Everett, Wash., Oct. 29, 2009 — The owner of Master’s Touch Drywall pled guilty today to felony theft of sales tax and workers’ compensation fraud, and agreed to pay more than $2.1 million in restitution.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen J. Fair gave Mark D. Standley, 53, until May 5, 2010, to make nearly $1.5 million in restitution to the Department of Revenue and nearly $650,000 to the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). The restitution includes penalties and interest.

The judge indicated that the length of Standley’s sentence, which could be as much as nine and one-half years in prison, will depend on how much restitution he makes before his sentencing date.

Elma, WA - A Transit Bus collided with a School bus yesterday afternoon in East County, just before 4 pm at MP3 on the Elma McCleary Road an Elma School bus was stopped allowing it's last passenger, a 6 year old girl, to get off the bus when a Grays Harbor Transit bus was unable to come to a complete stop resulting in what Undersheriff Rick Scott described as a low-speed collision.

Scott said "no one was injured, there were four passengers on the transit bus plus the driver, and one passenger on the school bus plus the driver." Minor damage was reported to both vehicles, the driver of the Transit bus was cited for failure to stop for a stopped school bus.

Grays Harbor County, WA - The Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office responded to a missing person report on the Upper Donovan yesterday afternoon, where an 85 year old Westport Man and his 82 year old Wife had gone mushroom picking. The two became seperated when the man was able to get back to their vehicle and contact authorities.

Undersheriff Rick Scott said that they were able to locate the woman around 5:30 evening.Scott said this incident is a reminder "when you go out, whether it's hunting, or mushroom picking, or just out for a hike in the woods, you always got to go out there with the mindset that you may find yourself lost and unable to make it back" Scott said that Wednesday's outcome could have been far worse.

A three-month public comment period on a draft state wolf conservation and management plan has begun, and will include a dozen public meetings held by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

The meetings will take place from Oct. 20 through Nov. 10 at locations around the state. An earlier schedule of meetings, posted on WDFW’s website, has been revised to allow more time for public review of the draft plan.

The draft plan is the preferred alternative among four presented in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), as required by the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The DEIS and draft wolf plan are available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildlife/management/gray_wolf/. Desk copies of the DEIS will be available at WDFW regional offices and public libraries by Oct. 9. Those unable to view or download the DEIS on the website can request paper or compact disc copies by calling (360) 902-2515.

Comments can be submitted through Jan. 8 electronically at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildlife/management/gray_wolf/mgmt_plan.html, by FAX to (360) 902-2946, or by U.S. Mail to: WDFW SEPA Desk, 600 Capitol Way N. Olympia, WA 98501-1091.