Police add patrols as students arrive
College students better mind their driving this weekend.
The Washington State Patrol is conducting emphasis patrols Friday through Sunday in anticipation of students heading to Washington State University and the University of Idaho.
And don’t expect the patrols only on Highway 195. Troopers from Ritzville, Kennewick, Moses Lake and Ephrata will also be on the lookout. They’ll be watching Interstate 90 and Highways 195, 395 and 26 from the air, on motorcycles and in unmarked vehicles.
The Washington State Department of Transportation will also be assisting drivers if their vehicles break down.
In addition to heavy student traffic, motorists should also be aware of a motorcycle rally planned this weekend in Rosalia.
Road work to clog traffic on Second
Expect traffic tie-ups today on Second Avenue near Thor and Freya.
Crews will be paving in the area, and lane restrictions are planned for both Second and Fifth avenues. The restrictions will last from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Rural doctors get grants to upgrade
Two health care organizations are offering $200,000 in grants to small and rural doctors’ offices throughout Washington. The money will pay for electronic health record system technology, designed to improve care for patients on Medicare.
First Choice Health and Qualis Health will award 10 grants, up to $20,000 each, to “help shrink the digital disparity between small, budget-strapped physician groups and their larger counterparts,” according to a press release.
Grants will be awarded this fall and the programs will be put in place by the end of the year.
Physician practices can download an application at Qualis Health’s Web site, www.qualishealth.org or at the First Choice Health site at www.1stchoiceofwa.com. Applications must be submitted by Sept. 16.
Lifeguards’ hours cut at CdA beach
Lifeguards at Coeur d’Alene’s City Beach will have abbreviated hours this weekend.
The city Parks and Recreation Department said many of the lifeguards are returning to college and aren’t available to patrol the popular downtown beach.
Lifeguards will man the towers from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For more information, call 769-2250.
CdA schools to use sex offender software
Coeur d’Alene’s 10 elementary schools will begin checking visitors and volunteers against sex offender registries from 42 states beginning this fall.
The Coeur d’Alene School Board on Monday approved the purchase of software for each of the district’s elementary schools, Business Manager Steve Briggs said. Raptor Technologies has offered to donate the software for Fernan Elementary, the school that kidnapping victims Shasta and Dylan Groene attended last year.
Dylan’s body was found not long after his sister was discovered at a Coeur d’Alene restaurant with registered sex offender Joseph Edward Duncan III.
Visitors to Coeur d’Alene’s elementaries will have to present ID, which will be scanned. The visitor’s birth date and name will be checked against sex offender registries. If a visitor’s information matches that of a registered sex offender, an alert will automatically be sent to school administrators or law enforcement.
The Lakeland and Post Falls school districts recently purchased the same software. Start-up costs are $1,800 per school. Each subsequent year, schools have to pay $432 to continue using the software.