Stories by Craig Welch for the Spokesman-Review

News > Idaho

Badly Rutted Road Frustrates Community | The Alternate Road Means Driving 5 More Miles

Sun., Feb. 5, 1995

It ripped the muffler off one resident's car. It sucked in the plumber's truck. It trapped the well repairman's tractor.

News > Idaho

Rockford Bay Development Sunk Residents Happy, Surprised County Turned Down Home-Building Project

Fri., Feb. 3, 1995

Builders who have lost the fight for a mammoth subdivision south of Rockford Bay say it's too soon to know if they will try their luck again. Kootenai County commissioners Wednesday vetoed a plan by a California development group to build 279 singlefamily homes on the west side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, 17 miles south of here.

News > Nation/World

Tribe Plans National Indian Lottery Indian Gaming Commission Gives Coeur D’Alenes The Go-Ahead, And The Potential For Profits Is Staggering

Thu., Feb. 2, 1995

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe won approval to run the biggest lottery in American history.

News > Idaho

County Settles Sex Harassment Case Kootenai Denies Any Wrongdoing But Pays Ex-Secretary $7,500

Wed., Feb. 1, 1995

Kootenai County has paid $7,500 to a former legal secretary who said she was fired for complaining about sexual harassment. County Prosecutor Bill Douglas fired Carol Fowler last May, allegedly for tardiness and causing workplace disruptions.

News > Nation/World

Neighbors Say Turbine Louder Than Promised Wwp Plant Sounds More Like A `Big Jet’ Than A Vacuum Cleaner

Wed., Feb. 1, 1995

Bonnie Grissom was prepared for a vacuum cleaner. That's what builders of Washington Water Power Co.'s $66 million Rathdrum power plant told her she would hear when they fired up its turbines last month: A rumble like a vacuum cleaner being used in the next room.

News > Idaho

Auto Parts Or Junk? It’s All In The Definition

Tue., Jan. 31, 1995

Wrecked cars sit in a field behind Quality Auto Body in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Craig Welch/The Spokesman-Review

News > Nation/World

Nice Riders Not Enough Decreasing Number Of Riders Forces North Idaho Community Bus Service To Stop Daily Routes

Mon., Jan. 30, 1995

1. City routes stop. Mike McDonald drives a fixed-route bus for North Idaho Community Express. He says he will miss the regulars who ride his bus and visit with him. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Allen McCann boards a NICE bus in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

News > Idaho

Acting Lets Teens Let It Out Program Aims To Help Kids Get In Touch With, Release Troubles

Sat., Jan. 28, 1995

1. Shelley Olson, right, leads teens and adults in an ice-breaking exercise to begin the first class of Art on the Edge, an arts program for teen residents of the St. Vincent de Paul Transitional Housing Center in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Shelley Olson. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

News > Idaho

Fence Divides Neighbors, Land In Dead-End Alley

Thu., Jan. 26, 1995

Cliff Streeter claims his neighbor shouldn't have fenced in part of an alley. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

News > Idaho

Sentiment Mixed On Boat Launch Plans

Wed., Jan. 25, 1995

Jim Foote says it's a tragic waste of taxpayer money. To Ron Green it's the long-awaited answer to Coeur d'Alene's boat access problems.

News > Idaho

Kootenai Address Changes Hit Residents Where They Live Numbers Will Change Beginning In Spring; Rathrum Residents To Go First

Tue., Jan. 24, 1995

Jerry Scott wants someone he hopes he never sees to find his house with ease. "I want the guy in the med-evac chopper to drop right down in my yard if anyone in my family needs it," the Rathdrum Postmaster says. So despite the headaches it may mean for his mail carriers, Scott is glad Kootenai County is overhauling the area's quirky addressing system.

News > Idaho

Proposal To Require Gun Ownership Is Dud Benewah County Officials Say Requirement To Own Gun Would Be Illegal

Tue., Jan. 24, 1995

Benewah County commissioners Monday shot down a proposed law requiring a gun and ammunition in every home. "Based on the facts we had on hand, we really didn't have the authority to do it," said commissioner George Mills Jr.

News > Nation/World

Something’s Rotten At Dump Residents Say Fighting Creek Landfill Is Full Of County’s Broken Promises

Sun., Jan. 22, 1995

Three hundred tons of garbage arrive every day at the Fighting Creek Landfill. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

News > Nation/World

Big Stink Over Dump Neighbors Of Fighting Creek Landfill Say They Can’t Take It Anymore

Fri., Jan. 20, 1995

Solid waste director Steve Wulf says a new gas collection system will remove some of the smell from the Fighting Creek Landfill. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

News > Idaho

Subdivision On Lake Criticized As Too Big Planning Commissioners Recommend Its Rejection

Fri., Jan. 20, 1995

Residents complain that a 279-lot subdivision proposed south of Rockford Bay would turn the peaceful area into the biggest city between here and Moscow. "We'd like to leave the country in the country and the city in the city," said David Fish, a mechanic and grass farmer neighboring the 251-acre site 17 miles south of Coeur d'Alene.

News > Idaho

Project Losing Soil Silt From Development Goes Into Hayden Lake

Thu., Jan. 19, 1995

The name of the new hillside development above Tobler Marina is mud to Richard Penn. For weeks, thousands of gallons of chocolatecolored, silt-filled runoff have poured from the fouracre project, across his property and into Hayden Lake.

News > Nation/World

A Lesson In Civil Disobedience Coeur D’Alene High School Students Walk Out Of Class To Mark King Day In Their Own Way

Tue., Jan. 17, 1995

About 150 Coeur d'Alene High School students honored Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday with some civil disobedience of their own. The students walked out of school at 12:15 p.m. Monday to protest perceived deficiencies in the school's teachings about the slain civil rights leader.

News > Nation/World

Acts Of Commission: Office Has A Bad Rep Scandal Over Ambulance Dispute Latest Blow To County Leadership

Sun., Jan. 15, 1995

An ambulance controversy involving a dying man left Robin Ricks disgusted with Kootenai County. Ricks and other county residents believe political wrangling between ambulance companies hampered a routine emergency call and may have hastened the man's death.

News > Idaho

Blackwell Island Rv Park Delayed Again

Wed., Jan. 11, 1995

Developers of a proposed 292-pad recreational vehicle park on Blackwell Island will have to try again. The controversial plan to bring RV tourists to the old city landfill north of the Spokane River and immediately south of U.S. Highway 95 still leaves too many questions unanswered, city planning commissioners said Tuesday night.

News > Idaho

Panabaker Plans To Take His Populist Act On Road

Tue., Jan. 10, 1995

Commissioner Bob MacDonald, left, administers the oath of office to newly elected Commissioner Dick Panabaker. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

News > Idaho

Compton Rethinks Opposition To Building Commissioner Blasted Plan During Campaign; Now Wants Taxpayer Comment

Wed., Jan. 4, 1995

Kootenai County Commissioner Dick Compton has warmed to the idea of erecting a new multimillion dollar county office building without voter approval. During his campaign, though, Compton lambasted commissioners for pursuing such a plan.

News > Idaho

Idaho Boaters Paddle Plans For Tax State’s Proposal For Tax On Canoes, Kayaks Is Unpopular, Confusing

Sun., Jan. 1, 1995

Kayakers, canoeists and other paddlers fear a move to tax Idaho's non-motorized boaters will just send their money floating away. The state Department of Parks and Recreation is proposing legislation to require that all manually powered watercraft using Idaho waters register with the state. Fees would be charged for kayaks, canoes, row boats, paddle boats and other vessels 7 feet and longer.

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