ASTORIA, Ore. - The Coast Guard medically evacuated a 38-year-old man from a 58-foot fishing vessel 35 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash., Tuesday.

The crew of the fishing vessel Melissa Lynn contacted the Coast Guard at approximately 8 a.m. to request assistance for Lawrence Lorton of Hoquiam, Wash., who had injured his hand.

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria and a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Grays Harbor responded to the scene.

The helicopter crew conducted a successful hoist of the injured man and transported him to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, Ore.

Grays Harbor Raceway located at the fairgrounds in Elma will host its first two day event of the year, this Saturday and Sunday Nights, as the ASCS Northwest Region 360 Sprint Cars along with the Triple X Ford Focus Midgets are here to kick off Memorial Day Weekend.

The best 360 Sprint Drivers in the Northwest, as well as some of the top California drivers will be on hand this weekend. Leading the way will be Medford's Roger Crockett, a many time 360 Sprint Car Champion in the Northwest.  After round one in Medford, California's Steven Tiner and Washington's Mitch Olson are tied for the top spot with 288 points, in third position is another California driver Andy Gregg from Placerville with 284 points, followed by Jared Ridge from Snohomish with 280 points and local hot shoe Henry Van Dam from Enumclaw with 274 points.

OLYMPIA - The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is urging people to be extra careful with fire this Memorial Day Weekend. Wildfire season has just begun here in Washington, and there have already been over seventy small wildfires across the state.  

During holiday weekends, public lands tend to be a favorite destination for people looking for outdoor recreation opportunities. "Whether you are hiking or riding on DNR-managed lands, please be safe and use caution around fire," said Peter Goldmark, Commissioner of Public Lands.

 Grays Harbor received confirmation of its first report of A/SWH1 - or "swine flu" - late Wednesday.  The 14-year-old Hoquiam resident was ill in early May and has since recovered.  The child was tested by a local physician and it took about one week for the test results to be confirmed. 

The child was kept out of school during most of the illness, which will help decrease the risk of exposure.   "There is no need to close schools at this point ," said Dr. John Bausher, local health officer. "This continues to be a mild illness, like regular influenza, and we do not close schools for that. Parents of all school aged children are advised to keep children home if they have a fever or other signs of illness."

Local health officials stress that this case report was very much expected. New counties have been added to the map of known places for the new flu in recent days, as the state's count has risen.  To date, the state lab has received 1651 samples and tested 1312. Of these, 493 have been positive.  The virus has been reported in 15 counties, counting Grays Harbor, but the number of counties are expected to increase, as samples are submitted from around the state. The majority of cases have been in King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties.

The Grays Harbor County Fair has announced that David Cassidy has canceled his scheduled appearance at the 2009 Grays Harbor County Fair.  Mr. Cassidy has accepted a movie offer, which conflicts with his appearance at the 2009 Grays Harbor County Fair.  All of Mr. Cassidy's August concert dates have been cancelled. 

"We are saddened at this latest development, as David Cassidy had a very loyal following," states Rod Easton, Grays Harbor County Fair & Event Supervisor.  "These things happen, but we are going to do all we can to make sure his fans either get a prompt refund, or the opportunity to utilize their tickets for our new Wednesday night performance, the Little River Band." 

The Little River Band will be performing on the Pepsi stage Wednesday night, August 5^th at 8 pm, the time slot that David Cassidy was set to perform in.  Golden Circle tickets for the Little River Band are $30, which includes fair admission.  During the band's career,  the Little River Band  sold more than 25 million records and scored 13 American Top 40 hits, including Lonesome Loser, Take It Easy On Me, Reminising, and Cool Change.