The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 114, Number 1 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages $1.00
‘No more regulation’
Tribe’s quest for cleaner air standards runs into heated opposition By Don Gronning Of The Miner
USK – A large crowd turned out Monday night at the Camas Center to weigh in on the Kalispel Tribe’s proposal to have the reservation classified a Class I area under the federal Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration program, which would require stricter air standards for industrial emitters of air pollution. Tribal Secretary-Treasurer Darren Holmes opened the public hearing, which was overseen by a hearings examiner, Taylor Fielding, the tribal prosecutor. Fielding said the tribe will extend the deadline for written comments to Friday, a week longer than the original deadline. Holmes said the tribe wanted the change because of the HiTest Sand silicone smelter that was tentatively planned for the Usk area before moving the proposed site to Stevens County. The smelter would have been within a mile of the reservation and tribal leaders were worried about it poisoning the air. He said he couldn’t get specific information about the project from any of the HiTest officials he talked to. That led the tribe to conclude a change
Miner photo|Don Gronning
Sandy Haney asks a question Monday night at the Camas Center. Haney was opposed to the Kalispel Tribe’s plan to have the air quality standards for large emitters increased, fearing an impact on jobs in the area.
See air, 2A
Kirk’s murderer sentenced to life in prison COEUR D’ALENE – One of the two men responsible for the murder of former long-time Newport resident William “Bo” Kirk, was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, without the possibility of parole, Monday in Coeur d’Alene. David Hutto, 44, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbing and killing Kirk with his roommate Justin Booth. Booth is beHutto ing held on federal firearms charges for possession of the firearm used to kill Kirk. Hutto was also originally charged with arson, a charge dropped in exchange for the guilty plea. According to the Spokesman-Review, Kirk’s family spoke during sentencing Monday, including his son Brian Kirk. Kirk is survived by his three children, his wife Amanda, and a grandchild born after his death. The murder occurred Oct. 22, off Hayden Creek Road in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest. Kirk was on his way home from work as a radiology technician at Northwest Specialty Hospital in Post Falls, when he supposedly flashed his high beam headlights at the truck driven by Booth and Hutto. The incident angered the two men, according to the Spokesman, so they followed him home, kidnapping him at gunpoint in his driveway. The drove him to Hayden Creek Road, where they shot Kirk, stole his truck and his debit cards. At least two surveillance videos showed a masked Hutto, taking money out of Kirk’s bank accounts, driving Kirk’s truck. The two men later doused Kirk’s truck in gasoline and lit it on fire. Kirk’s body wasn’t found until Tuesday, Oct. 25. Hutto, 44, was taken into custody Oct. 28, and pleaded guilty in February, after initially pleading not guilty. See murder, 10A
Pend Oreille County commissioners concerned, request meeting Skoog and commissioner Steve Kiss phoned in to participate. Skoog was in Washington D.C. and Kiss was at the Resource Advisory Committee meeting in Colville. County planning consultant Greg Dohrn and county head of Community Development Greg Snow also attended. County commissioner Mike Manus said Dohrn
By Don Gronning Of The Miner
NEWPORT – Pend Oreille County commissioners had a special meeting Friday, April 7 to discuss finalizing their comment letter to the Kalispel Tribe about the proposed change to a Class I area under the federal Clean Air Act. County commission chairwoman Karen
had been researching what other counties had done to address such a change in air quality standards. Dohrn said that many comments were made in the form of questions. He said air quality law was complex. He said the details of how the change is implemented was key. “The devil is in the details,” he said. Dohrn said that the
county letter starts with a request for a government to government meeting with tribal officials. Skoog said such a government to government consultation was appropriate. Kiss asked if the tribe would go along with such a request. Dohrn said he thought See County, 2A
Corrections inmates find extra beds at county jail By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner
NEWPORT –A contract with the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) has enabled the Pend Oreille County Jail to earn money from providing beds to DOC inmates, an arrangement not uncommon across the state. According to Pend Oreille County Jail Captain Jeff Rusho,
the jail sometimes houses inmates form Spokane, Deer Park and Colville. “If our local count of inmates is low, we can contract out with the Department of Corrections to help them, and it benefits us,” says Rusho. The contract is renewed with the DOC every three years, adds Rusho. The current daily bed rate for DOC inmates is $81.96 per day.
“We get calls form DOC daily asking what our available bed space is,” says Rusho. “It’s hard to consistently pin down what our number of inmates will be on a day to day basis, because we just never know where our numbers are going to be.” Pend Oreille County Jail has a total of 38 beds, eight of which are for females. In January 2017, See jail, 2A
B r i e f ly Phone scammers hit Newport NEWPORT – Tillie Kiehl said she got a call recently from someone who said he was her great-grandson. He was talking in a muffled voice, so she really couldn’t tell if it was her great-grandson or not. The caller said he was in jail and that she needed to call an attorney to help get him out. No sooner did he get through telling her that, when she got a call from a person claiming to be an attorney. She hung up on that person and called her granddaughter in the Seattle area, who went to where Kiehl’s
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great-grandson worked. He was at work. It’s not a new scam, but apparently it is still circulating.
Cusick drinking water safe again CUSICK – The town of Cusick gave the all clear Tuesday following a water boil advisory issued Sunday, April 9. According to Cusick Mayor Chris Evers, wastewater supervisor Dustin Ridgley noticed Sunday that the automatic switch to change the chlorination hadn’t tripped, so he changed it manually and proceeded to
flush the lines. Evers said they contacted the state Department of Health, who wanted a sample to test. That was done Monday and the results were back Tuesday. Evers said she was thankful Ridgley came in on a Sunday to check things.
Distinguished young woman program April 22 PRIEST RIVER – The Distinguished Young Women Scholarship Program will take place Saturday, April 22, at the Priest River Junior High School auditorium at 7 p.m. Admission is $10.
classifieds
7B
Opinion
4a
Record
5B
Life
3B
Police Reports
5B
sports
1b-2B
5B-6B
Public Notices
8B-10B
Obituaries
Real Estate
6A
New Real Estate Section See page 6A