A debate Thursday at the Athol Community Center featured five of the six candidates running for two seats on the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners. Nearly 100 people attended the debate, which was hosted by the Friends of Timberlake community group as a way to draw attention to the concerns of members of the community living in rural areas. Questions were provided to each of the candidates prior to the debate and each of them was allotted two minutes to respond without any opportunity for rebuttal. Before officially opening the debate, moderator Bat Masterson said Dave Stewart, the incumbent commissioner for District 2, was given the same invitation to attend the event as the other candidates. However, Stewart was not in attendance/Keith Cousins, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.