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Death confirmed as sixth from flu

By Sharon Salyer, Herald Writer

A suspected flu death in Snohomish County has been confirmed, bringing the total to six who have died in the worst flu season since 2009.

The most recent death was of an Everett man in his 90s, who died on Jan. 24, according to the Snohomish Health District.

The previous deaths were of an Everett woman in her 70s, a Stanwood man in his 90s, a Bothell woman in her 40s and two women in their 80s, one from Everett and one from Edmonds.

For comparison, three people died of influenza during the previous two flu seasons combined, said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District.

The number of people hospitalized with flu or its complications this season — 84 — also far exceeds the numbers from the past two flu seasons.

“This has been a particularly brutal, severe year for influenza deaths and hospitalizations,” said Dr. Yuan-Po Tu, who tracks flu issues at The Everett Clinic.

Statewide, 28 people have died from the flu, according to the state Department of Health. That’s the largest number since the swine flu epidemic of 2009-10 when 98 people died in Washington.

“What we’ve seen is an influenza that spread pretty widely, specifically for the older residents of the county, the state and nationally,” Goldbaum said. “It certainly is more severe.”

Flu this season, both locally and nationally, has caused the most serious illness in people 55 and up.

It’s not just the initial onset of influenza that can cause people to become so ill that they need to be hospitalized, Tu said.

Some people have several days of classic flu symptoms of high fever, sore throat, sniffles and body aches and seem to get better, but then get sick again two to four weeks later. “All of a sudden you develop a ‘late’ fever,” Tu said, indications of health problems such as more severe asthma or a bacterial infection, such as pneumonia.

The influenza virus damages the linings of the respiratory system in a way that makes it far easier for these health problems to occur, Tu said.

Although flu has hit older adults far harder than children, seven schools in Snohomish County have reported high absenteeism rates from students with flu-like symptoms.

Flu outbreaks also have been reported at 11 long-term facilities such as nursing homes and assisting living facilities.

The good news is that flu season seems to have peaked about two weeks ago, based on reports from area clinics and the number of patients being hospitalized.

“I would hazard a guess that we’re in the last month of flu season,” Tu said.

Detectives witness carjacking on Tulalip reservation

By Rikki King, Heral Writer, http://www.heraldnet.com

TULALIP — A drug-related carjacking on the Tulalip Indian Reservation on Tuesday was interrupted when three undercover tribal police detectives happened by.

The detectives were in an unmarked car driving 81st Street NE about 4:15 p.m., according to a police affidavit.

Near the intersection with 30th Drive NE, they saw a maroon Honda Civic suddenly stop and block a white Cadillac Seville.

Two men got out of the Honda and approached the Cadillac. One of them reportedly had a large knife concealed behind his arm.

The detectives got out of their car, yelling, “Police! Stop!” according to court papers.

At that point, one of the men from the Honda reportedly took a plastic baggie from his pocket and threw it into the Cadillac through a window. The Cadillac’s driver then grabbed the baggie and threw it back outside.

The bag contained 5.49 grams of heroin.

Arrests ensued. Some of the people in the two cars apparently were acquainted.

Also recovered was the knife, the blade of which measured more than 10 inches.

The people in the Honda reportedly were trying to get the Cadillac back. It had been sold a couple of times, and they planned a carjacking to settle a related debt. Police have identified the car’s registered owner.

Two of the men from the Honda were booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of attempted first-degree robbery. One also is being investigated for possessing a controlled substance and resisting arrest.

Schools take proactive approach to safety

From left, Marysville Police School Resource Officer Dave White takes a moment during lunch at Marysville Getchell High School to chat with students Dalton Adcock, Curtis Combs and Bionca Perez. Photo: Kirk Boxleitner.

By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe Reporter

MARYSVILLE — In the wake of December’s school shootings in Connecticut, schools across America have become more conscious of their safety and security procedures, and the Marysville School District is no exception.

However, the district’s security manager and one of its school resource officers from the Marysville Police Department explained that Marysville schools have already adopted a proactive approach to safeguarding their children.

