Briefly

CdA to close road to remove tracks

Coeur d’Alene will close Mullan Road on Oct. 23 so crews can remove the railroad tracks that run along Northwest Boulevard to City Park.

The road, which is the entrance to the Fort Sherman neighborhood and North Idaho College, will be closed the entire day. Hubbard Avenue, which will run traffic through Stimson Lumber Co.’s DeArmond Mill, will be the alternative route.

Patching will continue on the crossing Oct. 25, so Mullan Road traffic will be reduced to one lane. Delays are expected, so the city is asking for drivers’ patience.

Coeur d’Alene signed an agreement with Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway last week to remove about a quarter-mile of railroad track that runs parallel to City Park, across Mullan Road and just past Memorial Field. The railroad also will take out two sets of track that run past the city skateboard park to Park Avenue.

The track removal will improve safety and give the city numerous options for providing more public space, whether it’s more city parks, a larger human rights center or parking for North Idaho College. It’s all part of Coeur d’Alene’s idea for revitalizing the Four Corners area, which includes City Park, Independence Point and Memorial Field.

It’s also a start to the city’s plan to create an educational corridor, which means eventually removing all the track from Memorial Field north to the new Riverstone Development near the Interstate 90 interchange, and relocating the DeArmond mill.

For more information, call Coeur d’Alene spokeswoman Renata McLeod at 666-5741.

Pickup hits trio headed to dinner at restaurant

A pickup slammed into three people as they crossed the street Friday night to have dinner at the Wall Street Diner, witnesses and police said.

A man and a woman were knocked unconscious after being thrown off the hood of the Ford Ranger. A third woman was thrown to the curb and was complaining of pain to her ribs, witnesses said.

The man and the first woman were in critical condition late Friday, Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam said. The other woman was in satisfactory condition. A fourth man escaped injury after jumping out of the way.

An 80-year-old man was driving the Ford Ranger. The man, whom police would not name at the scene, was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence, police Cpl. Jon Strickland said.

The northbound pickup struck the people about 6:45 p.m. as they were crossing west to east on Wall Street at the intersection with Princeton Avenue. The intersection is directly under a streetlight.

Witnesses said “there was no braking, no nothing,” Strickland said. “He hit them … and all three were on the hood. He then stopped and threw them into the street.”

Strickland did not know the ages of the three victims, but witnesses who saw the crash and ran to help estimated that all the victims were in their 70s.

Officers barricaded Wall Street for several hours so they could re-create the crash. Strickland said the victims were transported before officers could get their names.

Survey asks Idahoans about housing needs

The state wants help prioritizing housing and community development needs for Kootenai County.

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association and the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor are encouraging Idahoans to participate in a Web-based needs assessment survey that will be available until Wednesday.

The survey results along with other information will help the two agencies develop action plans for the 2005 State of Idaho Five-Year Strategic Plan for Housing and Community Development.

The plan will serve as a guide for doling out about $86 million in the next five years and become the application for federal housing and community block-grant funding. The money helps fund housing programs in all Idaho counties, including Kootenai County.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Coeur d’Alene, which is the main provider of emergency shelter and transitional housing in Kootenai County, receives much of its funding through these block grants and encourages people to help prioritize the area’s housing needs.

The state decided to offer the survey because not all residents can attend the public meetings across the state.

The survey is available at www.ihfa.org. For more information call Erik Kingston of IHFA toll-free at (877) 438-4472 or for TDD at (800) 545-1833. People also can send e-mail to hiro@ihfa.org.

Land, building sought to relocate museum

The Post Falls Historical Society is searching for land and a building to relocate the museum that preserves 125 years of local history.

The museum at 109 E. Fourth Ave. must move because it wasn’t included in Post Falls’ City Hall expansion plans.

The society is having a public open house Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss ways to preserve the museum.

Society President Kim Brown said that a permanent museum will help establish Post Falls’ identity, heritage and community pride. She added that it would help the economic development of the town’s historic center.

The meeting is at the museum, just east of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

For more information, call 773-4681 or 773-3372.

BLM seeks comment on management plan

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is rewriting its resource management plan for 96,732 acres of public land in Boundary, Bonner, Shoshone, Benewah and Kootenai counties and wants public comment.

When completed, the plan will describe broad, multiple-use guidance for managing public lands in the area overseen by the Coeur d’Alene field office. It will cover the management of everything from fire, vegetation and wildlife habitat to transportation, public access and recreational use.

The public has until Nov. 15 to submit comments or concerns about these BLM-managed lands.

The BLM also is having informational meetings about the planning process in Sandpoint, Coeur d’Alene and Wallace during the next two weeks.

The Sandpoint meeting is Wednesday at the Sandpoint Community Hall, 204 S. First St.

The Coeur d’Alene meeting is Thursday at the Shilo Inn, 702 Appleway Ave.

In Wallace, the meeting is Oct. 25 at the Best Western Wallace Inn, 100 Front St.

All meetings are from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

To submit written comments by the Nov. 15 deadline, e-mail comments@cdarmp.com or write Coeur d’Alene RMP, in care of Tetra Tech Inc., 1235 N. Post, Suite 101, Spokane WA 99201. Comments also can be faxes to (509) 744-9281, attention Coeur d’Alene RMP. People also can fill out the online comment form at www.cdarmp.com.

For more information, call BLM Project Manager Scott Pavey at (208) 769-5059 or write to information@cdarmp.com. People also can visit the BLM Web site at www.cdarmp.com.

Martial arts tourney planned for Oct. 23

Professional Human Beings, a nonprofit organization that teaches martial arts to people with disabilities, is sponsoring the River City Open martial arts tournament at Post Falls High from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 23.

The tournament is open to competitors of all levels in karate, tai kwan do and kung fu. Admission for spectators is $3 or $10 for families with three or more people. To register to compete, call 659-0495.

Pastor to sign copies of just-released book

Mike Bullard, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Coeur d’Alene, will sign copies of his just-released book, Imperative to Embrace, at 2 p.m. today at Borders Books, 450 W. Wilbur, in Coeur d’Alene.

The book is Bullard’s new translation of Romans 16, a chapter of the Bible. Bullard believes the chapter encourages Romans to recognize and accept ethnic Jewish Christians, gentile believers and the ministries of men, women, slaves, free, rich and poor. Bullard says this translation has a tremendous implication on the divisions among today’s believers.

Bullard also will sign books from noon to 2 p.m., Oct. 29, at City Perc, 108 N. Fourth St., in Coeur d’Alene.