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The Newport Miner
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THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 110, Number 28 | 2 Sections, 16 Pages
Incumbents win primary elections
BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – Incumbents won all three of the positions up for grabs in the primary election, which concluded Tuesday, Aug. 6. Two of the three winning candidates were appointed to their positions after office holders resigned.
Because of a rule change this year, Mike Manus and Mark Zorica ran in the primary for the District 2 seat on the county commission even though there were only two vying for Zorica Manus
the position and both will move on to the general election in November. Both are Republicans. Manus was appointed to the position last year and is currently chair- Smith Dansel
man of the county commission. Zorica is a Newport City Councilman. Manus outpolled Zorica 486-307. “I am very happy with the results,” Manus said. “It showed people think we are doing a good job.” Zorica said election night wasn’t a surprise. “It went as I thought it would go, it was close,” Zorica said. “I am very optimistic
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and driven at this point. I know my direction.” In the primary, District 2 commissioner candidates were only voted on by people who live in District 2, which includes Newport. In the general election, the whole county will vote for commissioner. The winner of the general election will SEE ELECTION, 2A
Pend Oreille County fair is a hidden treasure chest BY DESIREÉ HOOD OF THE MINER
CUSICK – The Pend Oreille County Fair opens Thursday, Aug. 15, at noon at the county fairgrounds in Cusick. This year’s theme is “Treasure Chest of the County’s Best,” where purple, black and silver will adorn almost everything that has to do with the four-day event. Ushered in with the fair is the Cusick Rodeo and the 2013 Pend Oreille County Fair and Rodeo Queen, Courtney Montgomery. Admission to the fair is $6 for those 13 years and older and $2 for children ages 6-12. Children 5 and younger get in for free. Admission gets you a fair button, good for all four days of the fair. Fair hours are Thursday, Aug. 15 from noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Cusick Rodeo, sanctioned by Pro-West, will start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. See story on 2B. Sunday events start at 9 a.m. with the slack contestants and continues at 1:30 p.m. until the events are finished. Admission to the rodeo with a fair button is $6 for those 13 years and older and $2 for children ages 4-12. Children 3 and younger are free. Parking is free to anyone attending the fair. There is no special designated parking except for handicap spaces and for board members. Starting Sunday, Aug. 11, through Monday, Aug. 19, no camping fees will be charged to campers. There will be a $15 fee for hookup to water and electricity. Anyone staying in the campground must register at the office for safety reasons. The fair officially opens at noon Thursday, Aug. 15, to all day
entertainment by the Super Science Show’s Professor Bamboozle. Animal fittings and showings for rabbits, camelids and beef will take place throughout the afternoon. From 1-3 p.m. in the Fleece and Fiber Building, guests can decorate and learn to use a drop spindle. Evening entertainment includes Tommy Petrie from 7-9 p.m. and this closes the first night of the event. Friday at 9 a.m. the gates open for a day filled with more animal fittings and showings. All day events include Professor Bamboozle and handspinning in fleece classes. The dog show starts at 9 a.m. followed by a rooster crowing contest at 9:30 a.m. From 10 a.m. to noon, people can learn to weave a wall hanging and enter into the apple pie and monster cookie contest. The judging for
MINER PHOTO|MICHELLE NEDVED
Relaying for cancer research Sixteen teams kicked off the 2013 Pend Oreille Valley Relay for Life at Newport High School Friday night. The 157 participants raised more than $16,000 for the American Cancer Society. Pictured here is the Soroptimist Happy Footers, who raised $166. The top money raising team was the NCH Hope Helpers, from Newport Hospital and Health Services, who raised $2,854.
