NW today: Idaho man bags state record carp
What’s news in the Northwest today:
NAMPA, Idaho — Idaho Fish and Game officials say a Kuna man’s 67-pound carp pulled from the C.J. Strike Reservoir is the biggest on record. Scott Frazier bagged the fish Saturday using a bow and arrow. The fish measured 47 inches long and weighed in at 67.65 pounds, crushing the previous state record by nearly 20 pounds. Frazier and his friend Brian Pokorney were taking part in the Idaho Bow Fishing Association’s two-day championship tournament at the reservoir near Mountain Home. Frazier says he spotted the fish about five feet below the surface before letting fly his arrow. The fish was certified by fish and game officials in Nampa Monday. It’s been a busy week for snapping fish records in Idaho. Last weekend, a Pocatello man set the new record for lake trout.
Washington town council won’t name bridge after Cobain
ABERDEEN, Wash. — The City Council in Aberdeen, Wash., voted 10-1 against a resolution to rename a bridge after the late Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain. Eight citizens and several council members spoke against renaming the bridge, which is unofficially named after pioneer Alexander Young. KXRO reports the vote against the Cobain rename drew applause from the audience at Wednesday’s council meeting. Some people were concerned about memorializing the grunge rock musician because of his drug use, suicide and negative comments about his hometown. The council did vote to name a small body of land on the Wishkah River the Cobain Landing.
Census: Idaho still has more men than women
BOISE — Idaho still has more boys than girls, and more men than women. New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show 785,324 of the 1.5 million residents counted in Idaho last year were male, while 782,258 were female. A decade ago, Idaho’s 1.3 million population included 648,660 men and 645,293 women. Males also still outnumber females in ages under 18 in Idaho, with 220,247 boys and 208,825 girls. In 2000, the census estimated 189,726 males and 179,304 females in that same age group. New data released Thursday represents the most detailed information so far from the 2010 census. An initial set of data was released in May showing Idaho residents are slightly older, more of them live in less traditional households and they are increasingly likely to rent rather than own.
Many Washington jobless who exhausted benefits still lack work
OLYMPIA (AP) — Thousands of Washington workers who have exhausted their unemployment benefits still do not have jobs. An Employment Security Department report released today shows that 75 percent of people who have run out of benefits since November 2009 are still out of work. Employment Security Commissioner Paul Trause said the numbers contradict the perception that unemployed workers wait until their benefits run out before quickly finding jobs. Officials sent the survey to more than 30,000 people who have exhausted their benefits. The results are based on 5,000 people who responded to the questionnaire. Many of the claimants had access to nearly two years worth of unemployment benefits.
Girl gets charity wish met after death in crash
SEATTLE — Nine-year-old Rachel Beckwith had hoped to raise $300 to bring clean water to an African village. She was close to that goal when she died after a car crash. Support for her cause has swelled since her death and by Wednesday afternoon, nearly 16,000 people made donations totaling more than $550,000 to “charity: water” in Rachel’s honor. Many of those gifts from strangers were for $9 each. On a website set up by Rachel and her mother before her birthday, she explained the inspiration for her project. “I found out that millions of people don’t live to see their 5th birthday. And why? Because they didn’t have access to clean, safe water so I’m celebrating my birthday like never before,” she wrote. “I’m asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday.” By her June 12 birthday, $220 was raised and the page was closed. On July 20, Rachel was fatally injured in a 13-car pileup on Interstate 90 in Bellevue, Wash. Over the weekend, she was taken off life support and a pastor from her church arranged for the donation page to be reopened.
Kent police chief targets gangs after shooting
KENT, Wash. — Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas says there were gang members from Eastern Washington and California at a low-rider car show Saturday at a shopping plaza where 12 people were wounded in a shootout. Thomas told the city council Wednesday he’s concerned there could be more shootings in retaliation. Thomas says more than 60 regional police leaders and prosecutors met Wednesday and agreed to share information and work together to target the most violent gang members for enforcement action.
Layoff notices for up to 1,200 Hanford workers
RICHLAND, Wash. — Hanford nuclear reservation cleanup contractors are beginning today to notify up to 1,200 workers they will be laid off at the end of September. Tri-City Herald reports most of $1.3 billion in federal stimulus money for the CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. is expected to be spent before the start of the new fiscal year Oct. 1. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires a 60-day warning notice. CH2M Hill and three of its subcontractors will be notifying workers through Monday. CH2M Hill will send a letter to the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council on Friday with how many union jobs will be cut.
