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A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 1 June 2018

$ 10

Oregon looks into price gouging as city faces tainted water

By TOM JAMES become aware they can
Associated Press report the incidents.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Alan Torga, of Salem, was
National Guard will hand one person who com-
out free water to residents plained after he said em-
who can’t drink tap water ployees at a supermarket
contaminated by an algae asked his mother for $25 for
bloom in the Salem, Or- a case of 36 bottles of wa-
egon, area, and state law ter.
enforcement authorities “She picked up on it and
are looking into claims of called me,” Torga said,
price gouging after officials adding that he told his
extended an emergency mother not to pay the
drinking water advisory. price. Later, at another
Gov. Kate Brown’s office supermarket, she saw em-
said Thursday the water will ployees selling gallons of
be distributed to people at water for about $13, he
10 locations in the state’s added. “It’s really unfortu-
capital and Stayton be- nate that people are get-
cause of toxins created by ting gouged like this.”
a bloom at Detroit Lake, a The developments follow
municipal reservoir. earlier confusion gener-
Officials had earlier warned ated when officials used a
young children and people Keizer Community Emergency Response Team members fill containers for Salem residents at the wireless alert system to blast
with compromised immune Keizer Civic Center on Thursday, May 31, 2018. Gov. Kate Brown’s office said Thursday the water a cryptic warning Tuesday
systems against drinking will be distributed to people at 10 locations in the state’s capital and Stayton because of toxins to “Prepare for Action”
tap water in the area. At a created by a bloom at Detroit Lake, a municipal reservoir. onto cellphones around
press conference Thursday, Associated Press the city, referring only to a
Salem water quality super- both Friday and Saturday. to get better or get worse.” son, a spokeswoman for “Civil Emergency.” Officials
visor Lacey Goeres-Priest “This is a living thing,” Pow- State law enforcement au- the Oregon Department of blamed the truncated mes-
said a best-case scenario ers said, referring to the al- thorities are also looking Justice. Officials have re- sage on a computer glitch
would see the advisory lift- gae that creates the toxins. into claims of price goug- ceived more than a dozen that cut off crucial informa-
ed no earlier than after col- “We’re not going to specu- ing on bottled water in the complaints so far and ex- tion: The alert was only for
lecting safe water samples late as to whether it’s going area, said Kristina Edmun- pect more as consumers a limited water advisory.q

Man acquitted for destroying 2nd

Ten Commandments monument

stroying another one three presented in court Thurs- Reed was suffering from
years later outside of Ar- day said that Reed lacked schizoaffective disorder at
kansas’, with the judge cit- the capacity to follow the the time he destroyed Ar-
ing evidence that the man law when he knocked over kansas’ display, and that
suffers from a mental dis- the 6,000-pound (2,700-ki- he suffered from delusions
ease or defect. logram) monument in and hallucinations. Under
Pulaski County Circuit June 2017 with his car. A Piazza’s order, the hospital
Judge Chris Piazza ruled replacement monument must perform another eval-
that Michael Tate Reed now stands in its place, pro- uation within 30 days and
must return to the state tected by four concrete issue a report on whether
In this June 28, 2017, file photo, a Ten Commandments monument hospital in Little Rock for posts. his release would create a
outside the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., is blocked off after additional evaluations that Reed destroyed a similar “substantial risk” of bodily
a man crashed into it with a vehicle, less than 24 hours after could lead to his release. monument in Oklahoma injury to another person
the privately funded monument was installed on the Capitol
grounds. Reed has been held in the City in 2014, but Oklahoma or serious property dam-
Associated Press state hospital since late prosecutors didn’t charge age. Within 10 days of that
By ANDREW DeMILLO Commandments monu- last year after Piazza ruled him after concerns were report, another hearing
Associated Press ment outside of Okla- he wasn’t fit to proceed to raised about his mental must be held to determine
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A homa’s state Capitol was trial. health. The Arkansas state whether Reed should re-
man who destroyed a Ten acquitted Thursday of de- A state hospital evaluation hospital evaluation said main in the hospital.q