In brief: High school threat evacuates campus

A bomb threat note inside a Deer Park High School bathroom sent the students home for the day Wednesday.

“Bomb goes off at 1 today,” the note said, written with a felt-tip pen inside a girls’ bathroom stall. A smiley face followed the message.

A student discovered the note, and an assistant principal reported the threat to law enforcement around 9:45 a.m. Students were evacuated to the nearby Arcadia Elementary School.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office summoned bomb-sniffing dogs from Fairchild Air Force Base and U.S. Marshals Service, said Craig Chamberlin, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

“Making a bomb threat is a felony – we take it very seriously,” Chamberlin said. “It’s a huge cost, not only for the Sheriff’s Office but to the parents.”

The dogs swept the campus’ parking lot and interior but found nothing.

Nicole Hensley

Student dies in collision with semi on Highway 95

A high school student from Coeur d’Alene died Wednesday morning when his pickup truck was hit by a semitruck on U.S. Highway 95.

The accident happened shortly before 7:30 a.m. south of Coeur d’Alene. James F. Winzer, 18, a senior at Lake City High School, died at the scene, according to the Idaho State Police.

Winzer was driving a 2003 Chevy pickup eastbound on Carnie Road. According to investigators, he pulled onto the highway in front of a southbound Kenworth semitruck driven by Ronnie V. Ament, 65, of Athol.

Winzer was wearing a seat belt, police said.

Winzer was “a super-intelligent young man” and a diploma candidate in the International Baccalaureate program at Lake City High School, Principal Deanne Clifford said.

Staff report

Agency offers aid for low-income residents

SNAP is scheduling energy assistance eligibility appointments for low-income residents beginning Monday.

Appointments can be made at www.snapwa.org or by calling (509) 242-2376. Phone lines are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., until all appointment slots are filled, which typically happens in five to seven days. Appointments can also be made online until all slots are filled, beginning Monday at 8:30 a.m.

To qualify, residents must live in Spokane County at or below 125 percent of federal poverty guidelines and prove they are responsible for paying the heat bill or that heat is included in their rent.

Chelsea Bannach