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Rocket the therapy dog first pawed into his sheriff's job in 2023, mainly to comfort first responders and residents affected by violent or tragic incidents.

Part of the Kootenai County Sheriff's K9 unit, the Brittany spaniel has since touched hundreds of people. His handler, John McSwain, who is a department chaplain  and brings  Rocket to work, said  the dog seems to sense when individuals are stressed or sad, and  goes to them for snuggles.

Now, the 2-year-old Rocket is nominated for national recognition: First Responder Paws Therapy Dog Award. He's among 19 therapy dogs in the running, and one cat, but the feline technically can't win the title. People can vote for Rocket online Nov. 25 through Dec. 4.

Rocket instantly changes people's moods wherever he goes, said Paula Pelka, who works at the department.

"In the mornings, John will bring Rocket through the doors into the hallway, and it's right as the deputies' night shift is coming off," Pelka said.

"You've probably got 10 deputies standing around, and they're kind of, 'Ugh,' after dealing with everything all night. The minute Rocket hits that door, all you hear is, 'Rocket, Rocket, Rocket,' and there's smiles and joy and laughter. He's touched all of us."

Registered "Sir Rocket the Kindhearted" with the American Kennel Club, the Brittany also visits veterans, school children and people at hospitals and hospice facilities.

"He's a community dog," McSwain said.

When not on duty, Rocket lives with McSwain.

"Our chaplains get called out all the time to traumatic situations. If I happen to be one of the chaplains who responds, Rocket goes with me."

But there's a reason Rocket is called a first-responder therapy dog.

McSwain said law enforcement officers see "the worst of the worst all the time," responding to crimes and accidents. He asked the department to add a therapy dog and offered to cover most costs, other than for training.

Rocket was certified through First Responder Therapy Dogs in August 2023.

McSwain worked as an officer with the King County Sheriff's Office for more than 30 years. He retired there in 2021 and moved to North Idaho. He also worked in peer support, as he does here.

First responders need to emotionally and mentally process  difficult events, such as a traumatic death scene or an officer-involved shooting, McSwain said.

"Inserting Rocket into those environments, just having him around the offices and in and out of briefings, it's beneficial because the officers get to interact with something that just unconditionally says, 'I love you. I'm a dog and you're great. Come and pet me,' " he added.

"It's not the trauma that knocks you off the rails; it's the body's response to trauma. When you introduce something like an animal, it directly impacts that officer's ability to process what they've seen. It changes brain function, and your body releases all these good chemicals that can help your body reset a lot faster."

McSwain offers to introduce Rocket while out on calls.

"We went to a call where a lady had a pretty traumatic thing happen," he said. "When he introduced Rocket, she laid down on the ground and hugged him.

"People have appreciated that support in that moment."

Rocket is the only therapy dog in the K9 unit, which currently keeps three other dogs for tracking and drug detection work. McSwain said the entire canine crew relies on community donations.

Although Brittany spaniels typically have high energy levels, Rocket is unusually calm, McSwain added. That's especially true when he puts on his therapy vest, knowing "it's time to go to work," he said.

"He's also super smart. When I first got him, I'd shut the door to my office. He didn't like that, so he would just open the door."

And he'll leave if duty calls. McSwain's office is across from a conference room, where job candidates are interviewed.

"There have been a couple times he just decided that, 'Hey, there is something stressful going on in here, and I've got some work to do,' " said McSwain, describing how Rocket went directly up against the person being interviewed.

Another time, McSwain said he watched Rocket single out a few people who seemed the most upset opening up within a large group talking after a fire.

"I watch Rocket, and he only goes to the ones I know are struggling," he said. "I don't tell him."

Pelka saw that touch when McSwain brought the dog to visit her husband at Kootenai Health's hospital in July.

Fighting an infection, Ross Pelka had to have an amputation. Her husband was struggling and missing his own dog, Cairo.

She was in his hospital room, and Rocket usually goes directly to her at the office, but Pelka said the dog merely glanced at her. He then jumped up on her husband's hospital bed to snuggle, staying there 45 minutes.

Both she and McSwain said during the visit that they watched as Ross Pelka calmed and his heart rate and blood pressure lowered.

"Rocket wouldn't leave me for anything," Ross Pelka said. "He just knew, and he helped me pull through."

Another reason for first-responder therapy dogs is to help those professionals talk about their work and understand they need to take care of their own health, McSwain said.

Statistics show that too many officers after retirement tend to have short lifespans because of heart issues, suicides and unmet medical needs, he added.

"If we can do things that intentionally help them to be healthy at the end of their career and retire, maybe with some scars but not open wounds, they can be healthier," McSwain said.

Behavioral health provider FHE Health is running the online vote. The top dog and handler get a $2,000 check, Chewy gift basket and social media feature. They're also honored in a $2,500 donation to First Responders Pack Foundation, which seeks to increase the number of first-responder therapy dogs.