Marysville Police School Resource Officer Dave White has built up a rapport with the students at Marysville Getchell High School over the course of the past four years, since a year before the campus opened, and while he also covers the district’s three middle schools, he credits his presence on campus at Marysville Getchell with elevating his visibility and approachability with students and staff alike.

“It’s been brought to my attention when students have been doing things they shouldn’t, and I’ve been lucky enough to talk to them in ways that have preempted them from committing criminal acts, either at school or elsewhere,” White said. “After [the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.], the staff has been even more interested in using our expertise to make the schools safer.”

Just as the Tulalip Tribal Police Department has donated a part-time SRO to cover the Quil Ceda and Tulalip elementary schools, as well as the 10th Street Middle School and the Heritage and Arts & Technology high schools, so too is the Marysville Police Department providing its two SROs to the school district free of charge, with White’s fellow SRO covering the Marysville-Pilchuck and Mountain View high schools. However, this leaves the rest of Marysville’s elementary schools relatively uncovered, which is why White explained that Marysville Police regular patrol officers are conducting walk-throughs of those elementary schools several times a day.

“We appreciate the huge service that the Marysville Police Department is doing for us here, because we have absolutely no money for it,” said Greg Dennis, security manager for the school district. “After Sandy Hook, everyone asked, ‘What if that happened here?’ Here at Marysville, we’ve been asking, ‘How do we prevent that from happening here?’”

The school district’s measures already include SROs, 11 FTE security guards, rapid-response maps that allow 911 responders to arrive at exact locations within 1-2 minutes, and regular drills for fires, lockdowns and earthquakes.

“Going forward, we’re working with our safety committee and law enforcement to review our campuses and our emergency plans,” said Jodi Runyon, executive assistant to the superintendent. “The city police and county sheriff’s office have been very willing to work with us. As the president and state legislators weigh in on what can and should be done, we will take a second and third look at our procedures to make cost-effective adjustments.”

Seeking volunteers for Car Seat Check event

Snohomish County Safe Kids is looking for volunteers to help with their first car seat check event of the year

Date/Time:

Thursday, February 21, 2013

10:15-11:00 Event Prep & New LATCH Manual Overview

11-2:00 pm Seat Checks

*Starbucks coffee, water and pizza will be provided.

Location:

Everett Fire

3619 Rucker Ave

Everett, WA

Parking:

Please park on one of the side streets or adjacent parking lots [see map]. Please do not park at the fire station itself as we will need all the space allocated.

Event Details:

We are partnering the two local HEAD Start programs. The week prior to the event we will be providing education to the families and have them sign up for a car seat check at that time. This is a win-win as families will have a baseline knowledge before their car seat check. I also received some seats that we can give away. I am advertising this as “while supplies last” so it’s not a guarantee.

Depending on the number of appointments we may open it up to drop-in’s. We won’t know until the date gets closer.

Volunteer Requests:

We always need volunteers to assist in our events. You don’t need to be a technician, just interested in helping keep kids safe! For example, we could use greeters & traffic flow assistants.

Thank you all for your continued support for child passenger safety & injury prevention in Snohomish County!

www.snosafekids.org

First National Indian Country training on investigation and prosecution of non-fatal strangulation offenses

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Department of Justice’s National Indian Country Training Initiative (NICTI) partnered with the National Strangulation Training Institute to deliver the first-ever national Indian Country training on the investigation and prosecution of non-fatal strangulation and suffocation offenses. The training, held from Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 2013, drew attendance from over 50 federal and tribal participants, representing 17 tribes, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Students included prosecutors, law enforcement, advocates, paramedics and sexual assault nurse examiners.

The training, held at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C., provided an in-depth examination of the mechanics of strangulation and suffocation from a medical, legal and law enforcement perspective. In addition to substantive information on strangulation and suffocation, students received information on how to effectively train others in their community about the investigation and prosecution of strangulation crimes and how to serve as an expert witness on the issue in court.

“Strangulation has been identified as one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence and sexual assault. Expert training in this area is critical as external signs of strangulation are absent in over half of all victims. Death can occur without any external marks at all,” said Leslie A. Hagen, National Indian Country Training Coordinator.

