Boundary County Archives
February, 2012 |
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Events
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News |
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February 29 |
Naples kids usher in a
new paper! A year ago, there was no February 29, and the
official launch date of this site didn't happen
until March 1, though the first post went up
February 28. That doesn't mean much, except as a
milestone, one I'm grateful to have attained ... today I helped
kids launch the Naples Wolverine!
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Decision pending on
ambulance district: Not many people spoke at Tuesday night's public
hearing regarding the formation of a Boundary
County Ambulance District, but those who did
gave county commissioners a lot to think about,
and county commissioners made no attempt to even
try, tabling consideration until March 20, and
reopening the period during which they'll accept
written comment through March 12.
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Seven submit
candidacy petitions: As of Tuesday afternoon, seven Boundary County
residents had submitted declaration of candidacy
petitions to get their names on the local ballot
as we head into Election 2012. |
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February 27 |
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Court dispositions and
sheriffs log |
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February 25 |
 Valdie
Burkholder hospitalized: Valdie Burkholder, a vibrant and active Bonners
Ferry icon despite being in her late 80s, was
hospitalized Friday after suffering a
cardiovascular event, possibly a mild stroke. |
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February 24 |
 Alert
issued for endangered adult: A missing endangered person
advisory has been issued by Montana authorities for
help in finding Timothy Francis, a 49 year old white male last
seen wearing a black vest blue jeans and white sneakers. |
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February 23 |
Old dynamite found
in Black Mountain Road shed: A woman doing some early spring cleaning in a
shed on her property on Black Mountain Road
Monday morning needed a little extra help when
she came across what appeared to be a bag of
dynamite.
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Local teen
charged with drug trafficking: A Bonners Ferry teenager is facing felony drug
trafficking charges after a routine police stop
at the Boundary County Fairgrounds February 2. |
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February 21 |
 County
Zip-Line Course on track to open soon: The
good news is that Idaho Canopy Tours and Zipline
Course anticipates its grand opening later this
summer, 2012.
The tour will have course elements that are
unique in the U.S., making this an exciting,
one-of-a-kind adventure
The better news is that a squealing, pinwheel
waving insurance advertising shill ... a pig
named Maxwell ... has introduced the world to a
new kind of fun.
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Court dispositions and
sheriff's log |
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February 20 |
 Boundary
County Back Packs in full swing: The Boundary County Back Pack program is in the
second successful semester of providing thirty
Naples school children with nutritious
supplemental weekend food kits.
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 Pinkerton
announces bid for commission seat: Lee Pinkerton, a
resident of Bonners Ferry, has announced his Republican bid for
the District 1 position on the Boundary County Board of
Commissioners. |
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February 19 |
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Gearing up for
Independence Day: It's still a few months away, but Paradise
Valley Fire Chief and sheriff's candidate Gary
Leonard has taken the lead and is already at
work to see that Boundary County residents and visitors can
enjoy a spectacular Fourth of July this year. |
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February 18 |
 4-H
coordinator issues Penguin Plunge challenge: To all past and present members, family and
friends of 4-H, my name is Squire Thomas Fields and I am the new
4-H Program Coordinator for Boundary County. On
Saturday, March 3, I will be representing the
Boundary County 4-H Program to "take the plunge"
to show our support for the Idaho Special
Olympics program and athletes.
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Mayor
Anderson addresses Rotary: Deferring to his inability to sleep much the
night before an important meeting of nurserymen
in Boise (Dave’s other job) because of an
impending root canal and a scenario in which he
left a very early wake up call for a hotel room
that belonged to another guest, the Mayor
settled into the topic of the hour before the
Bonners Ferry Rotary Club February 14, that
being ‘what’s new’ in the city of Bonners Ferry.
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Historic Idaho GOP
caucus coming March 6: At its winter meeting, the
Idaho Republican State Central Committee, the governing body of
the Idaho GOP, met in Boise, Idaho and reaffirmed its support of
a change to State Party Rules that will move Idaho’s
presidential candidate selection to Super Tuesday and conduct
the nominating process through a county by county caucus system.
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NIC scholarship deadline
nears: Literally hundreds of
thousands of dollars are available to students
through scholarships at North Idaho College. All
students have to do is apply.
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Suicide
prevention training offered: Part of northern Idaho’s plan to decrease its
high suicide rate is to make certain mental
health professionals are up to speed on suicide
assessment. The Suicide Prevention Action
Network is bringing to Coeur d’Alene Shawn Christopher Shae,
M.D., one of the world’s leading experts in suicide assessment
and psychiatric interviewing.
