In brief: Veterans affairs panel named

Tue., June 6, 2006

The Spokesman-Review

The Kootenai County Commission recently appointed members of the new Veterans Affairs Commission, which will hear concerns from area veterans.

There are 15,000 veterans in Kootenai County, about 18 percent of the residents. The commission will work with the county commission and the county’s Veterans Services Office.

Retired U.S. Navy veteran Robert Hunt is the committee chairman. The other commissioners are George Rekow, retired Navy; Dave Sheridan, retired Army and American Legion District commander; Dusty Rhodes, retired Air Force; Sam Sears, retired military.

Magistrate Judge Eugene Marano and Kerri Rankin Thoreson, the daughter of former Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin, are also on the commission.

For more information, call the Veterans Services Office at 446-1091.

Post Falls

Closure extended for Poleline Road

A Poleline Road closure between McGuire and Chase roads in Post Falls has been extended through Monday. The road was originally scheduled to reopen today, but work remains to finish installing utilities and widen the street for the Meadows subdivision.

Detours are posted.

Spokane

Kitty litter sought at shelter

Shelter cats already had nowhere to go. Now they are really running out of places to go.

A kitty litter shortage at SpokAnimal CARE has forced the shelter to use shredded paper in their cat boxes. But paper harbors more disease and bacteria than litter, SpokAnimal director Gail Mackie said Monday in a news release.

The shelter, which goes through about 10 pounds of kitty litter every day, is seeking donations of non-clumping litter from the public, Mackie said.

The non-clumping style is important, she said, because the boxes are emptied and refilled every day to keep the cats from getting sick.

If you’ve got some leftover kitty litter, or would be willing to go buy some, the shelter would like to have it.

Bring donations to SpokAnimal, N. 710 Napa St., during business hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Anchorage, Alaska

Search for climbers yields no new clues

Clear skies and calm conditions aided rescuers Monday, but the fifth day of aerial searching turned up no new clues in the hunt for two overdue climbers in Denali National Park and Preserve.

A high-altitude helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft made several flights near the 17,400-foot Mount Foraker looking for Sue Nott, 36, of Vail, Colo., and Karen McNeill, 37, of Canmore, Alberta, Canada.

Park spokeswoman Kris Fister said Monday’s flights provided a thorough investigation of the summit, the climbing team’s planned exit route on the Sultana Ridge and glaciers north and south of the peak with no luck.

The helicopter crew was able to confirm the presence of tracks at the 15,500-foot to 15,800-foot level, but Fister said the tracks “didn’t go toward the summit, they just ended.”

She said they have no evidence the women reached the summit.

Crews earlier confirmed the climber’s tracks at the 14,800-foot level.

The helicopter will not be available today, but park officials said three other helicopters, including two Chinooks from Fort Wainwright, are expected to continue the search of high probability areas.

– Compiled by staff

and wire reports

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