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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man shoots wife, himself, police say

The Spokesman-Review

A North Idaho man is in the hospital facing murder charges after police say he killed his wife, then shot himself in the head when sheriff’s deputies arrived.

The man’s 21-year-old son arrived at his parents’ home near Gunning and Altamont roads north of Rathdrum late Monday afternoon and was told by his father that he had just killed his mother, according to Kootenai County sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger. The son found his mother dead inside the home and called a family member, who called 911 about 5 p.m., Wolfinger said.

The father shot himself in the head as deputies entered the nearby housing development office he was hiding in, but the suicide attempt failed and he was transported to Kootenai Medical Center, according to the sheriff’s office.

The family has a history of domestic violence, according to the sheriff’s office. Identities of those involved are expected to be released today after relatives are notified.

Coeur d’Alene

Property owners won’t get damages

Sanders Beach property owners won’t get $450,000 in damages after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging the city of Coeur d’Alene denied them use of their shoreline property without pay during a summer of litigation.

Yet U.S. District Judge Edward L. Lodge sent three claims back to 1st District court for a decision. It’s unknown when a judge will schedule a hearing.

The property owners of the popular Lake Coeur d’Alene shoreline between 12th and 15th streets filed suit after the Idaho Supreme Court ruled in September 2006 that the invisible line where private property ends and public land begins is no higher than the summer level of the lake, or an elevation of 2,128 feet. That essentially eliminated all public access to the beach that had been used by locals for a century.

During the legal arguments over the high-water mark, an injunction was issued that allowed the public to use the section of beach until a final ruling was made. The property owners alleged the city was unfairly “taking” exclusive use of their property without pay.

Lodge ruled that the court, not the city, issued the injunction.

Boise

State to raise school zone fines

Fines for speeding in school zones in Idaho would rise to more than $100, under legislation that passed in the Idaho House on Monday.

SB 1361a, sponsored by Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, now goes to the governor’s desk. It would set the minimum fine for school-zone speed violations at $75, plus $41.50 in court costs, for a total of $116.50. Local ordinances still could set higher fines.

The bill passed the House on a 37-26 vote, with opponents raising questions about whether the higher fines would apply when school isn’t in session. They could, if communities choose to post signs saying they apply “when children are present” rather than during certain days or hours.

Frozen, clogged pipe kills salmon

Almost 200,000 Chinook salmon are dead after freezing temperatures plugged a pipe at the Clearwater Fish Hatchery facility on the Lochsa River.

Water flows to an acclamation pond were shut off Friday. The salmon smolts that were killed were scheduled to be released into the river that day. Smolts are young salmon ready to begin their migration to the ocean.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department blames unusual cold and human error for the accident.

Hatchery attendants, who are supposed to clear ice from the intake pipe regularly, failed to notice the plugged valve.

Clearwater basin hatcheries are part of a federal program to replenish fish losses from four dams on the lower Snake River.

Seattle

Parachute likely not Dan Cooper’s

The man who packed the parachutes used by skyjacker D.B. Cooper in 1971 says one found last week near Amboy, Wash., is the wrong kind.

Children found part of the parachute sticking up from a dirt road their father was grading.

Earl Cossey, who packed the four parachutes Cooper demanded, said the newly found one is silk, probably from around 1945 – the wrong material from the wrong era.

The FBI had him inspect the recovered parachute.

Cooper bailed out of a passenger jet with $200,000 in ransom money near the Oregon-Washington border. Some of the cash has been found but his fate is unknown. It is the world’s only unsolved skyjacking.

Cheney

Fire damages family’s home

The Red Cross is assisting a family of four after a fire heavily damaged their two-story Cheney home Monday.

Fire crews responded to the blaze in the 300 block of Plum Tree Court about noon. The fire started in the home’s garage and spread to the house, Cheney fire Lt. Tim Steiner said.

Flames, smoke and water destroyed the garage and heavily damaged two bedrooms, Steiner said, but the home’s first floor suffered only smoke damage.

“We were able to get a lot of the personal (items) and everything out,” Steiner said.

The family has insurance, and Steiner said the company had already called a contractor to begin work on the home.

Olympia

Department clears organic farms

The Washington state Department of Agriculture says the 17 organic farms flooded in southwest Washington last December continue to meet organic standards.

Agriculture inspectors have visited each of the farms affected by the floods, walking the fields and noting how high water levels rose, where sediment deposited on farmland and checking for signs of contaminants.

Inspectors gathered 40 samples of plant material in recent weeks. The Agriculture Department says tests on those samples show the floodwaters did not cause any contamination that threatens the farms’ organic status.

Several farms lost livestock, feed, harvested produce and equipment in the flood.

Staff and wire reports