Dad crashes to kill son; 7-foot snake in trash; dogs attack owners
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Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The number of greater sage grouse in Wyoming continues to grow, at least for now, and recover from a recent sharp decline.
Long-term prospects for the bird, which once numbered in the millions but has seen its habitat dwindle by almost half, remain uncertain, however. No more than half a million sage grouse remain across the birds' range in 11 states.
Biologists and others who fanned out across Wyoming this spring counted more male sage grouse at leks, or sage grouse mating areas, than any year since 2007. The number of males per lek averaged 35.7, up 16 percent from 2015, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department data released Monday.
The 2015 count was up 66 percent from 2014, which was up 10 percent from 2013. From 2006-2013, the count plummeted almost 60 percent.
State sage grouse coordinator Tom Christiansen cautioned against reading too much into the recent data. Sage grouse can and often will decline sharply from year to year, and biologists consider the decade-by-decade trends for the chicken-sized, ground-dwelling birds more important.
"We don't want to see the peaks to continue getting lower and the bottoms continuing to get lower," Christiansen said Tuesday.
Still, the data appear to support last year's decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to protect the greater sage grouse as a threatened or endangered species. The oil and gas industry and others welcomed the announcement, as listing would severely disrupt drilling.
Christiansen credited the wet spring weather without too much snow for helping green up Wyoming's sagebrush basins and giving the chicken-sized, ground-dwelling birds a boost.
"We're a lot like ranchers. We want the moisture. But if it comes at the wrong time, it can be detrimental," he said.
Counts above 40 males per lek were common in the 1960s, the earliest decade of available information. The count sank below 15 in the mid-1990s before recovering to a recent high of 41.7 in 2006.
The greater sage grouse ranges across 11 Western states from California to the Dakotas. Wyoming has more sage grouse than any other state.
This year, Game and Fish employees and others, including volunteers, counted about 42,300 males at almost 90 percent of the nearly 1,900 known leks in Wyoming. They figure on two females for every male, putting Wyoming's population at more than 126,000.
Biologists count the males because the male birds are highly visible as they splay their tail feathers and strut about to entice females.
Wings donated by hunters who kill sage grouse each fall help the Game and Fish Department estimate the birds' reproduction. The estimated reproduction rate topped the 10-year average each of the past two years.
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Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver
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DENVER (AP) — A Jefferson County woman was killed and her son was injured when their two dogs attacked them.
The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/2c5h4jl ) the sheriff's office received a 911 call about the attack Monday night, and deputies found 60-year-old Susan Shawl and her son at their Conifer home.
The woman died at the scene, and 36-year-old Richard Shawl was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Sheriff's office spokeswoman Dionne Waugh says the mother and son were attacked by their two terrier-pit bull mix dogs.
In 2008, deputies issued Richard Shawl a warning after a neighbor reported the dogs were loose and being aggressive. Investigators said Tuesday they weren't sure what prompted the mauling.
Richard Shawl has given animal control officials permission to euthanize the dogs.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal jury has awarded $285,000 to a couple who claimed officers in the West Valley Police Department's drug unit violated their civil rights and used excessive force against them.
The allegations against then-Lt. John Coyle and Det. Sean McCarthy stemmed from a 2012 search of Brandy and Terry Christiansen's home. The jury determined Friday that the officers violated the couple's right to be free from unreasonable seizure, but didn't find the officers used excessive force.
West Valley City Attorney Eric Bunderson says the city is disappointed with the jury's decision and plans to appeal.
The search of the Christiansen's home came during the same year that West Valley's drug unit was disbanded following reports of inappropriate behavior by officers and a fatal shooting of a 21-year-old woman by a detective, who was later cleared of manslaughter charges.
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BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife officials have approved a hunt to kill 12 chronically diseased bighorn sheep in the Tendoy Mountains.
The Montana Standard reports (http://bit.ly/2bxEoep ) that Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission voted Monday to approve the hunt that would begin Sept. 15.
There is no limit to the number of licenses that will be sold. Licenses will cost $125 per resident and $1,250 per nonresident.
This is the second hunt approved for the sick sheep.
