Fried grasshoppers at ballpark; road rage life term; protecting pot users
- Updated
Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- Updated
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The House has passed a bill that would no longer require a doctor's note in order for Washington state students to use sunscreen at school.
The Democratic-controlled chamber unanimously passed the measure Monday and it now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate for concurrence.
Right now, students must have a prescription or note from a licensed health care professional to use over-the-counter sunscreen products while at school. According to The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, sunscreen is considered to be a medication because it is regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and is categorized as a "sunscreen drug product."
Senate Bill 5404 would allow anyone, including students, parents and school personnel, to possess or apply sunscreen while on school property, at a school-related event or activity or summer camp.
Under the measure, a parent or guardian must supply the sunscreen product to the student.
- By STEVEN DUBOIS Associated Press
- Updated
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two Oregon cities adopted new policies and training to settle a federal lawsuit that alleged a police officer wrongfully seized and searched the cellphone of a woman who was documenting an arrest, it was announced Monday.
Carrie Medina, a self-described citizen journalist, said a Gresham police officer took her phone, twisted her arm and detained her while she tried to livestream the February 2013 arrest of a young man at a light-rail stop in downtown Portland.
The actions violated Medina's rights to free speech and free press, the lawsuit filed on her behalf said.
Though bystander video has become common in the age of the cellphone, ACLU of Oregon legal director Mat dos Santos said the organization still gets cases in which police try to stop filming or obtain the footage without consent or a search warrant.
The case is a reminder that filming police doing their jobs in public is a First Amendment right that provides a critical check and balance, he said.
"It creates an independent record of what took place in a particular incident, free from accusations of bias, lying or faulty memory," he said. "It is no accident that some of our most high-profile cases of police misconduct have involved bystander video."
The officer was working on a transit police detail, which includes police from Portland and Gresham. Both cities were named in the lawsuit along with the TriMet regional mass transit agency.
In addition to new police policies and training, Gresham also had to pay $85,000 in legal fees. Because Medina's lawyers worked the case for free, the money goes to the ACLU Foundation of Oregon.
Gresham spokeswoman Elizabeth Coffey said in an email that the city developed new policies and procedures shortly after the incident. "We will move forward from here and are thankful the settlement is resolved," she said.
Medina said Monday she feels a sense of vindication. Since the incident, she has co-founded the group Film The Police Portland, which is dedicated to police accountability. "Almost everyone has a cellphone that can record video these days, and I believe police should always act as if they have a camera rolling," she said.
- Updated
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A man was transported to a hospital after exchanging gunfire with Border Patrol agents at an immigration checkpoint on Interstate 25 in southern New Mexico, federal officials said.
Police have released few details about the encounter but said it began Sunday evening when the man was driving through the checkpoint and was referred to a secondary inspection.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the man brandished a handgun as he was being questioned and then fired one shot through his car in the direction of Border Patrol agents. Agents returned gunfire and then secured the scene and administered first aid.
CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility, the FBI and state authorities are investigating.
Immigration checkpoints are common around the southwest and can be as far as 100 miles from the international border.
There are five permanent checkpoints in New Mexico at which agents and police-trained dogs monitor cars and ask about citizenship status. If a person is deemed suspicious, agents will refer them to a secondary and more thorough inspection.
Checkpoints have been controversial in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, where some community members say they impose on their freedom to move freely and result in racial profiling. There are about 11 checkpoints in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Sector, which comprises most of the state.
Customs and Border Protection says checkpoints strategically located and serve to catch and deter human and drug smuggling.
- Updated
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Food trucks will line up at the state Capitol later this week with vendors offering of a variety of bites for the thousands of hungry workers at the campus.
At least 14 vendors are expected at the lobby day event Thursday, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Olympian reported Monday ( ).
The event, which is sponsored by the Washington State Food Truck Association, is expected to draw 2,000 people, according to the Department of Enterprise services. About 7,000 people work on the campus, and scores more visit on any given day, according to DES.
