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The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901

Wednesday, DECEMBER 27, 2017

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

Volume 115, Number 48 | 2 Sections, 16 Pages $1.00

Priest River woman’s body found Death being investigated as homicide COEUR D’ALENE – After a search spanning more than 10 years, the remains of Christine Lott, 34, of Priest River, were discovered in a remote wooded area of Kootenai County after Lott vanished in March 2004. According to a press release from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Lott’s remains were discovered along a Forest Service Road near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in February of 2016. The news of her discovery was kept Lott confidential until her husband, Steve Lott, could be located and interviewed by Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office detectives. The couple had been married nine years. This case is being investigated as a homicide in a cooperative effort with the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. Lott was reported as missing on March 27, 2004. “We really don’t have any more information to release at this time, as this is an ongoing investigation,” said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Detective D. Stinebaugh on Friday, Dec. 22. Lott, a mother of three boys, was last seen getting into a pickup truck in front of a Priest River grocery store, Mitchell’s IGA, on March 25, 2004. In an archived article from the SpokesmanReview, it was reported that police said Steve Lott waited two days before calling police. Steve Lott told police he and Christine Lott had argued the day she disappeared, and he had spent the last two days calling all of their friends to try and See missing, 2A

Courtesy photo|Mike Nokes

Smoke rises from a house fire on Deer Valley Road Sunday, Dec. 24.

House fire investigated as arson NEWPORT – A house fire being investigated as arson occurred on Christmas Eve. South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue (SPOFR) responded to a page for a house fire Sunday, Dec. 24 at the 1000 block of Deer Valley Road at 8:30 a.m. According to SPOFR Chief Mike Nokes, 19 members of SPOFR re-

sponded with assistance provided by eight members of Pend Oreille Fire District No. 4. No one was injured during the fire. The fire is being investigated by the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office and the Pend Oreille County Fire Investigation unit as a possible arson fire, Nokes said in an email.

According to Pend Oreille County police reports, at 10:45 p.m. the same day Joseph Drake B. Ries, 20, Newport, was arrested for arson in the first degree. Sergeant Glenn Blakeslee of the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the two incidences are connected.

2017: A look back Editor’s Note: With the New Year here, The Miner staff spent some time this week reviewing events in our area this past year. Following is a sampling of stories from our newspapers over the past 12 months, to recount those people and events that shaped the year.

January Superior Court Judge Allen Nielson retired after a career as a circuit riding judge, handling cases in Pend Oreille, Stevens and Ferry counties. Attorneys and staff gave Nielson a heartfelt standing ovation as he left the criminal bench for the last time. The temperature at Diamond Lake neared 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit Thursday, Jan. 5, resulting in a new record for peak electricity use, according to the Pend Oreille PUD. Curious and concerned citizens met at the Rotary Park Building in Oldtown to discuss the possibility of keeping alive the scenic train rides that Pend Oreille County is known for. The North Pend

Oreille Valley Lions Club has been operating the Excursion Train rides out of Ione for 35 years, but due to certification and inspection issues mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration, the northern tracks that run from Metaline Falls to Ione can no longer be used. Some employers were wrestling with the rapid increase in labor costs because Washington’s minimum wage increased to $11 an hour as a result of Initiative 1433. The minimum will go to $11.50 in 2018, $12 in 2019 and $13.50 in 2020, with subsequent annual adjustments for inflation. Paid sick leave would be earned at the rate of one hour for every 40 hours worked, starting in 2018.

February Shelly Short, the five term GOP state Representative from Addy, was selected to replace Brian Dansel in the state Senate. A meeting of 60 Republican Precinct Committee Officers from Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Spokane counties nominated nine people for the position. Short was selected on the first vote.

Miner photo|Sophia Aldous

Brittany and Jason Totland, new owners of The Roxy movie theater in Newport, check out the reel-to-reel projector from 1952 on display in the theater’s lobby.

After looking at a location near Ponderay Newsprint Co., HiTest Sand announced it will not be building a $300 million smelter in Pend Oreille County, according to testimony by Chief Operating Officer

Jim May, before the House Technology and Economic Development Committee. Pend Oreille County commissioners released a See REVIEW, 2A

B r i e f ly Anti-smelter group hires law firm NEWPORT – The Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter (CANSS) recently hired a law firm, Parsons, Behle and Latimer of Boise, Idaho, to challenge the permitting process for HiTest Silicon, a Canadian company looking to build a silicon smelter in Pend Oreille County. A letter was submitted to Pend Oreille County Community Development Director Greg Snow Thursday, Dec. 21, signed by attorneys Norman M. Semanko and Dylan A. Eaton, which addressed HiTest’s request to rezone property the company purchase from

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the Pend Oreille Public Utilities District earlier this year. The letter says that all interested parties should be allowed sufficient time to review the rezone application. The letter also addresses consolidation of permit processing and individualized rezone review, calling on the county to be transparent in any and all dealings with HiTest and to allow for public process regarding the issue. The firm’s representation of CANSS is being funded by donation. The group has a Gofundme page that had raised $1,910 of its $10,000 goal as of Tuesday, Dec. 26. 5B-6B

Honoring military at Stratton NEWPORT – Stratton Elementary School volunteer Kris Darby is looking to create a display case at the site to honor active military. Darby said she is working with the Newport High School ASB to design the display and she would like Pend Oreille County residents that have family members who are active military to contribute pictures or items that reflect that family member’s service. For more information, contact Darby at osdarby@ ieway.com.

Opinion

4a

Record

4B

sports

1B

Life

2B

Police Reports

4B

Obituaries

4B

Public Notices

6B-8B

Happy New Year!


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