The community college offers a class on trucking.
And up to the minute.
Don't be hauled home for the holidays with a wrecker. Washington State Patrol tries to keep you safe.
Now, this is News 23 NBC.
Hi, I'm Dave Edel. Thanks for joining us on First at Five this evening.
In a verdict just handed down a short time ago, a jury has found Evaristo Salas guilty in the murder of Jose Areola.
Salas was charged with first degree murder in the 1995 shooting of Jose Areola in Sunnyside.
Areola was shot twice in the head just after he and his girlfriend and their infant son had just pulled into their driveway.
In court, Areola's girlfriend had identified Salas as the shooter.
Salas' attorney, George Trejo, argued that she couldn't have seen Salas long enough to identify him.
Salas, who just turned 16 on Tuesday, faces a minimum of 25 years in prison.
He's also found guilty on a second charge of being a minor in possession of a firearm.
Trejo says he plans to appeal the guilty verdict.
He also plans to appeal the decision to try Salas as an adult.
During the holiday season, many are faced with the stresses of holiday shopping, holiday debt, just plain family members dealing with the holidays.
Some situations of violence is used as a way to deal with the stress of the holidays.
In a study just released by the Justice Department, violence against women is on the rise.
First at 5, Shelley Crenshaw talked to Patty Dion of the YWCA to find out why the number of violent cases against women increases during this time of the year.
Time is supposed to be the happiest time of the year for many of us, but the holidays can also bring out the worst for women and violence.
The number of cases being reported on violence against women have increased. Patty Dion explains why.
I see an increased number of people coming through our shelter at Christmas time.
And as I was sharing with you a little while ago, even our own families that are comfortable and happy most of the time,
we have situations at holiday time that are quite stressful, situations where family members try their best to get along during that time.
And we do because we try so hard with it.
And if your family is perhaps a little bit dysfunctional, those things sometimes fall apart.
This room is a comfortable place for women to come and talk about their problems and issues regarding domestic violence as they get counseling from staff members.
Well here at the YWCA perhaps that's one of the major things that we have is hope.
Someone comes to the shelter and just talks with us about they can stay one hour if that's where they want their safe haven to be.
They can stay up to three weeks is the time it usually takes to get them back on their own or back into a stable situation.
But just know that the YWCA is here to help you. We can come to our group counseling every day between 1.30 and 3.
We have counselors here on a 24 hour basis who can help you.
Dion says the best way to decrease the number of violent acts towards women is women need to work together as a whole to fight for their rights.
Taking cases to prosecution, being brave, going to that public defender and saying I am willing to prosecute.
I'm willing to take this to the legal limit to say that I'm not going to stand with this anymore.
But the overall trend seems to be getting more violent experts say.
And in order for women to overcome the trend is to become educated on options available to them and take a stand.
In Yakima, Shelley Crenshaw, News 23 in B.C.
Dion says often times the violent acts are not reported by the victim because they are ashamed of the situation they find themselves in.
Television industry executives announced today a program rating system which rates programs according to the suitability for different age groups.
First at five's Marissa Flores tells us how this may affect Yakima's advertising industry and television viewers.
The programs we watch on TV greatly influences its advertisements.
Advertising owner Steve Dahl says under the new rating system viewers are warned of each program's content.
Dahl says rating these programs will have a gradual effect in the advertising industry.
Advertisers will know more about the content of the programming that they are paying for.
They will know more about the environment in which their commercials fall.
And some companies are very, very sensitive to which environment their message falls.
He says not only the programs people watch influences the advertising industry, but the programs itself.
We look for normally as television programs that have the best audience, the best type of audience,
the income levels that meet the needs of a specific client, and programming that does fit the image of the message we are trying to get across.
Dahl says rating programs will be a positive move for the viewers in Yakima.
He thinks it's a great way to make viewers pay attention to the programs and advertisements they're watching.
In Yakima, Marissa Flores, News 23 NBC.
Marissa says the new rating system will have six categories similar to the ones currently used for rating movies.
