PORT ANGELES - You don't want to be stuck by a used syringe, but you don't want to be stuck with one, either. Clallam County health officials offer this sharp solution: If you use syringes to control diabetes, allergies or other medical symptoms, deposit them in an empty 2-liter soft drink bottle. When it's full, toss it out with your other trash. Clallam County commissioners Monday considered another way to dispose of needles: Syringe exchanges that are in place in Port Angeles and next month could open in Forks. [continues 512 words]
PORT ANGELES -- A panel of middle-aged jurors Monday entered Port Angeles' shadow world of homelessness, methamphetamine and, ultimately, a 15-year-old girl's slaying. They listened as Clallam County Prosecutor Deb Kelly outlined the state's case against Robert Gene Covarrubias, accused of murdering Melissa Leigh Carter. Her nude body was found Dec. 26, 2004, in a vine-shrouded hollow above the Waterfront Trail, about 600 feet east of the Red Lion Hotel. Kelly and public defender Harry Gasnick made opening statements in the Clallam County Superior Court of Judge George Wood. [continues 162 words]
Acting City Manager Steve LeBlanc has suggested random drug testing for some city employees. The City Council should view this proposal skeptically. Every action by a government body must pass two tests: The benefits must exceed the costs, and the action must be justified in light of government's unique power to compel. Unlike a private entity, government can sieze assets and restrict liberty, within the limits set by the Constitution. The rationalization for drug testing is that users of illegal drugs are more likely than non-users to have accidents, or commit crimes on the job -- though there is little evidence of this. [continues 304 words]
