BOISE -- The company SUPERVALU, which owns the majority of Albertsons grocery stores, announced it will be cutting about 800 positions nationwide. Mike Siemienas, a SUPERVALU spokesman, says about 130 local jobs will be cut across all departments.

There are 1,150 people employed in the Boise area. Siemienas says the cuts will not affect employees like cashiers, butchers, etc. in the stores.

SUPERVALU says those employees that will be losing their jobs will be notified throughout this week. They will outsource people domestically and internationally.

A majority of the layoffs will happen by February 25, 2012.  The reduction of positions will include current positions, as well as open jobs that are not currently filled.

The layoffs are part of the company's plan to remove permanent expenses and reduce overall operating costs.  SUPERVALU says these cost-saving measures are necessary in "helping the company achieve its plan to deliver more competitive pricing to its customers."

The cutbacks will affect all company officers and most departments within the organization.  According to SUPERVALU, "In general, store level associates are not affected."  The people in the positions that are being eliminated will be eligible for severance and outplacement services.

"While the announcement of a workforce reduction is difficult news to share, due to its direct impact on our associates, these changes will allow us to better connect with customers and put more authority in the hands of people who interact more closely with our customers," said SUPERVALU CEO and President Craig Herkert in a written statement.

BOISE -- Idaho State Police released new information regarding the teen who crashed into the back of a semi-truck last month.  They may rule that 18-year-old Taylor Sauer was distracted by her cell phone at the time of the crash.

A preliminary report released by the Idaho Transportation Department said the teen was not using her phone when she crashed on I-84 in Elmore County. 

Idaho State Police Lieutenant Sheldon Kelley tells KTVB they do have evidence there was extensive cell phone usage during Sauer's drive.  Kelley said the investigation is not complete, but when it is, they will more than likely determine that her cell phone usage was a contributing factor in the crash.  That determination will change the ITD report.

At this point, ISP is working to determine the exact time of the crash and the last activity on her cell phone.  They hope to have the investigation finished in the next week or so.

Taylor Sauer crashed on January 14.  Police say she rear-ended a semi-truck, which was going about 15 miles per hour uphill.  She was then hit by a semi-truck driving behind her.

Sauer's Facebook page gives clues as to what may have happened before the crash.  After a few Facebook posts between friends about a Denver football game, she wrote "I can't discuss this matter now.  Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha."

Sauer was awarded the Distinguished Student Award on KTVB in 2011.  She held a 3.9 GPA at Marsing High School and said she wanted to be a teacher.

BOISE -- Boise has miles and miles of trails, but officials are saying some people are damaging the trails by using them at the wrong time.

“We're starting to get complaints from responsible trail users of the damage that's occurring from folks that are using the trails when they shouldn't be on them,” said David Gordon, Ridge to River Coordinator, which oversees many of the trails in the foothills.

Gordon says the problem is twofold and it's all because of the mild weather we've been experiencing.  The trails are warming up during the day making them muddy, but the warm weather is also drawing more runners, bikers and hikers to the foothills.

“We're asking people to use them in the morning, when they're frozen or stay on sandy trails in the afternoon if that's when you can get out,” said Gordon.

Many trails have ruts and mud clumps from people using them when they were too muddy, this is making it difficult and somewhat dangerous for bikers and hikers.  Many have complained to Gordon about almost twisting their ankles.

Gordon says the damage to the trials could take their toll over time.

“If we're continuing to use our trail system like this year after year, it's going to be severely degraded over time.  Ten, 20 years from now we're not going to have the same trail systems out there that we do now,” said Gordon.

You can go to the Ridge to Rivers website where they post daily trail conditions of the trails at: http://ridgetorivers.cityofboise.org/.

NAMPA -- An 18-year-old Nampa man has been charged with DUI after a rollover accident early Monday morning south of Lake Lowell.

Officers responded to the accident on 12th Avenue Road around 6 a.m.

Police say all four people in the 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser fled the scene after the crash. Officers were able to locate all of the occupants.  Three of them were taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The Canyon County Sheriff's Office is investigating the four occupants for a theft in the area.

Eric J. Olmeda, 18, of Nampa, was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident, DUI, illegal consumption of alcohol, fail to purchase a driver's license and three counts of encouraging violations of the Juvenile Corrections Act. All the charges are misdemeanors.

A male juvenile and a female juvenile were charged with illegal consumption of alcohol and a second female juvenile was charged with being a runaway out of Nampa.

BOISE -- Two Peruvian nationals involved in a marriage fraud scheme in Idaho have entered guilty pleas.

The U.S. attorney's office says 30-year-old Jenny Sedano-Vilcapoma of Ketchum pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud while 36-year-old Rudy Isla-Mejico of Bellevue pleaded guilty to marriage fraud. Sentencing is set for April 30 in Boise.

Federal prosecutors say in October 2006, Sedano-Vilcapoma agreed to enter into a fraudulent marriage with Anthony Scafidi and offered to pay him to help her obtain immigration benefits. Sedano-Vilcapoma filed citizenship paperwork in October 2007.

Prosecutors allege that Sedano-Vilcapoma and Isla-Mejico helped arrange for a fraudulent marriage between Isla-Mejico's sister and Joshua Bell. Isla-Mejico's sister has not been charged.

Scafidi and Bell also have been convicted.

BOISE -- The National Traffic Safety Board is continuing to investigate the plane crash that killed Micron CEO Steve Appleton on Friday morning.

They arrived on scene of the crash at the Boise Airport Friday.  Over the weekend, NTSB investigators combed over the wreckage looking for any clues into what may have happened.

They have since completed the first phase at the actual crash site and moved the wreckage of Appleton's experimental Lancair to a private hangar at the airport where they're continuing their work.

