Bullwinkle shot; 20 years for mistaken honor killing; wife burns husband
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Odd and interesting new from around the West.
- By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The sound of howling dogs filled downtown Anchorage on Saturday as mushers from around the world gathered for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
About 2,000 dogs belonging to 72 mushers waited their turn — some more patiently and less vocally than others — to hit the trail this year. The race spans nearly 1,000 miles of Alaska wilderness, including the last stretch when the teams battle the frozen Bering Sea coast en route to the finish line in the community of Nome.
The ceremonial start is a fan-friendly event designed to show off mushing to fans in Alaska's largest city. Spectators pet the dogs, mingled with mushers and even grabbed an autograph or two.
Racers then left the downtown area every two minutes in a staggered start with an Iditarider — people who won auctions for a prime spot in a competitor's sled — for an 11-mile course on city trails and streets.
Carol Stedman, a retired postal worker from Alexandria, Virginia, was an Iditarider for the fifth time since 2011. That was the first time she came to Anchorage to watch the start of the race.
She said after that initial experience, she crossed the Iditarod off her bucket list and put it on her to-do list.
"You're in the sled, you see everything going on, it's like a big party all the way out of town," she said Saturday morning while wearing a stocking cap fashioned like a Husky dog.
"Seeing the interaction between the mushers and the dogs is just spectacular," she said. "Everybody should do it once."
Amanda Gourley of Sacramento, California, had business in Alaska, and decided to stick around to see her first-ever Iditarod.
"I remember as a little girl watching the Iditarod on 'Wide World of Sports,' and it's just one of those things I've always wanted to see," she said. "I love dogs."
City crews trucked in snow overnight to make the streets ready for the dog sleds.
Anchorage had more than enough snow to stage the ceremonial start. But just a few hundred miles north, the Alaska Range — a mountain span that includes Denali — has little snow and open-water conditions.
That has prompted race officials to move the competition's official start from the Anchorage area, over the mountain range to Fairbanks to avoid the dodgy spots. It's the second time in the past three years, and third in the past 14, that the race has had to move to Fairbanks to find suitable winter conditions to start.
But there is good news for mushers and dogs making the journey to Nome.
"There's lots of snow on the trail," race marshal Mark Nordman said after surveying the route late last week. "Lots of deep snow. And when we're on the (Yukon) river, it's a freeway."
The official start of the race is Monday.
Dallas Seavey, who turned 30 on Saturday, has won four of the last five Iditarods. He could join Rick Swenson as the race's only five-time winners.
Five other mushers have four wins, but no one in the past quarter-century has captured the elusive fifth title.
"I'm not worried about getting five," Seavey said, taking a break for putting booties on his dogs' feet. "I'm going to have the best race I can. If I get five, that's great. If it's 10 years until I get five, that's great. If I never get five? I've already had a good run, you know what I mean?"
A rule change this year will allow mushers to carry satellite or cellphones for the first time ever. The change was prompted after a drunken man on a snowmobile last year charged at two teams in separate attacks, killing one dog and injuring others.
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police say a woman was hospitalized with a punctured trachea following a two-car collision and that her injury may have been caused by one vehicle's deployed air bag.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Grant Rogers says the woman suffered the neck injury when two sedans collided Friday night in east Las Vegas.
Media outlets reported that the woman's condition was not available, and police did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for additional information.
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VADO, N.M. (AP) — An elementary school in southern New Mexico that served for more than a quarter-century as a segregated school for African-American students has been added to the national list of historic places.
Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary was as a four-room school from 1926 until 1957. It has since served as the city of Vado's community center and home to a federal program that promotes school readiness for low-income families, The Las Cruces Sun-News reported (http://bit.ly/2mn30Jv).
Vado residents gathered Tuesday to celebrate the building's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which became official on the last day of Black History Month.
"We have been working on this for years," said Espy Holguin, an officer of the Vado Historical Society.
The school, named after renowned poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, was constructed after a 1925 state law permitted racial segregation in public schools.
Lifelong Vado resident Bobbie J. Boyer attended the school from 1945 until 1954. She said two grades were taught in each of the school's four classrooms, and she remembered "outstanding teachers and the principal, Giels B. Grimes."
The school's historic designation "means a lot to those of us that have lived in Vado," Boyer said.
Boyer, whose family founded Vado as one of New Mexico's first black communities, said the school's designation as a landmark was the dream of her late husband, Roosevelt, and the Boyer family. The Boyer family came to New Mexico from Georgia in about 1901, according to a news release from the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division.
"So many black people came to New Mexico from southern states for a better life," Boyer said. "It is important to remember this school and that Vado was an all-black community when it was settled because not everything that happened to black people in history happened in the South."
Segregation in New Mexico ended shortly after the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision.
The school is among six surviving schools built during segregation in New Mexico.
"The Dunbar school is a landmark in the history of segregation and in the history of African Americans in New Mexico," said Jeff Pappas, director of the state Historic Preservation Division. "We're grateful to have had the opportunity to list this school in the State and National Register, not only for its important place in the state history, but because it opens the door for other underrepresented communities to come forward with important buildings and other cultural resources to be recognized in the Registers."
Plaques commemorating the historic designation will be placed outside the red-brick veneer building, Holguin said.
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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — San Jose police have arrested three teenagers they suspect of being the so-called "Geisha Doll" crew that robbed more than a dozen minimarts and gas stations.
The San Jose Mercury News reports Friday (http://bayareane.ws/2mQWRmS ) that two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old were taken into custody earlier this year.
Their names aren't being released because they are minors.
