Due to Loggers Playday festivities, the Hoquiam Police Department is enforcing some new rules for the weekend of September 6th and 7th.

The State Patrol has ended its investigation into the deaths of Elma's Rodney Rowe and Miles Zepp.  The two men were killed in a collision on State Route 12 last December. 

State education officials say 628 schools and 57 districts are failing to meet federal guidelines for adequate yearly program. That's about twice as many schools and twice as many districts as missed the mark in 2007.  In Grays Harbor, the Aberdeen and Elma School Districts fell short of federal guidelines.  Individual schools on the list included the J.M Weatherwax High School, Hoquiam High School, Elma High School, Lake Quinault High School and six other Grays Harbor schools. 

For a complete list of schools, click HERE.

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake off Vancouver Island is the latest in a swarm that started Monday, but a Canadian scientist says it's normal activity for the region and was not strong enough to generate a tsunami.

The Aberdeen City Council has approved the first reading of an ordinance to increase sewer and water rates by 4.5-percent with the funds going to improvements and repairs to the city streets.  However the vote was far from unanimous, with four of the 11 council members voting against the measure which will mean an average increase of $3.80 per month until December of 2012.

Grays Harbor County Emergency Management will test the county's All Hazard Alert Broadcast System on Monday, September 1st at noon.  The first Monday of the month test is a drill and residents are asked not to call 911 as it takes time away from actual emergency responses.

The Tuesday morning Drug Task Force raid in South Aberdeen appears to have uncovered a large scale distribution site for prescription medications.

Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of the summer holidays and there will be a plethora of barbecue's, parties and family gatherings after which impaired drivers may begin hitting the road.  Be warned: extra troopers will be out looking for you.  The State Patrol says two extra troopers will be out on the Grays Harbor roadways, while two additional troopers will hit the roads of Pacific and Wahkaiakum counties.  Speeding and impaired driving are the leading causes of traffic fatalities.

The State Attorney General's office and the AARP are hosting a community forum on identity theft and a shredathon, scheduled for September 11th.  Lemay Mobile Shredding will destroy papers for consumers and small businesses at no charge at the Aberdeen Senior Center parking lot from 11:30 to 2 PM and a presentation on how to prevent identity theft will take place from noon to 1:30.

An early morning raid by the Grays Harbor Drug Task Force led to the arrest of eight people at a suspected drug house on the 200-block of West Lovett in South Aberdeen.  County Sheriff Sergeant Keith Fouts says the raid was the result of a months long investigation.  This is not the first time the house has been the center of DTF attention.  Fouts says arrests were made at the residence in March.

In this case, preserving a memory is more important than development.  The Hoquiam City Council has voted down a request to build townhouses on the site of a park named in memory of a young boy killed in the 1980's.

To hear the story, click HERE.

The Hoquiam Public Safety Committee is examining the possibility of moving the city's district court out of City Hall to a new location in the old Senior Center building on the corner of "L" and 8th Street.

Calling it one of the most important economic moves in some time, the Grays Harbor County Commissioners have signed off on a $3-million loan to construct the Hogans Corner Regional Water System.

51% of Grays Harbor voters cast ballots in the August 19th primary election.  The number surpassed the 45-46% predicted by County Auditor Vern Spatz and was also above the state prediction of 46% forecast by Secretary of State Sam Reed.  Through Monday, 17,917 ballots have been cast (51.4%).  The next vote tally is scheduled for the afternoon of Wednesday, August 27th.

To hear reaction from Auditor Vern Spatz, click HERE.

Terry Willis (28%) and Ken Estes (23%) are all but guaranteed of moving on to the general election to battle for the County Commission, Position One race.  Both maintained their leads after the third vote tally on Monday afternoon.  In the Grays Harbor PUD, Pos. 3 race, challenger Russ Skolrood (42%) passed incumbent Jim Eddy (41%) for the lead.  Both are assured a spot on the November 4th ballot.

For complete Grays Harbor election results, click HERE.

A day hike turned into an overnight exhibition complete with search and rescue for a Virginia man.

The victim of a home burglary decided to exact his own manner of payback on the men who allegedly robbed his home.

The addition of 3000 ballots did little to change the standings in the two primary election races needing to be trimmed for November.  Ken Estes, Terry Willis, Jim Eddy and Russ Skolrood all maintainted their leads.  Over 3000 more ballots will be added to totals on Monday.

For the latest local election totals, click HERE.

It's a sad and tragic end to the story of Cecil Calabres. The 67 year old Hoquiam man who was involved in a 12 hour stand off with police on Sunday, reportedly shot and killed himself inside his residence in Hoquiam on Thursday.

After the election night tally, Terry Willis and Ken Estes are the top two vote getters in the County Commission, Position One race.  The two candidates took in 28% and 22% of the tally respectively while Phil Papac holds third with 16% and Chuck Klinger fourth with 15%).  Chris Crew (7%), Buck Carter (6%) and Earl Hari (3%) round out the field of seven candidates vying to replace the outgoing Bob Beerbower.

In the Grays Harbor PUD, District Three race, incumbent Jim Eddy holds a narrow lead over Russ Skolrood, 42%-to-40%.  Ray Brown finished a distant third with 16%.

The tally comes from 10,718 ballots, representing a 31% voter turnout.  The next tally of ballots will be on Friday afternoon.

For a complete list of local results, click HERE.

For a complete list of statewide results, click HERE.

It's election day in Washington as the voter approved top two primary gets it's first tryout.  Grays Harbor Elections Supervisor Julie Murphy reminds those voters casting late ballots that sooner is better when dropping your ballot in the mailbox.

The Grays Harbor County Commissioners have approved negotiations with the International Code Council to provide an audit of the Grays Harbor Building Department.

