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<DIV>Keely,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You need to read much more carefully, especially noting the use of the word
"some."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I am aware, probably much more than you are, of the extreme poverty, sense
of hopelessness, etc that exists in rural parts of Latah County and nearby
places in Benewah County such as Emida, Santa, Fernwood, Clarkia, etc.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Many of these places rely on timber industry related jobs, which thanks to
the long time mismanagement of the national economy, have dwindled
considerably. Also, in Benewah County and parts of Latah County, there has
been some extremely poor forest management by federal, state, and private
interests including gross overcutting in my opinion.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I gave a private tour this year to a legislator to bring awareness of, and
to discuss possible solutions of some of these problems. If you drive from
Moscow, through Potlatch, Harvard, Emida, Santa, Fernwood, Clarkia, Bovill and
back to Moscow, you will see some heart-wrenching pockets of poverty, and you
will also see in places the results of many years of forest mismanagement and
over harvesting.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That does not mitigate the fact that there are some people out there in
these areas, most likely many more per capita than within the city limits of
Moscow, who believe that private citizens should be able to own and to use such
things as anti-tank weapons, grenade launchers, hand grenades, other artillery,
and automatic assault weapons, and further, it is OK for a few citizens to sell
these items. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I did have some conversations with a law enforcement official some years
ago about this matter, especially since at that time there was automatic weapon
fire on Moscow Mountain near where I hike almost daily at all times of the
year. The problem of detection and enforcement is twofold: a wall of
silence, and the very loose network of people with these beliefs and/or
weapons. Based on overheard conversations, I believe that the
loose-knittedness has tightened since the election of President Obama.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Further, if you talk to some of these people, you will find that some of
them believe that possession of these weapons is needed not to protect
themselves from thieves, murderers, rapists, etc, or to hunt but to protect
themselves from the government. There is not a year that goes by that I
haven't heard automatic weapons fire while hiking or bicycling somewhere in
Latah or southwestern Benewah County, and in one case in Clearwater
County, not too far from Elk River Falls.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I do not dispute that Moscow has its own law enforcement problems.
However, I am not a resident of Moscow, and my opinion has zero impact on these
matters on those that could do something about them. As far as
poverty goes, we make contributions to food banks, etc in at least a small
effort to help those in need we support with our votes and political
contributions those political figures who work toward realistic solutions to the
problems of poverty.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I do live in the county and always hope for an honest, fair, objective,
courageous in all respects, and intelligently managed sheriff's
department. I hope that the Deary snipings will lead to a further
investigation of possible possession and/or sale of automatic assault rifles by
some that might be directly involved or tangentially involved in this
matter. I do not know that this is so, but rumor and gossip is abuzz with
such insinuations.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID
83843</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208 882-7975</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=kjajmix1@msn.com href="mailto:kjajmix1@msn.com">keely emerinemix</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=deco@moscow.com
href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">deco@moscow.com</A> ; <A
title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 03, 2010 9:43
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: [Vision2020] Fw: Fw: Hignway
Snipings</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>OK, Wayne.<BR><BR>Your Vision 2020 take on this subject stems
from the story of the two young snipers from Deary, one of whom was found last
week to have a pipe bomb in his basement. You think that rural Latah
County has a certain "kind of people" who populate it, and you provide this,
the Ortman story, and your own editorial comment to back up your hypothesis
that these people in Juliaetta, Bovill, Helmer, etc., are just different . . .
