Alaska
Donor helps town buy ladder firetruck
SITKA - The generosity of a late Sitka teacher has helped the city get its first fire department ladder truck in nearly 40 years.
The Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Hixie Sunde Arnoldt was a longtime fan of the fire hall and donated $300,000 before she died in 2007. The money was used to buy Fire Engine No. 2, which rolled off the ferry Malaspina on Tuesday.
"It will be beneficial in a couple different ways," said Fire Chief Dave Miller. "We'll be able to evacuate people and get water to elevated areas, for buildings and on residential fires."
The ladder's height also will let firefighters do a better job of lighting scenes at night, he said.
Sitka has been without a ladder truck since 1973. Arnoldt's donation covered half of the $600,000 purchase price from Pierce Co. of Appleton, Wis.
People are also reading…
The Sitka Assembly approved the purchase in June. The red-and-white truck is 36 feet long and carries a 75-foot ladder.
Idaho
Voters turn down ban on plastic bags
HAILEY - Voters in Hailey have rejected a proposal that would have penalized retailers for not using paper or reusable bags.
The measure was rejected Tuesday when it failed to reach a 50 percent majority.
The measure emerged from a group of Wood River High School students. The goal was intended to reduce waste and encourage more shoppers to use reusable bags or the recycled paper bags many Hailey stores already offer.
Had the proposal passed, retailers could have faced up to $50 a day in fines for continuing to use plastic.
montana
Plan: Let individual hunters kill wolves
HELENA - Wildlife regulators are considering a proposal to let individual hunters kill wolves that prey on livestock.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services now has sole responsibility to kill wolves in response to livestock depredation.
But under a new proposal, a hunter chosen by the livestock owner would be allowed to kill a wolf year-round if Wildlife Services and the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department determines that is the best course of action.
FWP wildlife chief Ken McDonald says the change is not meant to replace Wildlife Services, but to give the state another tool to manage wolves.
The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission tentatively approved the proposal on Thursday. It now goes to public comment before a final decision is made at the commission's December meeting.
nebraska
Trumpeter swans on display at zoo
SCOTTSBLUFF - A pair of trumpeter swans is making a home at the Scottsbluff zoo.
KNEB radio in Scottsbluff says the swans were released on Thursday at a pond at the Riverside Discovery Center after a 30-day quarantine. Zoo Director Peter Halladay says the male swan was donated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, while the female came from Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines.
Halladay says the swans have become "inseparable."
Trumpeter swans are the largest native bird in North America.
north dakota
Town loses its only grocery store
FORDVILLE - The northeastern North Dakota town of Fordville is without a grocery store for the first time in its 106-year history.
A grocery-butcher-hardware store building and equipment was being auctioned off Saturday, after Curt and Jan Iverson hung up their aprons this fall at the Fordstore and Trustworthy Hardware in the town of 212 people northwest of Grand Forks.
The Iversons operated the store for 35 years, and Jan Iverson told the Grand Forks Herald that they've never really had a vacation. Curt Iverson also has battled health problems in recent years. The Iversons plan to stay in the community, working on hobbies and spending time with family.
oregon
DUI arrest protocol draws court scrutiny
SALEM - The Oregon Supreme Court is weighing an argument that law enforcement officers are obligated to make sure that drunken-driving suspects, even if they don't speak English, understand the consequences of refusing to take a breath or blood test.
It led the state's chief justice to wonder during a hearing Thursday whether a suspect could be so impaired the refusal couldn't be used in court.
The appeal involves Jose L. Nunez Cabanilla, arrested in 2008 near Nyssa, south of Ontario in Eastern Oregon, the Salem Statesman Journal reported.
He refused to take a breath test, a fact the trial judge ruled could be used as evidence during the drunken-driving trial.
Appealing the conviction, Deputy Public Defender Zachary Mazer argued that the warning given to the Spanish speaker was said in English, and Cabanilla didn't understand it.
Unless the judge could find that the defendant understood the consequences, the refusal shouldn't have been used in court, he said.
The state's lawyers contend that the law requires officers only to read a warning to the suspects. Requiring officers to make sure the suspect understands the warning would complicate drunken-driving arrests, state lawyers said.
south dakota
Some residents upset by manure left behind
TRIPP - Some people in the southeast town of Tripp are raising a stink about manure left behind by horses belonging to Amish settlers who came to the area last year.
The Daily Republic reported that some business owners have complained to city officials about messes on the streets outside their shops. Gall's Auto Repair owner Chris Gall says he's tired of dealing with the manure on the street and also on the tires of cars in his garage. He calls the situation "pathetic."
City Finance Officer Jennifer Friederich says the problem is overblown. Amish resident Dan Borntreger says the Amish do their best to clean up after their horses, and to stay off the town's Main Street.
washington
Sleep study gauging officers' performance
SPOKANE - A Spokane lab and Washington State University researchers are testing the performance of police officers when they are tired and sleep-deprived.
KREM reported the work of Dr. Bryan Vila could influence how police departments schedule officers. The research is partially funded by the Defense Department because it's also relevant to soldiers.
The researchers are putting 80 officers from around the Inland Northwest through driving simulations and deadly-force scenarios. They'll be tested at the end of a workweek and again when they are rested after three days off.
Vila's previous research indicates fatigue can impair officers as much as a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit for drivers.
wyoming
Stepped-up patrols vs. deer poachers
PINEDALE - Wildlife officials in western Wyoming are looking to the public for help protecting mule deer as they migrate to their winter ranges.
Deer from Wyoming's two largest herds - the Sublette and Wyoming Range herds - are migrating to the area around Pinedale, Big Piney and LaBarge for the winter. As the thousands of animals move, trophy mule deer can more easily be seen than in the backcountry, making them tempting to poachers.
Wyoming Game & Fish Department spokesman Mark Gocke said Friday that the agency has stepped up patrols in the area. However he said the agency also relies on people who flock to watch the deer to alert them to anything suspicious.
The Associated Press
