Cable, phone service casualties of crash
A one-vehicle car crash Sunday cut telephone and cable TV service to Spirit Lake and may keep the community disconnected as long as a day.
Residents of the lake community lost contact with the wired world shortly after 6:30 p.m. when a Jeep SUV smashed into a utility pole at state highways 54 and 41 just south of the city. No one was injured in the accident, which the Idaho State Police say is under investigation.
Verizon was working Sunday night to restore services.
– Tom Lutey
St. Maries
Teen pinned under SUV is in serious condition
An Idaho teenager pinned beneath a rolled-over vehicle Friday was in serious condition Sunday at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.
Keith L. Bornitz, 15, was riding in a 2005 Chevy Blazer on Friday evening when the northbound SUV crashed into a ditch on Idaho State Highway 3 near St. Maries. Both Bornitz and the driver, Jacob D. Rodgers, 17, were thrown from Blazer after it hit a tree. The vehicle landed on Bornitz, who lives in St. Maries. Neither boy was wearing a seat belt.
Rodgers had been drinking, the Idaho State Police said. Rodgers was treated for minor injuries at Benewah Community Hospital, the ISP said. He was cited.
– Tom Lutey
Clark Fork, Idaho
Man injures head when pickup rolls
An Idaho man suffered serious head injuries in a one-vehicle rollover Saturday night near Clark Fork. Jonathan C. Belgarde, 19, was in a southbound 1988 GMC pickup driven by Wayd D. York when the truck missed a turn and rolled on Trestle Creek Road.
Neither man wore a seat belt. York, 20, of Sagle, was charged with aggravated driving under the influence.
Belgarde was taken to Bonner General Hospital, where a nursing supervisor Sunday said he was in stable condition.
– Tom Lutey
Coeur d’Alene
Balloons coming Labor Day weekend
The sixth annual Lake Coeur d’Alene Balloon Fest is set for Labor Day weekend with a NightGlow Extravaganza on Sept. 3 at the Greyhound Park Events Center. Proceeds will benefit the Kootenai Alliance for Children and Families.
For more information, call (208) 667-2314 or go to www.cdaballoonfest.com.
– Staff reports