Teen dead of apparent overdose

Lynnwood

A 17-year-old boy who graduated last month from Kamiak High School in Mukilteo has died, apparently from a heroin overdose.

John Joseph "Sean" Gahagan VI died Thursday at his home in the Lynnwood area, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office reported Tuesday. Rebecca Hover, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, said it appears the death was the result of a heroin overdose.

Authorities are investigating whether there is a connection between Gahagan's death and the hospitalization last week of two of his friends, also apparently from drug overdoses.

Gahagan had "many unique qualities, especially a flair and talent for music and the arts," according to a paid obituary in The Seattle Times.

"He was a thrift shop fashionista, a pumpkin carver extraordinaire, and an accomplished baker. His sunglass collection was renowned throughout Kamiak High School," the notice said.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at St. Thomas More Parish, 6511 176th St. S.W., Lynnwood. Donations in Gahagan's honor can be made to Doctors Without Borders USA, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030.

Grant County

Brush fire grows to 3,000 acres

Gusty winds quickly fanned a new brush fire in Central Washington to an estimated 3,000 acres on Tuesday evening, and several homes were reportedly threatened.

The fire was reported burning on the hillsides near Trinidad, west of Quincy.

Officials said more than 200 people had been evacuated and that the threatened structures included a few condos at the Crescent Bar Resort.

Highway 28 near the fire was temporarily closed because of poor visibility.

Mountlake Terrace

Wilson selected as police chief

A longtime police commander in South King County has been selected as the new police chief for Mountlake Terrace.

Greg Wilson, most recently a patrol commander for Federal Way police, will start on Aug. 11. His annual salary will be between $91,380 and $114,216, and he will oversee 31 sworn officers.

Wilson, 46, has 21 years of law-enforcement experience with the cities of Renton and Federal Way. He retired from Federal Way police in August, according to a Federal Way police spokeswoman.

Wilson will succeed Scott Smith, who left the department in December to become chief of the Tulalip Tribal Police.

Tacoma

Copper thefts cost DOT $500,000 in '08

More copper wire has been stolen from the state Department of Transportation (DOT), and replacement costs for all the stolen wire has reached more than a half-million dollars this year.

Sometime last week thieves stole more than 6,000 feet of wire on Interstate 5 in Tacoma. The wire is used in lighting the I-5 onramps and offramps at South 72nd Street.

It was the 96th wire theft in the DOT's Olympic Region, which covers Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap, Grays Harbor, Clallam, Jefferson and Mason counties. The wire stolen from the seven-county area, if laid end-to-end, would equal 18 miles of wire, the DOT said.

Stanwood

Man who cut old growth sentenced

A Stanwood man who cut and removed 27 old-growth cedar trees from the Wenatchee National Forest in 2004 will serve about nine months in prison.

Kevin John Moran was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Spokane by Senior Judge Fred Van Sickle.

Moran, 49, pleaded guilty last November to a charge of theft of government property on U.S. Forest Service land adjoining his property.

The theft occurred in 2004 when Moran, a self-employed logger and framer, trespassed into the forest to cut trees.

"The investigation showed that this area is one of the last old-growth cedar stands in the Wenatchee National Forest," U.S. Attorney Jim McDevitt said in a news release. "... Some exceeding 5 feet, it was estimated that the age of the trees ranged from 400 to 700 years old."

Seattle

Man, 56, dead in late-night shooting

A 56-year-old man was killed late Monday by a shooting in Seattle's Central Area, police said.

Around 11:30 p.m., several residents called 911 to report gunshots in the 2500 block of East Columbia Street, said Seattle Police Department spokesman Mark Jamieson.

When officers arrived, they found the man unresponsive and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest, Jamieson said. Medics transported the man to Harborview Medical Center, where he later died.

Police said Tuesday that they had no suspect or motive.

Seattle

Greenwood Avenue to close for parade

Several blocks of Greenwood Avenue North through Seattle's Greenwood community business district will be closed this evening for the annual Greenwood Seafair Parade, which gets under way with the kids division at 6 p.m., followed by the main parade at 6:30 p.m.

The parade assembly area on Greenwood Avenue North between North 95th and North 105th streets will close to traffic at 4:15 p.m. The parade route, along Greenwood Avenue North from North 95th Street south to North 85th Street, then west to Sixth Avenue Northwest, will close at 5:30 p.m. Traffic congestion is likely for several hours.

Juneau, Alaska

Trident Seafoods plant burns down

Authorities say the Trident Seafoods processing plant in the Alaska Peninsula village of Chignik Bay has been destroyed by fire.

Trident Seafoods is based in Seattle.

Alaska State Troopers say residents battled the blaze for two hours in the small community 450 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Troopers say more than 250 people worked at the plant. Four went to the local clinic after having trouble breathing. Two others were taken to Anchorage for treatment of possible smoke inhalation.

An area a half-mile around the plant was evacuated.

Dodge, Garfield County

WSU student found dead in Snake River

A Washington State University student reported missing last week has been found in the Snake River.

Garfield County sheriff's deputies say boaters found the body of 23-year-old Jordan Cheyenne Bloom, of Bremerton, on Sunday about 17 miles below Lower Granite Dam.

Investigators say Bloom was swimming with friends in the river when he became distressed and slipped beneath the surface on July 14.

Stanwood

Boil-water advisory issued by PUD

The Snohomish Public Utility District (PUD) issued a boil-water advisory Tuesday for the 361 households served by the Kayak Estates water system near Stanwood.

The advisory is a precaution after a well pump failed, causing a loss of water pressure to part of the system. Losing pressure can allow contaminants to enter water lines.

The affected area is between 172nd Street Northwest, 66th Avenue Northwest, 140th Street Northwest and Puget Sound. The advisory will likely remain in effect for several days while crews flush the lines and test for contaminants.

Residents using water for drinking, brushing teeth, washing dishes, preparing food and making ice should boil the water first for three to five minutes. For more information, call Snohomish PUD at 425-783-8605.

Seattle Times staff and news services