Paula Pelka plans to rally for Rocket.

"We don't know any of the other therapy dogs, but he's our therapy," she said. "He's proven therapy for a lot of people."

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     (c)2024 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.)

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Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall has raised concerns about a sheriff's office plan to mix Public Safety Sales Tax and general fund money.

The plan is to take the amount of general fund money budgeted for sheriff's office law enforcement and move it into a Public Safety Sales Tax fund, Budget and Fiscal Manager Summer Miller told the Board of County Commissioners Wednesday.

The Public Safety Sales Tax is a 0.2% sales tax that primarily supports law enforcement. Voters approved the tax in the 2023 general election.

Pooling money into a single fund would give the Sheriff's Office more flexibility to use available money, but it may make it harder to track what the designated funds from the sales tax have been spent on.

Though the plan may be allowable, Hall said she did not recommend it because she sees it creating budgeting and transparency problems for the county.

"It's going to be very difficult to sort these out from a financial report standpoint," Hall told the board. "I mean, we still have to report them separately."

When reached for comment, Hall said the county typically keeps the money from specific taxes in their own dedicated funds. That arrangement makes it easier for the state to audit the county's expenditures.

"My role is to recommend strong financial practices for the county to keep us free of audit findings," Hall said. "If we continue to get audit findings, it's going to become increasingly more expensive for the county to borrow money."

Sorting out what was spent on what will create more work for financial staff, Hall said. Additionally, she said the plan may affect the public's trust in the county.

"It's going to be very, very difficult for the public to understand what is being spent where," Hall told the board. "And just mingling these funds gives the perception of supplanting."

The board-approved resolution that put the sales tax on the 2023 ballot states "all money received shall not be used to supplant funding for any ongoing services and/or programs."

That clause was included to ensure the dedicated sales tax money is extra, and is not used to replace the amount of money already being budgeted in 2023.

What the sheriff thinks

Sheriff Derek Sanders opted for the one fund plan after meeting with Hall and county budget staff last week.

Sanders told the board the sales tax does not have enough money to support existing staff and his office still has to make general fund requests.

Though the funds would be mixed under the new plan, Sanders said his office intends to keep tracking the money separately.

"That way we can report back to the public to say, 'Hey, listen, you guys approved a tax in 2023. Here's what it bought you. It bought you 27 deputies. It bought you a building so you no longer have to lease space. Those kinds of things.'"

Sanders said he requested $300,000 from the general fund last year for staff overtime costs. He said that request was approved through the Public Safety Sales Tax. Without that, he said he would be $300,000 in the hole.

"The conversations are already being had about commingling funds and using joint efforts to make the operation work," Sanders told the board.

Getting out of that hole without the sales tax would require lowering staffing levels to keep overtime costs under control, Sanders said.

"I think we're all kind of stuck in a spot right now of, like, we've already crossed this bridge and how are we going to move forward with it?" Sanders said.

Sanders agreed two separate funds would be ideal, but that would mean his office would have to make more general fund requests.

"Overtime is never going to get cheaper than it was this year," Sanders said. "The wages are never going to be lower than they were this year and the training that the state is sending down that's mandated and unfunded is not getting any less."

The board directed the County Manager, the Auditor's Office and Sheriff's Office to reconvene to hash out a compromise. They have to find a solution before the end of the year when budget decisions are finalized.

Hall said her office did not have enough time to discuss the matter beforehand with the Sheriff's Office and county staff. When asked if this caused he frustration, Hall said "that's absolutely correct."

"We are all very busy right now," Hall said. "I understand that, but we have to carve out the time where it's a discussion involving everyone."

Hall said her financial team may still be able to reach a solution that provides the Sheriff's Office with the flexibility Sanders wants while keeping the money separate for reporting purposes.

"I'm accountable to the public to ensure that county funds are spent appropriately and in the taxpayers' best interest," Hall said. "I take that role very seriously."

How the sales tax works

Revenue from the Public Safety Tax is divided into two funds at the county: one labeled "law" and another labeled "justice," the budget shows.

The county set up the tax so 75% of the money it retains would fund law enforcement services and infrastructure and 25% would fund additional prosecution and public defense services as well as elections security infrastructure.

The county expects the law fund to collect a total of about $3.8 million in 2024 and $6.6 million in 2025, according to the budget. Meanwhile, the justice fund is expected to collect about $1.3 million in 2024 and $2.2 million in 2025.

The county has received nearly $3 million in revenue from the Public Safety Sales Tax for the Sheriff's Office from June to October, according to data shared by Heidi Thomsen, chief of the Sheriff's Office Financial Services Bureau.

