The County Lines
WASHINGTON
Adams County Ritzville
Adams County Juvenile Court is having a tough time paying its bills. An overload of cases, overtime and high detention costs are bleeding the budget dry. In addition, Juvenile Court Officials are playing catch-up as many cases from the former prosecutor’s term still are unresolved or remain unfiled, some since 1997.
Ferry County Republic
Local residents are scratching their heads over the strange weather this month. Last week, temperatures ranged from a high of 91 degrees to a low of 38. Even frost was reported in the area. Travelers on Sherman Pass between Kettle Falls and Republic recently were faced with wind, hail, sleet and snow.
Grant County Electric City
Rosemarie Martin claims the state Department of Transportation killed a stand of trees in her yard. “It was a river of death killing every growing thing in its path,” she says of the chemical she alleges the department washed downhill onto her yard. The department’s maintenance station is located uphill from Martin’s home. An upslope neighbor of Martin’s also has a swath of dead grass that he claims is the result of the department’s truck cleaning.
Lincoln County Odessa
Local wheat growers say harvest in the Odessa area will be late this year. Traditionally, the first load of grain is taken into the Ruff elevator station around July 4. But this year, many fields still are green or golden but not ripe. Harvest dates have been pushed back by at least two weeks due to cool weather.
Pend Oreille County Newport
Restructuring city government may not save money today but, Newport City Administrator Delphine Palmer says, it may do so in years to come. The city is in dire financial straits. To battle cash-flow problems, Palmer has reworked all job descriptions for maximum efficiency. And, Palmer says, the city will do more with the resources and staff it already has.
Spokane County Deer Park
The Deer Park SCOPE office at the Deer Park Community Center in the basement of City Hall is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Community meetings are held there the last Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m.
Stevens County Chewelah
What’s a penny worth? To some, the copper coins are a nuisance, but to Gess Elementary School students, they are pure gold. Students and other members of the community collected 61,669 pennies during their recent penny drive. The money - $616.69 - was donated to the American Red Cross. The coins weighed 426 pounds.
Whitman County Colfax
LaCrosse All-Purpose 4-H’ers are sponsoring a drug- and alcohol-free teen dance at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds near Colfax on Saturday night. Tim Stamper and Matt Goll, the “Dynamic DJ Duo,” will provide music. Proceeds from the dance, which will run from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and costs $5, will benefit the search and medical expenses of Brent Repp, Derek Miller, Andy Gumm and Craig Blank.
IDAHO
Benewah County St. Maries
Benewah County commissioners and the St. Maries City Council recently agreed to share the cost of connecting new restrooms at the Benewah County Fairgrounds to city water and sewer lines. Work on the building was begun in 1993 and completed last winter, but water and sewer lines were not connected. The Benewah County 4-H Leaders Association and Idaho Good Sam’s RV Club contributed funds for the project, and the balance was paid out of the fair board’s budget.
Bonner County Clark Fork
The University of Idaho Enrichment Program will offer a class, “Koani, the Ambassador Wolf,” on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its Clark Fork field campus. Patricia Tucker, a wildlife biologist and educator from the Northern Rockies Wolf Ambassador Program, will present a slide program depicting the natural history of wolves, and Bruce Weide, a documentary filmmaker and writer, will tell myths and folklore about wolves. Cost of the class is $19 per person. For more information or to register, call Edie Kinucan at (208)266-1452.
Boundary County Bonners Ferry
Help is available through the Boundary County youth crisis and domestic violence hotline. Volunteers are trained to try to help end the cycle of abuse; all information will be kept strictly confidential. For help, call (208) 267-5211.
Kootenai County Rathdrum
Lakeland Booster Club is sponsoring sports physicals for boys and girls entering seventh, ninth or 11th grade Saturday morning at Lakeland High School. Students participating in sports or cheerleading are required to have sports physicals, which will be given from 8 a.m to noon and will cost $15.
Latah County Moscow
University of Idaho professor Tom Trotter became ombudsman last week. In that job, he impartially will help two or more parties work together to solve conflicts. It will be an informal process under which the ombudsman will not make official decisions or judgments. Trotter also will continue as a professor of counseling and school psychology. Before coming to UI in 1990, Trotter directed the counseling center at Indiana University.
Shoshone County Osburn
A 55 Alive driving class will be held July 29-30 at the Osburn Senior Information Center from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The class, for anyone at least 55 years old, will cost $8 per person. Participants may be eligible for auto insurance discounts with a certificate of completion. To register, call Jean Vosberg at (208) 682-2694.
MONTANA
Lincoln County Libby
Under a new joint operating plan with Flathead Valley Community College, the Lincoln County campus could get a 12.5 percent increase in funding. The Lincoln County campus would receive $554,706 in general funds for the next academic year, according to the first preliminary budget. That figure amounts to about 8.7 percent of the $6,354,389 total budget for the two campuses. The budget includes $252,091 for continuing education, $40,059 of which would go to the Lincoln County campus. The budget is to be finalized in August.