The County Lines

Wed., April 5, 2000

WASHINGTON

Adams County Othello

Othello officials hope to obtain a $736,000 grant to upgrade Lee Road into a top-flight industrial road through town. Columbia Colstor, which freezes french fries and other local agricultural products, needs a better road. Total cost will be $956,000, and the city and Columbia Colstor will split the cost if the grant is approved.

Ferry County Republic

It’s Love Your Dog and Cat Month at All Creatures Veterinary Service. Through April, all spaying and neutering will be performed at a discount. People who need financial assistance may receive funds collected from concerned county residents. Ferry County has an alarming number of cases of pet abandonment, according to the local newspaper.

Grant County Ephrata

The Ephrata community garden is ready for planting. Located behind Ephrata Middle School, it has 11,300 square feet available for planting. People wishing to exercise their green thumbs may rent a 10-foot-by-5-foot plot for $15 through the summer. Activities and a less formal communal growing area also are included in the community garden project.

Lincoln County Davenport

People wishing to get rid of yard waste are reminded that the annual spring open burning season is near. Locals may burn dry lawn and garden clippings from Friday to April 16. All fires must be at least 25 feet from any building, and burn barrels are not allowed. Water, hoses, pails and wet sacks are to be kept by each fire, which cannot be left unattended.

Pend Oreille County Newport

After the resignation of Bill Provost as city clerk/treasurer last month, the city is considering hiring a professional company to prepare the city’s line-item budget. City Administrator Delphine Palmer says she can take over some of Provost’s duties but says the best value for the city may be to hire out the process. The city also announced it will conduct an audit of all accounts to protect both itself and Provost, who was asked to leave by the mayor.

Spokane County Spokane

The citizens committee for city street improvements will hold public meetings next Tuesday and April 12 and 13 to discuss repairs and maintenance needed on Spokane streets. Another series of meetings in May will focus on how to pay for repairs. For more information, look up the city’s Web site at www.spokanecity.org or call the Citizens Streets Committee hotline at (509) 625-6734.

Stevens County Colville

Pinewood Terrace Nursing Home is not being considered for closure. Pinewood is one of 561 nursing homes owned by Beverly Enterprises. The U.S. Department of Justice is making the company sell many of its nursing homes after investigations forced the government to drop Beverly from the Medicare/Medicaid program. No fraud was found, however. Pinewood will be marketed nationally, and most believe jobs will be secure.

Whitman County Pullman

The National Lentil Festival received five awards at the recent Northwest Festival and Events Conference in Welches, Ore. The annual conference was attended by members of festival associations in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. The National Lentil Festival received awards for best festival schedule and best newspaper insert and also was recognized for its radio ads, poster and T-shirt. This year, the lentil festival will be Aug. 25 and 26.

IDAHO

Benewah County St. Maries

Sixty acres in Heyburn State Park will be burned sometime in the next three weeks as part of a natural resources plan to restore ponderosa pine. For more information, call (208) 686-1303.

Boundary County Bonners Ferry

Tama Bergstrand, a Boundary County junior high school teacher, has been named Idaho Art Educator of the Year by the National Art Education Association. Bergstrand received her award at the group’s national convention in Los Angeles this week.

Kootenai County Post Falls

Patrick and Gail McGaughey, local marketing consultants, will teach “Doing What You Do Best Better” from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. April 18 at North Idaho College’s Work Force Training Center. The class costs $35 and is being presented by the Idaho Small Business Development Center. To register, call (208) 769-3333.

Latah County Potlatch

Potlatch Arbor Day will be celebrated from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 14 at Scenic Six Park. More than 100 large deciduous and coniferous trees are to be planted by Potlatch/Onaway Tree members. For a $100 donation, a tree with a plaque commemorating a graduating class, a loved one or another individual will be planted in the park as part of the Plant a Memory program. For details, call (208) 875-1003.

Shoshone County Kellogg

Mary Heston has been selected as the Kellogg Elks’ Citizen of the Year. Some of Heston’s activities include recruiting members for a Cub Scouts pack, organizing the annual bike rodeo and helping promote the community through the Silver Valley Mall Web site http://www.svmall.net. Heston was awarded a plaque during a dinner in her honor.

MONTANA

Lincoln County Libby

St. John’s Lutheran Hospital members have won the annual Literacy Volunteers of America spelling bee. The hospital team members - Rick Palagi, Tuni Theonnes, Karen Stickney and Gale Munski - won by spelling the word “scobiform” in competition with eight other community teams.

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