Police believe they are responsible for at least a dozen holdups in San Jose and Milpitas since October. In some cases, the robbers donned distinctive "geisha doll"-style masks.
Police say store clerks were threatened with a gun or knife and some were pistol-whipped.
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DENVER (AP) — Denver's annual bison auction reined in more than $59,000 for the city this year, the most in the event's 32-year history.
The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/2lqg55L) that officials from the city Parks and Recreation Department auctioned off 23 bison Friday. This year's profits marked a new record for the department and were 22 percent more than last year's $48,000.
The highest-priced bison was a 10-month-old male that sold for $3,600.
According to city officials, the group of grass-fed bison is related to the last wild bison herd in the U.S., located in Yellowstone.
Maintaining the Denver herd is part of an effort to help preserve the bison, which were nearly wiped out in the 1880s.
The profits from the auction fund the animals' food and veterinarian costs.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A Spokane Police Department detective owns the home where authorities say an underage drinking party and possible rape occurred.
The Spokesman-Review reports (http://bit.ly/2lqsk20) in a story on Friday that the Feb. 25 party was hosted by the children of Det. David Grenon.
Police on Wednesday arrested 18-year-old Sebastian Bruehl on a $25,000 warrant for third-degree rape.
Bruehl is a foreign exchange student from Germany.
Assistant Spokane Police Chief Justin Lundgren says the agency is looking into whether Grenon had knowledge of the party ahead of time.
Lundgren says Grenon was out of town at the time of the party.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com
- By The Associated Press
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has been arrested for allegedly attacking a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport, an incident the singer's lawyer described as "provoked" by paparazzi.
The incident happened Friday after Tomlinson, arriving on a flight with his girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, asked a photographer to stop filming. After an alleged scuffle, the photographer made a citizen's arrest on Tomlinson.
Police responded and took Tomlinson into custody. He was later released, and a court date was set for March 29.
Martin Singer, his lawyer, in a statement said the paparazzi "provoked and caused the altercation" and that Tomlinson came to his girlfriend's defense after she was being "attacked."
One Direction, which formed in 2010, has had hits including "Drag Me Down," ''Story of My Life," ''What Makes You Beautiful," ''Perfect" and "Best Song Ever."
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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A northern New Mexico woman has been convicted of aggravated battery against a household member for setting her husband on fire in 2015 and he was arrested for allegedly making a threatening gesture during her trial.
Defense attorney Roderick Thompson tells the Santa Fe New Mexican (https://goo.gl/h78BP1 ) that the jury verdict Thursday means 43-year-old Layla Coriz of Chimayo could face up to three years behind bars.
James Coriz was burned on his chest, face and other parts of his body. The couple had argued earlier.
James Coriz was arrested Thursday on suspicion of bribery of a witness -- a state police officer who testified during the trial -- for allegedly running his hand across his throat.
He offered to apologize for making the gesture but was arrested.
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SAN FERNANDO, Calif. (AP) — More than 1,000 people have turned out to honor a 14-year-old boy who was found drowned in the Los Angeles River after a storm.
The twinkling lights of candles filled an entire block in San Fernando during a Friday night vigil for Elias Rodriguez.
The Sylmar boy vanished on Feb. 17, leaving a phone message for his mother saying he was walking home from school.
His body was found on a tree-covered island in the L.A. River last weekend. Police say he may have slipped or fallen into a storm-swollen wash a dozen miles upstream and been swept away.
The candlelight vigil started at the school Elias attended and ended at a bridge over the Pacoima Wash, where mourners threw white flowers into the water.
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SEATTLE (AP) — Charges have been dismissed against a Lewis County man following the killing of a trophy bull elk that had become something of a celebrity in the Ellensburg area and was called Bullwinkle by locals.
The Seattle Times reports (http://bit.ly/2lqdc4G) that the case against 77-year-old Tod Reichert of Saikum was dismissed Thursday in Lower Kittitas County District Court.
Reichert had been charged with unlawful hunt of big game in the second degree after the December 2015 killing Bullwinkle, the largest of five bull elk that lived in a hayfield and didn't mind if people stopped to take photos.
Reichert had a raffle permit that allowed him some additional hunting opportunities.
Judge James Hurson in dismissing the case ruled that state regulations outlining hunting restrictions were too vague.
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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com
- By ALEXIS MYERS Associated Press
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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Jessica Wolfe was forced into sex trafficking shortly after her 19th birthday. Years later, after running away from her pimp, she continues to struggle to find housing and a job after background checks find her prostitution convictions.
A measure passed last week in the Washington state Senate could make it easier for victims of trafficking to vacate prostitution convictions regardless if other offenses exist on their criminal record.
For Wolfe, the bill offers her hope that she can clear her convictions so she can apply to colleges and get a job as a gynecologist or an ultrasound technician.
"Once that's gone, there's nothing that can hold me back from doing anything that I want to do," said Wolfe, 26. "I want to have a career."
Under existing state law, victims cannot expunge prostitution convictions if other crimes exist on their criminal record.
Valiant Richey, a King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney, says he can't think of one person who has been able to vacate his or her prostitution convictions because most victims are forced to commit other crimes while under the control of a trafficker.
"We want people to succeed under this, but it's not possible There's nobody who qualifies," he said.
Richey noted a policy shift within the justice system from focusing on sex workers to johns. It reduced the number of prostitution charges to about a fifth of what they were several years ago in King County, he said.
Over the same period, the number of people caught patronizing a prostitute nearly doubled.
"They could be forced into it by a family member, friend or a complete stranger," Richey said. "It's hard to say how many people arrested for prostitution are trafficked because typically they're too scared to admit to it."
