LOOMIS – A rancher shot and killed a black bear after the animal tangled with his dogs and then attacked him.
LaMoyne Wahl was sleeping early Tuesday when his wife woke him to report that their two dogs had gone up a hill near their ranch eight miles north of this central Washington town near the Canadian border and were barking.
Wahl grabbed his rifle and went after the dogs. He found them fighting with a bear.
“So I shot the bear once, and he turned around and charged me,” Wahl said. “Then I shot him again.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get a third shot off, so I turned and ran,” he said.
After about 10 steps, the bear bit him in the calf. Wahl sicced a dog named Shaggy on the bear, and the dog distracted the animal by biting into its side.
Wahl managed to reload his rifle, put the barrel to the bear’s neck and pull the trigger. The bear collapsed.
Wahl feels sorry for the bear.
“It wasn’t his fault. It was partly my own fault,” said Wahl, who was treated and released at North Valley Hospital in Tonasket.
“We have a lot of bear around here. I probably see 10 or 15 a year. I’ve just never seen one that close,” he said.
Associated Press
Clear Lake: Giant invasive rodents seen
Giant rodents called nutria have been spotted in Skagit County, and the state is scrambling to contain them before their numbers increase and they damage crops.
The creatures are native to South America and can weigh as much as 20 pounds. They’ve been spotted near this rural community, wildlife officials said Thursday.
Nutria were brought to the United States a century ago for their fur. Many were released into the wild after the market went sour. They are a huge problem in Louisiana, where they number in the millions and the state offers a $4-a-tail bounty.
Associated Press
Bellingham: Canada may lower duty fees
The Canadian government is considering a change in the duties that Canadians pay after shopping in the United States.
Canadians now pay hefty sums on their U.S. purchases when they cross the border to return home. A change in that policy could be helpful to retailers in Whatcom County and other border counties.
The proposed change would gradually increase the tax exemptions for 24-hour visits to $2,000 from the current $50.
Associated Press
Olympia: Man arrested in auto thefts, wrecks
After the Washington State Patrol linked a Lacey man to two hit-and-run collisions involving sports cars stolen from an Olympia auto dealer, troopers arrested him on Thursday.
Edmund D. Cross, 22, left his wallet and identification behind when he ran from the latest crash in Tacoma, police said. He was taken into custody by a State Patrol detective who had staked out a home in Lacey, trooper Johnny Alexander said.
Cross is the same person who allegedly scuffled with guards at Fort Lewis in November and then fled the scene.
The State Patrol’s most recent investigation of Cross began Monday when he allegedly crashed into another car about 12:20 p.m. while driving a vehicle south on Highway 7 in east Pierce County.
Associated Press
Richland: Brush fire burns about 600 acres
A wildfire burned Friday across about 600 acres of the Hanford nuclear reservation near here.
The fire burned in brushland in an area called the Hammer training facility, where people are trained for waste cleanup, firefighting and other tasks. It was reported 100 percent contained by midafternoon, said Geoff Tyree, a spokesman for Fluor Hanford, the primary cleanup contractor at Hanford.
The fire apparently was caused by a so-called flash-bang device being used in a training exercise by the contractor that handles security at the site.
Associated Press
Leavenworth: Now it’s a two-carriage town
The City Council has decided that downtown Leavenworth is big enough for two horse-drawn carriages.
The ordinance approved Tuesday allows the city to grant five licenses to businesses offering tourists rides in nonmotorized vehicles such as carriages and pedicabs. Just two of the licenses are for vehicles pulled by a horse or other animal.
Associated Press
Bellingham: Ecstasy discovered in pickup
Two Canadian citizens arrested for drug smuggling said they were paid to drive to Florida to pick up $500,000 in cash, court documents said.
Richard E. Godin, 29, and Ashley Sabeski, 21, were arrested at the Lynden border crossing Monday when agents found 160,000 tablets of Ecstasy hidden under the bed liner of the pickup truck Godin was driving, customs officials said. The couple appeared in federal court Tuesday.
According to court documents, Godin said his landlord paid him $12,000 for the drug run.
Bellingham Herald
Roslyn: City Council bans fireworks in 2006
This will be the final Independence Day that Roslyn residents can enjoy shooting off fireworks. The Roslyn City Council this week banned personal fireworks on the Fourth of July starting in 2006.
Residents can continue to use them on New Year’s Eve.
“We worked hard to acquire community forest land. We don’t want it destroyed,” City Council member Cordy Cooke said.
Fireworks, fire officials noted, likely caused some summer fires in Kittitas County in past years. Concerns about summer wildfires prompted the discussion countywide last year, but only Ellensburg banned fireworks. Now Roslyn is the second city in the county to ban Fourth of July fireworks.
Daily Record
Renton: Roof work sparks building fire
Billowing black smoke from a fire Thursday at a dry-cleaning business was visible to midday commuters for miles around.
Roofing workers employed by an unlicensed contractor are likely to blame for the two-alarm blaze that caused major damage to Daniel’s Dry Cleaners on Northeast Sunset Boulevard about 12:20 p.m.
The workers attempted to extinguish the blaze, but when they couldn’t they left the scene before firefighters arrived. It was unclear why they left, but the roofing company’s Washington state contractor license expired in 2001, Renton fire Lt. Larry Welch said.
King County Journal
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