In brief: U.S. 95 widening will be celebrated

A formal celebration today will mark the opening of four new lanes of U.S. Highway 95 between Thorncreek Road and the top of the Lewiston Hill. The 16-mile stretch of highway, completed on schedule for around $55 million, actually opened Sunday.

With the northbound and southbound lanes now separated by a wide median, the potential for head-on collisions has been all but eliminated, said Bob Schumacher, resident engineer for the transportation department.

Rumble strips will be installed along both shoulders of the north and south lanes to help ensure against motorists drifting off the highway, Schumacher said.

Construction on another 6-mile stretch, between the new segment and Thorncreek Road, probably won’t start until summer 2010. That segment was delayed after citizens filed a lawsuit alleging the department failed to properly study the environmental impact of the proposed route.

The only other scheduled work on Highway 95 in the Moscow area is set to begin about 5 miles north of the city in 2012. That project entails construction of a northbound passing lane on what is called Steakhouse Hill. A southbound uphill passing lane already exists on the hill.

Coeur d’Alene

LCDC approves money for schools

Two Coeur d’Alene elementary schools and the school district administrative office could get tax money from the local urban renewal agency if a plan approved by the agency gets final approval from the City Council.

The Lake City Development Corp. approved a plan Wednesday recommended by a Boise legal consultant that calls for expanding the urban renewal districts to include Winton Elementary School and the adjoining park as well as Sorensen Magnet School for the Arts and Humanities and the Coeur d’Alene School District’s administrative office. The school district and LCDC have been looking for ways to fund repairs at the schools using urban renewal money. Adjusting the boundaries of the urban renewal districts to include the schools is a beginning step. The change would not affect the city’s tax base because the district-owned properties are not taxed.

Pullman

Woman harassed near WSU campus

Pullman police are looking for four men who reportedly have sexually harassed a woman several times near Greek row since early September.

During the most recent incident, just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, three of the four suspects assaulted the woman and dragged her behind a fence at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, of Washington State University. Pullman Police Chief Ted Weatherly did not indicate she was raped.

The first incident was about Sept. 4, when the four men reportedly made catcalls at the woman as she walked alone near the intersection of Monroe and Colorado streets about 9 a.m. The next day, in the same area, the suspects surrounded her and made sexually suggestive remarks, police say.

The woman told police the incidents were repeated for the next few days.

“We’re hoping we can find someone that has seen one of these incidents and corroborate her story,” Weatherly said.

All four suspects were described as white in a police statement. One is about 6-foot-4, weighs 180 pounds, has shaggy blond hair, brown eyes and facial scruff. Another was about the same height, weighs about 200 pounds, has blue eyes and short, brown, spiked hair. A third stands a couple inches shorter, weighs about 160 pounds, has brown eyes, freckles and light-brown hair with a hint of red. The fourth is stocky, weighs 220 to 230 pounds, has blond hair and blue eyes.

Pullman police are asking that anyone with information call (509) 334-0802.