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THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Ecology grants county more time
County discussing public comments on shorelines BY DON GRONNING AND MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – Pend Oreille County commissioners took up the controversial matter of the Shoreline Master Program during a meeting with community development director Mike Lithgow Friday, Aug. 30. They had continued their regular meeting Tuesday. Nine members of the public
attended the meeting. The county has been granted one 45-day extension by the state Department of Ecology to reply to the public comments. They had asked for another 45-day extension and were initially denied, but the Spokane office granted a 15-day extension because Lithgow is on vacation. The county’s responses to the comments are now due Sept. 30. Commissioners and Lithgow went through the comments. SEE ECOLOGY, 10A
South end opens more roads to OHV travel BY DESIREÉ HOOD OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The South End Project and Forest Plan Amendment Environmental Assessment would designate more than 170 miles of Forest Service roads open to off highway vehicle travel. The Forest Service has agreed to the plan and opens the conversation to the public for comments until Sept. 14.
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Volume 110, Number 31 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages
“We believe that motorized recreational use is an efficient use of Forest Service lands,” district ranger Gayne Sears said. Pend Oreille County Commissioners have been working with the Forest Service to reinstate this plan that was approved and repealed two years back. The planning area for the SEE OHV, 2A
MINER PHOTO|ROSEMARY DANIEL
Dancers at the Affair on Mainstreet The Can-Can Dancers are always a popular attraction at the Metaline Falls Affair on Mainstreet celebration, held this past weekend. The event included Sisters on the Fly glamour campers, vendors, food, a car show and Lions Club train rides. See more pictures on page 10A.
New sidewalks to line Highway 2 project. City Administrator Ray King said the section of highway from Owen Grocery and Deli, past The Miner Newspaper office and continuing down to Audrey’s Restaurant, will get new sidewalks, a bike path and possibly new lights. “The reason we pursued this is there were people walking up and down the highway and
BY DESIREÉ HOOD OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The city of Newport received a grant to lay new sidewalks and a bike path along one side of Highway 2, making travel safer for non-motorized users under the NonMotorized Transportation Improvement
that can be dangerous,” King said. He said that getting students to class safely is a concern, and working with the school district on this project may help the students have safer commutes. The grant was given by the Washington SEE SIDEWALKS, 2A
Fiber installation includes many steps grant. More than 3,600 of those have seen more than 95 percent of the work done, CNS Supervisor Robert NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Fritz said. Public Utility District (PUD) continues The current PUD policy is that the with customer installs of fiber, saying people who signed the consent forms they will be completed with the fiber prior to the Sept. 28, 2012, deadline to the home build out will be completed by “It is a big process. this month. the end of September. “We will have a lot of There are a lot of puzzle This is not a guaranthem done,” Henkels tee that fiber internet and McCoy crew John pieces in the process.” will be working for all Bezanson said. “We people by the end of should be able to get Dario Nila September, just that CNS Specialist close to that.” fiber cable will be to the There were less home or business, per than 4,000 people the grant agreement. who signed consent forms allowing There are more than 775 requests the PUD to install fiber cable to their homes or businesses through this SEE FIBER, 2A BY DESIREÉ HOOD OF THE MINER
MINER PHOTO| DESIREÉ HOOD
Left: Henkels and McCoy crew John Bezanson is going through the process of stripping the fiber cable of unnecessary parts before connecting it to the gray box at a connection request Aug. 28 near Coyote Trail.
MINER PHOTO|DESIREÉ HOOD
Henkels and McCoy crew John Bezanson shows what fiber wire looks like once it is stripped to just the needed fiber line for a home or business. The fiber is actually clear in color but is given a blue coating so installers can see the thin piece of fiber.
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B R I E F LY
County seeks to overturn civil service decision
Border Patrol holds exercise in North County
NEWPORT – Pend Oreille County has filed a lawsuit in Pend Oreille County Superior Court asking the court to overturn a decision by the county’s Civil Service Commission to invalidate a last chance employment agreement between former Sheriff Deputy Cory Rosen and the county. Rosen was fired for violating terms of the agreement. The Civil Service Commission ruled that the last chance employment agreement was not valid and could not be used in further proceedings against Rosen. Rosen had appealed his termination to the civil service commission. They will hear his case if the Superior Court upholds the commission ruling. A hearing in Superior Court is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13, at 1:30 p.m.
METALINE FALLS – The Pend Oreille County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LPEC) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will test the Emergency Support Functions of the Pend Oreille County Emergency Management Plan, Thursday, Sept. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cutter Theatre. They are hosting this event so that state, local and federal agencies can learn to work together, should an emergency arise in the county. It will be conducted to test and evaluate the procedures of the various agencies. Agencies at all levels will be represented at the exercise. The emergency test will consist of a role-play exercise, responding to a threat covering a vulnerable area in the county that would involve federal, state, local and foreign entities and the deployment of their assets
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following an investigation of the threat. It will be an exercise of the local, state and federal safety programs, the notification process, agency emergency operations and specific actions taken in the areas of public information, warning and evacuation on all three levels. For more information, contact JoAnn Boggs at jboggs@pendoreille.org.
Triathlon, martial arts conference meet on the reservation USK – The second annual Tsunami Sprint, held this year in conjunction with the first annual Inland Northwest Martial Arts Conference is set for Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Kalispel Powwow Grounds in Usk. The Tsunami Sprint, beginning at 9 a.m., is a race
that includes a .6-mile swim across the Pend Oreille River, a 14.5-mile bike ride around the Kalispel Reservation, and a 4-mile run along the Pend Oreille River. The sprint can be done by individuals or as a team, and is easy enough for tri-athletes just beginning, and diverse enough for advance competitors. The Inland Northwest Martial Arts Conference begins at 2 p.m., with the goal of bringing together individuals from different martial art disciplines around the northwest to begin building a relationship. The conference is free to the public and includes eight speakers from eight martial art systems. The deadline to register for the sprint was Aug. 31, but the public is invited to watch. Visit www.tsunamisprint.com and www.inlandnorthwestmartialarts.com.
SPORTS 2B - RECORD 4B - POLICE 4B - OPINION 4A - CLASSIFIEDS 6B-7B - PUBLIC NOTICES 8B-10B - DOWN RIVER 9A - LIFE 1B - OBITUARIES 4B