NW today: Stanley Cup visits Whitefish ice rink
What’s news in the Northwest today:
WHITEFISH, Mont. — An assistant coach with the National Hockey League champion Boston Bruins brought the Stanley Cup to his summer home in Montana and made it available for public viewing at the Stumptown Ice Den in Whitefish. KCFW-TV reports coach Doug Houda says the Flathead Valley has great hockey fans, and this was his chance to give back to them. He says he thinks people were surprised to get a chance to see and be photographed with the famous trophy. Ice Den employees say more than 1,000 people waited in line to see the trophy on Tuesday. In the NHL, each member of the season’s winning team gets the cup for 24 hours.
Judge denies Idaho man new trial in shooting death
LEWISTON — An Idaho man convicted of murder for the shooting death of a 32-year-old man has been denied his request for a new trial. Leotis B. Branigh III is serving life in prison without possibility of parole on first-degree murder charges for the October 2007 shooting death of Michael S. Johnson in Lewiston. The Lewiston Tribune reports defense attorney Robert Kwate argued for a new trial, saying prosecutor Dan Spickler should have disclosed the relationship between former Nez Perce County sheriff Jim Dorian and convicted burglar Stephen Peak. Peak testified in Branigh’s trial. Second District Judge Jeff Brudie ruled Tuesday that Spickler should have disclosed the evidence about the two. But Brudie also found that the evidence wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the trial.
Gregoire appoints transportation task force
VANCOUVER, Wash. – Gov. Chris Gregoire has named a high-powered panel to design a 10-year plan for funding the state’s transportation system and present it to the 2012 Legislature. The “Connecting Washington Task Force” will review statewide transportation needs, recommend the most promising projects for investment and identify potential revenue sources. “The demands on transit, roads and ferries will grow as our population grows and as businesses climb out of this recession,” Gregoire said Tuesday in a statement. “Major transportation projects must be built, our ferry system must be preserved for future generations and the current transportation system must be maintained,” the statement said. “Connecting Washington will give the Legislature options to improve and maintain our transportation system and help keep our communities and businesses moving.” New taxes, fees and tolls will be on the table as the task force meets to explore ways to pay for growing transportation needs. Those unmet needs include funding Washington’s share of the cost of building a Columbia River Crossing, estimated at $450 million.
Notorious sex offender moving to College Place
WALLA WALLA, Wash. — The first man to be released from the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island is moving from Western Washington back to his hometown of College Place. The Union-Bulletin reports police are holding a community meeting Thursday to answer questions about Joseph Aqui. The 58-year-old spent nearly 20 years in prison for a series of rapes, assaults and burglaries he committed in Walla Walla, Bellevue and Tacoma between 1970 and 1973. He was paroled in 1992 and committed the following year. His release in 1997 was the center’s first. He was sent back when he violated conditions of his release in 2001. Aqui was moved into transitional housing in Seattle in 2006 and released from community custody in June 2010 with no restrictions other than to register as a sex offender.
Umatilla tribes claim any surplus Hanford land
RICHLAND, Wash. — If Hanford nuclear reservation lands are no longer needed, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation says it has the first claim under treaty rights. The Tri-City Herald reports tribal officials have objected to the Tri-City Development Council’s request to the Energy Department to transfer 1,300 acres of land next to the Richland city limits for economic development. The council hopes to attract businesses to offset future staff reductions on the nuclear reservation. The tribes propose a field station for botanical research. The land was used for farming before World War II.
Snoqualmie Tunnel reopens on John Wayne Trail
HYAK, Wash. — The 2-mile-long Snoqualmie Tunnel was reopened Tuesday for hikers, horse and bike riders on the John Wayne Pioneer Trial. The Seattle Times reports the tunnel had been closed two years to repair places where concrete was falling from the ceiling. The tunnel near Snoqualmie Pass was built for trains nearly a century ago. The last train used it in 1980. Now it’s part of the 116-mile John Wayne Pioneer Trail between Puget Sound and the Kittitas Valley.
