Keough's long career among top '18 stories

From Shawn Keough’s 22-year Senate run, to smelter scrutiny and flood predictions, there was no shortage of news in 2018.

This is the fourth in a series looking back at the top stories of the year, continuing with April. Stories are listed in no particular order.

- The Festival at Sandpoint made their earliest line-up announcement ever — on April Fool’s Day. The 36th annual summer concert series lineup featured Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Amos Lee, ZZ Top, Greensky Bluegrass, Sublime with Rome, Phillip Phillips and Gavin DeGraw, and the Spokane Symphony conducted by Gary Sheldon.

- Shawn Keough detailed a 22-year legislative odyssey that began with a staffer at the state capitol mistaking her for the new girl on the typing pool and ended with her being the longest-sitting female in the Idaho Senate, not to mention one of the chamber’s most influential members.

- After exactly two months without a Public Works director, the city’s newest department head was sworn in on April 2. Amanda Wilson came to the city on the brink of a busy construction season, and with more than 15 years of related experience, she was up to the challenge.

- A Bonner County coroner’s report released in April revealed that methamphetamine toxicity and hypothermia were the causes of death of a man whose body was found in Colburn Creek in the fall. The body of Amos John Kopas, 35, was discovered by a passerby in the 100 block of Bailey Road on Nov. 24, 2017. Kopas was found north of a culvert and it appeared to have washed up onto a large boulder in the middle of the creek, the coroner’s report said.

- Michael Shaun Peterson, accused of setting fire to the home of his former wife the day after their divorce was finalized, was granted a withheld judgment and ordered to serve 60 days in the Bonner County Jail.

- The real estate transaction that resulted in HiTest Sand’s acquisition of property for the proposed facility was placed under scrutiny by Counsel for Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter, alleging that HiTest, a company based in Canada, was not registered with the state of Washington at the time it purchased property from the Pend Oreille Public Utility District.

- A former Oldtown man accused of threatening one child and injuring another was given a suspended prison term on April 2. David Fernandez Jr., 23, was originally charged with aggravated assault and two counts of misdemeanor injury to a child.

- Priest River Elementary fourth-graders collected 742 books for a book drive sponsored by the PRE PTO, and Idaho Hill Elementary students pulled in 376 books, for a total of more than 1,100. Many of the books were distributed throughout the community, with bookcases built and painted by Priest River Lamanna High School art and woodshop students.

- Through its Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative, for the first time since implementing the program in 2013, Kootenai Elementary was awarded a visit from an NFL player. George Fant, Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle, paid a visit to the kids on April 12.

- The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission stopped short of implementing a series of land use code amendments designed to ease the regulatory burden on landowners. The eight proposed code amendments were greeted with a blend of support, opposition, suspicion and befuddlement during a standing-room-only public hearing on April 5.

- Daniel Piazza, 57, of Clark Fork, picked up six misdemeanor criminal charges after allegedly trying to elude Idaho State Police during a traffic stop on April 4. Piazza was charged with excessive driving under the influence, eluding, obstruction, marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession, and driving without privileges.

- A proposal to direct water from the chillier deeps of Priest Lake to aid native fish populations in the Priest River gained momentum in April. Idaho Department of Fish & Game officials advised the Idaho Lakes Commission that $70,000 had been obtained to pay for an alternatives assessment for the cold-water bypass project.

- Rachel Jeffs’ inspiring tale of escaping a polygamist cult and rebuilding her life drew a capacity crowd at the 7B Women luncheon on April 10. Jeffs, the third daughter of imprisoned Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints President Warren Jeffs, was an apt choice for the luncheon, said 7B organizer Patty Hutchens, as she “embodies everything that 7B’s image is, and that’s empowering women to succeed.”

- State Sen. Shawn Keough and state Reps. Sage Dixon and Heather Scott huddled with county officials and other stakeholders at the lake and resolved to develop a package of projects to replace the breakwater at the Priest Lake Thorofare, conduct dredging operations and make improvements to Outlet Bay Dam. The Idaho Department of Water Resources helped get the ball rolling with a $300,000 engineering study. Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter provided $2.4 million in state funding for the dam improvements, but declined to provide $2.6 million in funding for the breakwater.

- A structure fire heavily damaged the View Café in the early morning of April 10. Selkirk Fire Rescue & EMS Chief Ron Stocking said a passerby on U.S. Highway 95 saw smoke pouring from the eves of the restaurant at approximately 2:30 a.m. and called 911. The fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damages.

