Newport Miner February 12, 2014

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HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS HEAD INTO POST STATE PLAY PEND OREILLE RIVER FREEZES OVER: SEE PAGE 6A

The Newport Miner THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

Volume 111, Number 2 | 2 Sections, 16 Pages

75¢

Deputy taser lawsuit settled for $425,000 Estate asked for $10 million after incident resulted in man’s death BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER

SPOKANE – A federal lawsuit brought by the family of a 69-year-old man who died after being tased and paralyzed by Pend Oreille County Sheriff deputies in 2011 has been settled out of court for $425,000. The initial claim was for $10 million, brought by the estate of Estyl “Lee” Hall, who died after a confrontation with sheriff deputies in March 2011. The estate was created in October 2011, and his wife, Clair was appointed personal representative for the estate. The claim was also filed on behalf of Hall’s five adult children. Pend Oreille County Prosecutor Tom Metzger said the case was settled late last year. The county is part of an

COURTESY PHOTO|PERRY PEARMAN

Practicing ice rescues

SEE TASER, 2A

Jordan returns to Hospital Board Four others apply for vacated seat NEWPORT – The Public Hospital District No. 1 Board of Commissioners recently appointed John Jordan to fill the seat vacated by Don Jordan Monroe, who resigned his position in December 2013.

Jordan had been a board member in the past. Four other people applied for the position: Mike Quick, Mark Kobylarz, Leroy Leland and Melanie Endicott. Tom Wilbur, Newport Hospital and Health Services CEO, said he was SEE HOSPITAL, 7A

Twenty-four responders from South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue, Pend Oreille Fire District No. 4 and the Kalispel Tribe Dive Team practiced their ice rescue training drills at Sacheen Lake Saturday, Feb. 8. There are sets of ice rescue gear staged at several fire stations in the area. Everyone is encouraged to be careful on the ice as the thickness varies quite a bit in all areas. If there is an ice rescue emergency, call 911 for assistance.

County no longer rural? 2010 Census designates Pend Oreille as part of Spokane area grant money and could change health care at Newport Hospital, following the 2010 U.S. Census. Nearly 27 percent of Pend Oreille County’s population works in Spokane County making the county, at least in the federal government’s eyes, a suburb

BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – The number of Pend Oreille County residents that leave the county to go to work each day may prevent county entities from getting

of Spokane. The same designation changed from rural to metropolitan in Stevens County. The biggest potential downside to this change in designation is that it could disqualify municipaliSEE COUNTY, 2A

Cheerleader athletes entertain, cheer The Priest River cheerleaders enter competitions as well as keeping the fans cheering. “Last year we placed first at Districts and sixth in the state,” she says. The team will be heading to Moscow for District competition next week. Scribner says she enjoys the dancing aspect of cheerleading. “I’ve been dancing since I was 7,” she says. Scribner is a base, meaning she lifts the flyer into the air for the stunts. In high school, you can’t stack more than two girls for stunts, she says. There are about 15-16 girls on the Priest River squad. “We try out,” she says. Scribner has been a cheerleader since her fresh-

BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – Cheerleading has changed from the days when girls and few guys chanted cheers and got the crowd fired up for the hometown team. There is still plenty of that, but it has evolved into an athletic event, with high flying stunts entertaining the crowd during breaks in the action. “The crowds love the stunts,” says Newport cheerleading advisor Wendy Drum. The stunts take a variety of forms, from doing serial somersaults in front of the crowd, to lifts in the air, with girls dropping from five or six feet high to be caught by their fellow cheerleaders. The stunts are rigorously practiced, says Drum. Stunts are practiced with floor pads but during game performances pads aren’t used or required for the type of stunts Newport girls are doing, Drum says. Stunts that involve spinning require a mat, says Bailey Scribner, 17. Scribner is a senior and co-captain of the Priest River cheerleading squad.

SEE CHEER, 2A MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING

Left: Newport cheerleaders warm up before the game. Cheerleading advisor Wendy Drum said game performances do not usually require a mat for safety.

B R I E F LY Cold temperatures cause peak energy usage

NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Public Utility District reached a peak electricity usage of 71.8 megawatts for its general service customers at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, when temperatures dipped to 22 Fahrenheit degrees below zero at Cusick. By comparison, this year’s peak was almost two times the five-year average of 38.2 megawatts for February. The highest usage for 2013 was 66 megawatts on Dec. 7, when temperatures were -10 degrees in Newport. PUD customers reached an all time usage of 74.5 megawatts in December 2008. Power generation resources, including Box Canyon and Boundary Dams, were more than enough to cover the peak

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usage on Feb. 6. “Although peak energy spikes like this affect the amount of power that must be purchased for Ponderay Newsprint Co., it would be very unusual for us to need to purchase additional power for our general service customers,” said PUD Power and Risk Manager Kimberly Gentle.

School levy election gets large turnout NEWPORT –More than 3,414 county residents returned ballots by Tuesday morning, Feb. 11, for the Newport, Cusick and Selkirk school districts three-year Maintenance and Operations 5B-8B

Levies. This is the only issue on the ballot. With more than 7,660 ballots mailed out and 3,414 returned as of Tuesday morning, the election has gotten more than 44.4 percent county turnout. Election supervisor Liz Krizenesky said the general election in November 2013 had a 40 percent turnout. Cusick had 1,221 ballots issued and 613 returned for a 50.2 percent turnout. Selkirk had 1,450 ballots issued and 695 returned for a 47.9 percent turnout. Newport had 5,015 ballots issued and 2,095 returned for a SEE BRIEFLY, 2A

OPINION

4A

RECORD

4B

SPORTS

1B-2B

LIFE

3B

POLICE REPORTS

4B

OBITUARIES

4B

PUBLIC NOTICES

7B

BE LOOKING FOR SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW IN MARCH


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