The County Lines
WASHINGTON
ADAMS COUNTY Othello
Members of the Wheatland Consortium, which includes the Ritzville, Harrington, Kahlotus, Washtucna and Lind school districts, are blaming a misunderstanding for the loss of $40,000 in technology grant money. The grant was supposed to be spent by June 30, but the districts didn’t feel they had enough time. The districts were granted an extension through Sept. 30. The consortium didn’t realize the extension granted was for paperwork only, not actual spending.
FERRY COUNTY Republic
The Stonerose Interpretive Center and fossil dig was seen by 4,874 tourists this past year. The fossil dig will be featured in Northwest Travel Magazine soon. The center recently asked Ferry County commissioners for $6,500 in tourism funds. The money will go toward the curator’s 1999 salary.
GRANT COUNTY Moses Lake
Citizens of Moses Lake no longer have to leave the area for an MRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a staple in medical technology, is now available at Pioneer Medical Center. Samaritan Healthcare of Moses Lake has partnered with Inland Imaging of Spokane to bring the unit to the basin.
LINCOLN COUNTY Davenport
Celebrating a century of service, the Davenport Good Neighbor Pharmacy is planning a party. Jerry Van Pevenage, the eighth owner, has run the pharmacy for 30 of those years. To celebrate, he added 1,800 square feet to the store and built a drive-through prescription window. While remodeling, Van Pevenage found many historical items, which he donated to the local museum.
PEND OREILLE COUNTY Newport
A Cusick woman was recently charged with embezzling more than $3,000 from the local Little League. Debra Leeann Beltran, a signatory on the league’s account, is accused of writing checks for rent and personal needs. All checks for the account require two signatures. Other signatories claim Beltran got their signatures under false representation of what the money was for. Beltran denies any wrongdoing.
SPOKANE COUNTY Cheney
Eastern Washington University’s ROTC will sponsor a blood drive Monday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on campus. All blood types are Needed, but there are extreme shortages of O-, O+ and A+. Contact John Jones at 359-6128 to reserve a donation time.
STEVENS COUNTY Colville
Recent state assessment test results show local students are holding their own. Fourth-graders tested last spring are below state average in writing and listening skills, falling 10 percent below other students statewide. In math and reading, local fourth-graders beat the state averages by six to 17 percentage points. In seventh grade, the students fared a mite better with scores well above or right with state standards.
WHITMAN COUNTY Pullman
The ASWSU outdoor recreation center will host naturalist Greg Smith with his program “Buffalo, Boundaries and Brucellosis - A look at the bison controversy surrounding Yellowstone National Park,” Wednesday at 7 p.m. The program, in the Cascade Rooms of Compton Union Building, will examine the life cycle of the bison and the animal’s historical importance to American Indians.
IDAHO
BENEWAH COUNTY St. Maries
Sanford Peck, 83, of St. Maries, raised more than $7,000 for local charities and youth groups during the annual Kiwanis Walkathon. Sanford has raised $61,885 from community pledges in his 15 years participating in the walkathon. He is a leader in the local Kiwanis club.
BONNER COUNTY Clark Fork
A section of Forest Service Road 306 is being closed at the junction with Forest Service Road 332 due to logging at a timber sale in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest. The section of road, south of Clark Fork, is used by people traveling north and south from Lake Pend Oreille to the Coeur d’Alene River. The road will reopen in mid- or late-October.
BOUNDARY COUNTY Bonners Ferry
The Boundary County Youth Crisis and Domestic Violence Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day by volunteers trained to help end cycles of domestic abuse and violence. All information is kept strictly confidential. For help, call (208) 267-5211.
KOOTENAI COUNTY Post Falls
October is domestic violence awareness month. Officers and Advocates Sharing Intervention Services (OASIS) will conduct a memorial for victims of domestic violence Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Post Falls City Hall. OASIS will distribute letters to Post Falls and Rathdrum businesses asking that they become “safe havens” where domestic violence victims can use the telephone to get help. The domestic violence hotline is (800) 799-SAFE.
LATAH COUNTY Potlatch
The Moscow Chamber Orchestra and third-generation old-time fiddler Mabel Vogt will perform Oct. 25 at Potlatch High School. Chamber Orchestra member Carly Rigg also will perform a violin solo. The concert is sponsored by the Potlatch Arts Council with a grant from the Latah County Arts and Culture Committee. Tickets are $4 at the door and $2 for students. Vogt is secretary of the Potlatch Arts Council.
SHOSHONE COUNTY Wallace
The Wallace Eagles’ Youth and Business Projects is sponsoring a haunted house at the old Coeur d’Alene Hardware building on Bank Street. The haunted house is open Friday and Saturday from 5-9 p.m. The Eagles will change the nine rooms of the haunted house each week to offer different experiences for visitors. Admission is $2.
MONTANA
LINCOLN COUNTY Libby
Initiative 136, which would end guaranteed hunting licenses for nonresident hunters who use outfitters, will be the topic of discussion Tuesday at First National Bank in Libby beginning at 7 p.m. Jean Johnson of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association and a representative of the Montana Wildlife Federation are scheduled to speak. The initiative is on the Nov. 3 ballot.