News
The Chronicle - Centralia
|
Riverhawks muster late rally to top Timberwolves
The Toledo baseball team trailed nearly the entire game against Morton-White Pass on Friday, but the Riverhawks put together a rally just in time to come away with a 3-2 win in eight innings. The T-Wolves (4-13, 4-13 C2BL) took a 2-0 lead in the first on an error and an RBI single from Race McKenzie, but after that, the pitchers dominated. Keaton Thompson stifled the Riverhawks (11-9, 10-7 C2BL), keeping them scoreless through six. Caiden Schultz settled in after the two unearned runs in the first, and he went on to allow just two hits and strike out 16 in six innings. Toledo finally got to Thompson in the seventh, as Gavin Frewing hit a two-run single to tie the game. The Riverhawks took the lead in the eighth on a passed ball. Kaven Winters finished it off on the mound, striking out two in two hitless innings. |
|
Loggers top Pirates to keep pace atop C2BL
The Adna baseball team kept pace with Toutle Lake atop the C2BL standings on Friday with a 16-3 five-inning win over Onalaska. The Pirates (16-3, 15-2 C2BL) scored at least three runs in every inning, including five in the second and third. Onalaska (0-19, 0-17 C2BL) responded with three in the fifth, but it wasn’t enough to extend the game beyond five. Owen Fagerness went 2 for 4 with a home run and five runs batted in, and James Toland went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs. In addition to pitching two scoreless innings on the mound, Tristan Percival went 2 for 3 with a triple, an RBI, and he scored two runs. Naillon Ramirez also tossed two scoreless innings on the bump. |
|
Woman sues after losing both legs in horrific Eastern Washington farm accident
A Pasco-area dairy worker has filed a lawsuit after her legs were ripped off by an auger in a farm accident nearly three years ago. Teresa Rodas Aguirre is suing Easy Automation, which made and installed the automated auger system at Ruby Ridge Dairy, which is between Pasco and Eltopia, according to her suit. The case was originally filed in Franklin County Superior Court by her attorneys at Lopez and Fantel in Seattle and then moved last week to U.S. District Court in Eastern Washington. On Sept. 21, 2021, Aguirre was working in an area of the dairy that had an auger in the floor to move cattle feed to a conveyor. She did not realize the auger, shaped like a corkscrew, was running beneath the pile of feed or that a guard protecting the auger had become dislodged, according to a court document. She was trapped in the equipment but there was no way to shut it down in the area where she was working, according to a court document. The only way to shut it down was to get to a control center some distance away, the lawsuit said. By the time other employees stopped the auger from churning, both of her legs were entangled, the Tri-City Herald previously reported. The automated system was unreasonably dangerous and "failed to protect from controllable hazards likely to cause serious injury or death," the lawsuit said. Franklin County Fire District 3 Chief Mike Harris told the Herald in 2021 that it was one of the most complex industrial rescues his team had to perform. A rescue crew arrived to find her sitting at the edge of the auger pit, trapped from the knees down. The hole was slightly wider than the metal auger so rescuers couldn't simply reverse the direction of the machine without injuring her more. Instead, they pulled out the entire piece of equipment from the hole by cutting through the bottom of the auger to remove it while also not igniting the dry, powdery feed. The rescue was hampered by the remoteness of the farm and their need to work quickly to free her, Harris said. Had the accident not happened about 20 miles north of Pasco, they could have waited for a vacuum truck to help clear the feed. "We improvised and used manpower and shovels," Harris said in 2021. Aguirre was taken by medical helicopter to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. "Teresa is a great girl that deserves to have a happy life," according to a GoFundMe at the time that raised about $26,000 for her. Her lawsuit is asking for medical costs and expenses, financial loss and general damages. No specific amount was listed in the suit. In a document filed while the case was in Franklin County Superior Court, the defendant Easy Automation said that it generally denies allegations of negligence. Washington state Department of Labor and Industries investigated the accident and cited Ruby Ridge Dairy in 2022 for a serious safety violation, which the dairy could appeal. It fined the dairy $1,200. Its investigation concluded that the dairy did not ensure the pit auger's guard plates were secure from being displaced by farm equipment. ___ (c)2024 Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) Visit Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) at www.tri-cityherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
|
Washington city issues warning after three babies are exposed to fentanyl, one dies
Three babies overdosed — one fatally — on fentanyl left unsecured inside three Everett homes in less than one week, the city's Fire and Police departments said Thursday. Everett police did not release detailed information about the overdoses — including whether any parents have been arrested or charged with a crime — because of active investigations. Investigators don't believe the overdoses are connected, the Everett Police Department said in a statement. The three incidents, as reported by police:
Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid up to 50 times as potent as heroin, has fueled a skyrocketing number of overdose deaths in Washington and across the country. A record 1,082 people fatally overdosed on fentanyl in Washington last year — a 51% increase over record-setting 2022. And overdose deaths among children are rapidly multiplying. Washington saw 38 children under 18 die from an opioid-related overdose in 2022 — more than three times as many as in 2019. All but one were tied to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to state Department of Health data. Children are especially vulnerable to overdosing, as ingesting even small amounts of the opioid's residue can be fatal due to their body size and lack of tolerance to the drug. The drug, which is often sold as a small, brightly colored blue pill, can look like candy to babies and children. ___ (c)2024 The Seattle Times Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
|
All four victims in Eastern Washington house fire are now dead, family says
