Northwest Briefly: Memorial set for firefighter killed in California fire
Published 10:58 pm Thursday, July 31, 2008
FEDERAL WAY — A memorial service for the Lake Tapps firefighter killed in a California wildfire is Aug. 7 at the Christian Faith Center in Federal Way.
Dan Packer was chief of East Pierce Fire and Rescue. He was in California as part of an emergency management team Saturday when he was overrun by flames in a wildfire in the Klamath National Forest.
More than 100 firefighters stood with Packer’s widow Marylee Packer when the Forest Service plane carrying his body landed Wednesday at Tacoma Narrows Airport.
Ferndale: Charges filed in ATM attack
An attempted murder charge has been filed against a 20-year-old man accused of attacking a woman with a box cutter at an ATM in Ferndale, Wash.
Joseph R. Smith was charged Thursday in Superior Court with attempted second-degree murder with a deadly weapon, or in the alternative, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
Whatcom County Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Quinn says the dual charges mean a jury can consider either charge if the case goes to trial.
Smith is accused of attacking 24-year-old Samantha Shields, slashing her jaw and throat as she used the Whatcom Educational Credit Union ATM. She required 50 stitches to close her cuts after Monday’s attack.
Man who fled into traffic dies of injuries
A man who ran away from a Whatcom County sheriff’s deputy and was hit in traffic died of his injuries at a hospital.
Anthony M. Suter, 24, of Ferndale suffered broken legs and head injuries July 25 on I-5 at Ferndale.
A deputy had pulled over his car because of an arrest warrant on a drug charge.
The Whatcom County medical examiner said an autopsy showed Suter was under the influence of drugs.
Seattle: Task force targets car thieves
A police task force involving 16 agencies in south King and north Pierce counties is going after thieves who are responsible for a large number of car thefts.
The task force announced Wednesday by the King County prosecutor was created with a $1 million state grant funded by a $10 surcharge on traffic tickets.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reports the task force will use infrared cameras to scan license plates and instantly match them against stolen car lists.
Similar grants have gone to police agencies in Yakima, Spokane and Clark counties.
Hate crime suspect misses court date
A man accused of assaulting a Seattle store clerk and charged with a hate crime failed to appear at his arraignment.
An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for 42-year-old Edward Campbell.
He’s accused of calling the clerk a terrorist on July 3 and hitting him with a can of beer. Campbell is charged with malicious harassment.
Court papers say Campbell believed the clerk was Muslim and told him to “go back with bin Laden” then hit the clerk when he asked Campbell to leave.
Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County prosecutor’s office, said the office handles about 20 malicious mischief cases a year.
Crash ends chase on Highway 520 bridge
A high-speed State Patrol chase ended when a stolen sport utility vehicle rear-ended two cars on the Highway 520 floating bridge in Seattle, injuring three people.
The crash closed the eastbound lanes for nearly four hours Thursday. They reopened about 5 a.m.
Troopers arrested the 24-year-old driver of the stolen car. He’s also suspected of driving under the influence and stealing snowboards and other items found in the car.
The chase began when a trooper noticed the SUV driving the wrong way on an I-5 ramp at Shoreline. The chase led to Highway 520, where troopers tried to lay out a spike strip.
Trooper Cliff Pratt said the SUV was going so fast it rear-ended a second car after hitting the first one “like pinball.” Three people in those cars were taken to a hospital.
Festivals prove good spot to nab fugitives
At Seattle’s Torchlight Parade last weekend police and Department of Corrections officers arrested 25 people wanted on warrants or for committing new crimes. Another 70 were arrested earlier in the month at the Bite of Seattle.
The Corrections Department said it watches crowded public events for wanted offenders. Officers question panhandlers or people who appear to be drunk or using drugs.
Leslie Mills, a Corrections Department supervisor, said Seattle’s major public events often draw felons wanted for parole violations.
State corrections officers cooperate with Seattle police through a program called the Neighborhood Corrections Initiative.
Floating bridge passes state’s inspection
The latest inspection of the Highway 520 floating bridge found some cracks in the roller tracks for the drawspan.
But the state Transportation Department said the overall inspection found the Lake Washington bridge in good shape, although it needs to be replaced because of its age.
The department said crews have started repairing the cracks. The drawspan has to be able to open when winds reach 50 miles per hour on the Seattle lake.
