In brief: Forest Service, BLM grant Christmas tree tags
Christmas tree permits are now available from the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Tags are $5 each. Families may purchase up to three tags for cutting trees on Forest Service and BLM lands in North Idaho and Western Montana.
In Washington, families may purchase up to two tags for cutting trees on the Colville National Forest.
Members of the public can buy the permits on weekdays at any Forest Service or BLM office, including the Idaho Panhandle National Forests headquarters in Coeur d’Alene at 3815 Schreiber Way, and the Colville National Forest headquarters at 765 S. Main St., Colville.
The Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District’s Fernan office, 2502 E. Sherman Ave., will be open from 9 a.m. to noon on two Saturdays, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, to sell Christmas tree permits.
Fisherman missing from crabbing trip
SEATTLE – Coast Guard crews are looking for a Bremerton man reported overdue on a crab fishing voyage out of Anacortes.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Katelyn Shearer said 48-year-old Dean Harvey was last seen Tuesday morning when he and his brother left Anacortes on separate 18-foot fishing vessels to go crabbing. They agreed to return to Anacortes at midafternoon.
The brother reported Harvey overdue late Tuesday afternoon.
A Coast Guard helicopter from Port Angeles searched the area before landing due to deteriorating weather. Two Coast Guard boats are involved in the search.
Heavy rain is reported in the area, with 200 yards visibility, seas of 1 to 2 feet and 12- to 17-mph winds.
Bremerton shipyard to hire 850 workers
BREMERTON – The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard plans to hire 850 helpers – an entry-level position that allows workers to advance in production trades.
The Kitsap Sun reports this is the third round of hiring in the past year that has already boosted the workforce at the Bremerton shipyard to nearly 12,000.
Starting pay for helpers is $15.27 an hour. They also participate in a development program. About 85 percent of apprentice workers started out as helpers.
Self-titled minister on Most Wanted list
The U.S. Marshals Service has added a self-professed minister accused of sexually abusing young girls in rural Minnesota to its 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Fifty-three-year-old Victor Barnard is charged with 59 counts of criminal sexual conduct involving two members of a “Maidens Group” within a church he led called the River Road Fellowship.
The U.S. Marshals joined the search for Barnard after he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
In 2000, Barnard set up what he called the “Shepherd’s Camp” on land where girls and young women lived as part of his “Maidens Group.”
After some adult members began questioning his activities, Barnard moved his family and the church to Washington state.
Authorities believe Barnard may have left the country, since he has strong ties to Spain.
Mount Rainier park closes entrance
ASHFORD, Wash. – Officials at Mount Rainier National Park have temporarily closed park access at the Nisqually entrance because of flooding.
Acting superintendent Tracy Swartout said in a statement Tuesday that heavy rain falling on snowpack at high elevation created dangerous conditions throughout the park.
Visitors in the park from the Nisqually entrance to Paradise have been advised to leave.
Swartout said rain falling on snow is similar to conditions present during severe flooding in November 2006. That historic flood caused millions in damages to roads, campgrounds and trails, and forced the park to close for six months.
The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a flood warning for the Nisqually River.