Susan Drumheller

John Kimball was out-raged at a $15 phone bill for a brief call he made to Spokane from a Post Falls pay phone. His complaint to the Federal Communications Commission became one of more than 4,280 last year lodged against alternative "operator service providers."

Weekend drinking by teenagers makes driving hazardous not only on highways, but on dirty, narrow forest roads, too. Dozens of teenagers will sneak a drink out in the hills over Memorial Day weekend and the rest of the summer.

AmeriCorps worker Allison Vinci shows students how to build bat houses. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Term limits are about the last thing voters need in the Plummer/Worley Joint School District. After all, the district has been trying for years to find a school board member - any school board member - for its northernmost zone.

1. (Color) Members of NIC's student government celebrate the end of the school year with a game of Frisbee football at Lake Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. (Color) Marilyn MacGregor graduates from NIC on Friday. "I'm on God's easel," she says. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 3. NIC faculty members dote on graduate Jerry Broesch's 11-week-old daughter, Taylor, in the receiving line after the ceremonies. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Leslie Clark, a Wallace High School sophomore, left, and Brad Ban, a sophomore from Mullan, experiment on the Internet during a workshop Wednesday at the Workforce Training Center in Post Falls. They are participating in the " School to Work" program. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

School trustee elections in North Idaho went to the incumbents Tuesday night, except in one Coeur d'Alene race. School boards will remain unchanged in the Post Falls, Plummer/Worley, St. Maries and Kellogg districts.

North Idaho College adopted another sister college last week, bringing the number of its sibling schools to four. NIC President Bob Bennett and NIC board Chairman Norm Gissel traveled to Chung Cheong Junior College last week in Chung Ju, South Korea, where they signed an agreement to exchange students and ideas.

Three North Idaho school districts are holding supplemental levy elections today, and five school districts are conducting trustee elections. The only district with both a trustee and levy election is St. Maries.

1. Made in Idaho. Frances Sandberg of Careywood sold her tie-dye shirts at the Farmer's Market at its new location on Highway 95 and Prairie. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Susi Faville sold potpourri balls.

Voters have clear choices in Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls school board trustee elections. Several candidates have made a point of making their views known. But in many North Idaho school districts, lack of interest has left many seats unopposed.

Zinser

About 30 recent dropouts from Lakeland schools say they would return if the district offered an alternative school for them. School officials may find out next fall if that's the case.

Summer class registration at North Idaho College begins Tuesday on a first-come, first-served basis. Summer session, offering a variety of courses, will run from June 5 to July 28. Non-credit courses also will be offered at the NIC Workforce Training Center in Post Falls.

1. Prom and circumstance. Chris Pederson gets a little help from a friend while being fitted for a tuxedo at Mr. Tux in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Seniors Tracy Jacobson, left, and Martha Prater wrap senior gifts at Lake City High on Friday. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The Coeur d'Alene School District's $2.9 million supplemental levy was approved Tuesday. The levy was supported by 54.8 percent of voters, and passed 3,668 to 3,017.

North Idaho College students are the main beneficiaries of an estate valued at more than $1.5 million. When Jessie Molstead died on Jan. 11, 1994, she left 90 percent of her estate to NIC, specifically for scholarships.

1. Lisa Kirchhoffer talks about wetland birds like the great blue heron with Lake Middle School sixth-graders Monday. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. A couple of students look for waterfowl on the wetlands.

Kellogg and Wallace school districts hold supplemental levy elections Tuesday, as well. Kellogg schools need $689,000, say school officials. It is a one-year levy. Wallace officials want voters to approve $675,000 for two years so they don't have to hold an election next year.

School officials are promoting their two-year, $2.9 million supplemental levy as a simple way to keep up existing programs and safe schools. Opponents portray the levy as evidence that overpaid educators are getting greedy.

1. Getting started. UI professor Lee Sappington shows replicas of primitive arrows and spears to students Lyle Meshell, center, and Ray Lowley. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Ryan Kennedy and Jonelle Whitman of Lapwai High School perform an experiment with baking soda and vinegar.<

The St. Maries school board has set a supplemental levy election for May 16. The amount, $335,000 each year for two years, is $10,000 less than the previous supplemental levy, which retires this year. The levy represents about 6 percent of the district's $5.4 million budget. In the 1993-94 school year, the levy comprised almost 10 percent of the budget, said district treasurer Louisa St. John.

The cost to attend North Idaho College will remain the same next school year, the NIC board of trustees decided Wednesday. Tuition and fees will increase, but changes in other fees will keep the total cost at $490 per semester.

The Coeur d'Alene School District should retain the National Teachers Exam even though the state is dropping it as a requirement for teacher certification, Ron Rankin told the school board Tuesday. "This was the last safeguard," said Rankin, president of the Kootenai County Property Owners Association. "This was the last remaining test for teachers. The district can require it."