Woman killed in motorcycle accident
A 61-year-old woman from New Mexico was killed over the weekend in a motorcycle accident on state Highway 97 by Lake Coeur d’Alene’s Turner Bay, according to the Idaho State Police.
Jane E. Barber, of Albuquerque, N.M., was either riding on or driving a Harley-Davidson three-wheel motorcycle with her husband, Dan O. Barber, 63, when they failed to negotiate a curve just after midnight Saturday, according to the ISP.
The motorcycle left the roadway and hit an embankment, throwing both riders, according to the ISP. Jane Barber died at the scene and Dan Barber was transported to Kootenai Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said he was listed in stable condition and was discharged Monday.
The accident is under investigation, according to the ISP.
Passenger killed when semi overturns
A passenger in a tractor-trailer was killed Monday when the driver lost control on a curve on U.S. Highway 95 six miles south of Plummer, Idaho.
Donna Zeiler, 55, of Roswell, N.M., died when the truck, driven by Donald Zeiler, 61, rolled onto its passenger side and crashed into sign posts and a utility pole, according the Idaho State Police. State troopers reported the cargo in Zeiler’s trailer apparently shifted while in a curve in the road, causing him to lose control. Both were wearing seat belts.
Donald Zeiler was treated at Kootenai Medical Center and released.
Habitat store opens in new location
Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho will open its new Discount Builders Supply Store at Wyoming and U.S. Highway 95 on Monday.
The 16,000-square-foot store next to Ziggy’s Building Supply replaces a small store Habitat opened a year ago on Seltice Way. The recycled building materials store was so successful that it earned Habitat $112,000 in its first year – nearly twice the amount Habitat leaders had projected.
The new store will stock appliances, furniture and building materials. Money raised from the sales will go toward Habitat’s building program. Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide nonprofit organization that helps working poor families build and buy their own homes. The North Idaho chapter has built 19 homes in Kootenai County and is working on a 12-home subdivision in Post Falls.
Mariann Bethke, chapter president, said the new store needs volunteers to keep it open six days a week. The old store will close Wednesday. To volunteer, call 667-3116.
Man pleads guilty to beating pit bull
Pocatello, Idaho Former Idaho State University football player Chris Seals has been sentenced to probation and ordered to attend anger management classes for beating his pit bull.
Seals was arrested in April. Authorities said that at the time of his arrest, Seals was already on probation for a similar incident in which a dog was taken away from him.
In Idaho, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor. Seals pleaded guilty as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Mary Remer at the Pocatello Animal Shelter has been caring for the injured pit bull. She said the animal’s head was so swollen that a veterinarian had to perform surgery to insert drainage tubes, and that the dog suffered bone chips in its forehead and five broken teeth.
In his report, the veterinarian said the dog was already undergoing treatment for a broken hind leg and that both its top and bottom jaw had previously been broken.
Remer said she was trying to find a new home for the dog, which she said is neither aggressive nor afraid of people.
Magistrate Judge Rob Naftz ordered Seals to complete two years of unsupervised probation, as well as take the anger management classes.
Museum highlights local legends
Rexburg, Idaho Officials are preparing to open the Teton Valley Museum, a 19,200-square-foot building honoring valley settlers from the 1800s to today.
The building is set to open May 26. Exhibits include items left by people such as John Colter, the first white man to cross Jackson Pass with the help of Crow Indians, and Ed Trafton, the so-called Yellowstone Bandit who held up 19 stagecoaches.
The museum also honors more recent high-profile residents – pictures of the area’s war veterans from World War I to the current war in Iraq.
“It’s the histories of the people that lived here and their stories,” said Kay Fullmer, president of the museum foundation. “It tells the hardships, goals and dreams of the people and what they accomplished.”