The wild sheep in the Tendoys southeast of Dillon have experienced major die-offs due to pneumonia twice in the last 25 years.
Attempts to augment the population by bringing in healthy sheep have been unsuccessful.
After the population is removed, officials plan to restock the area with healthy animals.
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This version corrects that there will be no limit to the number of licenses sold.
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Information from: The Montana Standard, http://www.mtstandard.com
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HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — A former state lawmaker from Havre is charged with threatening a tenant as she was moving out of a rental property.
The Havre Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2ccQ30B ) 52-year-old Bob Bergren was charged Monday with assault with a weapon. He did not enter a plea and was appointed a public defender. He remained jailed Tuesday morning.
The tenant called police Sunday to report that Bergren had been harassing her, including standing by the mailbox and yelling at her while holding a shotgun.
Court records say Bergren acknowledged being at the residence with the gun, but said he didn't aim it at her. The officer said the gun had a round in the chamber.
Bergren told the newspaper he felt threatened and was protecting his property.
Bergren, a Democrat, served in the Legislature from 2003-2010 and was Speaker of the House during the 2009 session.
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Information from: Havre Daily News, http://www.havredailynews.com
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KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — A body was been found buried in concrete and dirt in the backyard of the former home of a 63-year-old Kingman man arrested in July after he confessed to killing a friend, authorities said.
An autopsy is pending to determine the identity and cause of death, but the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday the body recovered Monday night after digging with the use of a jackhammer and other equipment is believed to be that of John Holland, 65.
Richard Joseph Polaski is charged with premeditated first-degree murder.
Authorities said Polaski admitted to a homicide while speaking with police in Laughlin, Nevada, and that he then told investigators he gained access to Holland's investment account after killing Holland in 2015.
The Mohave County Public Defender's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations against Polaski.
The Kingman Daily Miner (http://goo.gl/2zsVhD ) reported that police in Laughlin contacted Polaski on July 9 after he attempted to kill himself by overdosing on over-the-county pills while in the Colorado River town.
A search warrant affidavit said Polaski told police "that he tried to kill himself because he had killed one of his friends, John Holland, 65, on or about the 27th day of July, 2015, and that his body was buried in the backyard of East Lass Avenue."
Polaski stated "that during an argument with (Holland) at his residence, he had stabbed him in the stomach several times until he died. (Polaski) then disposed of Holland's body in a hole in his (Polaski's) backyard located on Lass Avenue, then covered it with several feet of concrete," according to the affidavit.
Polaski in April sold his residence with the body still buried in the backyard, he told investigators.
Chief Sheriff's Deputy Rodney Head said authorities wanted to give the new homeowners advance warning and proper respect for their property.
- By DERRIK J. LANG and AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police arrested singer Chris Brown on Tuesday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a woman called hours earlier from outside his Los Angeles home and said she needed help.
The arrest followed an hours-long standoff and lengthy search of Brown's home after police produced a search warrant.
Baylee Curran told the Los Angeles Times that Brown had pointed a gun at her face in his home early Tuesday. She said Brown and another man at his home became angry with her when she admired the man's diamond necklace.
Curran said she and her friend ran outside as one of Brown's associates gave chase and hid under a neighbor's SUV.
She hasn't responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Earlier, Brown sent messages via social media proclaiming his innocence and rebuffing reports that he had barricaded himself in his home.
"I don't care. Y'all gonna stop playing with me like I'm the villain out here, like I'm going crazy," he said in one Instagram video Tuesday, waving a cigarette and looking at the camera. "When you get the warrant or whatever you need to do, you're going to walk right up in here and you're going to see nothing. You idiots."
Officers first responded to his hilltop estate around 3 a.m. Tuesday after a woman called for help from outside the residence. Police Lt. Chris Ramirez did not identify the woman or elaborate on the assistance she needed. He did not know if she was injured.
Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, arrived at the house shortly before police served the search warrant. Geragos has not responded to AP's request for comment.
Brown has been in repeated legal trouble since his felony conviction in the 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna.
After several missteps, Brown completed his probation in that case last year.