Former BSU coach paid $40,000 as part of settlement
BOISE — A former Boise State University assistant track coach received a $40,000 payment from the state last month as part of a settlement with the school over her claims that she was discriminated against because she is a woman. Amy Christoffersen sued the university, another coach and the head of the athletics department in September 2008 alleging that she was wrongly demoted to an insurance coordinator post in 2007 and then fired the next year. A settlement was reached in the case last month, a few weeks before it was scheduled to go to trial. The Idaho Statesman reports the state sent Christoffersen a $40,000 payment on June 13, according to public records. It was unclear if Christoffersen will receive additional payments as part of her settlement with the university.
Man attempts hanging in Cowlitz Jail lobby
LONGVIEW, Wash. — A Longview man was in intensive care after attempting to hang himself in the lobby of the Cowlitz County Jail annex. Corrections officials say he had been drinking when he showed up Tuesday to check in with Offender Services. Drinking violated the terms of his pre-trial release in a drunken driving case. An official asked the man to wait while she checked with a judge to decide whether the man should be booked into jail for the violation. When she returned she found the man hanging by his belt from a hook on the wall. He was taken to a Longview hospital. His relatives told The Daily News he has a history of depression and attempted suicide.
Oregon man accuses counselor of planting memories
ALBANY, Ore. — A former Albany, Ore., resident is suing a family counselor and accusing him of planting false memories during counseling sessions. The Albany Democrat-Herald reports the suit seeks $1.5 million in relief. Stephan Skotko filed the suit against the counselor, Marion Knox, and his wife in August, and increased the damages sought this week. Skotko says, during counseling sessions eight years ago, Knox implanted false memories in his mind and the minds of his wife and teenage children. Skotko says in the suit that Knox coaxed him and his children to recall sexual abuse that Skotko says never happened. Knox, who is not a licensed therapist, has denied the allegations, but acknowledges that he believes a majority of people have been sexually abused at an early age.
Lane Community College sued over pothole
EUGENE, Ore. — A former Lane Community College student has filed a lawsuit against the college over a parking lot pothole. Carla Redding is disabled with a bone disease and had a handicapped parking space. She says she was walking next to her car in July 2009 when she tripped on a pothole about 6-inches wide and 1-inch deep. The Register Guard reports she suffered a concussion and other injuries that cost her nearly $14,000 in medical bills. The lawsuit seeks compensation and damages totaling more than $375,000. College spokeswoman Joan Aschim said Tuesday college officials had not seen the lawsuit and had no comment.
Illegal firework sparks church fire
LEWISTON — Parishioners trickled by Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Tuesday morning to survey the damage left by an overnight fire that heavily damaged their house of worship. “We’ve had tears and sadness and there will be grieving,” said Loretta Stowers, the church’s council president. The building has carried special meaning for a lot of people in and around the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. Fireworks are believed to be the culprit for igniting the roof’s cedar shingles at about 2:30 a.m., prompting the evacuation of a family that had been staying in the basement of the church’s fellowship hall. The ensuing blaze destroyed much of that north wing of the church at 3434 Sixth St. Bottle rockets and other fireworks littered the area around the church Tuesday. Lewiston fire inspector Julian Sorrell said an illegal firework is believed to have ignited after striking the building’s roof.
2 teenage girls injured in boating accident
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Jefferson County officials say two boats sideswiped each other on a southeastern Idaho reservoir, sending two teenage girls to the hospital. The sheriff’s office says the boats collided just before 6 p.m. Tuesday at Ririe Reservoir, east of Idaho Falls. Officers found two girls in the water. They were taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, but their ages and conditions have not been released. Bonneville County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Edwards says the boats were in an area of the reservoir called The Narrows, where there are blind corners. Edwards says there were at least six people in the two boats. All were located.