“If we can prevent even one homicide by early prosecution of an abuser when he strangles his partner and she survives, all our work will be worth it,” said Gael Strack, the Project Director of the National Strangulation Training Institute and CEO of the National Family Justice Center Alliance.

“When men choke women, those men might as well be raising their right hand and saying ‘I am a killer’ to everyone that is paying attention,” said Casey Gwinn, President of the National Family Justice Center Alliance and faculty at this week’s training. “After 20 years of research and practice, it is clear that men who choke women are the same men who are likely to later kill those women, kill children, and kill police officers.”

Facts about strangulation:

Strangulation is more common than professionals have realized. Recent studies have now shown that 34 percent of abused pregnant women report being “choked” (Bullock, 2006); 47 percent of female domestic violence victims reported being “choked” (Block, 2000) and most experts believe the rate is higher given the minimization by victims and the lack of education.
Victims of multiple strangulation “who had experienced more than one strangulation attack, on separate occasions, by the same abuser, reported neck and throat injuries, neurologic disorders and psychological disorders with increased frequency”. (Smith, 2001)
Almost half of all domestic violence homicide victims had experienced at least one episode of non-fatal strangulation prior to a lethal violent incident (Glass, Sage, 2008). Victims of prior non-fatal strangulation are 800 percent more likely of later becoming a homicide victim. (Glass, et al, 2008).
Strangulation is more serious than professionals have realized. Loss of consciousness can occur within 5 to 10 seconds and death within 4 to 5 minutes. (Watch, 2009; Hawley, McClane, 2001). The seriousness of the internal injuries may take a few hours to be appreciated and delayed death can occur days later. (Hawley, McClane, 2001).

Because most strangulation victims do not have visible injuries, strangulation cases may be minimized or trivialized by law enforcement, medical and mental health professionals.

Must job hunters reveal Facebook password?

The Washington state Legislature is considering a bill to prohibit companies from asking job applicants for passwords to social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Debates over social media in the workplace are taking place across the country.

By Brian M. Rosenthal, Seattle Times Olympia bureau

OLYMPIA — Anyone who has hunted for a job recently has heard the warning: Don’t let your Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts ruin your chances with a potential boss.

The sites are now commonly incorporated into the job-application process by HR departments searching for pictures, status updates and messages that may expose candidates’ true colors — or momentary lack of judgment.

But how much leeway should companies have to examine online photos and posts purposely hidden from general public view?

The Legislature may soon attempt to answer that question, one of many that employers and employees are grappling with as social media blurslong-sacred lines between personal and professional life.

“It’s a privacy issue,” state Sen. Steve Hobbs said. “Companies want to know who they’re hiring, but applicants have a right to express themselves on these sites.”

Hobbs is the prime sponsor of a bill to prohibit companies from directly or indirectly demanding a password to a social-networking site as a condition of hiring or continued employment. Senate Bill 5211 would not bar companies from looking at publicly available pages.

Six states have approved similar laws in response to complaints, most recently in California. Congress is also weighing its own version.

Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, said he doesn’t know how much of an issue it really is here, but he says lawmakers should “nip this in the bud.”

The bill’s prospects are unclear.

A spokeswoman for the Association of Washington Business said the group has not taken a position. But the state director for the National Federation of Independent Business said his group is concerned that the way the bill is worded could end up affecting managers’ ability to monitor company social-media pages run by employees.

The California bill passed last year with little opposition, said sponsor Nora Campos, a San Jose Democrat and Assembly speaker pro tempore.

Few opponents have materialized on the national level either, officials said.

“I think a lot of people agree that this seems intrusive and unwarranted,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a former attorney general who said he introduced the Senate bill after hearing complaints.

Privacy concerns are not the only social-media issues being debated across the country — so, too, are questions about worker rights.

In December, the National Labor Relations Board declared in response to a lawsuit filed in New York state that workers have a right to discuss work conditions with their colleagues on social-media pages, just as they would in the break room.

The board found that such communication is protected under the National Labor Relations Act, which allows for workplace organizing.