In 2013, Brown struck a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel and was charged with misdemeanor assault. The singer was ordered into rehab but was dismissed from the facility for violating its rules.
He spent 2½ months in custody, with U.S. marshals shuttling him between Los Angeles and the nation's capital for court hearings.
In another incident while in treatment, Brown was accused of throwing a brick at his mother's car following a counseling session. It came after Brown had completed court-ordered anger management classes.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An energy consultant involved with an Oregon solar power project has been indicted on forgery charges.
Martin Shain, the lead consultant on the state's $24 million "Solar by Degree" project, was indicted on two forgery counts on Thursday, reported The Oregonian/OregonLive (http://bit.ly/2bxCMBa ). Prosecutors say he created a fake invoice from a fictional subcontractor to help secure nearly $12 million in tax credits from the Oregon Department of Energy.
The Oregon Department of Justice investigated Shain after The Oregonian/OregonLive raised questions about the project's management and funding. Gov. Kate Brown and Energy Department head Michael Kaplan requested the investigation.
The state says Shain, an energy consultant with Seattle-based BacGen Technologies, forged two documents.
One was a bill dated Feb. 25, 2011, supposedly submitted by the Solar Foundation Systems. It detailed construction expenditures on each of the solar arrays and was supposed to prove that work on the project was underway.
Solar Foundation Systems, however, didn't exist.
Jim McDermott, Shain's lawyer, agrees that the invoice was made up but says someone else on the project gave the document to his client and Shain assumed it was genuine.
The state also argues that Shain forged a December 2011 letter signed by Ryan Davies, the former head of Utah developer RedCo. The document was submitted by the project team to prove it was meeting the benchmarks required to qualify for tax credits. The letter said construction was progressing and reported that $210,000 had been spent on the project.
Davies told The Oregonian/Oregon Live in 2015 that he had never seen the letter before.
McDermott said Shain will be found innocent.
"We believe that Martin Shain is innocent of the Oregon AG's unfounded charges," the attorney said. "We fully expect he'll be acquitted by a jury."
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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com
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JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — One wolf from a pack that recently attacked cows to eat them on private land near Grand Teton National Park has been killed and three more have been targeted to be killed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.
The wolves have killed two adult cows and injured four calves over the last week, said Mike Foster, the Wyoming director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a report published Tuesday by The Jackson Hole News and Guide (http://bit.ly/2bzb7tK ). One calf had to be put down because of its injuries.
"It became clear that we need to do something," said Tyler Abbott, the Fish and Wildlife Service's deputy field supervisor for Wyoming.
The four wolves were wearing GPS collar devices that had data collected by the park linking them to the livestock attacks. Authorities plan to use traps to catch them or shoot them that had 14 members at the end of last year.
Abbot said ranchers in the area had tried some deterrents without providing further details, but the efforts were not enough to stop the attacks that are called depredations.
"We felt like everything was being done within their means to limit depredations," Abbott said. "It's at that point where we have to make a decision to do more."
Conservationist Franz Camenzind said he supports lethal wolf control as long as all other nonlethal methods have been explored but said he had unanswered questions about attempts to use nonlethal methods.
"What have they done to try to prevent this?" Camenzind asked. "Have they changed their operations at all? Have they instigated range riders? Would they accept volunteer range riders?"
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Information from: Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com
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MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Two state agencies say the University of Idaho failed to seek approval for a program that trapped and euthanized feral cats on campus.
Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game said Monday that they would not have issued authorization to the university, which campus veterinarian Peter Autenried said he received, The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported (http://bit.ly/2bT2tZY).
Autenried said Wednesday seven feral cats had been trapped and killed at the university since January. He said he received authorization to trap the cats from Fish and Game, in accordance with Moscow city code. UI communications personnel confirmed Autenried's claims to the Daily News on Wednesday.
According to Moscow police department regulations, no one can trap an animal within city limits unless that person is authorized to do so by Idaho Fish and Game or by the City Council or the Chief of Police.
Mark Carson, regional conservation officer for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said Monday, however, that he does not have the authority to sign off on such an issue, Moscow city officials do.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry said the university did not procure authorization from him, and Mayor Bill Lambert said the authorization did not come from the council.
