Man, 18, dies after wrong-way crash

Burien

An 18-year-old Des Moines man died Tuesday night after his car was struck by a vehicle going the wrong way on Highway 509 in Burien.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Anthony L. Kato.

Just before 8:15 p.m., Beryl G. Norgaard, 71, of Seattle was driving south on northbound Highway 509 near the interchange with Highway 518 when her vehicle slammed into Kato's car, according to the State Patrol. Norgaard was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where she is in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Seattle

Personnel director says she'll retire

Norma McKinney, the city of Seattle's personnel director, announced Wednesday she will retire in June.

"It's just time. It's something I had been thinking about for about a year and a half now," McKinney, 64, said. "I have just gotten to a point where it's time to do something for myself."

McKinney, who has held the job since 1998, said she made the city's salary system more flexible, introducing discretionary pay that allowed the city to hire information-technology employees at competitive salaries. McKinney also was pleased with the relationships the city had built with its labor unions. Contract negotiations with Seattle Police Officers' Guild are expected to begin next month.

McKinney's annual salary was $120,949 in 2005.

Renton

Quendall Terminals is Superfund site

The site of a former creosote and tar plant on Lake Washington was added to the federal Superfund list Wednesday, joining the most polluted spots in the country.

Known as Quendall Terminals, the 23 acres of land on Renton's northeastern edge have sat idle for years, contaminated by toxic chemicals including cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and benzene.

Renton officials and a nearby property owner had welcomed a Superfund listing, hoping it will speed cleanup and make more money available for restoration. The site, just off Interstate 405 at 4503 Lake Washington Blvd., is considered prime for waterfront housing, public access and possibly retail or offices.

Punta Arenas, Chile

Man overboard is from Bellingham

A crewman from Bellingham apparently fell overboard from an American research ship into 43-degree water between Chile and the Antarctic, and the vessel and a Chilean plane were searching for him Wednesday.

Joshua Spillane, 31, a marine technologist, was reported missing from the Laurence M. Gould on Monday, Raytheon Polar Services said. The ship was in rolling seas and a drizzle was falling at the time Spillane disappeared, Raytheon spokeswoman Valerie Carroll said.

Carroll said the ship carries emergency gear but she did not know whether Spillane had any with him when he disappeared.

The vessel was about halfway to Punta Arenas, Chile, on a routine shuttle trip from the U.S. Antarctic Program's Palmer Station. The trip usually takes four days.

After Spillane was reported missing, the ship returned to the site where he was last seen and began the search.

Raytheon said U.S., Chilean and company officials were conducting "routine fact-finding" about the incident.

Raytheon Polar Services, based in the Denver suburb of Centennial, provides science, operations and maintenance services to three U.S. research stations and two research vessels in the Antarctic. It is a unit of Raytheon Technical Services.

Times staff and news services