Wolfe said she'd had at least 10 different pimps, all of whom would take her belongings and threaten to kill her or her family if she ever tried to escape or go to the police.
King County Sheriff's Deputy Andy Conner, founder of the Genesis Project, a drop-in center for trafficked women, said he first met Wolfe while she was working one night on the "SeaTac strip" along Highway 99 in 2010, when his project was merely an idea.
"I wish there was something I could've done for her that night, but all I could do was listen to her story and come up with solutions," Conner said. "These girls aren't out there doing it because they want to."
Wolfe walked through the Genesis Project doors shortly after it opened in 2011. There, she was given a place to sleep, a meal, clothing and other necessities.
She was flown to California shortly afterward to receive counseling and treatment but later went back to prostituting because she said she couldn't make enough money to live on her own.
"I was trying so hard with no results, so I went back to doing it," she said.
Some oppose the legislation, which moves to a public hearing in the House on Thursday, because they fear people might continue to work in prostitution after vacating their crimes.
Republican Rep. Brad Klippert of Kennewick, who also serves as a sheriff's deputy for Benton County, said there should be more places where victims can go to make themselves safe and escape the people who are trapping them. But he fears this measure might allow some to abuse the system.
"I want them to be able to get out of it and stay out of it, but this bill says, 'Even if you get out of being trafficked, you can continue in prostitution,'" Klippert said. "When you stop committing crimes, we can talk about vacating a previous crime."
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 27 other states have similar laws to expunge, vacate or seal criminal records related to being trafficked.
"If we're about making sure that people are not continuously harmed, this legislation is critical to that conversation," said Democratic Sen. Rebecca Saldana, sponsor of the Senate bill.
Wolfe has stayed out of prostitution for the past two years.
She lives with a close friend and is fighting for custody of her two children. She recently earned a GED diploma and got her driver's license.
Wolfe said she wanted to share her story to help others understand the importance of passing this legislation.
"I just want to be successful," Wolfe said. "I don't ever want to feel like I can't do something by myself."
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YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing an Oregon man he mistakenly believed impregnated a 13-year-old girl.
The Yakima Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2lqaYCz) that 21-year-old Yoset Dominguez-Serrano of Outlook, Washington, received the sentence Friday in Yakima County Superior Court.
Dominguez-Serrano in January pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the February 2015 killing of 24-year-old Antonio Hernandez-Ledezma of Boardman, Oregon.
Dominguez-Serrano told police that he believed Hernandez-Ledezma had impregnated Dominguez-Serrano's 13-year-old relative and killed the Oregon man to protect his family's honor.
But DNA tests showed that Hernandez-Ledesma was not responsible for the pregnancy.
Hernandez-Ledezma's skeletal remains found by a hiker in September 2015.
Dominguez-Serrano faces deportation to Mexico once he completes his sentence.
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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakimaherald.com
- By DAVID MURRAY Great Falls Tribune
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GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — In the moments before her models stepped out onto the glowing blue and white stage, Belinda Bullshoe froze. Six of her creations were about to be presented before the global elite of fashion design.
Standing backstage at New York's Crowne Plaza hotel, the clothing designer from Montana's Blackfeet Indian Reservation held her breath for a moment.
"This is it," Bullshoe said quietly to herself. "All this worry and whatever or not — this is it. My creations are ready to hit the runway."
Six weeks earlier Bullshoe wasn't certain any of her designs would make it across the catwalk at Fashion Week. Four years ago she hadn't designed a single dress. Only her extended family and a few close friends had any idea Bullshoe was stretching her talents beyond colorful blankets and leg warmers to create something the New York fashion world might take an interest in.
"I was so nervous," Bullshoe said of the seconds before her designs hit the runway. "I was standing there and my heart was just beating. All I could think of was everyone who helped support me."
Even with the endorsement of a well-connected East Coast patron and the financial support of dozens of enthusiastic well-wishers, Belinda Bullshoe barely made it to New York Fashion Week.
Following her first two major fashion show presentations — one in Kamloops, British Columbia, the other in Edmonton, Alberta — Bullshoe received an invitation to show her designs at the Couture Fashion Week, one of the premier events bundled into the four-day extravaganza known as New York Fashion Week.
Getting an invitation to present your creations before alongside globally recognized designers such as Ralph Lauren and Pierre Cardin is a distinguished compliment, but it comes with a price. No one pays you to present at fashion week. You pay them for the privilege. Add to that the cost of travel, lodgings, food — not to mention the time and expense of creating a whole new line of fashions — and it's an expensive proposition, especially for a small-town designer.
It wasn't until the final possible moment that Bullshoe was certain she had raised enough funds to transport herself, her husband Rod, her mother and six hurriedly designed dresses to the downtown Manhattan venue. Waking at 2:30 a.m. Feb. 8, Bullshoe and her family skirted one of the worst Montana snowstorms in a decade to catch their flight out of Great Falls. All six of her newly tailored dresses were packed tightly in a carry-on suitcase.
"I was not going to take a chance on putting them underneath the plane," she said of her determination to avoid a lost baggage catastrophe.
Twelve hours later, and cruising in on nearly zero sleep, the Bullshoe family arrived in New York.
After settling in for the night, Belinda found the Crowne Plaza Hotel and set about selecting her models for the following day's show. Right behind her was the winter storm that had chased her flight across the northern plains and into New York.
Three-foot snowdrifts in Browning are likely to slow things down — in Manhattan, they shut things down. On the day of the big event, drift-filled streets stopped one of Bullshoe's models from arriving on time. With less than 45 minutes before the curtain was scheduled to rise on her show, Bullshoe was forced to select a new model and make final adjustments to a previously fitted dress.
