MYEVERETTNEWS.com

The Rest Area closed last month. The weigh station is still in use by WSDOT.

Travelers who frequently use rest areas along Interstate 5 between Everett and the Canadian border will need to plan for long-term closures, beginning Friday, Oct. 15.

The Washington State Department of Transportation closed the southbound I-5 Silver Lake Rest Area, located at milepost 188 in Everett, for maintenance work and cleaning on Sept. 24. This closure will be extended indefinitely.

In addition, rest areas located on northbound and southbound I-5 at Smokey Point north of Marysville and at Custer north of Bellingham, will close for at least three months beginning Friday, Oct. 15.

“The decision to close these rest areas is not taken lightly,” said Morgan Balogh, WSDOT assistant regional administrator for Maintenance. “Our priority is keeping the roadway safe for all users and we need to shift our resources moving into the winter months.”

The rest areas are useful for people who need to take a break from the highway. However, in recent months, there have been numerous issues with some visitors who are not using the facilities for their intended purpose. This includes those who extend their stay beyond the posted limits, illegal disposal of trash and waste, vandalizing the buildings, verbally abusing and even threatening WSDOT employees.

The dump stations for recreational vehicles will remain closed at Silver Lake and in both directions at Smokey Point. The agency is working to open access for the RV dump stations at the northbound I-5 Smokey Point Rest Area in the next few weeks. Neither of the Custer Rest Areas have dump stations.

WSDOT will reevaluate reopening all rest area facilities early next year and will make a decision based on crew and resource availability.

It started Friday afternoon around 1:30 PM with a few dozen and grew to hundreds by the time first shift was over. An exuberant crowd demonstrated against the Boeing Company’s December 8th vaccine mandate.

The crowd filled the sidewalk in front of the IAM 751 Union Hall on Airport Road and in front of the employee parking entrance across the street. On Tuesday. the company announced the vaccine mandate to comply with President’s Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination plan.

Boeing employees in Everett, Washington and other locations in the United States have to either show proof of being fully vaccinated from COVID-19 or have an approved reasonable accommodation by the 8th of December.

Today IAM District 751, the Union that represents a majority of Everett factory workers, put out a statement advising they are against the mandate and will work to bargain with the company. Here’s an excerpt:

A vaccine mandate puts members in the untenable position to choose between their beliefs or losing their jobs. We are not anti-vaccine, but we disagree with a vaccine mandate. We don’t believe that is right.

We began hearing this week about potential walkouts or wildcat strikes. We want to be clear. The Union cannot encourage a wildcat strike, withholding our labor, a sick out or walk out in any form, due to the no strike/no lockout clause in our contract.

You can read the full statement here.

Here are some MyEverettNews.com photos of the folks demonstrating and signs displayed Friday afternoon. Click photo to enlarge.

Copy of scanner image provided by SCSO.

The .25 caliber semi-auto handgun is small but deadly. Photo provided by SCSO

On Wednesday, October 13, at approximately 9 a.m. a 30-year-old woman was being booked into the Snohomish County Jail for suspicion of DUI and was found with a loaded semi-automatic handgun hidden in her abdomen.

During the booking process the woman arrestee was placed into a Tek84 Body Scanner, which is used to identify and reduce the instances of contraband entering the facility. The resulting body scanner image revealed the outline of a small semi-automatic handgun hidden between folds of flesh in the woman’s abdomen.

Corrections deputies quickly alerted other team members and the subject was immediately handcuffed while the handgun was made safe and secured in a weapons locker outside the secure area of the jail. The firearm was later identified as a loaded Colt 25 caliber semi-automatic handgun.

Washington State Patrol (WSP) was contacted, responded back to the jail, interviewed the subject, and then booked the 30-year-old woman on an additional charge of Possession of a Weapon by a Prisoner, a class C felony. The handgun was removed from the jail’s property by WSP.

Funding for the new Tek84 Body Scanner was approved by Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers last year and has been in use at the Snohomish County Jail since January of this year. The Tek84 Scanner provides an additional layer of security for the jail and helps keep both employees and inmates safe while inside the Corrections Facility.

The woman surrendered to officers shortly after 5 PM after an hours-long standoff at an apartment house on Grand Avenue.

According to probable cause paperwork filed by Everett Police, shortly before 9:30 AM Wednesday a woman was arguing with a man in the parking lot of the Safeway store near 110th and 19th Avenue SE in the Silver Lake area of south Everett. The report says the man tried to drive away and the woman pointed a .380 caliber pistol and shot out the rear driver’s side tire of the man’s car.

