Kevin Keating

Idaho lawmakers, unhappy about being sued for not properly funding education in Bonner County, say the school district is to blame for its problems, not the state. The state is being sued by Sandpoint dentist and school trustee Willard Osmunson. But the state says Osmunson has it all wrong and they want to join him and sue the Bonner County School District. It's a legal tactic to shift blame away from the state onto the district, said school district attorney Charles Dodson.

Bonner County commissioners are in a quagmire of problems since they voted to abolish the county building department more than a month ago. A special prosecutor was appointed this week to probe whether commissioners met illegally when they eliminated the department and fired employees.

1. Aaron Jones and Danial Bliele study in the cafeteria at Boundary County Junior High, a collection of portables. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 2. Boundary County Junior High students travel a maze of boardwalks on campus to avoid mud puddles. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 3. Boundary County school resources are being stretched beyond intended limits, official says. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Video gambling machines pour several million dollars a year into the hands of the tiny Kootenai Indian Tribe. With the money, the nearly 100 tribal members in Bonners Ferry have built a medical clinic and run their own employment and welfare program. The tribe's gaming hall and hotel, the Kootenai River Inn, has made the Kootenais the second largest employer in Boundary County.

Hastings Books, Music & Video in Coeur d'Alene sold only 10 of the 30 books in stock. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Two former Bonner County workers who say they were fired illegally have added to the pile of lawsuits leveled at new county Commissioners Larry Allen and Bud Mueller. At their first meeting Jan. 15, the two commissioners voted to abolish the county building department, fire its eight workers and eliminate jobs for county road supervisor Red Riebe and solid waste director Sid Strauss.

It's an average school day and the Bonner County School District has one question - where are all the kids? School attendance has nose-dived in this district. On any given day last year there were 620 students who didn't show up for classes. That means one out of every 10 students enrolled in the district does not come to school.

The Boundary County School District is in a bind. It's $93,000 in debt and looking at a scrawny budget that won't support an already scaled-back slate of programs.

Van Stone

FOR THE RECORD: 2-4-97 Three men charged with the Spokane Valley bombings and bank robberies are being investigated in connection with the bombing at last summer's Olympics, but none of them has been named as a suspect in the case. A Sunday article indicated otherwise. Supporters of new Bonner County commissioners Bud Mueller and Larry Allen parade Thursday in Sandpoint, a town growing weary of controversy. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Another legal complaint, the third in two weeks, was leveled at Bonner County and its two new commissioners Wednesday. Eight employees of the now defunct building department say they were wrongfully fired when commissioners Larry Allen and Bud Mueller voted to eliminate their department earlier this week.

Bonner County school trustee Bill Osmunson is fed up. He long has complained the state of Idaho scrimps on money it doles out to school districts, depriving students of a proper education.

Two residents who want refunds of building permit fees filed a $1.7 million lawsuit against Bonner County on Monday, saying they paid for a service the county no longer provides. Two county commissioners, Larry Allen and Bud Mueller, voted to abolish building codes and the county building department and fire its eight employees earlier this month.

1. About 80 demonstrators take to the streets of Sandpoint on Thursday in support of Bonner County Commissioners Larry Allen and Bud Mueller. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Architect Kris Contor, representing a building industry coalition, files a complaint against the Bonner County commissioners who abolished the building department. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Bonner County's two new controversial commissioners, who promised to open up county government, are now declining to talk with the media, saying they have been treated unfairly. Republicans Bud Mueller and Larry Allen said news stories about them axing the county building department and firing its eight employees have been "inflammatory." "There has been so much bad stuff coming out in the press we are not saying anything to anybody," Mueller said. "We are not talking to the media. When it turns around and you start printing the truth then we will talk."

A week after the Festival at Sandpoint announced it was pushing on despite a $125,000 debt, organizers were hit with the surprise resignation of the festival's executive director. Ron Wasson worked for the festival less than a year. He was hired after another festival director, Connie Berghan, and three staffers resigned because of disagreements with the festival board.

In a town that's struggled with a racist reputation, it may not be too popular to work on Martin Luther King Day, but the Bonner County School District has little choice. Students and teachers already have missed 13 days of school. Heavy snow collapsed roofs and damaged several buildings, forcing school to be canceled. Counting Christmas vacation, the district was closed for nearly a month.

Bonner County residents now may pay only $10 to build a new home because commissioners abolished the building department, but the cost to insure that home could skyrocket. Two new commissioners pushed through the radical plan to eliminate building codes and staff, saying it will save residents money. But commissioners were unaware of a new policy by insurance companies that will benefit areas with strict building codes.

Two Bonner County commissioners were swarmed with complaints and threatened with lawsuits and a recall Thursday - one day after they had voted to abolish the county building department and fire its eight employees. The radical move by Republicans Bud Mueller and Larry Allen put much of the business community in a stunned frenzy. Phones rang non-stop at the courthouse as callers worried about getting home loans, questioned whether they need a building inspection and wondered if they can get refunds on building permits.

As promised, Bonner County's new commissioners took the meat ax to local government, abolishing the entire building department and its eight employees. In a raucous meeting attended by about 100 people Wednesday, newly elected Republicans Bud Mueller and Larry Allen voted to do away with the department and inspectors and institute a flat $10 fee for anyone who wants to build in the county.

Employees at the Bonner County Courthouse grimly refer to Monday's inauguration of Bud Mueller and Larry Allen, the two new Republican commissioners, as "D-Day." The newcomers, nicknamed Larry and Moe by some employees, have ultra-conservative ideas and an agenda for changes in the county they refuse to talk about. The secrecy has workers biting their nails about possible cuts in staff, salaries or even the elimination of departments.

A school for troubled teens is under scrutiny by state Health and Welfare officials, local authorities and worried parents after students there went on a violent rampage this week. Five people were hospitalized after a riot at Northwest Academy, a remote school on some 200 acres south of Bonners Ferry. Authorities said about 20 students beat workers with fire extinguishers and damaged a car and buildings with an ax. Staffers fought back with flashlights.

Rain hurt attendance at last year's Festival events like this Lou Rawls concert. File/The Spokesman-Review

Roof collapses and other damage from heavy snow will keep all Bonner County schools closed for at least three days next week, district officials said Thursday. Classes were canceled all this week while building inspectors assessed damage and made sure buildings were safe for students to return.