Northwest Briefly

AUBURN – A police officer survived a 50-foot fall down a steep, wooded hillside Wednesday after slipping during a search for a missing woman.

A tangle of blackberry bushes near the bottom of the slope stopped the 53-year-old detective’s slide, preventing him from falling into the White River below.

Detective Randey Clark suffered bumps and bruises. He was expected to be fine, though “his ego won’t be,” said Jim Kelly, Auburn’s public safety director.

Clark and other detectives were searching for a 57-year-old Auburn woman who has been missing since Monday. She was not found.

“He could have easily fallen further or fallen into the river,” Auburn fire spokeswoman Kimberly McDonald said of Clark.

Clark’s body likely will heal before his partners on the force let him forget about what happened.

“It’s brutal,” Sidell said of the ribbing officers dish out when one of their partners makes a mistake.

King County Journal

Clear Lake: Worker dies after boat capsizes

A small boat carrying two U.S. Agriculture Department workers and a dog capsized Thursday on Clear Lake south of Sedro-Woolley, and one of the men drowned, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office said.

The 37-year-old victim, from Maryland, was not immediately identified. A search team recovered the man’s body 50 feet from shore in about 14 feet of water.

A 33-year-old man and the dog, a Labrador retriever, swam to safety. The second man, also unidentified, was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital for treatment of hypothermia.

The men, assigned to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the dog were in a 10-foot boat when it capsized in high winds.

The sheriff’s office said the two were wearing chest waders but not life jackets.

Associated Press

Ocean Shores: Pole snaps, injures worker

A power pole that was being replaced Wednesday snapped, swinging down and smacking a worker in the back like a giant baseball bat, Hoquiam fire officials say.

The 35-year-old Shelton man was responsive when Hoquiam fire crews arrived to the scene on Highway 109, between Hoquiam and Ocean Shores.

“His co-workers did a marvelous job of keeping him still and warm, and they had an excellent understanding of first aid. They knew there was a spinal injury threat and not to move him,” Hoquiam Fire Capt. Dave Everitt said.

When Hoquiam paramedics arrived, the man was conscious and was able to move his fingers and toes, a good sign. “He did suffer from several fractures,” Everitt said.

At first he was transported to Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen, then was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Everitt says it’s amazing the man survived.

“When they went to remove the pole … it just snapped off and spun around like a baseball bat to his back.”

The Daily World

Spokane: Jack and Dan’s bar now historic

The corner tavern where generations of Gonzaga University students and fans have celebrated Bulldogs’ victories and other occasions has been named to the city Register of Historic places.

Jack and Dan’s Bar and Grill, just off the Gonzaga campus in a working-class neighborhood, becomes the first tavern to win the distinction, which has been bestowed on such upscale establishments as Patsy Clark’s Mansion and the Davenport Hotel.

The Spokane City Council voted unanimously this week to list the tavern, opened in 1933 and now owned by the father of former Gonzaga and NBA star John Stockton. Jack Stockton bought the business in 1961 with then-partner Dan Crowley, who retired.

An early owner was Joey August, Gonzaga’s boxing coach until that sport was discontinued in 1952. August went on to establish a successful beer distributorship that financed taverns across the city.

Whitworth University Professor Arlin Migliazzo, a member of the landmarks commission, told the council the commission’s recommendation to list Jack and Dan’s stemmed from its association with August, as well as its importance in the neighborhood.

Associated Press

Idaho: Explosion shuts UI chemistry lab briefly

A University of Idaho employee was slightly injured Thursday in an explosion at a chemistry laboratory, a spokeswoman said.

The employee was taken to a Moscow hospital, treated for minor injuries and released, spokeswoman Joni Kirk said.

The employee’s identity will not be released, and Kirk said she did not know what chemical or chemicals were being used. The explosion occurred in a beaker, sending glass flying, she said.

“It was not a tremendously large explosion,” Kirk said.

The lab reopened shortly after the blast, she said.

Associated Press

Alaska: Crude oil spills onto tundra

An unknown quantity of crude oil spilled Thursday from a 34-inch pipeline at Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope, and dangerous fumes stalled inspection and cleanup efforts for hours.

Crude oil could be seen on snow-covered tundra along the pipe more than 200 miles east of Barrow.

Crews on Thursday afternoon began using a vacuum truck to recover some of the oil that had pooled on the frozen ground, said BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., spokesman Daren Beaudo. The amount of crude spilled will be determined in the cleanup.

Officials with BP, which operates the line, did not know the cause.

The spill was discovered early Thursday morning by BP operators inspecting lines, Beaudo said. He was not sure how long it took to respond, but said the line was quickly blocked and depressurized.

Associated Press