The man drove north from the store on 19th Avenue SE in the left lane and the woman drove up in the right lane and fired at the man’s car with the bullet striking the passenger door. She then reportedly drove away and the man contacted the police telling officers he thought she was trying to kill him.

Around 10 AM Everett PD patrol officers located the woman’s car at a multi-unit complex on Grand Avenue. They were able to make phone contact with the woman who refused to come out o the unit. For the next 7 hours police worked on de-escalation and shortly after 5 PM the woman came out of the apartment and surrendered to officers. She was booked into the Snohomish County Jail. There were no people physically injured in the incident.

The dispute had been going on for more than 7 years.

Firefighter Agreement with City of Everett

Below is the view of the first three points of the agreement to provide some context.

This is an agreement (“Agreement”) between Michael W. Weaver and his marital community, Amy Weaver, (referred to in this agreement as “you”), and the City of Everett (referred to in this agreement as the “City,” “us,” or “we”). This Agreement is dated for reference purposes the ___ day of September, 2021, which is the date we delivered this Agreement to you for your consideration. The terms of this Agreement are contingent on approval by the City of Everett City Council.

RECITALS

Whereas, Michael W. Weaver was employed by the City of Everett Fire Department beginning in 1996;

Whereas, in 2011 Michael W. Weaver was diagnosed with melanoma on his upper scapula, and following diagnosis, Michael W. Weaver made an occupational disease claim against the City of Everett under RCW 51 et seq.;

Whereas, during that claim Michael W. Weaver was represented by Ron Meyers and Associates and following a hearing, on February 11, 2013, the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals determined that Mr. Weaver’s condition, diagnosed as melanoma, did not arise naturally and proximately out of the distinctive conditions of his employment with the City of Everett Fire Department, the statutory presumption of RCW 51.32.185 had been rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence, his melanoma was not an occupational disease under RCW 51.08.140, and the Department of Labor and Industries correctly rejected the claim;

Whereas, in January 2014, Michael W. Weaver received a diagnosis of malignant melanoma, after his medical team discovered that he had metastatic brain cancer originating from his prior melanoma;

Whereas, Michael W. Weaver filed a second occupational disease claim with the City of Everett under RCW 51 et seq., alleging that his malignant melanoma was the result of his employment with the City of Everett;

Whereas, the above-referenced malignant melanoma claim became the subject of extended litigation between Weaver and the City, culminating in the decision of the Washington Supreme Court in Weaver v. City of Everett, 194 Wn.2d 464, 450 P.3d 177 (2019), in which the Supreme Court determined that Mr. Weaver’s second malignant melanoma claim was not foreclosed by the rejection of his originating melanoma claim;

Whereas, since the time of the Supreme Court decision, Weaver and the City have endeavored to resolve all disputes between them since, on the one hand, Mr. Weaver believes and continues to assert that his malignant melanoma was the result of exposures which occurred during his employment by the City of Everett, and the City of Everett has continued to assert that Mr. Weaver’s malignant melanoma was not related to any exposures which occurred while Mr. Weaver was working for the City of Everett, and

Whereas, as a result of further discussions between Weaver and the City, and in the spirit of compromise, the parties now seek to resolve all disputes of any kind, past, present or future, by the settlement agreement which follows.

AGREEMENT

1. Settlement Request. On December 19, 2019, you requested that the City consider settling your appeal from the Department’s rejection of Claim No. SH-28667, BIIA Docket No. 15-19203, presently pending in Snohomish County Superior Court under Superior Court Cause No. 16-2-02373-6 following the Supreme Court’s Mandate on November 14, 2019. Other than this referenced claim and appeal, you warrant by this agreement that no claims or charges have been filed with any state or federal agency or court pertaining to the claim or your employment with the City. You also warrant by this agreement that you have no conditions for which a workers’ compensation claim for an industrial injury or occupational disease could be filed that have not already been filed and passed upon by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

2. Payment. In exchange for your agreement to release all claims and other terms in this Agreement, including the Stipulated Judgment, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order, attached as Exhibit A, we will make a settlement payment to you in the amount of $1,200,000.00 (One million two hundred thousand U.S. Dollars and No U.S. Cents). In exchange for your agreement to not seek future employment with the City, we will make a settlement payment to you in the amount of $250.00 (Two hundred fifty U.S. Dollars and No U.S. Cents) less standard withholding and without award of attorneys’ fees or costs. The $1,200,000.00 Settlement Payment will be made in two parts. The first payment of $600,000.00 (Six hundred thousand U.S. Dollars and No U.S. Cents) will be made within thirty-five (35) calendar days of (a) Everett City Council approval of this Agreement, or (b) within thirty-five (35) calendar days of the 8th day after execution of the Agreement, or (c) within thirty-five (35) calendar days the Snohomish County Superior Court entry of the Stipulated Judgment, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order in Superior Court Cause No. 16-2-02373-6, whichever is later made payable to the “Keane Law Offices Trust Account f/b/o Michael W. Weaver.”

