Lynden man pleads guilty to sexual assault charges, Planning for New Whatcom County Jail facility begins, Planning for New Whatcom County Jail facility begins, Whatcom prison program adds two case members to staff, Dept of Transportation posts road guides to avoid summer construction, WSDOT introduces new colors to help keep drivers safe, Wildfire closes North Cascades Highway for foreseeable future, Boeing’s union Machinists gather at T-Mobile park to vote for strike authorization
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KMRE brings you local news for Thursday, July 18th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Lynden man pleads guilty to sexual assault charges
A Lynden man pleaded guilty on July 11th to two counts of third-degree rape.
21-year-old Nurlan Levi Varner was initially charged last year with one count of second-degree rape for assaulting a woman the day prior at his house. Varner was released a day later. While out on bail, he was formally charged with second-degree rape, second-degree assault, and felony harrassment by another victim. He was arrested on April 22nd and booked into Whatcom County Jail.
Two weeks later, on May 6th, Varner was formally charged in a third case. Varner allegedly met the third victim on a dating app in late February of 2023. According to court documents, the Whatcom County Prosecutor agreed to dismiss the April case in exchange for guilty pleas in the two other cases.
Varner is scheduled to be sentenced on August 22nd.
STORY: Planning for New Whatcom County Jail facility begins
Planning for the new Whatcom County jail facility is underway.
County officials and the Sheriff’s Office assembled yesterday at the County Emergency Management facility for a presentation given by two consultants from the National Institute of Corrections. Roger Lichtman and Dave Boucher work for the institute’s Planning of New Institutions program. According to Lichtman, the community should be clear about the purpose of any new facility.
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Lichtman and Boucher cited an example in the San Mateo County Correctional Facility in California, a jail with an open-concept day area and plenty of natural light coming from outside. They also noted how a nicer jail environment can be attractive to potential employees.
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The new jail will be paid with funds from a 0.2% sales tax hike in 2023, and is expected to open by 2028 at the earliest.
Story: Whatcom prison program adds two case members to staff
A Whatcom County prison diversion program will add two more case managers to their staff.
The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion/Let Everyone Advance with Dignity program – or LEAD – aims to prevent recidivism, reduce criminal behavior, improve public safety, and support long-term recovery for individuals with multiple low-level offenses.The two new intensive case manager positions, funded by a $420,000 grant from the Washington State Healthcare Authority, will allow LEAD to serve up to 170 participants, up from 140 as of this month.
According to county records, LEAD has helped decrease jail bookings by 83% and shown a 93% reduction in jail days for participants within a year of joining.
The new case managers are expected to start in October 2024.
STORY: Dept of Transportation posts road guides to avoid summer construction
Traffic this summer is expected to be worse than usual due to a high number of summer road construction projects.
The Washington State Department of Transportation posted a full list of this summer’s 93 different scheduled construction projects. According to the official Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) blog, the summer is when most road construction projects are done, as reliably dry weather is needed for concrete to fully cure.
The DOT also has a June-September calendar of major state events likely to affect summer traffic, and is updated as new events are announced. The calendar includes festivals from Bumbershoot to Watershed, concerts from Noah Kahan to Blink-182, and sports events such as the Mariners and Monster Trucks.
STORY: WSDOT introduces new colors to help keep drivers safe
If you see green and yellow flashing lights on the road don’t be alarmed – but please do pay attention.
The new green and yellow lights are simply one more way the State Department of Transportation is helping keep its crews and all travelers safe on the roads. In addition, red and white reflective warning stripes will be applied on the back of all roadway work vehicles. The red and white stripes are in an upside down “V” design. It’s another visual cue to be extra alert, slow down and give vehicles space to do their work safely.
The DOT is making these changes – both the lights and the stripes– based on new research by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and the Transportation Research Board. According to the research, the stripes and the lights changing between two colors helps people more easily see the vehicles – which is the entire goal. The green lights are also more visible in fog.
Last year, the total number of work zone crashes increased nearly 5 percent. Of those injured, 95 percent were not workers– but drivers, their passengers, and pedestrians.
STORY: Wildfire closes North Cascades Highway for foreseeable future
Several wildfires are burning in the Pacific Northwest – here’s the latest:
The North Cascades Highway – also known as Highway 20– east of Ross Lake is closed indefinitely due to a wildfire burning near the road, according to WSDOT (WASH-dot).
Yesterday evening, the road was closed between milepost 48 near the granite creek bridge and milepost 158, east of the rainy pass trailhead. According to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, the fire is referred to as the Easy Fire since it began burning near Easy Pass trailhead due to a lightning strike.
WSDOT (WASH-dot) says the fire is 0% contained–there is no estimate for reopening the road, and travelers are advised to take Highway 2 or Interstate 90 for cross-state travel.
Another fire – called the Falls Fire, located near Burns, Oregon – has burned over 90,000 acres and destroyed 23 structures since it began on July 10th, according to Falls Fire, an organization run by Oregon State in charge of tracking the fire. This fire is also 0% contained and those in North Harney County and some parts of South Grant County have Level 3 “go now” evacuation notices in effect.
The Falls Fire is one of 11 large wildfires burning in Oregon right now.
Lauren Melony, spokesperson for the Interagency Coordination Center, said Oregon has seen 22 large wildfires this year – nine more than the state had at this time in 2023.
STORY: Boeing’s union Machinists gather at T-Mobile park to vote for strike authorization
According to reporting from The Seattle Times, more than 20,000 Boeing machinists gathered at the Mariners home stadium for a strike authorization vote.
For the first time in 16 years, the machinists union and Boeing are negotiating an entirely new contract. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) are asking for higher pay and better retirement benefits, including restoring a pension plan that the union lost 10 years ago. They’re also seeking a commitment from Boeing that it will keep production work in Washington state. The union announced in a statement on Wednesday that the strike authorization vote is a precaution, in case negotiations stumble.
In a statement before the strike vote occurred, a Boeing representative said they were quote “confident we can reach a deal that balances the needs of our employees and the business realities we face as a company.” unquote.
If an agreement is not reached before the contract expires on September 12th, the IAM union members will vote again before walking out.
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And now for your Whatcom County weather:
Today will be slightly cooler than recent days, with highs in the upper 70s. Modest southwestern winds throughout the day, gusting up to 20 mph. Expect nighttime lows in the upper 50s.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Jayne Kuhlman (COOL-mun), Carlee Schram (CAR-lee SHRAM), Tristan Trudell, Kyler Cantrell, Ikumi Mashiko (ih-KOO-me muh-SHE-ko), Anna Vickers, and Theron (THAIR-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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