more violent, less <BR>predictably law-abiding . . . from the rest of us, or,
perhaps more specifically, from those who live in Moscow. I imagine
you'll be able to continue to pull up police logs and other stuff that backs
up your contention that "those folks" aren't like the rest of us, and I'll
grant you this -- there appears to be a fair amount of crime going on outside
of Moscow.<BR><BR>But what bothers me about your comments so far is the
apparent willingness to cast stones at rural Latah County residents without
considering that Moscow has its own share of problems -- problems that make
its relative "urban" culture, compared to these small towns, a less-than-ideal
place sometimes as well. We all know that a university town, virtually
any university town, has its problems with alcohol, drugs, and the sexual
victimization of female students. I think you see that; you've spoken
eloquently in the past against the culture of rape that sometimes seeps into
college life, particularly when alcohol is involved, and I don't think you, or
anyone on this list, would suggest that Moscow is free of crime, free of
social stressors, free of problems.<BR><BR>But in collecting for us examples
of crimes taking place in Bovill and Kendrick and Elk City and other places
where neither you nor I live, you risk mimicking one of the characteristics
shared among too many people in Moscow. That's an inability, for all
their talk about diversity, to see beyond their relatively urban, educated,
liberal smugness. I say this as a Moscow-urban (again, in relation to,
say, Helmer), educated liberal myself -- but one who has been deeply disturbed
by the tendency of some of Moscow's academic, progressive elites to write off
the experiences, realities, and concerns of Latah County's rural neighbors,
unable, it appears, to believe that "they" exist apart from the peculiarities
of what is seen as a misogynistic, gun-grains-and-God culture. <BR><BR>I
remember during the school bond campaign a few years ago, when some of us on
the Facilities Committee "communications/outreach" sub-group wanted to try to
reach as many people, and as varied a demographic, as we could with our
proposal to build a new high school. While the majority of people on the
larger committee were part of the city's business community or for whatever
reason were not part of the liberal, academic enclave of CQE and FONS, that
group, the CQE/FONS people, were quite involved with communications and
outreach. So was I, a school board member with feet in both
camps.<BR><BR>We were frustrated with a particular project at the Farmer's
Market that had info and feedback from pretty much the same dozen people, and
we were discussing where to take our flip charts and handouts to reach a wider
variety of people -- and more of them. We were looking for some
diversity in our placement of materials and our quest for feedback, somewhere
different from the Market. When a couple of us suggested info-stations
outside of Wal-Mart, Moscow Building, Schuck's, Spence, A & W, and
McDonalds, the acknowledged and self-identified progressive, academic,
neighborhood schools folks were, frankly, aghast. People who went to
"those places," we were told, didn't vote. They didn't "understand" the
issue, and they weren't interested. And so, in a stunning move toward
greater diversity of opinion, and with a striking degree of creativity, most
of the communications/outreach people decided to move the Committee's efforts
from the Farmer's Market to . . . the Co-Op. <BR><BR>I have since, and
had before, seen examples of some of Moscow's liberals casting aspersions on
their neighbors in Harvard and Princeton -- assuming no commonality with them
and seeking no particular understanding of their day-to-day lives.
Frankly, it's disheartening at best and offensive at worst that too many of
our local liberals care much more about the geographic circle of
sustainability from which their tomatoes come than about the reality of hunger
in places where people perhaps not as educated or affluent as they are live in
trailers, drive junk cars, and can't afford to feed any fresh produce -- and
perhaps not much else -- to their kids. I've noticed that much of
"academic Moscow" flocks to the Vagina Monologues but would mock the Bovill
woman who blushes at the words on the marquee, and whose blushing covers up
real experiences of sexual violence and degradation not affected, for better
or worse, by the art of the spoken word. And, frankly, I've had
firsthand experience with earnest groups of really nice, educated, affluent,
liberal townies who decry development on "their" Palouse hills instead of
objecting to the poverty too often found in the valleys below them.
<BR><BR>I'm afraid, Wayne, that your highlighting of "rural crimes" and your
veiled suggestion that there's just something about some kinds of people out
there comes too close to that kind of cynical disregard of people whose lives
are often more of a struggle than you or I can imagine. I'll grant that
some people move way off the beaten track to escape the confines of social
mores; sometimes, those people are gun nuts or violent men. I'll
contend, though, that much more often, people live where they can afford to
live, and sometimes that's an old trailer a few miles outside of Elk
River. Sometimes, rural people do unwise things with guns.
