Alleged stalker of Avril Lavigne arrested

LYNNWOOD – Police found a box of Avril Lavigne memorabilia and guns inside the house of a man who was arrested for allegedly stalking the Canadian pop singer.

The man, 30, was arrested at work in Bothell on Wednesday – the same day Lavigne performed at a free concert at Southcenter Mall in Tukwila.

Last summer, Canadian police ordered the man not to have contact with Lavigne or her family after he was found parked near the family home in Ontario, according to a search warrant filed in south Snohomish County District Court. He also had allegedly sent disturbing fan mail, flowers and a bottle of wine to the Lavignes.

After he was issued a peace bond, similar to a restraining order, he was put on a plane and sent out of Canada, the search warrant said.

Last month, the man, who is married, allegedly sent the 19-year-old singer’s managers e-mails requesting to attend the mall concert in Tukwila.

He insisted he was “fine now,” and really wanted to attend the show, according to court documents.

Lynnwood police spoke with Lavigne’s parents, who said they feared for their daughter’s safety. Lavigne also told police she was afraid of the Lynnwood man, according to the search warrant.

After being arrested Wednesday, the man told Lynnwood police he had been seeing a counselor for his obsession with Lavigne since August, but “put it behind him” since he sent the e-mails to the singer’s managers in March.

He could not explain why he hadn’t thrown out a box of “Avril stuff” stored on his back porch, according to court documents.

Lavigne, whose debut album “Let’s Go” sold more than 5 million copies, is promoting her forthcoming album, “Under the Skin.”

Lynnwood: House fire is traced to cigarette

Fire officials say a discarded cigarette likely caused a fire that sent an 87-year-old woman scrambling for her life.

Two strangers rescued the woman after a fire broke out in her home Thursday in the 16900 block of 44th Avenue W.

The woman liked to sit in her chair and smoke and drink coffee, Lynnwood fire inspector LeRoy McNulty said.

“It’s likely she dropped a cigarette and it caught a blanket on fire,” he said.

The woman was treated for smoke inhalation at Stevens Hospital. She was released and is staying with her family, McNulty said.

Marysville: Woman

injured in house fire

A woman in her 90s was injured in a house fire Friday morning and taken by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The woman’s condition and specific injuries were not available because of medical privacy restrictions.

The cause of the fire and the estimated damage are under investigation by the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office investigators.

Marysville firefighters responded about 7:45 a.m. to a home in the 8700 block of 55th Avenue NE, fire district spokesman Nathan Trauernicht said. When firefighters arrived, flames were showing at the single-story home and neighbors were helping the woman out the front door, Trauernicht said. She was taken by a medic unit to Cedarcrest Golf Course to meet the helicopter.

Investigators say the fire appeared to have started around a water heater.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze within about 10 minutes of arriving on the scene, Trauernicht said. The home sustained moderate fire damage and heavy smoke damage, he said.

Tulalip: Northwest

Indian News debuts

In what KSTW UPN-11 television’s general manager Gary Wordlaw calls “the ultimate public affairs show,” viewers can tune in at 10 p.m. Sunday to NorthWest Indian News, a program produced by the Tulalip Communications Department.

“We think this unique newscast offers people of Seattle and the Northwest an opportunity to see first-hand the contributions of Indian people,” Wordlaw said. “These stories need to be heard, seen and recognized.”

Throughout February and March the station donated air time for NorthWest Indian News and two broadcast’s of Canoe Journey 2003, a documentary about the Tulalip Tribes’ journey by canoe last year to visit a variety of coastal tribes in Washington and British Columbia and invite them to visit Tulalip, which hosted the annual American Indian celebration for the first time.

From Herald staff reports

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