Two people were found dead in a vehicle along Highway 26 outside of Banks early Wednesday morning, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. Detectives believe a man shot and killed his wife before killing himself.

Returning for the third year in a row, the Banks Annual Christmas Light Parade is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday, December 11 at the Banks Hardware Store and end at Sunset Park.

The son of Asa Ellsworth Westcott, a state representative and Banks resident, runs away from home and is found in Bend, a Sunday school in Gales Creek is booming, and Timber residents seek to better their roads. That and the diaries of Esther Lilly Hundley from 1928, a Gales Creek-area resident in this week's Dispatches from History: Western Washington County 100 years ago.

A new strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been reported in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel. The World Health Organization dubbed the new variant "Omicron" today. Little is known yet about the new strain.

Adverse winter weather at mountain passes, impaired drivers, and more could face travelers as they hit the road this weekend.

In a tradition the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) dubbed “Green Friday,” a $5 parking fee is waived at more than two dozen parks Friday, November 26.

Those attending local dances in Gales Creek are asked to leave the moonshine at home, Banks' American Legion Post helps form a county-wide organization, and some impressive potatoes are unearthed in the Fir Creek community near Gales Creek. That and more in this week's Dispatches from History: Western Washington County 100 years ago.

Following recommendations from the FDA, CDC, and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, Oregon Governor Kate Brown gave the go-ahead to open eligibility for booster shots to all adults in Oregon Saturday.

Vaccine booster shots could soon be available for adults in Oregon, pending approval from the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup and Oregon Governor Kate Brown.

The Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) issued this week a quarterly economic forecast predicting higher wages increasing projected tax revenue will allow the state to recover more quickly from the recession.

Pongratz Road is expected to reopen Tuesday, November 23, the Washington County Department of Land Use and Transportation said, following the completion of a bridge replacement project.

A federal grant administered through the U.S. Department of Transportation to the tune of $12.2 million will go to building the Council Creek Regional Trail between Hillsboro and Forest Grove, a long-proposed route that could eventually connect Hillsboro, Cornelius, Forest Grove, and Banks.

The Oregon Department of Transportation announced that beginning January 1, 2022 fees for renewing vehicle license plates, getting new trip permits, and applying for vehicle titles would increase by 3 percent.

A summary of calls from October 2021, and a message from the Banks Fire District.

Supply chain disruptions continue to impact county road work projects. As winter approaches, the Washington County Department of Land Use and Transportation warned that a number of materials could be delayed, including liquid magnesium chloride, an anti-icing agent, but that enough had been stockpiled to last the winter.

Free Fishing Weekend will return to Oregon on Friday and Saturday, November 26 and 27, the last of three such "Free Fishing Weekends" to be held in 2021. Hagg Lake is expected to be stocked with 4,000 legal-size trout this week.

A Buxton man and World War 1 veteran is laid to rest after an illness fells him at age 32; fortunes are told in Gales Creek; a Gaston man sends his truck flying near Dilley. That and more in this week's Dispatches from History: Western Washington County 100 years ago.

Oregon State Police are seeking public assistance in two poaching cases in Tillamook County that both happened in the first half of November. It was not clear if the cases are considered connected.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Alumni Association & Foundation announced Banks resident Alexander Steiner is now a sworn-in Midshipman and a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Washington County’s mobile vaccine clinic will hold three school-based vaccination clinics which will include vaccines for students in the newly eligible age bracket of five to 11 years old in western Washington County this week.

In the Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division's September 2021 newsletter, released at the end of October, one entry in the report noted that a pair of hunters were seen using a drone to scout for the upcoming rifle season on private property near Banks.

A home was egged on Main Street, someone halted a break-in of their vehicle and convinced "the subject to stay while deputies were still responding," and more in this month's police report, as delivered by Washington County Sheriff's Office Deputy Frank Ward to the Banks City Council Tuesday, November 9.

The Portland office of the National Weather Service warned that heavy rains expected to begin Wednesday night could bring flooding along creeks and rivers in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.

The case involving a woman found dead north of Banks is now tied to another case of a woman who was ruled to have died by suicide in California, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said. The law enforcement agency has partnered with Crime Stoppers of Oregon to offer a reward for information on the case that leads to an arrest.

A community member is laid to rest in Gales Creek, an inquest following a tragic train crash near Scofield clears the train's crew, and Forest Grove tells people outside of city limits to deal with fires on their own. This and more in this week's double-feature of Dispatches from History: Western Washington County 100 years ago.

Early results from Tuesday night's election showed that voters in Banks supported a measure to renew and increase its local operating levy for police services provided by the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

Early results from Tuesday night's election showed that voters in Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue's sprawling service territory supported a measure allowing $122 million in general obligation bonds to raise funds for a number of public safety projects.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel voted to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 through 11 Tuesday afternoon, followed by an approval from the agency's director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky.

Today marks the first day you can legally use studded tires on Oregon roads. The Oregon Department of Transportation would rather you didn’t. “Our latest study concluded studded tires cause about $8.5 million in damage each year on state highways," ODOT said, and noted that traction tires that meet certain standards are considered just as good or better in most cases than studded tires.

Oregon State Police are seeking public assistance in two elk poaching cases in Columbia County that both happened around the last week of October. It was not clear if the cases are considered connected.

Voters across the state will be determining the fate of a variety of local measures this Tuesday. In Washington County, voters within the city of Banks, those in Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue's service territory, and voters in the Washington County portion of Lake Oswego all will have ballots to return to a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

One person suffered minor burns and a dog died early Saturday morning in a house fire northwest of Banks.

The next leader of the Oregon Department of Forestry was selected Friday morning by the Oregon Board of Forestry, who unanimously selected Cal Mukumoto, of Coos Bay, for the job of State Forester.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office said that the driver of a pickup truck that crashed in Gales Creek fled to a nearby home, where deputies believe the occupants are involved in drug trafficking and have firearms, leading to a search warrant being issued.

Local vaccination clinics coming up in the area, FDA panel recommends vaccine for those 5 to 11 years of age, and more.

The Oregon Board of Forestry is expected to vote on a candidate this week to become Oregon’s next State Forester.

Fire season ended in the last of the 16 million acres of Oregon forestland protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry as of Friday morning, ODF said.

Washington County transitioned today to a new emergency alert system—used to notify county residents who've signed up for alerts during fires, floods, for missing persons notices and the like—called Everbridge.

While the Tillamook Forest Center has yet to reopen following what was initially a temporary shuttering of its doors in the spring of 2020, the facility appears to be on track to reopen for the spring 2022 season. To fully staff the facility, ODF relies on volunteers.

A body found north of Banks was reported to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, October 17, and now detectives are seeking tips from the public regarding the person who was found dead.