Briefly

I-90 work area speed: 50 mph

You’d better be slowing down Monday when you hit the Interstate 90 construction area between Argonne and Sullivan.

The Washington Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it is lowering the speed limit in that work zone from 60 mph to 50 mph starting Monday.

The decision was made after examining Washington State Patrol statistics that show collisions in that area have more than doubled in the past three months, compared with the same three months in 2003.

Between May 12 and July 12 this year there were 36 collisions in the zone, compared with 16 during the same period last year.

According to the Washington Department of Transportation, the collisions are being caused largely by inattention and drivers traveling too close to the cars in front of them. Major trouble spots are where vehicles slow down to allow other motorists to merge from on-ramps onto the freeway.

The problem has only gotten worse as drivers have grown used to the new traffic configuration and become more complacent.

Reducing the speed limit will give people more time to react to changing traffic.

The slowdown shouldn’t impact rush-hour traffic because congestion at those peak times already causes I-90 traffic to slow to below 50 mph, said Transportation spokesman Al Gilson.

State Patrol Sgt. Lennie Walker said there will be increased emphasis patrols in the area during the next few weeks to make sure that people are complying with the new speed limit.

Commercial jet lands at Fairchild

A SkyWest Airlines regional jet made an emergency landing at Fairchild Air Force Base on Friday morning, shortly after taking off from Spokane International Airport.

Flight 3920, bound for Salt Lake City, experienced unspecified mechanical trouble minutes after it took off at 9:48 a.m.,said Sabrena Suite, spokeswoman for SkyWest.

The plane was carrying 47 passengers and three crew members, she said.

The Canadair jet turned back toward Spokane, but the airport’s runway is 3,000 feet shorter than normal due to construction. The pilot felt it was safer to land at Fairchild’s much longer runway, Suite said.

Passengers were shuttled back to the airport on two Air Force buses and were put on later flights, Suite said. Mechanics fixed the plane Friday afternoon and the plane was back to its flight schedule by Friday night, she said.

Workshop on problem gambling

The Kalispel Tribe’s Camas Institute will host a three-day workshop on problem gambling next week at Gonzaga University’s School of Law.

The workshop runs Tuesday through Thursday and is designed for counselors, social workers, psychologists and other professionals working to address problem gambling. The cost to attend the three-day event is $195 per person. Student discounts are available. For more information call the Camas Institute at (800)561-7714 or Ricki Haugen at 343-4179.

The Camas Institute in Airway Heights seeks to encourage physical and spiritual health while also providing education and training opportunities.

The Kalispel Tribe owns and operates Northern Quest Casino at Airway Heights.

Climber finds Missoula man’s body

Ashford, Wash. A body found on Mount Rainier has been identified as one of two climbers from Montana who were swept to their deaths while ascending along the treacherous Liberty Ridge route.

Warm weather melted enough snow and ice for a climber to spot the remains of Ansel Vizcaya on Tuesday about 9,300 feet up the north face of the 14,411-foot peak, said Michael J. Gauthier, Mount Rainier National Park search and rescue supervisor.

An ice ax, crampons and harness also were found, said Gauthier, who helped get the body into a helicopter Thursday evening from Carbon Glacier below Liberty Wall. An autopsy was planned.

The backpack of Vizcaya, 29, of Missoula, a summer fire effects monitor at North Cascades National Park who was climbing on his own time, was found June 17 near the body of his climbing partner, Luke Casady, 29, of Stevensville, Mont., at the 9,000-foot level.

Canal yields body with gunshot

Sunnyside, Wash. The body of a shooting victim has been found in an irrigation canal near this lower Yakima Valley town, Yakima County sheriff’s deputies said.

Workers from the Roza Irrigation District discovered the body of Ignacio Cervantes Cisneros, 54, of Sunnyside, shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday, according to a news release issued by Lt. Stewart Graham.

Cisneros, last seen by relatives the previous Friday, had been shot once in the chest, Graham wrote.

As of early Friday no arrest in the case had been reported, sheriff’s dispatchers said.