Briefly

Rescuers injured after ATVs flip

Wallace Two search and rescue volunteers suffered minor injuries when their all-terrain vehicles flipped in steep terrain. The rescuers were trying to reach a St. Maries man who suffered a broken leg in an ATV accident south of the Silver Valley Thursday evening. According to a Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office press release, 50-year-old Steve Addington was injured in a four-wheeler accident in the Big Creek drainage south of Interstate 90 at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. About 11 members of the county Search and Rescue Team reached the site in about two hours after a riding companion of Addington’s called for help on a cell phone. During the ride through steep terrain to reach Addington, two search and rescue volunteers flipped their ATVs and suffered minor injuries. They were treated at the scene and able to drive out on their own rigs, Capt. John Koziuk of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. A medical evacuation helicopter was called to take Addington to a hospital, and Koziuk said people at the scene were impressed the pilot was able to set down in a flat landing zone only about 25 feet wide. Addington was flown to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene.

Moose not stolen, just relocated

Coeur d’Alene The moose aren’t missing, just trying out new locations. The Coeur d’Alene Police Department sent out a “Moose Alert” Friday to warn residents that three of the town’s fiberglass moose statues painted by local artists were temporarily relocated and should return to their respective locations Monday. Recent vandalism and the theft of an entire statue have caused residents to monitor the moose closely. “This information is provided as a courtesy to the public so as not to cause any alarm that more moose have been stolen,” Coeur d’Alene Police Lt. Don Jiran wrote in a press release. Little Deuce Moose will be at the Greyhound Park and Events Center in Post Falls for this weekend’s Hot Rod Run. The Monarch Moose is having minor repair work done while Meadow Moose is being used for a garden tour. Since the moose were scattered around town this summer, five incidents of vandalism have been reported, and a Rocky and Bullwinkle-themed moose was stolen. The painted moose are part of a fund-raiser for the EXCEL Foundation, which raises money for local schools. The moose will be auctioned in September.

Burglar gets away with meat, hash browns

Coeur d’Alene A thief may have been skinny enough to break into a local restaurant through a ceiling vent, but if he consumes his ill-gotten gains, trying it again would be a squeeze. Coeur d’Alene police are investigation a break-in at the Village Pantry Restaurant, 410 E. Harrison Ave., Monday night in which a thief made off with nearly $1,000 worth of meat. And $20 worth of hash browns. Restaurant owner James Yount told police all was in order when he closed shop Monday night, but the meat was missing when he returned Tuesday morning. According to a police report, Yount showed officers a sheet-metal cap on the roof that covered a spot where a vent pipe had once extended. The sheet metal was still in place, but the screws were loose enough to be removed by finger pressure, and the seal of caulking around the cap was gone, the police report says. Police believe the robber may have gone in and out through the hole in the roof. Yount said the losses included a $200 box of sirloin steaks, as well as salmon steaks, pork chops, rib-eye steaks, hamburger patties, Italian sausage, chicken breasts and country fried steaks. And the hash browns.

Spokane officer gets Medal of Merit

A Spokane police officer was awarded a Medal of Merit on Thursday for his role in the 2003 shooting at Lewis and Clark High School. Sgt. Dennis Walter took it upon himself to learn about a new response to “active shooter” situation in the wake of the school shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman, said in a press release. For the past three years, Walter has taught techniques to officers in training throughout the region. The new techniques are considered more aggressive, and more dangerous for the officers, Cottam said. When the incident at Lewis and Clark happened in 2003, personnel immediately arrived and responded as they were trained, Cottam said. Sean Fitzpatrick, who was 16 at the time, was shot by officers after an armed standoff at the school. Fitzpatrick was critically injured, but survived. No one else was injured. “The successful resolution of the L.C. incident would not have been possible without Sgt. Walters’ tremendous contribution,” Cottam said.

Telephone scam warning sounded

Spokane police want the public to be aware of a new telephone scam, where the callers tell residents they have qualified for a federal grant, and then ask for their bank account information. A Spokane woman received a phone call from a person who claimed to be an agent, and who told her that she qualified for a grant of $8,000 up to $25,000, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman. The caller didn’t say the source of the grant, and quickly transferred the victim to someone who claimed to be a “floor supervisor,” Cottam said. The “supervisor” told the woman that she didn’t need to fill any paperwork, that they just need bank account numbers to complete the deal. The caller said $249 was needed to activate the grant, and that the $249 would be taken out of the grant money once it was deposited to the woman’s bank. Citizens should never give our financial information over the phone, or the computer, unless they know the business they are dealing with, Cottam said. Anyone who receives a suspicious phone call where the caller asks for banking information should hang up and call Crime Check at 456-2233.