The County Lines

WASHINGTON

Adams County Ritzville

Declining student enrollment has cost the Ritzville School District one administrator. The local school board agreed recently to drop one administrative position in the fall. Superintendent John McGregor, who is retiring, will not be replaced. Principals John Parker and Bob Hammann will retain their jobs and share superintendent duties for at least one year. The district will save more than $50,000 with this cut.

Ferry County Curlew

Trena Brisbane says four local men are her angels. Brisbane was minutes from freezing to death when the men found her Jan. 19 in Curlew Creek. Her car had slid off Highway 21 and landed upside down in the creek. Unable to unbuckle her seat belt, Brisbane was trapped in the car for more than 30 minutes in subzero temperatures. Pete Mimnaugh, Ray Thomas, Josh Ferguson and Jon Newman dove in and rescued her.

Grant County Ephrata

Emergency situations in the basin will soon be handled differently. The Grant County Sheriff’s Department has purchased a bus and will convert it into a rolling command center. The mobile center will help at search and rescue, natural disaster and major crime scenes. Work on the bus will be done by the Auburn Fire Department, which will keep costs low. The fully-equipped bus will cost around $50,000. If contracted out, the county would pay nearly $250,000.

Lincoln County Davenport

Call it dieting for charity. Local businessman Dean Anderson says he’s lacked the motivation to lose that spare tire around his middle. To get him on the treadmill, he’s pledged to lose 50 pounds as a fund-raiser for a local park. Anderson is taking $20 per pound pledges, with all proceeds going to finish off Pioneer Plaza. Merchants and citizens alike are bellying up in support of Anderson.

Pend Oreille County Newport

It looks like Newport High will be returning to tradition. After trying out the popular alternating four-period class schedule, the district is convinced it is not working. The district is looking at returning to a traditional six-period day in the fall. The biggest problem with the four-period day was student schedules. Kids found it hard to get classes they wanted, and found they were left with a teacher’s aide as an alternative.

Stevens County Chewelah

The local ambulance crew is pleased with its posh new quarters. The Chewelah & Rural Ambulance crew worked hard to fund its new three-stall ambulance barn. The “shack” includes crew living quarters, a kitchen, meeting room, weight room, bathroom and shower. The ambulance is self-supporting and runs off donations, fees and grants. It does not receive city funding.

Whitman County Pullman

New music by faculty and student composers - plus a special guest composer - will be featured during Tuesday’s New Music Festival at Washington State University. The festival begins at 11:10 a.m. with works by student composers Bryan Werry, Daryl Herbison and Jesse Allison. The faculty program begins at 8 p.m. that night with works by Charles Argersinger, Paul Smith, Greg Yasinitsky and David Jarvis. The festival concludes at 8 p.m. Thursday. The festival concerts are held at Bryan Hall Auditorium and are open to the public free of charge.

Spokane County Cheney

The fourth annual EWU Eagle baseball clinic, hosted by the Eastern Baseball Club, will be held Monday, Feb. 21. The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on campus. For more information, call 359-7877.

IDAHO

Benewah County

Greg Cooperrider was chosen as manager of Potlatch Corp.’s St. Maries complex recently. Cooperrider, former plant manager at Potlatch’s Jaype Plywood, is replacing Joe Andrew. Andrew accepted a job as plant manager of Plum Creek’s Evergreen Plywood Plant in Kalispell. Cooperrider was manager of the Jaype plant for four years and has 16 years’ experience with Weyerhaeuser and Simpson Lumber. Cooperrider, his wife and two daughters will move to St. Maries soon.

Bonner County Sandpoint

Mayor Paul Graves is recognizing Feb. 2 as Groundhog Job Shadow Day. Sandpoint High School, Stidwell Elementary, Clark Fork High School, Priest River Elementary and Lamanna High School will be participating in mentoring and job shadowing to experience the workplace first hand. Some students will be visiting Life Care Center, elementary students will be shadowing high school students and other students will be shadowing businesses.

Boundary County Priest River

Efforts made by the Priest River Fire Department to improve equipment, water pressure throughout the city and training for the fire crew paid off. The department’s protection class rating by the Idaho Survey and Rating Bureau improved by one point. The rating is used for insurance pricing and should result in a decrease in fire insurance rates for many commercial properties in the city.

Kootenai County Coeur d’Alene

The 18th annual Spring Dash T-shirt design contest is under way. Entries must include tulips and the words: 18th Annual, Spring Dash 2000 and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Anyone may enter, entries must be postmarked by Feb. 15 and be delivered or sent to United Way of Kootenai County, 105 N. Fourth St., Suite 306, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814. Entries must include name, address and phone number.

The winner’s design will be printed on more than 3,000 T-shirts given to race finishers. The design winner will also receive a $100 savings bond from Bank of America. The dash is April 16 and is a qualifier for Bloomsday’s “second seeding.” Proceeds from the race are donated to the United Way of Kootenai County.

Latah County Bovill

Potlatch Corp. executives are considering locating a new lumber mill in Latah County. The mill would manufacture 60 to 100 million board feet of lumber each year, harvesting primarily small-diameter logs. Potlatch officials are expected to announce plans for new operations next December. If the capital projects plan moves forward, the new mill could be located near Bovill, in northeast Latah County.

Shoshone County Kellogg

Jerry Cobb, trustee of the West Shoshone Hospital District, recently joined the Idaho Hospital Association for a three-year term. The IHA is a statewide trade organization representing acute care hospitals in Idaho. The association promotes health care legislation and supports the state’s hospitals. Cobb’s membership will benefit the hospital by having a representative to voice its opinions and needs and have a greater access to information.

MONTANA

Lincoln County Libby

The Environmental Protection Agency is looking for Libby residents to form a Community Advisory Group. The group would meet regularly and review and comment on technical documents and plans relating to the EPA’s and the Department of Environmental Quality’s environmental and health investigations in Libby. For more information call (406) 293-6194.