TAHUYA — A second man has been reported missing in the storms that raked Western Washington last week.
Mason County sheriff’s deputies say 52-year-old George Fuller was last seen walking away from his home in the flood-ravaged Tahuya River Valley. That was a week ago, and detective William Adam says no trace has been found of Fuller despite several search and rescue missions
He reportedly was in poor health and was last seen walking in an area that was heavily damaged by flooding near the elbow of Hood Canal.
Also missing in the flooding is 81-year-old Nathan “Richard” Hiatt of Winlock. Lewis County officials say Hiatt apparently was checking on the outflow line from his sump pump and was swept away when he fell into rain-swollen Wallers Creek.
Associated Press
Seattle: Limit gun access, McKenna says
State Attorney General Rob McKenna says people who have been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment should not be allowed to have guns.
McKenna issued a report Thursday calling for changes to state law, saying recent tragedies have focused attention on the issue. The gunman in the Virginia Tech massacre was able to purchase firearms because a previous court order requiring him to receive outpatient mental health treatment had not been entered in state or federal databases.
The attorney general says Washington needs to bar anyone who has been involuntarily committed for 14 days or more from possessing firearms, and that it needs to improve law enforcement access to civil commitment records.
Associated Press
Olympia: Schools to get money for projects
Forty-seven school districts that need money for urgent repair and renovation projects will be getting a total of $4 million from a new state program established by the Legislature.
The small repair grant program is designed to pay for unforeseen health and safety risks, fire and building code deficiencies, disabled access and asbestos removal.
A total of 125 school districts asked for $10 million in the first round of grant requests. Money is on its way to the top 47 projects.
The projects being paid for this year include new roofs, ventilation systems, fire suppression systems and hazardous materials removal.
Associated Press
Mercer Island: GOP legislator now a Dem
State Rep. Fred Jarrett, a moderate Mercer Island Republican who has sometimes felt at odds with his more conservative colleagues, is switching parties. He plans to run for the state Senate as a Democrat next year.
Jarrett has been the last remaining Republican lawmaker in the once heavily Republican eastside suburbs in the Bellevue area. He says the GOP is increasingly dominated by the right wing and that the issues he cares about, such as roads and schools, will be decided in the Democratic caucuses of Olympia.
Jarrett says he’ll run as a Democrat for the 41st District Senate seat next year. The incumbent, Brian Weinstein, has announced he won’t seek re-election, and Senate Democrats were quietly recruiting Jarrett to switch parties and run.
Associated Press
Nine Mile Falls: Fire in house kills one
One person has died in a house fire in Nine Mile Falls, northwest of Spokane.
Fire officials say two-thirds of the house was engulfed in flames when the first crews arrived late Wednesday night. Much of the ceiling had collapsed and debris was scattered around the house, which is located in the Suncrest area just west of Lakeside High School.
Investigators say the fire apparently was ignited by a space heater, but there’s also a possibility that criminal activity was involved.
Associated Press
Bremerton: Man, 39, dies after stabbing
Police in Bremerton are investigating what appears to be a stabbing death.
Officers were summoned late Wednesday night by a man who said someone unknown to him was at his doorstep with an apparent stab wound.
Police say the 39-year-old wounded man died in an ambulance on the way to Harrison Medical Center.
According to a police statement, detectives followed a trail of blood back to the dead man’s home nearby. In a search Thursday they found evidence related to the wound. The death is being investigated as a homicide.
Kitsap Sun
Vancouver, Wash.: Major bridge closed
A key highway bridge north of Vancouver is going to remain closed while a replacement is built.
Klineline Bridge carries Highway 99 over Salmon Creek and carries about 14,000 cars a day.
The bridge, about a quarter-mile east of I-5, was closed because of high water and stormy weather on Dec. 2.
Officials say construction of a replacement will begin early next year.
Associated Press
Neah Bay: Rescue tug aids barge in distress
The rescue vessel Gladiator aided a tug towing a barge loaded with more than 2 million gallons of diesel fuel and 500,000 gallons of gasoline early Wednesday.
The 105-foot Na Hoku was headed down the coast when it lost its primary steering and electrical power about 12.5 miles off Cape Flattery, according to the state Department of Ecology.
It was the 36th time a rescue tug based at Neah Bay had aided a vessel in distress.
Just nine days earlier, the Gladiator had escorted the Kauai, a 720-foot container ship struck by 60-foot waves that smashed the windows from its bridge, damaging electrical gear and shutting down its primary steering system.
The Kauai was escorted to Seattle for repairs.
Peninsula Daily News
Kent: Toll could hit $9 for carpool lanes
Solo drivers buying their way into the carpool lanes on Highway 167 next year probably will pay as little as 50 cents when traffic is fairly light to as much as $9 when traffic is at its worst.
State transportation commissioners signaled their intent Wednesday to set tolls for solo drivers in that range, but they’ll hold a meeting next month to get public feedback.
They plan to finalize the toll range in February, but their lawyer warned them that the Legislature might have to approve the tolls before they take effect.
State highway officials plan to open High Occupancy Toll lanes between Auburn and Kent next spring. The four-year pilot program will allow solo drivers to pay to drive in the less-congested bus and carpool lanes. The toll will vary depending on the speed of traffic and the time of day.
The News Tribune
Port Angeles: Man found dead in jail
A jail inmate in Port Angeles has been found hanging dead in his cell, and Clallam County sheriff’s deputies say it appears to be a suicide.
Guards found 47-year-old John Young hanging by a bedsheet from a bunk in his cell Wednesday afternoon. Jail officials say he was not on a suicide watch and appeared OK when he was checked 45 minutes earlier.
The last suicide in the Clallam County jail was on March 6, 2001.
Young had been in jail since May 2006 awaiting trial on first-degree assault and other charges from Forks. The trial had been rescheduled eight times, most recently to Jan. 14.
Associated Press
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