“Employees have always had the right to discuss working conditions at the workplace,” said Ron Hooks, the Seattle-based regional director of the NLRB. “We are applying the law to these new technologies.”

New Jersey human-rights attorney Lewis Maltby said the impact of the NLRB decision was limited because it applied only to discussions between employees about work.

Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, said bosses have essentially unchecked power and are using it inappropriately because they don’t understand social media and are afraid of it.

Bills like Hobbs’ are needed, he said, because companies are arbitrarily weeding out job applicants based on social-media posts that have nothing to do with the candidate’s ability to do the job.

“Unfortunately, at this time my advice is, don’t say anything that anybody could possibly disagree with,” he said. “You have to choose between your right to express yourself and your ability to get a job. You can’t have both.”

Patrick Connor, the National Federation of Independent Business state director, agreed there should be some limits on what candidates must provide during the job-application process. He said more discussions are needed about how to maintain a clear line between private social-networking pages and pages that affect the company.

Ryan Calo couldn’t agree more.

Calo, a University of Washington law professor, said that social-media-related tension between employees and bosses is likely to grow because the stakes are higher than in the past.

“Employees have always had the ability to embarrass the company,” he said. “But most of them have had limited access to public channels of communication.”

Ban on shrimp fishing enacted for inland waters

A large brown spot shrimp and a predatory sea star. Photo: Ed Bowlby, NOAA/Olympic Coast NMS

By Gale Fiege, Herald Writer, http://www.heraldnet.com

EVERETT — Kevin Nihart made a living by fishing for spot shrimp in the waters of Possession Sound and selling his harvest off the dock near Anthony’s HomePort restaurant.

He won’t be able to do it this year, however.

The state Fish and Wildlife Commission decided in December to ban commercial shrimpers in the inland marine waters south from Deception Pass and Port Townsend, including all of Puget Sound. The idea is aimed to boost sport fishing in more urban areas of the state. Spot shrimp is a prawnlike shellfish found from California to Alaska.

For Nihart, it’s a tough loss for his business and he says it’s a sad loss for his many faithful customers, who bought from him off the docks in Everett, Mukilteo and Edmonds.

Now Nihart, who lives in Anacortes, can commercially fish for spot shrimp only in the marine waters around the San Juan Islands and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the availability in the San Juans is limited.

“Fishing near Everett was how I made my living,” Nihart said. “I can’t afford to run my boat from the straits to the dock in Everett or even truck my shrimp in for the Everett Farmers Market. A lot of people I sold to are going to be disappointed. I feel bad for my customers.”

Only a small group of people actually shrimp commercially in the waters off Washington. The state licensed just 18 commercial shrimp fishermen last season and only two, including Nihart, harvested spot shrimp in Puget Sound, said department biologist Mark O’Toole.

It used to be that the Port Susan, Possession Sound and Puget Sound spot shrimp harvest was divided, 60 percent to recreational fishermen and 40 percent to commercial boats. The spot shrimp season begins in late spring. Nihart is a long-line fisherman who uses shrimp traps on his lines. Recreational shrimp fishermen use traps similar to crab pots.

Nihart sold spot shrimp at the Everett Farmers Market for the past four years and for the past six years on the dock below Anthony’s HomePort restaurant off Marine View Drive.

Joe Verdoes, president of the Puget Sound Shrimp Association, testified in September before the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, asking that commercial fishing of spot shrimp be allowed to continue in the Puget Sound region.

“This change makes it very difficult for guys like Kevin,” Verdoes said.

The state is encouraging commercial fishing in the strait because it is more of a sustainable resource there, O’Toole said.

“This is particularly hard on Kevin, and we know people in Everett, Mukilteo and Edmonds are going to miss being able to buy fresh prawns from him off the dock,” O’Toole said.

Stillaguamish Tribe sponsors salmon habitat restoration on Cherokee Creek

Coho salmon swim in newly restored habitat in Cherokee Creek.

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, http://nwifc.org

The Stillaguamish Tribe recently partnered with the state Department of Natural Resources Family Forest Fish Passage Program to restore access to Cherokee Creek, near Darrington.