Sometimes, rural people do store up food for Armageddon, natural disasters, or
next Friday. And sometimes, rural people do take the Christian Gospel to
places it ought never go. Let's discuss their crimes, their bad conduct,
or their unwise willingness to vote against their best interests. But
let's not just toss them into the category of "the Other" whose voice really
doesn't require our listening, or whose poverty really isn't much of our
problem.<BR><FONT color=#8064a2><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt" size=3><FONT
face=Verdana>Keely<BR>www.keely-prevailingwinds.com<BR></FONT></FONT></FONT><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<HR id=stopSpelling>
From: deco@moscow.com<BR>To: vision2020@moscow.com<BR>Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010
12:47:17 -0800<BR>Subject: [Vision2020] Fw: Fw: Hignway Snipings<BR><BR>
<STYLE>
</STYLE>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>From today's <EM>Moscow-Pullman Daily
News:</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=ecxstorybody><U><STRONG>LATAH COUNTY
SHERIFF</STRONG></U></P><STRONG></STRONG>
<P class=ecxstorybody><STRONG>Saturday</STRONG></P>
<P class=ecxstorybody>10:33 p.m. - A truck window was shot out by a BB gun on
Cedar Street in Bovill. </P>
<P class=ecxstorybody><STRONG>Sunday</STRONG></P>
<P class=ecxstorybody>2:43 a.m. - A female was arrested for driving under the
influence on Main Street in Juliaetta.</P>
<P class=ecxstorybody>1:49 p.m. - A male was arrested for violating a no
contact order on Second Avenue in Bovill.</P>
<P class=ecxstorybody>5:17 p.m. - A coin collection was reportedly stolen from
a residence on Johnson Road near Deary.</P></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> See
bolded remarks below:</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none">-----
Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: rgb(228,228,228); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>To:</B>
<A title=vision2020@moscow.com href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision
2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Cc:</B>
<A title=jmills@lmtribune.com
href="mailto:jmills@lmtribune.com">jmills@lmtribune.com</A> ; <A
title=alford@dnews.com href="mailto:alford@dnews.com">Nathan Alford Daily
News</A> ; <A title=asolan@dnews.com
href="mailto:asolan@dnews.com">asolan@dnews.com</A> ; <A title=murf@dnews.com
href="mailto:murf@dnews.com">Murf Raquet Daily News</A> ; <A
title=dbauer@dnews.com href="mailto:dbauer@dnews.com">dbauer@dnews.com</A> ;
<A title=billf@lmtribune.com
href="mailto:billf@lmtribune.com">billf@lmtribune.com</A> ; <A
title=sheriff@latah.id.us
href="mailto:sheriff@latah.id.us">sheriff@latah.id.us</A> ; <A
title=pa@latah.id.us href="mailto:pa@latah.id.us">pa@latah.id.us</A> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Sent:</B>
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2:57 PM</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Subject:</B>
Re: [Vision2020] Fw: Hignway Snipings</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>One can only conclude, Roger, that you are
unaware of some of the people who populate parts of Latah County,
particularly some in <STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>Deary, Bovill, Princeton,
Harvard, Kendrick, Juliaetta, </FONT></STRONG>etc As someone who has
spent time in some of the outer parts of the county, I can tell you I have
meet some really scary folks. If you talk to other people that work or
recreate in the upper Palouse River drainage, Emerald Creek drainage, Meadow
Creek drainage, etc, I am sure you will find these sentiments
echoed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Also, now that information/rumors about Austin
Rickert's father and grandfather, previous firings on chip trucks, unlicensed
firearms dealers, <STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>the amount of lawlessness in the
Deary, Bovill, Harvard</FONT></STRONG>, etc areas are circulating, many more
questions have arisen, for example:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Who built the fort from which the shots were
fired?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Why was the fort built in that exact
location?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000 size=2 face=Verdana><STRONG>Is this the first time
chip trucks have been fired upon from the fort, or fired upon from
any other places in Latah county?</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>When, on Friday, was the <STRONG>first</STRONG>
report of possible sniping actually made?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Were both firearms used purchased from licensed
firearm dealers?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Why did the LCSD wait so long to get a search
warrant? Why did they not get it immediately after at least one sniper's
identity was known? Did that wait result in the destruction or removal
of any evidence?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>I can tell you this: There is a real
angry buzz going on among a lot of people about this incident which could have
been really tragic. People want some answers, not only to the kinds of
questions I have been raising, but other questions also. So far
information released has been bare bones. Even the information included
in the initial charging affidavit <A
href="http://images.bimedia.net/documents/012510-hwy-shooting-Rickert.pdf">http://images.bimedia.net/documents/012510-hwy-shooting-Rickert.pdf</A> is
very short on details. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Also, both the <EM>LMT</EM> and the <EM>DN</EM>
have been strongly criticized for not only being more informative, but
for the lack of aggressive reporting that this incident calls for.
