BOISE, Idaho – A Washington state man has been banned for life from hunting in Idaho after pleading guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy for a poaching violation.
Christian Witt, 32, of Battle Ground also pleaded guilty to 12 misdemeanor wildlife charges. His right to hunt in Idaho was revoked, and he was fined almost $30,000 and placed on probation for five years when he was sentenced Sept. 14 in 2nd District Court in Nezperce.
Witt acted illegally as an outfitter, taking undercover officers on hunting trips and illegally killing elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, black bear, pheasant and wild turkey, Heggen said. Wildlife officials watched Witt for about 18 months.
Associated Press
Stevens Pass: Tunnel ownership mess
The U.S. Forest Service owns both ends of a 3-mile-long abandoned railroad tunnel north of Stevens Pass, but in a quirky twist of land deals over the years, the agency doesn’t own the middle section.
That could soon change. The federal government is expected to complete an agreement this fall to acquire the rest of the old Cascade tunnel from a private owner.
The tunnel crosses the Chelan-King county line just north of the Stevens Pass Ski area.
The middle section and some surrounding land are owned by a family corporation, the Tye Valley Tunnel Co. According to a recent newsletter by the Alpine Lakes Protection Society, owner Ella Riach promised to donate the land and tunnel as long as it is called the Riach Memorial Tunnel.
Several groups said they hope to extend a popular hiking trail into the tunnel after the deal is finalized. However, the tunnel is not safe enough for the trail to extend all the way through it because the ceiling is caving in, said Steve Johnson, lands manager for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest.
Associated Press
Camp Murray: Privacy hampers relief efforts
Charities and government agencies working to help some 4,000 hurricane refugees in Washington state have found concern over privacy rights an early stumbling block, officials said Monday.
At a meeting in the state Emergency Operations Center, some government and private relief officials said the inability to share refugees’ personal information is hampering efforts to develop a reliable database.
People who fled the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast have been coming to Washington state in a steady trickle – presumably drawn by friends and family here.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s relief registry estimates the number of individual refugees in Washington at about 4,200, officials with the state Division of Emergency Management said.
But privacy laws and other restrictions have prevented databases from being compiled, said Steve Bailey, director of the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management.
“We have people in this state who may need assistance, and the people who can provide assistance don’t know who they are and how to get in touch with them,” he said.
Associated Press
Bellevue: Three teens held in fatal beating
Three teenagers have been arrested in the fatal beating of a man outside a Top Foods supermarket in the Crossroads area, police said.
A 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were arrested early Sunday morning for investigation of murder, and a 15-year-old boy who was being held on unrelated charges is also under investigation in the death, Bellevue police officer Michael Chiu said.
The case stems from the beating of a 43-year-old man who was found dead shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday, only the second homicide in Bellevue since 1998.
Police have not given a motive for the slaying, but say it may have stemmed from a disturbance at a birthday party earlier in the evening.
Associated Press
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