These photos show the NTSB sifting through the wreckage inside the hangar.

Officials are laying out the burnt wreckage pieces in hopes of finding clues as to what may have caused the crash.

Jeff Rich, a chief NTSB investigator for the Pacific Region, say it is a meticulous process following a plane crash.

"We schematically try and reconstruct it, the reason we do that is to look at the systems and the components within their constituency of the structure," said Rich.

At other larger plane crashes you may have heard the term "black box" or flight data recorder. Those instruments record communication inside the cockpit, as well as the plane's altitude, airspeed, and other information.

Smaller aircrafts don't have this technology but there are some newer instruments on these smaller planes which do have memory.

We're told that there have been a few instruments taken from the wreckage that will be sent to a laboratory for processing.

It could take months before NTSB comes up with an actual cause of the crash.

BOISE -- A new bill drawn up by a Moscow representative is sparking conversation.

Democrat Shirley Ringo introduced House Bill 354 and said it could put $400 million into the state's general fund, so things like the cost for tuition at Idaho’s colleges and universities would not increase.

“We are just looking for more revenue to better fund programs,” said Ringo.

However, her bill is not a new idea.  Idahoans have been hearing about this change for decades and each time the bill surfaces in the Idaho Legislature it doesn’t go far. This proposal would lower the state sales tax from 6 percent to 5 percent.

Boise State University business major Phil Sansotta is finishing up his senior year.  He is also funding his education with student loans.

“It’s rough, you know, trying to work and go to school full time, it's really tough you have to take out loans just to pay the bills,” said Sansotta.

He, like many Idaho college students, said tuition is not easy to afford.

“It’s way too high,” he said.

The idea of implementing a 5 percent sales tax does not go without its opposition.  It would begin to apply to other goods and services, like lottery tickets, pari-mutual betting, broadcast equipment and snow groomers just to name a few.  It also means a lift ticket at Bogus Basin, for example, will cost you an additional 5 percent to cover the sales tax.

“The theory behind that is that people that go skiing probably have a little discretionary money that they are able to spend, so they put in a little bit at that level and it will help us to lower it someplace else,” said Ringo.

Ringo says even if House Bill 354 doesn't make it through the Legislature this year, at least the voters would have the opportunity to decide. She's also working on a voter initiative.

“It’s not everybody's favorite thing to do, but we know if there are services we want the state to provide, it comes at a cost,” said Ringo.

This bill has not been heard yet in the House Revenue and Tax Committee, and as far as the voter initiative, backers are raising funds now.  They must collect 47,000 signatures by April 30 to make it on the 2012 November ballot.

The State Sales Tax Reform Initiative group must file its petitions with the secretary of state no later than four months before the election that would have the initiative on the ballot.

BOISE -- The Idaho Humane Society is booked solid with small Chihuahua-mixed dogs.

The 67 dogs made the journey from California all the way to Idaho to find good homes.

The Chihuahuas came from an overwhelmed shelter in Porterville, California.

The Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley then picked up eight of the dogs to find them homes in the Sun Valley area.

The California Chihuahuas will gradually be available for adoption this week as they get spayed and neutered.

"They are really sweet, really nice dogs.  They all are social, they all want a lot of attention, they all want to place to play, they are active, they are energetic," said Idaho Humane Society Communication Outreach Coordinator Hannah Parpart.

The first 12 dogs prepared for adoption have been moved to the PetSmart Adoption Center and are waiting to meet their new families.

BOISE -- A victory.  That is what Garden City officials consider Friday's ruling to dismiss a lawsuit that would allow bikes on the city's Greenbelt.

Citizens for an Open Greenbelt, or COG, filed the complaint, and say this may simply be a battle lost in the larger campaign.

Back in 2007, the Garden City Council passed an ordinance banning bike riding on a one-and-a-half mile stretch in the Riverside Village area.

Many of the same issues brought recently are similar to what they were back when the ban was put into place: convenience and safety.

"This is the only way that people coming from Eagle, or in this part of Garden City can get to Boise," said a concerned biker. "And what they're going to experience as you can see now on camera is a lot of traffic, and it's very dangerous and it's very narrow."

On Friday, Fourth District Judge Cheri Copsey ruled COG's lawsuit does not have standing and ultimately it is a decision that should be taken up with elections and not with the courts.

COG has suggested they could bring this matter to the people for a vote. But Garden City Mayor John Evans says so far there have been no attempts.

BOISE -- Gov. Butch Otter's proposed budget got a little boost from the latest tax revenue collections that were $6.3 million above projections.

Tuesday's release of figures for January point toward continued economic strengthening.

Otter aides have been roaming the Capitol with preliminary numbers recently -- to make the case that Idaho revenue will be sufficient to support the Republican's 2013 budget proposal.

That includes a proposed $41 million raise for teachers and state employees, as well as a $45 million tax cut.

The sales tax beat its forecast for the second straight month, exceeding expectations by $7.6 million.

State economist Derek Santos says January's sales-tax performance is an important milestone because it's the month with the year's highest expected collections, on sales that took place during December's holiday shopping season.

BOISE -- Ada County announced its new district boundaries Monday night.

The board of commissioners approved four new voting precincts in which the primary goal was to more evenly distribute voters.

The new lines puts current Ada County Commissioners Vern Bisterfeld and Sharon Ullman in the same district.  It's likely the two will square off against each other in this year's election. That means there will be an open seat up for election in Ullman's former district.

BOISE -- Starting the college application process can be really overwhelming for students and parents.  So, where do you begin?  A local nonprofit is helping kids get a step ahead on those college applications, free of charge.

Six local mothers started Step Ahead Idaho two years ago.  Shirley O'Neil is the ring leader.

