In brief: Teenager dies in 3-car collision

An Athol teenager was killed and her brother and sister were injured when they were ejected from a vehicle Saturday in a three-car crash about noon at state Highway 95 and Parks Road, the Idaho State Police said.

Elizabeth Lockman, 16, died after being transported by Medstar to Kootenai Medical Center. Zachary Lockman, 13, was reported in critical condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. They were riding in a 2000 Ford Contour driven by Bridgette Lockman, 17, who was taken to Kootenai Medical Center. Hospital officials there declined to release her condition.

According to a press release from the state police, Lockman was westbound on Parks Road and attempting to cross Highway 95 when she failed to yield to a southbound 1996 Honda Civic driven by Lori Carrier, 19, of Sagle. The two vehicles collided, and Lockman ended up in the northbound lanes where she was struck by a 2001 GMC Sierra driven by Andreas Reich, 79, of Hayden Lake.

Witnesses told the state police that Lockman’s vehicle went airborne and came to rest on the southbound shoulder, facing north. All three occupants were ejected, state police said, adding it appeared none of them was wearing seat belts.

Reich was admitted to Kootenai Medical Center where his condition Saturday night was undetermined, a nursing supervisor said. Reich’s passenger, Marjorie Reich, 72, was in fair condition at the same hospital. Carrier was treated and released, the nursing supervisor said.

TWIN FALLS, Idaho

Interim credential OK’d for teachers

In an attempt to persuade more teachers to come to Idaho, the state Board of Education has decided to create an interim teaching certificate to make it easier for them to work in the state.

The interim certificate, approved Friday, gives teachers three years to decide whether they need to take special Idaho education classes to receive a teaching endorsement from the state.

Mel Wiseman, Shoshone School District superintendent, called the certificate “a good interim step.” But he said it doesn’t do anything about what he said is the real problem: low teacher pay in Idaho.

School administrations across the state have been raising increasing concerns about a teacher shortage.

Idaho schools had more than 2,400 vacancies in the last school year, according to an annual report by the state Department of Education. The three most difficult positions to fill were speech pathologists, early childhood special educators and elementary school psychologists, the report said.

BOISE

Home foreclosures rise 21 percent

The number of Idaho homes in foreclosure during the first half of 2007 increased 21 percent from the same period last year, according to a California company that tracks the nation’s foreclosure rate.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac reported that there were 1,418 Idaho homes in foreclosure the first half of this year, compared to 1,174 last year.

Industry experts say unconventional loans that make home buying easier, but with monthly mortgage payments that can rise dramatically, are behind the increasing numbers.

However, the company reported that of the 1,418 properties in foreclosure, only 5 percent, or 70, had been repossessed. That number is well below the national average of 25 percent.

Daren Blomquist, marketing communications manager for RealtyTrac, said the low percentage in Idaho means most people facing foreclosure were able to refinance.

Blomquist told the Idaho Statesman that a sizzling real estate market enticed Idahoans to buy property, but that many used flimsy financial options that are now leading to foreclosure.

Spokane

Information sought on fugitive

Spokane police appealed Saturday for information about a fugitive gang member who is believed to have eluded capture Friday when police were unable to obtain a search warrant.

Tim Lucious, 36, was thought to be armed with a gun and holed up in a house near Eighth Avenue and Chandler Street when bail bondsmen called police for assistance in capturing the convicted felon.

Before police could obtain a warrant to enter the home, a relative who had warned that Lucious was armed changed her story and said two women took all the guns in the house when they left. Officer William Hager said police couldn’t obtain a warrant without evidence that Lucious was armed and without being positive he was in the house.

The house wasn’t Lucious’ home, and he was wanted only on misdemeanor warrants charging domestic violence and theft, Hager noted.

The bail bondsmen didn’t need a warrant and police could have followed them as backup, but Hager said the Aladdin Bail Bonds employees considered the situation too dangerous.

Anyone with information about Lucious should call (509) 242-TIPS or 911, Hager said.