MOUNT VERNON — The Skagit County coroner confirmed that the body found Wednesday in the Skagit River is the 13-year-old who was swept away Aug. 14 while wading near Burlington.
Coroner Daniel Dempsey says Joshua Soren drowned.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports a memorial service for Soren will be held Sept. 11 at Maiben Park in Burlington.
Swinger who killed wife’s lover sentenced
A man who pleaded guilty to killing his wife’s lover has been sentenced in Mount Vernon to 23 years in prison.
Skagit County prosecutors say 36-year-old Kenneth McBride and his wife were in a swinging lifestyle with multiple sex partners, but he became jealous when his wife fell in love with Jeremy Scully.
McBride pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder and was sentenced Friday for the April 2008 shooting of Scully.
The 28-year-old Scully was a Ferndale substitute teacher and assistant track coach.
Black Diamond: Woman, 86, stabbed
Police in the south King County town of Black Diamond say an 86-year-old woman has been fatally stabbed and her son has been taken into custody.
KOMO-TV reports police say the stabbing happened Friday evening at a home.
Investigators say the woman’s 50-year-old son went to police and told them what happened.
The victim was not immediately identified.
Spokane: Sheriff urges patience
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich urged residents not to jump to conclusions about an incident in which a police officer fatally shot a 74-year-old Southern Baptist pastor.
A Spokane Valley officer shot Pastor Scott Creach in the parking lot of Creach’s business late Wednesday night. According to Creach’s family, he heard what he thought was a burglar just before 11 p.m., grabbed his gun and went outside to investigate. His wife said she heard a shout, followed by gunshots.
“We have to look at all the facts surrounding this situation,” Knezovich said Friday. “No police officer goes to work intending to hurt one of the citizens they’re sworn to protect.”
Knezovich and Mayor Tom Towey expressed condolences to the Creach family at the news conference outside he Spokane County Courthouse.
An autopsy revealed Creach died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Nurses win fight over missed breaks
Nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane have won a legal case after a judge ruled that the hospital must pay them overtime for missed rest breaks.
The Washington State Nurses Association brought the case in 2007 in Spokane County Superior Court on behalf of 1,600 nurses.
The decision follows a similar outcome in August in which an arbitrator ruled that the University of Washington Medical Center must provide its nurses with full, uninterrupted 15-minute rest breaks.
Yakima: Hundreds attend memorial
Gov. Chris Gregoire and Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste joined hundreds of law enforcement officers Friday at a Yakima memorial service for three Washington State Patrol employees killed in a house fire at Zillah.
Trooper Kristopher Sperry, Trooper Gary Miller and Communications Officer Anne Miller-Hewitt died of smoke inhalation in the Aug. 16 fire at the Millers’ home.
The 55-year-old Miller was a veteran trooper. His 54-year-old wife headed the agency’s emergency call center in Wenatchee. The 30-year-old Sperry was staying temporarily with the Millers.
Gregoire choked up briefly when she spoke of Sperry, who had served as part of the security detail for the governor’s family in Olympia. Said Gregoire, “He meant a lot to us.”
Batiste thanked Gary Miller “for his bubbly personality and kind, kind soul.”
The governor recalled Miller-Hewitt’s calmness and professionalism even as she called 911 to report the fire that would take her life.
Port Orchard: Meth defendant brings …
A Bremerton man who showed up for a court appearance on a methamphetamine charge was jailed after he was found to be carrying a bag of meth in his pants.
The Kitsap Sun reports before making Tuesday’s court appearance in Port Orchard the 33-year-old man had to be booked and released from the Kitsap County Jail, a standard procedure.
During a pat-down at the jail a guard found a bag of meth in the man’s pocket. Now he’s facing a new felony drug possession charge.
Cle Elum: Payment of 33,000 pennies
After the Kittitas County treasurer refused to accept 33,000 pennies, Cle Elum businessman Ron Spears agreed to pay a $330 property tax bill in a conventional manner.
He told the Ellensburg Daily Record he rolled buckets of coins into the treasurer’s office Tuesday to protest the fines he incurred by failing to pay a $34 bill that was due in April.
Spears owns Spears Interiors in Cle Elum and also serves on the city council. He says his business is struggling and he didn’t have the money at the time.
The treasurer, Deanna Panattoni, says she doesn’t have the staff to count 33,000 pennies.
Longview: Traffic cameras approved
The Longview City Council voted Thursday night to install red light traffic cameras at four intersections. They also approved speed cameras in two school zones.
The cameras run by American Traffic Solutions of Scottsdale, Ariz., will automatically send $124 tickets to violators.
Medford, Ore.: Dam mosquitos
Removing the Gold Ray Dam from the Rogue River was supposed to ease a mosquito problem. Instead, it’s unleashed a swarm of the biting bugs on nearby homes.
The Mail Tribune reports that officials are not sure how so many mosquitoes ended up hatching this summer — but they guess it was the result of the mass disturbance of water when muddy sloughs were drained from behind the old dam.
“It’s one of the side-effects of a project like this,” said Eugene Papineau of Jackson County Vector Control, which has used air and ground assaults on the swarms in recent weeks.
“Their dogs are getting bit up. Their children are getting bit up. They’re not happy,” Papineau said, describing the reaction of local residents.
“I’d say that’s an understatement,” said Don Colcleaser, who lives in the nearby Gold Rey Estates
John Vial, Jackson County’s Roads and Parks Department director, said county officials thought they were draining a mammoth mosquito nursery.
They had no idea it would trigger this swarm.
More aerial and on-the-ground spraying is expected next week, but it could be two or three weeks before these mosquitoes die off.
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