Body may be missing soldier
LACEY — A body that could be a missing Fort Lewis soldier has been recovered from the Nisqually River and turned over to the Thurston County coroner’s office.
Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dave Pearsall says it’s a man in his 20s that fits the description of Robert Wheatley who went missing in a May 17 rafting accident.
The 23-year-old private first class from Arcadia, Calif., was a member of the 4th Stryker Brigade who served in Iraq. The body was spotted Tuesday by someone on the bank of the river near Lacey. It was recovered by sheriff’s divers.
Lakewood: 1 dead, 1 hurt in robbery
Pierce County sheriff’s deputies say an armored car guard was shot to death and another person was wounded during a robbery Tuesday at a Wal-Mart store in Lakewood.
Deputies and Lakewood police were looking for two men who fled after the shooting at about 1:30 p.m. in the suburb south of Tacoma.
Pat Flaherty, a spokesman for Houston-based Loomis armored cars, identified the man who died as 39-year-old Kurt Husted, a 16-year veteran of the company. Police say a bag was taken from the guard, but Flaherty says it was not immediately known whether the bag contained any money.
Wenatchee: Wildfire contained
Firefighters have completed a trail around a 250-acre wildfire about 10 miles north of Wenatchee. State Department of Natural Resources spokesman Mark Grassel says two helicopters dropping water Tuesday helped about 65 local, state and federal firefighters on the ground. The fire started near an electrical transformer pole Monday night.
Seattle: 2 men found hiding in train heading into U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say two men were found hidden in a freight train car as they tried to enter the United States illegally from Canada at the Blaine, Wash., border crossing.
Customs and Border Protection officers spotted the two men as the train passed through an X-ray machine at the border on Sunday.
The two men, a 40-year-old from Guatemala and a 32-year-old from Mexico, were arrested and turned over to Canadian authorities.
Olympia: State to close 1 prison unit, delay another
Washington state is closing one prison unit and delaying the opening of another to save money amid budget cuts and a decline in the inmate population.
The state Department of Corrections says one unit at the Pine Lodge women’s prison near Spokane will close July 1. That prison will still have room for about 190 women.
And a new medium-security unit at Coyote Ridge prison in Connell will open in September, instead of June as originally planned. That prison is expected to eventually house more than 2,000 prisoners.
Officials say the prison population has dropped steadily in the past two years, and they expect that trend to continue. New laws changing sentencing and parole policies will contribute to the trend.
Metal firm fined for tank collapse
The state has fined a Seattle metal-finishing firm $101,000 for failing to prevent a 50,000-gallon tank of corrosive wastewater from bursting last year.
The Department of Ecology says Industrial Plating Corp. violated safe storage and handling rules for hazardous waste at its south Seattle facility.
One of its wooden tanks broke last year, spilling corrosive rinse waters and toxic liquid onto the floor of the company’s plant. Most of the liquid was contained, but some spilled into the street and storm drains that flow into the Duwamish Waterway.
A telephone call by The Associated Press to a company supervisor was not immediately returned Tuesday.
House passes bill for stocking fish in N. Cascades
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill giving North Cascades National Park authority to continue stocking up to 42 mountain lakes with fish.
The park had said it would end fishing stocking in alpine lakes and kill the remaining fish starting July 1 if it didn’t get congressional approval to continue.
The bill, which passed Tuesday, awaits Senate action.
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., says the measure allows a centurylong tradition to continue. Opponents say fish shouldn’t be planted in lakes that naturally never had them.
Yelm: Body found hydroelectric project
The Thurston County coroner is using dental records to try to identify the body of a woman found at the entralia City Light hydroelectric project at Yelm.
The Olympian reports the body was found Monday in a bin that collects debris automatically sifted from the canal that is diverted from the Nisqually River.
Vantage: Man dies In 45-foot jump off cliff
The Kittitas County sheriff’s office says a man apparently had been drinking when he decided to jump off a 45-foot cliff into the Columbia River near Vantage.
The 25-year-old Ellensburg man, Ramon Del Angel, did not surface from the Sunday jump.
Sheriff’s divers found the body Monday.
Port Angeles: Clallam County treasurer’s office investigated
Officials in Port Angeles say the Clallam County treasurer’s office is being investigated for a possible theft by an employee of more than $1,500 in public funds.
The Peninsula Daily News reports that city, county and the state auditor’s office are taking part in the probe. Treasrer Judy Scott says the state will begin an audit of her office later this week.
Officials have provided few details and no charges have been filed. But Sheriff Bill Benedict says it appears just one employee may be involved.
Tacoma: Beluga whale moved to San Antonio
Beethoven the beluga whale is no longer at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reports it was moved Sunday to Sea World at San Antonio.
Keepers say the 16-year-old is joining a pod of eight belugas and will have an opportunity to breed.
Beethoven was the last beluga at Point Defiance. His companion Qannik (kah-NIK’) died in March of a blood infection.
The zoo plans to use the beluga pool for harbor seals.
Pullman: School superintendent passes on pay raise
Pullman School District Superintendent Paul Sturm will not take a $5,000 annual salary increase that was supposed to go into effect in July.
He told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News it wasn’t appropriate to take the increase when teachers won’t get cost-of-living increases as the district copes with a tight budget.
Sturm’s current salary is $128,000.
From Herald news services
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