Everett Daily Herald, April 28, 2015

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Quake toll surges; concern turns to villages

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Riot, looting follow funeral State of emergency declared in Baltimore. A6 TUESDAY, 04.28.2015

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Restructuring eyed for M.E. office A proposal to have a nonphysician lead the problemplagued county morgue is presented to the County Council, but the plan may conflict with state law and county code. By Noah Haglund Herald Writer

EVERETT — New ideas have surfaced to retool the Snohomish County morgue, where employee

burnout, lawsuits and management troubles have been a constant for years. One proposal would place the Medical Examiner’s Office under the authority of a nonphysician

director. The morgue’s deputy director, Dan Christman, has essentially fulfilled that role since being hired last year. During a presentation to the County Council on Monday, Christman argued for adopting that structure, which he said has proven to work in other states. “The medical examiner system is going through a lot of issues nationwide,” he said. “It was not

uncommon as I was reaching out to people in different offices to ask them how they are doing business ... and almost every one of them told me that they were having the same problems that we have experienced here.” There’s a catch, though. County attorneys insist that Christman’s plan would conflict with state law and existing county code, which requires a forensic pathologist

— a specialized medical doctor — to oversee the office. Given the law, it’s probably not surprising that no other medical examiner’s office in Washington uses anyone else. “I don’t want Snohomish County being a petri dish for something that’s untested,” See OFFICE, back page, this section

The wonderful world of wetlands ‘Tennis

shoes’ and lots of clout Sen. Patty Murray stands her ground, moves toward top-tier leadership in the Senate and readily takes on policy issues. By Laurie Kellman Associated Press

A Snohomish property owner enlightens first-graders about critters, plants Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — She learned about her own backyard through first-graders. Janet McElvaine has led students in exploring the natural pond and woods behind her Snohomish home every spring for the past 15 years. The field

trip is part of science lessons in Debbie Laskey’s first-grade class at Zion Lutheran School in Lake Stevens. McElvaine expertly explained the details of her backyard ecosystem to the most recent group 16 of students on Thursday. One might have mistaken the human resources professional for a scientist. She was full of interesting

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facts about all sorts of things, such as cattails, tadpoles, snail eggs, dragonfly nymphs and beavers. “It’s just been a joy to share it with the kids,” McElvaine said. Over the years, McElvaine said, she learned about the habitat in her backyard because little kids ask a lot of questions and she’s had to look up a lot of answers. “She knows everything,” Nicole

Smart shoppers Early adopter: The Apple Watch is a luxury product aimed at the moneybags set, but discount retailer JCPenney is one of the first to develop an app for the gadget (Page A7). JCPenney expects shoppers to use the app to compare prices on merchandise. Dear Abby . . . B3 Good Life . . . . B1

Gonzales whispered as she chaperoned the trip with her daughter, Gabriella, 7. “I didn’t learn any of this in the first grade.” McElvaine volunteers her time to show students around the five-acre property. Parents help supervise and drive so the trip

It’ll be just the thing for Saudi princes who want the best deals on three-packs of boys’ briefs, polyester-blend fitted sheets, and Keurig coffee machines. They’re mostly rice anyway: Fast-food chain Chipotle said Monday that it has removed GMO ingredients from its menu (Page A7).

Horoscope . . . B8 Lottery . . . . . . A2

Obituaries . . . A5 Opinion . . . . . A9

See POND, back page, this section

That’s good news for health-conscious burrito fans — and also good for at least 18 breathless hours of cable news air time on whether or not the burrito bowl consumed by Hillary Clinton contained GMOs. Surfing the vast cultural wasteland: A PBS documentary called “The Day the Short Takes . . B4 Sports . . . . . . C1

See MURRAY, Page A2

’60s Died” looks at Nixon’s expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia and the Kent State shootings that followed (The Clicker, Page B4). But if you ask The Buzz, God kills the ’60s every time a golden oldies station plays “For What it’s Worth” or “American Pie.”

— Mark Carlson, Herald staff

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Zion Lutheran School first-grader Kenedee McGuire, 6, checks out a cattail she found on the edge of a pond during a field trip to Janet McElvaine’s property in Snohomish on April 23. McElvaine has been inviting first-graders from local schools for 15 years to take a field trip to her property and learn about the various plants and animals living in the wetlands around her pond.

WASHINGTON — There’s a disturbance in the force of the tradition-bound Senate and her name is Patty Murray. The Washington state Democrat, once famously dubbed “just a mom in tennis shoes,” is the reason behind an uncomfortable power standoff between two men who intend to lead the Democrats after Minority Leader Harry Reid retires. Murray, her quiet style and her clout amassed over 22 years in the Senate, poses a challenge to the way things work in Washington. She’s poised to be the first Sen. Patty woman in Murray the Senate’s top-tier leadership. And she’s outgrown her image as the ultimate underdog, if not the mom in storied footwear. “It’s who I am,” Murray, 64,

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