For example, why hasn't Jack Buell been interviewed? There is another
person who could give most likely some very pertinent,
illuminating information should she consent to an interview, namely
Nadine Towne, mother of and custodial parent of Austin Rickert.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>What penal and other measures should be
taken against the snipers depends to some extent on whether they acted purely
on their own or whether they were encouraged/abetted in any way by
others. I believe that should any plea bargain be made, it should
include the condition that the suspects fully reveal the role of
anyone else, no matter how small in these crimes, and they reveal such
information under polygraph testing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>If there is evidence of anyone else being
involved, perhaps a Magistrate's Inquiry might be helpful in fully exploring
this matter, particularly when some people would be less inclined to lie under
oath or even to give information to investigators in the first
place.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Information originating from Deary sources
suggests two very diverse opinions of the presence of the LCSD:
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>1. The department has
not taken alleged criminal goings on there out seriously enough in the last
few years, and as a result many things that should have been or should be
reported aren't.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>2. The less we see of the
LCSD, the better.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box
9421<BR>Moscow, ID 83843</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana><A
href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208 882-7975</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none">-----
Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: rgb(228,228,228); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous"><B>From:</B>
<A title=lfalen@turbonet.com href="mailto:lfalen@turbonet.com">lfalen</A>
</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>To:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> ; <A
title=vision2020@moscow.com href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision
2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Cc:</B>
<A title=alford@dnews.com href="mailto:alford@dnews.com">Nathan Alford Daily
News</A> ; <A title=asolan@dnews.com
href="mailto:asolan@dnews.com">asolan@dnews.com</A> ; <A
title=dbauer@dnews.com href="mailto:dbauer@dnews.com">dbauer@dnews.com</A> ;
<A title=murf@dnews.com href="mailto:murf@dnews.com">Murf Raquet Daily
News</A> ; <A title=billf@lmtribune.com
href="mailto:billf@lmtribune.com">billf@lmtribune.com</A> ; <A
title=sheriff@latah.id.us
href="mailto:sheriff@latah.id.us">sheriff@latah.id.us</A> ; <A
title=pa@latah.id.us href="mailto:pa@latah.id.us">pa@latah.id.us</A> ; <A
title=jmills@lmtribune.com
href="mailto:jmills@lmtribune.com">jmills@lmtribune.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Sent:</B>
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 10:54 AM</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><B>Subject:</B>
Re: [Vision2020] Fw: Hignway Snipings</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>While most of your comments are well taken, your last
statement about crackpot political/religious leaders is a bit of a
stretch.<BR>Roger<BR>-----Original message-----<BR>From: "Art Deco" <A
href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">deco@moscow.com</A><BR>Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010
13:07:26 -0800<BR>To: "Vision 2020" <A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>Subject:
[Vision2020] Fw: Hignway Snipings<BR><BR>> Since this post appeared
yesterday, I've received a number of comments, including one which said I
ought mind my own business since it was just a couple of kids on a harmless
lark and I ought trust the sheriff to handle it. <BR>> <BR>> I
