In brief: Boy’s shooting called justified

A Chouteau County sheriff’s deputy and a Montana Highway Patrol officer were justified in fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy near Fort Benton, the administrator for the state Division of Criminal Investigation said.

“They did what they had to do based on their training and based on the situation they encountered,” Mike Batista said.

Batista said the boy, Mark A. Keeley of Havre, fired a shotgun at the officers several times early Sunday.

Officials say Keeley was driving a car, believed to have been stolen in Havre, that matched the description of a reported gas drive-off in Chester, about 55 miles north of Fort Benton.

The boy would not pull over, and a Montana Highway Patrol trooper later stopped the car by placing “stop sticks” on the highway about five miles north of Fort Benton, Sheriff Vern Burdick said. He said the boy then fired a gun, striking the deputy’s patrol car, and continued driving south on Montana 223.

Just north of Fort Benton the driver fired multiple rounds at the deputy and the trooper, who both returned fire, Burdick said. Keeley was in the front seat when he was shot, and was still alive when officers pulled him out.

Seattle

Group to continue gay pride parade

The volunteer group that has organized an annual Seattle gay pride celebration since 1975 has changed its mind: It will plan a downtown parade after all and not file for bankruptcy.

The group owes more than $100,000 to the city for holding a weekendlong festival at the Seattle Center last year. Organizers announced Tuesday they would disband and file for bankruptcy. But at a meeting of Seattle Out and Proud that night, the group decided a 2007 event was possible.

“We thought: ‘We can do this; we can make this happen,’ ” said spokesman Troy Campbell, crediting an outpouring of community support as the reason.

The group will still have to pay the Seattle Center debt, but Ruth Bowman, a staff member in the city attorney’s office, said it would investigate every option for payment.

Earlier this year, the city agreed to host this year’s event at the Seattle Center again, if the group paid half the debt upfront and then paid $25,000 every year for two years. Campbell said the group hasn’t found a way to pay the city yet, but payments would be factored into its budget.

Tacoma

Bridge users get electronic option

The state Department of Transportation has begun giving out decal transponders so drivers can cross the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge when it opens in July without having to stop to pay a toll.

Decal owners will also need to set up accounts to have their bridge tolls automatically deducted from their debit account when a scanner detects their vehicle crossing.

State officials hope at least 25,000 people will sign up before the bridge opens so traffic will flow smoothly across the new $849 million suspension bridge, being built next to the existing 1950 span.

Convenience is the main selling point, along with a possible discount on the first year for motorists who install transponders in their vehicles. The official toll won’t be set until June 6, but it’s likely to be $3 for people who stop to pay at a toll booth and $1.50 for those who pay electronically.

Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald said the bridge probably will open on a weekend day in July, sometime after the Fourth.

Highway officials are giving out prizes to encourage people to sign up to pay their tolls electronically. Five people will win free tolls for a year and 100 others will win prepaid gasoline cards valued at $50 each.