In brief: Man cited in wolf shooting
A North Idaho man who said he shot a wolf that appeared to be crouched down as if to attack his three dogs on the southern end of Rathdrum Mountain has been cited for possessing an untagged wolf.
The Coeur d’Alene Press reports in a story on Tuesday that officials also seized the wolf pelt from 53-year-old Forrest Mize, of Rathdrum.
Mize said that on Dec. 30 he was hiking with his three female Labradors when he shot the wolf with a .22-caliber weapon he carries for protection.
“I guess I’m not surprised that we are seeing wolves up there,” said Chip Corsi, regional director for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, noting the abundance of deer, elk and moose in the area. However, it’s unclear whether the wolf shot by Mize was alone or a member of a pack, he said.
Corsi declined to elaborate on the citation, saying officials are still investigating.
Officials said even if a wolf shooting is ruled to be defensive, the person isn’t allowed to buy a tag afterward to keep the pelt, which is what Mize did.
Possessing a wolf pelt without a tag is a misdemeanor.
Court approves diocese abuse settlement
HELENA – A federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a reorganization plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena that includes a $16.4 million settlement for hundreds of people who sued the diocese over clergy sex abuse from the 1940s to the 1970s.
The plan, approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers in Missoula, includes another $4.45 million payment from the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province to settle a lawsuit filed by 45 Native Americans who alleged abuse and sex abuse at the Ursuline Academy in St. Ignatius over the same time period.
The plan goes to a vote of creditors, the 362 plaintiffs in two lawsuits against the diocese, and the plaintiffs in the Ursuline lawsuit.
The settlement calls for the diocese to post on its website all known past and present perpetrators who are identified in sexual abuse claims or the lawsuits. A disclosure statement lists 22 people by their full names and another 20 whose first or last names aren’t known.
The diocese will fund its share of the settlement with $14.5 million from insurers and at least $2 million in cash, according to documents in the reorganization plan.