The County Lines
WASHINGTON
Adams County Ritzville
The Antique and Arts Festival will be held downtown on Saturday and Sunday. Vendor booths featuring arts, crafts and antiques will line Washington Street and Railroad Avenue. The local museum and a historic Victorian-style home also will be open to the public.
Ferry County Republic
The Ferry County Public Utilities District wants to expand into telecommunications. The PUD would like to install high-speed telecommunications lines and equipment to serve rural areas now saddled with slower telephone lines.
Grant County Moses Lake
Local businessman Billy McBee is carving a statue of archangel Michael out of a tree trunk using a chain saw. McBee plans to add a statue of Jesus on the tree’s second trunk. McBee is a former schoolteacher and sometime missionary.
Lincoln County Wilbur
Volunteers are needed to keep a youth center open in Wilbur. Esta’s Youth Center, named for longtime local teacher Esta Rolfe who was murdered in 1993, needs adult volunteers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Pend Oreille County Newport
Otis, the county’s drug-sniffing dog, will receive a paycheck. Sheriff Jerry Weeks says the dog has more than earned his keep and that paying the dog - or his handler, deputy Thad Schultz - for food, general care and upkeep is a departmental responsibility.
Spokane County Spokane
Anthracnose has caused some dead spots on city golf course greens this summer. The problem has been reported at Downriver, Indian Canyon and Esmeralda golf courses.
Stevens County Colville
Today marks the opening of the Northeast Washington Fair, which will run through Sunday and feature animals, food and handcrafted items on exhibit as well as entertainment, vendor booths and a rodeo. The theme is “Echoes of the Century,” featuring a look back at the past 100 years in Stevens County.
Whitman County Pullman
The city Parks and Recreation Department’s fall registration for classes and trips is being held daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration by phone is available for payment by Visa or MasterCard, and special evening registration will continue until 8 p.m. today and next Wednesday. A variety of community fitness, arts and skills classes and trips will be offered. This fall, several new classes will include massage for couples, beginning storytelling, comedy, self-defense for women, rubberstamping and tie-dyed T-shirts for children. For a complete list, contact the department at (509) 334-4555, extension 228.
IDAHO
Benewah County St. Maries
Hospice of Benewah County and St. Maries Council for the Arts will present a dinner theater performance Oct. 2 at the Eagles Lodge. The Sixth Street Melodrama of Wallace will perform “Vaudeville Lives,” a musical variety show. Tickets are $25 and include a prime rib dinner. For information or tickets, call (208) 245-3417 or (208) 245-5734.
Bonner County Sandpoint
Bonner County commissioners recently decided to add a home economist at the University of Idaho’s extension office. The home economist’s duties will include helping residents seeking information from the extension office.
Boundary County Bonners Ferry
Boundary County Habitat for Humanity will hold the 7th-annual country picnic, barbecue and auction Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at Twin Rivers Canyon Resort. Proceeds will be used for building a home. For more information, call (208) 267-1601.
Kootenai County Coeur d’Alene
The 1st District Court’s appointed special advocates program will provide a 32-hour volunteer guardian ad litem certification course beginning Sept. 16. Volunteers are needed in all five North Idaho counties, with training to be conducted in Coeur d’Alene. Volunteers must be at least 21 years old, undergo a criminal history check and be able to communicate effectively in writing and verbally. For more information, call Rhonda Naylor at (208) 667-9165.
Latah County Moscow
Moscow’s annual science fiction/ fantasy celebration will be Friday through Sunday at the University Inn. MosCon 21 will feature authors James Hogan and Tara K. Harper and artist William R. Warren Jr., whose works have appeared on book covers and in Analog magazine. The convention will include panel discussions, workshops, dances, gaming, readings, an art show and a masquerade. The dealers’ room and art show will be free to the public, but the fee for all three days’ activities is $25 for adults. For more information, visit the Web site www.geocities.com/Area51/ Chamber/9963
Shoshone County Silver Valley
Anti drug guru Milton Creagh will present his message to children and adults in the Silver Valley today. Creagh will be at Sunnyside Elementary School at 9 a.m., Kellogg Middle School at 10:15 a.m., Silver Hills Middle School at 1:15 p.m. and at a valleywide meeting at Silver Hills Middle School at 7 p.m. The presentations are being brought to the Silver Valley by the Kellogg, Wallace and Mullan school districts, the Shoshone County Substance Abuse Council, Drug-Free Schools and Safe Schools.
MONTANA
Lincoln County Libby
The Lincoln County campus of Flathead Valley Community College is offering free adult basic education courses for people 16 years and older who want to improve their reading, writing and math skills. For more information, call Andrea Huisentruit at (406) 293-2721.