DA seeks more detail on Oregon man in family deaths
MEDFORD, Ore. — Prosecutors in southern Oregon are seeking more information on the condition of a 51-year-old man who remains hospitalized after his wife and four children died in a house fire in Medford. The Mail Tribune reports the Jackson County district attorney’s office has filed a subpoena that could compel Rogue Valley Medical Center to reveal more details about Jordan Criado, who is suspected of stabbing his wife and children, then setting their house on fire. Criado is in intensive care and has remained nonresponsive since he was brought to the hospital July 18. Deputy District Attorney Beth Heckert said her office filed the subpoena before seeking an indictment from a grand jury. Heckert said her office is considering taking the case before the grand jury even if Criado doesn’t revive.
Colville tribes freezing part of salmon catch
OMAK, Wash. — Fishermen for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation catch thousands of salmon each summer on the Columbia River for tribal members. This year, some of the sockeye and chinook are being frozen at a processing facility near Omak. The frozen fish will be distributed through the year to elders and other tribal members. The Wenatchee World reports the tribe hopes to freeze about a quarter of its catch. Last year the tribe caught and distributed 16,000 sockeye and 2,500 chinook.
State delays Oregon lighthouse park closure 2 weeks
FLORENCE, Ore. — The state has delayed plans to close the Heceta Lighthouse State Wayside on the Oregon coast for about two weeks, giving visitors more time to enjoy the historic lighthouse this summer before renovation work begins. KCST-FM in Florence reports the closure had been set for August 1. But work on a parking area to improve drainage and repair erosion damage is now set to begin August 15. During the closure a new sidewalk to the beach will also be installed. Trail rehabilitation work will include installing culverts and shifting parts of the trail to the lighthouse and the keeper’s house. The wayside is expected to reopen by Sept. 30. But more extensive renovation of the lighthouse itself set to begin next month could take up to two years to complete.
3 former Oregon lawmen face disciplinary hearing
ROSEBURG, Ore. — Three former southern Oregon law enforcement officers are facing a disciplinary hearing before a state board in Salem. The News-Review reports that former Douglas County sheriff’s Deputy Mark Humble and former Roseburg police officers Rich Thompson and Greg Fetsch will have their cases reviewed by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training Board. Humble was stationed in Reedsport and is accused of harassing a woman. Thompson was accused of providing alcohol to a minor, while Fetsch faces accusations of “burdening” another officer with information about his extramarital affair. An advisory committee made up of law officials in May recommended revoking Humble and Thompson’s law enforcement certificates, but decided Fetsch’s certificate should not be revoked. Thompson has denied the allegations while efforts to reach Humble and Fetsch were unsuccessful.
$3 million bond for man charged in 1957 killing
SYCAMORE, Ill. — Bond has been set at $3 million for a man charged in the 1957 kidnapping and slaying of a 7-year-old Illinois girl. Jack Daniel McCullough made an initial court appearance today in DeKalb County Circuit Court via closed-circuit television. The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle reports the 71-year-old Seattle resident was appointed a public defender. McCullough was named John Tessier and lived in Sycamore when Maria Ridulph was kidnapped in December 1957. Although he matched the suspect’s description, he had an alibi. He’s denied any involvement in the death of the Ridulph. McCullough waived his right to extradition. He was returned to Illinois Wednesday, the same day authorities exhumed the body of Ridulph. Authorities in DeKalb County say they hope scientists can now conduct a better examination of her remains.
Man convicted of 1988 Portland hate crime dies
PORTLAND, Ore. — A man who was convicted of murder for a notorious 1988 hate crime in Portland has died while serving a life sentence. The Oregon Department of Corrections says Kenneth Mieske fell ill at Oregon State Penitentiary and died Tuesday night at Salem Hospital of complications from hepatitis C. The Oregonian reports that Mieske and two other members of a skinhead gang beat an Ethiopian man to death with a baseball bat. In a 1998 phone interview with the newspaper Mieske described himself as a white separatist but blamed the attack on road rage, not racism.