Local News

Olympia officer did not kill DUI suspect; lethal wound was self-inflicted, coroner rules

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — An autopsy report has found that a man shot by Olympia police on Friday died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

The autopsy results released Monday afternoon by the Thurston County Coroner’s Office rule the death of 53-year-old Bradden W. Ferber of Olympia a suicide. The report also says he suffered a large caliber gunshot wound to his stomach, but that it did not cause his death.

The incident began when officers responded to a report that a drunken driver involved in an accident had briefly entered an apartment and walked away.

Police say when Officer Mike Hovda encountered him, Ferber raised the handgun and Hovda fired.

3 comments | More in General news, The Blotter | Topics: Officer-involved shooting, Olympia

Evergreen college professor disappears; faced $120,000 fine

The Associated Press

0 comments | More in Education, General news, Government | Topics: Chile, ethical violations, Joge Gilbert

Army sergeant gets 10 years for setting wife’s legs afire

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA – An Army sergeant has been given a 10-year sentence for setting his wife’s legs on fire with lighter fluid and a match.

A jury earlier this month convicted 35-year-old Duane Rader of first-degree arson, felony harassment, unlawful imprisonment and assault. He was acquitted of attempted murder.

Rader was sentenced Tuesday.

Heather Rader testified she was awakened on the night of Feb. 13, 2011, by her husband in a drunken rage. Court papers say the incident left her with second-degree burns.

Court documents say she initially told police she accidentally lit herself on fire. It wasn’t until August, after separating from Rader, that she told a Thurston County sheriff’s deputy her initial statement was false.

At trial, she said she lied initially because Rader threatened to hurt her and her daughter if she told anyone what happened. The family was living in Olympia at the time.

0 comments | More in General news, The Blotter | Topics: fire, legs, Olympia

Suspect in courthouse attack arrested in Olympia

Steven Daniel Kravetz, left, and Roberta L. Dougherty. Photo courtesy of Grays Harbor Sheriff's Department

Authorities have arrested the suspect in Friday’s Grays Harbor County Courthouse attack after his mother called police to turn him in, said Undersheriff Rick Scott.

Scott said the mother of the 34-year-old suspect called a Thurston County dispatch center after police released a flier with her photo and her son’s photo. She told police that her son, Steven Daniel Kravetz, was at her Olympia home.

Kravetz was arrested without incident at about 1:30 p.m. Evidence linking him to the assault, including a handgun belonging to the injured deputy, was recovered, the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office said.

Kravetz is a suspect in the attack Friday at the Grays Harbor County Courthouse that left a judge and the sheriff’s deputy wounded.

Scott said Kravetz’s mother picked him up at an attorney’s office after the attack and drove him to Olympia. Authorities are interviewing the mother, Roberta L. Dougherty.

We’ll update this post as soon as we have more information.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: assault, Grays Harbor County, Olympia

Postal Service cutting 300 jobs in Washington

The Associated Press

More than 300 jobs will be cut by the Postal Service in Washington as it consolidates eight mail processing centers into two, the agency said Thursday.

The facilities are being consolidated because of a 25 percent decline in first-class mail since 2006.

“It’s unfortunate it had to come to this,” said Ernie Swanson, a spokesman for the Postal Service. “We have to do something. We’re in a dire financial situation.”

Processing and distribution centers are closing in Everett, Olympia and Tacoma as operations are transferred to Seattle. Processing operations in Yakima, Wenatchee and Pasco are being transferred to Spokane.

The Postal Service hopes the cuts can be made through attrition without layoffs, Swanson said. Employees losing jobs can request transfers or move into jobs such as letter carrier, if there are openings.

The facility in Everett will lose 97 jobs, Olympia 29, Tacoma 139, Yakima 19, Wenatchee 20, and Pasco two.

As a result of the consolidation, most mail in Washington is likely to bear only postmarks from Seattle or Spokane. Patrons can still request a hand-stamp postmark at a local post office, Swanson said.

The consolidation decision came after a five-month study. Specific dates have not been set for the transition.

0 comments | More in Government | Topics: jobs, mail, Olympia

Olympia auto thief gives truck owner rude awakening

An armed man stole a pickup in Olympia early this morning while the owner was sleeping in the truck bed, according to komonews.com. The pickup’s owner was snoozing in the canopy-covered truck bed around 1:14 a.m. when the thief climbed into the cab and drove off from the parking lot of the Capitol Medical Center.  The owner called 911 from inside the truck bed and gave dispatchers periodic updates on his location.

The thief drove the truck north on Highway 101 into Mason County, where he stopped, got out of the cab and walked toward the back of the truck armed with a knife, according to komonews.com.

The owner jumped out of the truck bed and ran to a nearby home to seek help.The thief drove off in the pickup. Police are looking for the thief and the pickup, a silver 1989 Toyota pickup with a  brown canopy and Washington license B59457N.

0 comments | More in The Blotter | Topics: auto theft, Olympia, Olympia Police Department

UPDATE: Puget Sound Energy down to 3,000 without power

UPDATE: At 10:30 p.m., PSE had fewer than 3,000 customers without power, according to spokesman Roger Thompson.

