Idaho Sheriff's Raffle
GRANGEVILLE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho sheriff's raffle called ".308 SSS Wolf Pack Raffle'' in a region where SSS commonly stands for what to do after killing a federally protected wolf — "shoot, shovel and shut up'' — has brought in $13,000.
Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings said the SSS in the raffle stands for ``safety, security and survival,'' and the drawing held Tuesday for a rifle and shovel wasn't meant to encourage the illegal shooting of wolves.
But the added publicity with the wolf angle helped sell 13,000 of the $1 tickets, he said.
"That's almost as many people as are in Idaho County,'' Giddings told the Lewiston Tribune.
Some buyers were from as far away as Chicago and Florida, he said.
"This is somewhat of a 'Whoa, wait a minute' raffle,''' Giddings said. "The wolves are not beneficial to anybody except some environmentalist someplace who has nothing to do with Idaho County. (The drawing) drew a lot of attention to the wolf issue, and that was good.''
Giddings pulled 10 preliminary tickets from two empty beer kegs, with those tickets then placed in a basket with the winner drawn by the 2-year-old daughter of a sheriff's deputy.
Top prize went to Norm Sonnen, of Greencreek, who said he bought about 20 tickets, though he doesn't hunt wolves.
"I support what (the sheriff's office) is doing,'' Sonnen said. "I think our ancestors got rid of them for a reason and we don't need them back. Although I'm not going to go against the law to get rid of them. But I don't like the wolves being reintroduced.''
Giddings said raffle money is being divided among eight elementary schools, four high schools, and the Idaho County food bank.
Second place in the raffle was a knife, while the third-place winner received a $25 gift certificate to a sporting goods store
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