New look bills due in Post Falls
By the end of December, utility bills in Post Falls will have a different look.
First, residents will receive bills typed on business paper and placed in envelopes, instead of postcards, which tended to get ripped, lost or buried in magazines.
Second, customers can opt to receive bills via e-mail, in addition to – or instead of – the paper copy.
Third, residents may pay their bills online using a credit card or checking account.
Though the cost of switching to paper bills is about 10 cents more per customer, the city will save money as some people elect to do things electronically, said finance director Shelly Enderud. Those people will save the city the cost of paper and postage, and staff time for manually entering payment information. Enderud expects the city to break even in two years.
Having a full paper bill also will give the city more room to write messages about things like closures due to holidays, Enderud said.
Forum will focus on protecting family
The Kootenai County Republican Women are having a public forum Monday on protecting families from sexual predators.
On the agenda are Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Wendy Carpenter and Kootenai County Sheriff Lt. Kim Edmonds. Tom Hern, chairman of Idaho’s Sexual Classification Board, will also be on the panel along with Tinka Schaffer of Children’s Village.
The awareness and safety forum is at the Lake City Senior Center, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. social. The panel discussion starts at 7 p.m.
For more information, call Sharon Culbreth at 292-2378.
Land-use plan tools subject of workshop
The Kootenai Environmental Alliance and the League of Women Voters of Kootenai County are having a workshop Monday on land-use planning tools. The discussion will focus on comprehensive plans, which are the road map for land-use decisions, and rules for zoning, subdivisions and development in wetlands areas. The workshop also will cover stormwater rules along with administrative appeals, variance and conditional use permits.
Panelists include Kootenai County Planning Director Rand Wichman, Post Falls Senior Planner Collin Coles and Coeur d’Alene Planning Director Dave Yadon. Scott Brown, Hauser’s city code administrator, also is on the panel with physics professor Carl Martin.
This is the second in a series of eight free workshops in September and October to teach people what they need to participate in local land-use planning.
The workshop is at 3:30 p.m. Monday on the Coeur d’Alene campus of the University of Idaho.
For more information, call KEA at 667-9093 or Joyce Bergan with the League of Women Voters at 699-5198.
39-year-old transient in critical condition
A 39-year-old transient is fighting for his life after he suffering a head injury that apparently came as the result of an assault.
Spokane officers and firefighters responded about 8 a.m. Thursday to a report of a man down on the sidewalk at Second Avenue and Madison Street, Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release.
Paramedics transported Richard Gregory Morgan to a hospital where he remains in critical condition.
The intersection where Morgan was found is busy at that time in the morning, and investigators want to talk with anyone who witnessed the assault.
“Someone must have seen what happened,” Sgt. Joe Peterson said.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911, Cottam said.
Lakeshore owners to meet on Tuesday
The Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore Property Owners Association is having its annual membership meeting Tuesday.
The group has about 1,200 members and represents more than 4,000 properties around Coeur d’Alene Lake.
The 7 p.m. meeting is at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.
For more information, call Greg Delavan at (208) 660-8050.
Fuhrman signing off his radio talk show
Mark Fuhrman told listeners on KGA-AM (1510) Friday that he will be quitting his talk show.
He said he could not come to terms with the station on a new contract. Furhman’s show is one of the only non-sports radio talk shows in Spokane.
David J. Tester, vice president and general manager of Citadel’s radio stations in Spokane, said it appears that Fuhrman and producer Rebecca Mack will leave KGA-AM when their contract expires at the end of September.
“Our listeners can’t be more disappointed than we are about Mark Fuhrman and Rebecca Mack’s departure from radio,” said Tester. “Our plan was to continue the long-term relationship with them. Unfortunately for the KGA listeners and Citadel radio, we couldn’t come to terms with Mr. Fuhrman.”
Fuhrman is well-known as the former L.A. police detective who gained notoriety during the O.J. Simpson case. He began his talk radio career on KXLY-AM in 1998 and switched to KGA in 2004.
Work to begin on new Nez Perce casino
Lewiston The Nez Perce Tribe will break ground Tuesday on a casino and hotel next to its Clearwater River Casino.
The old casino building, four miles east of Lewiston on U.S. 95, is to be used for concerts and boxing matches once the new building opens next spring, said Ken Arthur, the casino’s director of marketing.
“It’s going to be built so that it will expand as business demands it,” Arthur said. “It’s designed to be a very fluid process.”
At least 500 electronic gaming devices will be installed in the casino, he said. “It’s the beginning of what is going to be a major destination resort with very nice, very modern equipment.”