Street superintendent chosen for CdA

Coeur d’Alene officials named Tim Martin on Tuesday as the permanent street superintendent.

Martin has served as the interim director since September when street superintendent Jon Ingalls became deputy city administrator. Martin has worked with the city for 19 years, including five years as the assistant street superintendent.

He will now oversee the city’s third-largest department, which is responsible for street maintenance, snowplowing and leaf pickup.

City Administrator Wendy Gabriel in a press release said that Martin was chosen for his leadership, work ethic and passion for customer service.

– Erica Curless

Boise

‘Circuit breaker’ deadline approaching

More low-income Idaho homeowners will qualify for the “circuit breaker” property tax reduction this year, but they must apply by Monday.

“They must act quickly,” the Idaho Tax Commission said in a news release.

The just-concluded state legislative session raised the maximum annual income to qualify for the “circuit breaker” from $22,630 to $28,000. Those eligible for the break are homeowners, on their primary residence, who meet the income guidelines and are one of the following: 65 or older, widowed, disabled, blind, orphaned minors, or former prisoners of war or hostages.

Applications for the “circuit breaker” are available at county assessor’s offices. Those who already have applied for benefits this year don’t need to reapply. For more information, call the Tax Commission toll-free at (800) 334-7756.

– Betsy Z. Russell

Hayden Lake

Osprey nest sparks brief power outage

An osprey that was in the process of building a nest atop a power pole is being blamed for a brief power outage Wednesday afternoon.

Spokeswoman Erika Neff said a branch from the osprey nest got between two power lines, shorting out the wires. About 750 customers in the Hayden Lake area along Dodd Road and east of Rimrock Road lost power for less than an hour.

The osprey was not injured.

“The nest is still there, but our crews cleared a few of the pieces that were near wires so another outage does not happen,” Neff said. She said the company cannot legally remove nests during nesting season.

– Taryn Brodwater

Post Falls

Factory fire caused by hot metal in filter

Tuesday’s fire at the Buck Knives factory in Post Falls was caused when a piece of hot metal got past a spark screen and ignited four air filters in the plant’s dust collection system, according to a Kootenai County Fire District official.

Spokesman Jim Lyon said one employee who tried to get into the filtration system before firefighters arrived shortly after 5:20 p.m. was treated for smoke inhalation. Although damage to equipment was “fairly minor,” the plant shut down for the evening because of the smoke, he said.

– John Craig