In brief: Memorial for airman to be held today

The 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base will host a memorial today to remember Tech Sgt. Robert L. Aronson.

Aronson, the electrical environmental shop chief for the 92nd Maintenance Squadron, was found dead at his residence Tuesday about 5 a.m. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office does not suspect foul play.

“This is a tragic loss which has been felt throughout our wing,” Col. Paul Guemmer, 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander, said in a statement. “Robert and his family will remain in our thoughts and prayers while we continue to help his family and friends during this difficult time.”

Lawsuit challenging closed primary tossed

BOISE – The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says an appeal over Idaho’s new closed GOP primary election system is moot.

In the decision handed down Wednesday, the appellate court said that since Idaho lawmakers have changed the election laws, both the appeal and the original lawsuit brought by the Idaho Republican Party are without legal significance.

The case began two years ago when GOP leaders, worried that crossover voting was producing Republican candidates who fail to hew closely enough to the party line, sued the state in federal court.

Strange tracks lead deputy to suspect

MISSOULA – Missoula County authorities say a man suspected in copper wire thefts in several states has been arrested after an eagle-eyed sheriff’s deputy recognized an unusual tire tread pattern.

Deputy Gordon Schmill and his partner first thought a parked vehicle with a car trailer needed help Wednesday.

Schmill told the Missoulian newspaper that he then noticed something odd.

The heart print in the middle of the tire tread matched that from the scene of a stolen vehicle he was investigating. A wide, distinctive footprint also seemed to match.

Inside the trailer, the deputies found the stolen car and “a considerable amount” of stripped copper wire.

Collision injures motorcyclist

A collision between a motorcyclist and a passenger car on U.S. Highway 2 landed one person in a local hospital Thursday night.

The crash occurred at 7:37 p.m. about six miles north of Spokane in Colbert, according to a Washington State Patrol news release.

Authorities say Abigail Guske, 17, of Colbert, was driving a Nissan Altima west on Colbert Road when she stopped, started to cross Highway 2, and collided with Jerry R. Wallace, 47, of Deer Park, who was northbound on a Harley-Davidson.

A hospital spokesman at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center said Wallace’s condition was not immediately available, but the injuries are believed to be non-life- threatening. He was going into surgery Thursday night.

Guske and her passenger, Nathaniel Guske, 15, also of Colbert, were uninjured.

The cause of the crash was failure to yield the right of way, the news release said.

S. Korean president visiting Seattle

SEATTLE – South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Seattle Thursday for a two-day visit.

He was greeted on a red carpet at SeaTac Airport by Gov. Chris Gregoire as a Washington State Patrol honor guard carried U.S., South Korea and Washington flags.

Other than meeting with the governor, officials did not disclose an agenda for his visit.