Sheriff’s Department wants shooting range
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department wants to build a shooting range in a gravel pit east of state Highway 41, just north of Hayden Avenue.
The department is asking the county for a conditional-use permit to operate the firearms training range in the pit owned by the Post Falls Highway District.
Various local law enforcement agencies plan to use 2.2-acre range, which the county would build to National Rifle Association guidelines.
A county hearing examiner is having a public hearing on the proposal Thursday.
“We just need a place where we can train,” Capt. Ben Wolfinger said. “Right now we have to pay for access (to other ranges).”
So far there are no public comments in opposition to the range that would include training with pistols, shotguns and rifles. Wolfinger said the gravel pit is in the middle of an agricultural area with no homes or businesses.
Rathdrum is concerned the training range might not fit in with the long-term compatibility of the fast-growing area. Hayden is worried the range may hurt the aquifer if lead-based ammunition is used.
Wolfinger said it would be difficult to find a better location with fewer neighbors. As for the lead concerns, he said, the department plans to use inmate labor to sift and clean the ground.
The 6 p.m. hearing is at the Kootenai County Administration Building, 451 Government Way. For more information, call (208) 446-1070.
– Erica Curless
Shoshone County
Police examining death of 7-month-old boy
The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare are investigating the death of a 7-month-old boy who was found in a bathtub at a Cataldo-area home early Monday.
Shoshone County Sheriff Chuck Reynalds said a small child called 911 around 9 a.m. and said something was wrong. When authorities arrived at the home at 1249 CCC Road, the infant was found in the bathtub. They began performing CPR on the infant and took him to Shoshone Medical Center. He was pronounced dead an hour later, Reynalds said.
An autopsy is scheduled for this morning. No details were available.
– Taryn Brodwater