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Crapo, Risch
challenge health care law: Idaho Senators Mike
Crapo and Jim Risch joined 41 of their colleagues in filing an
amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court February 13
challenging the presidents’ health care law, which they call an
unprecedented and unconstitutional expansion of the federal
government into the daily lives of Americans.
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FEMA seeking applicants
for national council: The U.S. Department of
Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
is seeking qualified individuals from the public and private
sector to serve on the National Advisory Council. |
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February 14 |
Local kids
heading for regional spelling bee: A total of 51 fourth-through-eighth graders from
around the region are cracking open their
dictionaries and staying up late, as they
prepare for the North Idaho Regional Spelling
Bee, taking place March 17 at North Idaho
College.
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Court dispostitions and
sheriffs log
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County Commissioners
minutes, January 30-31 |
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February 11 |
 Mark
Taft seriously injured: Mark Taft, 36, the son of John and Jan Taft,
Bonners Ferry, was on his job as an electrical
lineman for Central Lincoln PUD Thursday
afternoon when he scaled a pole and came into
contact with a line that was still energized.
The force of the shock knocked him off the pole
and flipped him upside down, leaving him
dangling from his safety harness.
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Bonners Ferry Rotary
celebrating a decade: They're a small club, and they don't attract a
lot of local attention. Members just do things
... giving credit to all but themselves.
Their motto is "service above self," and May 24,
this amazing group will celebrate a decade of
good deeds.
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Five qualify for first
Idaho GOP caucus: Five Republican presidential candidates have
qualified to be counted in the first-ever Idaho
Republican Party presidential caucus, which will
take place in every county in the state on March
6.
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 For
deer, life among humans was never so good: Whitetail deer are finding life among humans is
not so bad after all. In fact, given the variety of foods their
human neighbors provide, life has never been so
good for the big-tailed critters. |
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February 10 |
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Smith
announces re-election bid: Boundary County
Commission Chair Ron Smith today formally
announced his intent to continue to serve the
citizens of Boundary
County
by seeking re-election to the District 1
position on the Board of Boundary County
Commissioners. |
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February 9 |
Details emerge in
bridge death: According to the Boundary County Sheriffs
Office, it was a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
agent, crossing the Moyie River Bridge early
Wednesday morning, who made the gruesome
discovery of an apparent suicide.
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BFPD chief decision on
hold until Monday: After a discussion during Tuesday evening's
Bonners Ferry City Council meeting on hiring a
new Bonners Ferry Police Chief after a committee
unanimously approved offering the job to a Twin
Falls police sergeant, concerns raised prompted
tabling a decision until a special council
meeting on Monday, February 13.
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 Capurso
announces bid for Idaho House: Boundary
County resident Donna Capurso, Moyie Springs,
today formally announced her candidacy on the Republican ticket
for the Idaho House of Representatives, Legislative District 1 –
Seat A, a position currently held by Eric Anderson.
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Moyie Springs
special meeting minutes, January 25
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Moyie Springs City
Council minutes, January 4 |
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February 8 |
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Man dies in
jump from Moyie Bridge: A
Coeur d'Alene man with ties to Boundary County
plunged to his death in a jump off the Moyie
River Bridge early this morning on Highway 2.
Age corrected. |
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February 7 |
County fortunate
for General Feed & Grain: As we cruise about
Boundary
County, we’ve all observed the
various bumper stickers relating to logging.
Well yep, go “hug a logger,” then brush off the
sawdust and go wrap your mouth around a juicy
steak and some fresh bread, compliments of a
farmer. Boundary County is fortunate to have
General Feed & Grain at the heart of its farming industry.
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Preliminary
decision made for new police chief: A committee comprised of Bonners Ferry Mayor
Dave Anderson, clerk Kris Larson, and council
president Mike Klaus, after interviewing four
final candidates, unanimously agreed to off the
position of Bonners Ferry Police Chief, recently
vacated by now-city councilman Rick Alonzo, to a
police sergeant from Twin Falls, Idaho.
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Hearing set on
forming ambulance taxing district: Boundary County Commissioners will hold a public
hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, February 28, in the
extension office meeting room, to accept public
testimony on whether or not a county-wide taxing
district should be formed to maintain and
improve ambulance within Boundary County.