UI Communications Director Jodi Walker said Monday she could not comment on the issue because her information came from Autenried.
Humane Society of the Palouse official Trina Pickett said her office only found out about the university's problem with feral cats late last week and that they had not been asked to help, as Autenried said.
The program to trap and euthanize feral cats was suspended last week, university officials said.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A suburban Phoenix woman has found a 7-foot-long boa constructor slithering near her trash can.
The Arizona Republic reports (http://bit.ly/2bzqZw6 ) that Scottsdale firefighters were called Monday night to remove the snake, which they say was docile.
Department spokesman David Folio says this is the third snake to be found in the area. Two albino Burmese pythons were picked up in the same spot this month. Folio says the department suspects someone may be dropping off the apparently domesticated snakes.
He says none of the three snakes were aggressive.
The snakes were taken to the Phoenix Herpetological Society.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
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WHITEFISH, Mont. (AP) — Police in Montana say they shot and killed a mountain lion after a family was too scared to get out of the car because the animal would not leave their yard.
The Daily Inter Lake reports (http://bit.ly/2bXMefg) that Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial says the mountain lion wasn't aggressive but gave no sign of leaving after the family pulled into the driveway Sunday night.
Dial says his officers decided to kill the full-grown female cougar after it became clear that the animal was not afraid of people. Dial says a habituated mountain lion could pose a danger to pets and small children.
Police say the animal's body was given to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks so it could be documented.
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Information from: Daily Inter Lake, http://www.dailyinterlake.com
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FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Officials say cleanup is underway at a former ranch that became a dumping site for tires in northern Colorado.
The Coloradoan reports (http://noconow.co/2cc74Ij ) that tires began piling up at the 17,000-acre Roberts Ranch in the 1970s. D.L. Roberts wrote in an email that his father, Evan Roberts, used tires to serve as a base for a damn to battle erosion, but things spiraled out of control.
The land is under a conservation easement to Larimer County and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment awarded a $495,000 grant for its cleanup. Officials at first estimated that the ranch near Livermore held 200,000 to 300,000 tires, but the number appears to be closer to 100,000.
This phase of the cleanup is estimated to be finished by the end of September.
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Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan, http://www.coloradoan.com
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GRAHAM, Wash. (AP) — Pierce County sheriff's deputies have fatally shot a man they say charged them while armed with a running chain saw.
KOMO-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2bzp76H ) that the shooting happened on Tuesday morning.
Officials posted on Twitter that the suspect charged at the deputies with the chain saw and deputies fired at the man. He died at the scene from gunshot wounds.
Few details were immediately available.
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Information from: KOMO-TV, http://www.komotv.com/
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OGDEN, Utah (AP) — An Ogden police official says gang members in the northern Utah city have "the same mindset as ISIS" and are inherently violent.
The Standard-Examiner reports (http://bit.ly/2bGfODZ ) that Ogden-Weber Metro Gang Unit commander Lt. Troy Burnett says officers won't sit around waiting for the court to approve new anti-gang measures. He says his group will do everything legally at their disposal to target gang members.
The Utah Supreme Court struck down a Weber County anti-gang tactic in 2013. That injunction forbade gang members from congregating in public and violating a curfew. The county says it plans to rework the document and file a new one at some point.
Burnett says investigating gang-related crimes is difficult because victims and witnesses often do not want to talk to the police.
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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
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CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say six Philomath High School football players and a 22-year-old volunteer assistant face charges after freshmen were subjected to hazing during the team's summer camp.
Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson says the hazing involved "offensive physical contact with intimate parts" during a July trip to Camp Rilea on Oregon's northern coast.
The Corvallis Gazette-Times reports (http://bit.ly/2cbLqUS ) the assistant, Cooper Kikuta, has been charged in Clatsop County with misdemeanor criminal mistreatment. All the boys are charged with misdemeanor harassment and most are also accused of misdemeanor assault. Their cases will go through juvenile court.
Philomath School District superintendent Melissa Goff said in a statement the district condemns hazing and will take appropriate action.
The district earlier this month canceled the team's first three games, citing an ongoing investigation into unspecified misconduct.
