In brief: Police say man ran over two cows

PROSSER, Wash. – Prosser police say a man ran over two of his own cows when he couldn’t get them back onto his property.

Officer Mark Cole said the 57-year-old man was reportedly using his van to try to corral six cows that had escaped Friday afternoon.

The man apparently became frustrated, ran over a city-owned fence and two cows, which sustained broken legs and had to be killed.

Cole said the man faces possible charges of animal cruelty, trespassing and malicious mischief.

Gelding tests positive for herpes

HELENA – A horse in Gallatin County in southwestern Montana is the first in the state to test positive for the equine herpes virus, according to the state Department of Livestock.

The 13-year-old gelding took part in the National Cutting Horse Association Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah, where the outbreak began, state veterinarian Marty Zaluski said Saturday in a statement.

Zaluski said the horse remains healthy and has been kept apart from other horses since returning from Utah.

The outbreak has led to more than 70 infections across the West and Canada. At least a dozen horses have been euthanized.

Missing musher turns up alive

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Talkeetna musher missing since late May has been found alive two days after police called off a search for her.

Melanie Gould, an Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race veteran, contacted police in Cantwell on Saturday and was taken to a Mat-Su hospital, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters would not give Gould’s condition or say where she was found.

Gould, 34, was last seen May 31 buying gas near her home. Her truck was found a quarter-mile off the Denali Highway about 18 miles from Cantwell, a community just south of Denali National Park and Preserve.

Gould ran the Iditarod from 2000 to 2007. Her best finish was in 2006, when she finished 18th.

Fence designed to protect wildlife

POCATELLO, Idaho – An 18-mile fence being installed along Interstate 15 between Pocatello and Inkom in southeastern Idaho will likely reduce the number of collisions with wildlife and make the route safer for motorists, officials say.

Officials with Idaho Fish and Game said that at least 100 deer are killed annually on the highway.

All but $50,000 of the $450,000 cost of the fence has been raised, and work on some portions is nearly complete.

Officials say the entire fence should be finished by fall if all the money is raised.

Quarter to honor Olympic park

PORT ANGELES, Wash. – A new quarter honoring Olympic National Park will go into circulation Tuesday with a launch in Port Angeles.

The U.S. Mint and the National Park Service have a ceremony planned for 11 a.m. at the Port Angeles City Pier, the Peninsula Daily News reported.

The quarter depicts a Roosevelt elk standing on a gravel bar of the Hoh River with a view of Mount Olympus in the background. Children will receive a free quarter to commemorate the event. The new quarter will also be given to visitors as change at Olympic National Park entrance stations.

The Olympic National Park quarter is part of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, a 12-year federal initiative.