The County Lines

Wed., Aug. 2, 2000

WASHINGTON

Adams County

Ritzville

County Commissioners are going to let voters decide whether to form a library taxing district in Othello. The Friends of the Othello Library collected 197 signatures to petition the commissioners for the move. Voters will decide Sept. 19 how the library will be funded.

Ferry County

Republic

State records show 290 Ferry County folks looking for work. The Employment Security Department says the jobless rate in June was 10.8 percent - the highest in the state. One year ago, the rate was 9.4 percent. There are 2,670 eligible workers in the county during that time frame.

Grant County

Moses Lake

James Simpson, 5, was recently honored by local police for saving the life of another 5-year-old. The child, an avid swimmer, jumped into a pool to save a drowning friend. “It was even in the deep part,” says Simpson, the proud owner of a new bike helmet - reward for his bravery.

Lincoln County

Reardan

Contractor Dave Bell has gotten the green light for a new residential development. The City Council recently approved the annexation of the property on the southwest side of town.

Pend Oreille County

Newport

Sheriff Jerry Weeks and Prosecutor Tom Metzger are asking the county commissioners to hire an employee to process Public Disclosure Act requests. The pair says their offices are overwhelmed with requests for public documents, and their staffs cannot keep up. More than 100 requests have been made this year.

Spokane County

Cheney

Eastern Washington University President Stephan Jordan was recently appointed by Gov. Gary Locke to the Washington Technology Center’s board of directors.

Stevens County

Colville

Hunters loaded for bear might want to put on the safety for about a month. Bear-hunting season in this area will open on Sept. 5. Due to high bear populations, the season began on Aug. 1 for the past three years. Now, the state game department says bears have been overharvested, and has shortened the season. Officials say three years of poor berry crops forced the animals out into the open, where more hunters bagged their pelts.

Whitman County

Pullman

Washington State University urged supervisors Tuesday to allow WSU employees to use flexible hours, work at home, wear casual clothing or even take leave in light of air conditioning problems on campus. Buildings on the Pullman campus are experiencing curtailed air conditioning as a result of technical problems, WSU said Tuesday.

IDAHO

Benewah County

St. Maries

The Department of Environmental Quality is seeking public comment on proposed special regulations on segments of the Upper St. Joe River. Suggestions have been made by several environmental organization to designate portions of the St. Joe as Outstanding Resource Waters. ORW is defined by the Legislature as high quality water which requires protection from activities that may lower the water’s quality. Comment deadline is Aug. 21. Send written comments to Paula Junae Saul, Environmental Quality, Attorney General’s Office, 1410 N. Hilton, Boise, ID, 83706-1255.

Bonner County

Priest River

Bill Boyd is retiring after serving 40 years in the West Bonner County School District. The board will take applications and appoint a replacement for a one-year term. Whoever is appointed will have to run for election after one year.

Boundary County

Bonners Ferry

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has been tagging rainbow trout in the Kootenai River upsteam from Bonners Ferry. If a tagged fish is caught, anglers are encouraged to record the tag number and color, where they caught the fish, if they kept or released it and report it or send it to the regional office in Coeur d’Alene for a $10 reward. The tags are a thin plastic tube about one inch long sticking out of the back of the fish - just below the dorsal fin. For more information, call (208) 769-1414.

Kootenai County

Coeur d’Alene

Mark Hilditch was hired as Director of Development for Coeur d’Alene Homes July 1. Coeur d’Alene Homes has provided care for the elderly for 79 years and is the ministry of several churches in the area.

Latah County

Moscow

Public comment on the proposed Latah Trail, which would follow a 10-mile abandoned railroad bed between Moscow and Troy, will be taken through Aug. 3. Send comments to Blake Rindlisbacher, Project Development Engineer, Idaho Transportation Department, Dist. 2, P.O. Box 837, Lewiston, ID, 838501 or faxed to (208) 799-4301 or e-mailed to brindlis@itd.state.id.us.

Shoshone County

Kellogg

Amber Henkel of Kellogg and Court Alfrey of Silverton were chosen to participate in the Governor’s Arts Workshop as part of the Governor’s Millennium Awards in the Arts celebration.

MONTANA

Lincoln County

Libby

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation encourages home owners to reduce the risk of their home burning by cleaning roof surfaces and gutters, keeping garden hoses connected to outside faucets, trimming tree limbs within 10 feet of flue openings, keeping the lawn green if possible, mowing 30 feet around buildings and having firefighting tools handy.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.