The County Lines
WASHINGTON
Adams County
Washtucna
The population of Washtucna will skyrocket Saturday as high school alumni return to their hometown. The annual reunion, which includes the graduating class of 1999, will be held in the school gym at 6:30 p.m. Classes honored will be those that graduated 50, 40, 30, 25, and 10 years ago.
Ferry County
Republic
The Wildland Firefighter program is looking for a few strong backs. The program hopes to train a number of firefighters to battle blazes in the rugged high country of the Colville National Forest. All interested must pass a fitness test, pack test and training on Mount Tolman near Keller. For information, call (509) 775-3305.
Grant County
Moses Lake
A number of county residents are questioning the Grant Transit Authority. Although ridership has been increasing, some citizens are complaining about nearly empty buses. The county’s Economic Development Council says GTA is an asset in attracting new industries, such as the Genie plant.
Lincoln County
Davenport
A $32,000 grant will be used to clean up roadside dumps throughout the county. The money from the Department of Ecology will fund equipment and supervision of jail work crews as they pick up roadside litter and clear larger illegal dump sites. Juvenile offender crews will also work off some of their community service hours on this project.
Pend Oreille County
Newport
The county and Kalispel Tribe have reached an agreement for use of the county’s jail. The tribe agreed to pay $28,040 for outstanding prisoner housing and detention debts through April 1 of this year. The Kalispels have used the county jail for prisoner detention for several years, but actual costs haven’t been determined until now.
Spokane County
Cheney
The Inland Northwest Farm Safety Network will hold its first conference on farm health and safety issues Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Eastern Washington University’s Pence Union Building, rooms 205 and 206. The conference is free, and includes breakfast and lunch, but participants must register by calling 359-6027.
Stevens County
Colville
The Colville 2000 revitalization plan will cost $8.4 million. To fund the project, the city hopes to be accepted as a Local Improvement District (LID) to be eligible for grant funds and low-interest loans. The city also hopes to raise $650,000 by taxing affected residents at $28 per frontage foot.
Whitman County
Pullman
Advanced Hardware Architectures Inc., a private semiconductor company in Pullman, announced Pat Owsley has been promoted to president of the company. A co-founder of the company and member of the Microelectronics Research Center at the University of Idaho, Owsley holds five patents in error correction and data compression and has held a series of other executive positions within the company, where he’s worked since 1989.
IDAHO
Benewah County
Plummer
The Plummer City Council approved a proposed industrial power rate at the May 13 meeting. The rate was determined from the cost-of-service study used to set residential and commercial power rates. The proposed customer charge is $45, the energy charge is .0213 cents per kwh, and the demand charge is $4.721. The council will conduct a public hearing on the rates at the June 10 meeting.
Bonner County
Sandpoint
Kids can register for the 1999 4-H Project Camp at Bonner County Fairgrounds. The camp is June 28-July 2 at the fairgrounds and runs from 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. each day. Participants don’t have to be 4-H members. Registration forms are available at the Bonner County Extension Office. Call (208) 263-8511 for more information.
Boundary County
Bonners Ferry
Boundary County commissioners will hold a public hearing in the county extension office at 2 p.m. June 1. Commissioners will accept public comment on a special-use permit application filed by Don Grove to establish and operate a gravel pit on a 218-acre parcel owned by Larry Pruitt about three miles east of Three Mile Corner on County Road 61-1. Written comment will be accepted through noon on June 1. Comments can be mailed to Boundary County Planning and Zoning, Box 419, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805, or faxed to (208) 267-7814. For more information, call (208) 267-7212.
Kootenai County
Coeur d’Alene
Coeur d’Alene Rehabilitation and Wellness Center and LaCrosse Health and Rehabilitation Center will sponsor National Senior Health and Fitness Day activities today at Silver Lake Mall. Local businesses will provide information and services for seniors including screenings for blood pressure, spinal health and strong posture. For more information, call Michael Hayes at (208) 664-2185.
Latah County
Moscow
The Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute is holding its 13th annual potluck celebration Wednesday. The 6 p.m. event at the Tom Hudson Company Building at 111 N. Main will include a potluck social, children’s activities, brief presentations, PCEI displays and board elections. For more information, contact Tom Lamar at 882-1444 or lamar@pcei.org.
Shoshone County
Osburn
Osburn Senior Service is offering a senior citizen lab health screening and blood drawing clinic with Shoshone Medical Center. Blood tests include kidney function, glucose, cholesterol, hemoglobin and hematocrit. A suggested $5 donation will help defray the cost of service and supplies. The clinic will be 7-9 a.m. Wednesday at Shoshone Medical Center in Kellogg and Thursday at the Osburn Senior Service Center. This is the seventh year the Senior Service has offered the clinic. For more information, call (208) 752-1194.
MONTANA
Lincoln County
Troy
The Troy PTA will hold a public forum Thursday to discuss the proposed increase in the number of credits required for graduation at Troy High School. The forum will begin at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. For more information, call Joni Manning at (406) 295-1805 or Kathy Mohar at (406) 295-5263.