"We came together, all of us have kids and we have all had kids go on to college," said O'Neil.  "It's a steep learning curve, I'll tell you that."

"I had been volunteering in the schools for years, and had worked through the application process with two of my own kids," said Sue Lovelace, Step Ahead Idaho.

"We realized that college is an overwhelming process and can be daunting, even for the most savvy parents," explained O'Neil.

Over the past two years, these women have become what you could call "college specialists."

"We love working with kids.  We love seeing that we can take something that is a very complex process and break it down into pieces that are manageable for each kid," said O'Neil.

The best part is this drop-in center is free of charge.  That's a big bonus for Madison Szathmary, a senior at Boise High School.

"You just have to go in with a clear head, and they will guide you through the whole process," said Madison.

With the help of Step Ahead Idaho, Madison has applied to eight schools.  Now she is just waiting to hear back.

Madison's dad, Lou, says these ladies were a huge help to their family.

"Looking at different colleges, zeroing in on where she wanted to go," said Lou Szathmary.  "Just having a plan and a time line."

"Each one of us separately got the chance to work with her," said O'Neil.  "Just to be able to read over her essays.  It's such an honor really for these kids to trust you with their life stories and their essays."

O'Neil has big plans for this nonprofit.

"Our vision would be to have something like this all across the state," she said.

Helping kids like Madison get a "step ahead" on college and on their futures.

"I feel like if I didn't have Step Ahead, it would have been very overwhelming and stressful," said Madison.  "You sit down, get it done, it's free, and it's fun."

The Step Ahead Idaho drop-in center is located in the downtown Boise YMCA.  It is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Step Ahead Idaho is also working with the Idaho Education Network to provide online seminars to high schoolers in rural areas.

BOISE -- This Valentine's Day you can help people living with AIDS or HIV in our community by bidding on artwork.

The 19th annual Valentine For AIDS Silent Art Auction is going on right now at the Flying M coffeehouse in downtown Boise.

The money raised helps provide grocery vouchers and emergency financial assistance for people in southern Idaho who have HIV or AIDS.

More than 250 artists are participating in the auction.

"One of the coolest things about the Valentine for AIDS is the fact that you will get people from so many different skill levels," said Flying M barista Matthew Baltzell. "You'll get a lot of famous Boise professional artists right next to children's art, and it's so interesting to see all the different things Boise can show up with."

Last year, the event raised about $28,000.

According to Safety Net for AIDS Program, or SNAP, 93 people used $7,200 last year in grocery vouchers and 89 people used $13,947 in emergency financial assistance. They used the money to pay medical costs, rent, utility bills and transportation costs.

Organizers say since this year's auction started Feb. 2, it has raised about $14,000.

You still have time to bid in the silent auction.  It runs through this coming Sunday afternoon, Feb. 12.

BOISE -- House leaders would lose their posts if they were convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

According to a bill introduced on Tuesday, Rep. Julie Ellsworth says the House should set a standard for its leaders.

The Boise Republican introduced the legislation after Senate Majority Caucus Chairman John McGee was convicted of driving under the influence last summer.

McGee survived a Senate confidence vote earlier this year.

Though Ellsworth's measure to oust guilty House leaders, committee chairmen and vice chairmen during the remainder of the legislative term won a full hearing, not everyone backed it.

Rep. Erik Simpson told Ellsworth it smacked of "the flavor of the month," an allusion to McGee's highly publicized arrest.

But Simpson's effort to kill the bill failed on a 10-8 vote.

BURNS, Ore. -- A Kuna father and son were arrested Friday after a traffic stop in Burns, Oregon, led to the discovery of 11 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle.

An Oregon State Police sergeant stopped a rented 2010 Chevy Malibu at 11:23 a.m. for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

The driver was identified as Kirk Yerton, 48, and his passenger, Kody Yerton, 23, both from Kuna.

During the traffic stop, the sergeant saw Kirk Yerton place a small container on the ground by a fence. A small amount of meth and a pipe was found inside the container. Kirk Yerton was taken into custody for unlawful possession of methamphetamine and tampering with evidence.

A drug detection dog with the Harney County Sheriff's Office helped officers discover approximately 11 pounds of marijuana inside a duffel bag in the car’s trunk. The estimated value of the seized marijuana is $27,500.

Both men were booked into the Harney County Jail.

Kirk Yerton is also charged with unlawful delivery and manufacturing and possession of marijuana.  He was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Kody Yerton is charged with unlawful delivery and manufacturing and possession of marijuana.  He was cited for possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.

NAMPA -- The Lactalis American Group says it's getting ready to ramp up production and hire more people at its Nampa plant to keep up with the growing demand.

After the expansion is complete, the factory will be producing millions of more pounds of cheese each year.

The cheese manufacturer has seen a growing demand for fresh mozzarella. To keep up with that demand the Lactalis American Group is adding a new building and hiring around 70 new employees.

The company says it made sense to invest in the Nampa plant because it is in a top dairy state.

Nampa Mayor Tom Dale says the economic impact will go well beyond the city.

"They'll be increasing the delivery of milk to this, which is good for our dairy farmers in the Treasure Valley, as well as the Magic Valley," said Dale.  "It's good for the machinery folks who sell the equipment to the dairy farmers. It's good for the feed folks who sell the feed. It just goes on and on and on."

No doubt about it, dairy farmers will get a big boost. Lactalis says it will need more than 100 million extra pounds of milk a year.

When production starts they will be making 31 million pounds of fresh mozzarella a year.

Construction on the new plant will start next month. There is a parking lot and some open space adjacent to the Nampa plant and that is where the new mozzarella factory will be built.