Two children have now died after the north Spokane house fire that also killed their parents, family members said Friday. Arielle Desislets, 33, died Sunday evening, according to a family member. Her kids, ages 2 and 7, were transported to the hospital in critical condition when they were pulled from the burning house last week. The 7-year-old was on life support, an email sent by his school principal at Holmes Elementary said. The father, Robert Desislets, 38, died on the scene. The family of the fire victims started a fund to pay for funeral expenses through gofundme.com, and it's raised more than $17,000. The page indicates some of the family have relatives in Georgia who also are planning on having their own funeral service. Firefighters responded to a 911 call about a porch on fire at 4:10 a.m. Saturday. They removed the family from the second floor of the burning house at 1717 N. Howard St. and began CPR. The fire started at the front of the porch, engulfed the nearby garage and quickly spread upstairs. No functional smoke alarms were found in the home. An investigation determined the fire was accidental and caused by an extension cord used in place of permanent wiring, Spokane Fire said on Monday. The three-bedroom, one-bathroom house was built in 1905 and sits directly across the street from North Central High School. The Desisletses purchased the home in 2020. ___ (c)2024 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
|
Man sentenced for killing couple and their dog in Pierce County drunk-driving wreck
A 24-year-old Lakewood man who got behind the wheel after drinking at a catering job, then ran a red light in Tacoma, killing a husband and wife in a collision, was sentenced Thursday to nearly three years in prison. Carlos Alejandro Rodriguez pleaded guilty Feb. 7 to two counts of vehicular homicide for the Aug. 7, 2021 wreck in the city's South End, at the intersection of South 72nd Street and Yakima Avenue. James Wagner, 63, and his wife, Joylene Rae Miller-Wagner, were killed in the incident when their sedan was struck on the passenger's side by the car Rodriguez was driving at 83 mph. The couple's dog, Snoopy, also perished in the crash, according to prosecutors. One of Wagner's daughters wrote in a victim impact statement to the court that her father and stepmother had just celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary the day before the wreck. Her father was decapitated, she wrote, and every bone in her stepmother's body was broken. She said she still can't talk about them without crying. "A lifetime in jail wouldn't be enough justice, two years definitely isn't," she wrote. "It feels like a slap in the face to their families. Because of Carlos's actions that night and carelessness, our lives will never be the same." Pierce County Superior Court Judge Karena Kirkendoll handed down the punishment, giving Rodriguez 34 months, the high end of the standard sentencing range for defendants prosecuted in similar cases, eight months longer than prosecutors had agreed to recommend. Rodriguez's blood-alcohol content was recorded as 0.013 by a portable breath test about two hours after the collision, according to court records. He told responding Tacoma Police Department officers he had two to three margaritas while catering a birthday party in Tacoma with his father, and he added additional alcohol to the drinks. The driver also stopped at a marijuana dispensary after the men left the job at about 11 p.m. Rodriguez claimed not to have smoked any of the cannabis he bought, but a blood draw showed his THC level was about 11 nanograms per milliliter, above the legal limit of 5 ng/ml. Rodriguez's 51-year-old father was in the passenger's seat of the 2017 Nissan Altima his son was driving, and he was badly injured in the crash, according to court records. Tacoma General Hospital staff told police he suffered severe hemorrhaging. The defendant was charged with vehicular assault for his father's injuries, but it was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, court records show. A friend was also in the Nissan, which was registered to him. He told police he felt like he drank too much so he let Rodriguez drive. The defendant was speeding the entire time, the friend reportedly told police, and he was asked to slow down multiple times. Rodriguez did not initially take responsibility for the collision. Prosecutors wrote in court filings that witnesses saw him trying to coerce his friend into taking responsibility shortly after they walked away from their wrecked vehicle. Rodriguez also told a police officer he was sitting in the back passenger seat, but the officer noted his injuries were consistent with a person sitting in the driver's seat. The vehicular homicide case went to trial in September, with Rodriguez's defense being that the friend was driving. His former attorney wrote in a trial brief that body-camera footage showed the friend consistently telling a police officer and hospital staff that he was driving, not Rodriguez. A mistrial was declared after a four-day trial and about two days of deliberations, according to court records. Jurors were deadlocked over a verdict. A new trial was scheduled, but Rodriguez pleaded guilty about a week before it was set to begin. Prosecutors wrote in court filings that based on feedback from jurors in the first trial, there were evidence issues in the case that gave the state concern that a retrial would end in the same result, if not an acquittal. ___ (c)2024 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
Washington State News
|
Daniel Jeremiah's Top Available Players on Day 3
Eric Smith The Bolts loaded up on talent Friday evening by taking Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the second round (No. 34 overall) and Michigan linebacker Junior Colson in the third round (No. 69 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. Now comes Day 3, where the Bolts are scheduled to have six picks in Rounds 4 through 7. The draft continues Saturday at 9 a.m. (PT). Chargers General Manager Joe Horti |
|
Avalanche set to deliver huge blow vs. Jets
(Photo credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports)
After a less-than-ideal start to the playoffs for the Colorado Avalanche, they now are in control of a first-round Western Conference series against the Winnipeg Jets.
Colorado lost the series opener 7-6 behind shaky goaltending from Alexandar Georgiev. That setback is all but a memory now with achance for a 3-1 series lead when the Avalanche host the Jets for Game 4 on
|
Columbian Newspaper
|
Angry farmers in a once-lush Mexican state target avocado orchards that suck up too much water
VILLA MADERO, Mexico (AP) — As a drought in Mexico drags on, angry subsistence farmers have begun taking direct action on thirsty avocado orchards and berry fields of commercial farms that are drying up streams in the mountains west of Mexico City. |
NYT Politics
|
Trump Turns on R.F.K. Jr. Amid Concerns He Could Attract Republican Voters
The former president called Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a ‘Democrat plant’ and attacked his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, who gave $2 million to the Kennedy campaign.
|
