Police seeking help in SUV hit-and-run
A bicyclist was hit by a sport utility vehicle Friday night about 11 p.m. at Post Street and Cora Avenue, and Spokane police are asking for help finding the driver.
Witnesses described the suspect vehicle as a newer, light-colored SUV, possibly a Ford Explorer, with a long, black, oval-shaped roof rack storage system on the driver’s side, according to police.
After the crash, the vehicle drove west on Cora Avenue, then north on Monroe Street, witnesses said.
The bicyclist suffered serious injuries but is expected to survive.
Anyone with information about the vehicle or the driver is asked to contact Cpl. Brad Hallock at (509) 835-4566.
COEUR D’ALENE
Conservation group executive to retire
Barry Rosenberg will retire next week as Kootenai Environmental Alliance’s executive director. His last day is May 15.
Rosenberg, 66, spent seven years at Idaho’s oldest conservation organization. He will be replaced by Terry Harris, who joined KEA’s staff about six months ago. Before moving to North Idaho, Harris worked on environmental issues in the Baltimore area, including Chesapeake Bay’s cleanup.
Kootenai Environmental Alliance was founded in 1972. The nonprofit plays an educational and watchdog role in land use and water issues.
Bonner County
Driver sentenced in fatal crash
A single-car crash that killed a Clark Fork, Idaho, teenager last fall earned the drunken driver six months in a corrections center.
Zachary B. Palmer, 21, will report to Cottonwood Correction Center for a six-month program in June, according to a plea deal approved this week in Bonner County District Court.
Judge Steve Verby sentenced Palmer to three to seven years for the Oct. 8 crash that killed Tyler J. Pesce, 18, but retained jurisdiction over the case, meaning Palmer will be released if he completes the program.
The agreement includes five years probation and an 18-month suspension of his driver’s license.
Palmer was drunk at the time of the crash, police said. Palmer entered an Alford plea to one charge of vehicular manslaughter because he had no memory of the crash, said his lawyer, Michael Waldrup of Sandpoint.
The agreement was approved by Pesce’s family, Waldrup said.
Region
S-R keeping track of fallen troops
Do you know anyone in the military service from the area who died while deployed for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Over the Memorial Day weekend, The Spokesman-Review will recognize men and women of this area who died preparing for or serving in those wars. We want to make sure no one is overlooked.
If you know of someone from Eastern Washington or North Idaho who fits the criteria, please contact Addy Hatch, city editor, at (509) 459-3805 or breakingnews@spokesman.com.
WALLACE
Meeting will discuss soil repository
Plans for a new soil repository in the Silver Valley will be discussed May 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Wallace Inn, 100 Front St.
Contaminated soils from the Bunker Hill Superfund site cleanup will be housed in the repository, which will be located between Big Creek and Mullan.
Comments should be sent before June 19 to Andy Mork, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, 1410 N. Hilton St., Boise, ID 83706, or andy.mork@deq.idaho.gov.