Orca found dead near Sequim’s Dungeness Spit

SEQUIM – One killer whale was found dead Wednesday and another was stranded but later freed near Dungeness Spit on the north Olympic Peninsula.

The dead whale was a female, and the whale that got stranded temporarily in shallow water nearby was a 20-year-old male.

Whale researcher Kelly Balcomb told KING-TV he thinks the male is likely related to the dead female and stayed near her.

Balcomb said the male still appeared lethargic after moving into deeper water. The whale had been in shallow water off the beach for several hours until a rescue crew roped him and pulled him offshore. The whale was not headed toward open water as darkness fell Wednesday.

Three killer whales reportedly were spotted in the area Tuesday, one of them a baby, KING reported.

Killer whales travel in family pods and stay together throughout their lives.

Shelton

Police shoot man: A 64-year-old man was in critical condition Wednesday morning after being shot by a Shelton Police officer who responded to a domestic dispute. The incident began about 10:30 Tuesday night, when the man’s granddaughter called 911 to report that he was holding a gun on her grandmother, KIRO-TV reported. When officers arrived, they found the couple in the detached garage of their home. They were able to get the woman safely out, but the man refused to drop his rifle. He was shot when he turned the weapon on an officer. The man was taken to Mason General Hospital in Shelton, then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he remained in critical condition.

Kalama

Train clips pickup: A man, a woman and a 19-month-old child were unhurt after two passenger trains clipped the pickup truck they were in as it drove for miles along a gravel path between the railroad tracks, Cowlitz County sheriff’s deputies say. The pickup’s driver, Bennie E. Flatau, 77, of St. Helens, Ore., told deputies he didn’t know how he wound up between the tracks Tuesday night, and that he had driven eight miles south from the Longview Wye rail yard in Kelso trying to find a way off. Flatau, Marites G. Beckel, 28, also of St. Helens, and her daughter, Christina, were in the truck when it was nicked at 6:42 p.m. by Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train, traveling north from Los Angeles. The truck then was just north of the Longview Wye. Sheriff’s Sgt. Levi Morgan said the train’s engineers called Burlington Northern Santa Fe to say they had hit a truck on the tracks. The train backed up, but the vehicle was gone. The train then resumed its trip to Seattle. The truck continued south between the tracks, and eventually got stuck in Kalama. Flatau and his two passengers got out of the truck and, at 7:19 p.m., a second train, the Portland-to-Seattle Amtrak, hit the truck, shearing off the driver’s side. “They were trying to find a way off when two trains came along northbound,” said sheriff’s Lt. Charlie Rosenzweig. He said the truck was totaled.

Tacoma

Fire guts two businesses: A restaurant and music studio were gutted by fire, officials said. Firefighters focused on protecting the businesses around Bill’s Rite Spot restaurant and the studio. No injuries were reported in the fire, which was called in about 10 p.m. on Tuesday. The cause of the fire was under investigation, and no damage estimate was immediately available.

Olympia

Peace parade: About 200 people marched through the rain in a New Year’s Day peace procession. The march, organized by the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace and several other groups, concluded with speeches at Sylvester Park. “You know why we’re here don’t you?” Joanne Prado asked her 6-year-old son, Martin, who huddled beneath an umbrella. “We want to show the town that we want no wars, and we want to honor people who suffer in wars,” she said.

Neah Bay

Makahs seek scenic highway designation: The Makah Indian tribe is seeking a scenic byway designation for roads leading across its reservation to Cape Flattery, the northwestern tip of the mainland United States. Tribal members hope a scenic byway will draw tourists to the town of Neah Bay and “point them in the right direction” on a main road through the town, outgoing tribal council chairman Greig Arnold said. The scenic byway would also educate visitors about Makah whaling and tribal history. Designation would not provide direct road-maintenance funds, but it could lead to funds for pullouts and informational kiosks. The Makah, whose right to whale is specified in their 1855 treaty, moved to resume whaling when the whales were taken off the Endangered Species List in 1994. They killed one whale in May 1999, amid significant protest from whale protection advocates.

From Herald news services