Northwest Briefly: Skagit Pumpkin Hurl moving to Snohomish farm
Published 8:41 pm Friday, September 19, 2008
MOUNT VERNON — The Pumpkin Hurl has run out of room at Burlington, where a contraption tossed a squash 1,866 feet last year.
This year the Northwest Agriculture Business Center has moved the event to a Snohomish County farm with a 3,000-foot gourd firing range.
Pumpkins will fill the sky Oct. 4 over the Bartelheimer Farm, just east of Snohomish, at 10010 155th Ave. SE. There’s a $5 fee for spectators.
The center says at least seven teams from the West Coast and Canada will compete this year for prizes and bragging rights. The pumpkin hurler is a war machine from the Middle Ages known as a trebuchet — a combination catapult and sling.
Seattle: Magistrate says Taser use excessive
A federal magistrate in Seattle says Tukwila police used excessive force arresting a man two years ago when two officers used Tasers — twice.
The magistrate, Mary Alice Theiler, recommended that a lawyer be provided to Terrance Releford to pursue damages against the department for civil rights violations. The recommendation now goes to a federal judge.
An internal police investigation cleared the officers of claims they used excessive force in taking the 6-foot-8-inch, 280-pound man into custody. Police declined to comment on Thursday’s ruling.
Bellevue: Cindy McCain at fundraiser
Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, is coming to the Seattle area next week to headline a fundraiser.
She replaces vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who originally was scheduled to attend the Wednesday event. Palin canceled because of a scheduling conflict.
The $1,000-a-plate fundraiser will be at a private home in Hunts Point, a community west of Bellevue.
Centralia: Artifacts halt construction
The discovery of artifacts has stopped work on a project at the Port of Centralia.
The state Department of Archaeology is negotiating with the developer, Opus Northwest of Seattle, and the Chehalis and Cowlitz tribes over hiring a consultant to survey the site.
Opus bought the 77-acre property in December for $4.8 million for a distribution center.
The state agency will monitor the survey and must provide a permit before work can resume.
The Centralia Chronicle reports the discovery of artifacts was welcomed by neighbors who opposed the development, concerned that it will worsen flooding and traffic.
Kent: Man charged with hate crime
A Federal Way man accused of attacking a Pakistani convenience store clerk has been charged with a hate crime.
Douglas P. Jones, 25, will be arraigned Sept. 30 on the malicious harassment charge at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.
He was arrested Sunday after the clerk in Federal Way reported he was punched by a man shouting ethnic slurs and “Go back home.”
Port Angeles: Worker who fell not harnessed
The worker who fell to his death from a cell phone tower in Port Angeles was not properly equipped.
A state Department of Labor and Industries report says the 33-year-old Bonney Lake man was not wearing a safety harness last week at the tower atop the Elk’s building in Port Angeles.
KONP reported Jeremy Combs was attaching new antennas to the structure when he lost his footing and fell more than 30 feet.
Tacoma: Boater gets five days for crash
A man who was operating a boat that collided with another boat in Commencement Bay is serving a five-day jail sentence.
The man, Tacoma lawyer Robert Denomy, 55, pleaded guilty this week to reckless endangerment and negligent boating.
His 21-foot boat went over a 25-foot boat two years ago and the propeller caused disabling cuts to the hands of a 27-year-old woman.
The Tacoma News Tribune reports that Denomy settled a civil damages claim with her out of court.
Spokane: Gonzaga building new dorm
Gonzaga University is building another new dormitory to handle booming enrollment.
The $16 million residence hall will hold 340 members of next year’s freshman class. The new hall comes on the heels of the recently completed 195-unit Kennedy Apartments at the Spokane school.
Gonzaga this year has admitted a record 1,103 freshmen, pushing its enrollment to 7,229.
Fort Lewis: Endangered frogs to be released
Biologists from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Northwest Trek wildlife park plan to release about 500 frogs on Monday at Dailman Lake on Fort Lewis.
The Oregon spotted frog is an endangered species in Washington. These 7-month-old frogs were collected in the wild as eggs and given a head start at Northwest Trek.
The project is a joint effort with a number of agencies and organizations, including zoos in Seattle, Tacoma and Portland, Ore., that are taking part in the Year of the Frog — the global effort to save the amphibians.
Associated Press
