Cancer survivor’s new challenge: seven summits
SEATTLE — He was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 3 years old. By the time he had turned 13, he had spent a decade of his life battling cancer.
Now, at 27, Martin Benning wants to give back.
The Queen Anne resident already helps raise money for the Leukemia &Lymphoma Society through auctions and leads a team during the annual Big Climb up the 69 flights and 1,311 steps of the Columbia Tower, which raises money for the organization. He also leads trips for the society’s Hike for Discovery fundraiser, conducts leadership seminars and plugs the society whenever he gets the chance.
He volunteers at Children’s Hospital one evening a week and works with children who have cancer and their families.
In 2004, he created the 7 Summits Cancer Climb with the goal of reaching the summits of the tallest peaks on all seven continents. “I’m a cancer survivor, a climber and an advocate for the Leukemia &Lymphoma Society,” Benning said. “I’m going to attempt the seven summits regardless, so why not raise some awareness and foster some support while I’m at it?”
Yakima: Teacher arrested in rape case
Yakima police have arrested a substitute teacher who officers say had sex with one of his 12-year-old students.
Police say the teacher met the girl when she was 11 years old at Wapatos Adams Elementary School. Investigators believe the 26-year-old had sex with his student at least five times, including once in his classroom.
At one point he started dating the girl’s mother and eventually moved into their Yakima home. Investigators say the girl told her mother about the abuse earlier this week, and her mother reported it to police.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of first- and second-degree child rape, but has not been charged.
Priest accused of sexual misconduct
A Jesuit priest who was serving a short-term assignment in White Salmon, Wash., is being investigated for possible sexual misconduct with a minor.
The 76-year-old priest had been filling in for the regular pastor, who was on sabbatical, and has returned to Los Gatos, Calif., because of the ongoing investigation.
Earlier this week, a 17-year-old boy accused the Jesuit priest of touching him inappropriately during a visit. The case was turned over to White Salmon police.
Officer Jim Andring of the White Salmon police confirmed that an investigation is under way but declined to comment further.
A spokesman with the Jesuits California organization says no other allegations have ever been made about the priest.
Oregon: Board rules in union e-mail case
Employers can prohibit workers from using the office e-mail system for union activities, so long as they prohibit solicitations from any outside organization, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled.
The board said its 3-2 decision sets a new labor relations standard that allows employers to prohibit union activity through company e-mail systems while at the same time permitting office chitchat and personal messages.
The decision, released Friday, upheld the management of the Eugene Register-Guard newspaper in a case involving e-mail messages sent by Suzi Prozanski, a copy editor and Newspaper Guild leader, during contract negotiations in 2000 and the warnings the company gave her.
The board said two of the messages were “solicitations to support the union,” and the company was justified in enforcing a policy that forbade the use of e-mail for “non-job-related solicitations.” It ruled against the paper on a third message, saying it was “simply a clarification of facts surrounding a recent union event.”
Alaska: Report on cruise ship accident
A small cruise ship that ran aground last spring did so under the watch of a 22-year-old navigator fresh out of a maritime academy with no formal knowledge of Alaska waters, according to federal investigators.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Friday on the May 14 accident involving the riverboat-style Empress of the North about 25 miles southwest of Juneau. The ship, which was on the second day of a seven-day cruise, hit the submerged portion of a charted rock, then drifted a few miles from the shoal.
The grounding forced the evacuation of 206 passengers, ripped several holes in the ship’s hull and damaged one of the propellers used in steering the ship.
One of the ship’s new employees took over as navigator about 36 hours after embarking on his first voyage with the ship, owned by the Seattle-based Majestic America Line, the NTSB report said.
Associated Press
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