Craig Welch

Robert Moe, a Lake City community theater pioneer, political activist and drama and speech professor, died Thursday in New York City. He was 56.

Driver L.G. Stanley unloads a passenger from a Benewah Area Transit van. A feud over funding could halt service to the area. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

A handful of constitutionalists say Idaho Attorney General Al Lance can "run renegade" and try to block unusual commercial liens if he wants, but he's just covering up for government officials. "They (officials) have run roughshod this long, why would they stop now?" asked Gorden Ormesher, a tax protester familiar with the liens.

McCormack Properties of Idaho will start construction this winter on its $2.2 million 92-home subdivision overlooking Cougar Bay. Kootenai County commissioners gave the controversial project the final go-ahead Friday.

Part-time Spirit Lake cop Monte Reynolds thought he was helping out when he drove Donovan McCreary home rather than arrest him for driving without a license. Once home, however, McCreary beat his sister, ransacked the house and drove off, according to police records. Idaho State Police officers arrested him 90 minutes later on charges of drunken driving and driving without a license.

Pedestrians at the Post Falls Factory Outlets cross near the scene of last week's fatal accident. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

1. Weaver 2. Field burning.

Stephen Kosnac doesn't like to see anything wasted. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

The day after a woman was hit and killed by a truck outside the Post Falls Factory Outlets, Mayor Jim Hammond asked city engineers to make the mall crossings safer. "I don't know what we're going to do, but we'll do something," he said Saturday.

A fertilizer bomb ripped through an Oklahoma City office building, the FBI suspended four agents and an Idaho white separatist's family received a $3.1 million settlement from the U.S. government. Those incidents thrust the name Randy Weaver into the national spotlight again this year.

Residents entering the Kootenai County courthouse in January will be greeted by a uniformed guard. And courthouse workers who deal with irate members of the public now have access to a new "panic" button - similar to systems used in banks - that immediately warn police if a citizen gets out of control.

1. Soaring above gridlock. Dozens of bald eagles are making their annual pit stop at Wolf Lodge Bay. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Matt Rogers, 9, gets a close look at an eagle at Wolf Lodge Bay.

One tiny Idaho county could squash statewide ballot issues if initiative backers are forced to collect signatures from every county in the state. That's property tax watchdog Ron Rankin's assessment of a proposed bill that would require initiative backers to obtain signatures from at least 2 percent of voters in each of Idaho's 44 counties to get a measure on the ballot.

On New Year's Eve, The Spokesman-Review will ring out 1995 with lists of the top stories of the year. Picking the top stories of North Idaho and the Inland Northwest is always difficult, because one person's big news can be another person's big snooze. That's why the newspaper is once again asking you to help pick the area's most important stories.

It takes six elected officials to prepare a single homeowner's property tax bill in Idaho. A county assessor determines land values. Three commissioners set a budget. A county clerk determines tax rates. A treasurer calculates the bill and mails it.

On New Year's Eve, The Spokesman-Review will ring out 1995 with lists of the top stories of the year. Picking the top stories of North Idaho and the Inland Northwest is always difficult, because one person's big news can be another person's big snooze. That's why the newspaper is once again asking you to help pick the area's most important stories.

1. Rancher and political activist Bob Vickaryous pays to graze cattle on public land, but complains that Forest Service wildlife biologists are more concerned about wildlife habitat. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Searching for his cattle, Julien Bucher patrols a Forest Service road with his dog. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 3. Rancher Julien Bucher unlocks a bullet-riddled Forest Service gate leading to mountains where his cattle graze on public land. He doesn't conplain about the gates blocking forest access. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

1. In a do-it-yourself place like Bonners Ferry, residents know where to go for the quick fix - Main Street. Boundary Hardware is one of four hardware stores on the three-block-long street. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Nestled in a crook of the Kootenai River, Bonners Ferry struggles to maintain its tradition. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 3. Jordin Cowin, 16 months, gets parked between a rack of rifles and a Rottweiler while her dad shops in Roundheels Pawn and Gun. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 4. Kathryn Dyer, owner of the Northern Grocery in Bonners Ferry, pulls the teeth on an elk to record the kill, while Russ Mas talks with hunters Red Imper and Bruce Herr. Wild game is often on the table in Boundary County. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 5. Edmond Brockly, 87, gets a free haircut on his front porch from Judy Raum. Friends Haruko Ikeda, 95, and J.D. Reeves (background) take advantage of a sunny morning in Bonners Ferry. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 6. "Canadian influx of lumber is killing the industry," says sawmill worker Larry Boatman, who is frustrated at the sight of trucks crossing the border. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 7. Phil Davis and his son Dan take a break from a logging job on Katka Ridge, Idaho, to toast sandwiches over the fire. Davis fears his son won't be able to continue their lifestyle. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 8. Donna Sanders speaks in toungues during an Assembly of God Sunday morning service. Bonners Ferry has 15 churches, one for every 150 residents. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 9. Darel Cupp says U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, is the only politician he's proud to support. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 10. "It's been kind of a melting pot of bad luck here," Larry Boatman says of Boundary County. The sawmill worker celebrates his 40th birthday with Tammy Jones and friends he's known most of his life. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review <

Williams

On a recent night, an elderly woman took a wrong turn and drove down the Hayden Lake boat ramp until her front wheels touched the water. Sheriff's deputies unhappily arrested her and took her to jail.

A company recently fined by regulators for using deceptive sales tactics is now selling pricey water softeners door-to-door here. Products made by Water Resources International of Phoenix for the last month have been sold in Coeur d'Alene by a distributor, Northern Hydro Pure.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas will push a bill next spring that would let cops pass out fliers or advertise when sex offenders move into an Idaho neighborhood. Law enforcement should have the authority to release names, photographs, criminal history and other information on sex offenders when necessary, he said.

1. Thomas Tanner helps his father with the family log home-building business. Work is part of his education. "The government isn't good anymore," says his dad, Steve Tanner. "Government schools teach a bunch of lies." Photos by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Thomas Tanner, 10, practices piano while his brother Austin, 3, and sister Michelle, 5, assemble alphabet blocks. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 3. Patti Tanner, 12, and her brother Thomas study in the basement of the family's home near Bonners Ferry. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

The Coeur d'Alene River receded Friday while Silver Valley residents flocked to stores to buy water. Two days of flooding damaged several public wells in Shoshone County. Facing a long weekend of cleanup complicated by orders to boil water, residents reached for the Evian and Perrier.