Cantwell urges Medicare fix

During a visit to Spokane on Saturday, Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell pushed for measures to cover unexpected drug costs for people who are enrolling late for new Medicare prescription coverage because of government mistakes or confusion surrounding the new system.

“I don’t want this to fall on the backs of pharmacists,” Cantwell said at the Community Health Association of Spokane clinic on North Maple.

When Medicare’s “Part D” prescription coverage went into effect in January, some seniors who were eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid were automatically enrolled in a plan that didn’t cover their medicines. Consequently, some switched programs and bought medications at full cost before plan changes kick in next month.

Cantwell said she will send a letter to the federal agency that administers the programs hoping that they will reimburse those costs.

Also, she is sponsoring legislation that would extend the enrollment deadline for the drug program from May 15 to the end of the year.

“I think the majority of senators anyway have said they would like to see it extended,” she said.

Man accused of golf club assault

Spokane police arrested a man who they said used golf clubs to break another man’s arm early Saturday.

Police arrested Jackie L. Hughes and booked him on suspicion of second-degree assault. Officers said he beat up two men with a set of golf clubs at 611 South Bernard.

Police found two broken clubs on the floor of the apartment, and the two men were treated for their injuries at a local hospital.

One of the injured men, 28-year-old Sidney Dean Phelps, had an outstanding warrant for possession of a controlled substance and was booked into jail.

Reward offered to help find mugger

Secret Witness is offering a $1,000 reward for help in finding a man accused of robbing a woman downtown.

A woman crossing the street at Main and Monroe had her purse stolen at about 2:30 p.m. Jan. 5. She received cuts on her face and knee from the mugging.

The man ran into Riverfront Park, and officers later found his jacket and the stolen purse eight blocks away. The robber took out some cash and a checkbook, as well as some credit cards.

The victim told police the man was black, in his early 20s, about 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds. He had braids behind his ears and a well-groomed beard along his jaw line.

Anyone with information is asked to call Secret Witness at (509) 327-5111. Callers do not have to give their name to get the reward.

Big-rig crashes avoiding deer

Wallace

A tractor-trailer hauling 41,000 pounds of apples flipped on its side early Saturday morning, after the driver swerved to avoid a deer on Interstate 90.

Neither the truck driver, Fredrick W. Boham, 23, of Great Falls, Mont., nor the passenger, Kerry A. Kellar, 21, of Bemidji, Minn., was injured.

The accident occurred around 2:22 a.m. between Wallace and Lookout Pass.

According to Idaho State Patrol reports, Boham overcorrected after he swerved to avoid the deer, and hit the center divider. The tractor-trailer came to rest on its side on the barrier.

Prison van escapee hid key in shoe

Great Falls A man accused of murder who escaped from an inmate transport van last week unlocked his shackles with a key hidden in the tongue of his shoe, Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard said.

Dueston Haggard, 28, stripped out of his orange jumpsuit and unlocked his handcuffs and shackles after the van left Great Falls on Wednesday for the Montana State Prison, Howard said Friday. Haggard waited until the vehicle slowed to reach up, open the hatch on the van’s roof and jump out.

Officials didn’t realize Haggard was missing until the van reached the prison in Deer Lodge, several hours after he escaped. Haggard was arrested at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at a motel after investigators traced phone calls he was making to family members back to the Blackstone Inn.

Howard, who interviewed the other inmates in the transport van, said Haggard did not have a plan. He knew the latch on the van’s hatch was broken and decided to take advantage of the situation, Howard said.

Inmates told Howard that Haggard offered the key to them for their shackles, but all declined. None, however, alerted their guards to Haggard’s escape.