Susan Drumheller

A doctor accused of secretly videotaping naked women in his Post Falls home has pleaded guilty to one count of video voyeurism. William M. Fouche, 59, made his plea Friday as part of a plea agreement to avoid trial on that and four other counts of video voyeurism, as well as one count of possession of sexually exploitative material.

WORLEY, Idaho – The Coeur d'Alene Tribe thought it won control of the southern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene with a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The rebellion of several dozen waterfront property owners, however, demonstrates that the high court ruling was just one battle the tribe must win before it really controls tribal waters and wins over Benewah County residents.

Authorities don't anticipate charging a 34-year-old Clark Fork woman who apparently shot and killed her alleged attacker Tuesday night. Christopher Michael Schmidt, a 42-year-old registered sex offender living near Clark Fork, died Tuesday night after the woman shot him at close range, according to Bonner County Sheriff's Capt. John Valdez.

SANDPOINT – Two men being held in the killing of a 25-year-old Sandpoint man likely will be the only people charged in the Aug. 21 homicide, Bonner County Prosecutor Phil Robinson said Wednesday. Kenneth E. Thurlow, 45, and Christopher A. Lewers, 22, both of Sandpoint, are charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Christopher West, who was found in the wrecking yard of Evergreen Towing on Aug. 21.

County and state government budgets are barely keeping pace with the number of uninsured residents who need help paying their medical bills. The caseload of the uninsured handled by the Kootenai County Assistance Office increased from 523 clients last year to 610 this year, according to Marla Lewis, manager of the county's indigent fund.

Coeur d'Alene tribal leaders said they were "shocked" by statements made by neighboring county commissioners to the governor's counsel at a meeting this week. The meeting was prompted by the Environmental Protection Agency's decision last month to treat the tribe as a state by giving it authority to set water quality standards in the southern third of Lake Coeur d'Alene, which is owned by the tribe.

The Caring Foundation for Children has room in its free dental care program for low-income, uninsured children in North Idaho. The foundation was established by Regence BlueShield of Idaho four years ago after the insurance company studied what the greatest health need was for children in the state.

Local human rights leader Tony Stewart chose the day that Richard Butler's home was in a foreclosure auction to announce several events celebrating North Idaho's commitment to human rights. The foreclosure auction was a footnote to Butler's infamous legacy in North Idaho, where he held court at the Aryan Nations compound – the "campus of hate," as Stewart calls it – in Hayden from the early '70s until it was lost through bankruptcy in 2000.

State health officials are looking into a report of a North Idaho woman who may be suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease. It's one of eight such reports the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has investigated this year, but none of them has been confirmed to be the "mad cow" form of the disease.

From the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes to tsunamis, disasters inspire the public to dig into pocketbooks and donate to relief organizations to provide food and shelter to disaster victims. While last year's hurricanes and the tsunami in Asia prompted impressive generosity from Northwest residents, American Red Cross chapters in Washington and Idaho are suffering for it.

The antiques in Timeless Treasures were nearly toasted treasures Friday when the morning's sun rays sparked a smoldering fire inside the shop on Fourth Street in Coeur d'Alene. The rays streamed through the large east-facing picture windows and were caught by a concave shaving mirror placed on a table about 5 feet from the windows, said Glenn Lauper of the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department. The furniture had been arranged exactly so for about a week or so, said the shop owner, but the sun's path is more southerly each day.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the slaying of a 25-year-old Christopher West, who was found dead Sunday morning at a Sandpoint towing garage. Kenneth E. Thurlow, 45, and Christopher A. Lewers, both of Sandpoint, were arrested Wednesday after police were able to place them at the scene of the killing, said Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood.

SANDPOINT – The parents of Chris West moved here from Guam 10 years ago after searching for a safe place to raise their five children. On Sunday morning, the 25-year-old West was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, leaving his parents and police wondering who his killer could be.

Sandpoint Police are investigating a homicide that occurred late Saturday or early Sunday near Great Northern Road, Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood said Sunday. At 7:57 a.m. Sunday, a man reported finding a body behind the Evergreen Towing garage at 2208 Great Northern Road, Lockwood said. The man who found the body lives in a mobile home at the business on the northwest outskirts of the city.

The shoulder of U.S. Highway 95 has become a lot bumpier in the last few weeks between Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint. A contractor recently gouged rumble strips on the shoulders and in the centerline in an effort to keep drivers more alert and in their lanes.

Three men, two in Coeur d'Alene and one in Spokane, have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a 13-year-old Spokane girl on Aug. 7 from Coeur d'Alene City Park. The girl was found unharmed the next afternoon in Spokane, but police soon learned that she had sex with two men there and two other men in Coeur d'Alene, according to a Coeur d'Alene Police report.