The County Lines
WASHINGTON
Adams County
Ritzville
The City Council has approved a comprehensive plan to deal with growth, land use, capital facilities and other issues. Studio Cascade, which was hired to draft the plan, conducted public meetings over several months to gather public input.
Ferry County
Republic
Several families gathered at the final Family Night Out event for a free meal, entertainment and craft-making in the city park on Tuesday. Families not only had a chance to get to know their neighbors better but also were treated to tribal dancing by children from Keller.
Grant County
Moses Lake
After being kicked off several trains, former hobo Monte Holmes vowed he would own one someday - and he does. His vintage train, which once carried presidents Harry S. Truman and Woodrow Wilson, is on display at Holmes’ junkyard and museum in Moses Lake. The museum is named House of Poverty for Holmes’ lifestyle during the Depression. Holmes recently finished a book about his life, “Once a Hobo …,” to be released this week with the help of the Columbia Basin Herald newspaper.
Lincoln County
Almira
Robin Cox and Debbie Burke walked the streets daily this summer, watering thirsty flowers and plants in the business district using gallon milk jugs filled with water. The duo, after talking businesses into purchasing planters and soil, planted and maintained the flowers all summer.
Pend Oreille County
Cusick
Today is only the third day of school for students in the Cusick School District. Due to construction at Bess Heridan Middle School, classes got under way a little late this year - on Tuesday, to be exact. Many students are in temporary classrooms because renovation and construction on the middle school and on Adam Wike Gymnasium will not be finished until Nov. 30.
Spokane County
Spokane
The Center for Community Action and Service-Learning at Gonzaga University will sponsor the Gonzaga Community Service Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Crosby Student Center. GU will be host to approximately 55 nonprofit agencies, which will be recruiting service-learning students, faculty members and staffers for volunteer opportunities.
Stevens County
Colville
More than 600 students from Nine Mile Falls to Northport participated in the first-ever countywide summer reading program this year. The theme was “Reading Is a Picnic,” with paper ants being used to show the number of books children read - a total of 4,000. Next summer’s program already is in the works.
Whitman County
Pullman
Flights between Boise and the Pullman-Moscow Airport will begin operating four days a week. Inter-State Aviation of Pullman said this week that its market research shows enough demand to offer the flights, which will operate on weekdays excluding Wednesdays. The flights will leave Pullman at 6:15 a.m. and arrive in Boise at 8:15 a.m.; the return flights will leave Boise at 5:30 p.m. and arrive at the Pullman-Moscow Airport at 5:45 p.m. Before Inter-State’s service, people flying to Boise from the Palouse - particularly University of Idaho employees and students - had been traveling on Horizon Air flights out of Lewiston.
IDAHO
Benewah County
St. Maries
Benewah County deputy Bob Lee recently completed a seminar on school violence. The course in Boise focused on preventing violence such as bomb threats and gunplay on school campuses through enhanced student-faculty communication. Sponsored by the Idaho Criminal Justice Council and the state Bureau of Law Enforcement, the seminar included law enforcement specialists, professors of criminal justice, Circuit Court judges and state Attorney General Al Lance as speakers.
Bonner County
Sandpoint
An order for people on the Wild Meadows 1 public drinking-water system to boil their water was lifted Friday. Water samples on Sept. 3 had indicated the presence of coliform bacteria, but water was resampled and found to be free of the bacteria after treatment. Additional water samples will be taken over the next month.
Boundary County
Bonners Ferry
The Boundary County Garden Club meets the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at North Columbia Equipment, 6606 Main. For more information, call (208) 267-2883.
Kootenai County
Rathdrum
The city Planning and Zoning Commission needs two volunteers to serve as alternates for the panel. The commission makes recommendations to the City Council on land use and zoning questions within the city limits. Meetings are the third Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at City Hall. Members of the commission must live within the city’s area of impact or within the city limits. For more information, contact planning administrator Jan Hale at (208) 687-3010.
Latah County
Moscow
The University of Idaho’s graduate program for education specialists in school psychology has been accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the National Association of School Psychologists. The three-year program prepares students to provide a broad range of psychological services for school systems serving students from preschool to age 21. To receive the degree, students must complete 79 credit hours and 1,700 hours of supervised field work. The program, begun in 1964, now has a total enrollment of more than 50 students in Moscow and Boise.
Shoshone County
Kellogg
The Kellogg City Council has approved a proposed budget of $1,780,121, down from the fiscal year 1998-1999 budget of $2,151,113. The general government budget rose from $331,882 to $333,515. The budget will take effect Oct. 1.
MONTANA
Lincoln County
Libby
Trustee Roxanne Parker is resigning from the Libby School Board. She will be returning to Washington, D.C., to seek a job as a legislative aide. A 1965 graduate of Libby High School, Parker is a caseworker for Northwest Montana Human Resources in Libby.