The County Lines
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ADAMS COUNTY Ritzville
The IRS Taxmobile will stop in Ritzville to help locals with tax questions Monday and Tuesday. Staff will answer questions, distribute forms, prepare basic individual tax returns and address tax problems. The Taxmobile will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Coast to Coast Hardware store.
FERRY COUNTY Curlew
A new cottage industry has sprung up here. Curlew Country Herbs, a manufacturer of soap products, has moved to Ferry County from eastern Texas. Owners Sharon Ruck and Joseph Burks create natural soaps from a special recipe of vegetable oils and herbs grown in their own garden. “Stud Bubbles,” a men’s soap, is popular because it can be used for shaving as well as showering. The company has outlets in Ferry County and attends many regional trade fairs.
GRANT COUNTY Royal City
The Royal City Chamber of Commerce has folded due to lack of participation. Still, community volunteers are hoping to stage the annual Community Days celebration, normally put on by the chamber. Marsha Stoker has volunteered to head up entertainment for the park program and Karen Lasen is taking the reigns of the parade. Anyone who wants to help is asked to call Stoker.
LINCOLN COUNTY Davenport
Habitat for Humanity goes to great lengths to provide homes for those in need - even if those in need are birds. To raise money for their next housing project, the local group will sell birdhouses, seed, baths and feeders. The main building at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds will be filled with bird-related items Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. Entertainment and refreshments will be provided.
PEND OREILLE COUNTY Newport
The Newport High Grizzlies have a special pep band backing them at homes games. Led by local musician George Blair, this all-volunteer band is not run through the school district. Blair, a professional trumpeter, practices with 24 kids three hours each week. In addition to typical pep band fare, these musicians perform swing and jazz numbers.
SPOKANE COUNTY Spokane
The Hillyard Branch Library is offering a special program titled “Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine” on March 23 at 7 p.m. Jeanann Eckert, a licensed acupuncturist, will give the program with demonstrations - including an herbal tea tasting.
STEVENS COUNTY Colville
Happy birthday Nora Alice Randall. A resident of St. Luke’s Extended Care Center in Spokane, Randall is 100 today. A resident of the Colville area for 46 years, Randall and her late husband purchased the original Hedrick homestead in Echo Valley in 1946. Her five children, nine grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and 22 great-great-grandchildren will help her celebrate.
WHITMAN COUNTY Pullman
E. San Juan Jr., professor and chairman of the Department of Comparative American cultures at Washington State University, has received a Centennial Award for achievement in literature. He was one of a dozen Filipino artists and intellectuals honored by the Philippines Cultural Center in Manila. A noted poet, fiction writer and essayist, San Juan has written numerous books and articles on world literature and cultural studies.
IDAHO
BENEWAH COUNTY St. Maries
Arson charges against Justin Sweatfield of St. Maries have been dropped due to a lack of evidence. Sweatfield, 18, was accused of starting an Oct. 3 fire that destroyed the old Fernwood Mercantile. Sweatfield was sentenced to 180 days in jail with 150 suspended and 30 days’ credit for time served after he pleaded guilty to driving without a license and obstructing an officer.
St. Maries
Snowpack in the mountains above the St. Joe and St. Maries river basins is above normal. The estimated depth of snow between the 3,500- and 4,000-foot elevations is more than 90 inches.
Hydrologists at Avista measured the snowpack in the St. Joe basin at 140 percent of normal and estimate the spring runoff will be 130 percent of normal.
BONNER COUNTY Sandpoint
Sandpoint Planning Director Kevin Clegg will update the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce on improvement projects at the March 18 chamber meeting. Clegg will discuss such issues as the Sandpoint bypass to downtown revitalization and the Fifth Avenue corridor-improvement plan. The meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Elks Lodge.
BOUNDARY COUNTY Bonners Ferry
The Boundary County Community Action Agency, a nonprofit organization, is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The organization is dedicated to fulfilling immediate needs of residents and helping them become self-sufficient. For information, call (208) 267-3663.
KOOTENAI COUNTY Harrison
The city of Harrison has hired Moscow attorney Will Herrington as its legal counsel. Herrington, who will represent the city until December, replaces Don Passow, who died last year.
LATAH COUNTY Moscow
Ingrid Rowland, art historian and professor at the University of Chicago, will give a free public lecture at the University of Idaho March 25 at 8 p.m. in the university auditorium. Rowland’s visit is made possible through the university’s Arthur Thomas Kennedy Lecture program. Rowland’s interest is in the classics and art history. The topic of her lecture will be “Raphael in Classical Antiquity.”
SHOSHONE COUNTY Kellogg
Dr. Karyn Harries has joined the staff at Kellogg Medical Clinic. Harries previously worked in an immediate-care unit in Chicago and is certified with the American Board of Family Practice. She will be working with Shoshone Primary and Specialty Care Physicians.
MONTANA
LINCOLN COUNTY Libby
The fourth annual Irish Fair will be Friday and Saturday at the Asa Wood Gym. The craft show and music festival will take place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday evening. Three Pacific Northwest Irish bands, a Montana Celtic duo and a group of Irish dancers from Kalispell will perform. Libby restaurants will celebrate the event by serving Irish specialities throughout the weekend.