Northwest briefly: Flags flying at half-staff in memory of Everett soldier

OLYMPIA — Flags are flying at half-staff at the Capitol and state government buildings across Washington in memory of U.S. Army Sgt. Phillip R. Anderson of Everett.

Everett was killed in action in Balad Ruz, Iraq, on March 10.

Services were planned for Anderson at Fir Lane Memorial Park in Spanaway on Thursday, with burial following at Tahoma National Cemetery.

Pearse Edwards, spokesman for Gov. Chris Gregoire, says Anderson is the second Washington war casualty to be acknowledged since the federal government gave the state permission in January to begin lowering the flags.

Associated Press

Tuberculosis cases increase in Washington

Eleven percent more Washington residents had tuberculosis in 2007 than during the previous year.

Most of Washington’s counties had 10 or fewer cases of the respiratory illness in 2007. King County had more than half the cases reported in the state.

Foreign-born immigrants and refugees from countries with high rates of tuberculosis make up three quarters of the cases. A total of 291 Washington residents had tuberculosis in during 2007, compared with 262 cases in 2006.

Associated Press

Richland: Hanford workers finish draining tainted water

Workers have finished draining a pool containing a million gallons of contaminated water left from Cold War operations at the Hanford Nuclear reservation.

The U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday it can start planning to remove the K East Basin about 400 yards from the Columbia River. Spent fuel rods from plutonium-making reactors were stored under water in the basin.

Workers began draining the basin in February and made more than 200 trips with 5,000-gallon tanker trucks to a treatment facility at Hanford.

The basin will be filled with a sandy material so a building can be demolished this summer. Then, the basin will be removed to allow removal of contaminated soil underneath.

Associated Press

Maple Valley: Driver, elk killed in collision

The driver of a car died after hitting an elk on a road east of Maple Valley.

King County sheriff’s deputies say the 1992 Ford Mustang apparently was speeding about 2:30 a.m. Thursday when it hit the animal on 276th Avenue SE.

Sgt. Jessica Sullivan says the car then sheared off two utility poles. That cut electricity power to about 100 Puget Sound Energy customers.

The 23-year-old Ravensdale man was pronounced dead at the scene. The elk also died.

Associated Press

Bellingham: Car plows into woman’s home

Martha Burns woke up Thursday morning to what she thought was an explosion.

When she saw a Volkswagen protruding through her bedroom wall, she ran from the room, and the driver ran from the scene.

The green sedan apparently missed a curve and plowed through over the fence of Burns’ home about 2:30 a.m.

A 50-ton crane was being used Thursday morning to remove the car, which crushed the side of the home.

“It pushed her bed right across the floor,” said Martha Bengen, Burns’ daughter, adding that her mother wasn’t injured. “She didn’t see the driver.”

Bengen said police responded with dogs in an attempt to track the driver but were unsuccessful.

Sgt. Dave Richards with the Bellingham Police traffic unit said the car’s owner will be responsible for damages. Spokeswoman Lt. Flo Simon said the department hasn’t found the owner or the driver yet. The department has sent a letter of notification to the registered owner in Yakima, she said.

The Bellingham Herald

Seattle: 20-year-old lemur euthanized

A 20-year-old red ruffed lemur has been euthanized at Woodland Park Zoo following an illness due to kidney failure.

Tromi arrived at the zoo in 1999 from the Duke University Primate Center. He lived in Woodland Park’s tropical rain forest and was euthanized on Tuesday.

Red ruffed lemurs can live 15 to 20 years in the wild and up to 19 years in zoos. Dr. Kelly Helmick, Woodland Park’s interim director of animal health, says the post-mortem exam confirmed conditions of a geriatric lemur, including a mottled liver, small dark kidneys and a thickened heart.

Helmick says the quality of the lemur’s life was compromised, leading to the decision to euthanize Tromi. There are now five lemurs left at Woodland Park.

Associated Press