In brief: Three jailed after baseball bat attack

Three men were in the Kootenai County Jail on Wednesday with bail amounts ranging from $100,000 to $700,000 for allegedly attacking six occupants of a Hayden apartment with baseball bats and pepper spray Tuesday night.

Investigators say Adam C. Ramirez, 24, Michael D. Campagna, 23, and Francis M. Demotte, 22, stormed into an apartment at 149 E. Wyoming Ave. late Tuesday and attacked the occupants, who were watching TV and playing video games.

One victim was taken to Kootenai Medical Center to be treated for cuts to his head, and another was bruised. A third man and three women were uninjured, said Sgt. Kevin Smart of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Smart, four men entered the apartment about 10:30 p.m. and began to assault two of the victims with bats and pepper spray.

The suspects ran away, but deputies found and arrested Campagna, Ramirez and Demotte. Each man was charged with several felonies, including aggravated assault, aggravated battery and burglary.

Another man was questioned and released. Smart said he wasn’t charged because he only stood and watched.

The relationship between the suspects and victims is unclear, said Smart, although the victims said they recognized the suspects from high school.

Molester given 15-year sentence

A Post Falls man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for molesting two young children and an elderly woman in a case 1st District Judge John Mitchell described as one of the more difficult he’s had.

Jody D. Jeffres, 27, was charged earlier this year with lewd conduct with two girls, ages 2 and 4, whom he knew. Within a month, prosecutors charged him with molesting an 84-year-old woman who suffers from dementia.

Jeffres, a certified nursing assistant, confessed to sexually touching the woman as he helped her to the bathroom at her Coeur d’Alene retirement apartment.

Mitchell ordered Jeffres to undergo sex offender treatment. In six months, Mitchell will hold a hearing to determine whether Jeffres is a candidate for probation.

Jeffres apologized in a lengthy, halting statement.

“No one deserved to have happen what I took from them,” he said.

Defense attorney Larry Purviance said he sincerely believes Jeffres is sorry. “The guy is just sick with himself,” Purviance said.

Kootenai County Deputy Prosecutor Denise Rosen said the crimes Jeffres committed have an impact like no other.

“The lives can’t be changed, they can’t be put back together,” she said. “They can’t be put back together by an ‘I’m sorry.’ “

Mail carriers to collect food

Mail carriers will collect food donations Saturday during their regular deliveries and pickups. Postal workers in more than 10,000 cities across America will participate in the 15th annual national food drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

More than 18,000 pounds of food was collected in Coeur d’Alene during last year’s food drive, according to a news release from United Way of Kootenai County.

“We are asking the community to please support this one day effort to re-stock the shelves of our local food banks,” Caryl Johnston, executive director of the United Way of Kootenai County, said in a statement.

Reminder cards and grocery bags will be placed in local mailboxes. Donated food items should be nonperishable, such as canned vegetables, peanut butter, rice, dried beans and canned tuna. The carriers will deliver the food to local food banks.

Harvey named educator of year

Hayden Meadows Elementary School teacher Vern Harvey was named the Coeur d’Alene School District’s Educator of the Year at the district’s annual recognition banquet Tuesday.

A fourth-grade teacher, Harvey used donations and grant money to set up a student greenhouse on the Hayden Meadows school grounds. He and his students are working on transforming the outside of the greenhouse into a bird sanctuary.

Harvey also was named elementary educator of the year and will represent the school district in the Idaho Teacher of the Year competition.

Canfield Middle School teacher Bonnie Barber was named middle school educator of the year. Lake City High counselor Bev Chambers was named high school educator of the year. Second-year Project CDA alternative school counselor Shannon Gabby was named rookie of the year, and Annette Folk, a School Plus and cafeteria supervisor at Skyway Elementary, was named classified employee of the year.

The Coeur d’Alene Education Association gave Tina Gospodnetich, a district volunteer, its Friend of Education award.

Few votes so far on council plan

Ballots are trickling in for the May 22 special election to expand Post Falls City Council, city officials said Wednesday.

As of Wednesday morning, only nine people had stopped by City Hall to vote by absentee ballot, City Clerk Chris Pappas said.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Pappas, adding that construction at City Hall may deter some voters.

The election will decide whether to expand the council from four members to six. Residents may vote early by absentee ballot at City Hall or the Kootenai County Elections Office in Coeur d’Alene.

Post Falls City Hall, 408 N. Spokane St., and the county elections office, 315 W. Garden Ave., are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Same-day voter registration is available.

The special election will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 22 at the National Guard Armory, 5555 Seltice Way.

A larger council will better represent the growing population, city officials say. Two more council members would cost nearly $40,000 more a year, according to the city.

From staff reports