John Craig

Republic attorney Rebecca Baker has announced her candidacy for the tri-county Superior Court judge's position Fred Stewart plans to vacate at the end of the year. Baker, 47, was elected twice as Ferry County District Court judge. While holding that job from 1983 through 1988, she also served as Republic Municipal Court judge and Ferry County Superior Court commissioner.

E.R. "Moe" Mosby is an avid goat watcher. Photo by John Craig/The Spokesman-Review

People who live along the Pend Oreille River are being warned of possible flooding. There was no immediate danger, but spillways at Albeni Falls Dam near Newport and the Box Canyon Dam near Ione were wide open Thursday.

Newport physician Peter Weir filed lawsuits Monday in an attempt to stop construction of a 59-mile power line in a railroad corridor along the Pend Oreille River. Weir and other riverfront property owners believe the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District's planned 115-kilovolt transmission line would damage the environment and reduce property values.

Jenkins

A 31-year-old woman was convicted Thursday in what authorities say is one of the worst child-abuse cases ever reported in Pend Oreille County. Without pleading guilty, Cindy Hamberg admitted asking her husband, John, 37, to tie up their 11-year-old son on several occasions last winter. The boy suffered rope burns and considerable pain, she acknowledged.

People had to read between the lines Tuesday when Stevens County Republican Party Chairman Greg Simon told the Colville Chamber of Commerce about the struggle for control of the party. A dozen or more newcomers swelled the chamber's usual weekly luncheon crowd to a room-filling 45. Several of the "ultra-conservatives" Simon chided ever so delicately were in the audience.

Forty-three Colville area residents have reported $384,866 in damage in the April 23 flash flooding that washed out roads, yards and foundations. Most of the private property damage reported to the Stevens County Sheriff's Department occurred along Gold Creek about six miles west of Colville in the Huckleberry Mountains.

New America. When their first child was born, Joseph Coumbes and JoAnn Perrine vowed never to be homeless again and used their welfare checks to buy land in Stevens County. From left, JoAnn Perrine; Nora, almost 5; Shelly the dog; Jason, almost 3; and Joseph Coumbes. Photo by John Craig/The Spokesman-Review

The Newport City Council tonight will consider a zoning amendment to restrict the location of X-rated businesses. The amendment would limit adult cabarets, theaters, bookstores, arcades, video outlets and lodging to commercial and industrial zones. Those are along Washington Street, which is the local name for U.S. Highway 2, and Union Street.

The state Department of Natural Resources is investigating complaints that logging may have contributed to flash flooding April 23 that caused major damage along Gold Creek, a half-dozen miles west of Colville. "We're just ensuring that we did not contribute to the problem," said regional DNR forester Bill Bidstrup, who considers the possibility "very, very unlikely."

Three Inchelium teenagers face charges in a crime spree that includes shooting at a woman and her 3-month-old granddaughter, firing on a police car and stopping a school bus at gunpoint. Formal assault charges were expected to be filed today against the boys, who are 17, 14, and 13 years old.

Pend Oreille County utility commissioners agreed to consider a detour for a new 65-mile-long high-voltage power line that critics say will spoil Pend Oreille River views. Mark Cauchy, manager of customer and energy services for the utility district, said engineers probably will take two to three weeks to study the proposal. It calls for the 115-kilovolt transmission line to cross Koch Mountain and avoid a six-mile stretch of the river north of Newport, where most critics live.

Fred Lotze went to the Stevens County Courthouse on Tuesday morning for a job interview and spent the rest of the day reviewing bids and road projects as a county commissioner. Commissioners Fran Bessermin and J.D. Anderson interviewed three Republican nominees and quickly appointed Lotze to fill the vacancy created by the March 8 death of Commissioner Allan Mack.

A bizarre lawsuit by a former Stevens County resident with ties to freemen in Montana and Oregon was thrown out of court Friday. Steven G. Fair's arguments in a childsupport dispute are "frivolous," Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Donohue ruled after Fair failed to show up for a hearing. Donohue banned Fair from filing more claims or liens without court permission.

A 34-year-old Chewelah high school teacher wasn't raped when a student-turned-boyfriend and another man had three-way sex with her, a jury decided Thursday. A Stevens County Superior Court jury of eight men and four women deliberated about six hours before acquitting Tony Borg Jr., 21, of second-degree rape and unlawful imprisonment.

(From For the Record, Thursday, April 18, 1996:) Springdale Town Councilman Dan Hite is an ally of former mayor Ray Turner, not Marshal Jerry Taylor as stated in a story Wednesday.

Mainstream Republicans beat back their party's radical right wing Tuesday night in selecting three nominees to replace Stevens County Commissioner Allan Mack, who died March 8. Self-employed logger Fred Lotze was the top choice of the party's deeply divided precinct committee officers.

A Dawn Mining Co. truck sloshed 1 to 2 gallons of radioactive sludge on a road here last week, but state officials say no harm was done. The spill occurred when the truck accidentally lunged upon entering state Highway 231 from the Ford-Wellpinit Road last Tuesday.

Deeply divided Stevens County Republican leaders will decide tonight whether they want the county to continue to be controlled by mainstream conservatives or tilt to the right. The party's 37 precinct committee officers will meet at 7 p.m. at the Chewelah senior center to choose three nominees to replace County Commissioner Allan Mack, who died March 8.

Dan Hoover is a non-Indian resident of the Colville Reservation who contends that the tribal government has no authority over him. Photo by John Craig/The Spokesman-Review

Charges were to be filed today against the second of two 15-year-old Colville High School boys arrested in recent weapons incidents. Matthew D. Wallace, who allegedly took several small bombs to school, already has been charged in Stevens County Juvenile Court.

Matter

Deputy Prosecutor Mike Carbone found a bear hug more effective than a legal brief when a defendant started hurling chairs in Pend Oreille County District Court. Carbone said he grabbed defendant Richard T. Reitz around the waist Friday, pinning his arms, after Reitz threw three chairs across the courtroom.