Becky Kramer

KELLOGG – Lori McClintock was planning to spend this weekend sprucing up her camper for the summer season. Instead, she pulled her skis out of the attic. Storms dropped 4 to 6 feet of new snow in the mountains over the past seven days. The thought of all that fresh powder was a siren call to McClintock, a season-pass holder at Silver Mountain.

A Montana judge's ruling this week quashed Bill Orchow's plans to start hiring this summer at the Rock Creek Mine. But Orchow, president of Revett Silver Co., says he's still confident the company will prevail in a multiyear battle to extract copper and silver from beneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. U.S. District Judge Donald Malloy ruled this week that the federal government failed to acknowledge the risk the mine would pose to endangered grizzly bears and bull trout.

A proposal to tunnel a mine under a northwest Montana wilderness area may have been dealt a mortal blow by a recent court decision, according to opponents of the mine. The federal government was wrong in saying the Rock Creek Mine would pose "no jeopardy" to protected Cabinet Mountain grizzly bears and bull trout populations, according to the ruling issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Donald Malloy, of Missoula.

BONNERS FERRY, Idaho – Employees of CEDU Educational Services' three schools in Boundary County filled out unemployment forms in droves Monday while a straggling handful of students packed their things to leave Idaho. Brown Schools Inc., CEDU's parent corporation, filed for bankruptcy Friday, the same day employees learned they were losing their jobs. About 300 people in North Idaho are out of work, and about 300 students in CEDU's seven schools across the country were abruptly sent home.

Kootenai County's job market grew at a record pace last year, snagging a fourth-place finish in a ranking of 416 metropolitan areas. The number of new jobs created in the county grew by 6.8 percent in 2004. The construction industry alone added nearly 800 workers. Employers were also hiring in factories, schools, health-care facilities, call centers, government offices and retail stores.

SANDPOINT – Inspiration often strikes college students after midnight. It hit Zach Hagadone and Chris De Cleur in the wee hours of the morning, when the two pals were putting together the next day's edition of the Coyote, Albertson College's student newspaper. "Three of us were in the Coyote's office," Hagadone said. "We had some criticisms of the (Idaho) Statesman, and we had all just read a book called 'The Chain Gang.'"

SANDPOINT – Gretchen Kinne knows "Sandpoint Style" when she sees it. If a house has a certain modest elegance, a cleanness of line enhanced by native wood and rock; windows situated to let in natural light, and a location featuring the sound of train whistles, then the house has "Sandpoint Style," in Kinne's view.

POST FALLS – About five years ago, CJ Buck picked up a fishing knife made in Taiwan, tested its blade and studied its craftsmanship. In spite of himself, the fourth-generation knife maker was impressed. Buck is president and chief executive officer of Buck Knives Inc., a privately held family firm whose products enjoy iconic status with hunters and fishermen, a clientele loyal to "Made in USA" labels.

KELLOGG – Silver Mountain whitened up just in time for a visit from 175 ski journalists. Wednesday night's storm dropped a foot of new snow on the mountain, magically erasing the dreary brown spots that had emerged in recent weeks. When members of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association hit the slopes Thursday, they were gliding on fresh powder.

POST FALLS – Most local residents will get a regular taste of Sysco Food Services, even though the region's newest food warehouse isn't open to the public. The warehouse will act as a grocer to area restaurants, hospitals, schools and nursing homes.

SANDPOINT – "Don't be alarmed," says Mike Joseph, the grooming supervisor at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Seconds later, his 18,000-pound snowcat is lumbering down a 36-degree slope, the sheer descent slowed by a winch tethered to a pole at the top.

COEUR d'ALENE – Bob Palm would like to keep that used printer cartridge out of the landfill, and make a few bucks, too. The goals are twin pursuits of Palm's business, Rapid Refill Ink. Five days a week, Palm stops at the company's 30-plus drop boxes in North Idaho, where people drop off used cartridges from their printers, copiers and fax machines. Within 48 hours, they're refilled with ink and ready for pickup.

PRIEST LAKE, Idaho – Some of the athletes howled with impatience as they waited for their turn through the starting gate. Teams of Alaskan huskies lined up three and four deep for the Priest Lake Sled Dog Race on Saturday. Frantic lunges testified to their eagerness to run.

To Teairah Walters, Social Security is that sucking sound draining money from her paycheck. The 18-year-old works full time at Walgreens in Post Falls. She's also a pre-med student at North Idaho College. After rent and tuition, money for basics – like food and shampoo – is scarce.

COEUR d'ALENE — Marital discord erupted when Brandon Lee tried to throw out his wife's stash of home decorating magazines. As his sputtering spouse plucked the magazines out of the recycling bin, Lee protested, "But honey, you've had these for more than a year."