Oregon
Central Oregon fire burns 700 acres near Madras
A wildfire along Highway 97 near Madras erupted Saturday, grew to 700 acres and is now 50% contained, officials said.
The fire started on ground owned by the Bureau of Land Management, roughly 6 miles northwest of Willowdale, and is being fueled by grass, brush and juniper. Officials say the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Oregon
Oregon man mounted a jet engine on a 60-year-old fishing boat to blast around a lake and thinks he may have set a world record
A man from Oregon has unveiled something truly crazy after he added a jet engine to the back of a 60-year-old fishing boat – and he suspects he might have broken a world record.
YouTuber Robert Maddox from CrazyRocketman mounted a pulsejet engine and its 230lbs of thrust to the back of a 1965 12-foot Sears fishing boat.
A wild juxtaposition by any standard, and the video he posted on YouTube confirms that as the diminutive boat roars away.
But did the YouTuber actually actually get the record?
How does this 1965 Sears fishing boat get its power?
The video shows the Oregon man hurling the boat around a lake, with the engine glowing behind him.
Strapped to the back of the boat is a pulsejet engine that produces 230lbs of thrust.
Pulsejet engines are smaller, lighter jet engines with combustion occurring in pulses.
Such is their simplicity that they can be made with few or even no moving parts at all.
Engines like these were used on the German V-1 Flying Bomb from World War II.
These were the Argus As 014 engines, the very first pulsejet ever to be mass-produced.
It is a smaller and even simpler version of these that Maddox has put on the back of his boat.
The funny noise they make comes from the way in which the jet makes its power.
This old boat could be a record holder
In his video, Maddox had clearly enjoyed his outing on the boat.
“Man, this boat really is super controllable,” he said, highlighting the ease with which it handles.
The video suggested there are a few niggles still to sort out on the boat.
“It was making all kinds of fuel noises, I’ve probably got a fuel pump out or something,” he added.
Yet this isn’t the end of the road for this particular project.
“I’m going to do a lot with this boat, and put a twin engine on it,” Maddox said in the video.
Given the speed of the vessel, with two pulsejet engines, this should rocket through the water.
That means another world record could be up for grabs for the Oregon YouTuber.
If there was any doubt over a world record with one engine, two engines should end the debate in an instant.
Jet engine timeline
150 AD – Hero of Alexandria invents the aeolipile, a steam-powered device demonstrating the basic jet principle
1930 – Frank Whittle successfully patents the first design for a working gas turbine jet engine
1937 – Hans von Ohain tests his first centrifugal turbojet engine prototype in Germany
1939 – The Heinkel He 178 makes the first successful flight powered entirely by a jet engine
1941 – The Gloster E.28/39 completes the first British jet flight using Whittle’s engine design
1944 – The Messerschmitt Me 262 enters combat service as the world’s first operational jet fighter
1949 – The de Havilland Comet makes its maiden flight to become the first commercial jet airliner
1958 – The Boeing 707 enters commercial service and officially kicks off the global Jet Age
1969 – Concorde takes off for the first time to pioneer supersonic passenger jet travel
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CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. — DNA analysis has identified the remains found in a car in the Columbia River as those of an Oregon family that went missing in 1958 while on a trip to find Christmas greenery, authorities said Thursday.
The state medical examiner’s office has identified parents Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their daughter Barbie from remains located in the river within the wreckage of the car, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office said it concluded its investigation and found no evidence of a crime.
The Ford station wagon thought to belong to the family was found in 2024 by a diver who had been looking for it for several years. Authorities pulled part of the car from the river the following year.
The family vanished in December of 1958. The bodies of two of the family’s children were found months after the disappearance, but the other members never turned up.
The search for the Martin family was a national news story at the time and led some to speculate about the possibility of foul play, with a $1,000 reward offered for information.
“Where do you search if you’ve already searched every place logic and fragmentary clues would suggest?” an Associated Press article asked in 1959, months after the disappearance.
Only the frame and some attached components were retrieved from the water because of the “extent to which the vehicle had been encased in sediment,” the sheriff’s office said. Analysis of those items allowed investigators to conclude that it was indeed the Martin family’s car.
Later in 2025, the diver located human remains that were ultimately turned over to the state medical examiner’s office.
Scientists developed DNA extracts from the remains and generated a profile that was compared with relatives of the Martin family, allowing for the identifications, authorities said.
When it comes to the Oregon Ducks’ offensive line, the only assured starting spot is at center with returning junior Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu.
As both guard and tackle spots up in the air with returning veterans like Dave Iuli and Kawika Rogers, younger offensive linemen with promise like Fox Crader and Trent Ferguson, Yale transfer Michael Bennett III, and several talented freshmen looking to cut their teeth.
Tommy Tofi Brings Raw Talent That Needs Refining
According to Oregon Ducks offensive line coach A’lique Terry, freshman lineman Tommy Tofi has promise on the line despite the transition from high school to college ball. Granted, Terry did indicate Tofi still needs to get over that hump before finding his place in the lineup.
Terry went into more detail during a Thursday spring practice media availability.
“It’s early, he’s been in college for a month, but it’s clear he’s gonna help us in some shape, form, or something. Like most times with linemen, you talk about strength and conditioning being a little bit of an issue of, can they catch up?” Terry said.
Eug 031623 Uo Spring Fb 14 | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Experience Supercedes the Size
At 6-6, 330-pounds, Tofi was one of the heaviest athletes in the class of 2026, with a makeup that seemed like a shoe-in for a college line. Terry did acknowledge that while speaking to the media, but it’s Tofi’s fundamentals that still need some cooking after a short glimpse.
“He’s physically ready. Now it’s our job to just make sure our football game within those trenches, the closer you get to the ball, the faster things happen, a lot more processing happens, so that part you’ve got to make sure he can really handle and understand,” Terry said.
Iron Sharpens Iron
Thankfully for Tofi, not only does he have the building blocks from Archbishop Riordan, but he’s also got great foils on the practice field with Oregon’s defensive line. While with Archbishop Riordan, Tofi received a first-team all-state offense recognition from Cal-Hi Sports. He also earned a MaxPreps California all-state selection for his 2025 senior year.
For Terry, Tofi’s roots show promise. Amongst the excitement Terry shared about the line this year, Tofi was among those that got their flowers.
“Obviously, the defense is giving him much variety, but prepping against our defense every single day is helping him,” Terry said. “But he’s got it. Loves the game. He came from a great foundation at his high school. He has great football knowledge, and he is a junkie for it.”
Speaking of That Competition
It’s likely going to be especially hard for freshmen talent like Tofi to make it into a starting position, simply because of the wealth of talent Oregon’s offensive line room boasts. Terry even admitted that was on his mind right after practice on Thursday.
“It’s been competitive as ever. And we literally just said that right now when we just left off the field right now. And it was cool because Dave is watching and he’s like, man, Trent (Ferguson’s) getting better. And I’m like, all right, now I hope everybody pays attention to that, right?” Terry said. “There’s a culture amongst our room that’s really elite. And I love it because it allows everybody to play at the highest level. And it brings out a competitive energy every single day.”
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