Steve Massey

Pensioner Pete Piekarski listens as attorneys explain settlement. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Standing together in tough times. Hundreds line up for a shot at the Panhandle Health District, as Woody McEvers explains to regular customer Lorraine Anderson how the vaccination process works. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

A freight train headed for Canada derailed north of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, on Sunday afternoon, sending 20 of its 50 cars off the tracks. No injuries were reported in the 12:35 p.m. accident, which remained under investigation late Sunday.

Barb DeHart hopelessly watched her home burn to the ground late Sunday, a harsh lesson for rural families living outside the reach of firefighters. Monday afternoon, DeHart and some friends stared at the smoldering remains of the rural home that had been in her family for 25 years.

Sgt. Pete Marion talks to Jon Saltzman about keeping the area of 16th and William clean. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

A plan to resolve Gulf USA Corp.'s bankruptcy leaves $18 million for cleanup at the Bunker Hill Superfund site in Kellogg. That's far shy of the price tag placed on ridding the Silver Valley of lead-contaminated buildings and other public health hazards. Government cost estimates exceed $100 million.

Lawyers and other professionals fighting over the remains of Gulf USA Corp. in bankruptcy court have amassed fees large enough to pay retirees' medical benefits for more than two years. Since the bankruptcy began in late 1993, professionals have accrued $4.5 million in fees.

Post Falls' plans to slap impact fees on new development hit a snag this week when the state Supreme Court rejected similar charges imposed by Coeur d'Alene. Officials expect Idaho's Legislature to extend impact fee authority to cities outside Ada County sometime this year. But previous legislative attempts to allow the fees elsewhere have failed.

DAW Forest Products Inc. on Wednesday agreed to pay a $215,000 settlement over emissions at its Huetter mill west of town. The mill violated federal and state air quality laws in 1991 and 1992, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The mill has since been acquired by Crown Pacific Inland Ltd.

Breathing room. That's how Mayor Jim Hammond and others here describe the dip in an economic surge that has spanned the last four years.

A statewide plan requiring builders to be registered and carry insurance does nothing to protect consumers, some contractors say. A fledgling group of Coeur d'Alene builders has asked the Legislature to scrap a bill that would require them to be registered.

A California developer has scaled back plans to build International Expo - initially billed as one of the nation's largest shopping destinations. "We just haven't been able to get a deal together," said Jim Watson of Watson & Associates, who had proposed a regional mall at Post Falls. "So we'll have more emphasis on industrial uses. ... There are other industrial users indicating an interest in the site."

A man who apparently killed himself in a trash bin Friday after a police chase, had been arrested twice for carrying drugs and assault weapons. Scotty Michael Garden, 23, of Coeur d'Alene, was found in a trash bin in an alley near the 1100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. He apparently shot himself in the head about two hours after evading police in a stolen car.

The silence is unnerving. Just two weeks remain before Micron Technology Inc. unveils its choice for a $1.3 billion expansion plant. Yet the company has not offered so much as a hint to competing cities about their prospects.

1. Don and Lynn Haney of Rathdrum say that the community's support of Don's need for a liver transplant has been the answer to his problem. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 2. Dan and Ron Meek sell a raffle ticket to Mike Garcia at the IGA grocery store in Rathdrum for Saturday night's drawing. The proceeds will go toward a liver transplant for Don Haney. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

On the heels of a victory at the polls, city and business leaders here say voters boosted chances of landing Micron Technology's expansion plant in Kootenai County. But Wednesday's celebration was short-lived when Micron canceled next week's three-day tour of Spokane and Kootenai counties by a company search team because of scheduling difficulties.

A citizens initiative that could stall the recruitment of Micron Technology Inc. to Kootenai County drew a record 1,750 voters here Tuesday. That's more than twice the number expected. Consequently, final results were not available by 10:30 p.m.

The pace of Kootenai County home sales slowed dramatically in January compared with a year ago, but the average sale price rose to $106,872. That's a 7 percent increase from last January, when the average sale price was $100,059.

Post Falls schools suffer an urgent need for new classrooms and have been unfairly labeled as poor cousins to Coeur d'Alene when it comes to quality education. That's the finding of a district management review, unveiled at a special school board meeting late Monday.

A Tuesday election here on tax-increment financing has become a referendum on growth and the public's faith in elected leaders. The question posed at the polls is simple: Should residents be allowed to vote each time Post Falls offers tax-increment financing to developers?

Rathdrum residents have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to return advisory ballots regarding tax-increment financing to City Hall. About 1,200 registered voters received ballots in the mail last month. The city is asking residents whether taxincrement financing should be used to lure development, including a Micron Technology Inc. plant.

Cerebral palsy has not kept 15-year-old Jody Matz of Sandpoint from working her way to the eighth grade, often in the same classrooms as kids without disabilities. The result - according to Matz's mother, Doris - is a better education than she would have gotten in a classroom full of disabled students. Matz and other parents with disabled children now worry that changes in a federal and state law will dilute programs designed to help the disabled. They're fighting to preserve a federal program - the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - and state compliance with that program.

A federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday rejected a move by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe to force a liquidation of Gulf USA Corp. The tribe had asked that a trustee - a neutral party - be appointed to sell off Gulf's assets. That request was intended to bring integrity to a case rife with allegations of fraud and mismanagement. Gulf's 15-month bankruptcy has degenerated into a lucrative gravy train for lawyers and other professionals, yielding no plan for repaying creditors.

A 4-year-old North Idaho boy whose chickenpox led to the formation of a flesh-destroying bacteria had taken ibuprofen, a common aspirin substitute, health officials said Monday. Because of this case and several others in the Seattle area, doctors caution against treating chickenpox with ibuprofen.