Sand Creek Byway construction tops year's events
It has been a busy year, from the start of construction for the Sand Creek Byway to a firre which destroyed the Idaho Club's clubhouse.
Below are the year's top stories.
1. Dirt moves on Sand Creek Byway
SANDPOINT - After more than a half century of false starts, political wrangling and heated debate, the Sand Creek Byway finally broke ground in 2008.
"My mother always said, 'Good things come to those who wait,'" Sen.-elect Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said at the late-October groundbreaking ceremony.
The 2.1 mile project, designed to alleviate traffic congestion, will take four years to build with an estimated price tag of $98 million.
Several lawsuits challenging the legality of the project are still unresolved.
2. New banks open for business
SANDPOINT - Brick by brick, Panhandle State Bank's Sandpoint Center transformed from an empty lot into a 94,000-square-foot banking supercenter. On May 11, the building officially opened its doors to the public for its first day of business.
In late September, MountainWest Bank held its own grand opening for the bank's new 18,000-square-feet facility on Superior Street.
3. Medal honors Bird's contributions
SANDPOINT - Flanked by President George W. Bush, celebrated inventor Dr. Forrest Bird was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal at a private Oval Office ceremony in early December.
Bird, an internationally revered respiratory specialist and aviator, received the prestigious award for his groundbreaking contributions to his fields of study, according to a presidential citation.
4. Iconic clubhouse burns down
SANDPOINT - The Idaho Club's clubhouse burned down Dec. 18, leaving nothing but charred ruble where the iconic building once stood.
"It's a total loss," Northside Fire Chief Brad Mitton said of the club's rugged, yet elegant timber and stone clubhouse.
The log clubhouse was considered one of the finest structures of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
"We are greatly saddened as this was a building that held many memories for so many people," Chuck Reeves, president of The Idaho Club, said.
5. Sagle man fatally shot
SANDPOINT - A Bonner County man is being charged with first-degree murder following an altercation which left Eli Holt, 23, fatally wounded Thanksgiving night.
Bonner County Sheriff Elaine Savage said James M. Anderson, 28, is being held in the Bonner County Jail on a $500,000 bond on a first-degree murder charge.
Savage said Holt was shot during an altercation about 11:30 p.m. Thanksgiving night at the Travel America Park in Sagle. The gunshot wound was "instantly fatal," Savage said.
The incident was the county's second fatal shooting of 2008, following the early July death of Hope resident Mark Eric Betts. Betts, 49, opened fire on law enforcement officers and was fatally shot by Bonner County Sheriff's deputies.
6. Detention center deemed unconstitutional
SANDPOINT - A district judge is sticking by an earlier ruling that Bonner County's plan to construct a juvenile detention facility without voter consent is unconstitutional.
Judge Charles Hosack ruled against the county's proposal to build a new juvenile lockup and a work-release center in September. Under the proposal, Rocky Mountain Corrections would construct the facilities at the sheriff's complex and lease them back to the county with an option to buy.
7. Brutal winter wallops Bonner County
SANDPOINT - Bonner County's 2007-2008 winter put a months-long stranglehold on area residents as they dealt with near-record setting snowfall.
By the end of March, the winter had entered the record books with a total 129.34 inches, surpassing the 118.59 inches recorded in the 1996-97 season.
While the season's snow total is the most in recent years, the record for the most snow still belongs to 1915, which had a crushing 192 inches, more than 100 inches above the yearly average.
8. Economic hardships strike Bonner County
SANDPOINT - Bonner County could not avoid the deepening recession that washed over the nation in 2008
The county's unemployment rate skyrocketed past seven percent in October, marking the first time in nearly three years the county recorded a higher jobless rate than the rest of the nation.
9. Record number of absentee ballets cast
SANDPOINT - The Bonner County Clerk's Office issued its 4,500th absentee ballot in late October, smashing the county's previous record.
"We even threw confetti and gave out candy to the poor unsuspecting soul - who took it all in stride!" Clerk Marie Scott said in an e-mail announcing the new milestone for absentee voting in Bonner County.
The previous absentee record was set in the 2004 general election, when 2,900 ballots were issued. The county surpassed that record by mid-October.
10. Panhandle Animal Shelter opens new facility
PONDERAY - After years of planning, the Panhandle Animal Shelter opened its new 27,000-square-foot facility in early December.
The shelter - constructed using private funds from the Wild Rose Foundation - is nearly 10 times larger than the previous location on Great Northern Road. That site had been in place since 1985 and originally was designed to house about two-dozen dogs and cats. Fifteen years later, the number of animals coming through the facility had risen to the point where 500 animals were being put down each year for lack of space.