LAKEBAY — Betty Corey first thought the hissing from her Lakebay kitchen might be one of her dogs. Wrong.
It was a 4-foot-long ball python.
Not a fan of snakes, Corey called 911 and a Pierce County animal control officer removed the snake Tuesday morning. Officer Brian Boman says the agency will house the snake at its shelter, keeping it warm and close at hand if its owner is looking for it.
Boman says it’s likely a pet that escaped from a nearby house. He notes it needs a temperature between 80 and 85 degrees and couldn’t survive long in the wild this time of year.
Kelso: It’s 50 months in prison for arson over $10 debt
A 22-year-old Kelso man has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for attacking a Longview man and setting fire to his home over a $10 debt.
Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Warning sentenced Robert Denison to 50 months in prison Tuesday, saying the “most heinous part” of the crime was the fact that Denison and his accomplice left their victim in a burning home.
Denison pleaded guilty to second-degree arson.
According to court records, Denison and Trevor Alan Roberts came to Gary Lee Lindsey’s home on Aug. 30 and demanded Lindsey pay them $10. The documents say that when Lindsey refused, Denison hurled a brick, striking Lindsey in the face and chest.
Lindsey told police he was lying on the floor and trying to catch his breath when he heard liquid being poured on the house. The building was ablaze within minutes.
Roberts, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree arson last month and was also sentenced to 50 months.
Yakima: National Guard unit headed to Iraq
A National Guard unit based in Yakima is headed to Iraq.
The Guard says about 25 members of the 144th Liaison Team will spend most of a year supporting commanders and providing security.
The Yakima Herald-Republic reported the 144th previously served in Afghanistan, returning in April 2006.
South Bend: Parts of Pacific County remain dark
Some parts of Pacific County have been without power since the Saturday night windstorm.
Gusts of 70 mph left 11,000 without electricity.
Denise Rowlett with Pacific County Emergency Management told KXRO that 1,000 customers were still in the dark Tuesday on the Long Beach Peninsula as crews work to restore service to side streets.
Bellingham: Woman’s death is considered suspicious
Police say the death of a woman in a homeless camp in Bellingham is suspicious.
A man told police he found the body Monday afternoon in a wooded area near Bakerview Square.
The death could be the second homicide in four days. Police are still looking for a suspect in the shooting death of 43-year-old Bryan Marriott of Bellingham whose body was found Friday night at an intersection.
Neighbors reported hearing an argument, a shot and a car speeding away. Marriott was found lying near his car with a fatal chest wound.
Chuckanut Drive closed by rock fall
The Washington Department of Transportation says Chuckanut Drive just south of the Whatcom-Skagit county line will remain closed for up to a week because of loose rock and an unstable hillside.
The 3-mile stretch of the scenic road has been closed since Monday, when a small rockslide closed it in both directions. The Transportation Department says its engineers examined the area Tuesday and concluded it’s unsafe to reopen the road until the slope is stabilized.
The department is hiring a contractor to fix the problem. In the meantime, businesses along the highway can be reached from the south end of Chuckanut Drive in Skagit County.
Spokane: Elementary schools switch to numbered grade system
Parents looking at elementary school report cards this week in Spokane are seeing 4-3-2-or-1 instead of A-B-C-D-or-F.
Schools have switched to a number-based grading system they say better records student standards and assessments.
The Spokesman-Review reports 4 means consistently extending knowledge; 3 means meeting standards; 2 means approaching standards; and 1 means below standards.
After three years of testing at six schools, the new system was implemented this year at all elementaries in the Spokane district.
Man sues Postal Service over firing
A former supervisor sued the U.S. Postal Service, claiming he was fired for refusing a late shipment of Netflix DVDs.
John A. Branda told The Spokesman-Review in a story published Tuesday he refused a truckload of 20,000 DVDs that arrived late at a Spokane facility in July 2007 because it would have missed a processing deadline.
The Spokane Valley man was suspended the next day and later fired.
In the suit filed Friday in Spokane County Superior Court, the 58-year-old Branda is seeking unspecified damages. He told KIRO Radio in Seattle he wants to return to his job with back pay.
Postal service spokesman Ernie Swanson said the agency had no comment because the matter is now in court. Netflix also had no comment.
Branda had no previous disciplinary problems working for the postal service, said Mark Hodgson, his lawyer.
Vancouver, Wash.: New Army Reserves center planned
The Army plans to build a $28 million training center for the Army Reserve and National Guard on a 19-acre site at Orchards, near Vancouver.
The Armed Forces Reserve Center will train units moving from the Vancouver Barracks, which is closing.
When it opens in 2011, the Orchards center will accommodate about 1,000 soldiers for weekend training.
Olympia: Three cities’ storm-water projects approved
Federal stimulus dollars are paying for water projects in Spokane, Olympia and Seattle.
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday gave a green light to the projects that will provide enhanced storm-water treatment.
The $5.6 million in grants and loans will pay for low-impact development projects that provide enhanced storm-water treatment.
Oregon: Decades of warming cuts into snowpack
Scientists report that rising temperatures appear to be responsible for cutting the snowpack in Oregon’s Cascade Range in half over the past 77 years.
The report from Oregon State University released Tuesday found that the warming trend is seen most in the spring. Temperatures are up almost 4 degrees since 1958 in January, March and April.
Meanwhile, there has been no significant trend in precipitation.
Geosciences professor Julia Jones says the shrinking snowpack has been the most visible impact of global warming, and will continue into the future.
The mountain snowpack acts as a natural reservoir for rivers that are crucial to salmon, farming and ranching.
Police find big buck after traffic stop
Oregon State Police say a trooper who pulled over a pickup truck traveling at 79 mph in a 55 mph zone south of The Dalles did more than write a speeding ticket. They say he also found an illegally killed trophy-sized buck in the pickup bed.
Sgt. Julie Wilcox said a 31-year-old passenger is accused of having unlawfully shot the buck with a bow and arrow in the White River Unit.
The passenger, Eric Eugene Burris of Portland, was also taken into custody Sunday for investigation of failure to register as a sex offender.
Police say the 25-year-old driver was cited for aiding in a game violation and the speeding issue, as well as driving uninsured and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
The deer and a compound bow were seized.
Fugitive captured in Yamhill County
An Oregon man sought for nearly a year on felony parole violation warrants has been captured in Yamhill County.
Sgt. David Thompson of the Washington County sheriff’s Office said Josh David Nicholas was taken into custody Monday night following a daylong search that began when a Cornelius police officer spotted Nicholas in a stolen pickup.
The pickup sped away and shook off pursuers by going through a farmer’s field.
The 36-year-old Nicholas is being held at the Washington County Jail.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