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CORRECTED ... County gearing up
for election 2012: Staff in the Boundary County Clerk's Office is
hard at work gearing up for the upcoming
election cycle, with events for both voters and
candidates just around the corner.
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Grant allows
preservation Hubbard, Wages land: The State of Idaho was
recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Forest
Service to promote private land forest
conservation in the Idaho panhandle, an area
known for its high conservation value. The
grant will allow the State of Idaho, working in
partnership with The Nature Conservancy, to
purchase conservation easements from two Idaho
Boundary County families: the Hubbards and the
Wages.
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Court dispositions and
sheriff's log
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County Commission
minutes, January 23-24 |
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February 5 |
Basil sentenced
for misprision of a felony: Twyla
Dawn Basil, 33, Bonners Ferry, was sentenced by
federal judge Edward J. Lodge to four
months in a residential re-entry center, three
years probation and three years probation after
pleading guilty in federal court to
misprision of a felony.
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 Organizers
gearing up for third-annual Penguin Plunge: Organizers are busy gearing up for the
third-annual Boundary County Penguin Plunge,
everyone's chance to take a chilly dip into the
beautiful Kootenai River at noon Saturday, March
3, to raise funds for Idaho Special Olympics.
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County kids spell
their way to success: A passel of county kids are reading Bonners
Books tomes after demonstrating their prowess at
spelling after competing in the Boundary County
Spelling Bee, held January 21 at Free Methodist
Church.
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Museum in need of an
old-fashioned projector: The Boundary County Museum
and Historical Society is willing to do whatever it takes to get
their hands on a working 16-millimeter film projector.
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Naples Community
Group to meet Monday: First, (in case you only read my opening line),
I thought I’d remind you of our upcoming Naples
Community Group meeting at 6 p.m. Monday,
February 6, in the Naples Fire Station Community
Room. Please feel free to stop by and check us
out if you haven’t already. |
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February 2 |
KVRI gets funding
to launch restoration project: Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new report that outlines
a strategy and series of actions for management on 193 million
acres of national forests and grasslands managed by the U.S.
Forest Service. As part of the accelerated restoration strategy,
$40 million for 20 forest and watershed restoration projects
have been announced for the upcoming year, including a new
project in Boundary County proposed by the Kootenai Valley
Resource Initiative.
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Unseasonal
weather means road closures imminent: Due to the
weather forecast, Boundary County Road and Bridge personnel are
anticipating soft road bed conditions to occur in some areas
over the next week, and its possible that some county roads may
be closed to hauling.
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Services
set for former county commissioner Clyde Stone: Boundary
County native and former county commissioner
Clyde Dwaine Stone, 89, passed away Tuesday,
January 31, at Boundary Community Hospital in
Bonners Ferry. Funeral services will be
held at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 4, at Free Methodist Church.
Private interment will be in the Grandview Cemetery, Bonners
Ferry.
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 Andrea
Kramer honored for photography: In recognition of images she took during the
international Law Enforcement Torch Run in
Greece
last year, local photographer Andrea Kramer was
awarded top honors in the International
International Association of Chiefs of Police
photography contest in the professional
category. |
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February 1 |
Court dispositions and
sheriffs log
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Commissioners
Minutes January 16-17
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Obituaries |
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Horatio
'Gene' Stalcup, June 14, 1927 ~ February 11, 2012 |
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Derrick
John Meister, October 27, 1990 ~ February 8, 2012 |
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Cordeela
Maxine Kucera: May 22, 1923 ~ February
5, 2012 |
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Clyde
Dwaine Stone, April 8, 1922 ~ January
31, 2012 |
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Social |
 Tompke
named to dean's list: Taylor
Tompke, a 2011 valedictorian graduate of Bonners
Ferry High School, was named on the Dean's List
at Carroll College, Helena, Montana, where he is
a freshman studying engineering. |
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Lydia
Rose Unruh born February 3: Lydia Rose Unruh was born February 3 at the Pend
Orielle Midwifery Birth Center, Sandpoint, to
Rosalyn and Lee Unruh, Bonners Ferry. |
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Ensz
family welcomes new addition: Myles Henry Ensz was born January 30 at Bonner
General Hospital, Sandpoint, to Trista and Jason
Ensz, Bonners Ferry. He joins three sisters; Gretchen, Natalie and Olivia. |
