2022: Heartbreak, growth and community

From hundreds of stories published by The Daily Bee in 2022, newsroom staff carved out a list of the top issues, challenges and events that Daily Bee reporters covered over the past 12 months.

Moscow murders

The community continues to mourn the loss of four University of Idaho students who were murdered Nov. 13 in Moscow. Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Wash., Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum and Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, were found stabbed to death in an apartment near campus.

The investigation is still unfolding. On Friday, police arrested a suspect in the killings, Bryan C. Kohberger, 28, in eastern Pennsylvania.

Kohberger, 28, of Pullman, Wash., was arrested in Albrightsville, Pa. and charged with four counts of first degree murder. He is also charged with felony burglary due to allegedly breaking into the students’ home “with the intent to commit the crime of murder.”

Kohberger, who studied criminal justice and criminology at WSU, is being held without bond in Pennsylvania and will also be held without bond when he returns to Idaho.

Russell pleads guilty in murder case

A Bonner County man pled guilty in mid-November to second-degree murder in connection with the slaying of David Milton Flaget, 70, in September 2021.

James David Russell, 40, entered the plea in exchange to the prosecution dropping a first-degree murder charge. Russell also was charged with cannibalism, but saw that charge dropped in June and the murder charge was dropped to second-degree on Nov. 15.

Russell was arrested Sept. 10, 2021, after deputies were called to the Russell family property on Lower Mosquito Creek Road for a possible murder.

There, deputies found Flaget, groundskeeper for the property, unresponsive in the passenger seat of his truck. Seeing the deputies, Russell initially ran away and barricaded himself in the loft space of the garage building he resided in on the property. After a brief stand-off, Russell was compliant with law enforcement’s commands and allowed himself to be apprehended.

He was found unfit to stand trial and was involuntarily committed to the Idaho Security Medical Program for treatment. The Idaho Security Medical Program is a subset of the Idaho Department of Corrections. While committed, detainees undergo intensive psychological and psychiatric treatment. After treatment, Russell was found fit for trial, setting the court process in motion.

SC3 joins forces with Ponderay, NIICE

Instead of building an ice rink at the fairgrounds, Sandpoint Community Center Corporation is pivoting to support efforts by Ponderay and North Idaho Ice to build a facility at the city's Field of Dreams.

The news follows discussions in mid-February by Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger with Bonner County Commission Chairman Dan McDonald and Dr. Robert Pierce, SC3 president. During those discussions, Geiger told the pair the city was open to all public-private partnerships which help the city leverage local option tax funds to further its Field of Dreams.

The city and North Idaho Ice have been working for the past few months to bring ice sports to the community. Ponderay officials said in a press release. At this time Ponderay, with the assistance of NIICE, has purchase NHL compliant ice equipment with the intention of having an outdoor rink open to the public by the winter of 2022.

The proposed ice rink on county-owned land near the fairgrounds drew both critics and supporters. Critics, including Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler, who claimed it gave away county-owned land and forced taxpayers to fund an unnecessary private facility.

Critics also said an ice rink behind the sheriff's office complex jeopardize security, eliminated the potential for a new justice facility at the site and could be seen as a move to "defund the police."

McDonald, as well as the rink's supporters, said the land was never promised as a future site for a justice center. The commissioner said the county retained ownership of the land and noted no taxpayer funds would have been used for construction.

Supporters of the rink said the facility would provide critically needed activities for afterschool activities as well as provide a spot for concerts, trade shows, county fair events, Lost in the ‘50s, arts and crafts fairs, in-line skating, indoor soccer, and other activities.

Bonner County schools see new leaders

Both the Lake Pend Oreille and West Bonner County school districts saw new leaders take over the two county school districts with Dr. Becky Meyer taking the helm at LPOSD and Jackie Branum taking over at WBCSD.

Meyer was unanimously picked by the Lake Pend Oreille School Board in March as the next superintendent to lead the sprawling, 3,800-plus student district ranging from Clark Fork to Southside and all points in-between. She took over from Tom Albertson who stepped down after more than 30 years in the school district, serving in a variety of positions from teacher to superintendent.

Branum was invited to lead the WBCSD in late April after a previous candidate who was offered the position declined to accept it. Branum replaced Paul Anselmo who stepped down after eight years with the school district.

KLT works to buy, save sledding hill

With the backing of supporters who helped secure the historic Pine Street sledding and skiing hill, the Kaniksu Land Trust announced in late March that the organization was under contract to purchase the historic sled hill in order to allow the community time to fundraise for the eventual purchase of the property.

