Vehicle theft suspect arrested

Coeur d’Alene police on Wednesday arrested a 21-year-old man, whom Post Falls police had sought as a suspect in recent vehicle burglaries.

Jeremy Kent Franks, who was wanted for a probation violation, is now being held at the Kootenai County Jail, said Lt. Don Ashenbrenner of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

Franks has a criminal history of two counts of burglary and grand theft.

Post Falls police issued a statement Wednesday seeking help in locating Frank, but that search ended in two hours.

Coeur d’Alene officers were at a house near 15th Street, on an unrelated manner, when they heard commotion coming from the back of the house, Ashenbrenner said. They saw Franks jump from the window and run, he said. The officers found him a short distance away and took him into custody, Ashenbrenner said.

National group elects Post Falls official VP

Shelly Enderud, finance director for the city of Post Falls, has been elected vice president of a national organization of treasurers working in the public sector.

The Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada represents 2,000 finance officials who work in local, county and state governments. It holds educational events, publishes and distributes training manuals, and provides a networking system for professionals.

Enderud has been a member of the group since 1999, and has worked her way up the ranks from board member to treasurer to secretary and now vice president. She will likely move into the president-elect position next, followed by president.

A certified public finance administrator, Enderud has worked for the city for eight years. She implemented Post Falls’ recycling program and put the city’s financial reports and budget in electronic format, initiatives that won awards from the Association of Idaho Cities.

Simpson rejects migrant worker bill

Boise U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson says he will never support a bill that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the United States.

The Republican, bucking the GOP’s national leadership, made the remarks during a congressional forum presented by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. President Bush is supporting a plan that would allow some illegal immigrants to remain in the country to work, and U.S. Sen. Larry Craig is pushing a proposal that would make some migrant farmworkers legalized residents.

“I completely disagree with President Bush on the issue,” Simpson said. “A lot of these (illegal immigrants) are good, hardworking people who come here for a better life. But you can’t reward illegal immigration. It will make it all that much harder for people who are trying to enter the country legally.”

Escaped inmate arrested in Oregon

Lewiston An inmate who walked away from his work crew has been arrested in Oregon and faces a felony escape charge.

Christopher Brian Critchfield, 32, is accused of leaving his work crew on July 13, while fellow inmates worked at the Lewiston Tammany Alternative Center. He was arrested Aug. 11 at a campground in Gold Beach, Ore., said Nez Perce County sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Messelt.

Though Critchfield is still being held at the Curry County Jail in Oregon, he’s scheduled to appear Sept. 7 in Lewiston’s Magistrate Court for a preliminary hearing. He will be formally charged at that time, authorities said.

Critchfield was serving time for possession of a controlled substance and illegal possession of a weapon, according to court documents. He was originally set to be released at the end of 2007.