In brief: Crash with truck kills bicyclist
A 25-year-old Spokane Valley man died shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday when his bicycle collided with a pickup near the Liberty Lake Off-Road Vehicle Park, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Peter J. Duperron was riding downhill westbound on a curve of Lakeside Road when he crashed into an eastbound Dodge Ram pickup driven by Mike S. Gladden, 33, investigators said.
Gladden attempted to move his truck as far off the road as he could but was unable to dodge the bike, said sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.
A medical helicopter was sent to take Duperron to a hospital, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The bicyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Boise
LaRocco to run for Craig’s seat
A former Idaho congressman wants to run for U.S. Senate in 2008.
Larry LaRocco, a Democrat who served two U.S. House terms starting in 1990, said Wednesday he wants the Senate seat held by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho.
“I’m gonna get into this race,” said LaRocco, who was ousted from the House in 1993 by Helen Chenoweth.
Craig, who has been in the Senate since 1990, hasn’t said whether he’ll seek another term.
Coeur d’Alene
ESPN analyst Campbell to talk
Former Major League Baseball player and ESPN baseball analyst Dave Campbell will be the guest speaker at the North Idaho College Booster Club luncheon Tuesday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.
Campbell will provide insight into this baseball season and predictions on division favorites.
He teams up with Dan Shulman to broadcast American and National league games for ESPN radio. Campbell spent much of his career with the Detroit Tigers and the San Diego Padres before retiring in 1974.
The luncheon will begin at noon in the Shore Lounge and is open to the public. For information, call (208) 655-5458.
Idaho Falls, Idaho
1,700-year-old bones unearthed
Human bones uncovered by a worker excavating a basement in eastern Idaho are at least 1,700 years old, according to carbon dating results released this week.
The bones were unearthed by a backhoe operator in September on former farmland in the Hibbard area.
Susanne Miller, a paleontologist hired by the Idaho State Historical Society, said the bones are those of a 40-year-old American Indian male. She said she will contact tribes so they can decide what to do with the remains.
Olympia
Washington to get poet laureate
Washington will have a poet laureate, it seems, but without a butt.
After 12 years of unsuccessful attempts, state lawmakers have agreed to hire an official state poet laureate – salary to be determined – to promote poetry statewide and compose poems for government events.
“We’re finally restoring an old, old tradition, and I think we’re really going to enjoy it,” said Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle.
Lawmakers stopped short, however, of Jacobsen’s suggestion that they fully embrace the medieval tradition of providing the poet with a 126-gallon barrel – known as a “butt” – of wine. Instead, Jacobsen said he’ll see if the state wine commission would donate wine.
The bill now goes to the governor, who can veto it or sign it into law. Forty states and the federal government all have poets laureate, according to prime sponsor Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima.
Skinner’s House bill 1279 includes $30,000 toward salary and expenses of the poet. But the state hopes most costs will be covered by grants and donations.
From staff and wire reports