At that moment the whole backstage seemed to be in a state of barely contained chaos: hair stylists rolling up curls or ironing them into place, make-up artists spraying on foundation and sketching eye shadow, models dressing and undressing, personal assistants scurrying to the beck and call of harried designers — everywhere a swirl of last-minute fashion panic.
"People were just racing around," Bullshoe said. "I couldn't even imagine how they were able to pull the show off."
A sold-out crowd of close to 750 people waited in the Crowne Plaza auditorium. Bullshoe was the first designer scheduled to present her designs at the show.
As the music rose to announce the beginning of the show, a production assistant latched on to Bullshoe to make sure everyone was in place for the opening. He made it clear that after all six of Bullshoe's models had completed their turn across the u-shaped stage, Bullshoe should be ready to take her own walk before the assembled fashionistas.
Bullshoe turned to her mother and told her she was going to make the walk arm-in-arm with her.
"She was like, 'What? I ain't going out on that runway,'" Bullshoe said of her mother's response.
But it was already decided. Less than 10 minutes after the presentation began, it was the two Bullshoe women's turn to make the walk.
"I couldn't really see anything," Belinda Bullshoe said of her entry into the New York fashion world. "When I came out there were some bright lights on us and the media was right in front of us. I could see a bunch of flashes at me. All I could do was wave my hand, but I couldn't really see anybody. People were just waving back at me and clapping their hands. It was such an amazing moment."
"Right there is where I realized the dream had become a reality," she said. Standing there on that runway I was like, 'Oh my gosh, here it is. I'm finally here, I did it.'"
"I was trying so hard not to cry," she added. "All I could think was don't cry, don't cry ... please Belinda don't cry."
Just two days later and the Bullshoe family was back in Montana. As of yet there have been no multimillion dollar design contracts offered up to Belinda, but orders for her wedding and prom dress designs have spiked.
Bullshoe's dresses are already being promoted as one of the highlights of the 2017 Scottsdale Fashion Square show in Arizona. After they attend the Arizona show, Belinda and Rod will be driving up to Frog Lake, Alberta, for a youth conference where Bullshoe's designs will be presented as evidence that First Nations people can accomplish anything they set their minds to.
"I just can't begin to thank everyone, and all the overwhelming support they've to given me to make my dream of going to New York possible," Bullshoe said. "It's not only the donations, it was how many people on Facebook who gave me support while I was there. This has been such a great experience."
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Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
- By LILLIAN SCHROCK The Register-Guard
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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Eugene 2-year-old Wynn Wood receives a book in the mail every month and immediately instructs her parents to open the shrink-wrapped package.
A local program that mails free books to Eugene children is helping the toddler become passionate about reading.
"When they get a book in the mail in an envelope with their name on it, it makes them excited about reading," said Monica Wilton, executive director of the Eugene Public Library Foundation.
Wood is one of more than 3,700 Eugene children who receive free books in the mail through a local chapter of the Imagination Library program. About 45 percent of Eugene children under 5 years old participate in the program.
Started in 1995 by singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her Dollywood Foundation, the international program fosters a love of reading for children ages birth to 4 by mailing age-appropriate books directly to their homes at no charge to the family.
"The American Academy of Pediatrics has said the No. 1 most important thing that parents can do with their children is read with them," Wilton said.
"And the right time to start is the day they're born," added Alan Meyer, a retired University of Oregon professor who serves on the local Imagination Library advisory board.
According to the United Way of Lane County, 56 percent of children entering kindergarten in Lane County in 2010 did not meet early literacy benchmarks, and 30 percent are at risk of not being able to learn to read by third grade. Poor literacy of children entering kindergarten correlates to low high school graduation rates in Oregon, Wilton said.
Wynn's mother, Jess Wood, registered her daughter for Imagination Library when she was an infant. She's watched her daughter advance through different stages of reading as she's grown older. Wood remembered the first time Wynn turned the page on her own. Now, Wynn pretends to read to her 4-month-old brother, Wally.
Wood said she gets just as excited as her daughter for the Imagination Library books to arrive in the mail, because she tires of reading the same books over and over.
The Dollywood Foundation partners with Penguin Group to publish a collection of staple children's literature books, Wilton said. A panel of reading and childhood development experts at the Dollywood Foundation chooses the books, she said. All children, regardless of age when they join the program, receive "The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper as their first book.
There are more than 1,600 communities worldwide with Imagination Library programs, Wilton said.
The Eugene Public Library Foundation started its own Imagination Library affiliate in 2014 with the help of a bequest from Eugene resident Richard Kay, who had died in 2013. Kay left more than $1 million to be shared by the Eugene Public Library Foundation and the nonprofit organizations White Bird Clinic and McKenzie River Trust. The library foundation continues to fund the Imagination Library program through community donations.
For each child in the program, it costs about $25 a year for 12 books to be published and shipped to their homes. All money donated to the foundation for its Imagination Library program is used to provide books to local children, Wilton said. The foundation gives the funds to the Dollywood Foundation to publish and mail books to Eugene children.
Eugene families can register their children for the free program online or at one of the public libraries. All children younger than 5 who live in Eugene city limits are eligible.
The library foundation spends about $8,000 a month for Imagination Library, Wilton said.
"The program has been so successful," she said. "We're racing to keep up."
Wilton said it's important to provide books to families. Each Imagination Library book also includes reading tips for parents, such as using the pictures to teach children new words, she said.
