A Bainbridge Island couple were among three people killed when two vehicles collided Friday just before 2:30 p.m. near Cle Elum. Three children were also injured in the crash.

Fatally injured were Kenneth W. Hartz and his wife, Kathleen A. Bergum, of Bainbridge. Both were 49. Also deceased is Stephen M. Talbot, 51, a well-known Wenatchee dentist whose Toyota pickup crossed the center line of state Highway 970, according to the State Patrol.

Talbot's westbound pickup hit an eastbound vehicle before colliding head-on with the Hartzes' eastbound van. The Bainbridge Island couple's 12-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter were taken to Harborview Medical Center, as was Talbot's 14-year-old daughter.

The accident occurred about four miles east of Cle Elum on Highway 970, which connects Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 97. Trooper Rich Magnussen said weather was not a factor and that neither drugs nor alcohol contributed to the accident, which remains under investigation.

Federal Way

Canoeist reported missing; body found

A King County Sheriff's marine unit recovered a body Saturday afternoon after receiving a 3:45 a.m. report of a missing man who had gone canoeing at Dolloff Lake, police said. Police released no details. The King County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy. Police found a vehicle parked near South 306th Street and 38th Avenue South and an overturned canoe on the lake.

Seattle

Flight turns around over cabin pressure

An Alaska Airlines flight bound for Seattle had to turn around and make an emergency landing early Saturday at Washington Dulles International Airport after the aircraft did not pressurize properly, according to airport officials.

Flight No. 1 took off at 8:03 a.m. from Reagan National Airport just outside the nation's capital, but about six minutes into the flight, the pilot realized there was a problem with the cabin pressure, said Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Caroline Boren.

The jet had reached an altitude of only 5,000 feet when the pilot noticed the problem, so emergency air masks did not have to be deployed, Boren said.

Maintenance crews determined a rear door had not been latched properly. They sealed the door, and the jet took off again by 9:15 a.m. without any more problems.

Olympia

State universities turn fewer away

Fewer prospective students from Washington state were turned away by state colleges and universities this school year.

The state Office of Financial Management reported on its Web site Friday that 1,546 qualified students couldn't find a place to study at a Washington public college or university in fall 2005.

Western Washington University turned away more students in 2005 than 2004, but the University of Washington rejected the applications of fewer Washington residents.

More than 500 people were turned away from Western Washington University and more than 600 from the University of Washington.

Last year, more than 1,000 qualified students were turned away by the University of Washington and only 111 were not accepted at Western.

The report said 70 percent of the total unserved population this year were applicants to these two Western Washington universities.

A total of 52,928 people applied to public four-year institutions in Washington state for admission last fall, including 38,317 Washington residents.

Seattle Times staff and The Associated Press

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