$100,000 bail set for man in child-abuse case

Bail was set at $100,000 Thursday for a man charged with abusing his girlfriend's daughter.

Dale L. Morgan, 26, appeared in Thurston County Superior Court one day after he was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault of a child. The 2-year-old girl remained hospitalized at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center in Tacoma.

Judge Richard Strophy also signed a court order prohibiting contact between Morgan and the girl and her mother.

The girl suffered a fractured leg and pelvis, head injuries and bruises all over her body. Morgan is not the girl's biological father, authorities said.

Texas becomes 11th state in Mega Millions drawing

The Texas Lottery Commission entered into a contract with the Mega Millions multistate lottery on Thursday.

That brings to 11 the number of states involved in the game. Washington joined in 2002. The other states are Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia.

Multistate lottery games are designed to generate jackpots into the hundreds of millions of dollars, creating a frenzy of ticket purchases across the country. Participating states get a cut of the tickets sold within their borders.

Mega Million drawings are Tuesday and Friday. The average jackpot over the past year is $42.3 million.

The odds of winning in Mega Millions are 1 in 43, with jackpot odds 1 in about 135 million. The starting jackpot is $10 million.

THURSTON COUNTY

Authorities search for possible natural gas leak

Firefighters and Puget Sound Energy crews were investigating a potential natural gas leak late Thursday near the intersection of Westhill and Alpine drives, west of Black Lake.

Gas was detected during tests of the air and ground, but authorities hadn't located the leak by 10:30 p.m., Black Lake Fire District 5 Assistant Chief Steve Gesell said.

"We're confident there is a leak, and we're digging to find it," said Tim Bader of PSE.

Residents weren't evacuated, but traffic was rerouted during the investigation.

A power line was downed earlier in the day at the same location, Gesell said, although authorities didn't know if the two incidents are related.

Commission examines potential mining rules

The Thurston County Commission will discuss an interim ordinance today in response to community concerns about mining activities and asphalt plants in the county's rural areas.

The commission is expected to rule on the ordinance at a meeting at 8 a.m. today in Room 280 of Building One of the Thurston County Courthouse, 2000 Lakeridge Drive S.W., Olympia.

The commission directed county staff to craft an interim ordinance that would limit mining and asphalt plant activities so a task force can be created to study the issues. Once an interim ordinance is adopted, the commission must have a public hearing within 60 days.

The interim ordinance can last as long as a year.

The county estimates that staffing a mineral lands task force and processing new regulations would cost about $15,000.