Idaho Briefs may 30, 2013
Hawaii police look for missing Idaho couple
HONOLULU - Police on the Big Island of Hawaii are searching for an Idaho couple after a relative received a phone call from someone claiming to have one of them.
Kevin Butler, 21, and Kimberly Linder, 18, both of McCall, Idaho, were backpacking on the Big Island. They checked out of their Kona hotel Friday and told family members they planned to camp in a tent in a valley. They haven't been heard from since, said Capt. Richard Miyamoto.
The family contacted Hawaii County police early Wednesday and informed them about the disturbing call claiming to have Butler.
"We don't know what they really meant," Miyamoto said of the person who called the relative. "That's why the family became concerned."
It sounded like a man's voice, Miyamoto said.
Other than the Kona hotel, relatives don't know where on the Big Island the couple planned to go. They happened to call the Honokaa station, which is handling the missing person investigation, Miyamoto said.
"We don't have a particular area we can search," he said. The island is nearly twice as big as the other Hawaiian islands combined.
"Maybe someone has seen them or knows of them," Miyamoto said. "With that information, we will work from there."
When reached by The Associated Press, Linder's brother, Daniel Linder, said family members were too distraught to comment.
Butler is described as 6 feet tall, 175 pounds with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a scar on his shoulder.
Linder is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 130 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. She has a tattoo on her right foot that says, "Walking with God."
Anyone with information on their whereabouts can call the police department at (808) 935-3311.
Raffle to aid Nampa schools scrapped
NAMPA - An Idaho school district's struggle to fix its finances won't get a boost from a charity home raffle, after concerns raised by the state lottery agency prompted a promoter to scrap the giveaway just a week after it was announced.
The Idaho Lottery Commission told retired developer Phil Allaire that his plan to sell $100 raffle tickets to raise $4.3 million to eventually benefit the Nampa School District was a potential violation of state and federal laws.
Among other things, the raffle was selling tickets online, something that isn't permitted in Idaho.
Nampa School District spokeswoman Allison Westfall said Tuesday that the district appreciated Allaire's sentiment but it doesn't appear the fundraiser will happen.
Allaire planned to give away a house after 2,500 tickets had been sold. He had hoped the proceeds would ease the district's $5.1 million deficit. The shortfall was the result of financial mismanagement that has forced officials to consider job cuts.
Allaire, who announced his plan to help the school district on May 22, said he'll return money to the 49 people who purchased tickets already.
"The same form of bureaucracy and incompetence of government that created the financial crisis" is blocking a solution, Allaire told the Idaho Statesman. "It is going to get to the point where the courts are going to get involved."
- Associated Press