Whitworth preps for name change

Whitworth College will begin replacing its stationery, campus signs and bookstore merchandise this week in preparation for its name change July 1 to Whitworth University, the north Spokane college said Tuesday in a news release.

Whitworth’s board announced in 2005 that the school would change its name, in part to differentiate itself from two-year colleges that increasingly are dropping “community” and “technical” from their names. Further, Whitworth University better reflects the school’s mix of programs, according to Tuesday’s announcement.

The new name is “intended to make Whitworth stronger, not different,” college President Bill Robinson said in a prepared statement.

Stevens County

Truck driver killed in accident

A truck driver from British Columbia was killed Tuesday when his semi clipped another big rig on state Route 25 outside Kettle Falls, Wash., the Washington State Patrol reported.

Richard F. Vawryk, 59, of Grand Forks, died at the scene.

The state patrol said Vawryk was headed north shortly before 6 a.m. when he struck the trailer of a southbound semi driven by Darren S. Geisler, 37, of Kettle Falls. Vawryk’s truck then rolled on top of a Hyundai driven by Lacey R. West, 22, of Kettle Falls. She was taken to Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville, where she was in stable condition Tuesday night.

Geisler was not injured, the state patrol said.

The highway was closed for several hours while troopers investigated the crash.

Clarkston

3-year-old dies in gun accident

A 3-year-old boy died after shooting himself in the chest with a handgun, police said.

The boy, from Lewiston, had apparently been playing with a 9 mm semiautomatic at the home of his mother’s boyfriend Monday. No names have been released.

Police Chief Joel Hastings said the boy and his mother were outside where she was doing yard work, and the boy went indoors to use the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she heard a shot and found her son in a bedroom.

The woman called 911 on her cell phone, Hastings said. The boy was alive when police and emergency medical crews arrived, but he died at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, police said.

Hastings said the mother and her boyfriend had been working on the house Monday, and the boyfriend had run out for supplies. The gun was kept in a dresser, police said.

Portland

Oregon Guard jet crashes into ocean

An air combat training exercise over the Pacific Ocean ended Tuesday with the crash of an Oregon Air National Guard F-15 fighter jet and no sign of the pilot.

There were no reports by other pilots of seeing a parachute.

The Coast Guard reported seeing a debris field about 50 miles due west of Tillamook Head on the Oregon Coast after sending two helicopters, two cutters and a C-130 aircraft to search for the jet from the Oregon Air National Guard 142nd Fighter Wing based in Portland.

The identity of the pilot was not released pending notification of his family.

Skies were mostly clear with some high clouds when the accident occurred about 1:35 p.m.

The cause was unknown but representatives from a formal Air Force Safety Board were convening to start an investigation, officials said.