I-90 crash kills 3 children near pass
Three children were killed Sunday in a crash near Idaho’s Fourth of July Pass that restricted travel along Interstate 90 to a single lane, the Idaho State Patrol said.
Dead are Monica Cahoon-Haase, 9; Kaitlynn Haase, 5; and Sarah Haase, 4. All were from Puyallup, Wash.
Two women in the 2000 Dodge Durango were flown to Kootenai Medical Center, then to Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane for treatment of unspecified injuries. They were identified as Puyallup resident Tomi Dickerson, 34, who is listed as the driver, and Melody Haase, 29.
The SUV careened out of control while westbound on I-90 near the Rose Lake exit, crossed the median and smashed into a bridge pillar on the south side of the highway, according to ISP. The crash was reported at 12:06 p.m.
Cause of the crash remained under investigation, but troopers said they doubted drug or alcohol use was to blame.
– Paula Davenport
Spokane
Terrier, coonhound take top honors
A West Highland White Terrier and a national champion black and tan coonhound each took Best in Show at a pair of weekend dog shows at the Spokane County Fairgrounds.
Camcrest Bebe Queen of Trouble, the terrier, finished tops in her classes both days and was named Best in Show on Sunday. Windbourne Silver Hammer, the hound, took Best in Show on Saturday, said Connie Brunell, show chairwoman.
Spokane’s Inland Empire Kennel Association hosted the annual events.
Sunday’s top dog, Bebe, belongs to breeder, co-owner and handler Sandy Campbell. Campbell grew up in Spokane and now raises “Westies” in Stanwood near Seattle.
The coonhound belongs to Shelley Campbell, who co-owns Windbourne Farms, a kennel in Aurora, Ore. The hound previously won Best of Class at Madison Square Garden’s 2006 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Brunell said 1,167 dogs representing 109 breeds were registered in the shows.
– Paula Davenport
Corvallis, Ore.
OSU wins grant to study carbon
Oregon State University researchers have received a three-year, $1.5 million grant to look at how the climate and humans affect the “carbon balance” along the West Coast.
The carbon balance refers to the ratio of fossil fuel and other carbon emissions that are absorbed by natural processes and those that remain in the environment as pollution.
The grant comes from the North American Carbon Program.
The research will examine areas covered by forests, crops, shrubs, woods and grass in California, Oregon and Washington. It will look at factors such as forest fires, logging and urbanization.
“We’re trying to understand how land-based ecosystems respond to climate from year to year and how they react to disturbances.” said Beverly Law, an OSU professor.
– Associated Press