Darlene Heatherington's lawyer Dan Donovan has informed the Great Falls municipal court that his client will personally attend on Tuesday.

Ms. Heatherington disappeared May 3 while on a business trip with her council colleagues to the Montana city of 60,000, about 300 kilometres south of Lethbridge.

She reappeared three days later in a parking area at a Las Vegas hotel. She told police she was kidnapped and sexually abused by an Alberta man who offered her a drive to California.

A county court official said she later admitted she made up the story, although her husband has said he believes her and saw bruises on her body when she first returned home.

Ms. Heatherington, a mother of three, was charged with the misdemeanour offence of providing false information to police.

She has been offered a deal by the Great Falls prosecutor that would dismiss the charge if she receives psychiatric help, stays out of trouble for one year and pays court costs ranging from $100 to $500 (U.S.).

Ms. Heatherington has not commented on the case but her husband David said Thursday he and his wife need to further talk to Mr. Donovan about whether to accept the deal.

The City of Lethbridge was planning to run an ad in the Great Falls Tribune on Friday to apologize for any worry, cost and inconvenience to the city's officials and citizens. The planned ad also thanks all those who helped in the search for Ms. Heatherington, which cost Great Falls taxpayers almost $15,000.

Canadian Press

Armed men burst into the north Moscow arcade at about 6 a.m. and opened fire, the Interfax news agency reported. They killed a security guard and a customer, and seriously wounded the cashier.

Iorworth Hoare, the rapist, who has already been in jail for 36 years, has been moved from a low-security open prison to a high-security cell in another jail amid fears that he could be attacked by jealous prisoners.

But City of Lethbridge administrators found a section of the Municipal Government Act that said Heatherington's resignation took effect the day it was tendered – meaning her role on council ended Monday.

The 60-page filing, presented in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that the companies sell rights to web advertisements based on searches for terms such as "illegal gambling," "internet gambling" and "California gambling."

Mayor Bob Tarleck said the city isn't waiting to see if Dar Heatherington voluntarily resigns before it applies to court for her removal. A lawyer is "presently engaged in this case," Tarleck said.

The 40-year-old had signed a plea agreement that the misdemeanor charge would be dropped if she stayed out of trouble for a year and saw a psychiatrist.

Under the deal, the charge was to be dismissed if she provided proof she had seen a psychiatrist, paid court costs and stayed out of trouble for the full year.

VLTs generate 30 per cent of Loto-Quebec's profits but the corporation wants to reduce the number of machines in poorer areas.

…"Former street cop Rick McIntosh, who stepped down temporarily as president of the Toronto Police Association on Sunday, is among those being investigated...

So far, only one federal employee, civilian director Paul Champagne, has been fired after auditors discovered National Defence had paid $160 million for military computer hardware and support services it never received.

The allegation came during closing arguments in Heatherington's trial on mischief charges.

WHAT: Roundtable discussion of anti-money laundering compliance issues facing the Australian and Asian I-gaming markets at the Pacific Congress on I-Gaming, Star City Hotel & Casino, Sydney.

Heatherington, who became famous last year when she disappeared for three days while on council business in the United States, is on trial in her hometown accused of making up stories to police about being stalked.

Darlene Heatherington is on trial for public mischief but her lawyer - who has labelled the Crown's case "suspicion and speculation" - has not said if she intends to call witnesses.