031517newportminer

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The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

Volume 115, Number 7 | 2 Sections, 16 Pages $1.00

County to pay for EHM?

Judge wants to ask county for electronic home monitoring money By Don Gronning Of The Miner

NEWPORT – Pend Oreille Superior Court Judge Jessica Reeves had just sentenced a man to 50 day electronic home monitoring for a drug charge. Neither the prosecution nor the defense had proposed such a sentence, as EHM isn’t typically done in Superior Court criminal cases. But Reeves thought he was a good candidate for such a sentence, as he was on probation with random urinalysis. (See story page 3A.) “We are a punitive court but we don’t want to destroy lives,” she said at the sentencing last week. Afterwards, she spoke with defense and prosecuting attorneys about using EHM sentencing more in Superior Court. Reeves would like the county to pay for it, making it more of an option for indigent defendants. She said it would save the county money in the long run, as EHM costs about $10 a day compared to $70-80 a day it costs to hold someone in jail. Defense attorney Robin McCroskey liked the idea. Prosecuting attorney Lori Smith said she would have to talk with her boss, county Prosecutor Dolly Hunt. Reeves said she had broached the subject with

Miner photos|Don Gronning

Spring tube vandalized Thomasina Anderson of Usk was getting water from the spring alongside LeClerc Road, about five miles north off Highway 2 Friday. The spring is the source of drinking water for many people. The pipe had been vandalized with spray paint and stickers recently. The bottom photo shows how paint was sprayed inside the tube. A person owns the water right for the spring, but that person allows it to be used by the public, says Pend Oreille County Public Works Director Sam Castro. The pipe is outside the county’s right of way.

See Reeves, 2A

Dollar Tree coming to Oldtown By Michelle Nedved Of The Miner

OLDTOWN – The city of Oldtown is about to get another chain store. The city approved a building permit Feb. 24, for the arrival of a Dollar Tree Inc. store. The store will be located next to Ben Franklin, in what was most recently Newport Ambulance, at 201 E. Fourth St. The building was purchased by Marshall Clark of Clark Pacific Real Estate in Spokane. It will be leased by Dollar Tree Inc., which purchased the Family Dollar chain in 2015. While it is unclear if Oldtown’s location will be a Dollar Tree or a Family Dollar, the closest Family Dollar to Oldtown is in southern Idaho. Family Dollar stores can be found in all states except Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Alaska. There

Pend Oreille Character

Injury provides different perspective on health, life By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner Editor’s note: This is the second in a continuing series of stories about people who live in the Pend Oreille River Valley.

NEWPORT – Brandy Hollis has the rare characteristic of being amiable for the sake of joy alone. She seems to be one of those people who is genuinely happy “just because.” She talks about her past with ease, directness, and a modesty that seems unfabricated. Maybe that’s in part to several things: the way she was raised, how she lives her

See Dollar tree, 2A

See character, 2A

Miner photo|Sophia Aldous

Brandy Hollis practices pushups at Club Energy, where she is a personal trainer. After breaking her neck at 28, Hollis has a different outlook on life and health.

B r i e f ly Indivisible group plans March 21 meeting

Taxable value in Pend Oreille County up $6 million

NEWPORT – The group Indivisible Pend Oreille County is planning a meeting Tuesday, March 21, from 6-8 p.m. at West 900 Fourth St., in Newport, at the Create building. There are many Indivisible groups that sprang up following the election of President Donald Trump in opposition to his presidency. The Pend Oreille County group is interested in health care, the environment and Social Security. For more information, email ‪indivisiblependoreillecounty@gmail.com.

NEWPORT – It’s that time of year again: time to pay property taxes. The first installment is due to the Pend Oreille County Auditor’s office April 30 (or the following business day) and the second is due Oct 31. The total tax bill for Pend Oreille County in 2017 is $13,549,857, according to Pend Oreille County Assessor James McCroskey. In 2016 it was $12,591,970. For 2017, the taxable value of the county is $1,401,975,521. McCroskey said that is up $6 million from last year

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5B-10B

due to new construction and real estate sales climbing in Pend Oreille County. In 2016 there was $22 million worth of new construction in the county. Last year’s approve levy lid lift in Fire District 6 and the Newport hospital District’s bond will also show as a slight uptick in property taxes, with the levy lid lift coming in at $1 per thousand of assessed value and the bond at 61-cents per thousand. McCroskey says the maintenance and operations levies for Newport, Cusick and Selkirk School District, which were all approved by voters in February, won’t show up until the 2018 property tax cycle.

Opinion

4a

Record

4B

sports

1B

Medical Page

6A

Life

3B

Police Reports

4B

Obituaries

4B

Public Notices

5B-10B

New Medical Page See page 6A


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