Golden Years Special Section - INSIDE THIS WEEK
The Newport Miner
Bonner County Fair Starts this week See Page 4A
THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901
75¢
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 109, Number 28 | 3 Sections, 38 Pages
Wear, Skoog, Kiss, Ibbetson advance in election Entire county will vote on commissioners in November general election BY JANELLE ATYEO OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – In the race for Pend Oreille County’s District 1 commissioner, it’s pretty clear that incumbent Diane Wear and Karen Skoog will be moving on to the general election although Wear’s three challengers total votes were double hers. As of the latest count of the primary election ballots on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 8, Wear received 411 out of 1,295 total votes. Skoog was 32 votes away
with a total of 379. Of the other challengers, Anthony Newcomb has 299, and Doug Quandt took 206 votes so far. Results are unofficial until the election is certified on Aug. 21. In the north county race for the District 3 commissioner seat, Steve Kiss is leading with 614 out of 1,338 votes. Tim Ibbetson received 398 votes, and Kathleen Mayall 326. Rep. Joel Kretz received more votes that his challenger from Ione. Kretz’s total is 1,714 in Pend Oreille County while Bob Wilson has 1,148. Wear, Skoog advance in District 1
District 1 commissioner candidate Newcomb said the results show people are unhappy with the way things are. “I think the voters sent a pretty clear message that they wanted to see something different from the incumbent,” he said, pointing out with all votes for the other candidates tallied, Wear was outvoted 2-1. “It was not a surprise to me that the votes were spread out. With so many in the race, how could it not be?” Wear said. “My hope is that my EDC (Pend Oreille County Economic Development Council) involvement on projects up north and some of those lost south end votes swinging back my way in
the general election will make the difference.” Wear wants to continue her work on the county commission she said. “Sincere efforts by this board have insured residents continue to receive the priority of government services they deserve, as we bent the cost curve and streamlined services,” she said. “I believe it will be at least two more budget cycles SEE ELECTION, 2A District 1 commissioner candidate Doug Quandt, left, listens to the election results read by auditor Marianne Nichols Tuesday night, Aug. 7, after polls closed.
MINER PHOTO|JANELLE ATYEO
Score 10 Gymnastics closes doors BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER
MINER PHOTO|MICHELLE NEDVED
Relayers save lives one lap at a time A crowd gathers to dance the Chicken Dance at the 2012 Pend Oreille Valley Relay for Life held at Newport High School Friday, Aug. 10. Festivities kicked off at 5:30 p.m. and continued until 10 a.m. Saturday morning. Twenty-three teams participated, totaling 252 participants who raised $13,316 for the American Cancer Society. The top team was Aerocet Tailwinds, who raised $1,120. The top participant was Hollie Drange, who raised $650.
BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The 31st annual Pend Oreille Poker Paddle is set for this weekend, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 17-18. The piratethemed event is a bit different this year, starting in Newport and ending in Usk. The paddle itself is only one day, but festivities begin
Friday, Aug. 17 in downtown Newport at 10 a.m. Look for businesses flying the pirate flag to get a treasure map and gold coins where X marks the spot. Businesses will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Earn double coins from 6-9 p.m. Friday evening. The more stores you visit, the better your chances to win a prize. There will be treasures throughout town. The Pirates of the Pend Oreille Street Party is from 6-9 p.m.
Friday evening on Third Street between Union and Washington avenues. Bring friends and family for a barbecue dinner, music and dancing. Be sure to dress in your best pirate garb for a chance to win the costume contest. Plans include chalk art drawing, games, a barbecue and more. For those who want to beat the line, or just get a head start, there will be an opportunity to register early for the Poker Paddle at the street party. Look for the desigSEE POKER, 9A
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Family thankful it wasn’t worse, grateful for community support NEWPORT – Michelle Moody and her four sons headed out with a horse trailer and two horses, bound for a 4-H riding clinic Thursday evening, Aug. 9. Moody says she stopped and did a safety check on the trailer as the family pulled out of the
B R I E F LY
Park improvements underway
Newport schools starts Sept. 4
NEWPORT – These hot summer days have people thirsty for Newport’s new spray park. The site has been leveled and fenced off for a few months. Bids for installing the equipment are currently being reviewed. No schedule has been set for when work will begin. Work is progressing at the new Veteran’s Memorial Park behind city hall around the AT&T cell tower. A pre-manufactured restroom was installed recently. Some landscaping work was already done according to the lease agreement with AT&T. Wagner Construction was awarded the bid to install sidewalks, which should be done in one or two weeks. After that, local Boy Scouts will be putting in grass as part of an Eagle Scout project, then stones and benches will be set.
