The County Lines

Sat., July 3, 1999

WASHINGTON

ADAMS COUNTY Ritzville

Amanda Marshall is measuring city streets, collecting data for a street management plan. Once the plan is in place, the City Council can apply for grants and the new small city pilot preservation assistance program. That program helps rural towns seal-coat, pave and reconstruct major collector roadways within city limits.

FERRY COUNTY Republic

The Eureka Arts and Republic Information Center has been jammed with tourists from around the world. Cyclists make up a large portion of north-country visitors, with the Habitat for Humanity bicycle tour expected in July.

GRANT COUNTY Moses Lake

The local school district is looking for a new varsity baseball coach for the 1999-2000 season since Pete Doumit resigned. Doumit says he wants to devote time to his family, including son Ryan who signed a pro baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His other son, Peter, plays baseball for Gonzaga University. The elder Doumit sports a 71-39 coaching record at MLHS over five years.

LINCOLN COUNTY Almira

Luke Winona’s large shoulder pads will be missed on the Almira/Coulee-Hartline gridiron. The recent graduate led the Warriors defensive line, played fullback and kicker. He was recently named Most Valuable Defensive Player for his performance as an end during the East/West All Star football game. He turned in three sacks, forced a fumble and broke up two pass plays.

PEND OREILLE COUNTY Metaline

The Selkirk School District is projecting fewer students this fall. The 1999-2000 budget predicts only 380 full-time students. Last year, the district budgeted for 415, but fewer than 400 desks were filled by October. Because state funding is done on a per-student basis, the overestimation of 15-plus students hurt the district financially.

SPOKANE COUNTY Spokane

Membership continues to increase at the Southside Senior Activity Center. In less than two years, the rolls have gone from 1,000 to 1,720 members.

STEVENS COUNTY Chewelah

A science and learning center is being planned here. It will be built on a parcel of 49 Degrees North ski resort land, and will be similar to the Cispus Learning Center in Randle, Wash. The Cispus center is an outdoor camp for children to learn about science and nature.

WHITMAN COUNTY Endicott

Local officials have received word of a $740,000 grant to begin planning and construction of a sewer plant. The city also plans to apply for federal grants to improve the local wastewater system.

IDAHO

BENEWAH COUNTY St. Maries

Benewah County posted the highest unemployment rate in the Panhandle region for the month of May at 12 percent, according to the Idaho Department of Labor. The rate was two percentage points higher than in May of 1998.

BONNER COUNTY Clark Fork

Wildlife biologist Patricia Tucker will teach a program on the natural history of wolves July 24 at the Clark Fork Field Campus. “Koani, The Ambassador Wolf” will include a slide presentation and Koani, a 100-pound grey wolf from Montana. The program will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the cost is $19. For more information, call (208) 266-1452.

BOUNDARY COUNTY Bonners Ferry

Help is available through the Boundary County Youth Crisis and Domestic Violence hotline. Volunteers are trained to help end the cycle of abuse and all information is kept confidential. For help, call (208) 267-5211.

KOOTENAI COUNTY Worley

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has announced a $32.5 million expansion project to the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Casino. The expansion will include a 104-room hotel, an arena with seating for 5,000, an 18-hole golf course, 100-space RV park and a parking garage. The tribe approved the project June 26. Tribe members hope to have the hotel open during the spring of next year.

LATAH COUNTY Potlatch

During the 4th of July weekend, Latah County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho State Police and the U.S. Forest Service will be conducting emphasized patrol in the area of Laird Park and the forested area known as the dredges. The patrol will focus on driving under the influence, drug violations and enforcement of vehicle equipment and registration requirements. This includes ATV’s, which are considered a motor vehicle when operated on a roadway or on private property open for public use.

SHOSHONE COUNTY Kellogg

The contractor for the Milo Creek Project will lift traffic restrictions in Kellogg for the Fourth of July weekend. Beginning Tuesday, Division Street will be closed from Kellogg Avenue to Fourth Street. Residents on the east side of Division should park on the west side and walk through the construction zone on the designated gravel pedestrian paths at Main, Second, Third, Fourth and Gold streets and an alley between Second and Third. During the second week of July, Go Pro Construction will close Division from Kellogg Avenue to Price Street and implement the bypass system along the west side of Division. Access should be restored to Division in October. Panhandle Health District is providing doormats to construction zone residents to prevent tracking contaminated materials into homes. Call the Milo Creek Project office at (208) 783-5304.

MONTANA

LINCOLN COUNTY Libby

A 62-year-old Libby man killed himself June 27 after a standoff with police that was sparked by a domestic violence dispute. Kenneth Gerke shot himself in the head around 6 p.m. while officers waited outside his residence. The Libby Police Department responded to the residence after Gerke’s wife showed up at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital with an injured nose and reported her husband had struck her. According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Gerke left a four-page suicide note he apparently wrote while officers were outside his house.

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