Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two scheduled to appear online Monday at lmtribune.com.
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A McCall woman was found dead last Saturday after a domestic dispute in McCall’s Rio Vista neighborhood, according to the McCall Police Department. Lynne Dooley, 52, was identified by Valley County coroner Scott Carver as the victim. An autopsy to determine Dooley’s cause of death was scheduled for Wednesday, Carver said.
Dooley was found dead in a home on Eagle Shores Ct. after shots were fired amid a domestic violence incident reported at 4:05 p.m. by an undisclosed source, McCall police chief Dallas Palmer said.
“While enroute, officers were advised of shots fired within the home,” Palmer said.
Dooley owned a home at 104 Eagle Shores Ct. with her husband, Mark Dooley, 55, according to Valley County property records.
No arrest has been made in connection with the shooting as of Wednesday, but investigators believe it was an “isolated incident with no ongoing risk to our community.”
Also injured during the dispute was a 55-year-old male, whose name was not released by police because the incident remains under investigation and no charges have been filed.
“When someone is formally charged, the name will become public,” said Aaron Snell, a spokesperson for the Idaho State Police who are assisting with the investigation.
The man was taken by ambulance to St. Luke’s McCall at 4:27 p.m. on Saturday after being treated by McCall Fire and EMS at the scene.
Snell said the man was then transported to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, but his injuries and current condition were unknown as of Wednesday.
Andi Fielder remembered Lynne Dooley for her “kindness, patience and selflessness” after working with her for the last four years in Shore Lodge’s human resources department.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of this beautiful soul,” Fielder said. “Her son and three daughters will miss her dearly, and her family at Shore Lodge will as well.”
A Go Fund Me page was setup earlier this week to help Dooley’s family pay for funeral expenses and cleaning fees at the crime scene. The fundraiser has a $15,000 goal, with nearly $2,000 raised as of Wednesday morning. The page can be found by visiting www.gofundme.com and searching “Lynne Dooley.”
— Drew Dodson, The Star News (McCall), Thursday
Awareness push on teen dating violence
KAMIAH — February is National Teen Dating violence awareness and prevention month, according to Joan Renshaw. Based in Kamiah, Renshaw works as a rural advocate for the YWCA Lewiston-Clarkston.
Renshaw cautions teenagers and their families to be aware of the perils of social media sites like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Abusers often use social media to harass, degrade and control their victims. Abusive tactics include constantly tracking a partner’s location, tracking their friendships, constantly texting, sending degrading or threatening messages, pushing for sending explicit selfies. Although most often she hears from girls, boys are not immune from this.
According to Renshaw, red flags for parents to watch for include their teen becoming more secretive and more critical of themselves, losing interest in activities they once enjoyed, suddenly changing their appearance, becoming isolated from friends and families. Moving quickly in a relationship and talking about being in love after a short time are also concerning. Teenagers who are new to dating may lack judgment and be too trusting.
Another issue is adult men posing as teenage boys on social media. Young people are particularly vulnerable since they can be more trusting and more impulsive, according to Renshaw. Predators target young girls who are hungry for friendship or attention. A teen who is new to the area may be trying to make friends and unknowingly reveal too much about herself to an adult male stranger.
Revenge porn is when a partner threatens to share explicit photos with family, friends or others in school to prevent the girl from leaving the relationship.
“Anything they do on their phones and on Facebook is unrecoverable. It never goes away,” Renshaw cautions.
A teenage girl said local middle school and young high school girls send nude photos of themselves to boys who ask. At that age, girls and boys are just starting to notice each other and may not think of the consequences. Later, the boy uses the photo as leverage to harass the girl by threatening to share the photo with her parents.
Meeting teens at sporting and other events at other schools can lead to online encounters with kids whose families you don’t know, according to the girl. The circle has widened through technology. It used to be teens only knew kids from their local and nearby schools.
A mother of a young teenager said she contacted Idaho County law enforcement when her daughter received an unsolicited explicit photo from a local young adult male. She appreciates that local law enforcement took this seriously, explaining options. She believes young men may not realize their behavior is illegal.
Renshaw said when teens (and adults) contact her for help she offers support and encouragement to help them overcome the situation. She will advocate for their rights with law enforcement people who can investigate and work through the criminal justice system. Renshaw, who has years of experience as an Idaho County Sheriff’s Office detective, is familiar with the laws and the court system. She used to investigate child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence cases and said she has great relationships with both Lewis County and Idaho County law enforcement.
“If they are willing to tell me their story, it is my privilege to hear it and my job to protect the privilege and give them resources to help them,” Renshaw concluded..
— Naomi Staaf, The Clearwater Progress (Kamiah) Thursday
No levy for MSD; talk of deconsolidation heightens
GRANGEVILLE — After more than an hour of discussion at the Feb. 16 board meeting, Mountain View School District 244 trustees voted unanimously against a levy for the 2023-24 school year.
“I’m a proponent of levies, but I think our community needs a reset,” sighed trustee B Edwards, Grangeville. In discussions, she emphasized her belief that academics should always be prioritized above all else.
Superintendent Steve Higgins had presented the board with budget options for 2023-24, including ones with a levy and without. This included an option for a levy of $2.4 million.
“What do you want your schools to look like? It’s not my levy or your levy — it’s a community choice,” Higgins said.
Vice chairperson Larry Dunn, White Bird, said his constituents voted 8-1 against a levy and he didn’t see that changing.
“My constituents did not put me in this office to vote for a levy,” he stated.
Trustee Casey Smith, Clearwater, said he would not support a levy in any amount “when we’ve dumbed down our education by 20% (with the 4-day week.)”
“We have kids with nothing to do on Fridays, maybe nothing to eat,” he said, adding (teacher) union members were all about “me, me, me,” when the four-day week decision was made.
Smith added that he had “single-handedly defeated two levies,” previously, and the board needed to be realists about the economy and patrons’ inability to afford a levy.
“Will we still be able to educate our kids without a levy? Yes. Will we be able to do it as well? No,” Higgins emphasized, adding he hoped state funding would increase, but he could not predict that.
Following Higgins stating that perhaps it was time for the board to look seriously at deconsolidation between Grangeville and Clearwater Valley, Kooskia trustee Laci Myers agreed.
“Maybe it is time to consider that,” she said.
Higgins said this would solve the issue of the infighting between Kooskia and Grangeville that has gone on for decades.
“It would bring an end to ‘I don’t want to pay for this because it’s going to Grangeville,’ or ‘I don’t want to vote for this because it’s for Kooskia,’ ” he said. “I’m tired of hearing all that.”
“There are definitely two very different cultures,” between the communities, Myers acknowledged.
“Maybe for the efficiency of running schools and to end that drama, it is time to look at excision,” Edwards agreed.
The board will revisit this issue during the coming months. A petition for excision was brought to the board in fall 2022; however, MVSD’s legal counsel informed them the petition “did not meet the requirements” for submission under Idaho Code and it was deemed dead by November.
— Lorie Palmer, Idaho County Free Press (Grangeville), Wednesday
