The Newport Miner THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY SINCE 1901
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 115, Number 29 | 2 Sections, 24 Pages
$1.00
Inaugural train ride a success BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – Volunteers and passengers alike enjoyed the first weekend of the Scenic Pend Oreille River Train excursion rides Saturday and Sunday, from Newport to Dalkena. Nine hundred tickets were sold for the first weekend, which consisted of rides at noon and 3 p.m. both days. Adult ticket prices are $20 each. Seniors and children ride for a reduced rate of $15. Maximum occupancy for each ride is about 350 people. Monday morning, Aug. 14, the first of the train rides to sell out did so. All tickets for the Oct. 7 ride at 1 p.m. have sold. “Thank you all for a great job this weekend. I don’t think our inaugural rides could have gone any smoother,” train committee chairwoman Nadine Parker said in an email to volunteers Tuesday. As this was the first weekend of the rides from Newport, organized by the Newport/Priest River Rotary Club, only two rides a day were scheduled. From now on, there will be three rides a day,
MINER PHOTO|MICHELLE NEDVED
Riders watch as bandits (Pend Oreille Playhouse volunteers) board the train to “rob” passengers. All proceeds given to the faux outlaws go to the Playhouse.
at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Rides are scheduled for Aug. 26-27, Sept. 30
and Oct. 1, Oct. 7 and 8, and Oct. 14 and 15. A majority of the riders
were from out of the area. On one passenger train car on the first ride Sat-
urday, not a single person was from the Newport/ Priest River area. Passen-
gers came from CaliforSEE TRAIN, 2A
No more resource officer at Newport schools Money to be allotted to security BY SOPHIA ALDOUS OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The Newport School District will start the 2017-2018 school year without a School Resource Officer (SRO), due to lack of manpower at the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Newport School District Superintendent Dave Smith, Pend Oreille County Sheriff Alan Botzheim contacted him last May and said the sheriff’s office would be unable to provide a SRO for the following school year. The school district has had an SEE OFFICER, 2A
MINER PHOTO|SOPHIA ALDOUS
It’s Pend Oreille County Fair time
Kicking off Relay, kicking back against cancer
BY SOPHIA ALDOUS OF THE MINER
CUSICK – The Pend Oreille County Fair is back for another year of activities and competition Thursday, Aug.
Eight-year-old cancer survivor Jayla Vadney of the Cancer Ninjas team cuts the ribbon to kickoff the Relay for Life celebration at Ellersick Field Friday, Aug. 11. The annual all-night event raised over $15,000 for cancer research and local patient care. The date for next year’s Relay is Aug. 10-11.
17 – Sunday, Aug. 20 at the Cusick Fairgrounds. This year’s theme is “Country Pride, County Wide” and colors are green and white. Along with the fair, the Cusick Rodeo will take place
Saturday, Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 20 at 1:30 p.m. The Pend Oreille County Fair has been a cultural staple in the SEE FAIR, 2A
B R I E F LY Lawnmower Drag races this Saturday in Oldtown OLDTOWN – Grab the keys and gun the engine because these lawnmowers don’t cut grass. The annual Oldtown Lawnmower Drag Races are Saturday, Aug. 19, at noon. Souped up lawnmowers will race down the city street while fans watch from the sidelines. Hosted by the Big Back-In and the Newport/Priest River Rotary Club, anyone can race, though minors under the age of 18 must have written permission from their guardian(s). No mower will exceed 50 mpg, or that racer will be disqualified from that run. The mowers are loud,
Follow us on Facebook
CLASSIFIEDS
so people are encouraged to protect their hearing with ear plugs. There will be food and drink vendors onsite. For more information, including registration to race and rules, go to www.bigbackin.com.
Solar eclipse party at Cusick CUSICK – The eclipse is coming soon and there’s a party going on at the Calispel Valley Library Monday, Aug. 21. The library and Tech Wizards are teaming up to bring a solar viewing party complete with free viewing glasses, 9B-10B
and an opportunity to make your own pinhole cameras. There will be crafts, games, snacks and huckleberry “sun”daes too. The event starts at 9 a.m. and will run until noon. The eclipse begins at about 9:13 a.m., and the maximum view of the partial eclipse will be at approximately 10:27 a.m. Then it begins to wane and ends at about 11:46 a.m. This program is free and open to the public. It will be held outside on the lawn behind the Calsipel Valley Library and Cusick town hall. For more information, call the library at 800-366-3654 ext 2 or email pamt@pocld.org
OPINION
4A
RECORD
8B
SPORTS
2B
LIFE
1B
POLICE REPORTS
8B
OBITUARIES
8B
PUBLIC NOTICES
10B-12B
MEDICAL PAGE
8A-9A
PEND OREILLE COUNTY FAIR SEE PAGES 3B-5B THIS WEEK!