In brief: Man killed at construction site
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a 25-year-old man at a Sandpoint construction site.
Ezra D. Gordon was killed Tuesday morning after becoming entangled in a drilling rig, Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood said Wednesday. Lockwood said 911 was called just before 8:30 a.m. Gordon, a Spokane-area resident, was dead by the time authorities arrived.
Lockwood said the equipment was like that used to drill for core samples. The accident occurred at The Seasons, a condominium project north of Sandpoint City Beach.
– Taryn Brodwater
Coeur d’Alene
New Fish and Game director named
A longtime employee of the Idaho Fish and Game Department was appointed director of the agency Wednesday.
Cal Groen, a 17-year veteran of the department, has served the last nine years in the Lewiston office as supervisor of the Clearwater Region, according to a statement issued by the department.
He previously served as chief of the department’s natural resources policy bureau and also coordinated its Columbia River policy.
The Fish and Game Commission chose Groen from a field of five finalists, including two other department employees. Groen, 59, has served as assistant director at wildlife agencies in Washington and Kansas.
Groen replaces Steve Huffaker, who retired at the start of the year after leading the agency for nearly five years. Groen holds an undergraduate degree in political science and biology from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.
He holds a master’s degree in biology and fishery science from the University of South Dakota.
– James Hagengruber
Post Falls
Man hospitalized after collision with semi
A Spokane Valley man is in fair condition after crashing head-on into a semitruck on Interstate 90 around 10:30 Wednesday night.
Dennis Soberg, 63, was eastbound on I-90 in Post Falls when he lost control of his 1989 Dodge Dakota truck and crossed the median, according to Idaho State Police.
The truck was airborne, ISP said, when it crashed head-on into a 2003 Freightliner semitruck driven by Selden S. Ouart of Clarkston, Wash.
Soberg was taken to Kootenai Medical Center with injuries. Ouart was not injured.
– Taryn Brodwater
Coeur d’Alene
Build up your ideas for Lego-rama
The second annual Lego-rama – touted as a library program for kids who love to build – is Saturday from 1 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. in the community hall at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Kids ages 5 to 14 can enter the contest, but only 100 spots are available. Sign up by calling the Coeur d’Alene Public Library’s youth services department at (208) 769-2315 or visiting the library at 201 E. Harrison Ave. Those 15 and older can build their own structures during the contest but aren’t eligible to win.
Structure designs must be original and take up no more than an 18-by-18 inch table space. Lego structures with motors or electronic elements will be judged separately.
Contest participants and audience members will vote for their favorites. The top three vote-getters from each age group win.
– Meghann M. Cuniff