Bremerton: Offender caught splashing kids
A man who was asked to stop playing with children at a Bremerton park fountain turned out to be a Level 2 sex offender.
Parents complained the man was chasing and splashing kids Tuesday at Harborside Fountain Park. When a police officer asked the man to stop he said the kids were chasing him and he didn’t see anything wrong with it, but he complied.
The 19-year-old Port Orchard man has a previous conviction for child rape, but he is no longer under probation.
Port Townsend: Small quake shakes area
An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.6 rattled the Port Townsend area.
The quake at 10:02 p.m. Wednesday was centered just two miles north of town at a depth of 36 miles, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington.
KING-TV reports viewers felt it in Everett, Snohomish and Seattle. There were no reports of damage or injury.
Tacoma: Last floating bridge pontoons done
The last two of 17 pontoons built at the Port of Tacoma for the Hood Canal floating bridge have been completed.
They’ll be floated to Seattle today for work on the roadway surface.
The pontoons account for $143 million of the $471 million project to replace the older eastern half of the bridge. The western half was replaced in 1982 after it sank in a storm.
The new pontoons will be floated into place next year. The bridge on Highway 104 carries about 15,000 cars a day between the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas, according to the Transportation Department.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reports each concrete pontoon is about 20 feet tall and up to 360 feet long.
Stryker equipment returns from Iraq
Stryker vehicles and other equipment used by a Fort Lewis Stryker brigade when it was in Iraq are being unloaded from a transport ship at the Port of Tacoma.
More than 900 vehicles and hundreds of cargo containers are being returned to the fort for the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. The ship, the Brittin, arrived Tuesday at the port.
When the equipment was shipped out in March of 2007, anti-war protests led to the arrests of 37 people while police agencies spent $1 million for security.
A handful of protesters from the Port Militarization Resistance group showed up Wednesday night. One was arrested for obstructing a police officer, and two others were given trespassing warnings.
Kelso: Sewage puddle blamed on RV owner
Some RV owner is apparently dumping sewage in the parking lot of the Cowlitz County Hall of Justice parking lot in Kelso.
It happened first last summer, but when it happened again this month the county thought there might be a leak in sewer lines. The county spent $15,000 running dye and cameras through the pipes. Workers found nothing wrong.
Officials are keeping an eye on the parking lot in case someone tries to make another sewage dump.
Vancouver, Wash.: Wetlands to be created
Lower Columbia River ports plan to create 128 acres of wetlands on Cottonwood Island to compensate for ecological damage caused by dredging.
The plan was announced Wednesday by six ports in Washington and Oregon and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The wetlands will mitigate damage from the dredging under way to deepen the Columbia River channel by three feet from Portland, Ore., to the mouth of the river.
Olympia: Board OKs new math standards
The state Board of Education has approved revised high school math standards recommended by Superintendent Terry Bergeson.
The board said Thursday’s decision on algebra and geometry classes gives students more opportunity for advanced math and better preparation for college.
Bergeson said the board’s approval follows the direction of the 2007 Legislature to improve math achievement in Washington schools.
Eatonville: Tiny toads begin migration
Thousands of tiny Western toads are on the move from a pond at Northwest Trek animal park near Eatonville.
An estimated 10,000 toads about the size of a quarter are migrating from the pond that is a breeding site for the species that has been in decline.
The park has hired a University of Puget Sound student to follow the toads and map their route.
Researchers believe the toads can travel miles if they don’t turn into roadkill along the way.
Oregon: Deals would promote solar projects
Oregon regulators have given approval to deals that help cities, counties and other public entities develop solar energy projects.
The three-way arrangements involve utility companies, energy developers and public bodies.
The upshot is that the public agencies can do things such as set up solar panels at water plants and get the benefit of tax breaks that public agencies normally couldn’t get.
PacifiCorp had questioned such deals.
But the Oregon Public Utility Commission said Thursday that such deals aren’t in conflict with state laws or regulation. And, the commissioners say, the deals are consistent with the Legislature’s interest in developing alternate energy.
County weighs calorie counting for eateries
Multnomah County commissioners are considering whether to require chain restaurants to tell customers how many calories are in the food they’re eating.
The commissioners voted 3-2 on Thursday to continue their discussions into the afternoon.
The measure the commissioners are considering would apply to chain restaurants with more than 15 outlets nationally.
Associated Press
