Bellingham woman sentenced for involvement in fentanyl ring, Whatcom County approaching record numbers of homeless deaths, Three Whatcom County fire districts seeking additional funding from voters, Three Whatcom County fire districts seeking additional funding from voters, WA facing “alarming surge” in EBT scams, 30-day residency requirement for WA voter registration struck down, WA wolf population numbers under scrutiny
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KMRE brings you local news for Monday, July 15th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Bellingham woman sentenced for involvement in fentanyl ring
38-year-old Bellingham woman Natasha Parkhill was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in a Whatcom County fentanyl distribution ring on Friday.
Parkhill was arrested along with four others after a failed attempt to flee in January of 2023, where police found about 1,000 fentanyl pills and over $1,300 in cash. She was one of six defendants charged by a Seattle grand jury with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, according to a U.S. Justice Department statement released in April. According to the statement, the ring actively moved fentanyl from the Seattle area to drug dealers in Bellingham. Law enforcement officers say they observed various transactions before intercepting the narcotics.
Two other drug ring members have already been sentenced: 39-year-old Daniel Faix (FAY) of Bellingham was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison. 33-year-old Ahbdurman Ahmed (ahb-DOOR-mun AH-med) of Seattle was sentenced in January to six years in prison.
Two other defendants, 35-year-old Mohamed Abdirisak Mohamed (mo-HAH-mud ahb-DEER-uh-sek mo-HAH-mud) of Seattle and 35-year-old Matthew Anderson of Bellingham pleaded guilty and are awaiting trial. The last alleged member of the drug ring, 41-year-old Robel Sisay Gebremedhin of Burien (ruh-BELL SEE-say guh-BREM-uh-deen), is currently being sought by law enforcement.
According to the U.S Justice Department, the investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force– with valuable assistance by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, and the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office.
STORY: Whatcom County approaching record numbers of homeless deaths
According to reports from the Opportunity Council’s Homeless Outreach Team, there’s a sharp increase in the number of deaths among the homeless population in Bellingham and Whatcom County.
84 deaths were reported in 2023, but that number is now on track to rise to over 100 this year, with factors such as easy access to opioids, the high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, and a strained behavioral health system contributing to the rise. According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic has also made the issue worse.
The local increase unfortunately mirrors a national trend where homeless individuals face a 3.5 times higher mortality rate compared to those who are housed.
STORY: Three Whatcom County fire districts seeking additional funding from voters
Three Whatcom County fire districts are requesting additional tax funds from voters to rebuild their stations and boost their operations.
Fire District 1, which serves Everson, Nooksack, Deming and the Nooksack Indian Tribe is proposing a bond to help them build a new station on Everson Goshen Road. According to Assistant Fire Chief Greg Macy, the current station, located on E. Main St. in Everson, sits on a flood plain, and lacks sleeping quarters as well as space for community activities and meetings. The new station would also serve as an Emergency Operations Center in case of a disaster.
Fire District 17 in Sandy Point is re-running a levy after a measure in the April special election failed by only one vote. The levy money would go towards the rebuilding and relocation of the district’s fire station which has been damaged twice by floods. Co-chair Jeanne Carroll says money to hire paid staff is also essential, as longtime volunteers are getting older.
Fire District 21, known as North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, which serves Lynden, Blaine, Custer, Laurel, Birch Bay and Semiahmoo, is also proposing a levy. According to their website, the levy increase would fund eight emergency personnel, a response unit for medical emergencies, a ladder truck, three fire engines and the replacement of Station 63 in Birch Bay.
STORY: WA facing “alarming surge” in EBT scams
The Washington State Department of Social Services has found that residents on food assistance have lost $5.5 million to Electronic Benefit Transfer – or EBT – scams.
These scams happen when a thief places a device on retail card swiping machines, stealing information and benefits from EBT card holders. According to the Seattle Times, roughly 4 of the $5.5 million in benefit losses in the state were from the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps.
The agency is now taking steps to reimburse those with lost benefits by using funds from Spending Legislation signed by Joe Biden, as well as state funding. As of now, the department has replaced $3 million in food benefits and processed 8,000 claims. However, agency spokesperson Norah West said that the agency did not get funding to replace cash benefits stolen before July 1st 2024.
Claims for stolen EBT benefits must be reported to the department within 30 days of discovering a loss. To report a claim online, visit dshs.wa.gov.
STORY: 30-day residency requirement for WA voter registration struck down
There will not be a 30-day residency requirement for Washington state voters ahead of the 2024 election. The requirement was struck down last year but recently became official.
RESIDENCY AUDIO: 1:32
STORY: WA wolf population numbers under scrutiny
On July 19th, members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will cast their votes on whether or not to downgrade the status of Washington’s gray wolves from endangered to sensitive.
The change would lower penalties for the illegal poaching of wolves and give livestock owners access to permits to kill wolves that cause conflict with their herds. However, wildlife advocates believe that officials could be relying on flawed wolf count figures and call the count produced by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife implausibly high.
The potentially flawed population count comes from the Confederated Tribes of the Colvile Reservation who oversees wolf management on the reservation and surrounding lands where they retain hunting rights. This year the tribes reported an apparently large population increase among the wolves in their territory, and say they spotted 23 more adult wolves than the previous year. In addition, tribal hunters– the largest source of wolf mortality in the state– reported that they killed 22 wolves, up from the 10 killed in 2022.
Experts who attended commission meetings express conflicting views on the topic. Carter Niemeyer, a retired biologist who spent more than 20 years as a wolf specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies, says he would be shocked to see this kind of increase in numbers. However, during the commission’s meeting in June, Ben Maletzke, a current WDFW wolf specialist, said he has faith in the tribes’ work, and added that last year’s numbers may seem high but they only make up a small portion of the 15-year growth rate the state has tracked.
WX: Sun
And now for your Whatcom County weather:
Expect mostly sunny skies and temperatures hovering around the upper 70s for most of the day. There will be mild south-southwest winds with gusts up to 15 mph throughout. Nighttime temps will drop into the mid-high 50s, with mostly clear skies.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Jayne Kuhlman, Carlee Schram (CAR-lee SHR-am), Tristan Trudell, Kyler Cantrell, Ikumi Mashiko, Anna Vickers, and Theron (th-AIR-in) Danielson. Tune in to local news on KMRE weekdays at 3, 4 and 5 p.m. For news tips and feedback, send us an email at news@kmre.org or call 360-398-6150. KMRE is a nonprofit community radio station, powered by listener donations. Check out our Patreon page or go to kmre.org and click on the banner. I’m ________________, and thank you for listening.
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