The last book each child receives as part of the program is "Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!" by Nancy Carlson.
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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
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- By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The sound of howling dogs filled downtown Anchorage on Saturday as mushers from around the world gathered for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
About 2,000 dogs belonging to 72 mushers waited their turn — some more patiently and less vocally than others — to hit the trail this year. The race spans nearly 1,000 miles of Alaska wilderness, including the last stretch when the teams battle the frozen Bering Sea coast en route to the finish line in the community of Nome.
The ceremonial start is a fan-friendly event designed to show off mushing to fans in Alaska's largest city. Spectators pet the dogs, mingled with mushers and even grabbed an autograph or two.
Racers then left the downtown area every two minutes in a staggered start with an Iditarider — people who won auctions for a prime spot in a competitor's sled — for an 11-mile course on city trails and streets.
Carol Stedman, a retired postal worker from Alexandria, Virginia, was an Iditarider for the fifth time since 2011. That was the first time she came to Anchorage to watch the start of the race.
She said after that initial experience, she crossed the Iditarod off her bucket list and put it on her to-do list.
"You're in the sled, you see everything going on, it's like a big party all the way out of town," she said Saturday morning while wearing a stocking cap fashioned like a Husky dog.
"Seeing the interaction between the mushers and the dogs is just spectacular," she said. "Everybody should do it once."
Amanda Gourley of Sacramento, California, had business in Alaska, and decided to stick around to see her first-ever Iditarod.
"I remember as a little girl watching the Iditarod on 'Wide World of Sports,' and it's just one of those things I've always wanted to see," she said. "I love dogs."
City crews trucked in snow overnight to make the streets ready for the dog sleds.
Anchorage had more than enough snow to stage the ceremonial start. But just a few hundred miles north, the Alaska Range — a mountain span that includes Denali — has little snow and open-water conditions.
That has prompted race officials to move the competition's official start from the Anchorage area, over the mountain range to Fairbanks to avoid the dodgy spots. It's the second time in the past three years, and third in the past 14, that the race has had to move to Fairbanks to find suitable winter conditions to start.
But there is good news for mushers and dogs making the journey to Nome.
"There's lots of snow on the trail," race marshal Mark Nordman said after surveying the route late last week. "Lots of deep snow. And when we're on the (Yukon) river, it's a freeway."
The official start of the race is Monday.
Dallas Seavey, who turned 30 on Saturday, has won four of the last five Iditarods. He could join Rick Swenson as the race's only five-time winners.
Five other mushers have four wins, but no one in the past quarter-century has captured the elusive fifth title.
"I'm not worried about getting five," Seavey said, taking a break for putting booties on his dogs' feet. "I'm going to have the best race I can. If I get five, that's great. If it's 10 years until I get five, that's great. If I never get five? I've already had a good run, you know what I mean?"
A rule change this year will allow mushers to carry satellite or cellphones for the first time ever. The change was prompted after a drunken man on a snowmobile last year charged at two teams in separate attacks, killing one dog and injuring others.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police say a woman was hospitalized with a punctured trachea following a two-car collision and that her injury may have been caused by one vehicle's deployed air bag.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Grant Rogers says the woman suffered the neck injury when two sedans collided Friday night in east Las Vegas.
Media outlets reported that the woman's condition was not available, and police did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for additional information.
VADO, N.M. (AP) — An elementary school in southern New Mexico that served for more than a quarter-century as a segregated school for African-American students has been added to the national list of historic places.
Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary was as a four-room school from 1926 until 1957. It has since served as the city of Vado's community center and home to a federal program that promotes school readiness for low-income families, The Las Cruces Sun-News reported (http://bit.ly/2mn30Jv).
Vado residents gathered Tuesday to celebrate the building's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which became official on the last day of Black History Month.
"We have been working on this for years," said Espy Holguin, an officer of the Vado Historical Society.
The school, named after renowned poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, was constructed after a 1925 state law permitted racial segregation in public schools.
Lifelong Vado resident Bobbie J. Boyer attended the school from 1945 until 1954. She said two grades were taught in each of the school's four classrooms, and she remembered "outstanding teachers and the principal, Giels B. Grimes."
The school's historic designation "means a lot to those of us that have lived in Vado," Boyer said.
Boyer, whose family founded Vado as one of New Mexico's first black communities, said the school's designation as a landmark was the dream of her late husband, Roosevelt, and the Boyer family. The Boyer family came to New Mexico from Georgia in about 1901, according to a news release from the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division.
"So many black people came to New Mexico from southern states for a better life," Boyer said. "It is important to remember this school and that Vado was an all-black community when it was settled because not everything that happened to black people in history happened in the South."
Segregation in New Mexico ended shortly after the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision.
The school is among six surviving schools built during segregation in New Mexico.
"The Dunbar school is a landmark in the history of segregation and in the history of African Americans in New Mexico," said Jeff Pappas, director of the state Historic Preservation Division. "We're grateful to have had the opportunity to list this school in the State and National Register, not only for its important place in the state history, but because it opens the door for other underrepresented communities to come forward with important buildings and other cultural resources to be recognized in the Registers."
Plaques commemorating the historic designation will be placed outside the red-brick veneer building, Holguin said.
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Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — San Jose police have arrested three teenagers they suspect of being the so-called "Geisha Doll" crew that robbed more than a dozen minimarts and gas stations.
The San Jose Mercury News reports Friday (http://bayareane.ws/2mQWRmS ) that two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old were taken into custody earlier this year.
Their names aren't being released because they are minors.
Police believe they are responsible for at least a dozen holdups in San Jose and Milpitas since October. In some cases, the robbers donned distinctive "geisha doll"-style masks.
