Dairy cow deaths blamed on poor chemical storage

Published 9:00 pm Monday, June 28, 2004

SEATTLE – Improper storage rather than sabotage or ecoterrorism caused a toxic compound to sicken and kill several dairy cows near here, investigators have determined.

“Our investigation has determined there was no crime involved,” FBI agent Roberta A. Burroughs said Sunday. “It looks like there was some material that was stored in the barn, corroded through (its container) and probably dripped down on the cows.”

With that determination, the Joint Terrorism Task Force of local, state and federal agencies was set to close the case on the poisoning of cows at the dairy farm of John Koopman near Enumclaw, about 35 miles southeast of Seattle, she said.

Koopman, who previously told reporters he knew of no chemicals on his property that might have caused the poisoning, said Sunday the situation was overly dramatized in news reports.

Associated Press

Wenatchee: Scientists study cougars

Scientists need one more year of study to accurately estimate the number of mountain lions in north-central Washington, a state specialist said. Managers with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife think the cougar population is declining, while some north-central Washington residents insist otherwise. Residents blame a 1996 citizens initiative that bans hunting mountain lions with hounds. Last winter, the state paid experienced houndsmen to chase and tree mountains lions north of the Colville Indian Reservation to gather a skin sample for DNA analysis. The sample is collected by shooting the cougars with a dart gun.

Associated Press

California: High court to hear pot challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would decide whether the government has the authority to prevent sick patients from using marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. The California case tests whether the federal government – which maintains there is no medical benefit to marijuana – can block sick patients from using cannabis and prosecute them or their suppliers. The case affects Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state. They have medical marijuana laws similar to California’s allowing patients to grow, use or receive marijuana if they have a doctor’s recommendation.

Associated Press

Alaska: Climber dies on Mount McKinley

A rockslide killed one climber and injured two others as they were descending Mount McKinley’s West Buttress route. The three were attached by rope at 13,000 feet approaching Windy Corner on Sunday night when boulders “the size of trucks” fell on them, said Colby Coombs, co-director of the Alaska Mountaineering School, which led the expedition. A fourth person on the rope, a guide, was not injured. National Park Service officials called it highly unusual for a rockslide of that size to occur on the West Buttress route, and said they were not sure what caused it.

Associated Press

Powerful earthquake jolts southeast Alaska

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 jolted Alaska panhandle residents out of their sleep early Monday, but no significant damage was reported, police and scientists said. The quake occurred at 1:50 a.m. Alaska time and was centered beneath the ocean about 70 miles northwest of Dixon Entrance, in the waters between the southern end of the panhandle and the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia, or about 60 miles southwest of Craig, said Bill Knight, a scientist at the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. The jolt, capable of severe damage had it occurred near populated areas on land, did not generate a tsunami or seismic sea wave, Knight said.

Associated Press