YAKIMA — The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office says a body has been found in the Yakima River after a weekend accident in which two teens were dumped into the water when their raft overturned.
Sgt. Jerrold Towell said a local resident called the sheriff’s office Monday afternoon to report finding a body the resident believed was one of the missing teens. A search and rescue team recovered the body, which had been trapped by limbs of a tree in the river.
No name was released pending positive identification.
The two teens, one from Toppenish and one from Wapato, were in a group of four whose inflatable raft capsized Saturday evening. The other two rafters safely made it to shore.
Creditor wants to foreclose on Wapato development
A creditor is asking a federal judge to dismiss bankruptcy protection for a planned resort near Wapato so the creditor can foreclose on the property.
The Yakima Herald-Republic reported the move poses another threat to any chance the $100 million Vineyards Resort will get under way.
Stark Onshore Master Holdings of Milwaukee, Wis., said in a May 1 filing that no reorganization has been filed and there’s no evidence Vineyards will be able to make loan payments.
Developers broke ground in September on the 500-acre golf resort they said would marry recreation with the growing wine industry in the Yakima Valley.
A hearing on Stark’s foreclosure request is set for June 1 in Yakima.
Seattle: Innocent Edmonds man injured fleeing deputies
A man who was seriously injured during his arrest in Seattle is no longer considered a suspect in a convenience store fight that led deputies to chase him down on foot.
King County sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart said deputies don’t know why the man ran from them early Sunday in the Belltown neighborhood.
A witness to the convenience store fight had pointed him out to the Metro Transit police officers and he took off running. His head hit a wall as he was being taken into custody. He’s in serious condition in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
KIRO-TV reported relatives of Christopher Harris of Edmonds are asking for witnesses to come forward if they saw the arrest.
Bellevue fish broker sentenced for selling Chinese turbot as pricey halibut
A Bellevue man has been fined $160,000 and sentenced to 30 days in jail for intentionally mislabeling turbot from China as higher-priced halibut.
Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement in Seattle said Monday it’s one of the strongest sentences imposed for such a violation.
Kevin D. Steele pleaded guilty in November to buying 65 tons of turbot from China and relabeling it as halibut. The Bellevue fish broker then sold it to stores and restaurants in Texas and Utah at the higher prices halibut fetches.
Steele was sentenced last month in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Woman hopes for return of her stolen wheelchair
A Seattle woman with multiple sclerosis is hoping whoever took her motorized wheelchair gives it back.
Erin Musser thinks a boy or teen took it for a joyride Friday when she left it outside Beacon Hill Elementary School to pick up her 6-year-old son. She is able to walk a short distance with a cane.
Musser filed a police report and has been posting fliers with the help of friends.
More violence reported on Metro buses, but incidents are still rare
A review by The Seattle Post-Intelligencer found that the annual number of violent incidents or disturbances aboard Metro Transit buses has more than doubled since 1998.
Metro ridership numbers increased by 22 percent in the same time.
Incidents are rare in relation to overall ridership. Drivers reported 550 incidents in 2008, when about 118 million trips were recorded on the Seattle area transit system.
Metro deputy general manager Jim Jacobson told the P-I that most of the assaults reported by drivers don’t rise to criminal levels. Many reports are made regarding heated arguments between passengers or threats made by the occasional disturbed passenger.
Tacoma: Crews battle flurry of kitchen fires
Kitchens can be dangerous.
Tacoma firefighters say they’ve been responding to more kitchen fires than usual in the past two and a half weeks. Six of them actually, most involving cooking with grease or oil.
A spokesman tells The News Tribune it’s an odd trend and has cost homeowners multiple kitchens valued at as much as $50,000.
Last weekend, a Tacoma family lost their home because of a kitchen fire caused by cooking with grease.
Firefighters suggest staying in the kitchen while frying, grilling or broiling — and checking food regularly if you’re baking, roasting or boiling.
Olympia: Gregoire OKs expanded protection of pets
Gov. Chris Gregoire has approved a measure that extends the protections of domestic violence restraining orders to pets owned by the person who secures the order.
Gregoire signed the measure Monday. It takes effect July 26.
Courts could decide custody of jointly owned pets if a domestic violence protection order is taken out.
The measure also bars the target of the restraining order from having contact with the pets.
Gregoire OKs more early release of sickly prisoners
More low-risk prison inmates with debilitating medical conditions could be released early under a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Gregoire signed the bill Monday, and it takes effect Aug. 1.
Under the measure, which expands a current program, the state will release prison inmates who are physically incapacitated due to age or health condition if release saves the state money because of costly care behind bars.
Death row inmates, or those serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, are not be eligible for early release.
Supporters say releasing debilitated prisoners saves the state money, but critics say it could actually cost more because those released may be dependent on state aid programs.
Lakewood: New chief for psychiatric hospital
Washington state officials have selected a 20-year veteran of the state’s mental health services system as the new chief executive officer at Western State Hospital.
The appointment of Jess Jamieson to lead Washington’s largest psychiatric hospital is effective May 18. State Department of Social and Health Services Assistant Secretary Doug Porter on Monday called Jamieson “the right leader for a hospital staff that is ready to continue its ongoing progress toward improved patient management and higher quality care.”
Jamieson will replace Andrew Phillips, who resigned in August 2008. The hospital has operated under a pair of interim CEOs since then.
Jamieson most recently was chief executive officer of Alliance Behavioral Health Care in Everett. From 1995 to 2007, he was president and CEO of COMPASS Health, which offers mental health provider services in four counties north of Seattle.
Western State, one of three state psychiatric hospitals, serves about 1,000 patients with a staff of nearly 2,000.
Associated Press
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