Lawsuits, cases dominate 2018

From sentencings and lawsuits, to road work and rodeos, there was no shortage of news in 2018.

This is the sixth in a series looking back at the top stories of the year, continuing with the last part of May and into June. Stories are listed in no particular order.

- A Priest River man convicted of subjecting his wife and family to sexual and ritualized abuse was sentenced to life in prison on May 22. Dana Andrew Furtney, 49, will have to serve 25 years of the sentence before he can be considered for release on parole.

- Nine Sandpoint High School students qualified for the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in 2018, with senior Ron Korn taking the podium for second place in Computer Network Technology.

- Exploratory drilling for silica on Green Mountain was given the green light by the U.S. Forest Service.

- After raising $342.26 toward cancer research and awareness, Sandpoint Christian School students were rewarded by getting the opportunity to throw pie in a teacher’s face, cutting off the custodian’s long hair and more.

- Jerry Kramer returned to his hometown of Sandpoint, this time bringing a Hometown Hall of Famer special plaque to present to Sandpoint High School on Friday, May 25.

- The Outlet Bay Sewer District filed suit against a Priest Lake landowner, alleging that he is dodging a requirement that he tie into the district’s sewage treatment system. Counsel for the sewer district filed the action against Rick D. Graves in 1st District Court on May 7, court records show. The filing seeks an injunction requiring Graves to hook up to the system, in addition to attorney fees and a $100 per day fines dating back to November 2016.

- Flood warnings continued for Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River below Albeni Falls Dam. Flood stage for Lake Pend Oreille is 2,063.5 feet, and as of 10 a.m. May 29, the NWS reported the lake’s elevation at 2064.18 feet. The river flow below Albeni Falls reached “moderate” flood stage at 119,200 cubic feet per second as of noon, well above the flood stage of 95,000 cfs.

- Adam Deacon Foster, who ambushed two Bonner County sheriff’s deputies in a shooting in 2017, was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison on June 5. First District Judge Barbara Buchanan ordered Foster to serve two determinant 12 1/2-year terms for attempting to kill deputies Michael Gagnon and Justin Penn. She further ordered that the fixed portion of the sentences be served consecutively because of grievous injuries sustained by the two deputies during the brief gunbattle outside Foster’s home on Jan. 16, 2017.

- A martial artist who once resided and trained in Bonner County shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself. Authorities in southwestern Idaho said the deaths of Ian Star Stone and Jaclyn Dawn Zabel were the result of a murder-suicide.

- The East Bonner County Library District hosted a grand opening of its $2.7 million expansion project in Sandpoint. The expansion includes an addition of about 8,000 square feet to the library, creating a 30,000-square-foot facility with everything from an expanded and remodeled children’s area, a new teen lounge and maker space, additional tutoring rooms, larger community meeting rooms, comfortable reading and study areas and improved technology access.

- Forrest Bird Charter School middle school students dressed in traditional garb of different countries and cultures, displaying their knowledge of the world through art, artifacts and food. The school’s World’s Fair is an annual event hosted by the FBCS middle school social studies department, celebrating countries, cultures and ancient civilizations, as well as America’s western migration.

- A pack of coyotes was strategically placed at Sandpoint City Beach with the hopes by park officials that it would deter the resident geese. • Three Lake Pend Oreille High School students — Cheyanne Holliger, Jessica Inman and Mikayla Wright — were awarded $18,500 in scholarships.

- Due to declining enrollment numbers, West Bonner County School District officials announced they were closing the Priest River Education Program, which was implemented in 2000 to give Priest River students an alternative high school option.

- A special prosecutor concluded Sandpoint Police officers Eric Clark and Mike Hutter used appropriate force on when they shot and killed Brandon Kuhlman, a Sandpoint man who opened fire on them in March.

- The widow of a Coolin man killed by Bonner County sheriff’s deputies at Priest Lake in 2017 filed suit against the county for civil rights violations and excessive force. Counsel for Robin Andrews, the wife of Craig Johnson, filed the action in U.S. District Court on June 1, federal court records show.

- Washington Elementary’s two Design for Change teams were named finalists and semi-finalists in the national competition.

- Priest River Lamanna High School named Justin Torfin as the new football coach, replacing Brad Martin.

- High school seniors across the county donned their caps and gowns as the class of 2018.

- Sandpoint earned acclaim at the national level as the Chafe 150 Gran Fondo was named as one of “9 Totally Awesome Charity Bike Rides” in a recent issue of Bicycling Magazine.

- Upon retirement from teaching, coaching and serving as an athletic director in Sandpoint, Dave DeMers reflected on 33 years of working for the schools in his hometown.

- Priest River athlete Cody Schryver qualified in June for the 50th Special Olympics USA Games, for which he competed in July.

- Foes of the proposed silicon smelter south of Newport filed suit against the Pend Oreille Public Utility District and Pend Oreille County to nullify a land sale to accommodate the facility. Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter and Responsible Growth*Northeast Washington announced June 7 that the suit was filed in Spokane County Superior Court.

- Bonner County’s enhanced no-wake zone restrictions were relaxed as floodwaters began to recede.

- Daniel William Meyers was arrested and charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening a man with a knife outside Clark Fork High School on June 8.

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