B.C. skier dies in off-limits area

A 21-year-old skier from British Columbia died Sunday at the Mount Baker Ski Area after he skied into a roped-off area and went over a cliff.

Trinidy McQuair, of Vancouver, B.C., was declared dead at the scene, below a prominent cliff more than 100 feet high, said Whatcom County Undersheriff Carey James.

The accident happened shortly after 11 a.m., and there was good visibility at the time, said Duncan Howat, the ski area's general manager.

McQuair was skiing down a difficult run called "The Chute" with a brother and two friends when he split off from his companions, Howat said.

His ski tracks showed that he went beneath two ropes marked with warning signs before going over the cliff, which is visible from a nearby parking lot. There were no eyewitnesses to the fall.

McQuair died of head injuries, said Whatcom County Medical Examiner Gary Goldfogel.

Man gets 25 years in meth-lab case

A federal judge Monday sentenced an Auburn man to 25 years in prison for operating a meth lab that contaminated a rental property and endangered children.

U.S. District Judge James Robart told 32-year-old James Beauchman he'd be a middle-aged man by the time he is released.

Last summer, a jury convicted Beauchman of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute the drug, maintaining a drug-involved premises, and possession of a firearm in connection with a drug-trafficking crime.

Federal agents found a dozen firearms during a search of the Auburn lakefront property that Beauchman had rented. Agents determined that the meth "cooking operation" had so contaminated the home and garage that they were uninhabitable.

Prosecutors said dangerous chemicals were stored in places accessible to two children in the home.

Hartline, Grant County

Burglars force school to close

Burglars caused $300,000 in damage to Almira-Coulee-Hartline High School over the Thanksgiving holiday, and the school may not reopen for four months.

The burglars turned on fire-hydrant faucets in the school, which flooded the building until the water was discovered Saturday morning.

Coulee-Hartline School District Superintendent Edward Fisk said school was canceled Monday and today, and officials were planning how to resume classes.

Someone broke into the high-school building that serves Almira, Coulee City and Hartline between Wednesday and Saturday morning, Grant County Sheriff Frank De Trolio said.

Eight laptop computers and a digital camera, worth about $13,000, were stolen from a classroom, De Trolio said.

Authorities have no suspects or leads, said sheriff's Deputy Courtney Conklin.

Times staff and news services