SNOQUALMIE PASS — A 59-year-old skier died after plunging more than 250 feet from a cliff in a closed portion of the Alpental ski area on Saturday afternoon, a spokesman said.
The skier, whose name was not released, entered the roped-off, permanently closed area on Disposal Ridge and fell from the cliff sometime after 4:30 p.m., said John Pretty of the Summit at Snoqualmie, which operates Alpental at the Cascade Range pass.
His body was found by another skier at the bottom of an open run called Shot 4, and the ski patrol arrived at 4:50 p.m., Pretty said.
Efforts to revive the skier were unsuccessful.
Coupeville
Shipyard to hire 100 workers: Whidbey Island-based Nichols Bros. Boat Builders plans to hire 100 more workers in the coming months to help it build a luxury sternwheeler. Welders, electricians and crane operators are among those who will be needed. Building the $45 million, 360-foot vessel will take 18 months. The order from Seattle-based American West Steamboat Co. is for the Empress of the North, which is expected to begin cruising the Columbia, Snake and Willamette rivers and to travel to Alaska in 2003.
Seattle
Cigarette blamed for fire: A lit cigarette that wasn’t properly discarded appears to have started an apartment fire that hospitalized a 75-year-old man, fire investigators said Saturday. The man, whose name was not released, was in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center with smoke inhalation and burns to his chest. He was unconscious when firefighters rescued him Friday night, Lt. Sue Stangl of the Seattle Fire Department said.
Walla Walla
Remains of man missing six years found: Six years ago, Lauro "Larry" Berrones vanished in a primitive area of the Blue Mountains near Walla Walla. Last Sunday, a mushroom hunter spotted bones in a dry stream bed off McKay Grade Road about 10 miles southeast of Walla Walla. On Wednesday, investigators recovered the bones, along with a wallet containing Berrones’ driver’s license and jewelry and clothing believed to have been his. The remains were tentatively identified as those of Berrones, Walla Walla County Coroner Stephen Ames said. There were no signs of violence or other indications of foul play where the bones were found, an official said.
Oregon
Two drown in Columbia: Two members of the Yakama tribe drowned and a third is missing and presumed dead after their fishing boat sank on the Columbia River early Friday, a tribal official said. The trio had launched from Avery on the Washington side Thursday evening and were last seen at about midnight, said John Johnson, chief of Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Enforcement. The first body was found Friday morning tangled in a gill net near Avery. The second washed ashore on the Oregon side near Celilo. A search of the river turned up no debris from their 16-foot, fiberglass boat or signs of the third man, Johnson said.
Idaho
Student charged with trying to burn gay pride flag: A former University of Idaho student body president has been charged with trying to destroy a rainbow flag stolen from the Gay Straight Alliance. Kasey Swisher, 21, was scheduled to appear before Magistrate William Hamlett on May 13. Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson filed misdemeanors charge of malicious injury to property on Friday. Court documents say Swisher told police he participated in the attempted burning of the flame-retardant flag, then jumped on it when it would not burn.
Nez Perce Tribe approves new casino: Members of the Nez Perce Tribe have approved a plan to build a $52 million casino hotel near Lewiston. Members gave their approval despite concerns about the cost and scale of the project. The tribal council is made up of every registered tribal member. The new casino would feature a 100-room hotel overlooking the Clearwater River near the site of the tribe’s modest casino, said Paul Hamel with Group West Associates Inc., which designed the new building. The final cost would be around $52 million, $40 million of which would be borrowed, he said. The current casino is a temporary structure one council member described as a "circus tent."
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