Regional news
A Kootenai County hearing examiner has recommended approval of a 10-acre rock mine off U.S. Highway 95 near Windy Bay.
Kootenai Properties Inc., which is owned by Forrest Godde, is asking the county for a five-year conditional use permit to mine rock for public road projects. Godde owns the 800 acres in the rural area west of Lake Creek on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.
Hearing Examiner Gary Young recommended the mine as long as the developer provides the county with stormwater and dust control plans and keeps a 50-foot water buffer above the groundwater. The mine could only operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Kootenai County Commission will have a final say on the proposal.
A couple of neighbors oppose the mine proposal because of the potential for noise and dust.
The project is separate from Godde’s failed request for a rock quarry near Mica Creek, which was rejected by the commission in April because of concerns about contaminating the creek that empties into Mica Bay.
That wasn’t the first time the county has rejected the rock quarry plan. Godde sued the county in 2001 for initially denying a proposed 175-acre mine.
Godde dropped the lawsuit just as it reached the Idaho Supreme Court and instead decided to reapply with this smaller request that was also rejected.
Priest River man injured in ATV accident
Priest River, Idaho A Priest River man suffered severe head injuries in an all-terrain vehicle accident Thursday night, according to the Idaho State Police.
Casey M. Schaff, 23, was listed in fair condition Friday evening at Kootenai Medical Center.
Schaff was riding a 2005 Yamaha ATV south on North Riley Creek Road at 10:25 p.m. when the ATV went off the left side of the roadway and hit a telephone pole head-on, according to ISP.
Schaff was airlifted by helicopter to KMC. Alcohol was a contributing factor in the accident, ISP reported.
Searchers still working in Yellowstone Park
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. Searchers combined efforts Friday to find two missing people – a woman whose vehicle plunged into the Yellowstone River and a Boy Scout who fell into the rushing waters a week ago.
Crews spent a second day looking for a worker whose sport utility vehicle pitched over a 100-foot cliff, rangers said.
The Ford Explorer belonging to Candace May Kellie, 19, of Belgrade, Mont., was found near Tower Junction about noon Wednesday by a hiker. Kellie was last seen at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday driving away from the Roosevelt employee housing area at Tower.
The search was combined with one for Luke Sanburg, a 13-year old Boy Scout from Helena, who fell into the Yellowstone River farther downstream near Knowles Falls on June 24.
Kellie’s vehicle, which was pulled from the river Thursday, was severely damaged.
It appeared that the SUV was traveling east of Tower when it struck an embankment on the right side of the road, crossed the center line and over another embankment, dropping more than 100 feet into the river, officials said.
On Friday, searchers found a sandal and windshield shade about a half mile downstream from where the vehicle was retrieved, but no other items were found. It was not known if the items were from the woman’s vehicle.
Volunteers are constantly watching from a bridge over the Yellowstone River in Gardiner, officials said.
Plane crashes, sinks with five people aboard
Lopez, Wash. A light plane with five people aboard crashed and sank Friday evening off the south tip of Lopez Island in the San Juans, the Coast Guard said.
One person died, one was missing and two were seriously injured, Coast Guard Lt. Matthew Michaelis of Seattle said.
The fifth person aboard, a 17-year-old girl, swam to shore and made her way to a nearby house to get help, Petty Officer Kurt Fredrickson said. She suffered only minor injuries.
One of the injured was being airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle while a Coast Guard helicopter was taking another to St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham, Fredrickson said.
No identifications were immediately available.
The Coast Guard cutter Wahoo continued searching in the area where the plane went down.
The plane, a Beech 55, reportedly was en route to Friday Harbor in the San Juans from Redmond, Ore., said Karen Byrd, a Federal Aviation Administration duty officer in the Seattle suburb of Renton.
Mike Reed of Sisters, Ore., reached by telephone Friday night, said he was the owner of the plane but declined to discuss the crash.
Washington fugitives jailed in Montana
Missoula Two Washington state fugitives, from the Yakima and Spokane areas, are jailed here after being tracked down by local and federal officers, U.S. Marshal Dwight MacKay said Friday.
They were identified as Carl Ray, 27, and Christopher Richter, 25, both wanted for escape. Richter also faces charges of failing to register as a sex offender and obstructing a peace officer in Montana.
Both appeared Friday before Missoula Justice of the Peace John Odlin.
Ray said he wanted to sign his extradition papers to Washington as quickly as possible. Odlin set a preliminary trial date for Richter’s Montana charges for July 27 with bail at $50,000.
Ray escaped from community custody in Yakima County while serving time for third-degree rape of a child, said Cpl. Dave Reagan, public information officer for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Richter failed to report for jail time in Spokane County for unlawful possession of firearms, he said.
The two men were arrested separately on Thursday, MacKay said.