Doctor faces robbery trial in Idaho
Rexburg, Idaho A doctor facing homicide and drug charges in Montana will be extradited to Idaho to stand trial on bank robbery charges after his first trial, the governors of Idaho and Montana have agreed.
In Montana, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for James Stephen Bischoff’s alleged role in the death of an 85-year-old patient. Bischoff is accused of supplying Kathryn Dvarishkis with the drugs that apparently caused her fatal heart attack.
He is also charged with two counts of drug distribution and another charge of writing bad checks.
Bischoff has pleaded innocent to all the Montana charges.
In Idaho, he’s accused of robbing a US Bank in Rexburg.
He will be extradited to Idaho after his first trial, set for Sept. 19 in Montana, is complete, said Troy Evans, chief deputy with the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office in Idaho.
Prosecutors claim that while Bischoff was released on bail after Dvarishkis’ death last March, he drove to Rexburg to rob the bank.
He was arrested March 17 at his home in Ennis, Mont., after Rexburg police found a piece of luggage near the bank with the doctor’s late wife’s name and address on the labels.
Bischoff is being held in Montana’s Madison County jail without bail. His original jury trial was set for May 16 in Virginia City, Mont., but the trial was pushed back at the request of Bischoff’s attorney and moved to another venue because of local publicity.
Legislation protects White Salmon River
Washington, D.C. The Senate on Tuesday approved legislation designating a 20-mile section of Washington state’s White Salmon River and one of its tributaries as part of the National Wild and Scenic River system.
The House approved the bill earlier this month.
The bill now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.
“Preserving this popular recreational destination will be a boon for the local economy and a service for future generations to enjoy,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a news release.
The bill protects the upper White Salmon River and its tributary, Cascade Creek, which are within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state’s southern Cascades.
At a committee hearing on the bill last year, Cantwell presented a petition supporting the proposal.
It had been signed by 102 local residents, 30 of whom represent local businesses, the release said.
“This wild and scenic river designation will allow fishing enthusiasts, hikers, river rafters, paddlers and sightseers to enjoy a pristine river setting,” said Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., who sponsored the House version of the bill.
An eight-mile section of the lower White Salmon River won federal protection in 1986 when Congress passed the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act.
Millions of stinky anchovies wash up on banks
Seaside, Ore. Millions of dead anchovies have washed up on the banks of the Neawanna River on the northern Oregon Coast, biologists said, giving off a putrid stink of salt water, seaweed and sewage.
Biologists say such mass deaths are perfectly normal, and probably caused in this case by an increased food supply, allowing a greater number of anchovies to be born.
“That’s the way nature works,” said North Coast Land Conservancy Director Neal Maine. “You get too many, then they take all the oxygen out of the water.”
In the 1960s, Maine said, so many anchovies died in the river that the bodies were knee-deep.
Seaside Mayor Don Larson said the city is waiting for the tide to remove the bodies.
Public health official Lynn McConnell said there are no known health problems from the anchovies, but advises the public to stay away from the fish if possible and wash hands after touching them.