The training is on the water in Steilacoom this morning.

Responders from 21 agencies in Pierce County are coming together this morning to practice water rescues in Puget Sound at Sunnyside Beach Park.

Participants will focus on dive rescues, surface water rescues and evacuating a ferry.

“The goal of the exercise is to evaluate both individual agency capabilities and their ability to effectively communicate and work together,” according to a Pierce County news release.

This morning’s training includes emergency responders from Anderson Island Fire Department, Browns Point/Dash Point Fire Department, Central Pierce Fire & Rescue, East Pierce Fire & Rescue, …

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The death of a man who was hit by a Burlington Northern Sante Fe train in Steilacoom Monday night was ruled a suicide, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office said today.

The 42-year-old man was from Graham.

It was just before 8 p.m. Monday when the train – traveling 40 to 50 miles per hour – struck the man near the ferry dock by Union Avenue and Commercial Street.

The man was lying on the tracks and the train could not stop in time, West Pierce Fire & Rescue spokeswoman Hallie McCurdy said.

The train was headed from Portland to …

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A Burlington Northern Santa Fe train hit and killed a 42-year-old man just before 8 p.m. tonight in Steilacoom, according to West Pierce Fire and Rescue.

The train was going about 40-50 miles per hour, when the engineer saw a man lying on the tracks near the ferry dock by Union Avenue and Commercial Street and was not able to stop before hitting him, West Pierce assistant fire marshal Hallie McCurdy said.

West Pierce crews responded and found the man deceased.

The train tracks are closed as the Pierce County Medical Examiner investigates, McCurdy said.

According to Amtrak, train 508, …

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A 19-year-old man charged with trying to elude Steilacoom police Thursday told officers: “I thought I could get away if I drove away fast,” according to court records.

He made a good faith effort, according to the documents that report he was driving more than 40 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone.

But it didn’t work.

Court records gave this account:

An officer saw the man drive a Jeep past a “Do Not Enter” sign at Steilacoom Boulevard and Puyallup and Starling streets, waive at the cop, and run a stop sign.

When the officer started …

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Additional law enforcement officers will patrol for drunken drivers this weekend in Pierce and King counties as people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Representatives from the state Liquor Control Board will also be visiting bars to talk to employees about responsible service. Officers will hand out “Click 2 Ride” tickets with phone numbers for local taxi companies.

Participating agencies include Auburn, Bonney Lake, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Fife, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Kent, Lakewood, Milton, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Sumner, Tacoma and University Place police, as well as the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the Washington State Patrol.

UPDATE as of 1:54 p.m.: Olander pleaded not guilty this afternoon.

INITIAL POST: A Steilacoom woman will be arraigned on first-degree animal cruelty charges this afternoon for allegedly neglecting one of her dogs so badly that every bone on his body protruded.

A bench warrant was issued for Kim Olander, 35, earlier this week. She was booked into Pierce County Jail Thursday.

Animal control officers were called to Olander’s home Jan. 8 after receiving a complaint. They discovered two 7-year-old dogs, Angel and Dinks, locked in a bathroom soaked with urine.

Dinks was emaciated, weighed 39 pounds and was suffering …

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A 42-year-old woman who once managed four apartment complexes in Steilacoom faces a second-degree theft charge for allegedly pocketing tenants’ rent money.

Pierce County prosecutors say the woman admitted taking money from five tenants at Steilacoom Center Apartments and Soundview Apartments between January 2011 and June 2012.

It’s estimated she took roughly $4,500.

Her employer first noticed something was amiss when income from the coin-operated laundry machines dropped from more than $3,110 in 2010 – before she became manager – to nothing in 2012.

Tenants also began complaining that they paid the manager cash but received no credit to their …

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A 35-year-old Steilacoom woman is charged with first-degree animal cruelty for so badly neglecting one of her dogs that every bone on his body protruded.

The woman is scheduled to be arraigned in Pierce County Superior Court Feb. 20.

Animal control officers received a complaint and went to check on Olander’s dogs Jan. 8. The officer said she found two 7-year-old dogs, Angel and Dinks, locked in a urine-soaked bathroom.

Angel appeared to be a bit thin but Dinks “was emaciated, skin and bones,” according to charging papers.

The dog allegedly had a sunken face, weighed 39 pounds and was …

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