Fire on Weyerhauser land threatens forest, homes

By Abby Sewell

Molalla Pioneer

Firefighters are battling a six-acre blaze on steep terrain on Weyerhauser property near the Glen Avon Bridge.

The fire started around noon, near a private Weyerhauser road on the west side of the Glen Avon Bridge over the Molalla River.

Although the cause of the first spark is unknown, the fire spread quickly [...]

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Deportation hearing leaves Molalla union organizer in a bind

By Abby SewellMolalla Pioneer
Nearly eleven months after pleading guilty to passport fraud, the status of Mexican-born former union organizer Jose Alfredo Cobián remains in limbo.
At a hearing in Portland this morning, immigration judge Michael Bennett ruled that Cobián, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico illegally in 1989 and has lived under the identity [...]

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Yesterday’s RV fire in Mulino may have been arson

An arson investigation is underway after a fire consumed an RV and another vehicle on Mulino Road on Monday afternoon.
Calls from both the property residents and passersby began coming in at 1:40 p.m., reporting that the RV was engulfed with flames as high as 20 feet.
Molalla and Colton Fire Departments arrived on scene, at 13800 [...]

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Plans coming down the pipeline

By Abby SewellMolalla Pioneer
Northwest Natural Gas and TransCanada Corporation announced on Monday that they have formalized a partnership to work towards building a new natural gas pipeline along a route that would run about a mile south of Molalla.
After studying the feasibility and customer interest in the project, the two companies finalized their agreement on [...]

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Petitioners, MCC go to mediation

By Abby SewellMolalla Pioneer
In a tentative step towards resolving the issues that led to several citizens to begin petitioning to remove the leadership of Molalla Communications Company, several of the petitioners met with the board and chief executive officer of MCC in a county-mediated session on Monday night.
The parties to this case, who signed a [...]

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Cars burn at Molalla Ford; estimated $15,000 in damages

A fire of unknown cause consumed one truck at the Molalla Ford dealership and damaged two other vehicles on Monday morning.
About 5 a.m. that morning, a passerby reported seeing one of the used vehicles in the lot, a 2000 Ford Ranger, burning. The fire, which appears to have started in the engine, destroyed the motor [...]

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