Cherokee Creek provides spawning, rearing and refuge for coho and other species of Pacific salmon, as well as cutthroat and bull trout. However, the creek also was home to a deteriorating metal culvert that had been poorly installed and was too small to withstand floods.

“The culvert had created an artificial waterfall that was too high for salmon to swim or jump past on their way upstream,” said Scott Rockwell, Forest and Fish biologist for the tribe. “It was also interfering with natural stream ecology, interrupting the downstream movement of water, fallen trees and gravel.”

The Family Forest Fish Passage Program replaced the culvert with a steel bridge and an 80-foot-long section of stream channel that restored fish access to more than a mile of productive spawning habitat. The state program helps small forest landowners comply with forest practice rules by covering 75-100 percent of the cost of eliminating stream barriers.

At a fall event celebrating the project’s completion, many coho salmon swam through the restored area.

“Their genetic compasses guided them back to habitat that had not been accessible for years,” said Washington State Forester Aaron Everett, who worked on the project.

As a project sponsor, the Stillaguamish Tribe conducted landowner outreach, collected habitat data, provided matching project funds, and managed project design, construction oversight, permitting and billing.

Cherokee Creek is a spawner index stream for coho salmon. For the past 12 years, Stillaguamish natural resources staff have documented the number and location of spawning adults and redds (egg nests) to help forecast the size of future coho runs.

For more information about the state’s Small Forest Landowner Office, visit www.dnr.wa.gov/sflo.

Sound Publishing to purchase Everett Herald

Sound Publishing, Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement with the Washington Post Company to acquire the Everett Daily Herald, a 46,000 circulation daily and Sunday newspaper and its other print and online products. The transaction is expected to close in early March.

The Herald has been owned by the Washington Post Company (WPO:NYSE) for 35 years and is a leading provider of local news and information for the Snohomish County area.

“We are thrilled to have The Daily Herald join our growing family of newspapers,” said Gloria Fletcher, President of Sound Publishing. “The Herald is a very well respected newspaper and it is a great fit with our print and digital products serving the greater Seattle area.”

Sound Publishing is the largest community media organization in Washington, with 39 newspaper and digital titles, including The Arlington Times and The Marysville Globe, with a combined circulation of over 730,000. Sound is a subsidiary of Black Press, Ltd. Black Press publishes more than 170 newspapers and other publications in British Columbia, Alberta and Washington, as well as the Honolulu (Hawaii) Star-Advertiser and the Akron (Ohio) Beacon-Journal daily newspapers.

Reward at $20,500 for information in eagle deaths

By Rikki King, Herald writer, http://www.heraldnet.com

GRANITE FALLS — Authorities still are asking for help finding the person responsible for the deaths of four bald eagles last month near Granite Falls.

A recent donation brought the reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction up to $20,250, wildlife officials said Monday.

The last $6,500 was donated by The Campbell Group, a Portland, Ore.-based timber company that owns property near where the eagles were found Jan. 9, said Sgt. Jennifer Maurstad with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“We are shocked and offended by this crime, and support the efforts of state authorities to investigate and prosecute this case,” Campbell Group spokeswoman Liz Fuller said in an email Monday.

The eagles’ bodies were floating in a lake east of town. Investigators aren’t disclosing the exact location.

They believe the eagles, three of them grown and one a juvenile, were shot with a small-caliber rifle.

Investigators are waiting on forensic results, including possible ballistics, Maurstad said Monday.

They’ve gotten a few tips but nothing has panned out, she said.

“It’s just important to do the right thing,” Maurstad said. “This was such an egregious act, that if somebody has information, they shouldn’t hang onto it. They should do what’s right, and I’m hoping that $20,000 will give somebody the initiative to do so.”

Killing an eagle is a misdemeanor under federal law. It is also a state crime with a maximum penalty of $1,000 and 90 days in jail. Also, under state law, there’s a $2,000 fine per eagle.

There are about 850 nesting pairs of bald eagles in Washington.

Anyone with information should call 1-877-933-9847 or email reportpoaching@dfw.wa.gov.

Reward money also was donated by the Stillaguamish Tribe, state Fish and Wildlife, the Humane Society of the United States and Conservation Northwest.