Missing boy sought in Latah County

The Latah County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public to help locate a 16-year-old boy missing from Potlatch, Idaho.

Elias Michael Russell has been missing since Jan. 31, the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Wednesday. Russell is 6 feet and 160 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes and a 2-inch scar on his forehead, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

He may be in the company of his mother, Lise Jean Hutton, in violation of a divorce decree and custody stipulations, according to the press release. Hutton is believed to be driving a black 1991 Toyota 4-Runner with Washington license plate number 190RIK. Russell and Hutton may be in the Coeur d’Alene area, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information on Russell’s whereabouts is asked to call local law enforcement or the Latah County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 882-2216.

Pipe breaks at Post Falls treatment plant

A pipe at the Post Falls wastewater treatment plant broke Friday, releasing about 150,000 gallons of treated and disinfected effluent into the ground over the weekend.

Public Works Superintendent Terry Werner said that the city has meet with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and there are no immediate health concerns or effect to surrounding wells and the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

Crews found the leak Monday, which was in a 10-year-old pipe where the couplings had separated. The pipe contained wastewater that had already been treated and is of the quality that is released into the Spokane River. Werner said this particular flow is used for cleaning equipment and to irrigate green space at the plant.

The city will continue to monitor test results and work with the DEQ to evaluate any long-term risks.

CdA wastewater fees to increase March 1

Coeur d’Alene residents’ wastewater fees are going up nearly 4 percent March 1.

That means homeowners will pay $22.84 per month, which is an 84-cent increase.

The annual rate increases were determined by a 2002 study that showed the city needed the extra money to pay for operations costs, maintenance, equipment replacement and improvement projects.

The capitalization fee, which is charged to new customers when they initially hook up to the wastewater system, will increase to $2,788 from $1,972. The money will go toward reimbursing existing customers for the new customers’ equitable share of the current system. Some of the increase also will go to a new facilities charge in which new customers pay for the system expansion needed to accommodate them.

City officials said the new facilities charge is designed so that growth pays for growth and existing customers are not subsidizing new customers.

For a complete rate schedule, visit the city’s Web site at www.cdaid.org or call (208) 769-2227.

Seat belt campaign will boost enforcement

The Coeur d’Alene Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in Idaho will participate in the national “Click it, Don’t risk it” campaign to encourage the use of seat belts and child safety seats, the Coeur d’Alene Police announced Wednesday.

The police are stepping up enforcement patrols this week and next. By law, all occupants of a vehicle must be restrained, and violators are subject to a $10 citation. Adult drivers with unbelted occupants under the age of 18 also can be fined $10. The fine for drivers under 18 with unbelted occupants is $42.50.

During the emphasis patrol, officers also will be looking for children not properly restrained in child safety seats. Children must be restrained in child safety seats until they are 4 years old and weigh 40 pounds. Parents are encouraged to use safety seats, however, until children are 8 years old and 80 pounds.

Lack of seat belt use is not a primary offense in Idaho, so officers cannot stop a driver for failure to buckle up. But violators can be cited once the driver is stopped for another offense.

Child care award nominations open

Coeur d’Alene is accepting nominations for the 2005 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Childcare.

Any licensed childcare provider within the city limits can be nominated and recognized for exceeding quality standards of operation. This is the fifth year the award will be presented.

Nominated facilities will receive an on-site visit by three observers at different times. The observers use a rating scale based on nationally recognized criteria.

The awards will be presented at the annual North Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children banquet in April and at a Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting.

Nomination forms will be mailed to all currently licensed facilities. Forms also are available at City Hall, 710 E. Mullan Ave.

The deadline is Feb. 28.

For more information, contact Deputy City Clerk Kathy Lewis at (208) 769-2229.

Scholarship applications available

The Northern Lights electric cooperative is accepting applications for eight $500 scholarships.

Scholarships will be awarded at the cooperative’s 70th annual meeting on May 7 at Sagle Elementary. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors entering their freshman year at a college or vocational college, or be current undergraduate students, according to a press release. Applicants or their parents must also be members of the cooperative.

The deadline for applications is April 11. Forms are available at Northern Lights’ Sagle headquarters, 421 Chevy St., or by calling (208) 263-5141, extension 130.