A Bayview man who attacked four members of a family with a hammer in December has pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery. Larry Cragun, 32, killed Patricia Heath in the attack and severely wounded her mother-in-law, Lorraine Wallis. Wallis’s son, Michael Heath, and grandson Jedidiah Heath, suffered more minor injuries. Kootenai County 1st District Judge Benjamin Simpson took Cragun’s guilty pleas Thursday and set sentencing for May 14 at 9 a.m., Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said in a news release. Cragun remains in jail pending sentencing/SR. More here.

Top Post: Just moments ago, I witnessed a two story float home on A dock at Scenic Bay Marina. It was half underwater with the snow load. When the snow turns to rain or freezing rain as forecast, we are going to see several homes start to sink. The massive home owned by Eric Musson on A dock was starting to sink when it was caught. The owner, out of the area, was unable to help, but Friend, Mark Streater, saved the day, raking the snow off.It is going to get worse before it gets better. I couldn't get a picture, because I didn't  have my camera with me and I'm snowbound and on foot/Bay Views. More here.

• Big decision about home-schooling/A Family Runs Through It
• The fine art of blog-meandering/Atmospheric Ruminations
• Who is in touch with ordinary people?/Community Comment
• Does ambition trump morality, and: I dreamed a dream/Dogwalk Musings
• Recipes & secrets, and: That's why I love my husband/From A Simple Mind
• Karma/This Is Not A Fairy Tale
• What to write on an empty-screen morning/Slight Detour
• PB&J sandwich cookies/Stebbijo's Place
• Agent stalking on Twitter can land free query critique/3Rs
• The Writing Life: A fork in the road/Writing North Idaho

HucksOnline numbers (for Thursday, Jan. 20): 7960/4982

Item: Man to be sentenced for racial incident: Abbey enters Alford plea to felony charge of malicious harassment/David Cole, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: Self-proclaimed skinhead Daren C. Abbey got knocked out with one punch by a black man on July 3, after telling the man he didn't belong inside J.D.'s bar or in Bayview at all because of the color of his skin. On Thursday in 1st District Court, Abbey, 28, agreed to be sentenced on a felony charge of malicious harassment from the short-lived confrontation with Marlon L. Baker, who at the time of the incident was wearing a Spokane Boxing Club Champion T-shirt. By entering an Alford plea, Abbey avoids admitting guilt, but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to likely convict him at trial.

Question: What sentence would you impose on Abbey?

Michael Heath talked about the brutal attack on his family nine months ago that ended with the death of his wife Patty at his mother's home in Bayview. The man accused of the crime lived in the trailer just below. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)

A family is watching TV on a cold Sunday afternoon when a man bursts in, calls them an obscene name and attacks with a hammer, aiming for their heads. One woman is killed. Another suffers a severe head injury that steals pieces of her memory and speech. Two other family members are beaten but escape with minor injuries. It sounds like something straight out of a horror movie, but that’s what Yvonne Wallis, her son, daughter-in-law and grandson experienced last Dec. 19 in Bayview, Idaho. Their next-door neighbor, Larry Cragun, was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder, and is in jail awaiting trial in January. His bail is set at $1 million. Ten months later, the survivors are struggling to move on/Alison Boggs, SR. More here. (Kathy Plonka SR photo)

Question: Has any member of your family been harmed in a violent attack?

An Idaho man, described as a white supremacist, appeared court Tuesday to face harassment charges. Daren Abbey was arrested for harassing an African American man in Bayview, Idaho over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Marlon Baker went up to Bayview the day before the Fourth of July for the fireworks. However, the night ended on a sour note that landed both Baker and 28-year-old Daren Abbey in court Tuesday/Anusha Roy, KXLY. More here.

Question: Did Abbey get what he deserved?

A self-proclaimed skinhead was knocked unconscious by a black man after threatening to stab him last weekend in Bayview, Idaho, officials said Friday. Daren Christopher Abbey, 28, was booked into jail on a malicious harassment charge after being treated at a hospital for facial fractures, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. Abbey is accused of threatening to stab Marlon L. Baker, 46, inside J.D.’s Resort on July 3 in Bayview after telling Baker he didn’t belong in the bar because he was black, said Lt. Stu Miller. Baker left the bar to avoid a fight, but police say Abbey followed him to a marina about 300 yards away, called him racial slurs and again threatened to stab him/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here. And: Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Watch story here.

Question: Do you think Abbey learned a lesson?

A neo-Nazi skinhead, with a body covered in racist tattoos, is in jail under $75,000 bond on felony malicious harassment charges because he didn’t read the back of a T-shirt worn by a man he’s accused of assaulting. The skinhead, identified as Daren C. Abbey (left), 28, formerly of Sacramento, Calif., is accused of verbally confronting and then assaulting Marlon L. Baker, a 46-year-old African American, inside a Bayview, Idaho, bar on July 3, authorities said Friday. Not wanting a confrontation, Baker left the bar and walked toward a marina on Lake Pend Oreille about 9 p.m. Sunday to watch an Independence Day “boat parade” on the waterfront, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Major Ben Wolfinger. “He didn’t want trouble, so he walked away,’’ Wolfinger said/HateWatch, Southern Poverty Law Center. More here. (Also: Sirens & Gavels story: Racist knocked out by hate-crime target)

Correction: The SPLC story in the link provided inadvertently swapped surnames and said that Baker rather than Abbey is “white supremacist” with several racist tattoos (near end of story).

A district judge has suspended the criminal case against a Bayview man accused of attacking four neighbors with a hammer, killing one, because a psychologist has determined he’s unfit to stand trial.  The ruling last week is in the case of Larry Cragun, 31, who is charged with first-degree murder and other felonies in the Dec. 19 death of Patricia Heath, 43, and attacks on others. Cragun has been ordered into the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction for care and treatment. First District Judge Benjamin Simpson also ordered a progress report on Cragun’s status in 90 days/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here.

• Murder victim identified as Robert Dean Marek, 43/St. Maries Gazette-Record

The Benewah County Prosecutor has confirmed that a North Idaho woman has been arrested for a murder near St. Maries. Melisa Bates, 26, was located and arrested in Bayview on suspicion of murder, Prosecutor Doug Payne said Tuesday afternoon.Earlier on Tuesday Payne said that he was woken up at 2 a.m. Tuesday and was asked to start writing search warrants. Payne added they had “one suspected victim” and that the woman they are looking for has been located/Rob Kauder, KXLY. More here.

A 66-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a homicide in Benewah County. Melisa Bates was arrested near Bayview, Idaho, and is being transported back to St. Maries, said Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne. Bates is suspected of killing a man at his home near St. Maries, Payne said. Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home early today to see why the man didn’t show up for work and discovered “human remains,” Payne said/Meghann Cuniff, SR. More here.

Item: Bludgeoning suspect pleads not guilty: Grand jury hands down seven-count indictment in Bayview case/David Cole, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: The suspect in the Bayview hammer bludgeoning from last month pleaded not guilty Wednesday on all seven counts of a grand jury indictment. Larry W. Cragun, 31, of Bayview, appeared before 1st District Court Judge Benjamin Simpson after being indicted on first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and burglary. The indictment came down last week.

Question: How do you protect yourself against the dangerously mentally ill?

At Bayview, Herb snapped this photo & reports: “This was taken around noon New Year's Day. There was so much steam coming off the lake that we got a couple of hours of lake effect snow, which set the existng snow to sparkling like a field of jewels.”

A woman seriously injured in a hammer attack that killed another woman is improving at a Coeur d'Alene hospital.

Lorraine Y. Wallis, 58, has been upgraded to fair condition, Kootenai Medical Center employees said Wednesday. 

Wallis was in critical condition after being beaten with a hammer at a mobile home in Bayview on Sunday. Patricia A. Heath, 43, died from head injuries suffered in the attack. Meghann Cuniff/Sirens and Gavels

Herb Huseland reflects on the tragedy which hit very close to home for him, here.

A float home near the edge of Bayview on Lake Pend Oreille is a one of a kind residence with a style all its own that’s raising a lot of eyebrows.Alongside the ducks and sail boats Erik Musson’s masterpiece, what he describes as his “2,500 square foot studio” floats. It’s a studio with a style unlike anything this small town has seen before.Musson’s heard his home has been called everything from the Dr. Seuss home to “a giant cry for help.” But Musson will tell you he doesn’t need any help. He’s a Jack of all Trades armed with a bachelors of fine arts degree in design who started in Seattle as a furniture maker/Annie Bishop, KXLY. More here.

Question: Would you like to live on a boat or in a float house?

The Buttonhook Inn Restaurant will open very soon, possibly this week-end, but for sure next. The lease is signed, we are looking for help in several areas and as soon as we are staffed, we’ll be open. The Buttonhook for you that aren’t familiar with Bayview is the finest restaurant for miles. It has enjoyed some ups and downs since Sandy Fiscus gave up the reins but that is about to change/Herb Huseland, Bay Views. More here.

Question: Have you ever eaten a meal at a Bayview restaurant? Which one? Would you recommend the place (if it still exists)?