Police say store clerks were threatened with a gun or knife and some were pistol-whipped.
DENVER (AP) — Denver's annual bison auction reined in more than $59,000 for the city this year, the most in the event's 32-year history.
The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/2lqg55L) that officials from the city Parks and Recreation Department auctioned off 23 bison Friday. This year's profits marked a new record for the department and were 22 percent more than last year's $48,000.
The highest-priced bison was a 10-month-old male that sold for $3,600.
According to city officials, the group of grass-fed bison is related to the last wild bison herd in the U.S., located in Yellowstone.
Maintaining the Denver herd is part of an effort to help preserve the bison, which were nearly wiped out in the 1880s.
The profits from the auction fund the animals' food and veterinarian costs.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A Spokane Police Department detective owns the home where authorities say an underage drinking party and possible rape occurred.
The Spokesman-Review reports (http://bit.ly/2lqsk20) in a story on Friday that the Feb. 25 party was hosted by the children of Det. David Grenon.
Police on Wednesday arrested 18-year-old Sebastian Bruehl on a $25,000 warrant for third-degree rape.
Bruehl is a foreign exchange student from Germany.
Assistant Spokane Police Chief Justin Lundgren says the agency is looking into whether Grenon had knowledge of the party ahead of time.
Lundgren says Grenon was out of town at the time of the party.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com
- By The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has been arrested for allegedly attacking a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport, an incident the singer's lawyer described as "provoked" by paparazzi.
The incident happened Friday after Tomlinson, arriving on a flight with his girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, asked a photographer to stop filming. After an alleged scuffle, the photographer made a citizen's arrest on Tomlinson.
Police responded and took Tomlinson into custody. He was later released, and a court date was set for March 29.
Martin Singer, his lawyer, in a statement said the paparazzi "provoked and caused the altercation" and that Tomlinson came to his girlfriend's defense after she was being "attacked."
One Direction, which formed in 2010, has had hits including "Drag Me Down," ''Story of My Life," ''What Makes You Beautiful," ''Perfect" and "Best Song Ever."
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A northern New Mexico woman has been convicted of aggravated battery against a household member for setting her husband on fire in 2015 and he was arrested for allegedly making a threatening gesture during her trial.
Defense attorney Roderick Thompson tells the Santa Fe New Mexican (https://goo.gl/h78BP1 ) that the jury verdict Thursday means 43-year-old Layla Coriz of Chimayo could face up to three years behind bars.
James Coriz was burned on his chest, face and other parts of his body. The couple had argued earlier.
James Coriz was arrested Thursday on suspicion of bribery of a witness -- a state police officer who testified during the trial -- for allegedly running his hand across his throat.
He offered to apologize for making the gesture but was arrested.
SAN FERNANDO, Calif. (AP) — More than 1,000 people have turned out to honor a 14-year-old boy who was found drowned in the Los Angeles River after a storm.
The twinkling lights of candles filled an entire block in San Fernando during a Friday night vigil for Elias Rodriguez.
The Sylmar boy vanished on Feb. 17, leaving a phone message for his mother saying he was walking home from school.
His body was found on a tree-covered island in the L.A. River last weekend. Police say he may have slipped or fallen into a storm-swollen wash a dozen miles upstream and been swept away.
The candlelight vigil started at the school Elias attended and ended at a bridge over the Pacoima Wash, where mourners threw white flowers into the water.
SEATTLE (AP) — Charges have been dismissed against a Lewis County man following the killing of a trophy bull elk that had become something of a celebrity in the Ellensburg area and was called Bullwinkle by locals.
The Seattle Times reports (http://bit.ly/2lqdc4G) that the case against 77-year-old Tod Reichert of Saikum was dismissed Thursday in Lower Kittitas County District Court.
Reichert had been charged with unlawful hunt of big game in the second degree after the December 2015 killing Bullwinkle, the largest of five bull elk that lived in a hayfield and didn't mind if people stopped to take photos.
Reichert had a raffle permit that allowed him some additional hunting opportunities.
Judge James Hurson in dismissing the case ruled that state regulations outlining hunting restrictions were too vague.
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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com
- By ALEXIS MYERS Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Jessica Wolfe was forced into sex trafficking shortly after her 19th birthday. Years later, after running away from her pimp, she continues to struggle to find housing and a job after background checks find her prostitution convictions.
A measure passed last week in the Washington state Senate could make it easier for victims of trafficking to vacate prostitution convictions regardless if other offenses exist on their criminal record.
For Wolfe, the bill offers her hope that she can clear her convictions so she can apply to colleges and get a job as a gynecologist or an ultrasound technician.
"Once that's gone, there's nothing that can hold me back from doing anything that I want to do," said Wolfe, 26. "I want to have a career."
Under existing state law, victims cannot expunge prostitution convictions if other crimes exist on their criminal record.
Valiant Richey, a King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney, says he can't think of one person who has been able to vacate his or her prostitution convictions because most victims are forced to commit other crimes while under the control of a trafficker.
"We want people to succeed under this, but it's not possible There's nobody who qualifies," he said.
Richey noted a policy shift within the justice system from focusing on sex workers to johns. It reduced the number of prostitution charges to about a fifth of what they were several years ago in King County, he said.
Over the same period, the number of people caught patronizing a prostitute nearly doubled.
"They could be forced into it by a family member, friend or a complete stranger," Richey said. "It's hard to say how many people arrested for prostitution are trafficked because typically they're too scared to admit to it."
Wolfe said she'd had at least 10 different pimps, all of whom would take her belongings and threaten to kill her or her family if she ever tried to escape or go to the police.
