NorthwestMarch 27, 2012

From wire service reports

Army soldier from Idaho

killed in Afghanistan

BOISE - Officials with the Department of Defense say a U.S. Army soldier from Jerome, Idaho, has been killed in Afghanistan.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sgt. Daniel J. Brown died March 24 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, after he was injured when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colo.

Brown's family requested privacy but issued a prepared statement through the Idaho National Guard.

In the prepared statement, the family said Brown felt called to join the Army after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that he was known for putting others before himself and leading by example. Brown is survived by his wife, Jordan Brown, and their 3-month-old twin daughters.

Funeral set for Friday for

murdered Montana teacher

BILLINGS, Mont. - A funeral has been set for Friday for an eastern Montana high school teacher who was kidnapped, killed and buried in North Dakota.

Fulkerson Funeral Home said the service for Sherry Arnold will be held at the Sidney High School gymnasium at 2 p.m. Arnold will be buried at the Sidney cemetery afterward.

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The remains of the 43-year-old mother of two were recovered Wednesday near Williston, N.D. That's about 50 miles northeast of Sidney, the Montana town where Arnold lived and worked most of her life.

Authorities said she was kidnapped at random Jan. 7 during a morning run in Sidney and choked to death.

Suspects Michael Spell and Lester Van Waters Jr. have pleaded not guilty to aggravated kidnapping in the case.

Normal wildfire season predicted

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - An official with the Northern Rockies Coordination Center said forecasters for now are expecting a normal wildfire season.

Meteorologist Bryan Henry told the Great Falls Tribune that there is still uncertainty in predicting the 2012 fire season. But as of now, officials are leaning toward a normal fire season of between 200,000 and 250,000 acres burned in northern Idaho, Montana, Yellowstone National Park and North Dakota.

The uncertainty comes from this year's weak La Nina weather pattern. The pattern was expected to produce more snow than it did this winter.

Henry said he will issue his first official preliminary fire season outlook for this year on April 1. He said he doesn't expect it to change too much between now and then.

From wire service reports

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