Shooting hoax leads to woman’s arrest

Spokane Police have arrested a Spokane woman they say was involved in a hoax in which she led them to believe she shot two people.

Loretta Lynn Houchin, 34, emerged from her home at 2817 N. Nelson on Saturday afternoon and appeared to have blood on her clothing, police said. Houchin allegedly yelled that she had killed her “old man,” and then shouted she was going to shoot her 14-year-old niece.

Neighbors told police they heard what sounded like gunshots and saw Houchin run from the house. Houchin then ran back into the house and neighbors again thought they heard shots, according to a police press release.

Fifteen officers arrived and surrounded the home, closed off the street and told neighbors to stay inside their homes. A man then appeared at the back window. Police learned the man was Houchin’s supposed victim.

Houchin emerged and initially denied any knowledge of the incident. She eventually told police she staged the shooting and that the “shots” were firecrackers, according to police.

The “blood” was hair dye, police said. She blamed the idea on an 18-year-old girl in the house.

Officers booked her into jail for false reporting and obstructing an officer, both misdemeanors.

Police said Houchin has 28 convictions, including robbery, theft, a sex offense and numerous probation violations. Officers spent more than two hours at the scene.

Mining accident kills North Idaho man

A Silverton, Idaho, man was killed last week in an accident at the Stillwater Mine in Nye, Mont.

Cody R. Mathewson, 52, was an electrician at the underground platinum-palladium mine. He was killed late Thursday while working on ventilation air doors in the mine, according to a press release issued by Stillwater Mining Co.

Officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident.

Services for Mathewson will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at the United Church of Christ Congregational in Wallace.

Seattle man dies while climbing Mount Everest

Oswego, N.Y. A Seattle man died when he fell into a crevasse while climbing Mount Everest, his family said.

Mike O’Brien, 39, who formerly lived in upstate New York, was killed Sunday when he slipped as he and his brother were climbing down from a camp at 20,341 feet to their base camp, said their father, Dr. David O’Brien of Oswego. He said he received a phone call from the mountain from Chris O’Brien, who helped recover his brother’s body.

“Christopher obviously was pretty shaken up,” his father said. “They were inseparable.”

The O’Briens were seeking to become the first American brothers to reach the 29,035-foot summit of the world’s tallest mountain together. They were making the Himalayan climb to raise money for the Hereditary Disease Foundation. Their mother and sister died from complications from Huntington’s disease.

Mike O’Brien grew up in Oswego in central New York and had been living in Seattle, where he worked as a river rafting guide.

He also worked as a part-time bartender at Safeco Field for concessionaire Centerplate, according to Seattle Mariners’ spokeswoman Rebecca Hale.

Chris O’Brien, 32, of Haddonfield, N.J., is a medical student at Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

They had climbed 25 mountains, including Washington’s Mount Rainier and Cho Oyu in the Himalayas.

Fruit group anticipates big cherry yield

Yakima The Washington State Fruit Commission says cherry blossoms this year indicate the possibility of a big crop – possibly between 12 million and 13 million boxes.

This is the third consecutive year the commission is forecasting such a large crop, but commission President B.J. Thurbly cautioned that in the past two years frost, wind and rain damage have decreased the final total.

Last year, 11.1 million boxes were produced. In 2003, 11.3 million boxes were produced. Each box weighs 20 pounds.

SeaTac marketplace opens to travelers

SeaTac, Wash. After three years of construction, the $126 million Pacific Marketplace at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport opened to travelers on Monday.

The marketplace includes 11 restaurants and nine shops. Its main feature is a 350-foot-long by 65-foot-high glass wall that allows people to look out at the tarmac as planes take off and land.

The marketplace is only open to ticketed passengers who have passed through security. The airport has planned a grand opening celebration for the general public June 4.

Broken water line causes zoo closure

Seattle Woodland Park Zoo was closed Monday after it lost water service when a construction crew hit a water line.

Construction workers accidentally broke the line as they did work for Thursday’s planned groundbreaking of the zoo’s new Zoomazium, spokeswoman Gigi Allianic said.

The Zoomazium is a $9.6 million project that will turn an 8,500-square-foot area into a natural playground.

Officials had hoped to reopen the 92-acre zoo by noon Monday, but repairs took longer than expected.

The animals were not affected and had water to drink, but the cages could not be cleaned until the service was restored, Allianic said.

The zoo was scheduled to resume normal hours today.