By shortly after 5 p.m Wednesday, Puget Sound Energy was down to about 10,000 homes and businesses without power in Western Washington. And most should have power by daybreak, officials said.

Utility spokesman Roger Thompson said crews had hoped to have everyone’s power restored Wednesday, but high winds early in the day knocked out power to some 38,000 customers, many of them in Kitsap and in Skagit counties.

“We hope we’re writing the final chapter on this thing now,” Thompson said, noting that since the  succession of storms began early last week, some 460,000 of the utility’s 1.1 million electrical customers lost power.

Many of the remaining homes without power Wednesday evening were in the Black Lake area on the west edge of Olympia, with other scattered around the Puget Sound area.

Puget Sound Energy customers who do not have power yet are  asked to call the utility’s customer-service line, 1-888-225-5773.

0 comments | More in General news, Weather Beat | Topics: Black Lake, Kitsap County, Olympia

Despite snow, state Legislature is in session

The roads are snow packed and the sidewalks are ideal for cross country skiing, but the Legislature is in session today with a near normal – albeit lightly attended – hearing schedule.

Some meetings in the afternoon, including ones scheduled by the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee were canceled due to the weather.

Several agency headquarters have closed as well, including the state Department of Licensing, Employment Security, the Department of Financial Institutions, Department of Ecology, Department of Commerce and the state Lottery. Many others are open but starting late or operating with a skeleton staff.

The governor’s office is open.

Headquarter closures are left up to the agency administrators to decide.

Using a ruler, we measured 10 inches of snow about 10 a.m. outside The Seattle Times office across from street from the Legislative  Building.

0 comments | More in Government, Weather Beat | Topics: Legislature, Olympia, snow

Puget Sound area blanketed by snow; buses on snow schedule

London Cooper, 5, and Sofia Olsen, 7, sled at Woodland Park Sunday in Seattle (Photo by Erika Schultz / The Seattle Times). View a photo gallery from Sunday’s snowstorm. Send us your snow photos. View photos of pets in the snow.

As snow fell Sunday in most parts of Western Washington, cars spun out and had to be abandoned, roads were closed, and King County buses revised their schedules to adjust to the dicey driving conditions.

At least an inch of snow fell across most of the area, with some places seeing much more than that.

Hardest hit so far appeared to be the Bothell area and Forks, where at least 7 inches of snow had accumulated, said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.  ”It’s kind of just haphazard,” he said.

Numerous vehicle collisions were reported in a particularly “slick” stretch of Interstate 405, between 85th and 160th streets, said trooper Julie Startup, a spokeswoman for the State Patrol. No major injuries were reported.

Also, eastbound Interstate 90 had to be closed at 436th Avenue Southeast, or milepost 32, because of spinouts and collisions.

A westbound ramp connecting State Road 522 to southbound Interstate 405 was blocked by a disabled truck, and the northbound I-5 ramps to James and Madison Streets in downtown Seattle had to be closed because of multiple nearby collisions.

As of noon, King County Metro buses began operating on snow routes, and officials warned that service may be delayed because of tricky road conditions. Riders are advised to wait for buses at stops on flat portions of cleared roads or at major transfer points, such as park-and-ride lots and transit centers.

For more information, visit Metro’s Snow & Ice page.

Major mountain passes remained open, but traction tires were advised on Stevens Pass, and they were required for westbound traffic on Snoqualmie Pass. Tire chains were required for eastbound drivers on Snoqualmie Pass, except for the those with all-wheel drive or all-season tires, the Department of Transportation said.

Burg said the snow showers are rotating around what meteorologists call a vorticity maximum. “Off the coast, they’re heading toward Olympia, then they’re turning back up north toward Seattle,” Burg said.

“Places around the water probably see the least amount of snow, then as you go inland the accumulation tends to be more,” he said.

See a live radar that shows where snow is falling in the area.

On-again, off-again flurries and heavier snowfall were reported from Lake Forest Park to Queen Anne Hill and Tacoma, and most places in between. Snow showers were expected to continue throughout the day, with up to three inches of additional accumulation predicted in most parts of the region.

The snow was expected to continue through midweek, then turn largely to rain.

0 comments | More in Weather Beat | Topics: Bothell, Forks, Lake Forest Park

Search on for goose with arrow in breast

With an arrow through its breast, a Canada goose takes refuge in Percival Cove in Olympia. (AP Photo/The Olympian, Steve Bloom)

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — A Washington state wildlife rescue group is asking people in the Olympia area to help watch for a Canada goose with an arrow through its breast.

Workers with the state and the For Heaven’s Sake Wildlife Rescue in a small boat tried to grab the bird Wednesday afternoon in Capitol Lake, but it flew away.

The Olympian reports they were surprised the bird could take to the air with an arrow through its body.

For Heaven’s Sake’s director says the goose is likely still in the area. Searchers hope to find it and take it to a veterinarian.

Photos of the bird indicate the arrow entered its right side and went out its left.

0 comments | More in General news | Topics: arrow, goose, Olympia