Vendors, which include the Grilled Cheese Experience, Arepa Latin Street Food and Hometown Dogs, will offer up their normal menus, along with "sample bites" for $3.
A Facebook posting from the association says the event is an opportunity for food truck owners to meet lawmakers "and show them we are an important small business industry growing in their communities."
___
Information from: The Olympian,
- Updated
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho. (AP) — David E. Hutto has been sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole for killing a man after a road rage incident.
Hutto was sentenced Monday in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for the death of local resident William "Bo" Kirk last October.
The 44-year-old Hutto was accused of kidnapping Kirk and killing him after following him home after a road-rage incident.
The body of the 41-year-old Kirk was found on Oct. 25 near the Hayden Creek shooting range, not far from where his burning truck was located.
In accepting a plea deal, Hutto in February entered an Alford plea to murder, kidnapping and robbery charges. That means he technically did not admit to killing Kirk, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has lifted a ban on motorized vehicles in a southeastern Utah canyon that was the setting of a 2014 ATV protest ride that was a flashpoint in the Western struggle over government land management.
Zinke said in a news release Monday in that providing recreation access on public lands is important and that disabled people can't get around without motorized vehicles.
The move marks a stark shift from previous administrations that banned ATVs to protect a canyon that is home to Native American cliff dwellings.
Zinke says they will remain protected.
The May 2014 protest ride was organized shortly after Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy had a standoff with federal officials over similar issues.
A Utah county commissioner convicted of trespassing in the Utah ride became a cause celebre in the movement.
- Updated
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police arrested a 55-year-old Oregon man accused of looking into the bedrooms of young women and recording them.
The Clatsop County Sheriff's Office says deputies had been getting complaints of a peeping Tom at a gated community south of Warrenton for more than a year. Investigators got a break in February after one of the victims installed a surveillance system.
The sheriff's office says that evidence led them to Kirk Richard Cazee. He was booked into the county jail on charges of stalking, criminal trespass, invasion of person privacy, encouraging child sex abuse and using a child in a sexually explicit display.
The sheriff's office says five victims have been identified, and three of them were under 18 at the time they were recorded.
- Updated
SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle baseball fans will be able to eat fried oysters and grasshoppers while they enjoy the game.
KIRO-TV reports ( ) new food items at Safeco Field were presented to members of the media Thursday. Among them are the Seattle wings, which are actually fried oyster drizzed with hot sauce. The wings were created in a partnership by Seattle Chef Ethan Stowell, Centerplate and the Seattle Mariners. Poquitos Mexican food is adding crispy fried grasshoppers as a taco topping option.
Stowell says it is the first time local restaurants were invited to serve food at the stadium. The partners say they want to make sure there are more food options in the traditional ballpark menu.
___
Information from: KIRO-TV, htt
- By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press
- Updated
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The nation's only underground nuclear repository has received its first shipment of waste, more than three years after shipping was halted in response to a radiation release that contaminated part of the facility.
The U.S. Energy Department said Monday that the shipment from a federal facility in Idaho marked a milestone for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and the government sites where waste left over from decades of nuclear weapons research and development has been stacking up.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant was forced to close in February 2014 after an inappropriately packed drum of waste ruptured, hampering the government's multibillion-dollar cleanup program.
Some operations at the repository resumed in December after an expensive recovery effort, but federal officials have acknowledged the resulting backlog.
The facility hopes to receive four shipments a week by the end of 2017.
- Updated
COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — Coos County sheriff's deputies arrested a man accused of threatening his neighbor with a shotgun in a dispute over roaming chickens.
The Coos Bay World reports ( ) the neighbor told deputies he asked 56-year-old Anthony Lewis to remove chickens that wandered onto his property.
Lewis responded by returning to the property armed with a shotgun, which he allegedly pointed at the neighbor while yelling: "I'm gonna kill you, white trash."
