Northwest Briefs March 8, 2010

Pair charged with looting historic Idaho mine

BOISE (AP) - A man and woman accused by federal prosecutors of looting a historic Idaho mine are set to stand trial in Boise's U.S. District Court this week.Russell L. Nuxoll and Janet Rose Sylten were indicted by a grand jury last fall, each charged with destruction of government property and theft of government property. The trial begins Monday.

Prosecutors say the couple went to an abandoned mine near Hailey and dismantled its large wooden structures, selling the wood for more than $10,000 to a recycled timber company.But according to court documents Sylten told authorities they believed they had a mining claim at the site, and were cleaning up the structures after someone knocked them down.

If convicted, the two face up to 10 years in prison on each count.Evergreen aviation shocked to lose Boeing contract

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Evergreen International Aviation officials say they are shocked and disappointed to lose a contract to operate Boeing Co.'s "Dreamlifter" super freighters.The converted 747 jumbo jets fly assemblies for the new 787 jetliners from overseas to Boeing's assembly plant in Everett, Wash. Chicago-based Boeing announced last week that it will shift the contract to Evergreen archrival Atlas Air.

Evergreen Chairman Tim Wahlberg tells the News-Register that the McMinnville-based company was given no reason and no chance to submit a rival bid. He says Evergreen bent over backward to please Boeing.- The Associated Press