BRIEFLY.

Byline: The Register-Guard

METRO

Man in jogging suit robs hair salon on River Road

A man in a jogging suit who claimed to have a gun robbed a north Eugene hair salon on Wednesday, then ran off before police responded.

Lane County sheriff's investigators were called to Leo's Hair Design at 2611 River Road at 11:37 a.m., moments after the robber fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Witnesses said the robber, who was wearing a black jogging suit with a hood, entered the salon and handed an employee a note stating that he had a gun and wanted money. While the intruder never displayed a weapon, the employee said she saw the outline of one in his pocket, according to police.

The robber was last seen by witnesses running north along River Road. He is described as white, in his late 20s or early 30s with a thin build. He had a pierced tongue that caused his speech to be somewhat slurred, police said.

NORTHWEST

Teacher charged

with sexual abuse

ALBANY - Police arrested a computer teacher accused of inappropriately touching an 8-year-old girl.

Ty Walter Topper, 28, who teaches at St. Mary's School, was charged with sexual abuse. He was being held Wednesday in the Linn County Jail.

Police arrested Topper after getting a report from the Department of Human Services late Tuesday afternoon. Albany police Capt. Eric Carter said Topper is accused of touching the girl while standing beside her in a classroom where other students were present.

Judge's ruling changes police search of dorms

PULLMAN, Wash. - A judge's ruling has prompted Washington State University police to at least temporarily change the way they look for evidence of illegal drinking and drug use in dormitories.

After the May 3 decision by Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier, officers have stopped walking through residence halls listening for parties or sniffing for the smell of marijuana, WSU Police Chief Steve Hansen said.

Frazier ruled that because WSU has a policy prohibiting anyone but residents and escorted guests into residence halls, police patrols looking for violations are an unconstitutional violation of privacy rights. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Byron Bedirian said he plans to appeal.

Lost hydrant returned

after man's death

YAKIMA, Wash. - The hydrant in the bedroom was the elephant in the living room.

A 400-pound, green and yellow fire hydrant apparently spent more than 30 years in the upstairs bedroom of a Yakima couple's home before it was returned recently to the West Valley Fire District, after the man's death.

The wife discovered clippings from the Yakima Herald-Republic that detailed how the hydrant had disappeared in June 1975. She called West Valley Fire Chief Dave Leitch late last month and offered to return it, the newspaper said.

`I think it's just kind of neat that something like that ever came back,' Lt. Walter Lindsey said.

Lindsey said the hydrant was used during training for `make and break' competitions. The drills were popular in the 1970s and '80s as a way for firefighters to practice laying hose and connecting hydrants.

Lindsey said the hydrant apparently fell from a truck while its crew was returning from a practice.

Leitch said the wife told him that whenever she would ask about the hydrant, her husband got defensive and wouldn't respond.

`She would ask a couple of times and finally she just gave up, so there it sat,' Leitch said.