Car crash seriously injures CdA man

A Coeur d’Alene man is in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle following a high-speed crash in a classic car last week on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive, according to the Idaho State Police.

Billy L. Joslin, 50, was driving east on the winding road east of town near Sunnyside Avenue at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his 1923 two-door Ford replica, according to the ISP.

The car slid off the roadway and hit a rock face on the north side of the road, ejecting Joslin, who was not wearing a seat belt, according to the ISP. Joslin remained in the hospital’s intensive care unit Tuesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Severed phone lines cut off 911 service, Internet

Kellogg About 480 homes lost phone service in the Smelterville area of the Silver Valley Tuesday when construction workers accidentally severed underground Verizon telephone lines, according to the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Department.

All cellular phones in the Silver Valley, as well as Internet connections and 911 service in that area, were affected by the outage.

The sheriff’s department expected the lines to be repaired in the afternoon, but in the meantime was advising residents find a phone outside the affected area to make any phone calls, including to 911.

Health District to provide free car seat checkup

Experts in the proper installation and safety of child seats for cars will check seats free of charge, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday at Tidyman’s in Post Falls. State law requires that children younger than 7 in cars ride in appropriate child safety restraints starting July 1. The fine for violation is $60. The Panhandle Health District will provide certified technicians at Friday’s Community Child Safety Seat Checkup to help install car seats properly and verify that seats aren’t on a recall list. For information, call 415-5144.

Rivers closed to spring chinook salmon fishing

Boise The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is closing the mainstem Clearwater River, the North Fork of the Clearwater River and the mainstem Salmon River – all in north-central Idaho – to fishing for spring chinook salmon because recreational anglers are approaching their limits.

The closures take effect immediately.

Anglers have caught about 90 percent of the state’s share of surplus hatchery chinook on the Clearwater River system, and about 80 percent on the mainstem Salmon and Little Salmon rivers, the agency said in a statement.

Friday-through-Monday fishing will remain open on the South Fork of the Clearwater, the Lochsa River and the Little Salmon River for at least one more four-day interval. Anglers can also continue fishing the Snake River from Dug Bar Boat Ramp upstream to Hells Canyon Dam until June 19.

In addition, the summer chinook season on portions of the south Fork of the Salmon River opens this Friday, but that’s expected to be closed by July 4.

Limits are one salmon per day and 10 salmon per season.

This year’s spring chinook run in Idaho, Washington and Oregon has been a disappointment, as fewer-than-hoped-for salmon have swum upriver to spawn. Forecasters initially anticipated as many as 254,000 fish. Only about one-quarter of that number have been counted.