Region in brief: Web cameras will show pass in dark
YAKIMA – The Transportation Department said drivers can take a look at conditions on Snoqualmie Pass 24 hours a day thanks to eight new low-light cameras.
The infrared illuminators provide nighttime views of Interstate 90 for Web cams.
The $60,000 camera project was funded with federal stimulus money.
Amtrak train hits, kills woman
SUMNER, Wash. – A woman died after being struck by an Amtrak train traveling from Portland to Seattle.
Gus Melonas of BNSF Railway Co. said the train hit the woman at 9:20 p.m. Tuesday at a private train crossing one mile north of Sumner.
Burlington Northern tracks were closed for about three hours to investigate the accident. Melonas said the woman was the 10th person killed while trespassing on Burlington Northern property in Washington state this year.
Melonas said the accident is still being investigated and no further information was available about the woman.
Worker falls at Hood Canal bridge
PORT GAMBLE, Wash. – Rescuers recovered a worker who fell about 12 feet inside a pontoon on the Hood Canal floating bridge.
Jody Matson of the Poulsbo Fire Department said the Shelton, Wash., man fell about 7:40 a.m. Wednesday while climbing down a ladder. He was removed about an hour later and taken to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton.
The East Jefferson County Fire Department and Washington State Patrol also were involved in the rescue.
Since the bridge reopened in June with a new east half, more than 100 employees have been working on a $20 million contract to upgrade electrical and mechanical systems.
Hunter reports wolf attack on dogs
LEWISTON – A hunter from Worley said four hound dogs were killed by a pack of wolves near Elk River, Idaho.
Bill Greenlee said he was bear hunting with Joseph Nelson, of Elk River, last week when their dogs ran into a pack of wolves. Greenlee said three of his Walker hounds and one of Nelson’s red bone hounds were killed, the Lewiston Tribune reported.
He reported the incident to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Dave Cadwallader, Clearwater Region supervisor, said the Chesima wolf pack is known to use the area where the hounds were killed. In August, two members of that pack were killed for preying on livestock.
This year marks the first wolf hunting season in Idaho and Montana since the animals were taken off the endangered species list. Wolves are still under federal protection in Wyoming.
Navy pilots qualify for fighter planes
WHIDBEY ISLAND NAVAL AIR STATION, Wash. – The Navy said the first Growler squadron at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is ready for action.
The Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-132 recently returned from flying off the aircraft carrier Harry Truman off the Virginia coast with a 100 percent qualification rate. Each pilot completed a series of day and night landings.
The Everett Herald reported that the squadron known as the Scorpions will mark the milestone Friday at an event at Ault Field.
The Growler is the Navy version of the FA-18F Super Hornet fighter, equipped to jam enemy radar and radio communications.
In three years, the Navy expects the two-seat Growlers to replace the four-seat Prowlers, which went into service in 1971.
Teller helps thwart bank robbery
HILLSBORO, Ore. – Police said a bank robbery attempt in Hillsboro failed after a teller told the woman who handed her a threatening note that she couldn’t read the handwriting.
According to police, a 30-year-old woman walked into a Wells Fargo bank branch Wednesday and handed a teller a note that said, “Need $300 or I’ll kill you. I’m serious.”
The teller told the woman she couldn’t read the writing. While the woman stepped away to rewrite her note, the teller hit a silent alarm and the bank manager intervened, asking the woman how he could help her.
Police and FBI agents soon arrived and arrested the woman; police said she was under the influence of drugs.
Bull injures two people in field
BREMERTON – An angry bull seriously injured a 22-year-old woman and injured a 64-year-old Kitsap County sheriff’s volunteer.
According to a deputy’s report, the woman accompanied two sheriff’s volunteers Wednesday into a pasture owned by her in-laws in south Kitsap County. The volunteers wanted to check the identification number on a car parked there so it could be scrapped. The pasture was also home to a bull and three cows.
The deputy said the bull became agitated and pinned the woman to the ground and against another vehicle. The 64-year-old volunteer distracted the bull long enough for the second man, age 75, to help the woman get away.
But the 64-year-old slipped in the mud and the bull started to attack him, knocking him down several times before the man grabbed the bull by the nose and squeezed, forcing the animal to retreat.
The 64-year-old was treated for two puncture wounds in his right leg.
The Kitsap Sun said the woman was reported in critical condition.