The fresh mozzarella will be sold under the name Galbani. Production will begin in the spring of 2013.

MERIDIAN -- The Meridian School District is once again asking homeowners to fund a supplemental levy.

The district tried last year, but the levy failed with about 57 percent of voters saying "no" to higher taxes.

District officials know the economy will be an issue once again. So this year they are asking for $9 million less than last year.

But what they want voters to understand is that the biggest chunk of this year's $28 million levy isn't going to restoring positions or building new schools, it will be used to provide students more opportunity to learn.

The supplemental levy would be for two years and it would increase property taxes.

On a home with $100,000 in taxable value, property taxes would go up by about $115 per year, or $9.58 per month.  The levy expires after two years.

Meridian School District spokesman Eric Exline says the main purpose of the levy is to restore the school days that have been cut from the school year.

Nine instructional school days were cut last year as a way to save money after last year's levy failed. Exline says the district wants to restore those days, but they need money to do so.

"We're really just trying to get school days back because of our concern that kids do not have time to learn everything that they're supposed to be learning in terms of the core standards, what's typically been in a curriculum," said Exline. "If you think of a kindergartener coming to school and our system ran this way for the next 13 years, they'd lose out on 2/3 of a year of school."

If the levy passes, the school days will be added back to the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years.

Voters will decide if they want to fund the supplemental levy on Tuesday, March 13.

BOISE -- The Boise Police Department added some new suspects to the "Most Wanted" list this week.

Click through the photos (to the right) and if you recognize any of these suspects, you are asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 343-COPS.  Your tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers anonymously.  You can also help Boise Police by text messaging TIP236 to 274637, along with your tip.

Boise Police asks that you do not apprehend any of these suspects, and if you know the current location of a suspect, call non-emergency dispatch at 377-6790. 

BOISE -- Two suspects are in custody after a burglary and a robbery Sunday night, one of which involved a knife.

A burglar alarm went off at a store on North Orchard Street just before 9 p.m.  Police say the suspects broke a window at the business, and stole five telescopes, which are valued at more than $1,000.

About an hour later, an employee at the Jacksons Food Store on 31st Street and State Street called police to report an armed robbery.  The clerk told police that a man entered the store, held a knife near his throat, and demanded money.  The victim was able to give a description of the suspect, as well as the license plate number.

A Boise Police officer spotted the suspect driving near 28th Street and Madison Avenue, not far from where the armed robbery took place.  

The knife was found in the vehicle.  Officers found other evidence inside the car that indicated they were involved in a robbery earlier in the night.  While searching the suspect's home, police also found the stolen telescopes.

Alik Takhsilov, 22, and Regan Mullins, 31, both of Boise, were arrested in connection with the burglaries.

PORTLAND – Searchers found the body of a missing climber early Tuesday morning on Mount Hood.

Clackamas County deputies said 32-year-old Jared Townsley, of Tigard, was an experienced climber who had reached the summit of Mount Hood as many as 15 times. His body was found below some cliffs at 9,200 feet.

The climbers who found Townsley said it appeared that he died after a severe fall.

The search began for Townsley after he failed to make it down the mountain as planned on Monday. He had left Timberline at midnight and was expected to return by 11 a.m. but his vehicle was still in the parking lot and he had not signed back into the climber’s registry.

Other climbers reported seeing Townsley descending around 8:30 a.m. Monday, at Crater Rock, near the top of the mountain but below the summit.

"The people who saw him (Townsley) made it back down," said Deputy Nate Thompson, of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.  "There's concern about a possible fall, or he got off the main route and is lost."

Search crews were working to bring Townsley's remains off the mountain as soon as possible.

Just a day earlier, a Portland woman fell 300 feet on Mt. Hood and suffered injuries to her ribs and leg.  She had been on her way back down the mountain after reaching the summit.  Megan Coker, 35, thanked rescuers from her hospital bed on Monday.

Coker said two of the rescuers kept her warm with their body heat as she waited for six hours to be safely airlifted off the mountain.

SEATTLE – In the hours after police say Josh Powell killed himself and his two sons in a house explosion in Graham, Wash., there were new revelations that Powell's children were opening up about their mother’s disappearance.

Susan Powell, 28, was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009, after she failed to show up for her stockbroker job in Utah.

Authorities in the couple's hometown of West Valley City, about 10 miles outside Salt Lake City, quickly turned their attention to Josh. He's been the only "person of interest" in the case, but had repeatedly denied any involvement in her disappearance.

Josh told police he went camping with his two children in the hours before his wife's disappearance -- his steadfast alibi.

On Sunday, the lawyer for Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, told the AP the children had started talking to their grandparents about things they remembered from the night their mother vanished.

"They were beginning to verbalize more," said attorney Steve Downing, whose clients had custody of the children. "The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that Mommy was in the trunk. Mom and Dad got out of the car and Mom disappeared."

West Valley City police chief Buzz Nielsen said the department was convinced Josh murdered Susan. He said there were promising new leads that surfaced recently and that they were concerned about the welfare of the children.

“We had meetings on what strategies we could do to ensure the kids don't go back in that house,” said Nielsen. “This is probably the worst, a father and his two sons. First the wife, the mother of those two boys, then him and his two sons. You know, it's one thing to have him get charged, not charged, and deal with it. But it's evil what he did to his two sons."

Authorities in Utah said they hoped to file criminal charges against Josh by the end of the year.

Susan’s brother, Kirk Graves, believes the explosion is Josh’s admission of guilt and that he just couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I’m convinced Josh was going to do something like this. I think there are a lot of people looking back and wondering if they could have stopped this. The only person to blame is Josh,” said Graves. “After knowing him for as long as I’ve known him, I get the sense that he really only cared about himself. That’s why he was able to do things he did to Susan and do the things he did yesterday."

