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HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — A drunk driver who killed three children when he crashed into the back of a vehicle in which they were passengers has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Forty-seven-year-old Matthew Richard Park of Fairfield received the sentence Wednesday in 5th District Court. He will have to serve at least 17 years before he's eligible for parole. Park pleaded guilty in May to aggravated DUI and three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter. Six-year-old Aneena Lurak, 5-year-old Kya Lurak and 3-year-old Drayka Emyka Rayshell died in the crash in August 2019 in southern Idaho. Their father, Somchai Lurak, suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a quadriplegic.
JEROME, Idaho (AP) — A beef processing company says it will open a new plant in south-central Idaho and hire 400 workers. Agri Beef on Friday announced plans to build the plant that will operate as True West Beef in Jerome and will be able to process 500 cattle a day. The Times-News reports that the company already owns a mid-sized processing plant in Washington and since 1968 has operated feedlots in Idaho. It owns the Snake River Farms and Double R Ranch brands. The company says its workers make about $52,000 annually. The company says the plant will work directly with livestock producers who will have an equity ownership in the facility.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. government says four huge dams on the Snake River in Washington state will not be removed to help endangered salmon migrate to the ocean. Friday's announcement thwarts the desires of environmental groups that fought for two decades to breach the structures.The Final Environmental Impact Statement was issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration, and sought to balance the needs of salmon and other interests.The plan calls for spilling more water over the dams at strategic times to help fish migrate faster to and from the ocean.
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — A former participant in an armed occupation in 2016 at an Oregon wildlife refuge appeared in court this week. He had been arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer during a shootout in northern Idaho earlier this month. The Lewiston Tribune reported that 52-year-old Sean L. Anderson appeared at his initial hearing online from the New Perce County Jail on Wednesday. The shootout occurred after an attempted traffic stop for an apparent equipment violation. Police said the pursuit ended when the vehicle stopped in a residential area and shots were fired. Anderson was injured. No officers were injured. He faces a maximum 25 years in prison if convicted.
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