A Snohomish woman was charged Friday with telephone harassment for allegedly making threats against Brett Karch, a teenager who was injured in a cannon accident during a homecoming football game in October.

The Everett prosecutor's office filed the misdemeanor charge against Dana Lynne Snyder, 41. The incident allegedly occurred Oct. 20 while Karch was still hospitalized with a severe leg injury.

Karch is a member of the school's Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training unit that was responsible for firing the ceremonial cannon before football games and after home-team touchdowns. On Oct. 6, the cannon exploded and shattered Karch's leg. He has undergone three surgeries and is still unable to bear any weight on it.

During Karch's hospitalization, he and his family were upset by some phone calls and some visitors, who said they would retaliate against him or his family if they cooperated in an investigation that could end the long-standing tradition of using the cannon at football games.

The threats were taken seriously enough that hospital administrators moved Karch to a secure room and notified police. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

"As a mother, of course it's terribly distressing to me that anyone would make disparaging comments to my son," said Mary Bissell in a statement Friday. "But rather than lingering on the negative, our family is completely focused on helping Brett recover."

Karch, 16, is back visiting Snohomish High School twice a week so he has contact with his peers as he continues his studies at home.

"I'm doing pretty good," he said. "I think I've gotten support a little more now."

Since the first reports of the harassment surfaced, more people in the community of Snohomish and the school system have made the effort to reach out to Karch and his family. Karch received a phone call from Rep. Jay Inslee, and the family received several calls from Snohomish Mayor Randy Hamlin.

Neighbors also dropped by with Christmas cookies, and the school district indicated it planned to step up its efforts to ensure Karch didn't feel left out and to stop belittling remarks that had been made to Karch at the school.

"We appreciate the kind words and community support that has come our way in the past few weeks," Bissell said.

News of the family's predicament spread on the Web, generating hundreds of well-wishers for Karch; they also took the town to task for not doing more to help him.

The mayor and school district superintendent later spoke out, saying most people were unaware of the severity of his injuries, or his emotional distress.

The accident occurred in view of the crowd at the football game, but little information was available after the accident through the school or the local press.

"I'm glad charges were pressed," Hamlin said Friday. "People are taking it seriously. It shows the public this kind of thing is totally unacceptable."

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