In brief: Driver allegedly admits drinking
A Spokane Valley man charged with vehicular assault allegedly admitted to drinking two bloody marys and five beers before getting into a car accident that left his 8-year-old son with serious injuries, court documents say.
Curtis Cooley, 47, struck an oncoming car Saturday eastbound on state Route 904 while he attempted to pass a bus in a no-passing zone, according to the documents. His 8-year-old son was in the back seat and was rushed into surgery to repair a tear in his intestines.
Cooley told the Washington State Patrol that he’d been drinking at a tailgate before Eastern Washington University’s football game against Montana State, according to a news release. He also told troopers he felt the alcohol affected his driving.
The driver of the other car, Raquel Caballero, a 21-year-old from Cheney, was injured and treated at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane.
Cooley and his son were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Panel seeks input on Mt. Spokane ski area
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is seeking comments as it prepares to draft an environmental impact statement for a proposed expansion of Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park.
In September, a state appeals court ruled that the commission erred by not studying how a new chairlift and runs would impact old-growth forest, meadows and wetlands at Mount Spokane State Park. The work plan for the EIS will be discussed Thursday at the commission’s meeting in Gig Harbor. More information is available at www.parks.wa.gov/plans/mtspokane2.
Citizens who want to make suggestions about the scope of the EIS should submit written comments by Dec. 21 to: Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission; Attn: Randy Kline; 111 Israel Road SW, Olympia, WA 98504-2650.
Information may also be emailed to randy.kline@parks.wa.gov.
New part of U.S. 95 set to open today
A new four-lane section of U.S. 95 north of Sandpoint will reopen to traffic today, weather permitting, the Idaho Department of Transportation said.
It runs 1.3 miles from Sandpoint north to the Kootenai cutoff. The highway now is divided by a median, with controlled access and a new signal at Bonner County Mall.
Flaggers will help guide drivers through new traffic patterns.
Work began in spring 2012, and the project cost $12.7 million. Apollo Inc. of Kennewick is the contractor.
Sighting of cougars closes campus
LAPWAI, Idaho – A school district in north-central Idaho is canceling outdoor recess and requiring students to be escorted if they walk to school because police have spotted two cougars near the campus.
The Lewiston Tribune reported the Lapwai School District closed schools at noon on Monday after police reported the cougar sightings. District officials also told teachers to keep kids inside for recess and physical education classes and children who walk home from school or from bus stops were escorted by teachers and parents to their destinations.
Superintendent David Aiken said cougar sightings happen at least once a year, and the district has emergency procedures for the situation.
The Nez Perce Tribal Police said all available officers were patrolling the area to look for the big cats.
Woman charged with leaving crash
HELENA – The investigation into the death of an Alaska man on Interstate 90 in south-central Montana continues, but officials are charging a Washington state woman with striking the man’s remains in the road and washing them off at a car wash 40 miles away.
Wyran V. Young, 31, of Oak Harbor, Wash., was charged with failure to remain at the scene of a fatal accident in Sweet Grass County, and tampering with evidence, alleging she washed the man’s remains off the pickup in Livingston, which is in Park County. Her father, Westley L. Young, 50, was charged in Park County with tampering with evidence for his role in helping his daughter wash his pickup truck.
Officials are still investigating the cause of death for Elgie Bedford, 81, of Wasilla, Alaska.
Charging documents say Bedford’s badly damaged body was found on the roadway Sept. 30 and it appeared he had been struck by several vehicles. That same day, a Livingston resident reported finding a body part at a car wash.
No new E. coli cases found in Washington
OLYMPIA – The Washington state Health Department said there have been no new cases of E. coli linked to ready-to-eat salads and sandwiches made by a California company and sold through Trader Joe’s.
Spokesman Tim Church said officials hope there won’t be more than the three cases initially reported in Washington.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Glass Onion Catering of Richmond, Calif., recalled more than 90 tons of salads and sandwiches that were produced between Sept. 23 and Nov. 6.