In brief: Vigils will mark war’s anniversary

Prayer services and vigils are planned around the region today to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

Pax Christi Spokane will meet for collective repentance and observation at 6 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Church, 1503 W. Dean.

Spokane residents who helped with last year’s Tent City for the homeless and the local chapter of the liberal political group MoveOn.org will gather at 7 p.m. at the former tent city site, Sinto and Napa. They’ll hold a prayer vigil for members of the armed services from Washington who have died in the war.

The Coeur d’Alene chapter of MoveOn.org will hold a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. at Independence Point, Northwest Boulevard and Lakeside Avenue.

Veterans and military groups contacted by the newspaper said they knew of no other events to mark the anniversary. Veterans groups do, however, have a ceremony for the unveiling of the sign for the new state Veterans Cemetery near Medical Lake, at West Espanola and Richie roads, at noon. The cemetery is expected to be ready by summer 2010.

BOISE

Bill would muscle out invasive mussels

Idaho would move aggressively to target invasive quagga mussels and keep them out of the state’s waterways, under legislation that passed the House unanimously Tuesday.

“If we allow this invasive species to come into Idaho, we are going to see … our fisheries destroyed, all our native fauna pushed out,” state Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, told the House.

The thumbnail-size shellfish, and closely related zebra mussels, multiply rapidly, and where they’ve invaded waterways, they’ve clogged pipes and destroyed landscapes. Anderson said the mussels have been kept east of the Mississippi until 2007, when they turned up in Lake Mead.

The bill bans the introduction of invasive species into Idaho, and allows for inspections, checkpoints, eradication or other measures by the state Department of Agriculture.

Washington banned the importation of the exotic mussels – even accidental – in 2002, and regularly inspects boats coming into the state. Last year, inspectors working found zebra mussels on two boats that had been towed from Ontario and Iowa. Both had crossed Idaho on Interstate 90.

Bonds for highway work clear House

Plans to sell another $134 million in highway construction bonds in Idaho passed the House on Tuesday on a 47-23 vote.

The bonds, to be paid off by future federal highway allocations, are part of the multi-year “Connecting Idaho” bonding plan that includes upgrades for U.S. Highway 95 in North Idaho. Next year’s installment involves mostly freeway projects in the Boise-Caldwell area.

All but three of North Idaho’s representatives voted in favor of the bonding; the dissenters were Reps. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake; Phil Hart, R-Athol; and Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries. The bonding bill, HB 657, now moves to the Senate.

North Idaho

Woman dies in crash on U.S. 95

Icy roads contributed to car collisions in Idaho early Tuesday, including a five-car crash that killed a 34-year-old Sandpoint woman.

Joni C. Zantow was southbound on U.S. Highway 95 near milepost 456 when she lost control of her 1994 Mercury Tracer and was sideswiped by a Ford Explorer, according to the Idaho State Police. Zantow’s car slid into the northbound lane and was rear-ended by a Geo Tracker and struck on the driver’s side by a Ford Expedition. Another vehicle rear-ended the Expedition, according to the ISP. None of the other drivers was injured.

The crash was one of several Tuesday at Highway 95 and Blacktail Road near Lake Cocolalla. Other collisions were reported on Interstate 90 where it crosses over Spokane Street in Post Falls, and Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies slowed traffic over the icy overpass.

PORTLAND

More use Oregon’s assisted suicide law

The number of Oregonians who used the state’s assisted suicide law rose to its highest level in 2007, its 10th year in effect.

According to a report released Tuesday by the Oregon Department of Human Services, more people are getting the lethal prescriptions allowed under the Death with Dignity Act, but as in the past, not all take them.

The report shows that 85 people got the prescriptions in 2007, up by 20 from the year before. And 49 people died under the terms of the law, up by three from the year before.

Oregon’s law allows terminally ill, mentally competent adults to give themselves a life-ending medication prescribed by a physician. Oregon is the only state in the nation with such a law.

Since it went into effect, 341 patients have died under the terms of the law.

Each year, data on the law’s use holds many similarities. People who use it are predominantly white, older and well-educated. Most suffer from cancer.

The most common end-of-life concerns expressed are loss of autonomy, loss of dignity and a decreasing ability to participate in activities they enjoy.

But this year, the gap between when people got a prescription and when they used it jumped significantly. The average length of time in 2007 was two weeks, compared with six days in prior years.