The Columbian

Washington Dips Into Jc Pool; Seven of 21 Recruits Come From Junior College Programs

SEATTLE -- Like a Seahawks fan experiencing his or her first Super Bowl, Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham couldn't get enough of his first real venture into junior college recruiting. Willingham unveiled the Huskies' 2006 national letter of intent signing class Wednesday, and among the 21-man roster were seven junior college transfers.

White Leads Seven College Signings at River

A big guy is going to the Big Sky. Demetrick White, a 6-foot-8, 275-pound lineman from Columbia River High School, signed his national football letter of intent Wednesday with the University of Montana.

Police Report:

Inquiry into bank-card fraud at restaurant expands A Vancouver police investigation of alleged unauthorized bank- card charges by someone at Moshi restaurant has mushroomed since it first was reported last month.

Gorge Sturgeon Spawning Sanctuary Extended West; Sport-Fishing Interests Disagree On Need for Enlargement

Washington and Oregon are adding two miles to the sturgeon spawning sanctuary near Bonneville Dam, extending the downstream boundary from Beacon Rock to Light 85. Curt Melcher of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the extension at a meeting of the Columbia River Compact last week in Oregon City.

Cabela's Considering Opening a Store Near Olympia; Company Wants Plenty of Economic Incentives First

Fishing and hunting outfitter Cabela's is looking into opening a store in Lacey, an Olympia suburb, but the company wants incentives totaling about $15 million before it brings about 400 jobs and thousands of shoppers to the Interstate 5 site, a newspaper reports. The Nebraska-based company has started negotiations to build a 225,000-square-foot store, which would feature Cabela's signature indoor two-story waterfalls and ponds, giant aquariums, outdoor walking trails and taxidermy displays.

Sportsmen's Show Opens Wednesday in Portland; Event Features Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Gear

PORTLAND -- Hunting and fishing seminars, a youth trout-fishing pond and almost 1,000 exhibits of outdoor gear and services will begin Wednesday at the 31st annual Pacific Northwest Sportsmen's Show. Hours for the five-day event at Portland Expo Center will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 8-10, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 11 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 12.

Study: Small Weight Gain Ups Health Risks

Gaining even a few pounds can increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease in normal-weight people, a Kaiser researcher has found. Dr. Teresa Hillier led a study of a condition known as metabolic syndrome; it includes obesity, high triglyceride levels, low HDL ("good") cholesterol, elevated blood pressure and insulin resistance that makes a person prone to diabetes. An estimated 50 million Americans are living with a combination of those risks.

Sun Shines As Area Bids Good Riddance to Soggy January

January 2006, take a bow. The soggy month checked into the record books at midnight Tuesday as the 11th soggiest month since record-keeping began in Vancouver in 1898, and the third-wettest January on record.

Teacher to Turn Over Military Command

An Evergreen High School math teacher who also leads a brigade that trains drill sergeants will turn over his command Saturday in a ceremony at Vancouver Barracks. U.S. Army Reserve Col. Gregory L. Berry, who has commanded the 1st Brigade, 104th Division (Institutional Training) since December 2003, will hand the reins to Lt. Col. Kurt A. Hardin of Olympia. Maj. Gen. Terrill K. Moffett, 104th Division commander, will oversee the ceremony.

Rainy Day Fund Finds Support

OLYMPIA A proposal by state Sen. Joe Zarelli to establish a hard- to-touch "rainy day fund" in the state constitution got a favorable response Wednesday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Zarelli's bill would ask voters to amend the Washington Constitution to automatically set aside 1 percent of annual general state revenues, which could be tapped only by a three-fifths vote of each legislative branch in good economic times.

House Oks 25-Year Terms for Offenders

OLYMPIA -- House lawmakers unanimously passed a package of 25- year sentences for sex predators on Wednesday, with Republican critics warning that the measure doesn't go far enough. The Democrat-led House sent the measure to the state Senate on a 97-0 vote after lengthy debate and several unsuccessful GOP attempts to alter the bill.

Local Angle: Wallace Pushes Anti-Sex Predator Measures

Rep. Deb Wallace spoke twice on the House floor Wednesday in support of a slate of sex predator bills that passed unanimously. Wallace, D-Vancouver, does not sit on the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, which heard the bills. But she was one of seven House members targeted last month with mock sex predator notification postcards.

Church Proposes Abuse Settlement

SPOKANE -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane is offering $45.7 million to 75 victims of sexual abuse by priests in a deal that also includes reforms designed to ensure that molestations do not occur in the future, the two sides said Wednesday. The offer is contingent on approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and acceptance by the 75 victims. But a committee of five victims voted unanimously Tuesday evening to recommend acceptance.

Man Is Run Over After Standing in Highway Lane

NORTH BEND (AP) -- A man who owned three McDonald's fast-food franchises crashed his truck on Interstate 90 early Wednesday, then got out, took his clothes off and stood in a traffic lane, where he was run over and killed. Brett T. Arnes, 35, of Ellensburg, crashed his red pickup at about 4 a.m. just west of Snoqualmie Pass, the Washington State Patrol said in a news release. The westbound truck crossed the median and the eastbound lanes before stopping against a guardrail.

August Primary Approved by Senate

OLYMPIA -- Along with backyard barbecues, camping and summer vacation, you can add voting to your August to-do list, starting next year. After years of angst over whether to change the state's mid- September primary, one of the nation's latest, lawmakers are poised to move up the election by a month, starting in 2007.

Theft of Health Records Spurs Oregon Inquiry

PORTLAND State investigators in Oregon plan to meet today with officials of Providence Health System to see whether Providence has done enough to help 365,000 customers whose personal information was in computer files stolen from an employee's car. The meeting is part of an investigation that Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers started after Providence Health Systems disclosed on Jan. 25 that the records had been stolen on Dec. 31.

Osu Professor Won't Give Up Research Fight

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) An Oregon State University professor who unsuccessfully tried to get the journal Science to avoid publishing research by an OSU graduate student said he still thinks the study is flawed and will not stop fighting against it. Graduate student Daniel Donato concluded that leaving forests alone is the best way to help them recover from wildfires, a position opposed by John Sessions, a professor of forest engineering who supports logging and replanting.

Mckenna: Teachers Have No Right to Strike

SEATTLE Public school teachers have no right to strike in Washington, but state law imposes no penalties for such walkouts, the state attorney general said this week. Attorney General Rob McKenna clarified the issue in response to a request from state Rep. Toby Nixon, R-Kirkland, who is sponsoring a bill that would establish penalties for teachers' strikes.

Test: Woman Died of Classic Form of Brain-Wasting Disease

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) A test on brain tissue has confirmed that a third Idaho woman died of a form of the brain-wasting Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease not believed to be linked to the consumption of beef tainted by mad cow disease. "Test results showed it was not the variant form of CJD," said Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Farm Labor Contractor Appeals Revocation

YAKIMA (AP) A California company that had its Washington state farm labor contractor's license revoked has appealed, saying the state violated basic principles of due process. Global Horizons, based in Los Angeles, filed its appeal Friday with state Department of Labor and Industries Director Gary Weeks.