The County Lines
WASHINGTON
Adams County Othello
The new Othello High athletic code gives kids four “strikes.” The first is a warning. The second gets four weeks of athletic ineligibility. Strike three is one year on the bench and the fourth bans the athlete from high school sports. The school board also added regular academic monitoring to the code.
Ferry County Republic
The county waste management office recently impounded more than 300 junk cars which were crushed and sent out of the county for recycling. County official Bill Chamberlin says that with rising scrap metal prices, his department will look for other impoundable cars. He hopes to crush, shred and sell several hundred in spring.
Grant County Ephrata
This has been a bad year for water accidents in Grant County. When two men recently drowned in a remote water pit area used to remove filings from drill bits, they brought the total to 15 this year, mostly over the summer. Although many accidents were boating- or swimming-related, an alarming number happened when vehicles fell into irrigation ditches. The second worst year for drownings was 1997 with six.
Lincoln County Davenport
The owners of Davenport Food City, Kevin and Sherill Hansen, have bagged the “secret shopper” customer service award for the Northwest. Secret shoppers tested the mettle of 34 grocers in the Food City chain. The Hansen crew rated high in greeting, thanks, cleanliness and carryout service.
Pend Oreille County Newport
The old city bell will be back in business Jan. 1. The bell, which tolled at noon daily over City Hall, has not been used since the 1950s. The city’s theme of honoring yesteryear will be carried out daily in City Hall, as a rope has been attached for employees to manually ring it. The bell was silenced when the city installed an electric siren.
Spokane County Spokane
David Strasser, Holy Family Hospital’s certified executive chef, was recently awarded first runner-up in the cold sandwich division of a food contest sponsored by Food Management Magazine. Strasser, an employee of Sodexho Marriott Services, has been assigned to Holy Family since 1992.
Stevens County Colville
A $5.5 million grant that will be used for the downtown corridor project was obtained by the city, not the Stevens County Road Department as reported in Sunday’s County Lines.
IDAHO
Benewah County Plummer
The city council and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe are considering leasing the old Rayonier mill site to Riley Creek Lumber. The Tribe owns most of the land but the city owns critical property needed to reopen a mill at that site. The proposed lease would include a provision to purchase the property within five years. Riley Creek would be the second major employer to move to Plummer if negotiations are successful.
Bonner County Priest Lake
County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating 37 burglaries reported in the last two weeks. According to Capt. John Valdez, the number is high for this time of year. Police reports don’t indicate what type of items were taken. Permanent lake residents were not aware of the high number of recent burglaries.
Boundary County Bonners Ferry
After 50 years in business, the Lindsay-Helmer Hardware store closed Nov. 15. Don Lindsay’s father, H. Boyd Lindsay, purchased the business, then called Kemp and Cleveland, in 1945. It was across the street from its current location. Don started working there at age 15. His father had a partner, Ted Helmer, from 1946 until Lindsay bought his share out in 1969.
Kootenai County Post Falls
The chamber of commerce’s Black Tie and Blue Jean Auction fund-raising efforts broke the record. Over $60,000 came from sale of 300 silent auction items and 42 live auction items. There was a drawing at the end of the evening for a Caribbean trip. Lori Wilkinson’s name was drawn, but she’d left, so the winner was Park Singer.
Latah County Moscow
University of Idaho computer scientists will use a $483,000 Defense Department grant to advance efforts to defeat cyber intruders and boost software dependability. The two-year grant from the Defense Advance Research Project Agency will provide the UI Center with Secure and Dependable Software to continue its security projects. It will also allow UI scientists to explore theoretical advances and develop prototypes of new cryptographic methods and collaborative intrusion detection.
Shoshone County Wallace
A reminder of the fight against breast cancer will be evident this spring at the Capt. John Mullan Trail Statue in Wallace. Members of the Beta Sigma Phi, Laureat Tau Chapter planted pink tulips to recognize the fight and beautify the park. The Reach for Recovery program also planted 1,000 tulips at the cancer center in Coeur d’Alene.
MONTANA
Lincoln County Libby
Concerns about possible asbestos contamination in the Libby area will be heard by the Lincoln County Health Board during a Dec. 1 public hearing. The hearing centers on the release of a reclamation bond for the former W.R. Grace mine. Former employees of the Libby mine have filed almost 100 lawsuits against the the mine. They claim to have respiratory problems associated with asbestos exposure.