Set along Pine Street Loop, this parcel includes 48 acres of forest, meadows, a large pond, and structures associated with this historic homestead. The most notable feature is the large hill that has served as a community recreation site for a half century.

KLT has already received contributions toward the purchase of this historic property, giving the land trust a great kick start, and now has 18 months to complete the fundraising effort.

And, to ensure it remains accessible to the community in perpetuity, the land trust announced in March that, thanks to angel donors, that it had the site under contract to purchase. Now, KLT officials have launched a fundraising drive to raise the $900,000 left of the $2.1 million purchase price.

The land trust has until November 2023 to raise the $2.1 million needed to buy the property and for improvements, Egland Cox said. Through grants and donations, KLT has already raised $1.2 million, leaving just $900,000 to go.

Sandpoint accepts $7.5M donation for sports complex

The Sandpoint council accepted a $7.5 million donation in mid-March from Jim Russell and his mother, Virginia (Ginny) Russell to build a sports center at Travers Park in memory of his father.

Talks between Jim Russell, Ginny Russell and city administrator, Jennifer Stapleton, started shortly after James’ death in June 2019. He said that “conversations were infrequent and ideas amorphous.”

Stapleton said previously that there were many options for improvements at the park under consideration including resurfacing or replacing the existing courts, adding or perhaps relocating an additional four courts, adding outdoor pickleball courts or even maybe enclosing the four existing tennis courts.

She said that as the talks continued, there was one concept that resonated with the Russells. This plan will consist of a fully enclosed court facility configured with multi-purpose court striping to include four new tennis courts, 16 pickleball courts and basketball court. The building interior will include lighting, heating and cooling, restrooms, storage and a multi-use community space plus more amenities. Estimated timeline to be fully completed is October, 2023.

James Russell was born and raised in Sandpoint. He had a life-long love of sports. He played football and basketball at Sandpoint High and never lost his enthusiasm for fishing, golf and tennis.

Housing market and growth

City officials in Sandpoint and Ponderay took efforts to improve workforce housing in the two communities in 2022. With demand for homes at a high and inventory at a low, housing affordable for the workforce has disappeared in the region over the past two years.

This spring, Sandpoint approved the Culver's Crossing planned unit development, which is aimed at adding to the community's stockpile of affordable housing. As a PUD, Culver's Crossing features a variety of density, different types of units, and open space, allowing for more flexibility.

In Ponderay, Schweitzer announced a partnership in early May with Eastmark Capital Group to create an 84-unit apartment complex, providing much needed housing for Schweitzer’s employees.

Construction on the complex, located near the intersection of Schweitzer Plaza Drive and Triangle Drive in Ponderay, began in May. The first phase of the $22 million housing development will consist of three, three-story buildings on approximately three acres with a central courtyard. Each building will offer pet-friendly one-, two-, and three-bedroom units and feature efficient, flexible designs with modern amenities, including washers and dryers as well as bike and ski storage.

The full project is expected to be completed within 12 months, with employees occupying units as soon as the summer of 2023.

Kinderhaven closes as group home

Kinderhaven announced in late May that it was shutting down as a group home due to enforcement of the Families First Preservation Services Act, passed by Congress in 2018.

"We are sharing a message we never thought we would have to deliver," Kinderhaven announced in a statement. "After serving thousands of local children for over 25 years, the Kinderhaven we have all known and loved can no longer exist."

The act mandated that all group homes for foster youth become a qualified residential treatment program facility. QRTP group homes are required to have a trauma-informed treatment model with licensed clinical therapists onsite. The facilities in this classification are required to facilitate outreach and engagement of the child’s family in the child’s treatment plan. In addition, facilities provide discharge planning and family-based aftercare supports for at least six months.

The facility rebranded as a non-profit aimed at helping the children of Bonner County, albeit in a different way that it had previously done.

Fatal boating accident claims four

Four Bonner County residents were killed in a late June boat crash on the Pend Oreille River near Thama. Killed in the accident were Gregory J. Daiker, 59, of Laclede; Aaron J. Faulhaber, 49, of Laclede; Jason L. Maxson, 51, of Laclede; and John R. Schulte, 59, of Sandpoint.

After an extensive investigation, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office has concluded that the June 28 boat accident on the Pend Oreille River near Thama was caused by excessive speed likely complicated by gusty winds reported in the area at the time.

