WENATCHEE — Moments after two 13-year-old boys pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder on Tuesday, the judge who ordered them tried as adults removed himself from the case at the request of a defense attorney.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz heard the pleas from Jake Eakin and Evan Savoie, then accepted the motion by Savoie’s attorney, Randy Smith, that he no longer preside over the case.

Antosz ruled earlier this month that the boys would be tried as adults, not juveniles, for allegedly killing 13-year-old Craig Sorger on Feb. 15, 2003, at Ephrata’s Oasis Park. They are thought to be the youngest defendants ever to be tried as adults in Washington.

Antosz said he would not voluntarily remove himself from the bench, but acknowledged that each attorney has the right to file one affidavit of prejudice against a judge. Antosz set the boys’ trial for April 27.

Wenatchee World

Mount Vernon: Mild earthquake rattles area

A mild earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 rattled Mount Vernon and nearby areas early Wednesday. According to the University of Washington seismology Web site, the quake was centered about three miles east-southeast of Mount Vernon at 3:34 a.m. No damage has been reported, but a number of residents told Seattle television and radio stations they felt about six seconds of shaking that rattled items on shelves.

Associated Press

Kirkland: Ambulance

fee plan put on hold

The city has shelved a plan to charge residents for emergency transportation to hospitals and doctors’ offices — for now. Though the idea received little support, the Kirkland City Council could resurrect it, members decided, if circumstances — such as Tim Eyman’s Initiative 864 — send the city into a budget crisis. Similar fees for services are being considered by governments across the region, Fire Chief Jeff Blake told council members in a study session Tuesday. Bothell and Snohomish County Fire District 7 recently imposed fees for aid car rides.

King County Journal

Bremerton: Gun range on hazardous sites list

Camp Wesley Harris, the Navy’s 387-acre shooting range west of Bremerton, has landed on the state’s hazardous sites list due to lead and chromium contamination, presumably from spent ammunition. The Navy funded a $3 million cleanup of the range in 1987 and 1988, but recent testing has shown that more cleanup is needed. The camp, which once operated five rifle, shotgun and pistol ranges, is approaching the end of its useful life and will be replaced by a future small arms training center at Bangor. That center is under construction and may be completed by the end of the year. Under the state Department of Ecology’s hazardous ranking system, Camp Wesley Harris was rated a 2 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the worst.

The Sun

Oregon: 300 animals

removed from ranch

Roughly 300 animals were evacuated this week from a 3,700-acre ranch in eastern Oregon as part of an animal neglect investigation. The Baker County undersheriff, the Redmond Humane Society and volunteers hauled 100 horses, 80 cows, 30 goats, seven dogs, as well as cats, emus, ostriches, llamas and birds, from a ranch owned by Ivan Langley about 40 miles southeast of Baker City. The animals were taken to ranches in central Oregon, where they will be kept until the investigation ends, said Jamie Kanski, executive director of the Redmond Humane Society. Kanski said the animals were not being fed. Langley disagrees. "We did not starve the animals," he said.

Associated Press