Newspaper gets records detailing remote Idaho shootout

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Public records recently obtained by the Post Register detail a strange incident in which four Idaho State Police officers were left scrambling for safety when they were shot at by an unknown assailant at a remote mining claim.

No one was hit by the gunfire and no arrests were made, but the Jan. 14, 2009, incident was shrouded in secrecy until the Idaho Falls newspaper won a nine-month court battle to unseal the Idaho State Police documents.

The documents, ordered released by 7th District Judge Gregory S. Anderson, say that the police were responding to a citizen’s report of possible illegal drug activity when they rode snowmobiles to a shed on a mining claim at the remote central Idaho ghost town of Gilmore. The ghost town, made up of about two dozen buildings, was once at the heart of Idaho’s largest silver-lead mining district outside of the Coeur d’Alene region.

The officers’ pace was leisurely, according to the reports. Before going to the shed’s door, they ate their lunches while sitting atop their snowmobiles.

Though they knew who owned the building, the officers didn’t have a search warrant and didn’t announce their presence before trying to enter the shed, according to the ISP reports. That’s when someone opened fire, sending the officers running for cover behind a man-made berm.

All of the officers’ names were redacted from the reports.

“I yelled toward the structure that we didn’t want any trouble, and if he stopped shooting we would leave the area,” one of the officers wrote in his narrative of the incident.

Eventually, the officers did just that, leaving their snowmobiles behind and crawling on their bellies through snow to a nearby creek bed. Once under the cover of trees, they walked four miles in 3- to 4-foot-deep snow to their vehicles.

None of the officers returned fire, according to the reports. The group returned days later to retrieve their snowmobiles, which were unharmed.

The incident wasn’t reported until April 2009, after a Post Register reporter began digging into the matter. At the time, ISP Capt. Danny Bunderson refused to provide details because the case was still under investigation.

Bunderson declined requests for an interview last week, saying the agency can’t release additional information without risking investigative efforts being conducted by the Lemhi County sheriff’s office.

According to the ISP reports, the officers knew the building was owned by a former Idaho Falls resident and they’d even conducted surveillance on the man in the past. Lemhi County Sheriff Lynn Bowerman says he believes the man is still in the area and says deputies will try to reach him soon to ask him to meet with law enforcement, on the promise he won’t be arrested or detained.

According to records from the Idaho State Police debriefing following the incident, the officers didn’t take their police radios with them and only had some food. ISP officials concluded the shooting “should have been (treated) like all critical incidents,” and that ISP leaders should have considered relieving the officers from duty for a time. Additionally, the shooting should have been investigated by another agency, the debriefing officials found.

“The biggest thing was that having to do it again, they may not even attempt it or at the least be better prepared,” the debriefing said. “Planning and communication are always essential elements when planning an operation such as this.”

Federal judge won't dismiss KKK suit

ST. LOUIS — A federal judge in St. Louis has rejected a state request to dismiss the lawsuit filed by a Ku Klux Klan group.

Frank Ancona, imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, is seeking to rent a pavilion at the Fort Davidson Historic Site in southeast Missouri.

The group filed a lawsuit as it sought to use the site for an April 14 gathering. The KKK group was unable to meet the insurance requirements imposed by the Department of Natural Resources and held the picnic on private property.

Ancona alleges that the requirements violated his right to free speech.

Judge Rodney Sippel in St. Louis wrote in his ruling Aug. 31 that the issue isn’t moot although the April 14 event has passed. He noted that the KKK group is now seeking to use the pavilion on Oct. 3.

Breast-cancer bracelets cause stir in schools

BALTIC, S.D. — Rubber bracelets aimed at raising awareness about breast cancer and emblazoned with "I love boobies" are raising eyebrows among school officials in South Dakota.

This week, Baltic High School joined several schools nationwide to ban the popular bracelets with a message some say is in poor taste.

"I do think there are more proper ways to bring this plight to the attention of people, and I don't think this is a proper way," Principal Jim Aisenbrey told the Argus Leader.

Officials at O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls have also told students not to wear the bracelets in school.

"Our concern is that the issue the wristbands are meant to address is a serious one, but the language used on the bracelets trivializes the issue," said Principal Kyle Groos.

The bracelets that sell for about $4 in stores were created by the nonprofit Keep A Breast Foundation of Carlsbad, Calif. Proceeds go to the foundation's programs.

Schools from Florida to California have banned the bracelets following objections from some students and parents.

Baltic resident Ann Aberson said cancer has affected several of her relatives, and she doesn't have a problem with her two teenage daughters wearing the bracelets. "I guess I never thought of them as offensive," she said.

"It's just a bracelet," said her 16-year-old daughter, Amelia Atkins. "Yeah, it says 'boobies,' but it's for breast cancer."

But not all students wear the bracelets because of the serious message.

"I pretty much had it just to get a kick out of it, just because it says, 'I love boobies,' mostly not because of the awareness," Baltic student Chris Mesa told KDLT.

"Most of us like to have it as a joke, like this is awesome, it has 'boobies' on it," said student Travis Evans.

Foundation co-founder Shaney jo Darden told the Argus Leader that the bracelets are meant to spark discussion among young people.

"That's the whole idea," she said. "It's getting people to talk about breast cancer, it's getting people to share their feelings about how this disease has impacted their life."