Mega Millions pot stands at $252 million
The grand prize in the Mega Millions lottery has climbed to $252 million, and the next chance to win is Tuesday.
North Olympic Peninsula retailers — and others throughout the state — reported a surge in buyers of sweet dreams for a buck a ticket on Friday.
But nobody beat the odds of 175,711,536 to 1 to win the $207 million grand prize, or the second-best offering of $250,000 in Friday’s drawing.
So the pot expands, with the next draw at 8 p.m. Tuesday for a prize that offers a cash option of $159.2 million.
Billed as “America’s biggest jackpot game,” Mega Millions is a 12-state consortium, administered in Washington by the state lottery commission.
The pot having passed the $250 million mark will mean “tens of millions” in revenue for the state, said Jacque Coe, Washington’s Lottery communication director.
The Mega Millions is drawn twice a week. If there is no winning number, the jackpot continues to grow, with the amount dependent upon sales.
Ridge Road open
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Hurricane Ridge remained open during daylight hours on Saturday.
The only road to the sights at the top of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park reopened Wednesday after a landslide caused a three-day closure.
The 17-mile road — which is usually open 24 hours daily during the summer — is opening at 8 a.m. and closing at 9 p.m. each day, with the uphill gate — for traffic traveling up to the ridge — closing at 8:30 p.m.
That schedule will stay in place for so long as the slow-motion landslide about 4 miles south of Heart o’ the Hills campground remains active.
The road also could close unexpectedly if the rock slide worsens.
A short gravel detour leads traffic around the slide, with flaggers directing traffic.
When Hurricane Ridge Road is closed, access is blocked by a locked gate at Heart o’ the Hills campground 5 miles south of Port Angeles.
Recorded updates on the condition of Hurricane Ridge Road are available on the park’s 24-hour hot line at 360-565-3131.
Probe continues
A State Patrol investigation into a wreck involving a trooper on U.S. Highway 101 last week is continuing, an agency spokeswoman said Saturday.
Trooper Casey Corey was attempting to pass a car on Highway 101 on Aug. 15 while answering an emergency call when his patrol car hit a 1994 Ford Escort while the driver was making a left turn onto Holland Drive. Both cars were traveling north about 12 miles east of Sequim.
The driver of the Escort, Clarissa Granger, 29, of Port Townsend was treated for minor injuries and discharged from Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton that day.
An investigation has been in progress since, said Trooper Krista Hedstrom, State Patrol spokeswoman.
“This will take time,” she said. “We have a lot of people to interview.”
Results of the investigation will be sent to the State Patrol Office of Professional Standards to be reviewed, she said.
If the trooper is found to be at fault, then either disciplinary action or re-training will result, she added.
The trooper continues to work on patrol in East Jefferson County.
Accused shooter faces trial
PORT ANGELES — A man accused of shooting into a crowd during an early morning brawl Aug. 16 will face trial next month.
Donald J. Turner, 35, of Seattle pleaded not guilty to a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree Friday in Clallam County Superior Court.
His trial will begin Oct. 14 and last for two weeks.
Turner, a convicted felon, has been released from the Clallam County jail on a $75,000 bail.
He is accused of firing four shots with a semi-automatic handgun at a friend of a man he was fighting with outside the New Peking China Restaurant, 2614 E. U.S. Highway 101.
That man, Jesse Banks, attempted to stop the fight, according to court documents.
No one was injured in the shooting that took place at about 1:45 a.m.
The only casualty is believed to have been a tire on a truck that appeared to have been hit by one of the stray bullets.
Trial date set
PORT ANGELES — A 34-year-old man accused of attempting to shoot a woman will be tried Sept. 19.
Benjamin J. Sinclair of Port Angeles pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree assault with a firearm last week.
Sinclair allegedly pulled a gun on a woman and attempted to shoot her several times on Aug. 16 after the two had “exchanged blows” through his car window while he sat in the vehicle at 1308 E. Front St., according to court documents.
The loaded gun did not fire, a police probable cause statement said.
Sinclair’s attorney argued Friday that he was trying to protect his wife and three children who were with him in the car.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $50,000 fine if convicted.
Sinclair was released from the Clallam County jail on $25,000 bail Friday.
He is required to wear an electronic monitoring device, and must stay at his home from 9 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. each day.
Grays Harbor workshop
ABERDEEN — A workshop to update oil-spill response strategies for Grays Harbor is planned Tuesday.
The state Department of Ecology and the Coast Guard will conduct the workshop from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Aberdeen Timberland Library, 121 E. Market St., Aberdeen.
The workshop will give citizens, resource managers, spill response contractors and oil-industry representatives the opportunity to help the state and federal response agencies identify any new information that might make the geographic response plan strategies for Grays Harbor more effective.
For more information, contact Todd Hass, 360-407-6396 or thas461@ecy.wa.gov, or visit Ecology’s Web site at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/preparedness/GRP/GRPWorkshop.htm.
