In brief: Repository design posted at libraries
The draft design for a repository near Cataldo where people can dump lead-tainted soil and other mine waste is available at public libraries in Coeur d’Alene, Harrison and Kellogg.
The public has until July 6 to comment on the proposed design of the 19-acre repository – a 62-foot-tall dirt mound capped with clean soils, plants and trees – is in draft stages.
The location of the site has been controversial but is final. The comment period is just for the draft design, not the location.
The state needs to start operating a small portion of the site by July 1. That’s when a new Idaho law takes effect requiring the state to provide a place for residents within the Coeur d’Alene Basin to dump contaminated soil from their yards.
The draft also is available for review at the Environmental Protection Agency’s field office in Coeur d’Alene and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality offices in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Kellogg.
It is online at DEQ’s Web site at www.deq.idaho.gov/public /comment.cfm.
To submit written comments, contact Teri Gregory at DEQ State Office, 1410 N. Hilton, Boise, ID 83706. Send faxes to (208) 373-0154 or e-mail teri.gregory@deq.idaho.gov.
Spokane
Robber injures 81-year-old woman
Spokane police are looking for a robber who attacked a woman, stole her purse and left her seriously injured.
The 81-year-old victim was walking through Riverfront Park near the YMCA with a friend at 10:40 a.m. Wednesday when a man ran up from behind, said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe.
The mugger grabbed the woman’s purse and knocked her to the ground, giving her severe head injuries and broken bones, DeRuwe said. The victim, whose name was not released, is in the intensive care unit of a Spokane hospital.
The thief reportedly ran southwest toward City Hall. Anyone with information is urged to call (509) 242-TIPS.
Search paused after boat found
The search for a 42-year-old Spokane County man who went missing overnight in a possible drowning on Long Lake has been suspended.
The man’s boat was found crashed into a tree on the Spokane County side of Long Lake about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Dave Reagan. The blue, 16-foot aluminum Sea Nymph, equipped with a 70 horse power motor, was apparently running at full throttle when it crashed and was heavily damaged.
“The risk to our divers would outweigh the potential of finding the man,” sheriff’s Deputy Tom Walker said, “so we have suspended the search for today.”
Walker said it appeared the boat was unoccupied at the time of the crash, and all three life vests normally carried in the boat were still inside, Reagan said. Deputies began looking for the missing man when his wife called just before midnight to report that he had not returned home from an all-day fishing trip. Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies used two boats to search overnight and for several hours Wednesday, Reagan said. Anyone with information regarding the incident, such as where the man was seen fishing, is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (509) 242-TIPS.
Boy stable after being hit by SUV
A 7-year-old boy was in serious but stable condition at a Spokane hospital Wednesday after he rode his bike between two parked cars and an SUV hit him, police said.
Neighbors said the boy was conscious and alert after the incident but had a large cut on his head and was bleeding.
The boy was taken to a hospital, and the SUV driver waited on a nearby curb while police investigated the scene about 6 p.m. at North Dakota Street and Baldwin Avenue.
It appeared the boy was riding his bike toward the street, and he popped out between two parked cars and was struck, said Spokane Police Sgt. Justin Lundgren. The names of the boy and the driver were not released Wednesday evening. No citations had been written, and the traffic unit was investigating, Lundgren said.
From staff reports