Ore. bank reopens 7 months after fatal bombing
Published 6:00 am Tuesday, July 21, 2009
WOODBURN, Ore. — An Oregon bank that was the scene of a bomb explosion that killed two police officers and severely wounded a police chief has reopened after seven months.
About 100 people attended Monday’s opening of the West Coast Bank in Woodburn, about 30 miles south of Portland. Bouquets, balloons and a catered buffet marked the occasion.
West Coast Bank officials were on hand, as were representatives of local businesses, nearby banks and the Woodburn Fire Department.
Branch manager Ferren Taylor said Woodburn police sent a large flower bouquet.
Oregon State Police Senior Trooper William Hakim and Woodburn Police Capt. Tom Tennant were killed, and Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell was severely injured in the Dec. 12 blast.
A grand jury indictment alleges the bomb was part of a bank-robbery attempt.
A bank employee found the device after a call about a bomb threat to a nearby Wells Fargo bank branch turned up a harmless device. Hakim, a bomb technician, concluded it was a hoax, according to court documents. When Hakim, Tennant and Russell tried to dismantle the bomb inside the bank, it exploded.
The assistant bank manager, Laurie Perkett, was slightly injured. She attended the opening Monday, along with Taylor and four other branch employees who have been working in a temporary location across the street since the blast.
A father and son — Bruce A. Turnidge, 58, and Joshua A. Turnidge, 32 — face aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and other charges in the blast. They have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to be tried in March.
Russell has undergone nearly 30 surgeries.
Information from: The Oregonian, www.oregonlive.com
