Susan Drumheller

Loaded discussion. Cesar Hernandez, right, of the Rock Creek Alliance, says a discharge permit would let Asarco dump 1,100 pounds of junk into the Clark Fork River each day. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Not a job, an adventure. Job applicant Brooke Knoles waits to interview as John Keller fills out an application Saturday at Silverwood. Photo by Tom Davenport/The Spokesman-Review

From the humble beginnings of food and laundry service, Joe Legel, right, and his son, Tomm have risen to the top as chief financial officers of area hospitals. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

1. Kenny Francis with Contractors Northwest Inc., works on the Hayden Lake spillway. Funds weren't provided to build a fish screen. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 2. Fisherman Jerry Moss worries that a large number of fish will be lost from Hayden Lake for lack of a fish screen. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Adkinson

At the boat launch near the Cataldo Mission, a large sign warns people to stay away from dirt and water in the contaminated Coeur d'Alene River basin. File/The Spokesman-Review

It's time to step outside "the box," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. The EPA announced Wednesday that it's investigating the extent of mining contamination outside the 21-square-mile Bunker Hill Superfund "box" with the intent of developing a comprehensive cleanup plan for the entire Coeur d'Alene River basin. The agency is using its authority under the Superfund law to take on the job.

An old law is becoming a favorite tool among counties in the West trying to exert control over federal lands. Kootenai County may become the latest in a series of counties to invoke the federal law in the debate over forest road closures. County commissioners will consider a resolution today offered by Commissioner Ron Rankin that asserts the county's jurisdiction over historic rights of way in the woods.

The Life Care facility in Coeur d'Alene has been fined $26,000 and has been banned from admitting patients after a state inspection noted several deficiencies. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Water-skiers will be asked to stay on board their boats once they head up the Coeur d'Alene River under a proposed ban being considered by county officials. Now, water skiing is illegal upstream from the state Highway 97 bridge. The new restrictions would ban skiing down the channel from the bridge to Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Jason Luker is the Outdoor Pursuits coordinator at North Idaho College. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Local low-income housing got a boost this week when a Seattle bank awarded two grants totaling $270,000 to apartment complexes in Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle awarded the grants to Bank of America and United Security Bank to help fund rehabilitation and construction of 63 apartments.

The Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce is tiptoeing through a minefield over its support for the proposed Rock Creek mine in Montana. On Thursday, the vice chairman of the chamber's legislative committee walked out of its meeting after chairman Ben Wolfinger refused to allow any discussion of the chamber's stance favoring the mine. Don Morgan, the committee's vice chairman, promised to complain to the chamber's board of directors about the way the meeting was run.

A North Idaho legislator is trying to eliminate discord in the political task of cleansing Idaho's waters by eliminating some of the players. Rep. John Campbell, R-Sandpoint, is sponsoring a bill to exclude anyone at legal odds with the state of Idaho from participating in official groups working to restore water quality. That means members of certain Indian tribes and environmental groups could be asked to step down from their participation in developing cleanup plans and bull trout restoration plans around the state. Other interest groups could be excluded, too.

Harry Eder is waging a grossroots fight against noxious weeds like hawkweed. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Alexandra Delis-Abrams holds a drainboard stained by residue from the minerals in her water supply. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Kootenai County sheriff's deputies chase a blue Datsun down I-90 on Tuesday after the driver refused to stop. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Chances are that if you're a child living in a single-parent home in North Idaho, you live with your mother and you're poor. You're also at greater risk of having health and behavioral problems because of inadequate prenatal care and fewer opportunities to develop your mind.

They were fearing the worst. First came a government report that said leases for U.S. Forest Service cabin sites should increase by 300 percent or more. Then came the grim news from the Sawtooth National Forest, where some cabin owners saw their fees increase by 1,900 percent. One cabin owner's fee increased to $67,500 from $4,385.

Getting money out of the Bonneville Power Administration for fish and wildlife projects could be more difficult in the future. The utility plans to follow the recommendations of an independent audit that calls for more stringent review and monitoring of programs funded by ratepayers and taxpayers. The audit by Moss Adams, a Portland-based management and accounting firm, found lax oversight of BPA-funded fish and wildlife programs, a lack of competitive bidding and a need for more detailed planning.

1. Hugs for all. "I do hope I can hug everybody," Dr. Colin Cross says at a party friends threw for him before he leaves for cancer treatment in Maryland. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Patients, friends and colleagues wait in line Wednesday evening to wish Cross "good luck."

Four people are on the ballot for Tuesday's Kootenai Hospital District board election, and all have some experience with the operations of Kootenai Medical Center. Three seats are open on the seven-member board. Each board member serves a six-year term and is elected at large. The board governs the operations of KMC, a public district hospital.

Keeping track. "Once they get rid of the tracks, they're gone," says Richard Le Francis, who's trying to rally Coeur d'Alene to start a trolley service. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

A crew with Choice Accelerator Logistics Inc. squeezes a new linear accelerator into its home at the North Idaho Cancer Center in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review