In brief: Head-on crash kills one, injures three
BREWSTER, Wash. – A 29-year-old man died and three others were injured after a head-on crash four miles south of Brewster on Saturday night.
The Washington State Patrol said 59-year-old Beverly Jensen was driving southbound on U.S. Highway 97 when her 1997 Ford Expedition crossed the centerline and hit a 2001 F-150 truck in the northbound lane at about 9:55 p.m.
A passenger, Gerardo Hernandez Velasco, died at the scene. The truck’s driver, 23-year-old Clemencia Velasco Lopez, of Bridgeport, and a 5-year-old boy, Gerardo Hernandez, were taken to Okanogan Douglas Hospital with cuts and bruises.
The WSP said Jensen was hospitalized with fractured ribs, an injured shoulder and internal injuries. The State Patrol report said drugs or alcohol were a factor.
Facebook fans await Dalai Lama
MISSOULA – The Dalai Lama has more than 1 million followers on Twitter since his official site launched, and 2,800 Facebook fans are eagerly awaiting his 2011 visit to Montana.
There’s just one problem.
The Tibetan spiritual leader’s visit to consecrate the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas in western Montana, near Arlee, has been postponed until 2012 amid construction delays.
But event volunteer Deb Hicks doesn’t want to erase the Facebook page “Garden of 1000 Buddhas and Dalai Lama in Montana 2011” and part with its 2,867 online followers just yet.
Hicks says she can’t change the title of the original Facebook page she created, so she created a new page to delete the 2011 reference. The new site, however, has just 611 fans.
Screening system to get ISU’s help
POCATELLO, Idaho – An Idaho university is slated to help a Kentucky-based company develop a cargo and baggage screening system aimed at improving the detection of dangerous materials, such as explosives.
Valley Forge Composite Technologies hopes to partner with Idaho State University Accelerator Center to develop the system, which the company plans to manufacture in Pocatello.
The THOR LVX scanning system uses high-energy gamma rays, instead of X-rays, and has a 99.9 percent detection rate, according to the Covington, Ky.-based company.
The system is designed for use as part of cargo and airport baggage screening, border crossings, military bases, and security at public buildings plants and ports.
The company plans to first build a demo unit before it sets up a more permanent presence in eastern Idaho, said Valley Forge Vice President Keith McClellan.
“If all goes well, we plan to manufacture them here,” McClellan said.
The company is working to finalize an agreement with the university’s accelerator center, McClellan said. The center would help build the systems, train employees and then test the equipment.