- By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The number of greater sage grouse in Wyoming continues to grow, at least for now, and recover from a recent sharp decline.
Long-term prospects for the bird, which once numbered in the millions but has seen its habitat dwindle by almost half, remain uncertain, however. No more than half a million sage grouse remain across the birds' range in 11 states.
Biologists and others who fanned out across Wyoming this spring counted more male sage grouse at leks, or sage grouse mating areas, than any year since 2007. The number of males per lek averaged 35.7, up 16 percent from 2015, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department data released Monday.
The 2015 count was up 66 percent from 2014, which was up 10 percent from 2013. From 2006-2013, the count plummeted almost 60 percent.
State sage grouse coordinator Tom Christiansen cautioned against reading too much into the recent data. Sage grouse can and often will decline sharply from year to year, and biologists consider the decade-by-decade trends for the chicken-sized, ground-dwelling birds more important.
"We don't want to see the peaks to continue getting lower and the bottoms continuing to get lower," Christiansen said Tuesday.
Still, the data appear to support last year's decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to protect the greater sage grouse as a threatened or endangered species. The oil and gas industry and others welcomed the announcement, as listing would severely disrupt drilling.
Christiansen credited the wet spring weather without too much snow for helping green up Wyoming's sagebrush basins and giving the chicken-sized, ground-dwelling birds a boost.
"We're a lot like ranchers. We want the moisture. But if it comes at the wrong time, it can be detrimental," he said.
Counts above 40 males per lek were common in the 1960s, the earliest decade of available information. The count sank below 15 in the mid-1990s before recovering to a recent high of 41.7 in 2006.
The greater sage grouse ranges across 11 Western states from California to the Dakotas. Wyoming has more sage grouse than any other state.
This year, Game and Fish employees and others, including volunteers, counted about 42,300 males at almost 90 percent of the nearly 1,900 known leks in Wyoming. They figure on two females for every male, putting Wyoming's population at more than 126,000.
Biologists count the males because the male birds are highly visible as they splay their tail feathers and strut about to entice females.
Wings donated by hunters who kill sage grouse each fall help the Game and Fish Department estimate the birds' reproduction. The estimated reproduction rate topped the 10-year average each of the past two years.
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Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver
DENVER (AP) — A Jefferson County woman was killed and her son was injured when their two dogs attacked them.
The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/2c5h4jl ) the sheriff's office received a 911 call about the attack Monday night, and deputies found 60-year-old Susan Shawl and her son at their Conifer home.
The woman died at the scene, and 36-year-old Richard Shawl was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Sheriff's office spokeswoman Dionne Waugh says the mother and son were attacked by their two terrier-pit bull mix dogs.
In 2008, deputies issued Richard Shawl a warning after a neighbor reported the dogs were loose and being aggressive. Investigators said Tuesday they weren't sure what prompted the mauling.
Richard Shawl has given animal control officials permission to euthanize the dogs.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal jury has awarded $285,000 to a couple who claimed officers in the West Valley Police Department's drug unit violated their civil rights and used excessive force against them.
The allegations against then-Lt. John Coyle and Det. Sean McCarthy stemmed from a 2012 search of Brandy and Terry Christiansen's home. The jury determined Friday that the officers violated the couple's right to be free from unreasonable seizure, but didn't find the officers used excessive force.
West Valley City Attorney Eric Bunderson says the city is disappointed with the jury's decision and plans to appeal.
The search of the Christiansen's home came during the same year that West Valley's drug unit was disbanded following reports of inappropriate behavior by officers and a fatal shooting of a 21-year-old woman by a detective, who was later cleared of manslaughter charges.
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife officials have approved a hunt to kill 12 chronically diseased bighorn sheep in the Tendoy Mountains.
The Montana Standard reports (http://bit.ly/2bxEoep ) that Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission voted Monday to approve the hunt that would begin Sept. 15.
There is no limit to the number of licenses that will be sold. Licenses will cost $125 per resident and $1,250 per nonresident.
This is the second hunt approved for the sick sheep.