don't believe it was a harmless lark, and I don't trust the sheriff, left to
his own devices and prejudices, to conduct a complete,
let-it-go-wherever-it-leads investigation, and I don't trust the sheriff to
release information found in the investigation that the public not only has
a right to know, but ought to know.<BR>> <BR>> In the first post I
asked some questions. Here are some more:<BR>> <BR>> One shot
passed between two young women, likely known to the defendants, coming
through the windshield of the vehicle they were in.<BR>> <BR>> Here
are some unanswered questions and statements that leads me to think that
this action warrants more that an unlawful discharge of a firearm charge,
perhaps even an attempted murder charge.<BR>> <BR>> At one time in my
life I was a superior marksman, I knew a bit about firearms and was
very adept at using them, including a .22 caliber rifle.<BR>> <BR>>
Again I ask these questions because the news coverage has been more than
just weak and inadequate, but quite naive and a disservice to the
community.<BR>> <BR>> A WalMart quality .22 rifle even with a WalMart
quality scope on it is not a very accurate weapon. Even in the hands
of a marksman, the accuracy dwindles considerably in ranges past 100
feet. Hence if the snipers were shooting at the vehicle with the two
women at a range where accuracy is questionable, then regardless if they
were only aiming at the windshield, then they were certainly endangering the
lives of the occupants.<BR>> <BR>> What kind of 22. rifles were used
in the assaults? Was it a WalMart quality rifle or a high quality
rifle equipped with a high quality scope or laser sight? Where they
using ordinary .22 caliber bullets or higher power bullets? What
position were they in while firing? Was the rifle resting on something
while firing? How good of marksmen were the shooters? The
answers to these and other questions are relevant to the probable accuracy
of the shots and thus the amount danger the two young women were placed
in.<BR>> <BR>> Where did the suspects get the rifles? Where the
rifles their own? Their families? Were they provided, in part,
by some third party? Who all provided them with instruction on these
firearms?<BR>> <BR>> What is the relationship between the two young
women fired upon and the shooters? Were the shooters aiming for the
windshield or one of the occupants?<BR>> <BR>> Before we start calling
this a harmless lark and calling for leniency for two kids, we need to know
a lot more information. I think that we would be best served by having
the FBI, DHS, and ATF involved heavily in this investigation so that there
is a higher probability that the relevant facts will be found, that the
facts will be made known to the public, and to make sure that some of our
local crackpot political/religious groups were not involved in some way and
have not groomed some more gullible, not-too-bright kids to pull off
something similar.<BR>> <BR>> Wayne A. Fox<BR>> 1009 Karen
Lane<BR>> PO Box 9421<BR>> Moscow, ID 83843<BR>> <BR>> <A
href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>> 208 882-7975<BR>>
<BR>> ______________________________________<BR>> <BR>> Alleged
Deary teen vehicle shooter charged with bomb possession<BR>> Posted on:
Monday, February 01, 2010, Moscow-Pullman Daily News<BR>> <BR>>
Court records identify Austin Rickert as the Deary teen who was taken back
into custody and charged with an additional felony after a pipe bomb was
found inside a residence Friday.<BR>> <BR>> Rickert is accused of
being involved in a series of vehicle shootings on State Highway 8 near
Helmer last month.<BR>> <BR>> He was charged with unlawful possession
of destructive devices or bombs, according the Idaho State Judiciary's
online repository records.<BR>> <BR>> Following the discovery of the
bomb, the area was evacuated and the Spokane Bomb Squad responded to the
scene and neutralized the explosive. The search was part of an ongoing
investigation involving Rickert and fellow alleged shooter Austin Medlock.
