In brief: Motorcyclist’s death ruled suicide

A motorcyclist who died of a gunshot wound to the head after a crash on Highway 23 committed suicide, authorities said Friday.

Johnny H. Winter, 56, of Spokane, shot himself after crashing his 2006 Harley-Davidson FXST motorcycle into a rock embankment about three miles south of Sprague Tuesday night .

“It’s just a real tragedy,” said Whitman County Coroner Pete Martin, who conducted the autopsy Friday.

Winter was only slightly injured in the crash, and his motorcycle was damaged but not destroyed, Martin said.

He walked 25 to 30 feet from the bike before shooting himself. A bullet removed from his brain matched a firearm found at the scene, Martin said.

Martin said Winter, a father of three, had depression problems, but investigators don’t know if the suicide was spontaneous or planned.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Veterans honor Idaho state worker

Robert Shoeman, an Idaho Department of Labor employee, has been nationally recognized by the American Legion for his work helping veterans find jobs.

Shoeman, a Vietnam-era Navy veteran, works in the department’s Post Falls office. He’s spent the past 10 years as a veterans employment representative.

Shoeman also co-chairs North Idaho Veterans Stand Down Committee. The annual “stand down” gatherings help veterans who need clothing, food, medical care and access to government services.

He and co-worker Johnny Moreno, of Twin Falls, will be honored at the Legion’s national convention in August.

Shoeman is the Local Veterans Employment Representative of the Year. Moreno will be honored for his work with disabled veterans.

Becky Kramer

Wolf delisting planned again

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday it would try again to drop wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the endangered species list, although courts have overruled previous attempts.

About 4,200 wolves roam Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, their numbers growing steadily since the 1970s.

“Wolves in the western Great Lakes have achieved recovery,” said Rowan Gould, acting director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Its action came one day after Congress voted to strip wolves of federal protections in five Western states: Montana, Idaho, Washington state, Oregon and Utah.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing Great Lakes wolves from the endangered list four times since 2004 but has been thwarted by court rulings that sided with lawsuits filed by animal rights and environmental groups.

Associated Press