Graves said the boys had been traumatized by everything they went through the past few years, but were starting to act more like themselves recently.

“We saw over the last six months or so was a transition with Charlie and Braden, where they were becoming more fun, more vocal. They were acting like little boys again, which we hadn't seen for a while,” said Graves.

WOODLAND, Wash. -- A woman was trapped in her car after two dogs killed her goats in Woodland.

On the morning of January 24, the woman saw the two Rottweilers attack her goats. When she confronted the dogs, they chased her, according to The Daily News. That's when she locked herself in her car and called 911.

"I was always worried about cougars getting my goats," the woman said on the 911 call, obtained by KGW NewsChannel 8.  "I never would have thought..."

The woman also mentioned on the 911 call that children catch their school bus near the area where the goats were attacked. Near the end of the call, the woman began honking her car horn at the dogs.

"I don't want the dogs to run away," she told the dispatcher. "I don't want them to do this to someone else's animals."

A neighbor ended up shooting one of the dogs, which ran away but was later found and euthanized; the other dog was reunited with its owner and was declared a dangerous animal, the newspaper reported.

Calls to the woman had not yet been returned.

GOLD BEACH, Ore. -- Three mushroom pickers lost six nights in the rugged forest of southwest Oregon with no food considered eating their dog, and used the screen on their dead cellphone and the blade of a sheath knife to flash a signal at the helicopter pilot who found them.

Dan Conne said Sunday from his hospital bed in Gold Beach that he and his wife and son spent the nights huddled in a hollow log with nothing to eat, and considered sacrificing their pit bull, Jesse, for food.

"She's that good a dog, she'd have done it, too," Conne said.

A volunteer helicopter pilot looking outside the search area Saturday spotted Dan and Belinda Conne, both 47, along with 25-year-old Michael, on the edge of a deep ravine in tall timber. They were about 10 miles northeast of the town of Gold Beach, roughly 330 miles south-southwest of Portland.

"The wife had the Blackberry and I had the knife," Dan Conne told The Associated Press. "I kept flashing. The wife said, `You're blinding them.' But I wanted to make sure they seen us. I wasn't taking no chance."

The three had given up hope and thought they were going to die when rescuers came.

"None of us thought we were coming out of there," he said.

While lost, the cold and hungry family could see search helicopters and airplanes flying low and slow overhead, but they couldn't get the pilots' attention through the thick, coastal forest vegetation.

When they were found, the Connes were just five football fields from a road, and a mile from their Jeep.

The three were airlifted to a Gold Beach hospital, where they stayed overnight.

Dan Conne hurt his back, and Belinda Conne had hypothermia, Curry County Sheriff John Bishop said. All three were hungry, and enjoyed their potato soup and sandwiches at the hospital.

Belinda and Dan Conne were discharged Sunday. Their son, who suffered frostbite, hypothermia and a sprained ankle, remained in the hospital for more treatment.

The family was spotted by Jackson County Commissioner John Rachor, spending his first day searching for them in his own helicopter with Curry County Sheriff's Lt. John Ward.

Rachor had been up two hours and decided to go outside the search area, heading uphill from where the family parked their Jeep, instead of down.

"We couldn't find anything in the obvious places, so we decide to go to the not-obvious places," he said. "I kind of think outside the box on these things sometimes, and it pays off."

Rachor is the same pilot who found a San Francisco family lost in a snowstorm in 2006 just 35 miles from where he found the Connes. In 2006, Rachor flew Kati Kim and her two young daughters to safety after spotting them near their car. James Kim died of hypothermia trying to hike out for help.

On Saturday, Rachor saw a movement on the edge of a deep ravine in tall timber. A man in tan bib overalls was waving his arms. Ward marked the spot on his GPS and called the Coast Guard for a helicopter to winch the family out. He also called a nearby ground team to give them immediate aid, then flew back to Gold Beach for fuel.

"The searchers were with us within 20 minutes of the first copter that found us," Dan Conne said. "There must have been nine or 10 of them. They just kept coming out of that brush. It was just a real happy feeling, 'cause we knew we wasn't going to die out there."

The Coast Guard lifted Michael and Dan Conne out first, then returned for Belinda. The dog walked out with searchers.

Dan Conne said the three got lost Sunday after going back for a second load of hedgehog and black trumpet mushrooms, which they sell to a local buyer. It was Belinda's day off from her motel maid job.

They left their four Chihuahua dogs at the fifth-wheel trailer at the campground where they live, and drove to first one spot, then returned for peanut butter sandwiches and went to a new spot they were not familiar with.

In the heat of the afternoon, they left their jackets at the end of a gravel road. Their last meal was a peanut butter sandwich each on Sunday.

When they didn't come home the first night, the camp host alerted authorities. Searchers hit the ground Monday. Wednesday, searchers found the Connes' Jeep.

The Connes spent the first night in rain, sheltering under a pile of brush. The second day, they built a lean-to, but it fell down. Heeding the advice of another mushroom picker, Michael Conne hiked uphill to try to see where they were, but returned cold, wet, and with no better idea where they were. Trying to find their way out downhill, they discovered a hollow log they could all squeeze into, and they stayed there, covering the opening with bark and hiking downhill to a creek to fill plastic bags with water. When it rained, they tried to plug the leaks with bits of wood.

"It was pretty tight in there," Dan Conne said. "I'm sure a bear would have been real comfortable in there."

They were never able to start a fire, having no matches or lighters.

"Every other time we been out there, every one of us had lighters, except this time," Dan Conne said. "Rubbing sticks together? That don't work. Slamming rocks together? Only on TV.

