The County Lines

WASHINGTON

Adams County Ritzville

The Adams County Public Works Department says rising oil prices are putting road projects in jeopardy. Engineering technician Todd O’Brien says 34 miles of seal-coating planned for this summer will be put off until prices go down. Instead, pre-leveling work will be done and will be given ample time to cure before the oil seal-coating is undertaken.

Ferry County Republic

A jury recently found David Pace guilty of criminally impersonating a fire chief but acquitted him of first-degree theft. Pace had talked a volunteer fire department in Pennsylvania into donating a 100-foot hook-and-ladder truck to the nonexistent Kettle Valley Fire Department. Pace, who said he was going to make the department a nonprofit organization but hadn’t filled out the paperwork, could get up to one year in prison. An unpaid $4,995 shipping bill also is under scrutiny.

Grant County Moses Lake

The local business community is welcoming a Ziggy’s Building Materials store to the Columbia Basin. Ziggy’s is planning to build a 54,000-square-foot store here near state Highway 17 and Wheeler Road. Reid T. Ziegler, of the Spokane family-owned company, is expected to apply for a building permit for the 7.5-acre site sometime this month. Ziegler said the store will provide greater consumer choice as well as 40 jobs.

Lincoln County Wilbur

Gale Brougher of Wilbur says people in the Martin Canyon area on Lake Roosevelt between Wilbur and Creston should beware of cougars. Brougher says he has been watching a mother cat and her two cubs for just more than a year. Brougher’s son found a cougar-killed deer in his yard a year ago, and the hunting is continuing. Brougher also says the big cats don’t seem to be afraid of people or cars.

Pend Oreille County Newport

The Pend Oreille Public Utilities District has opted out of its lease with the Spokane Teachers Credit Union. The two were to have shared a soon-to-be-constructed building and community auditorium, but because of problems involving city parking codes, the PUD dropped its space-leasing plans. The city originally believed there was not enough off-street parking for the project but changed its mind to keep the plans alive. The final straw seems to have been the state Department of Transportation’s denial of access to the drive-up banking facility.

Stevens County Colville

The owner of Whitty’s Mini-Marts says he has been taking some guff lately. Although it’s not Jeff Whitten’s fault that gasoline prices have skyrocketed, he is the closest thing to a whipping boy that area consumers have. Angry drivers have been calling him, asking when prices will go down. “I haven’t got a crystal ball and I haven’t got a clue,” Whitten says he tells them.

Whitman Pullman

Family and friends of Mark Neill have announced a memorial along the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail. Neill, a well-known Pullman resident, died of cardiac arrest last month at age 29. The Mark Neill Memorial Rest Area will be developed as a second phase of the Chipman trail. Memorials may be sent to the Palouse Trail Committee, c/o Whitman County Parks, N. 310 Main, Colfax, Wash. 99111.

IDAHO

Benewah County St. Maries

Mikell Mowreader will retire soon after working 20 years at the St. Maries Public Library. She served 11 years as assistant librarian and nine years as head librarian. Leslee Adams, who has been assistant librarian for nine years, will replace Mowreader on May 1.

Bonner County Sandpoint

Priest Lake residents Larry and Lynn Marvin are suing the Outlet Bay Sewer District. The Marvins’ suit claims Outlet Bay board members were not duly elected and are not qualified. The board created a local improvement district last August that will result in a $2,800 assessment per lot in the district.

Boundary County Bonners Ferry

The Buck Shop, owned by Heather Paulus, Lisa Zug and Carol Leach, opened recently in Bonners Ferry. The business is similar to the Dollar Store, but the Buck is not part of a chain. It carries housewares, birthday party supplies, toys and home decorations and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays in Suite A of the Panda Center.

Kootenai County Coeur d’Alene

“Art in the Making” will feature 14 regional artists drawing, painting and sculpting, using two live models, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Coeur d’Alene Plaza atrium. The Coeur d’Alene Camarata also will perform.

Latah County Moscow

The Latah County Historical Society recently received $2,905 from the Idaho Humanities Council to develop an interpretive exhibit in the McConnell House museum in Moscow. The funds also will be used to produce a special issue of the society’s journal, Latah Legacy, looking at the cultural history of the 20th century. Project director is Mary Reed.

Shoshone County Kellogg

Officials of the Bank of Latah recently confirmed plans to open a branch this year in Kellogg. Location and opening date have not been announced.

MONTANA

Lincoln County Troy

June Burns is petitioning the city to purchase a marker for the only unmarked grave in the Troy Cemetery. J.E. “George” Hartwell, who died in 1934, was a friend of Burns’ father. Hartwell gave land to the city for the cemetery and for the U.S. Forest Service airport. Councilwoman Loretta Jones has agreed to pursue the request to mark Hartwell’s grave.