SEE FAIR, 2A
Lowering street helps driver visibility
Parks board hopeful for grant money
BY DESIREÉ HOOD
BY DESIREÉ HOOD
OF THE MINER
OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The city of Newport’s ongoing street improvement efforts hit Spruce Street hard this summer, an arterial that runs through town. Part of the work included dropping the street two feet. After 12 years of work, Half Moon Construction has set a date for finishing the Spruce Street construction project’s final phase as the first week of September. “They are actually moving along quickly,” Nickole Schutte, Newport clerk treasurer, said. “We were trying to get it done before school starts.” The project started 12 years ago at the corner of Highway 2 and Calispel Avenue. New sidewalks and curbs were built along Calispel Avenue. Spruce Street has seen the most work done, as the street was lowered by more than two feet at a bad intersection so the visibility for drivers is better. Also added is a new water and sewer line. The sidewalks
NEWPORT – The Master Plan for Pend Oreille County parks and recreational activities for the next six years will be discussed at four town hall meetings by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, starting Aug. 19 in Newport. The four meetings will be Monday, Aug. 19 in Newport
at the PUD Building, Tuesday, as possible for people to attend,” Aug. 20 at the said Mike Lithgow, Sacheen Fire Stadirector of the tion, Wednesday, W H AT ’S N E X T: county’s ComAug. 21 at the TOWN HALL MEETINGS are munity DevelopCusick Commuset for Aug. 19 in Newport, ment Department. nity Center and Aug. 20 at Sacheen Lake, “There are projThursday, Aug. Aug. 21 in Cusick and Aug. ects going county 22 at the Ione 22 in Ione. wide.” Community CenLithgow said ter. All meetings start at 6 p.m. these meetings are to discuss “We have such a long county so we wanted to make it as easy SEE GRANT, 2A
Boring under the river starts MINER PHOTO|DESIREÉ HOOD
Dave North with Half Moon Construction points to the old height of the street. Also being added are new sidewalks and curbs.
and repaving will complete the final steps of the project that has taken more than a decade to complete. “It is a complete rebuilding of the street,” city administrator Ray King
said. “We changed the sightline of it. We actually dropped it two feet.” The project will cost $1,028,956. SEE STREET, 2A
|| McMorris Rodgers coming to Newport NEWPORT – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., is coming to Newport Thursday, Aug. 15. She is meeting with Pend Oreille County and Pend Oreille Public Utility District commissioners in the morning and then will host a “Coffee with Cathy” session at the PUD building in Newport. The town hall-style meeting will be at noon. The PUD is located at 130 N. Washington, in downtown Newport.
Man killed in go-cart collision NEWPORT – A 25-year-old Newport man died after the go-cart he was driving ran out on the road and he was struck by another vehicle Friday afternoon, Aug. 9. Trevor M. Miller was going too fast down a private
All funding in place for Oldtown water-sewer project BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER
OLDTOWN – The project many are waiting to watch is set to begin next week, when contractors begin boring under the Pend Oreille River to expand
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driveway, when the go-cart jumped a log and entered Coyote Trail Road, according to a news release from the Washington State Patrol. It was then struck by a 2004 Ford Excursion driven by Douglas Culver, 64, of Newport, who was driving east on Coyote Trail Road, about six miles west of Newport. Miller, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from the go-cart. Miller was taken to the Newport Hospital, where he died from injuries. Culver was not injured. The WSP said excessive speed was the reason for the collision.
Sentencing postponed for murderer SANDPOINT – The sentencing of a Priest River man who killed his wife, Jennifer Swanson, and their unborn child with an ice pick while she lay in bed is
the city of Oldtown’s water and sewer system. Funding for the major expansion of utilities to the newly annexed portion of town on the east side of the river is also in place, according to city clerk Sheila Gormley. The city got word last week that $400,000 of SEE OLDTOWN, 7A
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postponed because his public defender resigned for health reasons. Jeremy Swanson, who was 27 when he killed his wife in December 2012, was represented by Isabella Robertson. A new attorney, Janet K. Whitney, was appointed to the case Monday, Aug. 5. Swanson was to be sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 6. A new hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9 at 9 a.m. Swanson pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder in April. He was to be sentenced June but the prosecutor and defense agreed to delay it so that Swanson could undergo testing to see if he had a brain injury that affected his actions. The results of that testing may influence his sentencing. Swanson stabbed his wife to death with an ice pick
and kitchen knife when she was about 15 weeks pregnant. Their 20-month-old daughter was also in the house at the time, but was not physically harmed. Swanson turned himself in to law enforcement, calling 911 to report the crime. Investigation showed he had researched how to kill someone with an ice pick, showing premeditation, which warrants first-degree murder.
Hospital board won’t meet in August NEWPORT – The board that operates Newport Hospital and Health Services will not meet in August due to lack of a quorum. The next meeting of the Pend Oreille Public Hospital District No. 1 board of commissioners is set for Thursday, Sept. 26, at 3 p.m. in the Sandifur meeting room in the basement of the hospital.
SPORTS 2B - RECORD 3B - POLICE 3B - OPINION 4A - CLASSIFIEDS 4B-5B - PUBLIC NOTICES 6B-8B - DOWN RIVER 7A - LIFE 1B - OBITUARIES 3B