"There was a lot of debating, back and forth, whether to stay or go. Mikey couldn't walk. If we had to leave him, that wasn't an option. Belinda was down. I could barely walk. We just didn't know which way to go."

Searchers found a trail and a few hopeful clues along the way: a can of Pepsi, mushroom-picking buckets, a few pieces of clothing. But not the people they were searching for.

At one point, the Connes spotted a search helicopter close enough for them to see Bishop riding inside, but their attempt to signal went unseen.

After getting out of the hospital, Dan Conne picked up Jesse and the Chihuahuas, which had been cared for at the animal shelter after the rescue. Jesse jumped and danced around at seeing him again.

"I don't think we could have done it," Belinda Conne said of eating their pet. "I probably would have starved to death first."

Dan Conne said he tried to eat a hedgehog mushroom while in the forest but found it "nasty." He gave away the mushrooms he collected.

"I don't ever want to see one of these again," he said.

Associated Press writer Nigel Duara in Portland contributed to this report.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- An Oregon man nets a second scratch-off lottery win in four months, bringing in a total of $150,000 since October.

KDRV-TV reports that Jacob Grimm's win last week came on a $100,000 scratch-off lottery ticket he purchased in Central Point.

In October, he bought a ticket at a Medford convenience store that won him $50,000.

GRAHAM, Wash. –  Pierce County Sheriff's officials say the bodies of Josh Powell and his two young sons were found after an explosion and fire at a home in Graham.

Graham Deputy Fire Chief Gary Franz said the explosion occurred moments after a Child Protective Services worker brought the two boys to the home for a supervised visit.

He said Powell let the boys in the house, then blocked the social worker from entering. The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas, and then the home exploded.

"The fire started immediately, it went very fast, very hot, burned very quick so we believe there was accelerants used, the fire department does, it was set intentionally," said Det. Ed Troyer, Pierce Co. Sheriff's Office.

"We don't believe it to be anybody other than Josh Powell and his kids, and we believe he intentionally did it," he said.

Firefighters quickly knocked down the fire and discovered the bodies. The home was completely destroyed.

The caseworker was not hurt.

A lawyer for Josh Powell told the Associated Press he received a three-word email from his client just minutes before the explosion. It said, "I'm sorry, goodbye."

Attorney Jeffrey Bassett said the email arrived at 12:05 p.m. Sunday, but he didn't see it until two hours later, when others informed him of the blast.

“This is pure evil. This was not a tragedy. This is the murder of two young children," said Paul Pastor, Pierce Co. Sheriff.

An attorney for the Cox family released a statement saying the family is "devastated by this horrific event.  The family is grieving and there are no words to adequately express the loss of their beloved grandsons, Charlie and Braden.  The family is grateful for the prayers and thoughts of so many."

The Department of Social and Health Services released a statement saying the caseworker was not physically injured but was suffering from "grave emotional trauma."

"The sadness of such a thing touches everyone involved with these children. We will be offering peer support to the case worker, as well as our own staff members," said Denise Revels Robinson, Assistant Secretary, Children's Administration.

Robinson said at the appropriate time, the Department will conduct a formal child fatality review.

"For now, our hearts go out to these children and their family and to their school and their classmates," said Robinson.

Powell a person of interest in wife's disappearance

Josh Powell was under investigation in the disappearance of his 28-year-old wife from their West Valley City, Utah, home in December 2009. He claimed he had taken the boys on a midnight excursion in freezing temperatures when she vanished.

The children, 5 and 7, had been living with Susan Powell's parents since Josh Powell's father Steven was arrested on child porn and voyeurism charges last fall. On Wednesday, a judge had denied an attempt by Josh Powell to regain custody, saying she wouldn't consider returning the two boys to their father until he underwent a psycho-sexual evaluation.

The case took a bizarre turn last year after Powell's father, Steve, was arrested for investigation of voyeurism and possessing child pornography. Josh was living at his father's home at the time, and a judge gave Susan Powell's parents custody of the boys.

PORTLAND -- Oregon airports will soon get a big chunk of federal money and Portland International Airport will likely be allowed to have more direct flights to the East Coast. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $66 billion federal aviation bill last week and the Senate is expected to do the same this week. In Oregon, the bill will mean direct flights from PDX to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. for the very first time. 

It also provides airport improvement funds that will be used to update runways and aging radar systems all across the state of Oregon. 

And there's a clause that protects the airspace above Crater Lake, limiting controversial helicopter tours above the sensitive park. Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has been working on the bill for nearly five years and says it's finally a done deal.

"This is going to be good news: put people to work, good for the economy, the quality of life, with benefits from small airports all the way to PDX," he said.

Officials with the Port of Portland said they've been watching this legislation for a long time and are excited that more direct flights from Portland to the East Coast could soon be a reality. 

SEATTLE - The Coast Guard Cutter "Healy" is back in Seattle. The 420-foot long ice breaker arrived at Pier 36 Sunday morning where joyful family members greeted the crew.

Icebreaking through 800 miles of Bering Sea ice, Healy escorted the Renda to and from Nome, where it safety offloaded 1.3 million gallons of fuel.  Without the delivery, the town of Nome would have run out of its winter fuel reserves by March.
  
That mission was just part of an eight-month deployment for the Seattle-based Healy in the Arctic. During the Arctic West 2011 deployment, Healy spent seven months underway in the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean for four separate science operations.

The Healy has a permanent crew of 80; and her primary mission is scientific support.

TACOMA, Wash. - The people on East 34th Street in Tacoma have quite the collection of war stories. Last night was just another notch on the belt.

"I came out to cover my boat last night and look across the street see someone prowling around Dave’s car, trying to jimmy it,” said Brandon VanBrocklin. “My wife called Dave.”

