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 in Sunday’s Tribune.
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KAMIAH — The primary election for Nez Perce Tribal Executive Council (NPTEC) will be held today.
Nine candidates will compete for three seats on the council. The two with the highest vote totals for each seat will advance to the general election on May 6.
NPTEC Primary candidates are: Seat 1 — Racheal Edwards, Gabriel Bohnee and Gloria Greene; Seat 2 — Quintin Ellenwood, Ferris Paisano III and Otta Moody; Seat 3 — Tonia Garcia, Ashton Picard and Marie Baheza.
Edwards, Ellenwood and Garcia are the incumbents for the three seats.
The nine candidates participated in the virtual candidate forum held on March 14. The event, organized by the Get-out-the-vote committee, provided each candidate a chance to discuss their vision and goals. Dr. Cheryl Ellenwood moderated the discussion.
Seat 1
Edwards would like Nimiipuu energy to grow, building on the success of the Tesla power pack installed at the sewer and water building. Housing and healthcare are other issues important to her. “I love our people. I am accountable, dependable and serve with integrity,” Edwards concluded.
Bohnee said the protection of natural, cultural, historic resources and treaty rights are important. He commended the tribe for what it did during the pandemic. “We’re Nez Perce, we’re strong, we’re resilient,” Bohnee said.
Greene would like to see equal employment for all people. Concerning tribal enrollment, she said she wants to go forward with it, “with our eyes open.” She hopes to address problems of alcohol and drugs, child and spousal abuse.
Seat 2
Ellenwood wants to continue to work for all the Nez Perce, both on and off the reservation. He wants to protect wildlife. “It’s our job to speak for those who cannot speak, the four-legged and the winged children,” Ellenwood said. Improving the healthcare system and addressing the fentanyl crisis are other goals.
Paisano believes we should learn from our mistakes. “We need to have the mindset of moving forward,” he said. He would like the tribe to continue to develop renewable energy. “We are the executors of our land. The Forest Service should be coming to us,” he said.
“Our language has always sustained us and will sustain us seven generations,” Moody said. “it’s what sets us apart,” she added, hoping to invest more in language. A more transparent NPTEC that shares knowledge is also her goal. “Members have a right to be informed,” she said.
Seat 3
“It is a privilege and a sacred duty to do what’s best for our people,” Garcia said. She believes the need for housing is critical. Garcia described that so many generations are living in one house. “Taking care of mother earth, that’s our contract with our creator,” she said. She believes the tribe can set an example for the whole country on climate change.
“Investment in youth, is investment in the future. An investment in elders is an investment in our culture,” Picard said. He has worked with many youth programs. He would like to have safe locations for youth where they can play, interact, learn and do healthy activities. He also wants to focus on senior housing and nursing homes for elders.
Baheza said she would like to focus on food sustainability for the people, practicing treaty rights to hunt and gather. She would like to develop a cache of foods grown on the reservation, adding a buffalo herd and offering more traditional food options in the casinos and restaurants.
Increasing housing to address the large homeless population is another goal.
After the polls today, vote counting will be shown live on the Nez Perce Tribe’s Facebook page beginning at 7:45 p.m.
— Norma Staaf, The Clearwater Progress (Kamiah), Thursday
Suspect deemed mentally fit for trial
The man suspected of shooting and killing Rory and Sara Mehen at the Hartland Inn in New Meadows on Oct. 1 has been found mentally fit to stand trial for charges he is facing in connection to the incident.
John Hart, 28, of Olympia, Wash., was found mentally competent Monday during a sealed hearing before Adams County magistrate judge John Meienhofer.
The ruling allows Hart’s court case to resume after it was suspended in October so that a psychiatrist could determine if Hart is “able to understand the proceedings against him” and “assist in his own legal defense,” as required by Idaho law.
A preliminary hearing in the case is now scheduled for April 19 at 9 a.m. in the Adams County Courthouse in Council, Adams County prosecuting attorney Chris Boyd said.
Hart is facing the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of two charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sara Mehen, 45, and her husband Rory Mehen, 47.
Hart is represented by Boise lawyers Rob Chastain and Jolene Maloney, as well as Payette lawyer Elisa Massoth.
Hart is being held without bail in the Ada County Jail in Boise because it is better equipped to house high-security inmates, Boyd said.
The Mehens, who had owned the Hartland Inn since 2017, were shot to death in the motel’s main office at about 12:44 p.m. on Oct. 1.
Hart was arrested about an hour later on U.S. 95 while driving a car that matched the description of a car witnesses saw the gunman leave the motel in. A 9mm Glock handgun was found by police in weeds along the highway near Indian Valley about 38 miles south of New Meadows.
After his arrest, Hart told an investigator that a confrontation with the Mehens about rifling through rooms and drawers in the motel “made him feel like a thief,” according to an arrest warrant.
Hart returned to his motel room after the incident to “prepare for the worst,” at which point he heard the voices of “Pope Gregory” and “Pope John Paul” instructing him to attack the couple, the warrant said.
Hart then went back to the front counter at the motel, where he told investigators he shot the couple.
Rory Mehen was shot once in the head and Sara Mehen was shot “several” times in the back as she tried to escape.
An Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputy was called to the Hartland Inn less than a half-hour before the shooting.
However, the deputy left the scene after talking to Hart about rummaging through other people’s things and running a background check on him.
The background check did not reveal a pending case in Clark County, Wash., for which Hart is facing two felony assault charges in connection with an August 2021 incident.
Hart was released from the Clark County Jail last July, but was in violation of a condition of his release by being in Idaho and possessing a gun, according to Clark County Superior Court records.
— Drew Dodson, The Star News (McCall), Thursday
