Efforts renewed to legalize airstrip
A Coeur d’Alene couple is once again attempting to make their illegal airstrip east of town legal.
Kootenai County has agreed to revive Brent and Moura Regan’s proposal to change the zoning of the property off of Borely Road. The Regans are also asking for a conditional use permit allowing for the paved airstrip, which was the site of a 2002 plane crash that killed two people.
A hearing examiner is having a public hearing on the permit request Aug. 4.
Last year the Regans withdrew their request, opting instead to take the issue to court. The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the Regans should have solved their problem with the airstrip at the county level, not in the courts.
During legal mediation in April, the county commission agreed to expedite the process, meaning the county wouldn’t require the Regans to start the process over and submit a new application.
A hearing examiner already has recommended changing the zoning to rural. The land is currently zoned agricultural suburban and the county prohibits airstrips in these areas.
Until the county commission makes a final decision on both the zoning and permit no planes are allowed to use the airstrip.
For more information about the Aug. 4 hearing, call the Kootenai County Planning Department at 446-1070.
10-acre rock mine near Windy Bay approved
The Kootenai County commission has approved a 10-acre rock mine off U.S. Highway 95 near Windy Bay.
Kootenai Properties Inc., which is owned by Forrest Godde, asked 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.
Commission Chairman Gus Johnson voted against the proposal Thursday while commissioners Katie Brodie and Rick Currie voted in favor.
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.
Interstate 90 to be closed for bridge destruction
Drivers beware: the section of I-90 near the Government Way bridge is going to be closed for two nights this week as the bridge is being demolished.
Between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, traffic on I-90 will be re-routed to Appleway at Fourth Street for westbound vehicles, and to the U.S. 95 interchange for eastbound vehicles. Drivers wanting to cross I-90 will have to use Ramsey Road/Northwest Boulevard, U.S. 95, Fourth or 15th streets.
The 47-year-old concrete bridge is being replaced by a steel-girder one, according to the Idaho Transportation Department. The $2.7-million project is due to be completed next summer.
Schools prepare to enforce new truancy laws
Nampa, Idaho Idaho school districts are drawing up plans to deal with students who are consistently absent from school, spurred by a new state law that makes it possible to send parents to jail for their kids’ absenteeism.
Under the Idaho truancy law that went into effect this month, parents can be charged with a misdemeanor, sentenced to up to a year in jail and fined as much as $1,000 if their children are habitually absent without a valid reason.
Public schools want to have policies in place for enforcing the new law before school starts this fall, so parents and students understand the new requirements.
“We’ll all work together to build a system that works because it’s in the children’s best interest,” Nampa School District Superintendent Gary Larsen said. “Parents, students and schools need to work together. The schools will take care of their part.”
Middleton man jailed in girlfriend’s 1993 murder
Boise A man arrested last month in the southwestern Idaho town of Middleton has been jailed in California in the 1993 death of his girlfriend, whose headless and handless body was found near a California winery.
The Santa Clara County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office said Monday that 54-year-old Kirk Bennett was being held in the slaying of Stephanie Jensen.
Bennett and Jensen lived together in San Francisco after meeting in Utah.
Jensen was reported missing in 1993. Her remains were found in a suitcase that year by a highway cleanup crew, but were not identified until recently, using DNA analysis.
Bennett was subsequently linked to Jensen and was arrested at his home in Middleton on June 13 and extradited to California.
Lenore Community Center recovering
Lenore, Idaho The Lenore Community Center is making a comeback after more than $7,000 was discovered missing from its bank account.
The Lenore Center, on Highway 12 about 20 miles southeast of Moscow, was established in 1991 with a donation from the Kenneth Summers family. It’s open Monday through Thursday mornings and used mostly by senior citizens.
The former treasurer, Marcie Eileen Bowles, 43, pleaded guilty to the felony grand theft charge in Lewiston’s 2nd District Court. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 1. She has repaid about $1,000 of the $7,000, officials said.
With the bank account drained, board members had to make some changes if the center was to survive. Monthly dues were raised from $5 to $10. Charity breakfasts, book clubs, card games and flea markets have taken off, and there’s interest in new activities – from a fall barbecue to yoga classes.
“It’s not just for seniors,” President Earl Hughes said. “It’s just nice to get people over there, meet your neighbors and develop some enthusiasm for the community.”