The wild sheep in the Tendoys southeast of Dillon have experienced major die-offs due to pneumonia twice in the last 25 years.
Attempts to augment the population by bringing in healthy sheep have been unsuccessful.
After the population is removed, officials plan to restock the area with healthy animals.
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This version corrects that there will be no limit to the number of licenses sold.
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Information from: The Montana Standard, http://www.mtstandard.com
HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — A former state lawmaker from Havre is charged with threatening a tenant as she was moving out of a rental property.
The Havre Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2ccQ30B ) 52-year-old Bob Bergren was charged Monday with assault with a weapon. He did not enter a plea and was appointed a public defender. He remained jailed Tuesday morning.
The tenant called police Sunday to report that Bergren had been harassing her, including standing by the mailbox and yelling at her while holding a shotgun.
Court records say Bergren acknowledged being at the residence with the gun, but said he didn't aim it at her. The officer said the gun had a round in the chamber.
Bergren told the newspaper he felt threatened and was protecting his property.
Bergren, a Democrat, served in the Legislature from 2003-2010 and was Speaker of the House during the 2009 session.
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Information from: Havre Daily News, http://www.havredailynews.com
KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — A body was been found buried in concrete and dirt in the backyard of the former home of a 63-year-old Kingman man arrested in July after he confessed to killing a friend, authorities said.
An autopsy is pending to determine the identity and cause of death, but the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday the body recovered Monday night after digging with the use of a jackhammer and other equipment is believed to be that of John Holland, 65.
Richard Joseph Polaski is charged with premeditated first-degree murder.
Authorities said Polaski admitted to a homicide while speaking with police in Laughlin, Nevada, and that he then told investigators he gained access to Holland's investment account after killing Holland in 2015.
The Mohave County Public Defender's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations against Polaski.
The Kingman Daily Miner (http://goo.gl/2zsVhD ) reported that police in Laughlin contacted Polaski on July 9 after he attempted to kill himself by overdosing on over-the-county pills while in the Colorado River town.
A search warrant affidavit said Polaski told police "that he tried to kill himself because he had killed one of his friends, John Holland, 65, on or about the 27th day of July, 2015, and that his body was buried in the backyard of East Lass Avenue."
Polaski stated "that during an argument with (Holland) at his residence, he had stabbed him in the stomach several times until he died. (Polaski) then disposed of Holland's body in a hole in his (Polaski's) backyard located on Lass Avenue, then covered it with several feet of concrete," according to the affidavit.
Polaski in April sold his residence with the body still buried in the backyard, he told investigators.
Chief Sheriff's Deputy Rodney Head said authorities wanted to give the new homeowners advance warning and proper respect for their property.
- By DERRIK J. LANG and AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police arrested singer Chris Brown on Tuesday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a woman called hours earlier from outside his Los Angeles home and said she needed help.
The arrest followed an hours-long standoff and lengthy search of Brown's home after police produced a search warrant.
Baylee Curran told the Los Angeles Times that Brown had pointed a gun at her face in his home early Tuesday. She said Brown and another man at his home became angry with her when she admired the man's diamond necklace.
Curran said she and her friend ran outside as one of Brown's associates gave chase and hid under a neighbor's SUV.
She hasn't responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Earlier, Brown sent messages via social media proclaiming his innocence and rebuffing reports that he had barricaded himself in his home.
"I don't care. Y'all gonna stop playing with me like I'm the villain out here, like I'm going crazy," he said in one Instagram video Tuesday, waving a cigarette and looking at the camera. "When you get the warrant or whatever you need to do, you're going to walk right up in here and you're going to see nothing. You idiots."
Officers first responded to his hilltop estate around 3 a.m. Tuesday after a woman called for help from outside the residence. Police Lt. Chris Ramirez did not identify the woman or elaborate on the assistance she needed. He did not know if she was injured.
Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, arrived at the house shortly before police served the search warrant. Geragos has not responded to AP's request for comment.
Brown has been in repeated legal trouble since his felony conviction in the 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna.
After several missteps, Brown completed his probation in that case last year.
In 2013, Brown struck a man outside a Washington, D.C., hotel and was charged with misdemeanor assault. The singer was ordered into rehab but was dismissed from the facility for violating its rules.