The sheriff's office said Lewis admitted going to his neighbor's property with a loaded shotgun.
Court records show the Coos Bay man was charged with menacing, unlawful use of a weapon and pointing a firearm at another.
Lewis was released from jail over the weekend on the condition he not contact his neighbor. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 28.
___
Information from: The World,
- By KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press
- Updated
DENVER (AP) — Colorado has legalized pot but wants to make it a crime to grow it collectively.
A bill that won final approval in the state Senate Monday makes it a crime to grow recreational pot for someone else. That effectively ends Colorado's marijuana co-ops.
Legislative analysts have no estimate how many collective marijuana grows exist in Colorado, though they're anecdotally popular with pot users who share the cost of electricity, water and fertilizer.
The bill has already passed the House and awaits the signature of Gov. John Hickenlooper. The governor backs the idea and is expected to sign it into law.
The bill also sets aside some $6 million a year in marijuana tax money to give law enforcement more money to investigate illegal pot growing operations.
- Updated
PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities say a woman's baby died shortly after being delivered by emergency cesarean section as a result of a crash on Interstate 17 in Phoenix.
Trooper Kameron Lee of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Public Safety says the woman, who was eight months pregnant, remained hospitalized and that no additional information is available on her condition or circumstances of the Sunday afternoon wreck.
The 30-year-old woman's identity was not released but the Phoenix Fire Department said she had multiple injuries, including broken legs and an arm fracture.
Firefighters had to extract the woman from her van where she was trapped by the driver's seat. Bystanders had already removed three children from the van when firefighters arrived.
The children were reported in stable condition at a hospital following the accident. They're ages 5, 6 and 14.
- Updated
POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — Hunters in Wyoming killed the second-highest number of elk in recent history last year.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says elk hunters reported a 44.5-percent success rate. Statewide, they took almost 26,000 elk.
The Powell Tribune reports ( ) hunters also took large numbers of antelope, deer and black bear. One exception was moose: The number of moose killed fell to the lowest level in decades.
Game and Fish Deputy Chief Doug Brimeyer says mild winter weather and good moisture made for good wildlife habitat last year.
He says elk hunters can expect more of the same this year.
___
Information from: Powell (Wyo.) Tribune,
- By PAMELA JOHNSON Loveland Reporter-Herald
- Updated
LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) — Cash is a different sort of hunting dog. He's on the hunt for poachers and endangered species, using his specially trained nose to help Colorado Parks and Wildlife District Wildlife Manager Brock McArdle.
One of two nationally certified wildlife law enforcement dogs on the beat with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Cash is part of a pilot program to show how dogs can help sniff out poachers, evidence and the territory of certain species of concern.
"He's got a good nose," said McArdle, who is assigned to the Red Feather District in northern Larimer County.
Dogs as wildlife officers are not as widespread as canine cops on a traditional law enforcement beat, but they are working in the natural resources capacity in more than 24 states, including Kansas, Indiana, Idaho and California. The Colorado pilot program started with one dog, Sci, in the Colorado Springs area within the last year, and Cash joined McArdle in Larimer County earlier this year.
"It's gaining steam," said McArdle. "The whole purpose of this pilot program is to show the benefits of these dogs."
So far, the pilot program is completely funded by donations and grants. Bear Point Kennels donated Cash, and his $8,000 in equipment and training were covered by a series of grants from Great Outdoors Colorado, the Mule Deer Foundation, Rocky Mountain Big Horn Society, Colorado Bowhunters Association, Northern Colorado Pheasants Forever and Operation Game Thief.
Also, an internet donation site is set up to help pay for food and medical expenses for both Cash and Sci, anticipated to be about $1,500 per year per dog.
Cash is trained to sniff out the scents of 11 commonly hunted species including moose, deer, waterfowl and pronghorn. This skill will help McArdle and other officers find evidence and traces of illegally killed animals during poaching investigations.
