September 25, 2011 in City

In brief: Idaho couple claim 30K prize

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A Silver Valley couple Friday claimed a $30,000 winning scratch ticket.

Shawnee Dunsmore purchased the winning Hot Ball Bingo ticket for $3 at Cameron Conoco in Kellogg on Monday, according to an Idaho Lottery news release. Cameron Conoco will receive a $3,600 bonus from the Idaho Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Shawnee Dunsmore’s husband, Branden Dunsmore, a miner, had to wait until today for a day off so the pair could drive to the Idaho Lottery headquarters in Boise and claim their prize.

The newlyweds said they plan to use their winnings to pay off debt, help family and possibly buy a house, the news release said. There is one Hot Ball Bingo $30,000 top prize remaining.

Contractor fined for kickbacks

A subsidiary of the engineering firm CH2M Hill has agreed to pay federal authorities $1.5 million to resolve allegations that its employees knowingly submitted false claims and paid kickbacks as part of its contract to operate and manage mixed radioactive waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Between 2003 and 2005, two employees made more than 200 purchases from companies owned and operated by their spouses and either charged inflated prices or didn’t provide the items to the U.S. Department of Energy. Both were working for CH2M Hill as part of the cleanup of 170 underground tanks that store radioactive and hazardous waste, according to a news release.

Three of four people involved in the scheme have already pleaded guilty on fraud charges. One other has a criminal trial pending.

Elk hunter bitten by bear in Idaho

BOISE – An Idaho elk hunter who apparently stumbled across a bear’s resting spot Saturday was hospitalized after the animal bit him and broke his right arm, officials said.

Richard Paini, 40, suffered puncture wounds and an injured left hand along with the broken forearm in the attack at about 9 a.m.

The bear involved in the attack fled after Paini’s archery hunting partner, John Stiehl, used bear spray to scare off the bear.

Washington man suspected in crash

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A driver from Washington state is expected to be arrested in connection with a wrong-way crash that badly injured an Anchorage police officer.

Officer Randy Hughes suffered multiple fractures in the crash early Friday in Eagle River, a suburb north of Anchorage. Hughes was responding to reports that a sedan had been traveling the wrong way down the highway for miles, making no effort to avoid oncoming traffic, when his cruiser was hit by the car.

KTUU-TV reports that a judge signed an arrest warrant for the driver, 49-year-old Gregory Fulling, of Marysville, Wash.

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