He spent 2½ months in custody, with U.S. marshals shuttling him between Los Angeles and the nation's capital for court hearings.
In another incident while in treatment, Brown was accused of throwing a brick at his mother's car following a counseling session. It came after Brown had completed court-ordered anger management classes.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An energy consultant involved with an Oregon solar power project has been indicted on forgery charges.
Martin Shain, the lead consultant on the state's $24 million "Solar by Degree" project, was indicted on two forgery counts on Thursday, reported The Oregonian/OregonLive (http://bit.ly/2bxCMBa ). Prosecutors say he created a fake invoice from a fictional subcontractor to help secure nearly $12 million in tax credits from the Oregon Department of Energy.
The Oregon Department of Justice investigated Shain after The Oregonian/OregonLive raised questions about the project's management and funding. Gov. Kate Brown and Energy Department head Michael Kaplan requested the investigation.
The state says Shain, an energy consultant with Seattle-based BacGen Technologies, forged two documents.
One was a bill dated Feb. 25, 2011, supposedly submitted by the Solar Foundation Systems. It detailed construction expenditures on each of the solar arrays and was supposed to prove that work on the project was underway.
Solar Foundation Systems, however, didn't exist.
Jim McDermott, Shain's lawyer, agrees that the invoice was made up but says someone else on the project gave the document to his client and Shain assumed it was genuine.
The state also argues that Shain forged a December 2011 letter signed by Ryan Davies, the former head of Utah developer RedCo. The document was submitted by the project team to prove it was meeting the benchmarks required to qualify for tax credits. The letter said construction was progressing and reported that $210,000 had been spent on the project.
Davies told The Oregonian/Oregon Live in 2015 that he had never seen the letter before.
McDermott said Shain will be found innocent.
"We believe that Martin Shain is innocent of the Oregon AG's unfounded charges," the attorney said. "We fully expect he'll be acquitted by a jury."
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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — One wolf from a pack that recently attacked cows to eat them on private land near Grand Teton National Park has been killed and three more have been targeted to be killed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.
The wolves have killed two adult cows and injured four calves over the last week, said Mike Foster, the Wyoming director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a report published Tuesday by The Jackson Hole News and Guide (http://bit.ly/2bzb7tK ). One calf had to be put down because of its injuries.
"It became clear that we need to do something," said Tyler Abbott, the Fish and Wildlife Service's deputy field supervisor for Wyoming.
The four wolves were wearing GPS collar devices that had data collected by the park linking them to the livestock attacks. Authorities plan to use traps to catch them or shoot them that had 14 members at the end of last year.
Abbot said ranchers in the area had tried some deterrents without providing further details, but the efforts were not enough to stop the attacks that are called depredations.
"We felt like everything was being done within their means to limit depredations," Abbott said. "It's at that point where we have to make a decision to do more."
Conservationist Franz Camenzind said he supports lethal wolf control as long as all other nonlethal methods have been explored but said he had unanswered questions about attempts to use nonlethal methods.
"What have they done to try to prevent this?" Camenzind asked. "Have they changed their operations at all? Have they instigated range riders? Would they accept volunteer range riders?"
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Information from: Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Two state agencies say the University of Idaho failed to seek approval for a program that trapped and euthanized feral cats on campus.
Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game said Monday that they would not have issued authorization to the university, which campus veterinarian Peter Autenried said he received, The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported (http://bit.ly/2bT2tZY).
Autenried said Wednesday seven feral cats had been trapped and killed at the university since January. He said he received authorization to trap the cats from Fish and Game, in accordance with Moscow city code. UI communications personnel confirmed Autenried's claims to the Daily News on Wednesday.
According to Moscow police department regulations, no one can trap an animal within city limits unless that person is authorized to do so by Idaho Fish and Game or by the City Council or the Chief of Police.
Mark Carson, regional conservation officer for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said Monday, however, that he does not have the authority to sign off on such an issue, Moscow city officials do.
Moscow Police Chief James Fry said the university did not procure authorization from him, and Mayor Bill Lambert said the authorization did not come from the council.