Cash could help lead officers to evidence, or during checkpoints held in hunting season, he could provide officers with probable cause to search a vehicle.
This particular dog, too, is trained to smell the black-footed ferret and the boreal toad, which are species of concern in Colorado. He can help biologists in the field as they survey locations to see how these species are faring in their habitat or in areas they have been introduced.
Cash's nose can pinpoint where biologists should look, replacing teams of people simply following a grid in hopes of spotting a species.
So this black Labrador, who is about a year old, is part criminalist, part scientist and part ambassador.
McArdle will take him into the community for presentations with children and other groups to spread education and awareness about wildlife and the importance of stewardship. Though he's been on the job for only a short time, Cash has already made an appearance at a youth hunting event.
Cash, too, may serve as a deterrent to poachers and other criminals, McArdle added.
Cash is nationally certified, so he can work in any state, and though the team is based in Northern Colorado, McArdle anticipates helping out when needed statewide and maybe even north into Wyoming.
He hopes that as Cash and Sci (who is dually trained as a wildlife dog as well as a traditional law enforcement dog who can help with arrests) show their skills, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will grow the program.
But for now, the two will remain on the beat, helping with the protection and management of wildlife.
And the hope is that Cash, like his namesake, may leave a legacy.
"He's the dog in black," said McArdle. "You know, like Johnny Cash, the man in black."
___
Information from: Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald,
- Updated
COVINA, Calif. (AP) — California authorities say a gunman was arrested after he shot at passing cars and then opened fire on deputies during a standoff that he live-streamed on social media.
Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Elisabeth Sachs says a patrol car was struck by gunfire as deputies responded Sunday in suburban Covina.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports () the suspect posted video to Facebook as he fired. "I'm sorry guys," he said, as deputies were heard shouting orders.
The suspect then barricaded himself in a home. In another video two hours later, he is seen talking by phone with a negotiator. He puts the handgun to his head and threatens suicide before offering to surrender.
Officials say 20-year-old Sean Vasquez could face charges including assault with a deadly weapon. It wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney.
More like this...
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The House has passed a bill that would no longer require a doctor's note in order for Washington state students to use sunscreen at school.
The Democratic-controlled chamber unanimously passed the measure Monday and it now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate for concurrence.
Right now, students must have a prescription or note from a licensed health care professional to use over-the-counter sunscreen products while at school. According to The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, sunscreen is considered to be a medication because it is regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and is categorized as a "sunscreen drug product."
Senate Bill 5404 would allow anyone, including students, parents and school personnel, to possess or apply sunscreen while on school property, at a school-related event or activity or summer camp.
Under the measure, a parent or guardian must supply the sunscreen product to the student.
- By STEVEN DUBOIS Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two Oregon cities adopted new policies and training to settle a federal lawsuit that alleged a police officer wrongfully seized and searched the cellphone of a woman who was documenting an arrest, it was announced Monday.
Carrie Medina, a self-described citizen journalist, said a Gresham police officer took her phone, twisted her arm and detained her while she tried to livestream the February 2013 arrest of a young man at a light-rail stop in downtown Portland.
The actions violated Medina's rights to free speech and free press, the lawsuit filed on her behalf said.
Though bystander video has become common in the age of the cellphone, ACLU of Oregon legal director Mat dos Santos said the organization still gets cases in which police try to stop filming or obtain the footage without consent or a search warrant.
The case is a reminder that filming police doing their jobs in public is a First Amendment right that provides a critical check and balance, he said.
"It creates an independent record of what took place in a particular incident, free from accusations of bias, lying or faulty memory," he said. "It is no accident that some of our most high-profile cases of police misconduct have involved bystander video."
The officer was working on a transit police detail, which includes police from Portland and Gresham. Both cities were named in the lawsuit along with the TriMet regional mass transit agency.
