Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LIONS MOVED
2 African lion sisters moved from Idaho zoo to Seattle
(Information from: Post Register, http://www.postregister.com)
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Two 2-year-old African lion sisters at the Idaho Falls Zoo, Kamaria and Ilanga, headed to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo this week to join the pride there.
The Post Register reports Hondo, the young male lion born at the zoo in 2017, will stay in Idaho Falls with his mother Kimani, who is 17 and past breeding age.
The average life expectancy of a captive lion is 15 to 20 years.
The tentative plan is when Kimani dies, the Species Survival Plan, a scientific committee that works with zoos to help preserve threatened and endangered species such as the African lion through breeding, will assign a mate or mates to the Idaho Falls Zoo to join Hondo.
Wild African lion numbers have fallen 40 percent over the past 30 years.
___
FATAL CRASH
20-year-old man killed in crash on Highway 95
(Information from: KBOI-TV, http://www.kboi2.com)
WHITEBIRD, Idaho (AP) — A 20-year-ols man is dead after being partially thrown from the pick-up truck he was driving on Highway 95.
KBOI-TV reports Nicholas Holland of Sandpoint was driving in the northbound lane of Highway 95, around 6:12 p.m. Friday near Whitebird, when he sideswiped another car.
Holland then drove the pick-up into the opposite lane, off the road, and down a 200 foot embankment.
Holland wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was partially thrown from the truck.
He died at the scene of the crash.
Holland's passenger suffered only minor injuries and was later released from a Grangeville hospital.
The driver and passenger in the sideswiped car were not injured.
___
ALLEGED SEXUAL BATTERY
High school principal found not guilty of sexual battery
(Information from: KBOI-TV, http://www.kboi2.com)
CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) — A Washington state jury has found a 44-year-old former high school principal not guilty of sexual battery against a female coworker.
Former Fruitland High School Principal Mike Fitch was charged earlier this year with misdemeanor sexual battery and patronizing a prostitute.
Court documents say the woman said Fitch sent erotic videos and photos and propositioned her for money in exchange for sex.
Documents say the woman shared evidence from her email account to Idaho State Police detectives.
Officials say the woman told police the suspected conduct took place a week after she was hired.
Fitch testified in court this week that he believed conversations between him and the victim were mutual.
___
MURDER CHARGE
Twin Falls woman charged in suffocation death
(Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com)
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A Twin Falls woman has been indicted by a grand jury on a first-degree murder charge.
The Times-News reports 21-year-old Andreza Helena Santana appeared Friday afternoon before Magistrate Judge Calvin Campbell for her initial hearing at the Twin Falls County Judicial Annex.
Campbell ordered her held without bond.
The grand jury indictment has been sealed. The first-degree murder charge described in available court documents says Santana suffocated her victim on May 3.
Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said he cannot comment on the case because it is sealed.
Santana will be arraigned in District Court on Oct. 15.
___
FLU SEASON
Flu shots urged in Western states with low vaccine rates
(Information from: KUWR-FM, http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/wpr/)
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Health officials in Western states with low rates of flu vaccination urge people to get flu shots.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Wyoming, Utah and Idaho rank among the bottom 10 states for adult flu vaccination.
The CDC advises that everyone over 6 months old get flu shots each fall. The vaccinations are updated annually to match strains likely to circulate in the U.S. before flu season ends in May.
Wyoming Public Media reports the Wyoming Department of Health is using a person in a flu bug costume hand out flyers on the dangers of influenza.
Wyoming department spokeswoman Kim Deti says Wyoming had 23 flu-related deaths last year and hundreds of hospitalizations every year.
___
BAR FIRE-IDAHO
Fire guts 5 Mile Bar in Chubbuck, Idaho
(Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com)
CHUBBUCK, Idaho (AP) — A fire has gutted the 5 Mile bar in Chubbuck.
The Idaho State Journal reports the blaze was reported early Saturday morning at the bar in the 4800 block of Yellowstone Avenue.
The Chubbuck Fire Department firefighters were still trying to extinguish the flames at 10 a.m.
Authorities haven't yet said whether the fire has resulted in any injuries. They also haven't commented on what could have caused the blaze.
It did not appear that the fire spread to any adjacent buildings but the flames have severely damaged the 5 Mile bar.
___
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
