Doctor pleads innocent in robbery
Rexburg, Idaho A doctor charged with negligent homicide and drug counts in a Montana patient’s death has pleaded innocent to bank robbery charges in Idaho.
James S. Bischoff, 47, pleaded in 7th District Court on Monday to charges of burglary and robbery, with a weapons enhancement.
He is accused of robbing U.S. Bank in Rexburg on March 16, wearing ski goggles and brandishing a gun.
Prosecutors say Bischoff robbed the bank while free on bail on the Montana charges. He is jailed on $750,000 bail while awaiting trial Feb. 1 in the bank case.
In Montana, Bischoff pleaded guilty in September to negligent homicide and a drug charge for administering medication to Kathryn Dvarishkis, 85, that apparently caused her fatal heart attack in 2000.
He also pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining thousands of doses of amphetamines for himself.
Bischoff, who had been treating Dvarishkis at Madison Valley Hospital in Ennis, Mont., is scheduled for sentencing in that case Jan. 9. Under terms of a plea deal negotiated with prosecutors, he would serve 2 1/2 years of a recommended 20-year sentence.
Post Falls man injured in accidental shooting
A Post Falls man was injured Wednesday afternoon in an accidental shooting, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Chad P. Vanbrunt, 29, was removing a rifle from his vehicle near Rockford Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene when the gun went off, said Sgt. Barry Allenman.
Vanbrunt was shot in his left arm and taken to Kootenai Medical Center about 3 p.m. by a private vehicle, Allenman said. He was in surgery Wednesday night and his condition not available.
Naval training station offers presentation
If you ever wanted to learn about Farragut Naval Training Station, which prepped 293,281 recruits during World War II, head over to NIC on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
Robert Singletary, a North Idaho College instructor and history performer, will give a presentation about the training station in Athol, using photographs and artifacts. Singletary will portray Commodore Frank Kelley, the Farragut commander from 1943 until 1945, when the station closed.
Singletary has written a series on Farragut and appeared in a documentary called “America’s Landlocked Navy.”
For more information, call (208) 769-3355.
Driving class location changed to Fox hall
The Idaho State Police has changed the location of its Dec. 10 Road Safe Driving Class to the Fox Auditorium at Kootenai Medical Center.
The larger auditorium has opened up additional spaces for the 1 p.m. class on winter driving. Other topics will include dealing with aggressive drivers, DUIs and other situations.
Reservations for the free class are required. To sign up, contact the Idaho State Police from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at (208) 772-6055.
Small quake shakes Washington town
Deming, Wash. A small earthquake shook the area around this northwestern Washington town Wednesday. There were no initial reports of any injuries or property damage.
The Pacific Northwest Seismographic Network at the University of Washington said the magnitude 4.1 quake occurred at 12:53 p.m. and was centered about five miles east-northeast of Deming, which is west of Mount Baker. It was about a third of a mile below the surface, which is considered shallow.
In the first half hour after the quake, 25 people reported feeling it, describing the shaking as moderate. Some people who called Northwest Cable News reported hearing a loud boom before the quake.
Bill Steele, a UW seismology spokesman, said the quake was the strongest one in Washington in more than a year.