UI Communications Director Jodi Walker said Monday she could not comment on the issue because her information came from Autenried.
Humane Society of the Palouse official Trina Pickett said her office only found out about the university's problem with feral cats late last week and that they had not been asked to help, as Autenried said.
The program to trap and euthanize feral cats was suspended last week, university officials said.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A suburban Phoenix woman has found a 7-foot-long boa constructor slithering near her trash can.
The Arizona Republic reports (http://bit.ly/2bzqZw6 ) that Scottsdale firefighters were called Monday night to remove the snake, which they say was docile.
Department spokesman David Folio says this is the third snake to be found in the area. Two albino Burmese pythons were picked up in the same spot this month. Folio says the department suspects someone may be dropping off the apparently domesticated snakes.
He says none of the three snakes were aggressive.
The snakes were taken to the Phoenix Herpetological Society.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
WHITEFISH, Mont. (AP) — Police in Montana say they shot and killed a mountain lion after a family was too scared to get out of the car because the animal would not leave their yard.
The Daily Inter Lake reports (http://bit.ly/2bXMefg) that Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial says the mountain lion wasn't aggressive but gave no sign of leaving after the family pulled into the driveway Sunday night.
Dial says his officers decided to kill the full-grown female cougar after it became clear that the animal was not afraid of people. Dial says a habituated mountain lion could pose a danger to pets and small children.
Police say the animal's body was given to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks so it could be documented.
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Information from: Daily Inter Lake, http://www.dailyinterlake.com
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Officials say cleanup is underway at a former ranch that became a dumping site for tires in northern Colorado.
The Coloradoan reports (http://noconow.co/2cc74Ij ) that tires began piling up at the 17,000-acre Roberts Ranch in the 1970s. D.L. Roberts wrote in an email that his father, Evan Roberts, used tires to serve as a base for a damn to battle erosion, but things spiraled out of control.
The land is under a conservation easement to Larimer County and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment awarded a $495,000 grant for its cleanup. Officials at first estimated that the ranch near Livermore held 200,000 to 300,000 tires, but the number appears to be closer to 100,000.
This phase of the cleanup is estimated to be finished by the end of September.
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Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan, http://www.coloradoan.com
GRAHAM, Wash. (AP) — Pierce County sheriff's deputies have fatally shot a man they say charged them while armed with a running chain saw.
KOMO-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2bzp76H ) that the shooting happened on Tuesday morning.
Officials posted on Twitter that the suspect charged at the deputies with the chain saw and deputies fired at the man. He died at the scene from gunshot wounds.
Few details were immediately available.
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Information from: KOMO-TV, http://www.komotv.com/
OGDEN, Utah (AP) — An Ogden police official says gang members in the northern Utah city have "the same mindset as ISIS" and are inherently violent.
The Standard-Examiner reports (http://bit.ly/2bGfODZ ) that Ogden-Weber Metro Gang Unit commander Lt. Troy Burnett says officers won't sit around waiting for the court to approve new anti-gang measures. He says his group will do everything legally at their disposal to target gang members.
The Utah Supreme Court struck down a Weber County anti-gang tactic in 2013. That injunction forbade gang members from congregating in public and violating a curfew. The county says it plans to rework the document and file a new one at some point.
Burnett says investigating gang-related crimes is difficult because victims and witnesses often do not want to talk to the police.
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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say six Philomath High School football players and a 22-year-old volunteer assistant face charges after freshmen were subjected to hazing during the team's summer camp.
Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson says the hazing involved "offensive physical contact with intimate parts" during a July trip to Camp Rilea on Oregon's northern coast.
The Corvallis Gazette-Times reports (http://bit.ly/2cbLqUS ) the assistant, Cooper Kikuta, has been charged in Clatsop County with misdemeanor criminal mistreatment. All the boys are charged with misdemeanor harassment and most are also accused of misdemeanor assault. Their cases will go through juvenile court.
Philomath School District superintendent Melissa Goff said in a statement the district condemns hazing and will take appropriate action.
The district earlier this month canceled the team's first three games, citing an ongoing investigation into unspecified misconduct.
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