Angie Gaddy

1. Idaho farmers have reintroduced mint to the Rathdrum Prairie. 2. Justin and Tyrell Schultte swath rows of peppermint for Terry Nichols. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 3. Tana Nichols skims peppermint oil from vats during the extraction process. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Almost two years after he left Hecla Mining Co. to revive dormant Consil Corp., President and Board Chairman Ralph Noyes will leave the junior mining company. Noyes said Wednesday he will resign from his post Sept. 30, acknowledging the unsuccessful six-month attempt to acquire a Mexican company. For the past year, Consil, of Hayden, Idaho, has studied purchasing the assets of Mexican mining company Minas la Colorada, which would have given the young company its biggest holding.

Spokane-based Pegasus Gold Corp. has been fined $25,300 for polluting water near its Zortman/Landusky mine complex in northcentral Montana in late May. The fines by federal and state environmental agencies are for discharging mine drainage.

Detour ahead. Business owners along the Pleasant View Road interchange are fighting an attempt by Jacklin Seed to redirect traffic from Interstate 90 to the Jacklins' property. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Crown Pacific said Monday it will buy 65,000 acres of timber land in northwestern Washington for $153 million from Trillium Corp. of Bellingham, Wash. Company officials said the move will give Crown Pacific an additional 590 million board feet of saleable wood in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties. The sale will be finalized later this year. "We believe it's a perfect fit with our existing holdings in the area," said Bob Hess, Crown Pacific spokesman.

Hotel occupancy rates were affected by new additions this summer, including this AmeriTel Inn in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Economic development groups in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene are pooling resources to woo businesses to the Inland Northwest. The Spokane Area Economic Development Council and North Idaho's Jobs Plus Inc. have begun marketing Spokane and Coeur d'Alene to the Puget Sound area, the Silicon Valley, Minneapolis and Orange County, Calif.

North Idaho College student body president Renee Scott, center, explains the recall petition during the recent North Idaho Fair. File/The Spokesman-Review

FOR THE RECORD: 8-30-97 Number wrong: East Asia Gold Corp. will mine 3.7 million acres of land in Congo. An article in Friday's paper misstated the amount.

As Labor Day approaches, two unions and a silver valley mine will begin arbitrations over higher wages and benefits for workers at the Sunshine Mine in North Idaho's Silver Valley. On Wednesday, officials from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Steel Workers and Sunshine Mining & Refining Co. exchanged their final offers after months of negotiations. As part of a six-year contract, labor unions were able to renegotiate wages and benefits starting May 1.

TS Products, a small California firm which makes high-tech motorized micrometers, will relocate to Post Falls by Oct. 1. The Burbank, Calif., company, which now employs seven, said it will move to the McGuire Business Park in Post Falls after also considering sites in Seattle, Oregon, and Nevada. TS Products is working on the second-largest telescope in the world, the Hobby-Eberly telescope at the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas. Company executives said they chose Post Falls because of low business taxes, area scenery and local interest in the business.

Bankers Jon Hippler, left, and Jack Gustavel target different markets. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Pegasus Gold Corp. will lay off 14 of its 49 Spokane employees because of low gold prices, the company said Friday. The Spokane layoffs are part of the 90 layoffs for Pegasus worldwide. Layoffs begin immediately, the company said. "We can't run a business hoping for better gold prices," said President and Chief Executive Officer Werner G. Nennecker. The company had to assume gold prices will decline more and cut its costs now, he said.

After demanding information from 80 mining companies dating to the 1880s, more than half have been dropped from a billion dollar lawsuit over pollution in the Silver Valley, federal officials said Thursday. The Environmental Protection Agency will drop 52 companies from its investigation. Although only eight companies have been named so far, 26 companies may be added soon, officials said.

Low metal prices and a possibility of becoming part of the Environmental Protection Agency's lawsuit against Coeur d'Alene Basin mining companies, has caused a Mexican mining company to cancel an agreement that would have given ConSil Corp. one of its biggest assets. Mexican mining company Minas la Colorada has called off exclusive talks to sell all of its assets to ConSil, of Hayden, Idaho.

The once booming North Idaho housing market of just a few years ago has slowed down and now seems to have stabilized. In Kootenai County, the total number of home sales increased 7 percent through July, compared to the first seven months of 1996. Average home prices were comparable to last year: $111,332 through July, compared to $110,476 the same period last year.

Peggy Eash, folding a T-shirt for display, is running low on some sizes and colors for her business, T-Shirts Plus at the Factory Outlets in Post Falls. She's just one of many small retailers waiting for merchandise slowed by the UPS strike. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The Aaron family, second and third cars from the bottom, get a scare Wednesday afternoon on the Timber Terror roller coaster at Silverwood Theme Park. The California family was announced as the 2,000,000th visitor to the park. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Patrons of the Arrow Point Bar & Grill are no longer welcome to tie up along the boardwalk adjacent to the Arrow Point Resort. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The Bre-X Mineral fiasco has cast a shadow over a North Idaho mining company's proposed venture in Mexico. ConSil Corp., a part of Hecla Mining Co., has pushed back its deadline date of Aug. 1 for financing its Mexican venture. The silver mining company needed $6 million to finance its purchase of Mexican mining company Minas la Colorada S.A. ConSil's purchase would have pushed it into independence. But that's been suspended indefinitely, thanks in part to wary investors, still shy from one of the world's biggest gold frauds, that of Canadian gold company Bre-X Minerals Ltd.

Drive through the streets of Kootenai County and you'll likely hear the sounds of hammers. But it's not builders finishing new homes. Often, it's real estate agents or homeowners driving in the stake of a "For Sale" sign.

Heart rates are jumping in the rural community of Plummer, Idaho. Now, with excitement. Next spring, literally. The Benewah Medical Center, run by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, begins construction today on a $4.1 million, 43,000-square-foot health spa, complete with a swimming pool, weight room and aerobics area. All in this tiny town of 850 people.

Christina Crawford is owner, cook, gardener, housekeeper and all-around fill-in for her country inn. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

1. Forging ahead. Galena Mine employee Rick Holmquist hangs tools outside the portal of the mine, which has returned to production after being shut down in 1992. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Galena officials Mike Lee, left, and Ron Heyn check ore samples. 3. A chunk of high-grade ore testifies to a promising new area of the Galena Mine. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review