The two 14-year-old Deary High School freshmen were charged with two counts
of unlawful discharge of a firearm at a vehicle during a hearing at the
Latah County Courthouse last Monday. The Jan. 22 incident shut down a
portion of State Highway 8 between Deary and Bovill for several hours. Latah
County Magistrate John Judge allowed for the release of Medlock and Rickert
into the custody of their parents on the condition they not be out of sight
of a parent except for when sleeping or attending school. They also were
prohibited from being around firearms and will wear electronic monitoring
devices, among other conditions. <BR>> <BR>> The teens allegedly shot
as many as 20 vehicles with a .22 caliber rifle and a crossbow. The
sheriff's office was continuing to investigate the case this week to
determine if additional charges needed to be filed.<BR>> <BR>> The
teens allegedly discharged the weapons from a three-level, 10-foot-tall fort
located near the highway, according to court records. Casings from the .22
and other evidence were apparently discovered nearby, according to the
document.<BR>> <BR>> Medlock and Rickert are scheduled to appear in
court at 11 a.m. Wednesday.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> ----- Original Message
----- <BR>> From: Art Deco <BR>> To: Vision 2020 <BR>> Cc: <A
href="mailto:jmills@lmtribune.com">jmills@lmtribune.com</A> ; Nathan Alford
Daily News ; <A href="mailto:asolan@dnews.com">asolan@dnews.com</A> ; Murf
Raquet Daily News ; <A href="mailto:dbauer@dnews.com">dbauer@dnews.com</A> ;
<A href="mailto:billf@lmtribune.com">billf@lmtribune.com</A> ; <A
href="mailto:sheriff@latah.id.us">sheriff@latah.id.us</A> ; <A
href="mailto:pa@latah.id.us">pa@latah.id.us</A> <BR>> Sent: Sunday,
January 31, 2010 1:34 PM<BR>> Subject: Hignway Snipings<BR>> <BR>>
<BR>> I have to take the recent snipings at chip trucks and personal
vehicles allegedly by two Deary area teenage suspects as serious
business. I have some questions, however, that have not been answered
by newspaper accounts or press releases.<BR>> <BR>>
1. According to the initial press release of the
incidents, the first reported sniping occurred last Friday just before
1:00pm. yet the highway wasn't closed until about 3:45pm. What's going
on here? Shouldn't the highway have been closed as soon as
possible? Couldn't some of the snipings been prevented by such a
move? When snipings occur elsewhere, isn't sealing off and closing the
sniping area done immediately? It now appears the alleged snipers went
through a police roadblock unchallenged around 2:45pm, and before the
highway was closed.<BR>> <BR>> 2. Prior to the
revelation about the possession of a pipe bomb by one of the suspects, this
was still a very serious matter. At least twenty vehicles were fired
upon. A bullet smashed the windshield of a passenger car and passed
between two young women inside. These were local Deary area women
apparently known by the suspects. Deary is not a big place, hence
doesn't it seem likely that the shooters knew exactly who they were firing
upon in this case? The big question: Why were only two charges
initially filed against the suspects?<BR>> <BR>> 3.
With the finding of the pipe bomb, this becomes a much more serious matter
demanding a much closer, serious investigation, perhaps aided by the FBI,
DHS, and ATF. What explosives were used in making the pipe bomb?
How did the suspect obtain the explosives? What was the initial source
of the explosives? Did the suspect act totally alone? Or was he
aided and abetted by others including adults including members of some of
the local crackpot political/religious groups? Are there any ties
(like between friends or relatives) between the suspect and some of these
crackpot groups? Was the suspect not only encouraged by others but
given material assistance and instruction? I don't know the answers,
but for the sake of local and perhaps national security, these answers ought
be found and reported.<BR>> <BR>> 4. The press
coverage has been meager. If this had happened on I-90 in Coeur
d'Alene, Kootenai County would be swarmed by national media, and at least
some of the above kinds of questions (and many more) asked and perhaps
answered. In addition, the LMT revealed the name of the pipe bomb
suspect. The DN didn't claiming that the sheriff wouldn't tell them,
although it appeared that the LMT story was their source. Is it the
sheriff who withheld information or the DN, either party perhaps protecting
someone they considered needed protecting?<BR>> <BR>> Again, I think
this is a very serious matter. This is not a private incident, it is a
blatant public crime. The public has a right to know the
details.<BR>> <BR>> Before making up my mind about what I think should
happen to the suspects or how area law enforcement can change so that they
can intelligently respond to these types of incidents much faster, I await
more information. I hope that it is forthcoming. I'd hate to
think that we are being subjected to another Steven Sitler type
cover-up.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> Wayne A. Fox<BR>> 1009 Karen
Lane<BR>> PO Box 9421<BR>> Moscow, ID 83843<BR>> <BR>> <A
href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>> 208 882-7975<BR>>
<BR>> __________________________________________________________<BR>>
Pipe bomb found at teen shooting suspect's home<BR>> By Joel Mills Of The
Tribune<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> Latah County officials
rearrest 14-year-old after executing search warrant as part of shooting
investigation<BR>> <BR>> One of two juveniles arrested in connection
with the shooting of up to 20 vehicles on State Highway 8 last week was
retaken into custody after investigators found a pipe bomb during a search
of his room Thursday, according to the Latah County Sheriff's Office.
