In brief: NIC candidate takes Arizona job
The search for a new North Idaho College president is down to one, but not by the NIC board’s choosing.
Leah Bornstein accepted a job as president of Coconino Community College in northern Arizona this week, leaving NIC interim President Priscilla Bell as the only remaining finalist for the permanent NIC spot.
NIC officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment, but the board has said either Bornstein or Bell would get the job, or the search would start over.
Bornstein was chief executive officer of Colorado Mountain College’s Summit campus when she was named a finalist for the top NIC job. Another finalist dropped out of consideration, and Bell was moved up from a semifinalist spot. Bell has been the NIC interim president since Michael Burke left for San Jose City College in late February.
Man sentenced in home-ramming
A Coeur d’Alene man who repeatedly rammed his truck into his estranged wife’s home was sentenced Thursday to serve four years in prison.
Eric Marienau, 49, won’t be eligible for parole for at least two years.
His wife’s boyfriend testified Thursday that Marienau has sent threatening letters from jail since his arrest in April and that he was concerned about his girlfriend’s safety if Marienau were released.
First District Judge Fred Gibler noted Marienau’s extensive criminal history and expressed concern over the violent nature of the crime.
“I’ll be the first one to admit I didn’t handle the situation very well,” Marienau testified. “I continue to be angry.”
Marienau said he hasn’t written any letters to his wife or her boyfriend for more than three weeks and that he’s no longer a threat.
Through a plea deal, Marienau was sentenced for two felony charges of malicious injury to property. Misdemeanor charges, including DUI, were dismissed in exchange.
Cooler weather in forecast
The calendar now says summer, but the forecast for the weekend is decidedly more springlike, forecasters said.
High temperatures Thursday of 82 in Spokane and 81 in Coeur d’Alene accompanied the celestial start of summer, and another day of summerlike weather is on tap for today.
But forecasters said a weak Pacific low pressure system will begin cooling down the weather by Saturday morning and continue to influence the weather into Monday with highs in the mid-70s on Saturday and cooling to the upper 60s to around 70 on Sunday. A 30 percent chance of showers is also in the forecast for Sunday.
Spokane
Assault charges urged in crash
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is requesting that the driver in a 2006 head-on crash be charged with vehicular assault.
Sheriff’s Detective Ken Salas forwarded the recommendation to the Spokane County prosecutor’s office on Wednesday, but it’s unclear when prosecutors will decide how to proceed.
The case involves 39-year-old Joseph H. Perry, who crashed head-on into another vehicle on June 20, 2006, on Bigelow Gulch Road.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Perry swerved his pickup into oncoming traffic when a driver in front of him slowed to make a left turn. Perry then hit a car driven by 51-year-old Kay Yoke, who suffered serious injuries.
Perry and his passenger were slightly injured.
At the time of the crash, Perry had drugs and alcohol in his system, a used marijuana pipe in his truck and a suspended driver’s license, sheriff’s deputies said.
Pedestrian struck near Indian Trail
A woman was hospitalized Thursday morning after being hit by a vehicle near Francis Avenue and Indian Trail Road.
The pedestrian suffered broken bones and other injuries, said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe, spokeswoman for Spokane police.
The driver of the car, Russell A. Wilbanks, was booked into jail on DUI charges, which were then amended to include vehicular assault, DeRuwe said.
Teen driver may have been on drug
The driver in the latest deadly teen car crash may have taken Ecstasy before driving, court documents state.
Victims told authorities that Carson W. Sheridan, 17, and other teens also drank alcohol and took photos of themselves drinking the evening before they piled into a 1998 Toyota 4Runner, according to a probable cause affidavit for a search warrant.
At about 5:15 a.m. June 9, Sheridan crashed the Toyota in the 5400 block of East Rutter Avenue. Braydon M. Jones, 15, a student at West Valley High School, died from head injuries.
Sheridan was charged June 11 with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. The search warrant released Thursday also listed delivery of a controlled substance as a possible charge.
On Wednesday police seized from the Toyota two pills, one of which was described by victims as Ecstasy, according to court documents. Authorities also obtained the camera the teens used to photograph each other drinking.
Deadline is today for student paper
High school students interested in journalism are needed for The Vox, a student-produced newspaper published by The Spokesman-Review. Applications are being accepted for staff positions for the 2007-08 school year. Any high-school-age student in Spokane County and North Idaho may apply.
Prior journalism experience isn’t required. Students should have an interest in writing news, sports, opinion or entertainment. Photographers, page designers and graphic artists are also needed, along with a political cartoonist. Students will work with staffers from The Spokesman-Review.
Students selected will be required to complete training during July and will need to attend staff meetings during the school year at the downtown Spokesman-Review office. Applications are available online at www.spokesmanreview.com /blogs/vox. E-mail questions to erind@spokesman.com. The deadline is today.
From staff and wire reports