King County Sheriff's Deputy Andy Conner, founder of the Genesis Project, a drop-in center for trafficked women, said he first met Wolfe while she was working one night on the "SeaTac strip" along Highway 99 in 2010, when his project was merely an idea.
"I wish there was something I could've done for her that night, but all I could do was listen to her story and come up with solutions," Conner said. "These girls aren't out there doing it because they want to."
Wolfe walked through the Genesis Project doors shortly after it opened in 2011. There, she was given a place to sleep, a meal, clothing and other necessities.
She was flown to California shortly afterward to receive counseling and treatment but later went back to prostituting because she said she couldn't make enough money to live on her own.
"I was trying so hard with no results, so I went back to doing it," she said.
Some oppose the legislation, which moves to a public hearing in the House on Thursday, because they fear people might continue to work in prostitution after vacating their crimes.
Republican Rep. Brad Klippert of Kennewick, who also serves as a sheriff's deputy for Benton County, said there should be more places where victims can go to make themselves safe and escape the people who are trapping them. But he fears this measure might allow some to abuse the system.
"I want them to be able to get out of it and stay out of it, but this bill says, 'Even if you get out of being trafficked, you can continue in prostitution,'" Klippert said. "When you stop committing crimes, we can talk about vacating a previous crime."
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 27 other states have similar laws to expunge, vacate or seal criminal records related to being trafficked.
"If we're about making sure that people are not continuously harmed, this legislation is critical to that conversation," said Democratic Sen. Rebecca Saldana, sponsor of the Senate bill.
Wolfe has stayed out of prostitution for the past two years.
She lives with a close friend and is fighting for custody of her two children. She recently earned a GED diploma and got her driver's license.
Wolfe said she wanted to share her story to help others understand the importance of passing this legislation.
"I just want to be successful," Wolfe said. "I don't ever want to feel like I can't do something by myself."
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing an Oregon man he mistakenly believed impregnated a 13-year-old girl.
The Yakima Herald reports (http://bit.ly/2lqaYCz) that 21-year-old Yoset Dominguez-Serrano of Outlook, Washington, received the sentence Friday in Yakima County Superior Court.
Dominguez-Serrano in January pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the February 2015 killing of 24-year-old Antonio Hernandez-Ledezma of Boardman, Oregon.
Dominguez-Serrano told police that he believed Hernandez-Ledezma had impregnated Dominguez-Serrano's 13-year-old relative and killed the Oregon man to protect his family's honor.
But DNA tests showed that Hernandez-Ledesma was not responsible for the pregnancy.
Hernandez-Ledezma's skeletal remains found by a hiker in September 2015.
Dominguez-Serrano faces deportation to Mexico once he completes his sentence.
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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakimaherald.com
- By DAVID MURRAY Great Falls Tribune
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — In the moments before her models stepped out onto the glowing blue and white stage, Belinda Bullshoe froze. Six of her creations were about to be presented before the global elite of fashion design.
Standing backstage at New York's Crowne Plaza hotel, the clothing designer from Montana's Blackfeet Indian Reservation held her breath for a moment.
"This is it," Bullshoe said quietly to herself. "All this worry and whatever or not — this is it. My creations are ready to hit the runway."
Six weeks earlier Bullshoe wasn't certain any of her designs would make it across the catwalk at Fashion Week. Four years ago she hadn't designed a single dress. Only her extended family and a few close friends had any idea Bullshoe was stretching her talents beyond colorful blankets and leg warmers to create something the New York fashion world might take an interest in.
"I was so nervous," Bullshoe said of the seconds before her designs hit the runway. "I was standing there and my heart was just beating. All I could think of was everyone who helped support me."
Even with the endorsement of a well-connected East Coast patron and the financial support of dozens of enthusiastic well-wishers, Belinda Bullshoe barely made it to New York Fashion Week.
Following her first two major fashion show presentations — one in Kamloops, British Columbia, the other in Edmonton, Alberta — Bullshoe received an invitation to show her designs at the Couture Fashion Week, one of the premier events bundled into the four-day extravaganza known as New York Fashion Week.
Getting an invitation to present your creations before alongside globally recognized designers such as Ralph Lauren and Pierre Cardin is a distinguished compliment, but it comes with a price. No one pays you to present at fashion week. You pay them for the privilege. Add to that the cost of travel, lodgings, food — not to mention the time and expense of creating a whole new line of fashions — and it's an expensive proposition, especially for a small-town designer.
It wasn't until the final possible moment that Bullshoe was certain she had raised enough funds to transport herself, her husband Rod, her mother and six hurriedly designed dresses to the downtown Manhattan venue. Waking at 2:30 a.m. Feb. 8, Bullshoe and her family skirted one of the worst Montana snowstorms in a decade to catch their flight out of Great Falls. All six of her newly tailored dresses were packed tightly in a carry-on suitcase.
"I was not going to take a chance on putting them underneath the plane," she said of her determination to avoid a lost baggage catastrophe.
Twelve hours later, and cruising in on nearly zero sleep, the Bullshoe family arrived in New York.
After settling in for the night, Belinda found the Crowne Plaza Hotel and set about selecting her models for the following day's show. Right behind her was the winter storm that had chased her flight across the northern plains and into New York.
Three-foot snowdrifts in Browning are likely to slow things down — in Manhattan, they shut things down. On the day of the big event, drift-filled streets stopped one of Bullshoe's models from arriving on time. With less than 45 minutes before the curtain was scheduled to rise on her show, Bullshoe was forced to select a new model and make final adjustments to a previously fitted dress.