<BR>> <BR>> Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson Jr. said
authorities rearrested Austin James Rickert Thursday after a PVC pipe
stuffed with fireworks powder and primed with a fuse was found in the room
he uses at his grandfather's residence on Forks Road near Helmer. <BR>>
<BR>> Thompson said the bomb was likely made before the Jan. 22 shooting
incident that lasted for more than three hours and temporarily closed the
highway between Deary and Bovill. <BR>> <BR>> "We don't have anything
to suggest he actually made this device or possessed this device subsequent
to his release," Thompson said. <BR>> <BR>> Authorities allege Rickert
and his friend Austin Blake Medlock used two .22-caliber rifles and a
crossbow to shoot at vehicles from a three-story fort on Rickert's
grandfather's property, where the boy sometimes stays. <BR>> <BR>>
Most of the bullets hit tractor-trailers, but at least two passenger
vehicles were struck. No one was injured, but one round passed through the
passenger compartment of one car, narrowly missing two girls. <BR>>
<BR>> Thompson said Rickert's father lives at the Forks Road residence
full time. Rickert lives with his mother in Deary but has a room reserved
for him at the Forks Road residence, he said. <BR>> <BR>> Deputies
were executing a search warrant as part of their investigation into the
shootings, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon by sheriff's
Lt. Brannon Jordan. Officials evacuated the area around the home, and a bomb
squad from Spokane neutralized the device, Jordan said. <BR>> <BR>>
Rickert appeared in court Friday, where he was charged with felony unlawful
possession of bombs or destructive devices. Earlier this week, Rickert and
Medlock - both 14-year-old freshmen at Deary High School - were charged with
unlawfully discharging a firearm at a vehicle in connection with the Jan. 22
shootings. <BR>> <BR>> Latah County Magistrate John Judge released
Medlock and Rickert to their parents last week, on the condition neither
leave the sight of one of their parents; that all guns be removed from their
homes; that they not touch a firearm; that the parents take them to and from
school; that they both wear electronic monitoring devices; and they agree to
be searched at any time by authorities. <BR>> <BR>> Thompson said
Rickert's rearrest is a separate issue and was not due to a violation of
Judge's conditions for release. <BR>> <BR>> Rickert will remain in the
Latah County Jail for the weekend, and probably until scheduling hearings on
Wednesday for both juveniles, Thompson said. <BR>> <BR>> Lewis County
Magistrate Stephen Calhoun, the regular juvenile judge for Latah County,
will handle hearings for Rickert and Medlock from now on, Thompson said.
