Region in brief: Shotgun cleaning wounds teen
A Spokane Valley teenager was shot in the groin by his brother who was cleaning a shotgun when the weapon discharged Saturday evening.
The shotgun was loaded with bird shot, which passed through a sofa before striking the teenager in the apparently accidental shooting, a Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman said.
The youth, whose injuries were not considered life-threatening, was taken to a local hospital.
Officers responding to the shooting at an apartment on the 700 block of North McDonald Road discovered a small marijuana-growing operation in a closet, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Pharmacy robber steals drugs
A robber held up a Coeur d’Alene pharmacy Sunday evening and fled with an undisclosed amount of prescription drugs, police told KHQ-TV.
Coeur d’Alene police said a man entered the Rite Aid at 208 Ironwood Drive and handed an employee a note stating that he had a weapon and wanted drugs. The employee complied, and the suspect fled.
A search for the suspect was unsuccessful late Sunday.
Ex-Starbucks CFO joining UW board
Orin Smith, the former chief financial officer and vice president of coffee giant Starbucks, was appointed to the University of Washington board of regents on Friday by Gov. Chris Gregorie.
Smith, a 1960 graduate of W.F. West High School in Chehalis, retired from Starbucks in 1994. After high school, he went to UW and received his bachelor’s degree in business. He later received his MBA from Harvard School of Business.
Smith has a long history with UW, having served as chairman on both the foundation and medical boards, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
Smith’s appointment is effective immediately and will expire in September 2015.
Weather hampers hunt for climbers
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. – A cloud bank hugging the flanks of Mount Hood frustrated the air search for two missing climbers on Sunday, a day after their companion was found dead on a glacier on Oregon’s highest mountain.
Rescuers had to bring in a helicopter and airplanes to conduct the search because new snow had created avalanche dangers for crews working on foot.
Skies had cleared Sunday morning, but the weather worsened again and the mountain became shrouded by a low cloud during the afternoon, and the search aircraft returned to their bases.
The three climbers – Luke T. Gullberg, Anthony Vietti and Katie Nolan – had begun their ascent on the west side of the mountain about 1 a.m. Friday and were due back that afternoon but failed to return.
On Saturday, crews found Gullberg’s body on the glacier at the 9,000-feet level.