In brief: Man stabbed in West Central
A man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries Monday after being stabbed in West Central Spokane.
The man told police he was walking near Broadway Foods, 2229 W. Broadway Ave., about 5 p.m. when he was stabbed by another man, KHQ-TV reports.
The man gave police a limited description of the assailant.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Wrong-way driver causes crash on I-5
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Patrol said an 86-year-old man drove more than two miles in the wrong direction down U.S. Highway 101 and Interstate 5 through Olympia and Tumwater on Christmas Day, causing at least one crash.
KOMO-TV reports the incident began when the driver pulled onto Highway 101 from Crosby Boulevard, then started heading south in the northbound lanes toward the interchange with I-5.
After the interchange, the man continued heading south in the northbound lanes of I-5. He caused at least one crash when another driver swerved to avoid him.
A state trooper stopped the man near the intersection of I-5 and Trosper Road.
The state patrol said the man was issued a citation for negligent driving and was referred for a license re-evaluation.
District considers 4-day school week
EATONVILLE, Wash. – The Eatonville school district is considering a four-day school week with longer days as a way to cut spending.
The move would cut more than 30 days from the school calendar, while cutting about $200,000 from the district’s operating budget of $18 million, the News-Tribune reported in Monday’s newspaper.
Most savings would come by cutting a day’s food service, utility costs and busing every week, Eatonville Superintendent Rich Stewart said. And in the 460-square-mile district, transportation is expensive.
The savings would be used to expand the district’s all-day kindergarten programs.
“It isn’t just about the money,” said school board member Ronda Litzenberger. “The possibility of kindergarten for a full day could help a whole generation to move forward.”
Stewart emphasized Eatonville officials have made no decisions concerning a shorter school week in five schools.
A committee of district employees, parents and students began studying the issue in the fall. A series of community meetings is planned for January. The school board isn’t expected to vote until at least April.
The proposal would lengthen school days by an hour and eliminate late-start days on Wednesday. The net result, Stewart said, could mean a slight increase in instructional time.
Biotoxin closes Sequim Bay
SEQUIM, Wash. – A biotoxin has closed Sequim Bay and authorities are banning all recreational harvest of shellfish in the bay.
Peninsula Daily News reports Sequim Bay is the only body of saltwater in the U.S. where diarrhetic shellfish poisoning has been found.
Further east in Jefferson County, Discovery Bay is also being monitored for the biotoxin but health officials say that bay hasn’t been affected by DSP. Other problems have shut down shellfish harvesting in Discovery Bay.
In August, three King County residents who ate mussels they harvested at Sequim Bay State Park fell ill with DSP. Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and chills. Recent federal testing of mussels from Sequim Bay again found elevated levels of DSP.
Magazine for gay community closes
PORTLAND – A newsmagazine that served Portland’s gay community is shutting down.
A brief announcement posted Monday on the website for Just Out says, “Three years of recession have taken their toll.”
Publisher Marty Davis confirmed the closure in an email to the Oregonian, saying the magazine has “closed its doors and shut down its computers.” She also tells the Oregonian that there are no plans to continue the publication online.
The free, twice-monthly magazine was established in 1983.
Protesters camp on councilor’s lawn
EUGENE, Ore. – Four people were taken into custody Sunday after they pitched tents on Eugene City Councilor George Poling’s lawn to show they objected to his vote to close an Occupy Eugene campsite, the Register-Guard reported.
Poling said he was awakened by the noise of people ringing his doorbell, banging on the side of his house and yelling. About 15 protesters had gathered around Poling’s house a little after 8 p.m. Sunday, setting up three small tents on his front lawn.
“They were on my front porch; my dogs – I have three dogs – were barking like crazy,” Poling said. “I decided that was enough, so I called the police.”
Authorities took four people away in police cars, and information about them was not available, the newspaper reported. Demonstrators who were not detained chanted, “Fight crime, not speech!” and, “This is what a police state looks like.”
The protesters said they were objecting to Poling’s votes against allowing Occupy Eugene to remain at Washington-Jefferson Park. The City Council voted 5-2 last week to direct city officials to break up the camp after a night of fighting that left one man hospitalized. He later died.