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The Newport Miner
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the voice of pend oreille count y since 1901
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
By Janelle Atyeo Of The Miner
NEWPORT – Over the past few years, private property values assessed by Pend Oreille County are getting closer to market value. That’s meant that
Groundhog substitute at Sacheen Lake to determine if winter is over By Janelle Atyeo Of The Miner
during the housing crisis, home assessed values were being increased by the county in some cases even though market prices were dropping. “The national trend was going downward and we were going up,” Pend Oreille County Assessor Jim McCroskey said.
See assessor, 2A
Miner photo|Don Gronning
Janet Lambarth will retire at the end of the month after working 36 years as the Pend Oreille County Extension agent. She planned to stay only two years when she started work in 1976.
Lambarth winds up 36-year career as extension agent
By Don Gronning Of The Miner
NEWPORT – When Janet Lambarth was first offered a job as the Pend Oreille County Extension agent in 1976, she really didn’t think she would
75¢
Will winter continue?
Property values can increase even as market drops County tries to bring assessments close to market value
Volume 108, Number 52 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages
make a career of it. She was just finishing graduate school when she got the job offer. “I thought I would be here two years,” she said.
See lambarth, 2A
SACHEEN LAKE – Will we ever see those piles of snow forecasters predicted with the La Niña winter? Before the storm that hit in mid-January, it didn’t seem like we’d have a winter at all. Now it’s slipping away fast. Nippy the prairie dog will help decide if winter awaits Thursday, Feb. 2, on Groundhog Day when his owner, local weather watcher Bob Lutz, sends him “Are they at his accurate? It’s a outside home near stroke of luck.” Sacheen Lake. If he sees his shadow – as Bob Lutz legend has Climatologist it with his groundhog cousins anyway – we’re in for another six weeks of winter. Last year, little Nippy’s prediction held true. He saw his shadow, and a couple weeks later the arctic air came up and brought a late-February storm that dropped more than a foot of snow within a week before the month was out. “Are they accurate? It’s a stroke of luck,” Lutz said, talking from behind the wooden desk in his home office where he keeps his weather records and equipment for monitoring the temperatures, air pressure and other climate statistics. Nippy plays nearby in his cage, occasionally begging for a banana chip. Lutz was once the owner of a direct descendant of Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog that makes the news each Feb. 2 in Pennsylvania. Shadow the groundhog died prematurely due to liver cancer, a common groundhog ailment. A few years later, Lutz decided to adopt a prairie dog instead. Prairie dogs are friendlier, he says, and that was a requirement when he’d volunteer to talk about weather to local school kids, who always wanted to pet and hold the furry creature. Prairie dogs love affection, Lutz says. “They want to be part of your family.”
Miner photo|Janelle Atyeo
Bob Lutz holds his pet prairie dog, Nippy, who will venture out on Groundhog Day to predict the weather. Lutz, a hobby climatologist, used to own a groundhog, but he says prairie dogs are friendlier pets. Last year, little Nippy’s prediction held true.
He gives Nippy romp time when he can roam the house and play with the cats. Prairie dogs can live 10 to 12 years in captivity. Nippy eats lettuce and grass in the summer and lives on timothy hay this time of year.
The weather guy For Lutz, 52, weather is a life-
Caribou issue draws a crowd More than 150 turnout, most in opposition of caribou recovery habitat By Janelle Atyeo Of The Miner Courtesy photo|PCox Priestlaker.com
More than 150 people turned out for a meeting on the proposed caribou habitat area Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 24 at the Priest Lake Inn. The public comment period is being extended on the hotly contested matter.
PRIEST LAKE – As a majority, local landowners are
|| Sweet Creek rest area could close for winter IONE – The Sweet Creek rest area on Highway 31 north of Ione could close for the winter months due to the cost of maintaining the site. Pend Oreille County road department officials have suggested closing the site from Nov. 1 to April 1 each year. County commissioners have made no decisions on the matter. The road department current takes responsibility for cleaning the restrooms, picking up garbage and keeping the parking lot plowed and sanded. Public works director Sam Castro told commissioners Monday that there has been such an increase in the amount of garbage disposed of at the site that it must be picked up almost daily. He plans to propose to the county’s parks and
not happy about a proposal to designate land for caribou recovery around Priest Lake. More than 150 turned out for a meeting organized by Bonner County commissioners at the Priest Lake Inn Jan. 24. See caribou, 2A
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recreation board that they take oversight of Sweet Creeks operations and maintenance. That means that expenses for cleaning restrooms and garbage would likely fall under the parks budget.
Truck speed limits could change NEWPORT – Currently, most of Pend Oreille County’s major roads are posted with a 50 mph speed limit, but trucks must keep the speedometer at 40 mph. That could change. County engineer Don Ramsey said they are considering eliminating the truck speed limit and using the 50 mph limit as a general rule. He discussed the change with commissioners recently, but no decisions were made yet.
long hobby. “Weather is a fun thing,” he said. “It’s like a Christmas present. What’s Mother Nature going to give us now?” Everywhere he goes, he’s known as “the weather guy.” He’s not a forecaster, though. He’s more interested in tracking weather patterns and watching for severe
weather events. As a child, Lutz and his dad would chase hurricanes. He grew up in Connecticut where the storms were monstrous. They had the hurricanes and the nor’easters. Lutz has been struck by lighten-
See WEATHER, 2A
Hospital district consolidates debt Bond covers two loans, capital projects By Michelle Nedved Of The Miner
NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Hospital District No. 1 Board of Directors approved a low-interest bond Thursday afternoon that will pay off two previous, higher-in-
terest loans and help pay for some capital improvements. The bond is for $2.4 million and won’t affect taxpayers, district CEO Tom Wilbur said. Of that, $1.6 million is being used to pay off two previous loans. The remaining $800,000 will be used to pay See debt, 2A
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It’s a safety issue, Ramsey explained. The slower truck speed limits were intended to make the roads safer, but instead the speed differential creates a hazard, he said. As an added hazard, there are limited opportunities to pass on county roads.
Road restrictions begin in Pend Oreille County NEWPORT – With the weather warming up and rain making for some soggy soil, restrictions on vehicle weight limits are in effect on certain Pend Oreille County Roads. The restrictions affect vehicles in Classes 2, 3 and 4, not ordinary passenger cars and trucks.
They affect school busses, garbage trucks, utility vehicles and other heavy haulers. Starting Tuesday, Jan. 31, a Stage 3 restriction was placed on Tweedie Road, located in the southeast corner of the county. The speed limit is reduced to 30 mph and hauling is allowed only between midnight and 9 a.m. LeClerc Road North between milepost 0 and 15.93 is under Stage 2 restrictions where the load weight cannot exceed 70 percent of the vehicle’s gross weight, the speed limit is 30 mph and hauling is allowed between midnight and 9 a.m. The county’s website will include updated information soon under the public works page. You can also call the road information hotline at 509-4476464.
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