<BR>> <BR>> He said while the investigation into the shootings and the
pipe bomb is ongoing, there is nothing to suggest the teens were planning a
larger attack. <BR>> <BR>> "What happened last Friday was really
serious and really dangerous," Thompson said. "We're waiting to see if there
is anything else behind this." <BR>> <BR>> --- <BR>> <BR>> Mills
may be contacted at <A
href="mailto:jmills@lmtribune.com">jmills@lmtribune.com</A> or (208)
883-0564. <BR>> <BR>> <BR>>
___________________________________<BR>> <BR>> Teen charged in
shootings arrested after bomb found<BR>> Spokane Bomb Squad neutralizes
device found in suspect's residence<BR>> Staff report<BR>> <BR>>
Posted on: Saturday, January 30, 2010<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> One
of the two teens charged with felonies in last week's Highway 8 shootings
near Helmer is back in custody after a pipe bomb was discovered inside the
residence following a search warrant.<BR>> <BR>> Following the
discovery of the bomb, the area was evacuated and the Spokane Bomb Squad
responded to the scene and neutralized the explosive.<BR>> <BR>> The
search was part of an ongoing investigation involving alleged shooters
Austin B. Medlock and Austin J. Rickert. The two 14-year-old Deary High
School freshmen each were charged with two counts of unlawful discharge of a
firearm at a vehicle during a hearing at the Latah County Courthouse on
Monday. The Jan. 22 incident shut down a portion of State Highway 8 between
Deary and Bovill for several hours.<BR>> <BR>> Latah County dispatcher
Jenny Bryant said the department is not releasing the name of which of the
boys was taken back into custody as of Friday evening. The teen has been
charged with unlawful possession of bombs or destructive devices along with
the two other felony counts. <BR>> <BR>> Latah County Magistrate John
Judge allowed for the release of Medlock and Rickert into the custody of
their parents on the condition they not be out of sight of a parent except
for when sleeping or attending school. They also were prohibited from being
around firearms and will wear electronic monitoring devices, among other
conditions.<BR>> <BR>> The teens allegedly shot as many as 20 vehicles
with a .22 caliber rifle and a crossbow. The sheriff's office was continuing
to investigate the case this week to determine if additional charges needed
to be filed.<BR>> <BR>> The teens allegedly discharged the weapons
from a three-level, 10-foot-tall fort located near the highway, according to
court records. Casings from the .22 and other evidence were apparently
discovered nearby, according to the document.<BR>> <BR>> The two teens
allegedly left the fort around 2:45 p.m. to attend basketball practice in
Deary and actually went through the vehicle identification section of the
roadblock outside of Helmer. They were eventually taken into custody
separately later Friday evening.<BR>> <BR>> Medlock and Rickert are
scheduled to again appear in court at 11 a.m. Wednesday.<BR>> <BR>>
_______________________________<BR>> <BR>> Courtesy of today's
(January 23, 2010) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.<BR>> <BR>>
------------------------------------------------------<BR>> <BR>> Boys
charged for vehicle shootings near Helmer<BR>> No one injured during
Friday afternoon incident<BR>> Staff report<BR>> <BR>> Posted on:
Saturday, January 23, 2010<BR>> <BR>> Two male juveniles were in
custody at the Latah County Jail on Friday<BR>> night for allegedly
shooting several vehicles on State Highway 8 near<BR>> Helmer.<BR>>
<BR>> The boys have been charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm at
a<BR>> vehicle, a felony, according to a media release from Latah
County<BR>> Sheriff's Office Lt. Brannon Jordan. Officials did not
release the boys'<BR>> names Friday.<BR>> <BR>> No injuries have
been reported related to the shootings, the release states.<BR>> <BR>>
The sheriff's department began receiving reports of vehicles being
struck<BR>> by gunfire in the Forks Road area east of Helmer at about 1
p.m. Friday.<BR>> Dispatcher Nathan Reetz said the shooting continued
over the course of the<BR>> afternoon, with about 20 shots fired.
Officials believe about 10 vehicles<BR>> were struck, though there is not
yet an official count.<BR>> <BR>> Reetz said about eight of the
vehicles were semi trucks. Dispatcher Marci<BR>> Williams said the semis
were operated by Jack Buell Trucking.<BR>> <BR>> Sheriff's officials
and Idaho State Police shut down the highway from 3:44<BR>> p.m. to 4:31
p.m. as they secured the area of the shootings. Officials did<BR>> not
locate anyone on the scene, but later identified the location from<BR>>
which the shots were fired and identified the juveniles, according to
the<BR>> report.<BR>> <BR>> The boys were taken into custody at
7:20 p.m. and 8:34 p.m., respectively,<BR>> Reetz said. He said no
further information about the suspects was<BR>> available as of press
time Friday.<BR>> <BR>> Information about what type of firearm was
used in the shootings also was<BR>> unavailable.<BR>> <BR>> The
incident remains under investigation, according to the release, but<BR>>
the sheriff's office has determined there is no further threat.<BR>>
<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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