Allied Arts Director

Allied Arts director leaving

yakimA -- Allied Arts Executive Director Jessica Moskwa willleave the nonprofit arts organization at the beginning of April tobecome general manager of Gilbert Cellars winery.

Moskwa, 29, took over Jan. 1, 2008, after the retirement oflongtime director Elizabeth Herres Miller. She has worked for theorganization since 2005, first as media coordinator, then assistantdirector before becoming director.

"I've loved every part of working at Allied Arts," she said inthe statement announcing her resignation. "I especially treasure thefriendships I've made here. This community has been incrediblygenerous to me and I intend to remain active in the arts for yearsto come."

The Allied Arts board of directors will begin a search for a newdirector.

Flags will fly at half-staff

OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire has ordered all flags at statebuildings lowered to half-staff Tuesday in memory of a fallensoldier from Granger.

Pfc. Robert J. Near, 21, died Dec. 7 while serving in KandaharProvince, Afghanistan. The circumstances surrounding his death areunder investigation.

Near's funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Smith Funeral Home,528 S. Eighth St. in Sunnyside, with burial to follow in the LowerValley Memorial Gardens.

Violation takes unusual form

yakima -- Maybe he missed the point.

A Yakima man faces a potential felony charge for violating a no-contact order. Nothing too unusual about that.

But police say the 24-year-old man added insult to injury bytossing his certificate of completion for a court-ordered domesticviolence course at the victim after he approached her at her 30thAvenue home early Thursday.

The investigating officer took the form into evidence, accordingto an arrest report filed in Yakima County Superior Court. Then theofficer followed the suspect's tracks in the snow to his nearbyhome.

The man now is in custody at the Yakima County jail, with bailset at $10,000.

Prison sentence for shooting

YAKIMA -- A Yakima man was sentenced Thursday to more than nineyears in prison for a gang-related shooting.

Jesus Antonio Mirelez, 21, pleaded guilty in Yakima CountySuperior Court to one count of first-degree assault. He received asentence of 111 months.

Mirelez was identified as the person who fired on gang rivals,hitting one in the arm, during a fight the evening of May 30 in the200 block of South Fourth Street, according to a police report.

School threat suspect jailed

YAKIMA -- A 15-year-old Vancouver, Wash., boy is suspected ofposing as a Yakima youngster when he made threats against EisenhowerHigh School in an Internet chat room, Yakima police said.

The Vancouver boy was taken into custody Wednesday night and isexpected to face felony harassment charges, according to a newsrelease from the Yakima Police Department.

Police did not release the nature of the threats because of theongoing investigation, but a felony harassment charge requiresevidence of threats to kill.

Yakima police received several calls Wednesday evening frompeople across the country who stated that they had seen statementsin the chat room indicating that the threats were to be carried outThursday, according to the news release.

Officers and detectives began to investigate, and they determinedthat the Vancouver suspect had stolen the Yakima boy's personalaccount information to post the threats under his name.

Vancouver police helped identify the suspect. Investigatorsseized all his computer equipment, police said.

Four injured in I-90 crash

ELLENSBURG -- A two-car crash Wednesday night west of Ellensburgsent four people to the hospital, including a 9-year-old girl.

According to the Washington State Patrol, the driver of a 1999Pontiac van was eastbound on Interstate 90, about 10 miles west ofEllensburg, when she lost control, striking the rear of a tractor-trailer rig.

The Pontiac, driven by Sabrina Takesthegun, 33, of Spokane, wentunder the trailer up to its windshield. Troopers said she wasdriving too fast for conditions.

Her passengers, Harold Takesthegun, 34, Cory Faber, 13, and HannaFountain, 9, all of Spokane, were taken to Kittitas Valley CommunityHospital with various head, back and shoulder injuries.

The truck driver, Marin Georgiev, 41, of Tukwilla, Wash., was notinjured.

Snowmobiler hurt in crash

Ellensburg -- A snowmobiler from Ellensburg suffered a hip injuryafter striking a tree Wednesday, according to the Kittitas CountySheriff's Office.

Neil O'Neil, 51, was riding with friends in the Neeley Creekdrainage 20 miles north of Ellensburg in the Table Mountain area.Several volunteers from Kittitas County Search and Rescue wereriding with O'Neil, who is also a SAR member. After the incident,they tended to him while other companions called for help.

Search and Rescue Coordinator Sgt. Fred Slyfield and other SARvolunteers responded along with medical assistance from KittitasValley Fire and Rescue.

O'Neil was taken to Kittitas Valley Community Hospital.

-- Yakima Herald-Republic

Witness contradicts officer

SEATTLE (AP) -- A witness has contra-dicted the account of aSeattle police officer who shot and killed a woodcarver as hecrossed a street last summer, saying the man did not appear to poseany threat to the officer.

Officer Ian Birk testified before an inquest jury this week thathe had no choice but to fire after 50-year-old John T. Williamsbrandished a knife and prepared to attack him. But The Seattle Timesreports that passerby Deanna Sebring told the jury Thursday thatWilliams did not hold up the knife or do anything threatening beforethe officer killed him.

Audio and video recordings from Birk's patrol car show that theofficer got out of the car, ordered Williams to drop the knife, andthen quickly shot. The small knife was found on the ground in aclosed position by Williams' body.

The inquest aims to determine facts that King County prosecutorsmay use in deciding whether to charge the officer.