WENATCHEE – Three environmental groups are attempting to halt logging in areas burned in last summer’s Fischer Fire.
The Northwest Eco-system Alliance, Cascadia Wildlands Project and Leavenworth Audubon Adopt-A-Forest have filed appeals calling for more environmental study before the U.S. Forest Service moves forward with its plans to log 20 million board feet of lumber.
The Eco-system Alliance and Cascadia Wildlands Project are specifically concerned about plans to log old-growth trees, and have asked Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests Supervisor Jim Boynton to revoke approval of the project.
Associated Press
Fort Lewis: Medical center gets new general
Madigan Army Medical Center has a new commanding general.
Brig. Gen. Sheila Baxter will succeed Brig. Gen. Michael Dunn in a change-of-command ceremony June 7 at the Fort Lewis hospital. Dunn, 58, is retiring.
Baxter, 50, has been an Army officer for 27 years. She comes to the Northwest from the Army Medical Command at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. She is the Army’s assistant surgeon general and deputy chief of staff for force sustainment.
Dunn, a doctor, has held the top post at Madigan since 2002.
Associated Press
Spanaway: Woman arrested in cat poisoning
A 42-year-old woman has been arrested for investigation of poisoning her neighbor’s cats.
Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Jerry Bates said animal control officers found evidence the woman might have poisoned the pets with antifreeze.
Animal welfare group Pasado’s Safe Haven said it paid more than $1,300 for autopsy reports on the cats and pushed the sheriff’s office to investigate. A bowl of chicken parts steeped in antifreeze was found on the woman’s property, the group said.
Associated Press
Seattle: Syphilis cases rise in King County
King County health officials say the number of new syphilis cases in gay and bisexual men nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004 in the county.
Health officials found the 140 cases disturbing because the disease had been nearly eliminated among gay and bisexual men in the mid-1990s.
The sexually transmitted disease can cause loss of vision and hearing. It also increases the chance of transmitting or acquiring HIV.
Associated Press
Oregon: State halts rocket incineration
The state Department of Environmental Quality halted the destruction of sarin-filled rockets at the Umatilla Chemical Depot after a fire was reported in a containment room Wednesday.
It was the third such fire since April 7.
Investigations after the first two fires could not determine a cause, and the Army continued destroying rockets after brief, voluntary shutdowns.
The DEQ said it would order a shutdown if another fire occurred. Shortly before noon Wednesday, there was a pressure burst, a flash of light and flames that persisted for a few seconds.
Associated Press
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