Local News

Power out in the Entiat Valley

ENTIAT — About 100 homes in the Entiat Valley lost power Tuesday night and high winds were the suspected culprit. The problems were first reported starting around 6 p.m. Chelan County PUD crews were still on their way to the scene a little before 8 p.m. All of the outages were reported beyond milepost 15 on the Entiat River Road.

Garden Terrace resident dies from apparent heart attack

WENATCHEE — The Garden Terrace fire has apparently claimed one life.

Street alert: Unstable slope survey in Tumwater Canyon

LEAVENWORTH — Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., expect single-lane, flagger-controlled traffic and short delays on Highway 2 in Tumwater Canyon, where engineers will be conducting a field survey to evaluate unstable slopes that will be netted later this summer. The survey was originally scheduled for Thursday.

PUD thinks forward sales offer stability

WENATCHEE — Chelan County PUD analysts want to sell power forward for as long as five years to create a more stable, predictable revenue stream and help steer the utility back into the black. “It will be a continuous process to provide downside protection and capture as much of the upside as we can,” John Janney, chief financial and risk manager for the utility, told commissioners Monday.

Link seeks grant for garage at mall

EAST WENATCHEE — Link Transit, in a move that could spur a $28 million expansion at Wenatchee Valley Mall in East Wenatchee, applied for nearly $6 million in federal funds to help build a parking garage and bus transfer station. Richard DeRock, Link Transit’s general manager, said Friday that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Livability Initiative Program grant would put a dent in the $17.79 million parking garage project.

Police investigate boat fire

Chelan — An early morning fire that destroyed a 20-foot boat parked in a lot north of Chelan today is considered suspicious, authorities said. Firefighters from Chelan County Fire District 7 were called to a parking lot at 30 Highway 150, just north of Chelan, at 1:42 a.m., and arrived to find a Chaparral ski boat in flames, said Assistant Fire Chief Rusty Stamps.

City contracts for more hours with sheriff’s office

ENTIAT — The Entiat City Council approved a contract Thursday with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office for more law enforcement coverage. The city moved from having two-fifths coverage to three-fifths coverage, which will cost about $75,000 this year. Mayor Keith Vradenburg said Friday that the city intends to move to having a full-time officer (40 hours a week) by 2012, if possible.

Kids enjoy an evening swing in Wenatchee

Kaitlynn Crossley, 8, swings in Pioneer Park as the sun sets around 6 p.m. Monday. She was at the Wenatchee park with her friends Shayli Cook, 9, Melaina Cook, 11, and José Tamayo, 9.

Lake Wenatchee residents clamor for fiber

WENATCHEE — Residents of the remote Whispering Pines subdivision at Lake Wenatchee hope the Chelan County PUD’s ongoing budget crisis doesn’t mean they’ll have to wait another year for the utility to give them fiber. This neighborhood of retirees and telecommuters is desperate for the fast Internet speeds that many other Lake Wenatchee residents already have via the PUD fiber-optics network.

E. Wenatchee driver shaken after encounter on Quincy-area back road

QUINCY — An East Wenatchee woman claims she was forced off a Grant County road Friday afternoon by an intoxicated man who pulled her out of her car and threatened to kill her. The woman said she told a Grant County sheriff’s deputy that she wanted to press charges against the man.

Woman pleads guilty to animal abuse

WATERVILLE — An Everett woman pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree animal cruelty and was sentenced to five days on a Department of Corrections work crew after law enforcement and animal control officials say they found several starving dogs and cats on a remote property near Mansfield last year. The Douglas County Prosecutor’s Office charged Kathleen C. Walls, 49, on Nov. 10 with first- and second-degree animal cruelty. Walls, who declined to comment Monday, was also sentenced to 24 months of probation and $1,300 in fines and fees.

Park goes to Oroville; Colvilles not happy

OROVILLE — The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has, again, decided to transfer the Osoyoos Lake state park to the city of Oroville. And leaders of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are, again, calling foul.

World hires FitzSimmons as new managing editor

WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee World has hired Cal FitzSimmons, editor of The Daily News in Longview, as its new managing editor. FitzSimmons, 52, started Wednesday. He replaces Gary Jasinek, who was managing editor at The World for 13 years.

Bus tour brings more census information

EAST WENATCHEE — The Census Bus Tour is coming to East Wenatchee on Sunday. The bus will be at Holy Apostles Catholic Church, 1315 8th St. N.E., from 1 to 5 p.m., according to a news release from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Commissioners decide Douglas County Internet policy should protect more employees

WATERVILLE — Douglas County commissioners determined Monday that more than just deputies need access to Web sites with “inappropriate subject matter,” and the new language for its Internet policy shouldn’t just protect deputies. Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal had told the commissioners in February that many deputies didn’t want to sign the policy as it was written because there was no protection for law enforcement officials who sometimes have to go to pornographic and social Web sites during the course of an investigation.