Cargo-laden train derails near Sprague

For the second time in a week, a train derailed near Sprague blocking rail traffic between Spokane and Portland.

No one was injured in the Saturday derailment. Gus Melonas, spokesman for BNSF Railway Co., told the Associated Press that the line was expected to be cleared by 8 a.m. today.

The train – made up of three locomotives and 69 containers loaded with general merchandise – was headed for St. Paul, Minn., from Tacoma when the accident occurred at about 10:20 a.m., he said.

Three cars containing furniture ran off the tracks about 45 miles west of Spokane, he said. Crews spent Saturday assessing the damage and getting the cars back on track.

The cause hasn’t been determined, Melonas said.

As a result, Amtrak was not able to operate its regularly scheduled trains on Saturday, and passengers had to be bused between Spokane and Portland, Melonas said.

BNSF was trying to develop alternative routes for freight traffic Saturday afternoon.

Saturday’s incident occurred about an eighth of a mile west from where a passenger train derailed Jan. 28. The cause of that accident – which left dozens of passengers and six crew members stranded in Spokane for a day – remains under investigation.

– Virginia de Leon

U.S. attorney fills East Side vacancies

Two top-level positions have been filled in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Washington.

Thomas O. Rice, who has been a federal prosecutor in Spokane since 1987, was named first assistant by U.S. Attorney James McDevitt.

Robert E. “Bud” Ellis, who has been a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s Yakima office, will move to Spokane as chief of the criminal division, a post that had been held by Rice since 2003.

The promotions result from the Jan. 31 retirement of First Assistant U.S. Attorney William “Bill” Beatty, who had worked for the Department of Justice for 30 years.

The U.S. attorney, appointed by the president, is the chief federal law enforcement official in a region.

Rice has been with the Department of Justice since graduating in 1986 from Gonzaga University School of Law. He began his service as a trial attorney for the Justice Department’s tax division in Washington, D.C., before returning to Spokane to become an assistant U.S. attorney.

Ellis graduated from the University of Texas Law School in 1977 and was a deputy prosecutor in Franklin County before joining the Justice Department in 1990.

– Bill Morlin

Extra troopers will watch for drinkers

Don’t let the Rainier or Rolling Rock beer flow too freely at your Super Bowl party.

The Idaho State Police and Washington State Patrol will have extra troopers out today to catch football fans who have let their drinking hit the penalty level.

Zero tolerance for driving under the influence is the word from law enforcement officials.

To get an idea about how much could be too much, check out the Spokane County Traffic Safety Commission’s “drink wheel” at www.sctsc.org/impaireddriving.asp.

Of course, for the safest bet, the commission recommends designating a non-drinking driver.

– Amy Cannata