In brief: Bonners Ferry pipe bomb injures two
Two people were injured when a pipe bomb placed at the front door of a Bonners Ferry home exploded early Sunday morning.
A suspect, Allen Avery, was arrested on suspicion of possession of an explosive device, Bonners Ferry police Chief Bob Boone said.
Police received a dispatch call at 1:18 a.m. about the detonation of an explosive device in the 7300 block of Apache Street, which is within a block of Boundary Community Hospital.
Assistant police Chief Foster Mayo arrived first and discovered two injured males. Mayo secured the scene and called for additional help.
Both victims were taken to the nearby hospital for treatment and were released.
Investigators from the city police, Idaho State Police and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the device was a pipe bomb that had been placed at the front door of the home.
The two residents opened the door, saw the pipe bomb and closed the door as the device exploded, injuring them both, authorities said.
Police to visit hit-and-run site
Spokane police officers will return to the scene of a fatal hit-and-run from a month ago in hopes of finding drivers who can shed light on the tragedy.
Don J. Foster, 55, died from injuries to his head, chest, arms and legs when he was struck by multiple drivers the evening of Feb. 9 as he walked south across Mission Avenue on the east side of a bridge spanning the Spokane River. The force of the impact from the first vehicle that hit him sent Foster into the westbound lanes, where he was hit at least twice more, police said.
Officers will be stationed at several locations near Mission and South Riverton avenues with signs asking drivers to pull over if they have information on the incident.
The goal is to gather information from drivers regularly traveling the route, reinforce that the case is still a top investigative priority, and possibly identify a gold SUV believed to be the first vehicle that struck Foster.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Detainees still on hunger strike
TACOMA – Immigration officials said a lockdown has been lifted at a Washington detention center where many detainees are involved in a hunger strike to protest their treatment and call for an end to deportations.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the lockdown earlier Sunday at the area of the Northwest Detention Center holding violent offenders as a precaution amid a continuing hunger strike.
ICE said late Sunday the lockdown had been lifted but did not provide details.
Officials said about 330 detainees refused to eat Sunday lunch, while 750 wouldn’t eat Saturday.
The lockdown of Level 1 offenders, those with violent criminal histories, meant supervision was more intensive and certain privileges were restricted, such as access to phone calls, ICE said. The agency said it couldn’t provide a number of detainees affected by the lockdown but that they still have “controlled access” to medical and hygiene facilities.
Woman charged in local cyclist’s death
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – A 29-year-old Palisade woman involved in a crash in western Colorado that killed a Spokane man on a cross-country bicycling trip is now facing several drug charges.
Prosecutors said Tonie Rosales used cocaine for two days in September before heading to Delta for a court hearing relating to a prior DUI arrest. She struck and killed 25-year-old Eunjey Cho on U.S. Highway 50 on her way to court Sept. 18 and was formally charged with the drug offenses Thursday.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported Rosales already has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide: one alleging DUI and another alleging reckless driving.
Cho was a volunteer with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest in Spokane. He was riding from Seattle to Princeton, N.J.
Rain pushes sewage into city harbor
PORT ANGELES, Wash. – Public health officials in Port Angeles are warning people away from waters of Port Angeles Harbor after heavy rains sent about 6 million gallons of combined rain and raw sewage into the harbor.
Last week’s rainfall overwhelmed the stormwater system, forcing untreated sewage and stormwater into the harbor, the Peninsula Daily News reported.
Officials said fecal bacteria in the sewage could result in skin rashes, respiratory infections and other illnesses.
The public health warning is in effect through Friday.
Workers remove old railroad bridge
GLADSTONE, Ore. – Crews on Sunday removed an old railroad bridge that had been tilting over the Clackamas River.
The Oregonian reported Union Pacific workers and contractors pulled the old trolley bridge off its damaged footings and into the Clackamas River.
The bridge became unstable on Thursday during high winds and rain-swollen currents.
The 100-year-old bridge was about a mile upstream from the Willamette River. It once carried trolley traffic between Gladstone and Oregon City, and linked them with Portland.