Accidental shooting kills soldier at Camp Rilea
PORTLAND – Authorities say a soldier died in an accidental shooting at a training facility near the Oregon coast.
The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office said members of a U.S. Army unit reported the shot was fired Wednesday in the housing area at Camp Rilea.
The soldier later died at a hospital.
The soldier’s name has not been released.
Camp Rilea, based in Warrenton, is the primary training facility for the Oregon National Guard.
Seattle school bus drivers
strike for health benefits
SEATTLE – Bus drivers in the state’s largest school district have gone on strike.
KOMO-TV reported drivers with First Student, represented by the Teamsters, were walking the picket line Thursday.
About 12,000 students in Seattle Public Schools take the bus to school.
The union said its drivers deserve health care and retirement benefits and the strike will last until a deal is reached.
First Student said on its website Wednesday it was disappointed the union didn’t bring a deal to its members for a vote.
Coast Guard rescues 5 men from flooded fishing vessel
NEAH BAY, Wash. – Authorities say five fishermen who had to abandon ship because of flooding were rescued off the Washington coast west of Cape Alava.
The Coast Guard said watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a report Wednesday afternoon of a flooding 87-foot fishing vessel.
The Coast Guard said with all the dewatering pumps running the crew was unable to keep up with the rising water.
Multiple boats and a Coast Guard helicopter responded while the fishermen reported they had survival suits and life jackets and the captain had put his cellphone in a plastic bag to keep it dry as water had risen in the engine room to above the floor boards. The five men were rescued.
Animal Control seizes
more than 170 cows from farm
BAY VIEW, Wash. – Authorities have seized more than 170 cows from a farm in northwest Washington after about 50 cows were found dead on the property.
The Skagit Valley Herald reported the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office found the cattle carcasses were improperly disposed of after neighbors’ complaints prompted a property search in Bay View last week.
Animal Control Officer Emily Diaz said most of the cows were seized Saturday with the help of 15 to 20 people who were mostly volunteers with cattle experience.
Diaz said more cows were expected to be removed from the farm this week.
Skagit County Public Health issued a notice of violation to the property, which is owned by Roger and Marsha Pederson.
Report: Rattlesnake Ridge landslide could last years
YAKIMA – A report says nearly 4 million cubic yards of rock and dirt could continue slowly down Rattlesnake Ridge for years and is unlikely to become a damaging landslide.
The Yakima Herald-Republic said a report completed by Seattle-based consulting company Wyllie & Norrish Rock Engineers says it’s improbable rockfall would reach Interstate 82 and “very improbable” it would reach the Yakima River.
Authors of the report say there is an 85 percent chance the slide will move slowly as it starts to fall.