In addition to new police policies and training, Gresham also had to pay $85,000 in legal fees. Because Medina's lawyers worked the case for free, the money goes to the ACLU Foundation of Oregon.
Gresham spokeswoman Elizabeth Coffey said in an email that the city developed new policies and procedures shortly after the incident. "We will move forward from here and are thankful the settlement is resolved," she said.
Medina said Monday she feels a sense of vindication. Since the incident, she has co-founded the group Film The Police Portland, which is dedicated to police accountability. "Almost everyone has a cellphone that can record video these days, and I believe police should always act as if they have a camera rolling," she said.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A man was transported to a hospital after exchanging gunfire with Border Patrol agents at an immigration checkpoint on Interstate 25 in southern New Mexico, federal officials said.
Police have released few details about the encounter but said it began Sunday evening when the man was driving through the checkpoint and was referred to a secondary inspection.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the man brandished a handgun as he was being questioned and then fired one shot through his car in the direction of Border Patrol agents. Agents returned gunfire and then secured the scene and administered first aid.
CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility, the FBI and state authorities are investigating.
Immigration checkpoints are common around the southwest and can be as far as 100 miles from the international border.
There are five permanent checkpoints in New Mexico at which agents and police-trained dogs monitor cars and ask about citizenship status. If a person is deemed suspicious, agents will refer them to a secondary and more thorough inspection.
Checkpoints have been controversial in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, where some community members say they impose on their freedom to move freely and result in racial profiling. There are about 11 checkpoints in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Sector, which comprises most of the state.
Customs and Border Protection says checkpoints strategically located and serve to catch and deter human and drug smuggling.
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Food trucks will line up at the state Capitol later this week with vendors offering of a variety of bites for the thousands of hungry workers at the campus.
At least 14 vendors are expected at the lobby day event Thursday, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Olympian reported Monday ( ).
The event, which is sponsored by the Washington State Food Truck Association, is expected to draw 2,000 people, according to the Department of Enterprise services. About 7,000 people work on the campus, and scores more visit on any given day, according to DES.
Vendors, which include the Grilled Cheese Experience, Arepa Latin Street Food and Hometown Dogs, will offer up their normal menus, along with "sample bites" for $3.
A Facebook posting from the association says the event is an opportunity for food truck owners to meet lawmakers "and show them we are an important small business industry growing in their communities."
___
Information from: The Olympian,
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho. (AP) — David E. Hutto has been sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole for killing a man after a road rage incident.
Hutto was sentenced Monday in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for the death of local resident William "Bo" Kirk last October.
The 44-year-old Hutto was accused of kidnapping Kirk and killing him after following him home after a road-rage incident.
The body of the 41-year-old Kirk was found on Oct. 25 near the Hayden Creek shooting range, not far from where his burning truck was located.
In accepting a plea deal, Hutto in February entered an Alford plea to murder, kidnapping and robbery charges. That means he technically did not admit to killing Kirk, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has lifted a ban on motorized vehicles in a southeastern Utah canyon that was the setting of a 2014 ATV protest ride that was a flashpoint in the Western struggle over government land management.
Zinke said in a news release Monday in that providing recreation access on public lands is important and that disabled people can't get around without motorized vehicles.
The move marks a stark shift from previous administrations that banned ATVs to protect a canyon that is home to Native American cliff dwellings.
Zinke says they will remain protected.
The May 2014 protest ride was organized shortly after Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy had a standoff with federal officials over similar issues.
A Utah county commissioner convicted of trespassing in the Utah ride became a cause celebre in the movement.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police arrested a 55-year-old Oregon man accused of looking into the bedrooms of young women and recording them.
The Clatsop County Sheriff's Office says deputies had been getting complaints of a peeping Tom at a gated community south of Warrenton for more than a year. Investigators got a break in February after one of the victims installed a surveillance system.