The data shows the Sheriff's Office had spent about $1.3 million through Nov. 13, including:

• $1,216,951 was spent on vehicles for new positions. That includes $854,900 for vehicles, $113,051 for camera systems, $183,000 for radio systems and $66,000 for mobile computer terminals.
• $124,528 has been spent for salaries and benefits for one new support position and all new commissioned positions filled to date.
• $15,787 has been spent for weapons and rifles for new deputies.

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     (c)2024 The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)

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Interstate 5 is getting a full-body scan Thursday, and it's going to require the overnight closure of northbound lanes through Tacoma.

Crews from the state Department of Transportation are making what the agency is calling "an in-depth scan" of the road surface to locate areas in need of repairs.

All northbound I-5 lanes will close at 10 p.m. Nov. 21 just beyond exit 133 (city center), WSDOT said. The HOV ramp from eastbound state Route 16 to northbound I-5 will also close.

During the closure, northbound I-5 motorists will take exit 133 (Interstate 705/state Route 7) and then rejoin I-5 using the entrance lanes from eastbound SR 16. Eastbound SR 16 HOV travelers will use the main traffic ramp to access northbound I-5.

"The closure and detours are not expected to add extra travel time," WSDOT said in a news release.

Traffic lanes will reopen at 3 a.m. Friday.

If weather turns sour, the project may be rescheduled.

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     (c)2024 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)

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One person has died and 38 others were infected in an outbreak of E.Coli linked to organic carrots in 18 states, including Oregon.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a food safety alert advising people to avoid recalled bagged organic carrots. Interviews with sick people linked the outbreak to organic whole and baby carrots produced by Grimmway Farms, which are sold under multiple brands. The carrots have been recalled and pulled from store shelves, though they may still be in people’s homes and should be thrown away, authorities said.

Most people infected with the strain experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting, and some develop serious kidney problems. Symptoms typically begin three to four days after swallowing the bacteria.

The CDC said 39 people were infected with the outbreak strain, 15 were hospitalized and one person died. The affected individuals included three each in Oregon and California and eight people in Washington.

The CDC said the following brands were affected: 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O-Organic, President’s Choice, Raley’s, Simple Truth, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Wholesome Pantry.

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

A bevy of top political, business and academic leaders across the Pacific Northwest will convene in Portland this week to promote efforts that they hope will dramatically accelerate housing creation in the region.

Organizers of the Cascadia Innovation Corridor initiative estimate that Oregon, Washington and British Columbia currently face a combined housing shortage of up to 1 million units over the next two decades, exacerbating a crisis that each is already struggling to tackle.

The group’s annual conference, which kicks off Monday at the Hilton Portland Downtown, seeks to establish a set of regional strategies aimed at closing that gap and making homes and apartments more affordable for residents.

Those include everything from permitting consolidation, which the city of Portland has recently undertaken, to increased financial incentives for developers and emerging technology that can help slash bureaucratic red tape.

One of the bolder proposals set to be discussed: widespread rezoning of commercial corridors, many of them underutilized, for mix-use redevelopment.

“On housing, you can’t piecemeal your way to it,” said Christine Gregoire, the former Washington governor who now heads Challenge Seattle, a coalition of business and tech leaders.

Gregoire is also co-chair of Cascadia Innovation Corridor alongside Laura Jones of the Business Council of British Columbia.

“Good policy has been set in all three of jurisdictions, but it’s got to be comprehensive and we need something significant,” Gregoire said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive. “We can’t get to where we need to be unless we all work together.”

The Cascadia initiative launched in 2016 to more firmly establish the Pacific Northwest as a mega-region focused on a set of common goals and interests.

In addition to promoting economic development strategies, the group has convened leaders in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to advance proposals on creating a regional high-speed transportation system and combatting climate change.

Speakers at this week’s housing production conference will include Gregoire and Jones as well as current Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Washington Lt. Gov. Denny Heck and Microsoft President Brad Smith.

A number of homegrown housing and development efforts — and those behind them — will also receive prominent attention.

Portland Commissioner Carmen Rubio is scheduled to highlight her work reforming the city’s byzantine permitting system on one panel. Another will feature Rukaiyah Adams, who is leading the massive, public-private redevelopment of the Portland’s Lower Albina neighborhood.

Conference participants will also be able to tour a production facility for mass timber, an emerging building material alternative to concrete and steel, at the Port of Portland.

The Oregon timber industry and political leadership have touted mass timber for years as an opportunity to revive the fortunes of rural communities around the state with homegrown building materials. Mass timber is not without its detractors among conservation groups, but its advocates praise the potential environmental benefits of using a renewable material.

“It is through these collaborative efforts and forward-thinking strategies that we can build a future where everyone in the Cascadia region has a place to call home,” said Andrew Hoan, president of the Portland Metro Chamber.

“Bold policy measures,” Hoan continued, “are essential to overcoming the barriers that have historically hindered housing production.”

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.