Julie Titone

A big drop in the number of patients using the Silver Valley Medical Center has caused the Silverton hospital to lay off 12 employees. "Hopefully, it's temporary. We'll bring them back as soon as we can," hospital administrator David Hughes said Tuesday.

1. Basics training. At the Steelworkers Union hall in Kellogg, the Learning Center's Debbie Johansson teaches Issac Cotsford, 17, how to multiply fractions. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. LaVerne Brown, a retired Sunshine Mining worker, works on a computer at the Learning Center. "I just love coming here," Brown said.

A motel shootout with a happier ending took place in Plummer, Ida., on the same night an Omak, Wash., officer was killed responding to a similar call. The Wednesday incidents were uncannily alike, said Benewah County Sheriff Joe Blackburn. "It was a domestic call at the motel in Plummer," Blackburn said. "The guy had a gun. He fired shots inside the motel and outside."

The owners of a rock quarry along the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River have given up their quest for rezoning that would allow mining to continue. The operation began last year without the necessary county rezone from suburban residential to "natural resource district." People who lived along the scenic river near Enaville were surprised and upset when blasting began. Hundreds more signed a petition objecting to the rock quarry. They were expected to be out in full force Wednesday for a Shoshone County commission hearing on the matter.

Like the dancers they're inviting, organizers of a huge summer powwow here must do some fast and fancy footwork. They're launching an event that could lure 20,000 or more people. But they have only two weeks to get the word out to the participants who will make it possible: Indian families who compete in dancing and drumming, and sell their handicrafts.

The Idaho Humanities Council may seem like a vague and academic group, but director Rick Ardinger says it can help communities grapple with some real-world problems. Such as: Coping with population growth. Improving education. Luring tourists. "We're one of the very few organizations that give money to museums," Ardinger said Monday. "They're often the reason that people come to small towns."

Bill and Charlene Waddell are as proud of the new Worley ambulance as a parent of a child. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

1. Bob Baker and Steve Smith of Lutherhaven walk across the campus of the Shoshone Work Center on Wednesday. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Rebecca Smith, outdoor recreation director of Lutherhaven, walks through the deserted cafeteria of the Shoshone Work Center. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review