Fourth District Congressman Richard Dock Hastings is using his home for the holidays time to hold a series of town hall meetings across the district.
He says it's a great way to get face to face with constituents and find out their wishes and concerns.
Right now Hastings says he's concerned with Apple export problems in South America.
Hastings says Chile has the inside track on trade in South America, and he wants a fair fight for the Apple market in Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru.
I hope that they can reduce the tariffs to be the ultimate so we can compete on a level playing field.
I think we can compete with anybody from the quality if we just have a level playing field, and that's really all we're asking.
In a letter to Ag Secretary Dan Glickman, Hastings says the importance of expanding Central Washington's exports in South America cannot be understated,
and he asks U.S. negotiators to aggressively address the problem.
Well, the big chill continues for the Yakima Valley, only now you conclude a side order of snow on the menu.
Tiffany Sanders serves up our first look at five.
Side order of snow is right Dave. In fact, it looks like it might even be in the main entree for the remainder of the week.
The forecast calls for one to three inches tonight and more expected for tomorrow.
But first let's take a look at today's temperatures across the Yakima Valley.
Highs today only making it into the low 20s and even dipping down into single digits once again last night.
Now let's shift gears just a little bit and take a look at today's weather school question.
Clouds reach their highest level in the poles, temperate zones, or tropics?
Now I'll have the answer to the weather school question along with your updated forecast in just a few minutes, Dave.
Alright, thanks. You know there's something oddly romantic about the call of the highway,
the freedom to head out on the open road, rolling across the country in an 18-wheeler.
Well, if that's a dream of yours, YVCC can make it come true as you'll discover next on First at Five.
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Tonight, holiday shopping. The best of times for shops and shoplifters. But who's watching who? And what do they see? How do they catch a thief?
Don't miss our special report tonight on NBC Nightly News.
You're watching News 23 NBC with Dave Edel.
Welcome back. Today marks the start of the fourth annual National Holiday Lifesaver Weekend, where the State Patrol will be out and about looking for, among other things, drunk drivers.
Every holiday weekend the message remains the same. Don't drink and drive. But if you don't take that message seriously from them,
First at Five's Greg Nieto says maybe you'll listen to this guy.
Mark Chambers knows firsthand what the effects of drinking and driving are. He sees it every holiday season.
As a tow truck driver for the past three years, Chambers must drag away the mess of metal left by those who drink too much and get behind the wheel.
For him, it's an all too familiar scene.
Of course, the beer cans scattered all across the road that you have to pick up, that's usually a pretty good indication.
There's some bad ones that are alcohol-related.
And every time he arrives at the site, he holds his breath hoping it's somebody he doesn't know.
He says the number of alcohol-related accidents definitely goes up this time of year, but some people never learn.
I had a guy come in, got picked up for DWI. He was really drunk. He couldn't even tell where he lived.
They hauled him away, came and got his car the next day. The cops left the booze in the car, which they have to.
They can't take their property, I don't believe, but he was excited that he got to get started again early that day.
So he learned nothing by what had just happened to him less than 24 hours before.
Chambers knows once again he'll be busy this weekend, but it's a business he'd much rather not have.
In Yakima, Greg Neato, News 23, NBC.
Law enforcement hopes that because both Christmas and New Year's Eve fall on Wednesdays, fewer people will be out drinking and driving.
Yakima Valley Community College students trucked their way to success.
Last September, YVCC announced a new truck driving academy, and today the first of the graduates showed off their skills.
The new graduates had to pass an intensive 10-week course.
Five weeks in the classroom, the other five out on the road.
The students say they're happy that they are now licensed to drive and are eager to enter the truck driving workforce.
YVCC also offers graduates an additional five weeks of training if they feel they need it.
The Better Business Bureau warns consumers of an international fraud scheme targeting senior citizens now during the holidays.
Seniors are led to believe they have won a Canadian sweepstakes worth as much as $100,000 or more, but there is a catch.
Before they can collect their prize, they have to pay a 7% tax or duty on the winnings coming into this country.
