Northwest Digest
Man charged with assault in Valley
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JUNEAU - A Juneau man was arrested on charges of third- and fourth-degree felony assault Friday after being accused of attacking a woman in an apartment complex in the Mendenhall Valley.
Rafael Lopez, 32, was lodged at Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
According to police, a woman said at 2 p.m. Friday that an acquaintance had assaulted her over a period of time and placed his hands over her throat to restrict her airway. She told police she never lost consciousness.
An officer found her with bruises and cuts about her face and body. The woman, whose age was unavailable, was transported to Bartlett Regional Hospital for an evaluation.
Man arrested on felony assault charge
JUNEAU - A Juneau man was arrested on a charge of third-degree felony assault Friday evening after being accused of fighting with a woman in an apartment complex in Lemon Creek.
Lincoln Bean, 35, was lodged at Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
According to police, Bean was accused of punching and trying to strangle a 43-year-old woman.
Disabled freighter drifting in Aleutians
ANCHORAGE - A 554-foot freighter was disabled and drifting Tuesday about 180 miles northeast of Attu Island in far southwestern Alaska.
The Coast Guard in Juneau said it received a call from the freighter Monday night reporting that both engines had quit and asking for assistance.
The Thai-flagged freighter was on its way from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Japan when the problem arose. It is carrying 28,000 tons of copper concentrate.
Lt. Herbert Law, with the Coast Guard Command Center in Juneau, said the freighter was in no immediate distress. He said there are 24 people on board.
Plans called for sending a C-130 airplane and a Coast Guard cutter to the freighter.
Law said the ship's owners and insurance underwriters also are arranging for a commercial tug.
Yellowstone hit by magnitude 3.6 quake
SALT LAKE CITY - A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck Yellowstone National Park late Sunday, causing no injuries or damage, authorities said.
The University of Utah Seismograph Stations says the earthquake was followed by 13 aftershocks ranging up to 2.4 in magnitude.
The epicenter of the shock was a dozen miles northeast of West Yellowstone, Mont., and 4.2 miles deep. It was recorded at 8:29 p.m. Sunday.
Earthquakes in Yellowstone are fairly common, but seismologists said the 3.6-magnitude quake was a little stronger than usual. Quakes of magnitude 3.0 or larger have happened only 28 times in the greater Yellowstone park area in past 35 years.
Yellowstone is one of the most seismically active regions in the continental United States and absorbs hundreds of quakes occur each year.
Loan keeps unique animal shelter open
DENVER - The 300 or so emus, turkeys, pigs, horses, peacocks and other animals that live at the Creative Acres sanctuary will get to stay home for the holidays - and longer.
Maxine Mager, who runs the 44-acre free-roam shelter about 40 miles northeast of Denver, got a loan to keep her charges from being uprooted. They had faced moving because the property was in foreclosure.
Many of Mager's animals were abandoned or left behind when their owners died. Some were abused or dumped when they became troublesome, including a sheep considered too aggressive. Mager figured out the sheep ran into people because it was blind.