Notebook: Idaho Guard to clear Bonner Co. school roofs
With up to 4 feet of saturated snow resting atop schools in Bonner County, local officials figured it was time to summon the troops.
Forty-six Idaho National Guard soldiers are expected to arrive in Sandpoint this morning to help clear the roofs using snowblowers and shovels flown in on a C-130 cargo plane.
The top priority is getting the heavy loads of snow off the schools, which were closed the past few days, according to Bob Howard, the county’s emergency management director. Howard on Friday described the task as “critical.”
Most of the citizen soldiers called to state active duty are North Idaho residents. The assistance was made possible by Gov. Butch Otter’s emergency declaration Thursday for North Idaho.
Bus barn collapses
Students in Wallace, Idaho, got a three-day weekend after the roof of the bus barn collapsed with six of the school district’s eight buses underneath.
No one was hurt when the roof collapsed early Friday morning while maintenance workers were shoveling snow off of it, Mayor Ron Garitone said. The buses suffered back end damage, he said.
The Silver Valley got about two feet of snow Thursday and Friday. Shoshone County commissioners declared a state of emergency in hopes of garnering state attention and resources.
“Our city’s just about to the point of being shut down,” Garitone said. “We gotta go to plan B, and I don’t know what that is yet.”
Benewah County also declared a disaster emergency Friday.
Snow ends chase
The next time you get stuck in the snow, take comfort in this: At least you’re not going to jail like Jimokai Colvin.
The Spokane man, driving a 2008 Hyundai with Washington plates, blew a stop sign Friday morning in Priest River, said Idaho State Police Capt. Clark Rollins. He allegedly fled police, crashing the stolen car into a snowbank, then ran to a home where he stole another car and continued to lead authorities in a pursuit, Rollins said.
Several Idaho agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, gave chase on State Highway 57, where Colvin crashed again, police said.
Then the suspect ran into the woods and promptly got stuck in chest-deep snow, police said.
Colvin had a felony warrant for escape from the Washington Department of Corrections, Rollins said. In addition, he has been charged with eluding police.
Red Cross closes shelter
The American Red Cross Inland Northwest Chapter has closed a temporary shelter at Cheney High School, which had been open about two days. The Red Cross said it provided 140 warm meals in that time.
The local chapter of the relief agency hadn’t operated a shelter due to winter weather conditions since 1993, the organization said.
People needing assistance from the Red Cross can call (509) 326-3330, Ext. 220.