Pedestrian injured by vehicle
An 18-year-old Blanchard woman remained in critical condition Friday evening at Kootenai Medical Center after being struck by a pickup while walking Thursday evening.
Early Friday, a 44-year-old Spirit Lake man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. According to police reports, Paul James Cavanaugh Jr. fled on foot and later called police to report an accident.
The victim, Sarah Marie Jones, was walking west on Blanchard Cutoff Road when she was struck from behind by Cavanaugh’s 1972 Ford Courier, authorities said.
Bonner County sheriff’s deputies arrested Cavanaugh just before 2 a.m. Friday when he returned to the scene of the accident. They booked him into the Bonner County Jail.
The accident is under investigation.
Girl dies after apparent accidental shooting
Boise An 11-year-old girl has died after an apparent accidental shooting in Parma, a city of 1,600 residents in southwestern Idaho near the Oregon border.
The girl was shot and killed by her brother with a rifle, according to a report by KTVB-TV in Boise, citing the Canyon County coroner.
Parma Police Chief Leonard Elfering declined to release additional details Friday evening about the shooting, but said more would be available Saturday morning about the case.
Eighteen jurors sequestered starting next week
Twin Falls, Idaho
The eighteen jurors in an Idaho teen’s month-and-a-half-long double-murder trial in Boise will be sequestered starting next week until they reach a verdict.
Sarah Johnson, now 18, is accused of killing her mother, then her father, in September 2003 in the bedroom of the couple’s Bellevue home. Prosecutors say Johnson shot them amid a dispute over her boyfriend.
On Thursday, jurors, including 12 regulars and six alternates who have been involved since selection began Feb. 1, were sent home for three days.
When they return for closing arguments that begin Monday morning, they’ll be isolated from family and friends until they reach a verdict.
According to court rules, jurors will be forbidden from using cell phones, computers or pagers during deliberations.
Care package program for U.S. soldiers
Lewiston Stockbrokers at a Lewiston affiliate of D.A. Davidson have started “Operation Shoebox” for U.S. soldiers in Iraq, harkening back to the days when Americans sent care packages to soldiers fighting in Vietnam.
The care package program has been expanded to include local churches, clubs and civic organizations, businesses and individuals, said Bob Blakey, a stock salesman who helped initiate the effort.
The first boxes were filled with things like beef jerky, canned smoked oysters, books, magazines, CDs and socks, organizers said.
Blakey said the effort reminded him of when he was in sixth grade in New York, sending packages once a month to a soldier in Vietnam.
Senate passes bill to clarify punishment
Boise A bill to clarify punishments for Idaho public servants who benefit by unfairly awarding state contracts passed the Senate Thursday.
Now, the offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by a year in jail and $1,000 fine. Under the bill, such crimes would be considered a felony on the second offense.
The bill now moves on to the House.
Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, sponsored the ethics bill at a time when a Senate Ethics Committee was deciding the fate of former Sen. Jack Noble, R-Kuna.