Northwest Briefly

Trooper’s lights out worth man’s ticket dismissal

RITZVILLE — A Bellevue man beat a speeding ticket by persuading a Ritzville judge that a state trooper violated the law by parking on the I-90 median with the vehicle’s lights out.

The Ritzville District Court judge, Adalia Hille, dismissed Carl Hu’s ticket in July because evidence of speeding was gathered illegally.

The Washington State Patrol disputes that, and officials say the lower court ruling is unlikely to set a precedent.

Hu was pulled over one night in February and decided to fight the ticket. He accused the trooper of “sneaking around in the dark.”

Patrol Capt. Jeffrey Otis says the trooper was not required to turn on his lights while parked on the median.

University of Washington professor John Junker says no other judge is obliged to follow the Ritzville ruling.

Olympia: Lab errors affect drivers’ licenses

Department of Licensing examiners have reinstated 28 drivers’ licenses in the past two weeks because of problems at the Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab.

One examiner who dismissed 18 suspensions, Jose­phine Townsend, told The Olympian she lost confidence in the reliability of breath test evidence.

The department has scheduled a hearing for the patrol to explain its work in verifying the breath test machines are accurate.

The lab manager resigned in July after she was accused of certifying machines she never checked personally. And in August, the lab revealed that a calculating error produced results that were slightly higher than they should have been.

@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no bold lede-in:Gov. Gregoire picks conservation chief

Gov. Chris Gregoire has appointed a former deputy land commissioner, Kaleen Cotting­ham, as head of the state Recreation and Conservation Office.

The agency was formerly known as the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation. The office manages 11 grant programs for recreation, conservation and salmon recovery projects. The agency has awarded more than 5,600 grants totaling $1.2 billion in its 43-year history.

Cottingham was deputy land commissioner during Democrat Jennifer Belcher’s administration. She also served as adviser and legal counsel to Gov. Booth Gardner and was a member of the Pollution Control and Shorelines Hearings Board.

@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no bold lede-in:School employees suspected of abuse

Two employees of the Rain­ier School in Buckley have been arrested for investigation of assaulting mentally retarded residents as a result of a videotape shot by a television station, the Washington State Patrol said Wednesday.

Nine staffers, including the two arrested employees, have been given alternative assignments away from residents because of the video, said a spokesman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, which operates the school.

“We don’t know if they did anything wrong or not,” said DSHS spokesman Steve Williams. “As the investigation moves on we will make that determination.”

There were no apparent injuries, Williams said.

Spokane: Teen sentenced for crash

A teenager on house arrest faces at least five weeks in juvenile detention for a fatal crash in Spokane Valley while she was driving without a license.

Fifteen-year-old Kaele Y. Pritchett pleaded guilty last week to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. She was sentenced to 12 to 36 weeks in detention.

She has been on house arrest for 12 weeks, and her mother, Wendy Pritchett, said she must now spend at least five weeks at the Naselle Youth Camp.

The teen was driving without a license at the time of a crash April 4. One passenger, 14-year-old Richard Cameron Ross, died in the wreck and another passenger, a girl, was injured. Investigators say the crash followed a party but that the driver had not been drinking.

Snoqualmie: Tribe buying Salish Lodge

The Muckleshoot Tribe is buying the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls. The Muckleshoots beat out the Snoqual­mie Tribe, which regards the falls as sacred.

A Muckleshoot spokesman, Rollin Fatland, says it respects the significance of the site and bought the resort as a business opportunity. The tribe plans no change in the lodge, which was built in 1919.

The sale price was not announced, but King County records show the property is valued at more than $16 million.

Seattle: Salmon spread recalled

Jensen’s Old Fashioned Smokehouse is recalling a smoked salmon spread because of concerns about possible contamination.

Jensen’s says 936 tubs of its Seattle Style Wild Smoked Salmon Spread Lemon Dill and Onion are being recalled because of the possibility they are contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes — an organism that can cause serious infections in the young, the elderly and those with weak immune systems.

The spread in question is coded “Sell by 10/20/07.” It was distributed in retail stores in Western Washington and sold in 7-ounce plastic tubs.

No illnesses have been confirmed. The recall came after Food and Drug Administration testing showed the finished product contained the bacteria.

@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no bold lede-in:Not-guilty plea in felony DUI case

A Bothell man charged under a new felony DUI law has pleaded not guilty in Seattle.

The King County prosecutor’s office says Karl Solid remains in jail with bail set at $250,000 while awaiting trial.

The 44-year-old faces six years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors say Solid has eight convictions related to drunken driving going back to 1991. When he was arrested again Saturday night he had a blood-alcohol level of .28, prosecutors said. The state intoxication threshold is .08.

The driving-under-the-influence law that took effect in July makes the fifth DUI conviction in 10 years a felony. Solid is among the first to be charged under the new law. In August, Rolland Bullock was charged with felony DUI in Thurston County Superior Court and entered a modified guilty plea.

@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no bold lede-in:Man suspected in 1987 Lummi killing

The FBI has arrested a man for a 20-year-old slaying on the Lummi Indian Reservation.

Henry Keeler Redlightning, 57, was scheduled to make an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon at U.S. District Court in Seattle. He’s being charged with the killing of Rita Disangh in 1987.

FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs says new information came to light in the case last year, and that agents worked with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. They brought Redlightning in for questioning Tuesday and wound up arresting him.

Port Angeles: Flap over higher park fee

The Olympic National Park hasn’t decided yet to raise the visitor’s fee to $25 and it’s already facing opposition.

A spokeswoman, Barb Maynes, says people are concerned it would price some visitors out of the park and create a place where only the wealthy could visit.

The current fee for a single visit is $15. Any price increase wouldn’t go into effect until 2009.

A possible fee increase at Mount Rainier National Park is also on hold, pending a decision from National Park Service director Mary Bomar.

Associated Press