burned, we just sat at home and cried," Cris McCollum recalled. "It was so sad."

Resort Reopens After Norwalk Outbreak; Virus Responsible for Cruise Ship Illnesses

FIELD, British Columbia (AP) A mountain resort has been reopened after a scrubdown following an outbreak of the Norwalk virus that also may be linked to illness on a cruise ship in Alaska. Emerald Lake Lodge in Yoho National Park, west of Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, was reopened Monday after workers completed a top-to-bottom disinfection effort under the supervision of public health officials.

Even Sagebrush Parched for Water

PRICE, Utah - The topsoil is dry dust for the first 3 or 4 inches until finally there's enough moisture to give it some substance. The surface has the look and feel of sand with scattered vegetation poking through. Small sagebrush shrubs that should be bushy and green are mostly a tangled mess of drab and dead, or dying, branches, only a few clinging to the small leaves that show the plant is still alive.

Activists Work to Prevent Whale Collisions

JUNEAU (AP) Environmentalists are hoping to extend proposed East Coast restrictions to protect whales from collisions with ships in Alaska and on the West Coast. Their efforts come after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced proposed rules aimed at reducing ship strikes on the North Atlantic right whale along the East Coast. NOAA will take comments until Aug. 2.

Librarian Who Modeled for 'Shushing' Doll to Retire

SEATTLE - Nancy Pearl, the librarian who started a citywide book- reading project that's spread to communities around the globe, says she will retire in August. Last year, she sparked both giggles and disapproval when she posed as the model for a "shushing" library action figure created by a Seattle company.

Black Fly Infestation Hits Eastern Oregon

VALE, Ore. - A black fly infestation is forcing eastern Oregon farmers to seek help from the federal Farm Service Agency and Malheur County. County officials say there's little they can do against the livestock-pestering insects, also known as buffalo gnats.