NEWPORT – Students head back to school in Newport Tuesday, Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day. Teachers will go back to work before that, on Thursday, Aug. 30. Kindergarteners will attend class in the morning the first week, with the afternoons set aside for families to meet with teachers. After the first week, full day kindergarten will get underway. There will be open houses at Newport schools Thursday, Aug. 30, with Stratton Elementary School open house set for 4-6 p.m., and Sadie Halstead Middle School from 5-7 p.m. Meet the Grizzlies will be held at the high school Aug. 30 from 7-8 p.m. This is the chance for the community to meet fall athletes. Fall sports practices are also getting underway. Football players start practice Aug.
SEE SCORE 10, 9A
Trailer comes loose, flips three times, horse killed
Paddlers hit the river this weekend Pirates of the Pend Oreille puts new spin on Poker Paddle
OLDTOWN – After an attempt to broaden its offerings in hopes of keeping the doors open, Score 10 Gymnastics in Oldtown closed two weeks ago. Damion Wandler, who owns the gym with his wife Ami, said it was a tough decision, but the business has been losing money since they bought it four years ago. The equipment will be liquidated to another area gym. The Wandlers rented the building, located behind Selkirk Ace Hardware on Highway 2 in Oldtown. Wandler said he’d been involved with Score 10 for about 10 years. His children took classes there. “It was harder on me than the kids, I think,” Wandler said. Wandler said he was injured and will be unable to work for four months, which contributed to the closure. “We really tried,” he said. Score 10 has been having a rough time since its original owner Lora Lee Lake sold it. Lake started and operated
Score 10 with her mother, Norma Wise, who passed away in 2006. Lake sold it to Kathy and Frank Fazendin of Newport a couple years after her mother passed away. When operating the program became too much for the Fazendins, they decided to close the operation in October 2008. That’s when a group of families got together to try to save Score 10, including Damion and Ami Wandler. The Wandlers purchased the business and several families pitched in to keep it running. But it wasn’t enough. Just recently, Kelly Shults, who was a gymnast in college and whose own daughter took classes at Score 10, and her father Alan Bell tried to resuscitate Score 10. They tried expanding the classes offered to dance such as hip hop and ballet, cheerleading and mixed martial arts. Shults and Bell hoped to get the community involved once again and applied for non-profit status. Enrollment increased in the
driveway. She did another safety check before they pulled out onto North Shore Road. She got back in and headed down Highway 2. Just before the Highway 211 junction, disaster struck. “I was looking in the rearview mirror and I saw the trailer drift off the side of the road,” Moody said. “It flipped three times end over end.”
One of the horses was thrown from the trailer and another was trapped inside. The trailer hitch broke free from the truck, she said, and a safety chain also came free. When the she got the truck stopped, Moody went to check on the horses. She could see that Lightning, the 21-year-old sadSEE WRECK, 9A
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15, with two practices a day held, from 8-11 a.m. in the morning and from 4-6 p.m. in the afternoon. Volleyball practice will start Sept. 20 and will take place 8-10 a.m. and 6-8 p.m. Girls’ soccer practice will be held 8-10 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. Cross country practice will be held at 9 a.m.
Costs remain stable with new sheriff contract NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office is renewing contracts for law enforcement services with three towns: Cusick, Ione and Metaline Falls. The cost for the towns will remain the same as agreed to when the last contract was approved two years ago. Sheriff Alan Botzheim said he didn’t want to change the cost with the economy the way it is now. “The towns are in the same position as we are,” he
said, adding that raising the cost by a few hundred dollars won’t change the outcome for his office. “I appreciate the partnership we have,” he said. Through this contract, which covers 2013, 2014 and 2015, Cusick will pay $14,000, Ione $28,000 and Metaline Falls $16,000. The Cusick town council was the last to sign off on its contract. It did so at its regular meeting Monday, Aug. 13. County commissioners are expected to sign off soon. The city of Newport renewed its contract for law enforcement services a year ago. It lasts through 2014. The city makes monthly payments totaling nearly $273,000 for this year, and increasing by 1 percent in each of the next two years. The town of Metaline provides its own marshal.
SPORTS 2B - RECORD 5B - POLICE 5B - OPINION 4A - CLASSIFIEDS 6B - 8B - PUBLIC NOTICES 8B - DOWN RIVER 9A - LIFE 3B - OBITUARIES 5B - ADOPT-A-PET 6A