The Newport Miner THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY SINCE 1901
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 116, Number 22 | 2 Sections, 16 Pages $1.00
Getting to know Duxbury BY CANEEL JOHNSON OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – It was barely three minutes into the ride along on Thursday, June 21 when Newport Chief of Police Mark Duxbury noticed a woman driving without her seatbelt on. She had kids in the car and he wanted to make sure they were securely buckled. Most people who disregard their seatbelt are not adamant about their children wearing theirs, he said. “I am very vigilant about child restraints,” Duxbury said. Most traffic accidents happen within three miles of the driver’s home. They are too comfortable and tend to think they don’t need safety belts, Duxbury learned from experience supervising a traffic unit in Tracy, Calif. The 4-year-old was not properly buckled. Duxbury gave the child a sticker from the roll of honorary police badge stickers he keeps in his cruiser for just such a purpose. Duxbury cited the mother for failing to wear her seatbelt as a reminder to keep her children buckled, but did not cite her for the child’s violation. “I am starting to get to know the patterns around town, the traffic patterns, the trouble spots, and the places that are quiet,” says Duxbury. Traffic violations were the biggest problem in Newport when Duxbury first arrived. The Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office was spread too thin to properly regulate drivers. As a result people were speeding and failing to stop at stop signs, Duxbury explained. “Speeding is the No. 1 way in which law abiding citizens hurt or kill one another,” Duxbury says. One of the things Duxbury did upon being em-
MINER PHOTO|MICHELLE NEDVED
Rodeo weekend rocked
MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING
Priest River saddle bronc rider Caleb Nichols leaves the chute during the Friday night performance of the Newport Rodeo. Nichols won fourth place for his 72-point ride aboard Sod Buster.
The Newport City Park was full of people Saturday during the Newport/Priest River Rotary Club’s Festivities in the Park, which included the stick horse races put on by the Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce. Kids bought horses for $1, and decorated them, either at home or at the park, courtesy of Create Arts Center. They then raced the horses. Prizes were awarded for the best decorated horse and the fastest racers. The finals were held in the Newport Rodeo Arena Saturday night.
SEE DUXBURY, 2A
The Boys on the Lake
Blakeslee file lacks underage drinking incident
Unique ducks find new home on Diamond Lake BY SOPHIA ALDOUS OF THE MINER
DIAMOND LAKE – “Hey boys, how are you?” Diane Lundgren asks, stepping into her back yard, holding a plastic grocery bag. The boys to whom she is referring step briskly from the water behind her Diamond Lake home and hurry toward her. The “boys” in question are four Indian runner ducks, all male, that Lundgren received from a friend three months ago. What sets them apart from other ducks is their erect posture when they stand, and how they run, not waddle, to Lundgren’s side. “I call them pencil ducks,” Lundgren says. “Or ‘My boyfriends on the lake.’” Indian Runners are a special
breed of domestic duck imported into Europe from the East Indies. They stood out from the flock due to their upright position and efficient egg-laying abilities. They were referred to as ‘penguin ducks’ by Dutch explorers and some of the early importers. According to Lundgren, her friend Charlie gave the ducks to her after she told Lundgren that the males were pestering her females. “I was so touched, because I loved going to Charlie’s and watching them (Indian Runners),” says Lundgren. “Their movements are so funny, but so graceful at the same time. They are low maintenance and a lot of joy. Nowhere near as much work as a dog.” The four drakes (male ducks)
were given names by Lundgren’s grandchildren. Being girls, they wanted to give the ducks feminine names. Lundgren advised them that she would like the ducks to be gender specific. Hence the monikers Horsey, Michael, Sven, and Kristoff were bestowed on the brown and white waterfowl. “Horsey is definitely the leader; you see he runs the show,” Lundgren says. “Sven is the most affectionate. None of them are quite to this point yet, but I think he’ll be the first to let me pick him up and pet him. That’s my pipe dream, anyway.” Even though the ducks aren’t quite lap animals, anyone watching can tell that Lundgren is their person. She says she can tell the
No reprimand for early 2000s case BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – Probably the worst incident in Pend Oreille County Sheriff candidate Glenn Blakeslee’s career didn’t show up in a public records request for “any discipline action” involving Blakeslee. Blakeslee stopped a carload of teenagers in the early 2000s, Blakeslee said. They had been drinking and Blakeslee didn’t take further action beyond the stop. They later were in an automobile wreck that night that resulted in injuries, he said. Blakeslee was placed on probation and wasn’t allowed to instruct deputies for a year, he said. That was when Jerry Weeks was sheriff. When asked about it, the Pend Oreille
SEE DUCKS, 2A
SEE BLAKESLEE, 8A
B R I E F LY Have coffee with the Newport cops NEWPORT - Join the officers from the Newport Police Department for a cup of coffee and conversation Saturday, July 7. The event will be hosted at Owen’s Grocery, located at 337 S. Washington Ave., from 8-10 a.m. The city of Newport reestablished its police department Jan. 1, after contracting police services with the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office for approximately 12 years. This event is intended to allow community members the opportunity to meet their new police officers face to face and to share their concerns. The staff of the Newport
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Police Department would like to establish a close working relationship with the citizens in which they serve. For further information, contact the Newport Police Department at 509-447-5611.
Benefit for District No. 4 fire chief this Saturday DALKENA – The Pend Oreille County Fire Protection District No. 4 is hosting a benefit for Fire Chief Steve Gibson, whose five-year bought with cancer has built up costly medical expenses. The spaghetti feed, open house and silent auction is Saturday, June 30, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. at OPINION
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Station No. 41 in Dalkena. Cost for the spaghetti dinner is a suggested donation of $7 for adults and $5 for children under 12. All proceeds raised will go toward Gibson’s medical and travel expenses. The fundraiser will include an extrication demo at 10 a.m.; active shooter presentation, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; kids’ firefighting course, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., a barbecue with free chips and hotdogs, 12-12:30 p.m.; fire extinguisher demo, 12:30-1 p.m.; live fire demo, 1-2 p.m. Life Flight loading demo and flight, 1-3 p.m.; spaghetti feed, 4-7 p.m., and a silent auction that closes at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 509-435-5911 or 509-447-2476.
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