The County Lines

Wed., April 26, 2000

WASHINGTON

Adams County Othello

Tamara Millage is resigning as director of the Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce to pursue a management opportunity with Mary Kay Cosmetics. She will continue to serve on the chamber’s board of directors through December 2001.

Ferry County Curlew

Residents, politicians, engineers and regulators met recently to discuss Curlew’s water system problems, including bacterial contamination of the two wells and insufficient pumping capacity. A town meeting will be held Tuesday at the school to discuss the problems.

Grant County Quincy

Who owns Burkett Lake? Doug Spady owns 40 acres around the lake - and some under the lake. It is zoned open space recreational. County commissioners recently required Spady to obtain a conditional-use permit for his water-ski ranch, but they don’t know who owns the lake. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife says the lake is privately owned, although nobody seems to know by whom. Others believe it is a public lake and want to set it aside for fishing.

Lincoln County Wilbur

Pranksters have been changing identification signs on county recycling bins. The result is costly as the county finds problems such as tin cans mixed with paper. If the problem persists, the recycling program could be removed from Wilbur.

Pend Oreille County Newport

Eugene C. Nelson, a Spokane businessman who owns property on the Pend Oreille River, has been fined $25,000 by the state Department of Ecology. After seven years of negotiations, the department found that Nelson had violated conditions of a substantial development permit when he filled a wetland area to build a road. The county permitted Nelson to scrape the top of a spit on his property in 1993, using the soil to partially fill a slough. He was to remove the road and replant native vegetation, which never has been done. If the work is finished, the fine may be reduced.

Spokane County Spokane

Gonzaga University second-year law students Janelle Carman and Gabrielle Kocsis recently took first-place team honors in the GU Law School’s 65th-annual Linden Cup moot court competition finals. Second-place team honors went to second-year GU law students Jake Watson and Joseph Reynolds. Jason Vail was named best oralist, and Devon Ryning was runner-up. Watson and Reynolds also teamed up on the best brief, while Carman and Kocsis had the runner-up best brief. Seven state Supreme Court justices from Washington and Idaho judged the final round of the moot court competition among GU law students earlier this month.

Whitman County Colfax

The once-bustling business community here has lost two members and may lose a third soon. In the past year, Allen’s Family Restaurant and Powell Plumbing have closed, leaving vacancies on Main Street. The impending closure of Fonk’s variety store has spurred local merchants, citizens and community groups to discuss ways to spark a downtown business revival, including attracting new businesses, strengthening old ones and sprucing up the town.

IDAHO

Benewah County St. Maries

Benewah Medical Center is encouraging parents to bring their babies to the hospital for vaccinations any time during clinic hours as part of National Infant Immunization Week. Parents may call (208) 686-1931 for appointments.

Bonner County Priest River

The City Council has awarded a contract to Inland Northwest Consultants to provide building inspection services. The firm will conduct inspections for 85 percent of the fees.

Boundary County Bonners Ferry

County commissioners agreed recently with the Planning and Zoning Department not to permit construction of a gravel pit on county Road 61-1, as requested by Don Grove. Objections of nearby residents and violation of an ordinance forbidding logging in a 500-foot buffer zone were the main reasons for turning down the permit. Grove originally had applied for the special-use permit in 1990.

Kootenai County Coeur d’Alene

Kootenai Medical Center has joined LaurusHealth network, which includes more than 100 health systems connecting doctors, patients, hospitals and their communities through information sharing. The network provides current, reliable and easy-to-understand health information. To connect through Kootenai Medical Center’s Web site, click www.kmc.org, or call (800) 462-8787.

Latah County Potlatch

Two school administrators are changing jobs. High school Principal Bob Richards will give up that position to become athletic director, while the current athletic director, Barry Carr, will become a full-time language arts teacher. In addition, elementary school Principal Carol Culver will retire at the end of the school year. Superintendent Don Armstrong said he hopes to fill the vacancies by July 1.

Shoshone County Kellogg

The Shoshone Water District recently lifted an order to boil water after tests by the state laboratory in Coeur d’Alene showed no water contamination due to minor flooding.

MONTANA

Lincoln County Libby

Teagan Blaz, a Libby Loggers basketball player, has been selected to play on the tournament team in the Flathead Valley All-Star Classic competition. Blaz was one of 10 male players chosen.

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