- The Idaho Department of Lands issued a press release in April disputing claims by smelter opponents that it was considering exchanging state endowment lands to aid in the development of HiTest Sands’ proposed silicon smelter.

- A partial gag order was imposed to ensure Jacob Corban Coleman, accused of murdering Gagandeep Singh in Kootenai in 2017, would receive a fair trial. The April 9 order barred attorneys and law enforcement officials from making any extrajudicial statements which elaborate upon aspects of the case until the trial is completed.

- Krista Louise Kreiger-Hurst, a Naples autism therapist accused of stealing from former clients, pleaded not guilty on April 16 to felony theft and fraud charges, clearing the way for a jury trial in 1st District Court.

- Priest River Lamanna High School’s career-technical education programs were boosted after two teachers were awarded grants totalling $27,500. Kari Eggert, PRLHS business teacher, received a $10,000 Program Quality Initiative Technical Assistance Grant to start a student-run vinyl sign business; and Daryl Hall received the 2018 Program Quality Initiative Technical Assistance Grant in the amount of $17,500, which was used to purchase a do-it-yourself computer numeric control plasma table, a plasma cutter, and to update welders in the metals shop.

- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicted flooding for land owners around Lake Pend Oreille, as the snowpack in the basin was 157-percent of average. The lake’s flood stage is 2,063.5 feet above sea level. The lake crested at 2,064.29 feet in 2011, making the eighth-highest historic crest.

- Peter Franklin Goullette entered Alford pleas to a felony charge of manslaughter and a misdemeanor reckless driving charge in connection with a 2016 collision which killed one pedestrian and seriously injured another. Under the terms of the plea, Goullette admits no wrongdoing but concedes he could be convicted if the case went to trial.

- Math instructional coaches Anna Hertzberg and Peggy Loutzenhiser from West Bonner County School District, and Kathy Prummer from Lake Pend Oreille School District, detailed “The Coach From Within” — the presentation they were preparing for the National Council of Supervisor of Mathematics conference in Washington, D.C., in April.

- The city of Sandpoint announced the bid award for the Ella Avenue overlay project, which spanned North Ella Avenue between Pine Street and the Litehouse production facility north of Chestnut Street. The project was funded by a Local Strategic Initiatives grant of $546,732, administered through the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council.

- T.J. Henderson and Bryant Moore were named Clark Fork High School’s class of 2018 valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.

- Nathanial Bryan Grabenstein, 21, of Sandpoint, was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening a bartender with a knife after he and a companion were escorted from the A&P Bar and Grill.

- Bonner County sheriff’s officials revealed that crucial evidence, in the form of fingerprints, emerged in the killing of George Andres, a 73-year-old who was found shot to death at his home north of Clark Fork in December 2017.

- Ryan Knowles was named the new head football coach, replacing George Yarno. Knowles, 39, graduated from Sandpoint in 1996 before starting for four seasons as a defensive end at the University of Idaho. Most recently, Knowles has been an assistant coach at Colgate University in New York, where he’s been the defensive line coach for the past 12 years and the special teams coordinator for the past four.

- A criminal charge against 75-year-old William Juettner was dismissed following a mental health evaluation. Juettner was originally charged with discharging a firearm at another without causing injury, a misdemeanor, in connection with a Thanksgiving Day incident in 2017.

- Priest River Lamanna High School juniors Samantha Kendle, Chloe Livingston, Victoria Millward, Dalaynee Cook, Gabby Hagman, Emily Butler, Abby Barnes, Tabitha Richey, Liann Kren and Christina Tefft participated in the 2018 Distinguished Young Women program.

- Sandpoint High School senior and Cedar Post editor-in-chief McCalee Cain received the Seattle University Sullivan Leadership Award, becoming the first student from Idaho to win the prestigious honor. The Sullivan Leadership is granted to nine students each year and is named for the Rev. William J. Sullivan, who served as president of Seattle University from 1976 to 1996, and as chancellor until his retirement in 2009.

- Based on input from the community, a strategic planning committee developed a set of five broad priorities for the Lake Pend Oreille School District to work on over the next five years.

- Fourteen local youngsters were been dubbed Memory Masters in their respective Classical Conversations communities.

- Local watercolorist Judy Pederson was selected to create the original artwork for the 2018 Festival at Sandpoint fine art poster.

- The Bonner County Daily Bee received 18 awards, including eight first-place honors, in the Utah Idaho Spokane Associated Press Association’s news contest.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.