Two rob coin boxes at Seltice Car Wash
Post Falls Police are asking for the public’s help in finding thieves who made off with hundreds of dollars in change from a Seltice Way car wash early Wednesday.
Video surveillance cameras showed two males in an SUV entering the car wash bays at the Seltice Car Wash about 1:45 a.m. and spending about 40 minutes prying open coin boxes. Police said the men were driving a dark SUV, possibly a Nissan Pathfinder, Honda Passport or Isuzu Rodeo, with a roof rack, fog lights and a spare tire on the rear without a cover.
The driver was described as 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, thin, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, baseball hat and dark pants. The passenger was described as 5-foot-10, average build, wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt, light-colored pants and white shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Post Falls Police at (208) 773-3517 or to leave an anonymous tip at www.postfallspolice.com.
Police: Store worker may have used accounts
An employee at the Coeur d’Alene JC Penney’s department store may have used customer account numbers to purchase gift cards and in turn used those gift cards to credit her boyfriend’s account and make purchases, according to Coeur d’Alene Police.
More than $1,000 was allegedly stolen from customer charge accounts Aug. 21-26, according to the police report. No charges have been filed.
According to the company’s loss prevention department, the store contacted customers whose accounts may have been affected and reversed the charges.
Coeur d’Alene Tribe names new police chief
A Kootenai County Sheriff’s K-9 deputy has been hired as police chief of the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department.
Keith Hutcheson will take over Tribal Police Chief Tom Cronin’s position when Cronin retires in October, the tribe announced Thursday.
Originally from Washington, D.C., Hutcheson moved to North Idaho in 1996 to work for the Benewah County Sheriff’s Department, the tribe said, and eventually became one of the first police officers the Coeur d’Alene Tribe hired.
Hutcheson relocated to Post Falls because of family commitments and began working for the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department, according to a news release issued Thursday. He was promoted from the patrol department to the detective unit and has spent the last six years as a K-9 deputy.
“I am extremely excited to begin my new career,” Hutcheson said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to serving the residents of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.”
Stensgar re-elected president of group
Worley, Idaho Ernie Stensgar, former chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, was re-elected this week to his third term as president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.
The organization is holding its annual meeting at the Coeur d’Alene Casino and Hotel, where its various committees are considering and passing resolutions that could result in new legislative initiatives.
Stensgar also is a board member with the National Congress of American Indians. Stensgar served as the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s chairman for 20 years. Chief Allan was elected the tribe’s chairman in May.
Severed cable cuts phone service
Service was disrupted for about 30,000 Verizon customers in Idaho on Thursday when a Highway 95 road construction crew accidentally cut a major fiber-optic cable south of Coeur d’Alene.
Verizon spokesman Kevin Laverty said the cable was cut around 8 a.m. and the company dispatched technicians and crews to splice the line back together. Customers in the affected area, south of Highway 95 and Setters Road and in the Silver Valley, were unable to make or receive long-distance calls. Some high-speed Internet services were also disrupted.
Laverty said Thursday’s incident was the second construction-related service disruption of the summer.
Service to the Silver Valley was restored by 2 p.m. and service was restored to customers in the communities of Plummer, Worley and south to Moscow by 4 p.m.
Independent film needs extras for free
An independent film being produced in Coeur d’Alene is looking for extras to populate sets for the next few weeks. Though they won’t be paid, extras will be fed.
The film, “Amber and Thayer,” is based on a childhood experience of the film’s writer and director, Regina Crosby, a Coeur d’Alene High School graduate.
The story is a “tragic yet uplifting teenage romance,” according to a statement released by the film crew. She was the popular girl; he was the rebel. They bonded in a creative writing class.
For more information and to volunteer, call 667-1504.