The sheriff's office says that evidence led them to Kirk Richard Cazee. He was booked into the county jail on charges of stalking, criminal trespass, invasion of person privacy, encouraging child sex abuse and using a child in a sexually explicit display.
The sheriff's office says five victims have been identified, and three of them were under 18 at the time they were recorded.
SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle baseball fans will be able to eat fried oysters and grasshoppers while they enjoy the game.
KIRO-TV reports ( ) new food items at Safeco Field were presented to members of the media Thursday. Among them are the Seattle wings, which are actually fried oyster drizzed with hot sauce. The wings were created in a partnership by Seattle Chef Ethan Stowell, Centerplate and the Seattle Mariners. Poquitos Mexican food is adding crispy fried grasshoppers as a taco topping option.
Stowell says it is the first time local restaurants were invited to serve food at the stadium. The partners say they want to make sure there are more food options in the traditional ballpark menu.
___
Information from: KIRO-TV, htt
- By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The nation's only underground nuclear repository has received its first shipment of waste, more than three years after shipping was halted in response to a radiation release that contaminated part of the facility.
The U.S. Energy Department said Monday that the shipment from a federal facility in Idaho marked a milestone for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and the government sites where waste left over from decades of nuclear weapons research and development has been stacking up.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant was forced to close in February 2014 after an inappropriately packed drum of waste ruptured, hampering the government's multibillion-dollar cleanup program.
Some operations at the repository resumed in December after an expensive recovery effort, but federal officials have acknowledged the resulting backlog.
The facility hopes to receive four shipments a week by the end of 2017.
COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) — Coos County sheriff's deputies arrested a man accused of threatening his neighbor with a shotgun in a dispute over roaming chickens.
The Coos Bay World reports ( ) the neighbor told deputies he asked 56-year-old Anthony Lewis to remove chickens that wandered onto his property.
Lewis responded by returning to the property armed with a shotgun, which he allegedly pointed at the neighbor while yelling: "I'm gonna kill you, white trash."
The sheriff's office said Lewis admitted going to his neighbor's property with a loaded shotgun.
Court records show the Coos Bay man was charged with menacing, unlawful use of a weapon and pointing a firearm at another.
Lewis was released from jail over the weekend on the condition he not contact his neighbor. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 28.
___
Information from: The World,
- By KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — Colorado has legalized pot but wants to make it a crime to grow it collectively.
A bill that won final approval in the state Senate Monday makes it a crime to grow recreational pot for someone else. That effectively ends Colorado's marijuana co-ops.
Legislative analysts have no estimate how many collective marijuana grows exist in Colorado, though they're anecdotally popular with pot users who share the cost of electricity, water and fertilizer.
The bill has already passed the House and awaits the signature of Gov. John Hickenlooper. The governor backs the idea and is expected to sign it into law.
The bill also sets aside some $6 million a year in marijuana tax money to give law enforcement more money to investigate illegal pot growing operations.
PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities say a woman's baby died shortly after being delivered by emergency cesarean section as a result of a crash on Interstate 17 in Phoenix.
Trooper Kameron Lee of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Public Safety says the woman, who was eight months pregnant, remained hospitalized and that no additional information is available on her condition or circumstances of the Sunday afternoon wreck.
The 30-year-old woman's identity was not released but the Phoenix Fire Department said she had multiple injuries, including broken legs and an arm fracture.
Firefighters had to extract the woman from her van where she was trapped by the driver's seat. Bystanders had already removed three children from the van when firefighters arrived.
The children were reported in stable condition at a hospital following the accident. They're ages 5, 6 and 14.
POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — Hunters in Wyoming killed the second-highest number of elk in recent history last year.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says elk hunters reported a 44.5-percent success rate. Statewide, they took almost 26,000 elk.
The Powell Tribune reports ( ) hunters also took large numbers of antelope, deer and black bear. One exception was moose: The number of moose killed fell to the lowest level in decades.
