Man dies after chain saw accident

A Pend Oreille County man died Tuesday after he cut his leg with a chain saw.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Grant Sirevog said Randell S. Howland, 46, of 3021 Horseshoe Lake Road, just east of the Stevens County line in the Deer Park area, suffered a severe cut to the inside of his left thigh, just above the knee.

Family members administered first aid while waiting for emergency workers to arrive, but a Deer Park Ambulance crew was unable to revive Howland. The accident occurred shortly before 5 p.m., and Howland was declared dead about 5:56 p.m.

Petition requests more televised meetings

Spokane County commissioners were presented Tuesday evening with a petition asking them to televise more of their meetings and make other changes to promote openness.

The petition, which was signed by 15 neighborhood councils, was presented by Bonnie Mager. Mager is running in the Democratic primary for the county commission seat held by Phil Harris. She said she presented the petition as a member of the Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County and would have acted regardless of her candidacy.

“Democracy is always served whenever there’s open government and transparency,” Mager said after the meeting. “It could only serve them and us.”

The commissioners meet monthly at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday and weekly at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Tuesdays. Only the monthly meeting is televised on cable.

Commissioners noted that all of their meetings are open to the public and said the weekly ones aren’t televised because those usually involve day-to-day operations. More broadcasts would involve higher expenses, said Commissioner Mark Richard.

“I doubt the public would want to spend extra money to see us approve the vouchers every week,” Richard said. “…You’ve got what appears to be a politically motivated issue.”

The monthly meetings are broadcast because they involve items that generate more public interest, such as land-use decisions, commissioners said.

Bonners Ferry

Less water sent from Libby Dam

The amount of water federal officials are releasing down the Kootenai River from Libby Dam is decreasing, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday.

The corps sent water through the powerhouse, sluices and spillway at a rate of 55,000 cubic feet per second until noon Tuesday to compensate for massive inflows into the Lake Koocanusa reservoir. The flows will drop to 45,000 cfs by early Thursday.

The large spill from the dam left Bonners Ferry and Boundary County officials battling waters 2 feet over the flood mark of 1,764 feet above sea level for about half a week.

Bonners Ferry Mayor Darrell Kerby said the corps estimates about $54 million worth of dike damage and perhaps more than $8 million in agricultural losses from the high water.

Coeur d’Alene

Concert to raise cash for Katrina victims

Last year, the faculty of the Northwest Academy of Music in Coeur d’Alene helped an area food bank. This year, they’re reaching a bit farther to support victims of Hurricane Katrina.

At 7 p.m. Friday, faculty members will perform in the second annual “Beatles to Bach” benefit concert. The performance will be at the Songbird Performing Arts Center, 315 N. Fourth St.

Faculty member Keith Milligan said the academy chose to donate the proceeds of the concert, in conjunction with the Salvation Army, to Gulf Coast hurricane survivors because he is a native of New Orleans.

“It all hit home for me, personally,” Milligan said. His sister lost her home, most of her belongings and job because of the disaster. Milligan said he helped relocate her to Spokane.

Tickets cost $25 a person, or two tickets for $40 or four tickets for $60.

At any one time, between four and 12 performers will be on stage banging out jazz tunes, rocking Beatles favorites or serenading the crowd with classical pieces.

For more information, contact the Northwest Academy of Music at (208) 667-6200 or the Songbird Performing Arts Center at (208) 664-3672.

Pend Oreille County