News from across the USA

ALABAMA Midland City: Fort Rucker officials confirmed that a TH-67 helicopter crashed near here. None of the injuries was life-threatening. ALASKA Fairbanks: Golden Valley Electric Association expects its Healy Unit 2 coal plant to be closed for at least four months, newsminer.com reported. The coal plant was shut down March 3 when an explosion occurred in the coal feed system. No one was injured. ARIZONA Phoenix: Advocates for raising the state’s minimum wage are preparing a campaign to get the issue on the November ballot, the Arizona Capitol Times reported. The campaign has less than four months to collect nearly a quarter-million signatures. ARKANSAS Siloam Springs: John Brown University received a $1 million gift to help fund an archaeological project in Jordan. The excavation at the Abila of the Decapolis site has focused on five large Byzantine churches, 12 miles of water tunnels running under the city, a Roman bath complex, a Christian monastery and hundreds of Roman and Byzantine tombs. CALIFORNIA Sebastopol: A 10-pound piglet named Janice found wandering the streets of San Francisco this month is living at the Sonoma County Reptile Rescue, the Santa Rosa Press

Democrat reported. COLORADO Denver: Prosecutors have formally charged a teenager accused of crashing a stolen pickup truck during a fatal police chase in Westminster, the

Denver Post reported. CONNECTICUT Bridgeport: Mark E. Ojakian, President of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities implemented a temporary hiring freeze across all 17 campuses and the system office for at least the remainder of the fiscal year, the Connecticut Post reported. DELAWARE Dover: After years of steady declines, employment in Delaware’s manufacturing sector appears to be on the rebound,

The News Journal reported. The state is on pace to reach 28,000 manufacturing jobs this year, a number not seen since the early days of the Great Recession in 2009. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Akilah Johnson, a sophomore at Eastern Senior High School, won the “Doodle 4 Google” contest with her drawing titled “My Afrocentric Life,” The Washington Post reported. FLORIDA Palm Bay: Erikka Christine Hope, 24, who police said confronted her boyfriend outside of a topless bar, remains jailed after police said she ran him over with a car in the parking lot of the business, Florida Today reported. GEORGIA Covington: The City Council approved a permit allowing geese to be shot by a small group of hunters at Ashton Hills Golf Course, The Covington News reported. HAWAII Hilo: Christmas trees are being planted on the Big Island in an effort to add a boost to the local economy while giving more residents the chance to take part in the holiday tradition of choosing your own tree. Douglas fir seedlings are being planted on the slopes of Mauna Kea, The

Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported. IDAHO Grangeville: Workers blew up a gigantic boulder that had been preventing the opening of a state highway that is the main route to Elk City. The Lew

iston Tribune reported that it took two blasts to remove the two-story-tall boulder perched above State Highway 14. ILLINOIS Peoria Heights: Two murals painted on the exterior of the 121-year-old Hobart building were uncovered as crews razed another structure to make way for a parking lot, the Journal Star reported. INDIANA Greensburg: Honda Manufacturing of Indiana is investing $52 million and creating 100 jobs at its facility here,

The Indianapolis Star reported, to produce the Honda CR-V, which the company announced in January would move to Indiana from Mexico. IOWA West Des Moines: The City Council has banned smoking from all 29 city parks in West Des Moines, The Register reported. KANSAS Salina: A man was arrested after falling through a restaurant ceiling as police responded to a burglary, The Salina

Journal reported. KENTUCKY Louisville: A mother faces criminal charges after she left a loaded handgun in her bedroom nightstand that her toddler found and used to shoot her, The Courier-Journal reported. LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The State University School of Veterinary Medicine wants emergency responders to learn CPR for animals. The Advocate reported the school held a seminar on animal CPR and other dog emergencies March 13. MAINE Stockton Springs: Authorities continue to search for a Maine Maritime Academy student last seen in late February, WLBZ-TV reported.

MARYLAND Salisbury: James M. Bennett High School was a suitable backdrop for school board members to officially vote in Donna Hanlin as Wicomico County superintendent of schools, The Daily Times reported. Hanlin’s ties to Wicomico schools include 26 years as a county educator and stints as principal and assistant principal at Bennett. MASSACHUSETTS Wenham: Police discovered more than $22,000 in cash in a stolen car that a man crashed into a tree. Witnesses saw a black Mercedes speeding before it crossed both lanes and struck a tree on the lawn of Wenham Town Hall. MICHIGAN Clarkston: A former credit union official accused of embezzling millions of dollars waived a key hearing, moving his case to trial court, the Detroit

Free Press reported. Michael LaJoice, a former chief financial officer accused of stealing $20 million over 12 years from Clarkston Brandon Community Credit Union, has been found competent to understand the charges and assist his lawyer. MINNESOTA Eagan: State Patrol trooper Paul Kingery used his coat to cover and carry away a bald eagle that was hit by a car. The University of Minnesota Raptor Center says the eagle had internal injuries but no broken bones and should make a full recovery, the Pioneer Press reported. MISSISSIPPI Natchez: The Adams County Board of Supervisors voted to raise the legal tobacco use age to 21, the Natchez Demo

crat reported. The catch to the ordinance, however, is that it doesn’t apply inside the Natchez city limits because under state law the city has local control. MISSOURI St. Louis: The Environmental Protection Agency says its contractors collected nearly 3,000 tons of residential debris and hazardous material as part of a flood cleanup effort. The debris included 179 propane tanks and 1,310 tons of sandbags. MONTANA Bozeman: Mayor Carson Taylor established a holiday honoring indigenous peoples to take place on the federally recognized Columbus Day. The

Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported Indigenous Peoples Day would be celebrated on the second Monday of October. NEBRASKA Lincoln: The state’s next license plate will feature the iconic Sower atop the state capitol. The plate has a navy blue stripe, “Nebraska” in gold lettering, and the years 1867 and 2017, a nod to the state’s 150th birthday next year, the Omaha World

Herald reported. NEVADA Reno: NBC Sports will air a one-hour special about the Reno National Championship Air Races on Sunday, the Reno

Gazette- Journal reported. The special will feature footage from last year’s air races, which attracted more than 150,000 spectators. NEW HAMPSHIRE Merrimack: The state Department of Environmental Services expanded testing after a contaminant was found in the local water. DES spokesman Jim Martin told The

Nashua Telegraph that the department ordered the testing of wells within a 1-mile radius of the Saint- Gobain Performance Plastics facility. NEW JERSEY Lakewood: A proposed 2016-17 school budget eliminates courtesy busing, 68 teaching positions and all middle school sports and clubs, among other measures aimed at closing a projected $12 million deficit, The

Asbury Park Press reported. NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: The television series Longmire will return to northern New Mexico for a fifth season. Filming locations will include Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Los Alamos, Espanola, Glorieta and Pecos. Longmire is a contemporary crime drama based on the mystery novels authored by Craig Johnson. NEW YORK Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County legislators voted 19-6 to move forward with the $192 million bond to fund construction of a new jail and sheriff ’s office, the Poughkeepsie

Journal reported.

NORTH CAROLINA Rocky

Mount: Four N.C. Wesleyan College students died after their car collided with another on U.S. 301 in front of the entrance of the school’s campus, The News

& Observer reported. NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: Police are investigating the theft of an ATM from Scheels Arena. The cash machine was taken off the wall of the ice arena, KFGO-AM reported. OHIO Reynoldsburg: Felony drug charges were dismissed against 15 people after the Franklin County prosecutor’s office determined that a former city police officer accused of dealing drugs then committing suicide tainted their cases, The Columbus

Dispatch reported. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that an initiative petition to criminalize abortion will not go forward, the Tulsa World reported. Proposed State Question 782, if put on the ballot and approved by voters, would have made those who perform or receive an abortion guilty of murder. OREGON Junction City: The Oregon State Hospital’s $84 million local campus has only filled about half of the beds at its mental health facility one year after its opening, The Register-Guard reported.

PENNSYLVANIA Heilwood: A 19-year-old driver who police say was texting when he hit a woman walking along a local highway faces up to seven years in prison. RHODE ISLAND Hopkinton: Five people were taken to the hospital after a police chase ended with a crash on Interstate 95, the Providence Journal reported. SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The landmark Moe Levy’s Reliable Loan and Pawn has moved from Assembly Street and reopened as Moe Levy’s Army Store at 1727 Laurel Street, The State reported. SOUTH DAKOTA Vermillion: Logan Gregg, an eighth-grader from Vermillion Middle School, won the South Dakota spelling bee, advancing to a national competition in May. Gregg won the event by spelling “mechanistic.” TENNESSEE Nashville: The state House Transportation Committee voted to kill a bill seeking to raise the mandatory age for toddlers to ride in rear-facing car seats from 1 to 2. Both houses of the General Assembly had passed the bill previously and sent it to the governor but in a rare move three days later recalled it. TEXAS Fort Worth: Damage caused by hailstorms that rolled through the area last week will reach $600 million in auto and property claims, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. UTAH Huntsville: A 25-year-old man remains in critical condition after a snowboarding accident at Snowbasin Ski Resort, the Standard-Examiner reported. VERMONT Burlington: Vermont State Police are investigating Burlington Police Officer David Bowers’ fatal shooting of Ralph Grenon, 76, who had been “displaying threatening behavior” and was armed with two kitchen knives. The shooting occurred after a five-hour standoff, Bur

lington Free Press reported. VIRGINIA Charlottesville: Activists called on officials to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park. Mayor Mike Signer announced that he will create a task force to review the issue. WASHINGTON Richland: Port of Seattle attorney Alex Smith will be the new manager of the state office that helps regulate cleanup efforts at the Hanford nuclear reservation, the Tri-City

Herald reported. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: St. Francis Hospital will probably convert its emergency room into an urgent care center, the

Charleston Gazette-Mail report

ed. WISCONSIN Green Bay: Gov. Walker said he’s not interested in a potential Cabinet post if a Republican is elected president, but he wouldn’t rule out a possible run for the vice presidency, Green

Bay Press-Gazette reported. WYOMING Lusk: University of Wyoming researchers are working to increase educational opportunities for the state’s female inmates, the Wyoming Tribune

Eagle reported. The university has been coordinating its efforts with the Wyoming Department of Corrections. Researchers conducted a study between December 2014 and August 2015 of current and former female inmates at the Wyoming Women’s Center.