Street name for veteran faces hurdle

Plans to name a street after Medal of Honor recipient Vernon Baker have hit a snag in North Idaho, where the decorated World War II veteran spent his final years. Kootenai County commissioners were poised Monday to christen the road as Vernon J. Baker Boulevard but decided they needed more time to hammer out the details. Hayden resident Alan Golub proposed the plan to name a new frontage road after Baker, who was the only living black Medal of Honor winner from World War II. County commissioners have since learned the nameless section of road at the center of a plan to honor Baker is an extension of a city street in Hayden. The commissioners only have authority to name the newly completed road section found on unincorporated county land. Commissioner Rick Currie says the entire roadway should bear Baker’s name, but 75 percent of property owners along Warren Street in Hayden would have to approve the change before it could go to the city council for consideration.