One of the candidates for the Grays Harbor County Commission Position One seat is suing the county's Director of Public Services.  Candidate Chris Crew says Public Services Director Paul Easter violated his right to free speech.

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff says they have probable cause to announce that Kenneth Hutchinson's death was homicide and that his longtime girlfriend Sherry Hamm is responsible for his death.

A man who reportedly fired a shot at his daughter during an argument was arrested by Hoquiam police officers on Sunday morning following a 12-hour standoff.

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed sits down with KXRO's Ian Cope to discuss the top-two primary, voter registration and the 2008 elections.

To hear the entire interview, click HERE.

A stinky mess in Aberdeen on Thursday.  Aberdeen Fire reports that a dumptruck filled with treated sewage sludge spilled half it load on the eastside of the Heron Street Bridge just before noon.

Routine maintenance to preserve the US 101 Riverside Bridge requires bridge openings and single-lane closures next week. 

The case of a missing Hoquiam man has ended in sadness as the body of William Holter was found on Wednesday on a secluded logging road in Jefferson County.

Dental records have confirmed that the remains found beneath a trailer in Grayland are those of Kenneth Hutchinson.  Undersheriff Rick Scott says the 62-year old had been missing for several days and that his death is being treated as a homicide.  In addition, Hutchinson's longtime girlfriend Sherry Hamm has turned herself in to Clark County authorities in Vancouver on a Pacific County warrant.

The Grays Harbor PUD plans to conduct a planned power outage from 6pm until approximately Midnight on Thursday, August 14, 2008. The outage is necessary for crews to work to convert an overhead line to underground from the Southshore road to Amanda Park, improving system reliability.

The Aberdeen City Council has delayed passing a rate increase that would help fund badly needed repairs to the city streets.  The storm water and solid waste utilities increase of four and a half percent came before the council for its first reading on Wednesday night, but due to the lack of language addressing the length of time that the increase would be in effect, was tabled by the council.

After eight months on negotiations, the Aberdeen police officers have a new contract.  One night after union members voted to approve the agreement, the Aberdeen City Council voted to pass the three year contract that City Attorney Eric Nelson says will provide an across the board boost in pay for officers of 12-percent over the life of the contract.

An autopsy will be carried out late today on the human remains found beneath a trailer at a Grayland trailer park on Monday evening.  Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott says x-rays yesterday confirmed that the decomposing remains were human and that authorities are still attempting to learn the identity of the deceased.  Scott says the x-ray also shows some level of dismemberment, but the extent of it is unknown at this time.

The Bush administration has decided that the northern spotted owl can get by with less old growth forest habitat as it struggles to get off the threatened species list.

The City of Hoquiam is examining the possibility of becoming one of the first cities in Grays Harbor to have its own Emergency Operations Center.

The Grays Harbor County Commissioners have voted to extend the moratorium on development of the Wildcat Creek Aquifer north and west of McCleary for six months.

A flurry of complaints concerning code interpretation and decisions by the Grays Harbor County Building Department has led to the department putting itself under review.

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff has determined that remains found beneath a trailer in Grayland are human.  The remains were found under a trailer in Grayland, wrapped in plastic.

In the Grays Harbor County Fair’s five-day run, 59,959 patrons passed through the gates in Elma, setting a new record. The total represented an increase of 2,935 from last year’s total and easily surpassed the old record on 59,670 set in 2006.

A South Bend man and an Oakville woman were killed in separate accidents in Thurston and Pacific County on Friday and Saturday.

Grays Harbor PUD plans to conduct a planned power outage from 6pm until approximately Midnight on Thursday, August 14, 2008. The outage is necessary for crews to work to convert an overhead line to underground from the Southshore road to Amanda Park, improving system reliability.

His name is synonymous with news in Grays Harbor, but after wearing many journalistic hats, John Hughes is calling it a career.  After 50 years with the Daily World, the editor and publisher has announced that he is retiring.

A record setting day at the Grays Harbor County Fair as 17,326 people passed through the gates in Elma on Thursday, shattering the day's record of 12,623 set in 2006.

A California company has agreed to buy LeMay Enterprises, the company that provides garbage and recycling services in Grays Harbor, Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties. LeMay is one of the largest privately owned solid waste services company in the Northwest with annual revenue of about $100 million. It has about 240 employees, 60 of which work in Grays Harbor.

To hear the story, click HERE.

Faulty equipment is being blamed for service problems that continue with the Pacific County 911 Center.  Service problems including dropped calls and phantom calls on multiple communications center lines began on July 8th and have been continuing to occur as recently as Tuesday morning.

The City of Hoquiam is weighing it's options concerning the Northern Retriever.  Long the bane of city code enforcement officers, the derelict vessel was towed out of Hoquiam to Aberdeen waters over the weekend, seemingly taking the vessel out of the cities jurisdiction.  However, City Administrator Brian Shay says the city still has jurisdiction over the 194 foot boat and will not give up the fight that easily.

The Associated Press reports that Weyerhaeuser is cutting 1,500 jobs at the Federal Way headquarters where about 2,500 people currently work.  The layoffs will take place by the end of next year.

Negotiations between Weyerhaeuser and Evergreen Pulp have hit some stumbling blocks, but are not dead.  That word from Evergreen spokesperson Rex Bohn who says at this point the negotiations have not been called off, but have encountered some roadblocks; in this case an impasse involving access issues.

Three groups of wildlife scientists say the Bush administration's latest plan for saving the northern spotted owl from extinction doesn't go far enough.  The plan tries to balance the bird's fate with allowing a boost in old growth logging.

Halfway threw a competition to fund new windows and things are not looking good for the Westport Lighthouse.  The over 100 year old building is one of 12 finalists to have it's windows replaced by the Jeld-Wen Company which is sponsoring the on-line contest to find the most reliable lighthouse in the country.