The County Lines
WASHINGTON
ADAMS COUNTY Ritzville
Residents following the heated Adams County prosecutor and sheriff races can get up-to-the-minute results on Sept. 15. The Adams County Web site will post-tallies as ballots are counted throughout the evening. The direct link address is www.wa.gov/adamsco/election98/results.htm. As only Republican candidates are running for sheriff and prosecutor, both races will be decided in the primary.
FERRY COUNTY Keller
Because of dry conditions and more hot weather to come, the Colville Tribe has banned all campfires and beach fires on its land until further notice. Offenders will be charged a minimum of $100. Also, residents of Republic are being asked to abstain from lighting burn barrels or any other kind of residential fires until conditions improve.
GRANT COUNTY Coulee City
The local school district has nixed plans to run a bond election on the November ballot. Citing declining wheat prices, the Coulee-Hartline Schools felt the measure would be asking for too much during hard times. The bond, says Superintendent Rick Doehle, would remodel Coulee City Middle School to hold all kindergarten through eighth grade students. The elementary building would then be closed. The $4 million measure failed by 25 votes last spring.
LINCOLN COUNTY Odessa
Author and television host Christina Crawford will be signing books at the annual Deutschesfest celebration this year. Crawford, best known for her tell-all book “Mommie Dearest,” a chronicle of her life with Hollywood diva Joan Crawford, learned about the local festival through her cousin Dee Ashley of Odessa. Crawford has written four books, which she will be signing at the Old Town Hall on the weekend of Sept. 18.
PEND OREILLE COUNTY Ione
Pointing his finger at “kids being stupid,” State Wildlife Agent Ted Holden reports a dead bear carcass was dragged around by car and left downtown to rot last week. The bear, which Holden says was most likely a victim of road kill, was already stinking and decomposed when brought to town. The town maintenance crew removed the carcass with a backhoe. Holden says he will only investigate if witnesses volunteer information.
SPOKANE COUNTY Cheney
Mayor Amy Jo Sooy is asking the Cheney City Council to change a requirement that the next city administrator live inside the city. Sooy wants more latitude in hiring a new administrator either from existing City Hall staff or from outside the city. Under the change, the council could decide whether to waive the residency requirement for a new administrator.
STEVENS COUNTY Chewelah
After firing city administrator Bill Provost last month, Mayor Ron McCoy plans to revamp City Hall. McCoy, wanting to be more “hands-on,” recently proposed the mayor’s position become a full-time job with a salary of $30,000-$35,000. He also asked that the new part-time position of Finance Director be created, with former city administrator Dorothy Knauss at the helm. The council has set a special meeting for Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. to further discuss the matter.
WHITMAN COUNTY Pullman
James Cotton, a legendary blues figure, will present a free lecture with slides titled “Portraits in Blue: The life and times of an American bluesman,” 2 p.m. Sept. 27 at Washington State University’s Bryan Hall auditorium. A concert will follow at 3 p.m. His visit is sponsored by WSU’s Visual, Performing and Literary Arts Committee.
IDAHO
BENEWAH COUNTY Plummer
Athletes at the Plummer-Worley School District underwent mandatory drug testing last week. None of the students tested positive for drugs. The tests were the first for the district since trustees enacted mandatory testing for athletes, cheerleaders and student body officers. The athletes were the first to be tested.
BONNER COUNTY Sandpoint
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began lowering Lake Pend Oreille following the Labor Day weekend. The engineers will be lowering the lake’s level between .1 and .2 feet each day until the end of October. By the end of September, the lake’s level will be 2,060 feet above sea level. At the end of October, the level will be 2,055 feet. During the summer, the lake’s level ranges from 2,062 and 2,062.5 feet.
BOUNDARY COUNTY Bonners Ferry
The Bonners Ferry High School football team has formed the Badger Buddy program. The program pairs football players with younger students to give them an idea of the activities and scholastic achievements of the players, along with the work that goes into playing football.
KOOTENAI COUNTY Post Falls
The ground-breaking ceremony for the new Post Falls Library will be Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The site for the new 20,500-square-foot library is adjacent to the current building. T.I. Construction Co. of Spokane was selected as general contractor for the project. The building is scheduled to be completed in 1999.
LATAH COUNTY Moscow
The Women’s Center is hosting “Faith and Feminine Values,” a discussion about a variety of issues, including feminism and religion, ordination of women, status of women in the church and the meaning of a gendered identity in God. The program, beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, will feature Sharon Kehoe, interim director of the Campus Christian center and Stacy Rosevear, Lutheran campus minister.
SHOSHONE COUNTY Kellogg
Two Kellogg youths are facing arson charges after a Sept. 5 fire in a field behind Shoshone House Apartments. The fire, which started in a pipe, spread to a small part of the field before being extinguished by Shoshone County Fire District II.
MONTANA
LINCOLN COUNTY Libby
Lincoln County commissioners voted to restore funding to Lincoln County Family Planning, a program that had been cut from the 1998-99 budget. The decision was influenced by a plea from supporters who told commissioners the Family Planning clinic may have to close without the funding.