Studded tires must be removed by Thursday

Published 9:00 pm Monday, March 29, 2004

OLYMPIA — Thursday is the deadline for state drivers to remove studded tires from their cars. Violators could get a $101 ticket.

The state Transportation Department says studded tires cause about $10 million in damage each year to highways and bridge decks. Instead of studs, the department recommends all-season traction tires and carrying chains for mountain passes. Studs will be legal again on Nov. 1 for winter driving.

Candidate wants an agency for children

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Talmadge is calling for a separate state agency dealing with children and family services. The West Seattle lawyer, a former state senator and Supreme Court justice, said last week’s arrest of a Pierce County foster parent accused of molesting young boys in his home shows the foster-care system is broken and needs prompt attention. Talmadge said a separate children’s agency should be carved from the Department of Social and Health Services. He also called for creation of a fund to better train and screen foster parents and provide mental health care for foster children. He didn’t specify how he would fund such services.

Bellingham: Man gets life in prison for death

An 18-year-old was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday for killing an 8-year-old neighbor boy with a massive dose of insulin. Ryan Alexander, 18, was convicted earlier this month of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping after killing Michael Busby in April 2002. Testimony showed Alexander took Busby to a field near their homes, choked him with a dowel, injected his body with a massive dose of insulin and used a razor blade to cut his body. Prosecutors said Busby was too young to give his consent to walk away with Alexander, leading to the kidnapping charge.

College receives grant for service program

Northwest Indian College has received a $36,000 grant to help integrate community service work with coursework. The college, on the Lummi Reservation, is one of eight schools nationwide receiving $1.2 million in grants from the American Association of Community Colleges. Each grant will fund staff training and program development for three years. Students in a Northwest Indian College philosophy class have planned to work with Lummi Head Start students on a stream restoration project and a science night for spring quarter. More service learning projects are planned, said Michelle Vendiola, the college’s service learning coordinator.

Spokane: Ben and Jerry’s first in area

The ice cream franchise that started in a renovated gas station in Vermont 25 years ago is coming to Eastern Washington. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream plans to open its first "scoop shop" in River Park Square in May. It will be the first Ben and Jerry’s store in Eastern Washington and the fourth in the state. There are three shops located in the greater Seattle area, the company’s Web site says. There are five shops located in Oregon, but none in Idaho.

Wenatchee: Lawsuit over drowning settled

A lawsuit filed over the drowning of a 17-year-old boy who was placed by the state at Alpine Boys Ranch, a Christian program for troubled youth, has been settled for $2 million. The settlement with Joe and Paula Bolt, parents of the late Joseph Bolt Jr., was approved March 9 in Chelan County Superior Court and was announced Friday by the couple’s lawyer, Jack Connelly. The ranch’s insurer will pay the settlement, Connelly said. Bolt, placed at Alpine Boys near Plain by the state Department of Social and Health Services, vanished during a ranch hike in the Sawtooth Mountains in August 2000. His body was found in Cub Lake a month later.

Puyallup: Two killed

in separate house fires

House fires killed two people here Monday morning, officials said. A 56-year-old woman was found dead after a fire at her house on South Hill, Central Pierce Fire and Rescue officials said. The fire was reported about 5 a.m. by a neighbor who was awakened by the cracking and popping of the blaze, agency spokesman Doug Willis said. Flames were shooting from the rambler when firefighters arrived. Investigators were trying to determine the cause. Firefighters also found the body of a 75-year-old, wheelchair-bound man inside his burned-out mobile home. The fire was reported by neighbors about 6 a.m. and was fully involved when firefighters arrived. They kept the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

Lynden: Suspect’s truck abandoned at marina

A man accused of beating his estranged wife and killing a man who was visiting her has abandoned his pickup truck and may be on a boat somewhere on the Pacific coast, police say. Francis A. Brunner, 42, is accused of assaulting Brenda Brunner, 45, and fatally stabbing Kenneth Allen Hoshowski, 40, on March 21. Brunner has been charged with burglary, assault and aggravated murder. Lynden police said Brunner’s truck was recovered at the Squalicum Harbor Marina in Bellingham and that Brunner was seen at the marina on March 21. Police suspect that Brunner, a former lobster fisherman from Connecticut, may have attempted to find work or a ride on one of the fishing boats leaving the marina.

Kent: Four arrested

in alleged rape, beating

Four men have been arrested and one was being sought in the reported beating and rape of a prostitute, police in this Seattle suburb said. The 21-year-old woman told police she went with three men to a house where two other men were waiting and was attacked by all five early Sunday, officer Paul Peterson wrote in a news release. The woman told officers she escaped through a second-floor window and ran down Pacific Highway South to seek help but was chased, caught and beaten again by the men, who left her by the side of the road, according to the statement. She was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Oregon: Tot

survives three-story fall

A 3-year-old girl broke her leg when she fell from the third story of the Oxford Suites hotel in Hermiston. The girl, who was conscious, was airlifted after Saturday’s fall to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. Ambulance reports stated that the girl was talking to someone three floors below when she fell from a room window. The mother, who watched the fall, told ambulance crews the girl landed on all fours. "It’s a miracle" the girl was not more seriously hurt, said Oxford Suites hotel manager Vernet Fund.

From Herald news services