The County Lines

WASHINGTON

Adams County Ritzville

Adams County residents will receive 1998 property assessment notices soon. But those notices come with a warning. Assessor Jerry Crossler says his office is using new computer software. As crossover was difficult, Crossler’s office cannot guarantee the correct values were placed into each final assessment file. Taxpayers are asked to compare this notice with last year’s assessment. All discrepancies will be reviewed.

Ferry County Orient

Students at Orient Elementary will embark on “Core Knowledge Curriculum” this year. Superintendent Steve Holland says the program will help students meet new state education standards. “It focuses on teaching information that all literate Americans should have at their command,” he says. Teachers will also use the Accelerated Reader program to promote more and better reading skills. The Orient District serves 107 K-8 students.

Grant County Ephrata

A Moses Lake man will spend the next 20 years in prison for raping a 5-year-old child. William Robert Soden Jr., 55, pleaded guilty to first-degree rape of a child, admitting he had forced the girl into intercourse on several occasions. Soden is already serving a 98-month prison sentence for molesting two young girls. The two sentences will run concurrently.

Lincoln County Almira

Although a far cry from Sydney in 2000, Almira’s “Country Olympics,” proved to be just as entertaining. Who can toss a 60-pound bag of wheat the farthest? Marvin Gordan hefted the grain 22 feet, 4 inches for a gold medal. Steve Russell won the farmer’s obstacle course. He negotiated twists and turns in just 38 seconds while holding a hot cup of coffee. Dennis Pinar also won gold for his 3-second record in the “Catch and Bag a Chicken” event. It is noted that all chickens survived.

Pend Oreille County Newport

Those interested in theater arts are invited to a series of workshops sponsored by CREATE’s Pend Oreille Players. The classes include instruction on directing theory, auditions and musical productions, set design and construction and playwriting. Ted Parvin, a 45-year veteran of the motion picture industry, will lead the Oct. 18 directing theory class. For information, call (509)447-2345.

Spokane County Fairfield

Liberty Lake High School graduate and Navy Fireman Don McClellan is training in the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf aboard the U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Saigon. The 1994 graduate, the son of Dennis McClellan, of Fairfield, and Patricia Engle, of Spokane, will return from duty at the end of the year.

Stevens County

Chewelah Don’t touch that dial! Local cable TV subscribers may notice periods of poor reception in the next two weeks. Falcon Cable TV told customers that interference caused by a mini-eclipse of its satellite by the sun will cause a snowy picture. In some cases, total loss of programming will occur. Those viewing from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 19 will most likely experience the problem.

Whitman County Colfax

Whitman County farmers are invited to a public hearing Oct. 29 to consider whether to form a Turfgrass Seed Commission or have a grower referendum on developing alternatives to grass burning.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is holding the hearings at 10 a.m. at the Franklin County PUD at 1411 W. Clark in Pasco and at 6 p.m. at WSU Cooperative Extension, 222 N. Havana in Spokane. Any turfgrass seed growers are entitled to vote by sending their name, address, county of production and quantity of production for years 1995, 1996 and 1997 to the state Department of Agriculture in Olympia. For more information, contact Walter Swenson at (360)902-1928.

IDAHO

Benewah County St. Maries

Members of the St. Maries Church of the Nazarene youth group will travel to Nampa on Thursday for the Northwest Nazarene College Preview Days. Cost of the event is $40. For information, contact the St. Maries Church of the Nazarene at (208) 245-4594.

Bonner County Sandpoint

Marilyn Sabella received an Idaho Governor’s Award for Support of the Arts in Idaho Falls on Oct. 3. The awards recognize artists, art educators and those who nurture art presentations. Sabella was nominated by the Pend Oreille Arts Council for her involvement with the arts locally, regionally and throughout the West.

Boundary County Bonners Ferry

American Heart Association adult CPR recertification testing will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Boundary Community Hospital. Test cost is $5 and pre-registration is required. To sign up or for information, call (208) 267-3141, Ext. 219.

Kootenai County Coeur d’Alene

Ten campaign signs for Larry Belmont, valued at $45, were stolen from the front yards of homes between 6 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. Monday. Theft of the signs is considered petty theft and is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

Latah County Moscow

A former Moscow police officer is suing the city for allegedly violating his civil rights and breaking his employment contract without cause. Valance T. Barber, now a Latah County sheriff’s deputy, was fired Oct. 2, 1996, after a Moscow Police Department internal investigation. Barber seeks compensation for past, present and future loss of income and benefits and damages for deprivation of civil rights, to be determined by a jury trial.

Shoshone County Kellogg

The American Red Cross is offering first aid classes in the Silver Valley. The standard first aid course will be held at the Sunnyside training facility in Kellogg on Oct. 20 and 21 at 6:30 p.m. Class cost is $37. Pet first aid will be held Oct. 20 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the training facility and will cost $20.

MONTANA

Lincoln County Libby

Flu vaccines sponsored by St. John’s Lutheran Hospital will be available Oct. 22 at the Libby Rosauers from noon to 8 p.m. Vaccines for influenza will cost $10. Pneumonia vaccines will cost $25, and the cost for tetanus/diphtheria vaccines is $15.