The County Lines

WASHINGTON

ADAMS COUNTY

Ritzville

Ritzville Pet Rescue is raffling a Beanie Baby gift basket to raise money for abandoned pets. The grand prize includes a full set of 12 McDonald’s mini-babies and a Princess Di Beanie, among others. Tickets are available by calling Cindi Lepper at (509) 646-3447. The group has rescued 72 dogs, 13 cats and two horses since June 1997.

FERRY COUNTY

Republic

With the Nov. 3 general election looming, county residents are urged to attend a “Meet the Candidates” forum. Two forums, which will feature office-seekers from both Ferry and Stevens counties, will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. The first meeting will be held at the Republic Kiwanis Hall, the second at the Kettle River Grange Hall near Barstow. The public is encouraged to have pre-written questions ready.

GRANT COUNTY

Ephrata

First, the bad news. Area residents will see slightly higher power bills in April. Last week, the Grant County Public Utilities District authorized a 6-percent general rate increase. But the good news is the increase is less than the 9.5 percent rate hike approved last fall. The reduction in the rate increase is due to better-than-projected water flows through Columbia River dams.

Odessa

Through the USDA’s Food Recovery and Gleaning program, 4,520 pounds of red potatoes were given to Lincoln County food banks and charities last week. The spuds, gleaned from Robin Weishaar’s field 17 miles north of town, were harvested by Farm Service Agency volunteers. Dave Long of Othello leases the land from Weishaar and made the generous donation. In Wilbur, a similar gleaning netted 2,000 pounds of tubers to feed the needy.

PEND OREILLE COUNTY

Newport

Expecting the county budget to come in around $4.75 million, Pend Oreille County commissioners are holding a wild card. They are still re-negotiating impact payments with Seattle City Light for Boundary Dam power. SCL rejected a plan to increase their next payment by 20 percent of the $800,000 1998 fee, with a 10 percent increase each year thereafter. An agreement is expected soon as the payment is paramount to their budget.

SPOKANE COUNTY

Deer Park

The Deer Park Arts Commission meets the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. in the city hall council chambers, 316 E. Crawford. The public is welcome. For more information, contact Brenda Lippert at 276-5938.

STEVENS COUNTY

Colville

Three juveniles, videotaped by a surveillance camera, were arrested after breaking into Clark’s All-Sports. The trio, frightened by a burglar alarm, grabbed only a pair of pants, which they left on the sidewalk while fleeing. One of the boys, cut by a broken window, sought medical attention, bringing him to the attention of local law enforcement. The trio has not been linked to a string of recent burglaries in Colville.

WHITMAN COUNTY

Pullman

Washington State University Associated Student Body President Edward O. Prince has been invited to join the Pullman Chamber of Commerce.

The invitation is part of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce’s decision to invite WSU and Pullman high school students to join its membership, said Constantine Alexander, executive director of the Chamber.

IDAHO

BENEWAH COUNTY

St. Maries

The Parent Project, a course designed to help parents who have difficult children, recently received a $4,800 grant from the Idaho Children’s Trust Fund. The 11-week course, which began in St. Maries Sept. 15, is taught twice a year. There are three certified instructors in Benewah County.

BONNER COUNTY

Sandpoint

A Jan. 25 trial date was set in District Court for former Idaho gubernatorial candidate Gary Crider, accused of trying to kill two Bonner County sheriff’s deputies. Crider is being held on a $1.1 million bond after his felony arraignment Thursday.

BOUNDARY COUNTY

Bonners Ferry

The AARP membership meeting will be at the senior center at 1 p.m. Monday. H.C. Studor, chairman of the Citizens Committee for School Construction, will be the featured speaker. There also will be a discussion on hearing aids.

KOOTENAI COUNTY

Athol

A final hearing on the proposed merger of the Athol and Bayview fire districts is set for Oct. 22 at the Athol Fire District. The proposal would form the Timberlake Fire and Rescue District and would cover 80 square miles. Its goal would be to have more staff, equipment, and better coordination of training programs and management. A majority vote in each district on the Nov. 3 ballot is required for the merger to be approved.

LATAH COUNTY

Moscow

The Moscow City Council unanimously approved a curbside recycling program Monday. Latah Sanitation Inc. is purchasing materials to get the program going. LSI will rotate weekly between two pick-up schedules. It will collect 17 products. With the city’s solid waste surplus, residents will not have to pay a monthly fee to participate. Shoshone County Kellogg Throughout October, Kellogg School District and the state of Idaho will be testing students in grades three through 11. Grades four, six, eight and 11 will be tested on vocabulary, reading, written expression and math. Grades three, five, seven and nine will be tested on those subjects along with social studies, science and information processing. The tests will provide the school with information to help improve instruction and help teachers with students’ future achievements. Students who are home schooled are invited to participate in the testing. Parents must contact the school to make arrangements.

MONTANA

LINCOLN COUNTY

Libby

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department turned over the investigation of a Sept. 16 logging accident that killed Rick Stapley, 19, of Troy to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Stapley was killed when the skidder he was operating rolled several times at a logging site. He was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the cab when the skidder rolled.