Regional news

Trying to pass, driver ends up in lake

Sandpoint A California man who drove into Lake Pend Oreille after he and another driver attempted to pass other cars at the same time was admitted to Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint with injuries, the Idaho State Police reported.

Francois R. Marinus, 69, of San Carlos, Calif., was listed in stable condition, the hospital reported Saturday. The ISP said in a news release that Marinus was driving his 1990 Mazda Miata west on State Highway 200 east of Sandpoint around 4:14 p.m. Friday when he attempted to pass several slow-moving vehicles.

Another vehicle pulled out in front of him, also attempting to pass, which forced Marinus off the road, the ISP said. He counter-steered and returned to the road, then lost control. His car left the road, went over an embankment and several boulders, then landed upside down in Lake Pend Oreille.

Marinus was able to get out of his car and sat on top of it until help arrived, the ISP said. Marinus was been released from Bonner General on Monday.

Mullan man hurt in ATV accident

Wallace Edward R. Decker, 49, of Mullan, Idaho, was hospitalized Saturday after injuring his head and shoulders in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Grouse Creek Road in Mullan, according to the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Department.

The vehicle was traveling south on the road at high speeds when Decker lost control. The ATV flipped several times and Decker was thrown from the vehicle. He was treated at the scene, then transported to the Shoshone Medical Center and flown to Sacred Heart Medical Center. He is listed in serious condition.

Decker was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred, the Sheriff’s Department reported.

Condo construction on Sherman Avenue OK’d

Coeur d’Alene

A Spokane developer recently got approval to build condominiums on the north side of Sherman Avenue.

Philip Jones of K-1 Partnership plans to turn a building in the 200 block into the five-unit “Artists Village Condominiums.” The Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission approved the proposal June 8.

The condos will range in size from 1,155 square feet to 2,378 square feet. Jones plans to sell each of the five condos that will have a shared common space.

Nobody spoke against the proposal during the planning hearing.

Post Falls mayor to head cities group

Post Falls Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin recently was chosen to serve as president of the Association of Idaho Cities.

Larkin was installed Friday during the association’s 57th annual conference in Garden City. Larkin has served as the association’s first vice president and on the legislative and environmental committees.

Larkin said he sees his presidency as an opportunity to connect with of city officials across the state and share ideas.

Larkin attended the conference along with Post Falls Councilman Todd Tondee, city officials and two Post Falls High School students, Chris Claflin and Johnny Mueller, who represented the city at the AIC’s Youth Leadership Conference.

Man’s body spotted in river by kayaker

A kayaker spotted the body of an adult male caught in the weeds along the Spokane River on Monday, authorities said.

Fire rescue teams recovered the body one-quarter mile downriver from the Maple Street Bridge at about 3:45 p.m. They used an inflatable kayak to bring the body to the south side of the river.

Detectives from the Spokane Police Department’s major crimes division photographed the scene, but had not yet determined the man’s name or age. Sgt. Joe Peterson said the body had been in the water “for some time.”

An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, police said.

There are several missing people in the area, Peterson said, but police have no knowledge of any of them falling or jumping into the river.

Activist plans walk for Latino students

An Okanogan County civil rights advocate is planning to walk more than 400 miles from Oroville, Wash., to Olympia to raise money and create awareness of issues over access to education for Latino students in Washington state.

Maria Rodriguez Salazar, vice president of the League of United Latin American Citizens for the Northwest region, will formally announce her walk – which begins Aug. 1 in Oroville – at a news conference today on the steps of the state Capitol in Olympia and during stops in Yakima and Spokane.

Rodriguez Salazar said her walk will raise money for educational programs such as scholarships, tutorials and school supplies for Latino and low-income students in the state.