The Newport Miner THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY SINCE 1901
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 116, Number 19 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages $1.00
Pregnant inmate raises questions about jail care BY SOPHIA ALDOUS OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – Correctional facilities are required by law to provide health services to people who are incarcerated, but what happens when a jail inmate is pregnant? “The last thing we want to see is a pregnant female in jail,” says Pend Oreille County Jail Captain Geoff Rusho. “Usually, they wind up in here because it’s a court commitment; for example, they violated their probation by taking drugs, not showing up to court, or they turn themselves in. A severe crime like homicide could also land them here.” A judge can order a temporary release for an inmate to be admitted to the nearest hospital if she goes into labor, but Rusho says nothing like that has happened in Pend Oreille County according to his memory. In a letter written to the The Miner Newspapers postmarked May 22, Pend Oreille County jail inmate Bobbi Jo Hindberg-Tweten praised the jail staff, but criticized the county’s lack of prenatal care for pregnant inmates. Hindberg-Tweten wrote that she is currently serving a 60-day sentence after turning herself in for a misdemeanor and is more than four months pregnant. “I’m writing in regards to the prenatal care I’m not receiving while I’m here,” she writes. “It’s frustrating that I feel malnourished.” Hindberg-Tweten states in the letter that for SEE JAIL, 2A
MINER PHOTO|MICHELLE NEDVED
Congratulations seniors Newport High School held their graduation Saturday, June 2, in the gymnasium. Here, Joel McDermeit gives his mother Dana the rose all seniors gave to their parents. Eighty-seven seniors graduated. Stephanie Huang and Kari Goodrich were valedictorian and salutatorian, and gave as combined speech. Principal Troy Whittle and teacher Todd Matthews also spoke. Also this past weekend, the Pend Oreille River School and House of the Lord Christian Academy held graduations. This coming weekend, Priest River Lamanna, Selkirk and Cusick high schools graduate.
Council prepares to sell old gas station property BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The Newport City Council paved the way for selling
the property that was the old Chevron gas station at 230 N. Washington Ave., in downtown Newport by declaring the property surplus and authorizing city administrator Ray
King to sell the property for at least the appraised value. The property was appraised at $72,000 by an SEE COUNCIL, 2A
Hospital District breaks ground on assisted living facility NEWPORT – After a spring filled with site preparations for River Mountain Village Advanced Care (RMVAC), Newport
Hospital and Health Services (NHHS) will celebrate the official construction Tuesday, June 12, at 2 p.m., at the building
site, on the corner of First and Spokane in Newport. The public is invited to attend. Voters in the district approved
COURTESY DRAWING|NHHS
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Tuesday, June 12, for River Mountain Village Advanced Care. Here is a rendering of what the finished building will look like.
a construction bond in April 2016. Excavation and site preparation began in earlier this spring with Kilgore Construction, Inc. The Spokane-based contractor was awarded the approximately $8.3 million bid in December 2017 after new designs were released. The new designs followed after initial bids in 2017 came back higher than the project’s anticipated budget, necessitating development of a more viable advanced-care residential facility. The NHHS design team reviewed alternatives and received feedback from current and past residents, their family members, and caregivers from existing residential care facilities. They also sought input on the functional plan with Washington State Department of Health and Department of Social and Health Services staff. The expected date of comple-
tion is summer 2019. Initially, the approximately 54,000-square-foot facility will accommodate 54 residents, with an additional neighborhood of 18 beds roughed in for later expansion. NHHS staff and board of commissioners anticipate the growing need for residential care and wanted the ability to expand. The same services will be offered “in-home” for residents needing advanced levels of care. The addition of memory care will be added to the list of services, as the design of this facility allows for a memory care neighborhood. Residents requiring skilled nursing services will be able to receive those in the hospital and then return to their room at the new facility. As early as 2014, NHHS started the conversation about constructing a new building SEE LONG TERM, 2A
B R I E F LY Free boat course in Sandpoint SANDPOINT- The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting a Boat Idaho Course on Saturday, June 9 for anyone wanting to learn basic boating laws and safety. The class will begin at 9 a.m. at the Marine Division boathouse located at 4001 North Boyer Road, in Sandpoint. The class is expected to last about six hours. It is free to the public and is open to residents of any state. This course teaches boating safety and requirements,
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including necessary equipment. Basic boating laws and the rules of the road with regard to navigation and boater courtesy will be instructed. For more information, or want to sign up for the course, call 208-263-8417 Extension 3125. Walk-ins are welcome.
High school graduations this weekend IONE- Selkirk, Priest River Lamanna, and Cusick High Schools are having graduation ceremonies Satur7B-8B
day, June 9. Selkirk’s ceremony will be held in the Sam Nicholas Gymnasium at 1 p.m. The valedictorian is Colton Carden and salutatorian is Ellen Huttle. Priest River’s ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. in the gymnasium. The valedictorian is Spencer Sedgwick and the salutatorian is Saul Randolph Stuart. Cusick’s ceremony will also be held in the gymnasium at 10 a.m. The valedictorian is Sierra Chantry and salutatorian is Tanner Shanholtzer.
OPINION
4A
RECORD
6B
SPORTS
2B
BOOSTER
5B
LIFE
1B
POLICE REPORTS
6B
OBITUARIES
6B
PUBLIC NOTICES
8B-10B
CUSICK, SELKIRK GRADUATES SEE PAGE 4B CONGRATULATIONS!