Taryn Hecker

A three-alarm fire destroyed at least three Sherman Avenue storefronts and several apartments Sunday and a former Chinese restaurant was severely damaged as firefighters worked into the night to keep the fire from spreading. The fire at the nearly 100-year-old building on the 1200 block of East Sherman was one of the biggest fires in Coeur d'Alene in recent history, according to Coeur d'Alene Deputy Fire Chief Glenn Lauper. Crews were expected to be at the scene all night Sunday and into this morning.

People hoping for details on the expansion of downhill skiing on the west side of Mount Spokane may not have to wait much longer. A plan to expand the ski area was expected to be released before Christmas, opening a month-long public comment period.

After 30 years of winter swims in the frigid waters of Idaho and Montana, "Polar Bear" Rick Klin swears he doesn't get cold shivers or goose bumps. He beat everyone into the water at Coeur d'Alene's Sanders Beach on Tuesday, diving in moments before the official Polar Bear Plunge countdown was complete.

The fun was super-sized. The sleds weren't. But just like the food served up at McDonald's, the ride down the hill on the brown plastic serving trays William Dippolito's cousin borrowed from the restaurant was fast.

A professional musician who just released a CD on a national label is charged with sexual abuse for allegedly fondling the feet of a Coeur d'Alene teen. At least nine teenage girls in Coeur d'Alene have reported that 26-year-old Nate Schierman asked for their socks and if he could rub their feet. Some of the teens, mostly middle school students, said Schierman offered them money in exchange.

A 23-year-old lineman with Kootenai Electric Cooperative was electrocuted Tuesday morning while working south of Coeur d'Alene. Jake Booth, of Rathdrum, was part of a four-man team setting a power pole near Cougar Gulch and Lynx Trail roads when the pole came in contact with a live wire about 10:30 a.m., according to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department. An electric charge went through the pole and struck Booth, killing him. A 2002 graduate of Davenport High School in Washington, Booth was married with an infant son. He had worked for the utility since May 2005 and is the first Kootenai Electric employee killed on the job. "We are deeply saddened by this tragedy," said the utility's general manger, Robert Crump. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and our employees during this difficult time." Crump said Booth was a second-year apprentice, which qualified him to work on live power lines. "It's dangerous work," Crump said. "We all know that. He knew that. It's the nature of the business." The project was put on hold Tuesday as the Sheriff's Department and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration investigated. Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said Booth's death was ruled accidental. Grief counselors were called in for employees at the cooperative, Crump said. Kootenai Electric has 75 employees and serves more than 21,000 customers in Kootenai, Benewah, Bonner and Spokane counties. "Jake was a conscientious employee," said Gary Nieborsky, engineering and operations manager. "In a small organization, it affects everybody." Human Resources Manager Keri Hutchins said Booth's aunt described him as "very adventurous." "The life he lived was very full," Hutchins said. In a February 2005 Spokesman-Review article about Avista Utilities' Jack Stewart Lineman School, Booth described himself as an "adrenaline junkie" who had wanted to be a lineman since he was a boy. "The first day you're out climbing," Booth was quoted as saying. "They put you right out there and let you start doing it."

MaryAnn McCray is waiting for the weather to warm up so she can paint over the graffiti vandals spray-painted across the wall outside her Coeur d'Alene antique store. It's the second time her business, Antique Corner, has been "tagged" in the past two years. This time, McCray bought extra paint.

Their cheeks reddened by the nippy air, the two boys rolled around in the leaves just like their father had when he was a boy. "It's a hoot," Kelly Risse said as he watched his sons, 1-year-old Luca and 2-year-old Mateo, tromp knee-deep through a hill of leaves. "There's nothing better than a pile of leaves."

The hand waved from the tall, yellow grass. Kootenai County Building Inspector Scott Weitman wouldn't have seen the stranded duck hunter if he hadn't detoured off state Highway 3 on Wednesday to use the restroom at the Rainey Hill Boat Launch, in the series of chain lakes along the Lower Coeur d'Alene River.

The folks in Bayview weren't shy at all when the Idaho Department of Lands asked for public comment on proposed rules for Idaho's marinas and docks. Of the two dozen people who showed up first thing Wednesday for a public hearing at the agency's Coeur d'Alene office, most came from the small community on the south end of Lake Pend Oreille.

The Coeur d'Alene Police Department soon could be open for business on Saturdays if the Coeur d'Alene City Council approves Chief Wayne Longo's proposal for additional staffing. Using $252,000 the City Council budgeted for new personnel, Longo hopes to add two officers and the equivalent of 2 1/2 additional full-time positions in other areas.

They wore matching Kelly green T-shirts, black pants and all-white tennis shoes, and even as they bounced on top of giant round plastic balls or did push-ups in the middle of the stage, they kept smiles on their faces. They smiled as they jogged around the stage at North Idaho College's Schuler Auditorium, through high-kicks and sit-ups.