In brief: Shooting range plan for pit discussed
The Kootenai County commission wants to have another public hearing before deciding whether to allow a shooting range in a gravel pit east of state Highway 41.
The April 26 hearing is on the Kootenai County sheriff’s request for a conditional-use permit to operate the firearms training range in the pit owned by the Post Falls Highway District. The pit is just north of Hayden Avenue.
Various local law enforcement agencies plan to use the 2.2-acre range, which the county would build to National Rifle Association guidelines.
There hasn’t been much opposition to the range except a few concerns by the cities of Rathdrum and Hayden.
Rathdrum is worried 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.
The 10 a.m. hearing is at the Kootenai County Administration Building, 451 Government Way. For more information, call (208) 446-1070.
– Erica Curless
Meeting to focus on effects of burn ban
The state will host a public meeting Tuesday in Coeur d’Alene to discuss the aftermath of a recent federal court ban on grass field burning. Agriculture Director Celia Gould and Department of Environmental Quality Director Toni Hardesty will be at the meeting to answer questions and explain the state’s plan.
The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the Coeur d’Alene Inn, 506 W. Appleway Ave. Another meeting will be held at 2 p.m. the same day in Lewiston at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Clearwater Region office.
Last month a federal appeals court ordered the state to halt the burning of crop residue outside Indian reservations, saying the practice violated clean air protection laws. Grass farmers across North Idaho have used fire as a way to clean fields and promote the growth of the next year’s crop, but the practice sends up thick plumes of smoke.
– James Hagengruber
Boise
Duncan delay request to be heard March 19
U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge has set a hearing for March 19 on motions by federal prosecutors and Joseph Duncan’s attorneys to delay the convicted killer’s March 20 trial date.
The U.S. attorney’s office is seeking a short delay in the trial and would like it to start no later than July 9, but Duncan’s attorneys are seeking a delay of more than a year and a half.
A federal grand jury indicted Duncan in January for the torture killing of 9-year-old Dylan Groene and the May 2005 kidnappings of the boy and his sister, Shasta, from the family’s home near Coeur d’Alene.
The 10-count indictment also charges Duncan with crimes including aggravated sexual abuse of both children.
Duncan is incarcerated at a Boise-area prison, serving a life sentence for kidnapping charges related to the killings of the children’s mother, brother and mother’s fiance.
– Taryn Brodwater
Kellogg
Wells Fargo bank robber sought
Shoshone County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man accused of robbing the Wells Fargo branch in Kellogg at noon Friday.
The suspect was armed with a large handgun, according to Sheriff Chuck Reynalds. The man fled with an unknown amount of cash, some of which was later recovered from the street.
The suspect is described as white, about 6 feet tall, 185 to 195 pounds, with a pock-marked face. He wore a black T-shirt over a white T-shirt, with blue or black jeans and tennis shoes.
– Staff reports