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The Newport Miner
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the voice of pend oreille count y since 1901
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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 109, Number 13 | 3 Sections, 28 Pages
Two dead after alcohol fueled dispute
Pair shot, stabbed each other By Don Gronning Of The Miner
IONE – Sheriff deputies believe a dispute that left one man stabbed to death and another dead by gunshot started when someone backed a vehicle into the car belonging to one of the dead men early Sunday, April 29, near the Yocum Lake campground, about 10 miles south of Ione. Steven Q. Divine, 22, died of a stab wound to the upper abdomen, and Richard R. Hill, 18, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, according to Pend Oreille County prosecutor and coroner Tom Metzger. Divine is from Mead and Hill from Spokane.
“It was pretty clear what killed them,” Metzger Botzheim said it appears the altercation started said. He said blood alcohol levels for the two men after someone backed a vehicle into Divine’s 1986 Courtesy won’t be available for several weeks from the autopsy Honda Civic. map|Google report. “He was upset about “It was pretty clear what killed them.” who would pay,” Yocum Lake is Deputies were called at 12:20 about 10 miles a.m. Sunday, responding to Botzheim said. numerous calls from the camp, Tom Metzger The two men were with south of Ione on the east side of Pend Oreille County Sheriff Alan Pend Oreille County Prosecutor, Coroner two groups of people Botzheim said. camping on county land, the Pend Oreille “It was pretty chaotic,” he said. Botzheim said. Some members of the groups knew River. It’s surBotzheim said it appeared Hill stabbed Divine each other. There were about 11 people in all, ages rounded by U.S. Forest Service twice, and Divine shot Hill with a handgun. 18 to 24. Botzheim didn’t say who acted first. Deputies have After the confrontation, members of each group land and land owned by Pend the .40 caliber handgun and the knife in their posSee Homicide, 2A Oreille County. session.
Yocum Lake
Pend Oreille River on the rise Property owners urged to prepare for flooding NEWPORT – Snowpack levels are high, and the Pend Oreille River level is rising. Property owners along the Pend Oreille River are encouraged to take precautions and prepare for possible flooding, including securing docks and boats. Peak river elevation for this year is expected to be sometime in late May or early June. “Unfortunately, we simply do not know exactly how high the river will rise or when peak flows will be reached,” said Terry Borden, manager of hydro production at the Pend Oreille Public Utility District’s Box Canyon Dam. “When and how quickly
the snowpack melts is determined solely by the weather.” Current snowpack levels for the Pend Oreille River drainage, which are the Upper and Lower Clark Fork Basins and the Flathead Basin, are 95 to 100 percent of average. Rainy weather is predicted through next week. Power production at Box Canyon Dam was shut down Sunday, April 29. Due to operational limitations, the dam is normally unable to produce electricity above 80,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). As of May 1, river flow rates were between 78,000 and 81,000 cfs. The peak flow rate for 2011 was 126,000 cfs, and during the flood year of 1997, the maximum flow rate was
140,000 cfs. The river level was at 2,040.48 feet above sea level at the Cusick gauge Tuesday. A level of 2,042.9 feet or higher is considered flood stage. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is operating its reservoirs to reduce flood risk. At Albeni Falls Dam near Oldtown, the powerhouse was taken offline and the spillway gates were raised April 24, transitioning to a free-flow operation. The normal maximum elevation for April on Lake Pend Oreille is 2,056 feet and the corresponding channel capacity at the lake limits outflows to 56,000 cfs. Since inflows are See River, 2A
Courtesy photo|Diane Wear
Anglers, fish turn out for opening day Myron Kerr of Mead caught these two fish at Sacheen Lake on opening day, Saturday, April 28. The brookie, on the left, was 14 inches and the tiger trout 14.5 inches. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife only checked Diamond Lake in Pend Oreille County on Saturday. Forty-four anglers were interviewed with 74 fish, 81 released and an overall caught rate of 3.5 fish per angler. The over harvest rate was 1.68 fish per angler. WDFW’s creel checkers reported most anglers were happy with the fishing opportunities, information officer Madonna Luers said. It was cold but the sun came out for most of the day with wind picking up in the afternoon. The largest fish reported caught at Diamond was a 21-inch rainbow trout.
