The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 114, Number 48 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages $1.00
River trail receives $30,000 grant Ground breaking expected this spring
By Michelle Nedved Of The Miner
PRIEST RIVER – Ground breaking is expected to start this spring on the Pend Oreille River Passage Trail, with a $30,000 grant from the Inland Northwest Foundation. Phase 1
will connect Oldtown to Albeni Falls Dam. The Pend Oreille River Passage Trail is a 25-mile shared use path connecting the towns of Oldtown, Priest River, Laclede and Dover. It will provide a place for non-motorized recreation and active transportation
along the Pend Oreille River, according to a report recently completed by the Priest Community Forest Connection, the agency who took the reigns of the project two years ago. The trail was adopted in the 2012 Bonner County Area Transportation Plan and is in-
cluded in the county’s draft trail master plan. It was designated a Community Millennium Trail in 2000. The PCFC’s board made the trail their number one priority for the coming years. In 2015, Bonner County revised its master transportation plan. In that revision, all exist-
ing trails and proposed trails were documented. A Trail Mix Committee representing the county’s trails meets monthly to discuss, plan, update and support all trail systems in the county. Through the Idaho See Grant, 8A
Snow means snowplowing
City, county snow budget good after light season By Don Gronning Of The Miner
Courtesy photo|Lea Porter
A winter wonderland in Pend Oreille Valley
NEWPORT – It’s a balancing act sometimes, trying to keep the snow off the roads and people happy. In Newport, snowplow crews work at night to plow the city’s 22 miles of roads. It can be frustrating to go out to go to work in the morning and find your car blocked by plowed snow. Newport city administrator Ray King says the crews plow only at night because of traffic. If you park on the street, as many people do, the only way to avoid digging out in the morning is to move your car at night while crews plow. “A lot of people will come out and move their car to the other side of the street after the plow goes by,” King says. “You can hear the plow a street or two away.” Of course that means getting up at 1 or 2 a.m. to move the car. Newport has three people working plowing snow. They have two plows and a backhoe that are used for
Newport resident Lea Porter took this morning photo of the Pend Oreille River along LeClerc Road on her way to work recently.
See Plowing, 8A
2016: 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 With the holidays come and gone, and the New Year here, area food banks in Northeast Washington and Northern Idaho were tracking their output of food and setting plans for possible expansions and additions. “We’ve been very fortunate,” said Newport Food Bank Manager Pearl Pulford of holiday donations for food items and money. “Our community really supports the food bank.” According to Pulford, the food bank received around 2,500 pounds of food donations for November and December 2015 and served 256 households for both months. With the retirement of Cusick Mayor
Bob Spencer in mid-December 2015, mayor pro tem Chris Evers was officially sworn in as mayor Jan. 11. Evers, a School Social Worker and Student Assistant Specialist for the Cusick School District, said the council would be looking for an applicant to replace her vacated council position starting in February. Any motorist traversing Highway 2 had most likely seen the billboard featuring students from Pend Oreille County school districts, pledging to remain drug and alcohol free. No, those aren’t models; they are actual students from Newport, Cusick and Selkirk School Districts, all of whom work together with the Pend Oreille County Youth Task Force (YTF). The cost of the billboard, which is $500 per month, is split between YTF and the Panther Community Coalition of Selkirk. Launched in 2007 by a group of concerned citizens, government agencies, business people and non-profit organizations, the YTF’s goal is to “prevent and reduce substance abuse by collaborating with community partners … provide edu-
Miner photo|Michelle Nedved
Pend Oreille Hospital District No. 1 chairwoman Lois Robertson cuts the ribbon opening Newport Health Center Friday afternoon. Project manager Christina Wager, left, and district CEO Tom Wilbur, right, help hold the ribbon.
cation, resources, and empower youth.” Ponderay Newsprint Co. answered the PUD’s breach of contract claim by filing suit in Spokane County Superior Court,
seeking to have a judge declare whether or not the Newsprint Co. is in breach of the power contracts. See review, 2A
B r i e f ly Miner closed for New Years
Woman accidentally shoots self in leg
KUBS FM gets grant for upgrades
NEWPORT – The Newport and Gem State Miner Newspapers office will be closed Monday, Jan. 2 for New Year’s. The office will reopen Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 8:30 a.m. The deadline for classified ads and legals is Friday, Dec. 30 at noon. All other deadlines remain the same.
NEWPORT – According to a Bonner County police report, a local woman shot herself in the leg while handling a firearm Dec. 19. According to Bonner County Sheriff’s Captain Ror Lakewold, the woman was transported by private vehicle to Newport Hospital and was not seriously injured.
NEWPORT – David Bradbury, Newport High School teacher and KUBS FM announcer, recently received a $13,533 grant from the Hagan Foundation to make upgrades to the media department’s sound systems and video equipment. Funds will also be used to partner with other community organizations to facilitate community outreach programs.
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