Game and Fish Deputy Chief Doug Brimeyer says mild winter weather and good moisture made for good wildlife habitat last year.
He says elk hunters can expect more of the same this year.
___
Information from: Powell (Wyo.) Tribune,
- By PAMELA JOHNSON Loveland Reporter-Herald
LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) — Cash is a different sort of hunting dog. He's on the hunt for poachers and endangered species, using his specially trained nose to help Colorado Parks and Wildlife District Wildlife Manager Brock McArdle.
One of two nationally certified wildlife law enforcement dogs on the beat with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Cash is part of a pilot program to show how dogs can help sniff out poachers, evidence and the territory of certain species of concern.
"He's got a good nose," said McArdle, who is assigned to the Red Feather District in northern Larimer County.
Dogs as wildlife officers are not as widespread as canine cops on a traditional law enforcement beat, but they are working in the natural resources capacity in more than 24 states, including Kansas, Indiana, Idaho and California. The Colorado pilot program started with one dog, Sci, in the Colorado Springs area within the last year, and Cash joined McArdle in Larimer County earlier this year.
"It's gaining steam," said McArdle. "The whole purpose of this pilot program is to show the benefits of these dogs."
So far, the pilot program is completely funded by donations and grants. Bear Point Kennels donated Cash, and his $8,000 in equipment and training were covered by a series of grants from Great Outdoors Colorado, the Mule Deer Foundation, Rocky Mountain Big Horn Society, Colorado Bowhunters Association, Northern Colorado Pheasants Forever and Operation Game Thief.
Also, an internet donation site is set up to help pay for food and medical expenses for both Cash and Sci, anticipated to be about $1,500 per year per dog.
Cash is trained to sniff out the scents of 11 commonly hunted species including moose, deer, waterfowl and pronghorn. This skill will help McArdle and other officers find evidence and traces of illegally killed animals during poaching investigations.
Cash could help lead officers to evidence, or during checkpoints held in hunting season, he could provide officers with probable cause to search a vehicle.
This particular dog, too, is trained to smell the black-footed ferret and the boreal toad, which are species of concern in Colorado. He can help biologists in the field as they survey locations to see how these species are faring in their habitat or in areas they have been introduced.
Cash's nose can pinpoint where biologists should look, replacing teams of people simply following a grid in hopes of spotting a species.
So this black Labrador, who is about a year old, is part criminalist, part scientist and part ambassador.
McArdle will take him into the community for presentations with children and other groups to spread education and awareness about wildlife and the importance of stewardship. Though he's been on the job for only a short time, Cash has already made an appearance at a youth hunting event.
Cash, too, may serve as a deterrent to poachers and other criminals, McArdle added.
Cash is nationally certified, so he can work in any state, and though the team is based in Northern Colorado, McArdle anticipates helping out when needed statewide and maybe even north into Wyoming.
He hopes that as Cash and Sci (who is dually trained as a wildlife dog as well as a traditional law enforcement dog who can help with arrests) show their skills, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will grow the program.
But for now, the two will remain on the beat, helping with the protection and management of wildlife.
And the hope is that Cash, like his namesake, may leave a legacy.
"He's the dog in black," said McArdle. "You know, like Johnny Cash, the man in black."
___
Information from: Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald,
COVINA, Calif. (AP) — California authorities say a gunman was arrested after he shot at passing cars and then opened fire on deputies during a standoff that he live-streamed on social media.
Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Elisabeth Sachs says a patrol car was struck by gunfire as deputies responded Sunday in suburban Covina.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports () the suspect posted video to Facebook as he fired. "I'm sorry guys," he said, as deputies were heard shouting orders.
The suspect then barricaded himself in a home. In another video two hours later, he is seen talking by phone with a negotiator. He puts the handgun to his head and threatens suicide before offering to surrender.
Officials say 20-year-old Sean Vasquez could face charges including assault with a deadly weapon. It wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney.
Start of huge interstate project in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ pushed back