“I have a taser, grabbed it on the way out of the door just in case, i didn't know what i was running into,” said Dave Sanderson.

Neighbors chased the man behind Sanderson's home to the alley.

"I warned him three or four or five times, to let me see his hands, and he started to come out with his hands, like he had a gun, and I tased him,” said Sanderson.

What the man was reaching for was a hatchet.  The taser didn't get him, he took off running, but only made it about 50 feet.

"He went head-over-heels, hit the ground and we were on top of him like that, he kept trying to fight and flail, basically where he was until cops got here,” said VanBrocklin.

Sanderson says with the amount of crime that goes on here, they have to rely on each other.

“We cover each other’s back all the time, you gotta, you ain't got close neighbors like that who ya got,” said VanBrocklin.

Dave says he's not a vigilante, just a citizen, who’s frustrated.

The incident is under investigation. Police took Sanderson’s taser and the prosecutor's office will decide if he will be charged for deploying it.

EVERETT, Wash. -- A Boeing worker was seriously injured Friday evening at Everett's Paine Field after being run over by a 787 Dreamliner.

Dozens of paramedics and firefighters rushed to Paine Field after 6:00 p.m., working quickly to free the person from under right wing landing gear.

The victim was eventually extricated and immediately airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.  He is in serious condition.

As of late Friday night, Boeing had not provided details as to exactly what happened.  KING 5  learned the worker was part of a team moving the 787 from one part of Paine Field to another and got caught under the right side landing gear of the jet.

Firefighters and other workers were able to free the trapped person using a powerful jack.

One source says the worker may have bene in charge of the blocks used to keep plane tires from rolling.

 In a press release, Boeing said it will investigate the cause of the incident and will implement the necessary changes to avoid a future reoccurence.

SEASIDE, Ore. -- After getting a call about a strange fish washing ashore Friday morning, the Seaside Aquarium found a Longnose skate.

Scientists said the skates are not uncommon in the wild, but an unusual find for beachcombers.

The animals dwell in coastal areas, estuaries, bays and continental shelves, according to experts.

Officials from the aquarium said it was about three blocks north of the turnaround on the beach.

PULLMAN-- A Washington State University sorority has officially lost its recognition by the school after being found guilty of hazing and underage drinking.

School officials aren't able to go into detail about the allegations, but confirm there are several complaints being investigated against the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

KREM 2 News tried contacting several people in WSU's Greek system, and none of them would comment on the case.

Rumors that Pi Beta Phi sorority is in trouble with the school for hazing were flying on the WSU campus Friday.

Members of the sorority declined to comment, referring us to their national chapter.

A conduct board has found Pi Beta Phi responsible for underage drinking, and hazing.

WSU will no longer recognize the house as a school partner.

Pi Beta Phi will not have access to university services, cannot rent school facilities and will no longer be a university organization.

Freshman students will also no longer be able to live in the house. It is no longer considered university approved housing.

The sorority can re-apply for recognition in 2014. To do so, they must meet the terms for consideration, and prove the organization has changed its ways.
 

PORTLAND -- A couple and their adult son have been found injured but alive in Southern Oregon, six days after they disappeared from their campsite to go mushroom picking.

Curry County Sheriff John Bishop says Belinda and Daniel Conne, both 47, and their 25-year-old son, Michael, were found Saturday in the woods near Gold Beach.

The search had focused on a 4-square-mile area. Bishop says the family was in the search area, but likely kept moving, making the search for them more difficult.

Bishop says one family member suffered a back injury, and another had a broken ankle. But he says he didn't know which person suffered which injury.

The family members were airlifted from the area by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and taken to a local hospital, where they will be interviewed.

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver police captured a suspect nicknamed "Elmer Fudd," accused of a series of bank robberies.

Detectives were undercover Thursday afternoon at the Bank of America at 13411 SE Mill Plain Boulevard, said spokeswoman Kim Kapp.

A man suspected in several other robberies was seen entering the bank. He robbed it and fled on foot. He stepped into a vehicle which was then pulled over. Money from the robbery was found in the car, she said.

Daniel L. Teeples was accused of seven counts of first-degree robbery. Anne L. Bradley, was accused of five counts of first-degree robbery.

The nickname was based on a disguise the suspect used in a series of Clark County robberies in December and January, she said.

PORTLAND - Some neighbors in Southeast Portland are upset that a postal carrier caught relieving himself in a backyard was returning to his old route.

A man in the 7000-block of SE Ogden snapped photos of his mail carrier defecating in his neighbor's yard last April.

A spokesperson for the post office said the carrier was disciplined and temporarily taken off his route, but he has since been allowed back.

"We want to see him replaced at the very least. We don't want him on our route. We don't trust him," neighbor Rick Yeoman said.

A USPS spokesperson said something like this will not happen again with that mail carrier in the neighborhood.

"Absolutely not. We're pretty confident that everyone has the message," USPS spokesperson Kerry Jeffrey said.

Neighbors said they've contacted lawyers to see what their options are.

GOLD BEACH, Ore. -- Searchers were mystified Thursday that four days of searching has failed to turn up three family members and their dog who disappeared after a day of picking mushrooms in the rugged forests of southwestern Oregon.

"For us not to see all three of them and the dog, we don't know," said Curry County Sheriff John Bishop.

Belinda and Daniel Conne, both 47, and their 25-year-old son, Michael, were last seen Sunday at the Huntley Park campground on the Rogue River about eight miles northeast of Gold Beach, Ore., where they had been living the past eight months since moving from Oklahama, Bishop said. They supported themselves with working odd jobs, glass blowing and picking mushrooms.

The camp host called the sheriff's office to report them missing Sunday night, and on Monday deputies searched the area about two miles from the campground where they were known to hunt for hedgehog mushrooms. They had left two Chihuahua dogs at the trailer, but had with them a friendly pitbull-mix.

