Bailey running for state Senate
Former state Sen. Kent Bailey, R-Hayden, wants his seat in the Idaho Legislature back, saying he’s the best man for the job.
“I’m hard working and I’ve got a thing called common sense,” Bailey said Monday.
Bailey, 57, is running against Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake.
Bailey lost his seat to Jorgenson, a former Hayden Lake city councilman, in the May 2004 primary. Former Sen. Clyde Boatright, R-Rathdrum, also was in the race that year.
Bailey, a retired security company owner, is a U.S. Army combat veteran who served in Vietnam. His goal as senator is to get a state veterans cemetery in North Idaho.
He said he helped to get funding for the veterans cemetery outside Boise, but he thinks North Idaho veterans need their own burial ground. Ensuring U.S. Highway 95 is at the top of the state’s priority list for funding is another concern for Bailey. “Highway 95 is a killer and we have to get it fixed,” he said.
Another priority is creating a catastrophic disability fund for emergency service workers. Bailey said that raising the fine by $1 for all written citations issued by state law enforcement officers would generate enough cash to ensure emergency service workers such as police and firefighters are taken care of even if their insurance runs out.
Bailey said the fund has been needed for a long time but the December 2004 shooting of Coeur d’Alene Police Officer Mike Kralicek brought the issue to the forefront. Kralicek has battled with the Idaho State Insurance Fund over his coverage.
Bailey also said it’s probably time to raise the state minimum wage and remove the sales tax on food.
Larkin returns home after heart surgery
Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin returned home Saturday after his release from St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, where he was in therapy after heart bypass surgery.
Larkin, 69, will continue with his cardiac rehabilitation program, city spokeswoman Kit Hoffer said Monday.
“He’s home and progressing nicely,” Hoffer said. She had no estimate of when Larkin will return to work as mayor.
Larkin is not receiving visitors or telephone calls.
The mayor, who is beginning his second term, underwent bypass surgery in Coeur d’Alene on Dec. 29. It was Larkin’s second heart surgery. He had triple-bypass surgery nearly 20 years ago.
Collision blocks traffic on Highway 95
U.S. Highway 95 was blocked for about three hours near Lewiston on Monday after a truck hauling wood chips rear-ended a truck hauling grain.
Wayne C. Pederson, 48, of Moscow, Idaho, was southbound on the Lewiston Grade in the chip truck about 8:14 a.m. He struck a rig driven by Steven T. Emmett, 51, of Kendrick, Idaho, the Idaho State Police said in a news release. Emmett’s truck spilled a trailer full of grain into two lanes of travel, police said, blocking them for much of the morning.
Emmett suffered minor injuries, and he was treated and released at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, police said.
Pederson wasn’t hurt. He was cited for inattentive driving, police said.
Police seek information about hotel burglary
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help identifying a burglar who stole money from a Hayden hotel last week.
A man was seen by employees and on video surveillance loitering Thursday evening in the lobby area of the Holiday Inn Express, police said. When workers at the hotel’s front desk briefly left the area, the man went behind the counter and took money from the cash drawer.
He may have left in a pickup truck. Anyone who recognizes him is asked to contact Detective Jason Austin at (208) 446-1300.