League of Women Voters set to discuss ‘05 agenda

The League of Women Voters of Kootenai County will meet Feb. 14 to discuss the issues and topics it will study in the upcoming year.

The league already is interested in following local planning issues such as the rewriting of the Kootenai County comprehensive plan, which is the foundation of all land-use decisions.

Past topics have included the local-option sales tax, a lack of day-care regulations in Idaho and information about Coeur d’Alene’s public library and public safety bonds that passed this month.

The group meets every month at various locations. The Feb. 14 meeting is at Café’Doma on Sherman Avenue and Fifth in Coeur d’Alene.

For more information, call spokeswoman Joyce Bergen at 762-0292.

Commission OKs storage units

The Kootenai County Commission approved 200 mini-storage units last week on State Highway 97 near Beauty Bay.

Property owner Jack Finney asked for a conditional use permit for his 10 acres just east of Burma Road. He wants to build the units, a 10,000-square-foot rental warehouse and a caretaker’s residence to give seasonal and permanent residents who live on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene a place to store boats, boat trailers and other belongings.

In September, a county hearing examiner recommended denial of the proposal because of the unit’s close proximity to rural residences and because the buildings would be on a scenic highway.

Some neighbors opposed the mini-storage proposal because they feared it would be a blight on the country landscape and bring busy traffic to an otherwise quiet neighborhood.

Theme for 2005 fair announced

The theme for the 2005 North Idaho Fair and Rodeo is “Where the Fun Grows.”

“By announcing the theme early in the year, we sow the seeds of creativity and we then look forward to see what entries those seeds grow into,” said fair coordinator Margi Domme in a press release.

The Aug. 24-28 event will feature competitions and entertainment along with showcasing area youths.

The Exhibitor’s Handbook, which lists all the exhibit opportunities, will be posted on the fair’s Web site in April and printed copies will be available in mid-May.

Six new contests will be offered in the Home Arts competitive exhibits: decorated Christmas tree, silly scarecrow, funny costume, whimsical valentine, decorated present and hilariously decorated hat.

The regional fair at the Kootenai County Fairground in Coeur d’Alene features a PRCA rodeo, moto-cross, demolition derby, draft horse show, entertainment on two stages and much more.

For more information call the fair office at 765-4969 or visit the Web site at www.northidahofair.com.

County GOP dinner set Feb. 20

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee will have its annual Lincoln Day dinner Feb. 20 at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Sens. Larry Craig and Mike Crapo and U.S. Reps. Butch Otter and Mike Simpson plan to attend along with state and local elected officials.

Tickets are $40 each and must be purchased by Feb. 16. For more information or reservations, call 762-3603.

Bill targets prosecutors’ benefits

Boise County prosecutors deserve the same retirement benefits as law enforcement officers, according to Rep. Jim Clark of Hayden Lake.

The Republican legislator introduced a bill Monday in a House committee that would put county prosecutors and their deputies in the same retirement class as police officers, county sheriffs and other law enforcement officers who do “hazardous duties” or are associated with “life-threatening risk.” They would be eligible for retirement benefits 10 years earlier than they currently are.

“Some people think that prosecutors are in the line of fire,” Clark said. “So they should be classified as law enforcement personnel.”

In the state constitution, he said, county prosecutors are labeled as law enforcement officials.

“It’s a matter of fairness,” Clark said. “They also show up on crime scenes. They could end up being marked individuals.”

A similar bill passed the House and Senate in 1993, but then-Gov. Cecil Andrus vetoed it, arguing that the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho, or PERSI, fund wasn’t in good enough shape to add prosecutors and deputy prosecutors from the state’s 44 counties.

But the PERSI fund is much healthier now, Clark said.

The House Judiciary and Rules Committee will schedule a hearing on the bill.

Gayhart gets new Guard position

The commander of the Idaho Army National Guard soldiers now serving in Iraq has been chosen to fill the Idaho Guard’s No. 2 position, according to a news release.

Brig. Gen. Alan C. Gayhart will become deputy commanding general, Army/assistant adjutant general of the Idaho National Guard upon his return from deployment in Iraq in early 2006. Gayhart currently commands the Idaho Guard’s 116th Brigade Combat Team on a yearlong deployment in Kirkuk, Iraq.

Gayhart fills the position left vacant when Gov. Dirk Kempthorne appointed Maj. Gen. Larry Lafrenz adjutant general last month. Lafrenz had served as assistant adjutant general since 1999.

“I am extremely gratified that General Gayhart will be serving as my deputy when he returns from Iraq,” Lafrenz said in the release.

Gayhart, a native of Pocatello, entered the Idaho National Guard in 1970. In his new position, he will oversee training of Idaho’s citizen soldiers for possible future deployments in support of the U.S. Army and in support of the governor of Idaho for disaster relief.