The County Lines

Thu., Nov. 4, 1999

WASHINGTON

Adams County Ritzville

The Ritzville Rodeo may be nearly a year away, but the queen is already wearing her crown. Amanda Whitman recently was selected 2000 rodeo queen. Whitman was chosen for her personality, horsemanship and intellect. Whitman, a junior at Ritzville High School, will travel to parades and rodeos starting in the spring to promote the local rodeo.

Ferry County Republic

The National Association of 4-H Agents has just found out what locals have known all along. The Ferry County Cooperative Extension is top-notch. The extension recently was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for youth programming. The 4-H program boasts 89 youth leaders and 236 kids. Other programs reach as many as 4,000 county youths.

Grant County Royal City

Here’s the news gardeners have been waiting to hear. The stats are in for the Royal Review’s Largest Fruit/Vegetable Contest. Winner this year is Idris Hebdon. She grew a tomato that weighed in at a hefty two pounds. The largest apple tipped the scale at 1 pound, 10.2 ounces, from Jenks Brothers. Genero Silva’s 1 pound, 10.6-ounce pear held off all other pears in the competition.

Lincoln County Reardan

A trip to the cemetery can be an eye-opener. That’s what leaders of the Reardan Junior High Youth Group believe. Jennie Wagner and Virginia Henderson recently took their 50 students to the local cemetery to focus on how they are spending their time on Earth. “We’re studying who we are and what mark we’re going to leave on this world,” Henderson says.

Pend Oreille County Davis Lake

David Housam has his dock back. The Davis Lake resident’s dock was confiscated Aug. 31 by county officials months after they discovered it was anchored on public property. The dock had been in storage at a county shop until late October, when Housam agreed to pay $675 in removal costs. Housam was warned of possible removal for several months before it was confiscated. He pledged to anchor it to his private property.

Stevens County Colville

City fathers want all to know the water’s great here. Colville drinking water is so pure it needs no chlorination. Despite this, the city does add chlorine as a precaution. The city routinely monitors water and routinely passes state and federal water quality requirements.

Whitman County Pullman

The Liberal Arts in the New Millennium conference continues today at Washington State University.

The conference, which discusses the role of a liberal arts curriculum in the future of higher education, features afternoon panel sessions, lectures and other events.

Today, the featured lecturer will be Mark Trahant, former president of the Native American Journalists Association, former editor of the Moscow Pullman Daily News and Seattle Times columnist. His lecture begins at 6 p.m. at the Museum of Anthropology.

Friday’s activities continue with a lecture by University of Michigan English professor and scholar of literary radicalism Alan Wald in the CUB auditorium at 3:30 p.m. An installation performance by Coco Fusco, a noted cultural theorist and performance artist, follows at 5 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building. For a detailed listing of panel sessions and lecture topics, contact the College of Liberal Arts at 335-4581.

Spokane County Spokane

Elementary, middle and high school chess players in the region are invited to compete in a chess tournament Saturday at Auntie’s Bookstore. The scholastic chess tournament is the first of its kind in Spokane in about 15 years, said Chris Copeland, event organizer and chess club coach at St. George’s School in Spokane. Students may register in advance by calling Auntie’s at 838-0206. Advance registration is $5 per student and $10 at the door.

The tournament will be limited to the first 100 entrants. Check-in will be from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday, with the first round starting at 10 a.m. Awards will be presented at 5 p.m., with trophies going to the first-, second- and third-place winners in the three grade divisions. The tournament has been sanctioned by the Washington Scholastic Chess Association. Auntie’s Bookstore is at 402 W. Main Ave.

IDAHO

Benewah County Plummer

Coeur d’Alene Tribal Wellness Center Health Educator and Field Nurse Assistant Philomena Nomee recently was honored for her volunteer work in the community. She was presented the “Health and Safety Volunteer of the Year” award. Nomee volunteers in Shoshone, Benewah and Kootenai counties.

Bonner County Sandpoint

The Bonner County Public Works Department is installing new culverts on Sagle Road. Motorists can expect minor delays until the end of the week. Flaggers will direct traffic as work is done from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. For information, contact the department’s road and bridge division at (208) 265-1497.

Boundary County Bonners Ferry

Boundary Community Hospital will sponsor a Safe Sitter’s Class Nov. 12 in the Education Room of the hospital. The class will be from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Class size is limited to 10 participants and costs $30. Scholarships are available. Participants will learn baby-sitting as a business, child-care essentials, accident management and prevention, first aid and safety for the sitter. For information, call Boundary Community Hospital at (208) 267-3141.

Kootenai County Coeur d’Alene

The Idaho Division of Environmental Quality has activated the winter air-quality hot line service. The service is part of the Air Quality Advisory program, which predicts air quality conditions, informs people of developing trends and announces voluntary and mandatory burn bans in Kootenai County, Pinehurst and Sandpoint. The advisories were developed to reduce pollutants from wood-burning stoves and outdoor burning activities. The service is available at (800) 633-6247.

Shoshone County Wallace

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will accept comments on a draft environmental impact statement at 7 p.m. Monday in Wallace High School. Comments will be accepted on the proposed Yellowstone pipeline through a portion of the Silver Valley. The comment deadline was originally Nov. 22, but has been extended to Nov. 29 after a delay in getting the EIS listed in the federal register.

MONTANA

Lincoln County Troy

Federal wildlife officers are looking for an adult male grizzly that raided several homes in the Yaak area last weekend. The animal killed a goat, got into garbage and a compost pile, knocked down a bird feeder and opened and stole from a freezer on a porch at residences. The bear also broke into trash bins at the nearby county dump site, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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