Shoreline program gets fine tuned Courtesy photo|Marianne Nichols
Alternative ways to meet setback requirements discussed By Don Gronning Of The Miner
NEWPORT – Pend Oreille County commissioners continued to work on the Shoreline Master Program at a meeting Tuesday, May 1. It was their fourth workshop on the program since the county’s planning commission finished their work on the draft. This meeting focused on setbacks – the distance from the water where there could be no new structures built. Community Development Director Mike Lithgow and Gregg Dohrn, the county’s consultant for the Shoreline Master Program, said that most of the land in the county,
including the county’s shorelines, were publically owned and were already off limits for development. Dohrn said that there are about 28,000 acres of shoreline in the county. Under the current draft of the shoreline management plan, about 68 percent is designated either rural or urban conservancy and 24 percent designated natural. Conservancy is a designation to preserve natural resource lands, designate environmentally sensitive areas and protect valuable historic and cultural areas, while providing recreational opportunities. Rural conservancy has a 150-foot setback and urban conservancy has a 100-foot setback. Setbacks for land See shoreline, 2A
|| Muddy conditions close two county roads
NEWPORT – Two roads in North Pend Oreille County have been closed due to spring runoff. Meadow Road is closed at milepost 6, and Rocky Creek Road is closed at Highway 20. Meadow Road extends west of Ione, passing Big Meadow Lane. Rocky Creek Road (also known as Lost Creek Road) meets Highway 20 just north of Frater and Nile lakes. The Pend Oreille County Road Department announced the closures Thursday afternoon, April 26. All other road restrictions have been removed.
Kidnap suspect held on $300,000 SPOKANE – A 53-year-old Chattaroy man arrested near the Kings Lake Sno Park in Pend Oreille County April 19 remains in the Spokane
Robin McCroskey accepts her Eagle Volunteer award as Karen Skoog looks on during the Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday.
Volunteers recognized at Lincoln Day Dinner CUSICK – The Pend Oreille County Republicans recognized the members of the party that were the “the hardest working, most dedicated and most effective volunteers within your county.” Awards were presented at the annual Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday, April 28, at the Cusick American Legion Hall. Volunteers received Eagle Awards, including Robin McCroskey, Karen Skoog, Walter “Buzz” Price, Billie Goodno, Larry Brown, Bob Moran,
B R I E F LY
County Jail, held on $300,000 bond. Steven Tofte is charged with second degree kidnapping, residential burglary, identity theft and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was charged with kidnapping a 14-year-old family member. He has 15 felony convictions, according to news reports. Tofte was the subject of a two county search involving U.S. Marshalls, Spokane Police and Pend Oreille County Sheriff deputies. When he was captured standing outside his vehicle, there was a shotgun in his vehicle but he made no attempt to grab it, Pend Oreille County Undersheriff Grant Sirevog said. Tofte told a Spokane television station that the family member called him and told him she was running away. He said he took the girl to protect her and to talk
Doreen Moran, Alice Moran, Greg Portrey, Barbara Boyd, Robert Christenson, Bob Eggelston, party chairman Norris Boyd, and Wayne Antcliff. Local elected officials and candidates attended the event, including Reps. Shelly Short and Joel Kretz, Sen. Bob Morton, Rep. Kevin Parker from the 6th District in Spokane, Jeff Kent, a volunteer with the National Committee for Washington and the vice chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Republican county commissioner candidates Karen Skoog and Tim Ibbetson.
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her into going back to her family.
Teck planning group to meet May 15 METALINE FALLS – The next meeting of the Teck Community Planners, the group making plans for the future of the mine site in Metaline Falls, has been set for Tuesday, May 15 at 1:30 p.m. at Metaline Falls Town Hall. They will be kicking off the integrated project grant and beginning the game plan with Jim Darling and Bill Hager of Maul Foster and Alongi engineering firm. The group is making plans for the Pend Oreille Mine property, once the facility permanently shuts down. Those interested in being on the committee or who have any questions but are not able to make this
meeting can call Jamie Wyrobeck, director of the Pend Oreille County Economic Development Council, at 509447-5569.
Preschool screening at Newport May 14 NEWPORT – The Newport School District will provide a free screening to preschoolers Monday, May 14. Children 5 years old and younger will be screened for special needs in the following areas: cognitive (thinking and pre-academic skills), communication (speech and language), fine motor (writing, drawing, cutting and visual-motor), gross motor (balance, throwing and kicking), vision and hearing. For more information about available services or to have a preschooler screened, contact Keri Leslie at 509-447-3167.
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