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Magees
welcome baby girl: Julie Maci Magee was born January 26 in
Sandpoint to Jenna and Ryan Magee, Bonners
Ferry. She weighed eight pounds, three ounces
and was 21 inches long. |
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Locals named to NIC Dean's List: Several Boundary County students were named to
the North Idaho College Dean's List for the fall
semester, taking a minimum of 12 credits and
earning a grade point average of 3.75 or above. |
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John Thomas a grandpa: Carter Ry Smith was born at 8:55 a.m. December
27, 2011, to Andy Smith and Sarah Thomas, Coeur
d'Alene. He joins his big sister, Tatiana Smith,
who is five years old. |
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Boorman accepted at U.S. Military Academy: Reid Boorman, the son of Stephen and Cyndy
Boorman, Bonnders Ferry, and a 2011 graduate of
Bonners Ferry High School, has been appointed to
the United States Military Academy, West Point,
New York. |
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Kids
invited to Natural Resources Camp: The 53rd annual Natural Resources Camp may have
found a formula to make five nights of camping
in Idaho’s scenic Sawtooth Mountains with plenty
of fun activities and scientific explorations
even more fun: add an afternoon’s swim at Easley
Hot Springs. |
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Oxford's welcome baby boy: Miles Lee
Oxford, the son of Derek and Lindsay Oxford, Bonners
Ferry, was born October 3, 2011. |
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Sports |
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Lacrosse Club needs support: In 2006, the Bonners Ferry Lacrosse Club played
in it first season. It was a season filled with
promise and most of that was fulfilled. John
Nierowski and I had an opportunity to mold the
young men from that team based on the promise of
financial support for the season's team. |
 Walker
Mead shoots perfect 400: On Wednesday, February 2,
Walker
shot a perfect 400 with his .22-caliber rifle,
hitting targets the size of a BB, shooting the first
perfect score shot in a sanctioned match in the
known history of the Kootenai Valley Rifle Club. |
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Lottery
open to reserve Red Ives Cabin: The St. Joe
Ranger District is now accepting applications for the
lottery to select reservation rental dates for its
popular Red Ives Cabin. |
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Letters |
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Adetta Umphenour: Attention Bonners Ferry!
Are you aware that we (the school district) just
selected a teacher from Sandpoint to coach our
high school football team?
Not only did we select a coach from out of town
... we turned down four very qualified
applicants from Bonners Ferry. |
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Congressman Raul Labrador: I
have the pleasure of representing a large
district ranging from Nevada in the south to
Canada in the north. As such, my office deals
with a diverse range of issues affecting the
different regions of the district. I want to
take this opportunity to share with you some
of the issues currently at the forefront in
northern Idaho. |
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Mike Weland, Publisher: In the wake of an article I wrote regarding the
injury of Mark Taft, I was besieged with letters
and even a couple of phone calls over how
inappropriate that initial report was. I publish
some of the letters below, and I have revised
the article to remove the content that offended
the family and so many readers. It was not my
intent to be disrespectful of Mark or his
family, and I send them my sincere apologies
for the hurt and anger my reporting caused. |
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Ginger Murphy: Ok, not sure who to address
this to or not, however, I do follow my hometown
news via the
www.newsbf.com website. I find most stories
of reasonable taste and of current events. This
time however, I have decided it is time to say
something otherwise. Most recently, regarding
the
Mark Taft story. |
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Bev Conachen: My husband and I were about to start cooking
dinner a couple of weeks ago when a loud
expolosion erupted in the marina near our
home. Having once been a volunteer fireman,
my husband had experience helping people so
he rushed out the door and arrived at the
scene of the accident just as a man and
woman were pulling the victim out of the
water. My husband stablilized his neck and
kept him talking until paramedics arrived.
Friends in the yacht club mentioned there
had been a
nice article about
Jim's part in the rescue, so we googled it
and came across your article written
May 2011, regarding the
dismissal of our law suit against Boundary
County. Several things show your ignorance
of our situation while living in Idaho. |
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Donna Capurso: Our community is
being assaulted by the federal government
through the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the
US Forest Service.
My grandfather used a term when I was
growing up that I believe is the exact word to
describe what is going on between the USFWS and
the USFS. |
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Teresa Miller: It was very clear to me when I drove through
Bonners Ferry last year and saw multiple
signs, buildings, and other things tagged
"Class of 2011," that the school system
should get involved ... that a few kids had
slipped through the cracks for lack of peer
pressure. |
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