Ken Olsen

Environmentalists say it's the ultimate irony - road construction is planned in at least 10 national forest areas in Idaho, even though everyone agrees the Forest Service can't afford to take care of existing roads. Roads built for these 10 timber sales are the exception, the Forest Service responds. Many of the new roads will be temporary.

Voters won't see a proposal for expanding the Kootenai County Commission and appointing, instead of electing, six major county officials on the 1998 general election ballot. Kootenai County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously killed a proposal advanced by a nine-member citizens group, citing legal problems, public opposition and too little time to consider the complexities of the issue. The commissioners may use the proposal as a guideline for future changes in county government.

Idaho Democrats are alleging Helen Chenoweth's rise to power in the 1994 election was aided by illegal campaign money from Hong Kong. The claims arise from a Washington Post story Monday that traces $1.6 million in contributions from Hong Kong banker Ambrous Tung Young to the National Policy Forum, a think tank chaired by Haley Barbour, who was also the chairman of the Republican National Committee.

A deputy forest supervisor from one of the nation's most controversial national forests will be the next supervisor of the Colville National Forest. Robert Vaught, who has been on the Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska since 1991, takes over the Colville Aug. 31. Perhaps no national forest has had as controversial a logging program as the Tongass. But Vaught gets high marks from some environmentalists for his management style.

Burlington Northern Railroad will meet with Panhandle Health District and other state and local officials July 31 to discuss the proposed construction of a locomotive refueling operation at Hauser. That will be the first official contact between the railroad and the agency on the project, outside of preliminary inquiries from a consultant in May. That contact was a general discussion about what environmental laws the company would have to meet for a refueling shop, Panhandle Health officials said.

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Saturday, July 19, 1997): Correction Incorrect headline: Concerned Businesse of North Idaho did not author a proposal for changing the structure of Kootenai County's government. A headline in Friday's paper stated otherwise.

A judge's decision to erase a $495,000 fine against a man who violated several environmental laws demoralized Panhandle Health District and sends the wrong message to polluters, state and federal officials say. "It sounds a little disturbing to me," said Richard McAllister, an enforcement attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency. "It may be letting one guy off and sending another message to a whole community."

After lauding John A. Hern Jr.'s record as an upstanding member of the community Wednesday, a judge all but erased the businessman's $495,000 fine for a litany of environmental violations. Hern will pay only Panhandle Health District's legal fees from the agency's three-year effort to get him into compliance with environmental laws. That amounts to just under $20,000.

Burlington Northern may add to its Idaho facilities, such as this one at Rathdrum, with a refueling station and diesel storage tanks at Hauser. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The debt-plagued social services agency that handled everything from food distribution to low-income housing in Idaho's five northern counties for the past 15 years is bankrupt. The North Idaho Community Action Agency announced late Friday night that it has filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. A press release, issued by former executive director Gerald Garvey, did not address the fate of 11 employees.

Ron Glackin says fishermen need more information to be aware of possible health risks from eating fish caught in Coeur d'Alene River Basin lakes. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Burlington Northern Railroad may move a locomotive refueling operation, including two huge diesel tanks, from the Spokane Valley to its switching yard near Rathdrum. The railroad refuses comment on the plans or why the facility is being moved and expanded. But state and county officials confirm a proposal to build a service station for trains. The operation would have two 900,000-gallon diesel storage tanks that would refuel 20 to 30 locomotives daily - using about 5 million gallons of fuel a month.

Vernon Baker

Transportation crews are installing two new signals on Highway 41. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

The State Patrol stands by in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Todd Martensen jams to the music Saturday during the Fourth of July parade in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Forget the bottle rockets, Roman candles or any other illegal fireworks you purchased to celebrate your independence. Fire chiefs across Kootenai County say they will go after anybody with aerial fireworks that fly higher than 20 feet or farther than 15 feet. Idaho law gives them the authority to issue the misdemeanor citations, they say.

A trickle of water from the tainted Hanley Avenue well is back in the pipes in the northwest part of the city. The city restarted the well about two weeks ago, after the motor on the Atlas Road well developed problems. The Hanley well, however, still is not the primary source of water for the roughly 1,700 customers who live west of Highway 95, north of Kathleen Avenue and east of Atlas Road and used to depend solely on the well for their water needs.

Warning: We may be knee-deep in five-legged, one-eyed frogs. The problem could extend to salamanders without back legs and toads that are off by more than a hop. Expect a new Peterson's Field Guide any week.

A fight appears to be brewing between a citizens group and the Kootenai County Commissioners over whether voters should have a say in changing the way the county is run. "We were told unequivocally that they would accept our recommendation and let the voters decide," said Mike Anderson, chairman of the Commission on Optional Forms of County Government. "I think the commissioners are positioning themselves for a lot of criticism by second guessing the efforts of nine (people) who worked on this for nine months.

In Latah County, it's merger, expansion and a bit of the status quo. That is if the county commissioners and the voters agree that, after more than 100 years, Idaho's county government should be different.

Craig

Should there be more Kootenai County commissioners? Or an appointed sheriff instead of an elected one? All are possible changes to the way Kootenai County voters and elected officials do business. A citizen commission will present its recommendation to Kootenai County commissioners this afternoon.

Big wheels Some Interstate 90 overpasses in the Coeur d'Alene area are too low and sometimes trap trucks, threatening vital state commerce and prompting DOT action. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review