The County Lines

WASHINGTON

Adams County Washtucna

Patrick St. Hilaire has been taking care of the welcome area at the intersection of Highways 261 and 26 for more than 10 years. His sons built the minipark as an Eagle Scout project, and he has tended it at his own expense since. The WHS civics class nominated Hilaire for a State Arbor Day Foundation certificate of recognition for his dedication.

Ferry County Curlew

The curtain rises tonight on the fifth season of Kettle Valley Theater’s “Stage in the Sticks.” The company will present the 1937 comedy “You Can’t Take It With You” tonight at 7. The show runs through Monday. Tickets are available at area businesses and at the door.

Grant County Ephrata

The Grant County PUD has announced it will not raise rates for at least three years. The utility is taking advantage of three years of strong surplus power sales. River flow through area dams has been favorable for the past three years. The area farm economy is under stress, causing fear in the business community, and the PUD felt residents deserved a break.

Lincoln County Creston

The large purple and gold sign celebrating the Creston girls basketball state championships in the mid-1980s will not be removed. The sign was nearly a victim of neglect. Instead, the Community Club has raised money to fix it, but does not have money to start a perpetual maintenance fund, or to build a sign touting athletic accomplishments now that Creston is in a co-op with Wilbur - the Wilbur-Creston Wildcats.

Pend Oreille County Metaline Falls

Anyone interested in reopening the Cominco mine north of town is invited to a series of informational public meetings. The Selkirk Community-Cominco Planners have been meeting monthly for more than a year now. The meetings will be the third Monday of each month, at the Metaline Falls Community center at 1 p.m. The group is trying to increase the positives and decrease the negatives in reopening the Pend Oreille Mine.

Spokane County Spokane

The Spokane District and Municipal Court hired Ronald E. Miles as court administrator for both courts, starting May 22. He has experience as a court administrator with the United Judicial Branch of Topeka, Kan. He was director for 15 years for the State Board of Indigent Defense for Kansas and has been a regional administrator for C.M. Kelly Detention Services, which manages and operates correctional facilities.

Stevens County Colville

The City Council has approved money to purchase five new computers and a new phone system for City Hall. Voice mail and e-mail will be perks of the new purchases. Formerly, City Hall had no computer network, and the only computer belonged to the clerk.

Whitman County Pullman

Washington State University Police Chief William Mercier announced this week he will resign June 2 to accept a job as chief at Indiana State University. Mercier came to WSU from New York State University in Cobleskill after losing his job in a round of budget cutbacks. He applied for the Indiana job in January. An interim police chief is expected to be appointed next week to serve until Mercier’s replacement is hired.

IDAHO

Benewah County St. Maries

Jeff Wolter, Santa, will run as a write-in for the school board of trustees against incumbent Sally Danielson. On May 16, polls will be open noon to 8 p.m. at the Benewah Community Center, the UpRiver School, the Emida Community Center and the Santa Grange Hall.

Bonner County Sandpoint

Women Honoring Women recently announced this year’s “Women of Wisdom” award recipients: Florence Carter, Jo Johnson, Marcella Nelson, Cyd Savoy and Sydne Van Horn. They will be honored at a 1 p.m. luncheon at the Community Hall. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased at Eve’s Leaves and All Smiles. For more information call Laurie Katana at (208) 263-6005.

Boundary County Bonners Ferry

Cora Butters won the Junior Miss 2000 title in Boundary County. She is 16 and also won the judge’s Panel Evaluation Award and the Scholastic Achievement Award. Jessica Zobel is first runner-up and Devryn short is the second runner-up. Butters will compete in Idaho’s Junior Miss State finals Sept. 28-30 in Coeur d’Alene. She plans to attend Northwestern Bible College in St. Paul, Minn.

Kootenai County Hauser

Idaho Drug Free Youth has organized a Golf Classic tournament to benefit the seventh annual Youth Summit held June 19-22 at Camp Lutherhaven. The summit is a widely recognized youth leadership, drug abuse prevention conference. The tournament will have a shotgun start at 12:30 a.m. Friday at The Links Golf Course, near Hauser. Golfers may register the morning of the event. For details, call 664-4339.

Latah County Moscow

The city is spraying herbicides on streets, alleys, curb edges, sidewalk cracks, deadend street barricades, bridges, guardrails and fire hydrants. Residents who do not desire to have their street curb edge sprayed in front of their home and are willing to control the weeds themselves may call Mike McGahan, city street superintendent at (208) 883-7096.

Shoshone County Wallace

The 15th annual Depot Day Festival and Classic Car Show will be May 13. The festival is the major fund-raiser for the historic Union Pacific Railroad depot, which was built in 1902 and is now a museum. Along with games, food, live music, model train exhibits, gun fighter and telegraph demonstrations, new features such as railroad bumper car races, tire bowling and fan belt tossing have been added. For details, call (208) 753-6141.

MONTANA

Lincoln County Libby

The Libby Water Department has set an open house and ribbon-cutting celebration for 1 p.m. Saturday as part of National Drinking Water Week. Meet the staff and learn what chemicals are put into the water and why. Tours (20 minutes to an hour) of the new plant are also offered 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. today and Saturday, or call (406) 293-2067 for an appointment.