Former Banks High School teacher Wymon Wayne Smith, 67, pleaded guilty to two sexual abuse counts Wednesday morning and was sentenced to more than six years in prison.
Balm Grove sold, a 1926 map of Washington County, a 10-year fishing ban announced, a man falls off a train near Timber and more in the news of a century ago.
Leo Gabonia has been sentenced—again—after his first trial was thrown out, and will serve more than 30 years in prison after a Forest Grove police investigation that began in 2017 led to his first conviction.
1926: A dream of a highway connecting Forest Grove to Tillamook continued. Dilley and Gales Creek feuded over flowers. Bacona, north of Buxton, still had a post office. Step into Forest Grove and Banks-area history from the lens of newspaper archives of the day.
With no long-term fix in sight for the crumbling Highway 6, county leaders declared an emergency Tuesday morning, asking the state to address the issues plaguing the Wilson River Highway.
In the month of December 2025, the Forest Grove Police Department serviced 1,805 calls total. This and more in the stats for the final month of the year.
Following the U.S. attack on Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, local elected officials and Forest Grove activists responded by saying the attack was illegal.
Highway 6 has closed again after a new crack formed in the only lane still in operation near milepost 35. The highway is expected to be closed most of Sunday.