At that moment the whole backstage seemed to be in a state of barely contained chaos: hair stylists rolling up curls or ironing them into place, make-up artists spraying on foundation and sketching eye shadow, models dressing and undressing, personal assistants scurrying to the beck and call of harried designers — everywhere a swirl of last-minute fashion panic.
"People were just racing around," Bullshoe said. "I couldn't even imagine how they were able to pull the show off."
A sold-out crowd of close to 750 people waited in the Crowne Plaza auditorium. Bullshoe was the first designer scheduled to present her designs at the show.
As the music rose to announce the beginning of the show, a production assistant latched on to Bullshoe to make sure everyone was in place for the opening. He made it clear that after all six of Bullshoe's models had completed their turn across the u-shaped stage, Bullshoe should be ready to take her own walk before the assembled fashionistas.
Bullshoe turned to her mother and told her she was going to make the walk arm-in-arm with her.
"She was like, 'What? I ain't going out on that runway,'" Bullshoe said of her mother's response.
But it was already decided. Less than 10 minutes after the presentation began, it was the two Bullshoe women's turn to make the walk.
"I couldn't really see anything," Belinda Bullshoe said of her entry into the New York fashion world. "When I came out there were some bright lights on us and the media was right in front of us. I could see a bunch of flashes at me. All I could do was wave my hand, but I couldn't really see anybody. People were just waving back at me and clapping their hands. It was such an amazing moment."
"Right there is where I realized the dream had become a reality," she said. Standing there on that runway I was like, 'Oh my gosh, here it is. I'm finally here, I did it.'"
"I was trying so hard not to cry," she added. "All I could think was don't cry, don't cry ... please Belinda don't cry."
Just two days later and the Bullshoe family was back in Montana. As of yet there have been no multimillion dollar design contracts offered up to Belinda, but orders for her wedding and prom dress designs have spiked.
Bullshoe's dresses are already being promoted as one of the highlights of the 2017 Scottsdale Fashion Square show in Arizona. After they attend the Arizona show, Belinda and Rod will be driving up to Frog Lake, Alberta, for a youth conference where Bullshoe's designs will be presented as evidence that First Nations people can accomplish anything they set their minds to.
"I just can't begin to thank everyone, and all the overwhelming support they've to given me to make my dream of going to New York possible," Bullshoe said. "It's not only the donations, it was how many people on Facebook who gave me support while I was there. This has been such a great experience."
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Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
- By LILLIAN SCHROCK The Register-Guard
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Eugene 2-year-old Wynn Wood receives a book in the mail every month and immediately instructs her parents to open the shrink-wrapped package.
A local program that mails free books to Eugene children is helping the toddler become passionate about reading.
"When they get a book in the mail in an envelope with their name on it, it makes them excited about reading," said Monica Wilton, executive director of the Eugene Public Library Foundation.
Wood is one of more than 3,700 Eugene children who receive free books in the mail through a local chapter of the Imagination Library program. About 45 percent of Eugene children under 5 years old participate in the program.
Started in 1995 by singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her Dollywood Foundation, the international program fosters a love of reading for children ages birth to 4 by mailing age-appropriate books directly to their homes at no charge to the family.
"The American Academy of Pediatrics has said the No. 1 most important thing that parents can do with their children is read with them," Wilton said.
"And the right time to start is the day they're born," added Alan Meyer, a retired University of Oregon professor who serves on the local Imagination Library advisory board.
According to the United Way of Lane County, 56 percent of children entering kindergarten in Lane County in 2010 did not meet early literacy benchmarks, and 30 percent are at risk of not being able to learn to read by third grade. Poor literacy of children entering kindergarten correlates to low high school graduation rates in Oregon, Wilton said.
Wynn's mother, Jess Wood, registered her daughter for Imagination Library when she was an infant. She's watched her daughter advance through different stages of reading as she's grown older. Wood remembered the first time Wynn turned the page on her own. Now, Wynn pretends to read to her 4-month-old brother, Wally.
Wood said she gets just as excited as her daughter for the Imagination Library books to arrive in the mail, because she tires of reading the same books over and over.
The Dollywood Foundation partners with Penguin Group to publish a collection of staple children's literature books, Wilton said. A panel of reading and childhood development experts at the Dollywood Foundation chooses the books, she said. All children, regardless of age when they join the program, receive "The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper as their first book.
There are more than 1,600 communities worldwide with Imagination Library programs, Wilton said.
The Eugene Public Library Foundation started its own Imagination Library affiliate in 2014 with the help of a bequest from Eugene resident Richard Kay, who had died in 2013. Kay left more than $1 million to be shared by the Eugene Public Library Foundation and the nonprofit organizations White Bird Clinic and McKenzie River Trust. The library foundation continues to fund the Imagination Library program through community donations.
For each child in the program, it costs about $25 a year for 12 books to be published and shipped to their homes. All money donated to the foundation for its Imagination Library program is used to provide books to local children, Wilton said. The foundation gives the funds to the Dollywood Foundation to publish and mail books to Eugene children.
Eugene families can register their children for the free program online or at one of the public libraries. All children younger than 5 who live in Eugene city limits are eligible.
The library foundation spends about $8,000 a month for Imagination Library, Wilton said.
"The program has been so successful," she said. "We're racing to keep up."
Wilton said it's important to provide books to families. Each Imagination Library book also includes reading tips for parents, such as using the pictures to teach children new words, she said.
The last book each child receives as part of the program is "Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!" by Nancy Carlson.
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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
Jim Click’s Tucson dealerships sell for $93 million
