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--> --> Oregon in brief Man gets seven years in fatal crash ROSEBURG - A driver who killed a woman as he was being chased by police has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. Jeffery Christopher Austin, 20, was found guilty last week of manslaughter for hitting a car and killing Naomi Crouch in an accident a half-mile south of Dillard on Highway 99. The Oct. 27, 2000, crash that also injured Crouch's husband happened while Austin was fleeing from Oregon State Police. Troopers intended to pull him over for a routine traffic stop. According to testimony from police officers, Austin was driving about 50 mph in a stolen minivan when he lost control and hit the Myrtle Creek couple, both 61. "I'm very sorry for causing the death of Naomi Crouch and for the loss that Mr. Crouch has endured," Austin said at Monday's sentencing. Coast Guard rescues three boaters NORTH BEND - The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three people Tuesday from an overturned boat just off Cape Foulweather. The boaters - Al Vanderford, 46, Dale Dickson, 45, and Jeremia Snyder, 23 - were fishing in a 20-foot charter boat when it overturned in the surf between Depoe Bay and Otter Rock. A motor lifeboat and helicopter were sent to the rescue. The boaters, who are all from Depoe Bay, were treated for exposure and released in good condition. Meningococcal disease strikes three EUGENE - Meningococcal disease struck three residents earlier this month, but public health officials are not concerned about an outbreak. All three patients have been treated with antibiotics and are recovering, Dr. Sarah Hendrickson, Lane County public health officer, said Tuesday. Family members and others who have been in close contact with them also were given antibiotics, she said. "We haven't been able to link any of the three," Hendrickson said. "As far as we can tell it is" a coincidence. The victims were an 8-month-old infant, who was treated at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland; a teen-ager who is a student at Churchill High School; and a young adult. The cases were reported over the weekend of Oct. 20-21 and Monday, Oct. 22. Meningococcal disease is a bacterial disease that afflicts about 3,000 people a year in the United States and kills about 300. Symptoms include high fever, headache, stiff neck and a rash. - Associated Press The disease killed University of Oregon freshman Jill Dieringer last February. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing