Colville reservation fire largely contained
Omak, Wash. Firefighters have made dramatic progress against an 11,300-acre wildfire on the Colville Indian reservation, officials said Thursday.
Winds that stoked the blaze a day earlier died down by Thursday afternoon, allowing crews to contain 85 percent of the fire, information officer Steve Jennison said.
Firefighters were expected to burn up fuel in hard-to-reach areas and continue building lines around the perimeter, Jennison said Thursday evening.
“We’ve got some of the tougher corners to go now, so it may be a while yet,” he said.
Firefighters were able to protect five homes that were threatened overnight Wednesday, including one home that survived as the fire raged around it.
The fire was burning mostly sagebrush and some timber in rocky terrain 10 miles southeast of Omak in Okanogan County. The fire’s cause was under investigation, but initial reports indicated it might have been sparked when a brush mower hit a rock on Tuesday.
Stabbing victim released from hospital
A man stabbed in a downtown fight on Tuesday has been released from the hospital.
Witnesses told police that Benjamin Cooper, 20, and Anthony Martin, 18, were arguing over a beer in an alley behind the Eastern Washington University Spokane Center, 705 W. First Ave., court documents say.
Words escalated into a fight, and Cooper stabbed Martin in his chest, according to witness statements.
Martin was taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center where he was released Wednesday.
Cooper remained at the Spokane County Jail Thursday on a count of first-degree assault. His bail is set at $50,000.
Idaho inmate walks away from work crew
Lewiston A low-security state prisoner walked off a prison work crew Wednesday in Lewiston and is being sought by state authorities.
Christopher Critchfield, 32, was doing maintenance with a crew at the Tamany Alternative School but was missing when a correctional officer made a routine check at 10:30 a.m., according to the Idaho Department of Correction.
Critchfield is serving time for possession of a controlled substance and illegal possession of a weapon. He was convicted in Kootenai County, according to correction spokeswoman Teresa Jones.
Critchfield is 6 feet tall, 160 pounds and has green eyes and brown hair. His head was recently shaved, and he was last seen wearing blue jeans and a red shirt with the words ICIO Work Crew on the back. He is not considered dangerous, Jones said.
Yoke’s food drive focuses on summer hunger
Yoke’s Fresh Markets throughout the area are hosting a food drive to benefit children who may be struggling to get enough to eat.
The event focuses on the nutritional needs of low-income kids whose food intake may decrease in the summer without school lunches.
Food is being collected today from 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Yoke’s Fresh Markets in Spokane County, Tri-Cities, and in Sandpoint and Kellogg, Idaho.
Through August, customers can purchase $5 or $10 bags filled with foods for healthy lunches and snacks.
According to Second Harvest Inland Northwest, the parent organization that distributes food to 21 outlet banks, about 7,000 children are served by area food banks each month. For additional information, visit www.2-harvest.org or call Second Harvest at (509) 534-6678.
Teen sentenced in pepper-spray case
Sandpoint A North Idaho teenager charged in a pepper-spray attack on a 2-month-old infant has pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace and has been sentenced to two days on a county work crew.
Jordanna L. Gantenbein, 16, of Sagle, had been charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery for allegedly spraying the child, the child’s grandmother and the child’s aunt during an altercation in a Ponderay Wal-Mart just east of Sandpoint. The baby was treated and released at a local hospital following the May 2 incident, which prompted the evacuation and brief closure of the store.
Gantenbein entered an “Alford plea” during a pretrial hearing in juvenile court last month and was sentenced this week by Bonner County Magistrate Barbara Buchanan to the county work program and a $20 fine.
Under the agreement, Gantenbein conceded she would be convicted if the case went to trial. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors reduced one battery charge to disturbing the peace and dismissed the two remaining charges.
Gantenbein’s mother, 36-year-old Lorlie M. Gantenbein, has been charged with felony injury to a child in the case after witnesses claimed she took the pepper spray canister from her daughter and sprayed it directly at the child. Lorlie Gantenbein has said that she and her daughter discharged the spray in self-defense, did not aim at the child and that the grandmother “ran through the fog with the baby.” She has pleaded not guilty; a four-day jury trial is scheduled for Sept. 12 in 1st District Court.
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