The County Lines

Tue., May 11, 1999

WASHINGTON

ADAMS COUNTY Othello

City residents are bracing themselves for water and sewer tax rate increases as a result of projected revenue shortfalls in the town’s budget. Although he said he “hates taxes with a purple passion,” Councilman and former Taxpayers Association officer Les Clemons supports the increase. “I’d be willing to go along with the utility tax until 2001, but it has to be reduced back at that time.” The increase takes effect in July.

FERRY COUNTY Curlew

Sarah Sutherlin, a seventh-grader, recently took top honors for her age group in the Panorama Spelling Tournament. She was awarded a trophy and a $100 savings bond.

GRANT COUNTY Moses Lake

Genie Industries is still planning to move to Grant County, even though rumors indicate otherwise. Terry Brewer of the Grant County Economic Development Council says all is still on track for Genie to build a plant near Moses Lake, employing hundreds of people. Genie builds booms, lifts and platforms to hoist people into hard to reach places.

LINCOLN COUNTY Davenport

Lila Krueger is the new director of the Davenport Visitor Information Center in the Lincoln County Museum in Davenport. The center is open through September for tours, events and information on area recreation and businesses. Krueger, a Davenport High graduate, says if she doesn’t know the answer to a question, she, or her mom, can find someone in town who does.

PEND OREILLE COUNTY Newport

Three members of the Newport Parks Board quit last week because the City Council decided against their location recommendation for a proposed stage in the park. Councilman Ted Holden says the council may have made a “grave error,” but doesn’t think the location decision was wrong. “Maybe the process by which we arrived at that decision was wrong,” he said. Those resigning were Glen Kiehl, Marion Kerr and Buster Shilling.

SPOKANE COUNTY Spokane

The Youth Employment Service, a local program that provides teenagers with training in job readiness skills, will host a babysitting workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the YMCA. Cost is $10. Call 838-3577, ext. 141 for more information.

STEVENS COUNTY Kettle Falls

Mike Blair is heading a few miles north. Blair, assistant administrator of the Deer Park School District, was chosen as superintendent at Kettle Falls. Blair has experience with teaching, administration, sports and alternative high school programs.

WHITMAN COUNTY Pullman

On Friday, Neill Public Library will host an afternoon of poetry sponsored by the Washington Poets Association. A reading by the traveling company of association poets will be followed by an open microphone session. Poets of all ages, styles and experiences are encouraged to bring their own poetry to read. The association is touring the state in order to recruit more members from Eastern Washington. The library is located at 210 N. Grand. Poetry starts at 4 p.m.

IDAHO

BENEWAH COUNTY St. Maries

The annual St. Maries All-City Clean-up will be 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Organizers plan to distribute T-shirts to the first 200 volunteers to register for the cleanup. Volunteers will meet at the tennis courts to pick up trash, while the St. Maries Rural Fire Department will use fire trucks and water tenders to clean Main Avenue. For more information, call Bob Stowell at (208) 245-5568 or Lee Provance at (208) 245-4102.

BONNER COUNTY Priest River

Absentee ballots are available for the West Bonner County District 83 trustee election May 18. Request forms are available from Marvene Shaw, board clerk, at Bonner County School District, 1123 Lake Street in Sandpoint, or by calling (208) 263-5053, Ext. 215. Polls will be open May 18 from noon to 8 p.m. Zones 3 and 4 have elections, while candidates in zones 1, 2 and 5 are unopposed.

BOUNDARY COUNTY Bonners Ferry

Saturday is the final day to register for a five-day art workshop with artist Zoltan Szabo. The June 14-18 workshop will be at the Kootenai River Inn. Space is limited. To register, call Wendy McClintock at (208) 267-2570, Katherine Haynes at (208) 267-2007 or Bill Dettelbach at (208) 267-2941.

KOOTENAI COUNTY Post Falls

The Idaho Department of Lands is planning to treat a population of gypsy moths found near Ohio Match Road in Post Falls. The department will use three aerial applications of B.t.k., a naturally occurring, soil-inhabiting bacterium that is only toxic to the caterpillar stage of certain moths and butterflies, including the gypsy moth. The first treatment will be early Wednesday, with the other sprays occurring at 7- to 10-day intervals. While exposure to B.t.k. spray is unlikely to cause any threat to human health, the department suggests those living in the spray area remain indoors during the spray and for 30 minutes following. For information, call the Idaho Department of Lands at (208) 764-1525.

LATAH COUNTY Moscow

The Moscow Committee for Human Rights donated $300 to a Franciscan priest Friday in the group’s continued effort to highlight the humanitarian impact of sanctions against Iraq. Father Bob Bossie, co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness, gave a two-hour presentation in Moscow on Friday in favor of ending the economic sanctions against Iraq. In the past month, the Moscow Committee for Human Rights has been periodically protesting the embargo by attempting to send care packages there from the U.S. Post Office in Moscow. They have been turned away each time.

SHOSHONE COUNTY Kellogg

Shoshone Medical Center is celebrating National Hospital Week through Saturday. This year’s campaign theme, “People Care, Miracles Happen,” stresses the human side of health care. The celebration of National Hospital Week began in 1921 when a magazine editor suggested that more information about hospitals might alleviate public fears about the institutions of the day.

MONTANA

LINCOLN COUNTY Libby

The Libby City Council has pledged to re-evaluate the way the city sells fill material from its pit. The city came under fire from local contractors upset about a deal given to Noble Excavating, a subcontractor working on the Highway 37 overpass project. The city provided materials to Noble at 40 cents per yard, while private businesses were selling the same materials at about $2 per yard.

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