Reason for trestle collapse unknown

Potlatch officials still don’t know what caused a St. Maries River Railroad trestle to fail on Monday afternoon, causing a repair crane and a carload of railroad ties to plunge into Benewah Lake.

Federal Railroad Administration employees, who were on the scene Monday night, had inspected the trestle and surrounding area two weeks earlier, said Mike Sullivan, spokesman for Potlatch Corp.

No problems were reported at the time.

No one was hurt in the collapse about 10 miles west of St. Maries. The crane was making minor repairs on other stretches of the track.

The St. Maries River Railroad runs 71 miles between Plummer and Clarkia.

Potlatch owns the railroad, which transports lumber and plywood from Potlatch’s St. Maries mill to a Union Pacific spur. It also hauls lumber for another mill and ore from a nearby garnet mine.

The products are being trucked to a rail spur in Spokane until the line is fixed. Repairs are expected to take several months, Sullivan said.

Potlatch officials hope to pull the crane from the water early next week.

– Becky Kramer

Rathdrum

Former city attorney sues over firing

Former Rathdrum City Attorney Rollie Watson is suing the city for $75,000 in overtime wages and lost medical, dental and retirement benefits.

Watson, the brother of Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson, alleges he was wrongly fired in April 2004. In the lawsuit filed Thursday, Watson claims that he was fired because the city wanted to change the city attorney job to a contract position.

The lawsuit claims Watson was denied a hearing regarding his termination.

He alleges it was a result of a change in administration and personal animosities, not job performance.

Watson alleges that the city’s action violated age and veteran discrimination laws.

The lawsuit names Rathdrum Mayor Brian Steele and councilmen Bill Swaghoven, Jesse Ojala and Vic Holmes.

– Erica Curless

Kootenai County

Crane hits power line, causing blackout

About 900 members of the Kootenai Electric Cooperative lost power Tuesday afternoon when a construction crane snapped a power line near U.S. Highway 95 and Setters Road.

Most of the blackout was in the Rockford Bay and Worley area. Power was restored by the late afternoon.

The cooperative issued a statement reminding construction crews and heavy equipment operators to “always look up” when maneuvering tall machinery near power lines.

– James Hagengruber