When the search area expanded on Wednesday, a deputy found their unlocked 2004 red Jeep Cherokee, with a chain saw and binoculars inside. It was parked along a seldom-used logging road on the western edge of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Two jackets, a backpack and a tote were found lying on the ground about a third of a mile away at the end of a gravel road, Bishop said.

Since then, about 40 searchers, four tracking dogs, and four aircraft have flooded the area, which is bound on all sides by main roads. The weather has been mostly clear and cool, but temperatures were above freezing.

"You could not leave this area without crossing one of those roads," Bishop said.

There was no reason to suspect foul play but the fact that three people and a dog were missing in fairly open country where they could be easily seen from the air is a mystery, Bishop said. Even if one of them broke a leg, the others could hike out for help, he said. The parents may have had minor health issues, but the son did not.

Bishop said investigators reached Belinda Conne's mother in Duncan, Okla., who said she had last talked to the family about a week ago.

The area is in rugged country riddled with a maze of logging roads in the Klamath Mountains where people frequently get lost or stranded. In 2006, a San Francisco family was stranded in a snowstorm on a logging road about 35 miles northeast of the search area for the Connes. James Kim died of hypothermia trying to hike out, but his wife and children were rescued by a helicopter pilot.

OLYMPIA, Wash.-- The Senate voted 28 to 21 to pass a measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state Wednesday night.

The 28 to 21 margin was larger than expected. Senate leaders believed they had 26 votes to approve the measure, but a couple undecided senators also voted for passage. 

The measure now moves to the House, which also has enough votes to pass the bill. Governor Chris Gregoire has said she will sign the bill if it gets to her desk.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have already promised a referendum battle if the bill is signed into law.

David Kelley of Renton has watched his mother be denied the right to marry the woman she loves for 16 years. His mother worked Wednesday, so he went to Olympia to represent her.

"It's a huge deal, and for that reason I would love to be there," said Kelley.

Proponents of legalizing gay marriage encouraged supporters online and over the phone to show up in Olympia Wednesday afternoon for the historic vote in the Senate.

"People have been working on this for over a decade in Washington state," said Zach Silk of Washington United for Marriage. "It's extremely exciting that we're on the cusp of history." The coalition is dropping off 26 thousand postcards from registered voters who support gay marriage, to each legislators' district.

Tuesday, a group of local pastors met for lunch, already planning their opposition, likely in the form of a referendum. They say the majority of voters in Washington state are against re-defining marriage.

"We asked the legislature to be more concerned about religious freedom and the implications of this and they've shown a little bit of interest in this, but it doesn't seem to be nearly enough," said Pastor Joe Fuiten, of Cedar Park Church in Bothell. 

SPOKANE-- Spokane County Animal Protection Officers are investigating a potential case of animal cruelty after a woman found a dog with its face duct-taped.

Sue Olsen says she and her husband recently took in a family acquaintance, who was homeless. They allowed him and his 13 Chihuahuas to live in a trailer on their property.

Olsen says two weeks ago outside she found one of the puppies with its mouth duct taped. Pictures show the dog’s eyes and nose covered with duct tape.

“It’s cruel.  It's cruel. I wanted somebody to believe me,” Olsen told KREM 2 News.

Olsen says the next day the man left her property with the dogs, leaving the trailer in ruins.

Olsen contacted county animal control officers and filed an animal cruelty complaint.

SCRAPS tells us its looking into the case but can not say much because it remains under investigation.
 

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- A former charter bus driver who took a group of Bozeman middle schoolers on a field trip to Yellowstone National Park while drunk has been sentenced to 180 days in jail followed by two years of supervised probation.

Federal Magistrate Judge Stephen Cole sentenced Jack Kane Parrent Jr. on Tuesday for drunken driving and operating a commercial vehicle with a detectable amount of alcohol.

Parrent and co-defendant, Kevin Leon Stark, both of Bozeman, were working for Karst Stage in June when, after a night of drinking, they drove their buses loaded with Sacajawea Middle School students into the park.

Court records say Parrent had a blood alcohol level of 0.12 percent, while Stark's was 0.05 percent.

Stark pleaded guilty to operating a commercial vehicle with a detectable amount of alcohol and will be sentenced Wednesday.

PORTLAND - Within a month, items lost in the Japanese tsunami last year should start washing ashore on the Oregon Coast, according to scientists.

Experts said debris would be washing up all year long. Debris in the ocean that arrives in the fall and winter will get pushed up further north by the currents to Washington, British Columbia and even Alaska.

"Wind, rain and salt spray have been pummeling this material for months,” Oregon State University professor Kathryn Higley said. “Most of the iodine has gone because of radioactive decay. (from a damaged nuclear plant radiation release)."

Earlier this week, a Japanese consulate official from Seattle has visited the home of a Port Angeles man to inspect a large black float he found near Neah Bay to determine if it's some of the first debris to reach the Northwest.

OSU oceanographer Jack Barth said a Russian ship discovered a small Japanese fishing boat in the waters north of Hawaii in October that was definitively tied to the tsunami. NOAA reported no radiation was detected on the fishing boat.

“Much of the debris generated from the earthquake and tsunami has or will become waterlogged, weighed down with barnacles or other organisms, and sink,” Barth said. “A large fraction of it will be diverted south into the ‘Garbage Patch’ between Hawaii and the West Coast, and may circulate in that gyre.

Tomoko Dodo, from the Consulate General of Japan’s office in Seattle, has asked that persons finding something that could be considered a personal “keepsake” for a survivor report it to local authorities, or the consulate in Seattle at 206-682-9107.