The second payment of $600,000.00 (Six hundred thousand U.S. Dollars and No U.S. Cents will be made no later than 180 (one hundred eighty) days after the first payment is made and made payable to the “Keane Law Offices Trust Account f/b/o Michael W. Weaver.” You acknowledge that we are not obligated to make these payments to you, your survivors, or your estate unless you agree to the terms in this Agreement, or if you revoke this Agreement per the terms below.

3. Settlement Compromise. The Parties hereto have been engaged in the claim and litigation process for over seven years. Nothing about the past contests between the parties, nor this Agreement, should be interpreted to mean that either party has admitted, or conceded, that the factual, medical, and/or legal position of the other party is correct, or has been adjudicated in favor of the other party. In fact, both parties hereto continue to maintain that their factual, medical, and legal positions are correct, and that the factual, medical and legal positions of the other party are incorrect, and without merit. The parties have simply agreed to resolve their dispute applying tort law principles.

FN-303 Mk2. Photo from FNHerstal website.

The projectiles can be filled with marking paint or irritant. Photo from FNHerstal website.

The Everett Police Department had four 40mm less-than-lethal launchers assigned to the patrol division, four 40mm less-than-lethal launchers assigned to the Special Operations Group, and three 37mm less-than-lethal launchers assigned to the Tactical team (SWAT), all of which were required to be taken out of service pursuant to RCW 10.116.040.

To mitigate the effects of RCW 10.116.040, the Everett Police Department purchased five FN-303 compressed air less-than-lethal launchers.

The FN-303, manufactured by FN America utilizes compressed air to deliver .68 caliber projectiles. The fin-stabilized projectiles deliver optimum accuracy with maximum effectiveness and safety. Officers can quickly change from inert, marking, impact or irritant projectiles, with a clear view of the projectile type and remaining count in the magazine.

As opposed to the 40mm less-than-lethal launcher, these projectiles are not considered military equipment because they are not a firearm as defined by RCW due to the mechanism that the projectile is deployed is from compressed air. It has a top mounted MIL-STD-1913 rail for optical or electronic sights or other accessories. It is accurate at distances up to 50 meters.

Four of the less-than-lethal launchers are assigned to the patrol division and one launcher is assigned to SWAT. Four types of projectiles were purchased, two for training and two for field use. The two types of projectiles intended for field use are a yellow indelible paint, direct impact marking round and a pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA) powder projectile. The PAVA powder is a synthetic capsaicinoid, similar to naturally derived OC.

The Everett Police Department is seeking to receive grant funds passed through the Department of Commerce by the United States Department of Justice to purchase twelve additional FN-303 compressed air less-than-lethal launchers. Four of the launchers are to be allocated to the Special Operations Group, as a replacement for the four 40mm launchers that were removed from service due to RCW 10.116.040.

The remaining eight compressed air less-than-lethal launchers are to be allocated to the patrol division. The addition of eight less-than-lethal launchers assigned to the patrol division would enable eight more officers per shift the ability to utilize long range less-than-lethal equipment, reducing the likelihood of officers having to use close range equipment, and enabling them to comply with the requirements set forth in RCW 10.120.020 to use de-escalation tactics which include increasing the distance between themselves and the individual upon whom force is being used.

The total amount of less-than-lethal launchers available to the patrol division would be twelve, which is the minimum number of officers working during the day shift. Eight additional compressed air less-than-lethal launchers also assists the Everett Police Department in fulfilling the requirements of 10.120.020 which mandates that less-than-lethal alternatives are made reasonably available to police officers.

The Everett Police Department would prefer to have a compressed air less-than-lethal launcher available to every officer, and this proposal is scalable to reach that goal, but is only requesting to receive grant funds to purchase twelve additional compressed air less-than-lethal FN-303 launchers at this time.