Now the bad guys make off with the money and in some cases actually call back,
posing as a business that helps people recover money lost to ripoffs, and for a fee they'll, well, you get the idea.
You get hit twice. If you're contacted by someone who claims to be a U.S. Customs Service agent who wants to talk about duty fees,
you're asked to contact the nearest Customs Internal Affairs office.
Well, are you willing to trade a few degrees of warmth for a greater chance at snow?
You know you may not have a choice.
Tiffany Sanders has the forecast after this.
Look at our weather almanac for December 19th.
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You're watching News 23 NBC Weather with Tiffany Sanders.
Welcome back.
While the clouds have moved in and along with it comes the chance of some snow this evening.
One to three inches in fact.
Let's take a look outside. It's definitely cold enough to snow 22 degrees.
Very chilly in Yakima right now.
Humidity 71 percent.
We reached a high today of 22 degrees. That's what we're at right now.
And our low last night, down to six degrees. Very chilly.
Now currently, snow is falling in several areas across the northwest, including Bellingham.
You can see Seattle 37 degrees, Olympia 38.
Making it into the Teens and Wenashie and Spokane.
Spokane seeing snow at the five o'clock hour as well.
Now what's happened is we saw this big thick cover of clouds to the north of us has shifted down throughout the day.
It just continues to sink down over the northwest.
And at the five o'clock hour it has settled in right over Washington.
Now we had seen some high pressure build and we're expecting that to keep some of that cloud cover up to the northwest for maybe another day.
But we saw a cold blast of air from the Arctic and it's blowing that high pressure right on out of there.
Bringing in all these clouds along with it. The cold temperatures and the possibility of snow.
We were anticipating it for tomorrow but it arrived today and we're going to tell you about it because here's what's happening right now.
Snow falling in parts of Washington along with some rain.
In fact, some heavy rain near the Puget Sound.
Now this is continuing to move across to the east and it is going to bring snow into the valley tonight.
And as for tomorrow, expecting the snow to continue along with some rain in several areas.
But mostly for the Cascades we're going to see some snow and for the east slopes where we are we're going to see some snow as well.
Now tonight we do have a chance of some snow. A pretty high chance.
Up around 60% with temperatures dropping down into the teens.
Tomorrow that chance of snow goes down to about 40% but we're still anticipating a few inches with temperatures only climbing up into the 20s.
Now as for the five day forecast, snow expected to stick around along with some freezing rain on Saturday.
And then some snow showers on Sunday and Monday so it looks like a very busy weekend.
If you are going to be doing any shopping for the holidays you definitely want to make sure you're careful because there's going to be plenty of snow around the Yakima Valley.
Now let's get an answer to today's weather school question.
Clouds reach their highest level in the, is the poles, the temperate zones or the tropics?
The answer is C. The tropics and the average height of clouds in the tropics is up around 60,000 feet.
And we've definitely seen a lot of cloud cover today. We have the possibility of some snow, Dave.
Alright thanks. Snow is coming. Hey you've been dreaming of a white Christmas, right?
I know you have. You're trying to get out of here and now he's going, snow how many inches to shut down my plane so I'm stuck here for Christmas?
That's right. I've never experienced this snow with how much you're going to be here.
You know we'll be glad to keep you here for Christmas. You don't have to leave us.
You know it's not, not that I don't want to stay here for Christmas but you know, I haven't.
First time the family is going to be together in four years for Christmas. I've always had to work Christmas day and so.
Let's just tell him this, that his newsroom present is in jeopardy should he leave us.
Got a full, full load of sports or was it a light day today?
You know there was like a lot of little things going on but nothing major.
Nothing big. That's probably okay. But you still have it all anyway, right?
Put it all together and we got a major sports cast as a whole.
Coming up in sports, a new poll shows that Washington residents, what they want to do with the stadium issue,
a college player turns pro, a hockey coach gets axed, and the Sun Kings Kevin Hollins sits down for a conversation.
Sports, driving to the hole, next.
It's Lamont. Big holiday sale. We just added a huge selection of gifts at 40 to 60 percent off.
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