Local briefs

Kooskia boy gets 90-day sentence on weapons charge

OROFINO - An 11-year-old Kooskia boy was sentenced Monday to a suspended sentence of 90 days in juvenile detention after pleading guilty earlier to a weapons charge.

Shane M. Jensen appeared before Magistrate Randall Robinson in Orofino after an original felony aggravated assault charge was reduced to a misdemeanor of firing a weapon in the direction of another person.

Robinson sentenced Jensen to 90 days in detention, but gave him credit for five days already served and suspended the remainder of the sentence. Jensen was placed on probation for 12 months, according to a Clearwater County court clerk.

Jensen was charged with shooting a .22-caliber revolver toward a girl on Oct. 3. Court records indicate Jensen showed up at a place near Kooskia where other youngsters were gathered, showed a gun and fired five rounds, some near the feet of a girl who was there. The girl then ran home, according to court records.

An older boy took the gun from Jensen and left the scene, according to court records.

Jensen was released to the custody of his mother but was placed on restrictions, including staying at home or school and not possessing firearms nor having weapons in the home where he is residing.

He was represented in the case by Moscow attorney Gregory C. Dickison.

Family engagement's role in education focus of presentations

The Kamiah and Lapwai school districts will host presentations this week on "Family Engagement and Student Academic Achievement."

The presentations will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday in each high school's library. Kamiah's presentation is set for Wednesday, and Lapwai's will take place Thursday.

Both will feature speaker Bernadette Anderson from the Academic Development Institute in Lincoln, Ill. Anderson will speak about the Family Engagement Tool, designed to help develop activities and assess parent involvement, school policies, programs and practices.

The two school districts recently formed Family Engagement Teams that are comprised of parents and school staff, with coordination and technical assistance from the Nez Perce State Tribal Education Partnership.

For more information on the events, contact Nez Perce Education Manager Joyce McFarland at (208) 621-4610.

2-car crash on State Route 270 kills woman

PULLMAN - A 31-year-old St. John woman was killed Monday in a two-vehicle collision about a mile outside of Moscow.

Ruth A. Leritte was traveling west on State Route 270 when she lost control of her Suzuki Grand Vitara, crossed the centerline and collided with a Chevrolet Blazer driven by Moscow resident Jeana M. Boyd, according to a Washington State Patrol news release.

The state patrol, along with several other emergency personnel, responded to the accident at 4:05 p.m. on the Pullman-Moscow Highway. Leritte was pronounced dead at the scene and next of kin has been notified, according to state patrol.

Boyd, 34, was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital with unknown injuries. She was listed as stable Monday night by hospital officials.

The state patrol said speed too fast for conditions was a factor in the crash.

Moscow teen is victim in rollover on U.S. 12

KOOSKIA - A 17-year-old Moscow boy was identified as the victim of a single-vehicle rollover Sunday on U.S. Highway 12 near here.

Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings said Williams J. Thon was involved in the accident at about 2:30 p.m. near milepost 70. Giddings said some passersby picked up Thon and took him to a house for warmth but he later was transported with unknown injuries to a local hospital by Kooskia ambulance crews.

Giddings did not know which hospital Thon was taken to nor the nature of his injuries.

A nursing supervisor at Clearwater Valley Hospital in Orofino said Thon was not a patient at the hospital Monday.

Slick roads lead to two accidents on prairie

Road conditions worsened Monday night on the Palouse and between Lewis and Nez Perce Counties.

The Idaho State Police reported two ice-related accidents that did not appear to be serious on U.S. Highway 95 near milepost 284 between Winchester and Culdesac.

Dispatchers for Whitcom Dispatch in Pullman also reported at least three accidents Monday night, and road crews were working on the trouble spots for area travelers.

Cooler temperatures are expected to continue through the week, with a slight chance of snow showers and lows in the teens today in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and a temperature as low as 9 degrees Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service.