Susan Drumheller

There is turbulence off the Lochsa River between commercial outfitters such as River Odysseys West and groups run by nonprofit organizations. File/The Spokesman-Review

The Environmental Protection Agency is extending a helping hand to homeowners and residents in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin who have high levels of lead in their yards or homes. The EPA mailed out letters this week through the Panhandle Health District to residents who participated in last summer's health assessment study and had high lead levels in test results. The letter invites residents to call the EPA at a toll-free number to talk about the results and discuss possible measures to reduce lead exposure.

An artifact from the Sacred Encounters exhibit at Cataldo Mission in 1991. File/The Spokesman-Review

The first cleanup plan for North Idaho's polluted waterways will be released today at the inaugural meeting of the governor-appointed Coeur d'Alene River Basin Commission. But the proposed action is, essentially, no action.

Since Burke, Mullan and Wallace were settled more than a century ago, it's been common practice for residents to unwittingly pollute their own homes. Living in communities that revolved around the Hercules, Hummingbird, Morning and other mines, miners and their families used what was close at hand to build their homes and yards. Flood plains were raised with dirt and waste rock from mine or mill operations. Foundations were placed on fill material that came from any nearby pile without regard for how contaminated it might be with heavy metals. Even now some homeowners unknowingly transport polluted dirt to their homes to build a driveway, plant a garden patch or fill in a swampy area.

Yard soil, dust and paint pose a risk of lead poisoning throughout the Coeur d'Alene River basin outside the Superfund site, according to test results released Wednesday night. The study shows that some of the most contaminated yards were found in Burke Canyon, Mullan, Osburn and Wallace. By notifying the public of the widespread contamination in household dust and lawns, officials hope residents who didn't have their children's blood tested last year will bring their children in for blood tests scheduled next week.

A deal allowing private docks on a public Priest Lake beach is being challenged in court. The Selkirk-Priest Basin Association has filed a lawsuit in Bonner County declaring that the deal struck between Idaho officials and Huckleberry Bay Co. violates the conditions of a public easement.

Lonesome Larry, the only sockeye salmon to return to Redfish Lake in 1992, still is siring salmon. Considering Larry's been dead for five years, that's a notable feat.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education - commonly known as the DARE program - is about to be snuffed out by Bonner County commissioners eager to reduce the size of government. DARE's demise marks the beginning of an attempt by Commissioners Larry Allen and Bud Mueller to cut the county's expenses by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mine tailings are hauled from Smelterville Flats to the old Bunker Hill tailings pond that's now the central impoundment area. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Boaters trying to avoid a $2 launch fee at state-run Higgens Point are clogging the county-owned Boothes Landing. J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review

(From For the Record, July 17, 1997:) Incorrect name: Jamie Sharp is Kellogg's superintendent of public works. A story about Milo Creek in Wednesday's newspaper gave an incorrect last name.

Employees of an agency that helps the down-and-out are learning to survive the hard times themselves. Last week, the North Idaho Community Action Agency, a quarter-million dollars in debt, announced that it was filing for bankruptcy.

1. Above: Jack, Harriett and Mary Finney made headlines in 1926 with their Aqua Plane, a board towed behind a boat. 2. Left: The Finney clan still lives near Lake Coeur d'Alene where Jack Finney invented water skiing in 1921. From left are Angie, Sharon, Luke, Bill, Jack and Brenda. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Friday, July 18, 1997): Correcetion: Clarification: The Spruce Creek timber sale in the Boise National Forest has been sold, although no timber has been cut. A story on bull trout recovery in the Spokesman-Review on July 6 may have implied otherwise.

Investigators from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be in North Idaho next week studying the recent whooping cough outbreak that killed a Post Falls infant. "They come in peace," said Panhandle Health District nursing supervisor Marie Rau. "They're trying to help us learn more about why this happened."

The kids in Shoshone County won't be the only ones this summer earning $20 to get their skin pricked in the name of research. The Panhandle Health District is inviting parents in Kootenai and Boundary counties to bring their children in to test their blood for lead, too.

Late-night swingers and jungle-gym junkies will have to find another place to hang out in the wee hours of the night. The Fort Sherman Playground now is closed every night from one hour after sunset until 8 a.m.

Boaters are urged to stay dry this weekend. Sober, that is. A new state law went into effect Tuesday that puts stiffer penalties on boaters convicted of operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol.

Another 16 companies associated with mining in the Silver Valley may be added to a billion-dollar lawsuit over natural resource damages in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. The U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe sent letters on June 27 to the companies warning they could be included in the lawsuit, which seeks money for cleaning up a century of mining pollution.

Tim Reno of the Kootenai County Waterways Department adjusts a swimming area buoy at Greensferry Park on the Spokane River in preparation for the holiday. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Bear lovers aren't backing down after getting mauled in last year's election. On Monday, the Idaho Coalition United for Bears filed another initiative that bans bear-baiting and hunting bears with dogs.

Sediment-choked streams such as this one neat St. Maries can create serious problems for fish. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Jason Klement and Alan Rape attach guardrails to the trestle over Russell Creek as work on the Route of the Hiawatha trail gets under way. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review