BCSO investigators determined that alcohol was a contributing factor in the accident and that the boat lacked enough life jackets for the number of people on board as required by law.

Army Corps pulls permit pulled lawsuit filed protect bull trout

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers advised in late September that it was revoking its permit for the Idaho Club’s marina and lakeside housing development at the mouth of Trestle Creek on Lake Pend Oreille.

The creek accounts for more than half of the annual bull trout spawning sites in the Pend Oreille Basin, a species protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

A 2019 permit authorized work on the Idaho Club Trestle Creek Marina, with Corps officials saying permit authorization did not extend to other portions of the project because a sufficient connection between these activities and activity requiring a Corps permit was not found.

Additional development and construction not included in previous documents provided to the Corps were cited as the basis for the permit’s revocation. Federal officials cited new designs which include five waterfront single-family residential parcels, a community pavilion, and additional features such as road infrastructure.

“The Corps’ scope of analysis for the 2019 permit did not include these design items, which appear to warrant federal review,” Urbanek wrote. “Moreover, significant objections related to these new designs, raised in litigation associated with this project, were not earlier considered by the Corps in issuing the 2019 permit.”

As a result, Urbanek said the Corps was exercising its authority to continue its suspension the permit from August 2021 and propose revocation of the permit effective Sept. 26.

ARPA funds

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 went into effect in March 2021 to distribute economic stimulus dollars across the United States in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How, or if, those funds would be used created controversy across the county in 2022. Some city councils accepted the federal funds while others rejected them. Many North Idaho residents expressed concerns about the loss of civil rights and freedoms accompanied by fears of socialism, tyranny, communism and worries of federal overreach and government mandates.

The issue was a contentious one in Bonner County, with many calling on county officials to reject all funding and some saying it would be foolish to turn down the money over unfounded fears that hidden strings would come back to hurt the county.

“For me, it’s not about the money, it’s about being under the control of the federal government,” Commissioner Steven Bradshaw previously said. “It was written for them, by them. And it leaves an open door as wide as the equator for them to come in and take over the county.”

Among the departments returning ARPA funding to the county included the Bonner County Sheriff's Office, the Treasurer’s office and Emergency Medical Services.

However, not all were happy about returning the money to the county, insisting that opposition to the relief funding is a roadblock to the county’s financial well being.

Use of ARPA funding is available through Dec. 31, 2026.

New VA center opens in area

A Veterans Affairs health center in the community opened in the community, operated by STGi International and Veterans Affairs. Located at 130 McGhee Road, Suite 101, in Kootenai, the facility offers a full-time physician, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, and two full primary care teams, in addition to mental health, tele-health, limited laboratory, and other health care services.”

Rural health clinics provide a key service to the VA, allowing veterans within the 64,000-square-mile service area for the Spokane facility to get routine services and less intensive treatments closer to home.

North Idaho College

Accreditation woes and political division on its board of trustees continued to plague North Idaho College throughout 2022.

Former trustee Michael Barnes resigned from the NIC board in January amid claims that he was a legal resident of North Dakota, not Idaho.

On April 1, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, NIC's accrediting body, placed the school on warning status for being out of compliance with eligibility requirements and standards related to board governance and institutional integrity. NIC was given a year to take steps to regain compliance - including having a five-member board and a permanent president.

Former trustees Ken Howard and Christie Wood resigned May 3, citing numerous problems, specifically with then-Chair Todd Banducci.

The State Board of Education appointed three trustees, shifting the balance of power away from Banducci, who was replaced by a new, temporary chair, David Wold.

A permanent president, Nick Swayne, was hired in August to replace former wrestling coach Michael Sebaaly who Banducci and his allies on the board, Greg McKenzie and Barnes, had appointed in the fall of 2021 after they fired former President Rick MacLennan without cause.

The balance of power shifted again following the Nov. 8 election when three new board members were elected, including Michael Waggoner, who forms a voting bloc with Banducci and McKenzie. Tarie Zimmerman and Brad Corkill, who were opposed by candidates supported by McKenzie and Banducci, were also elected.

During a series of meetings in December, McKenzie, Banducci and Waggoner used their majority voting power to place President Nick Swayne on administrative leave for no disciplinary reason, and they hired an interim president whose negotiated compensation is higher than Swayne's.

The college's accrediting agency dinged NIC again in a letter the college received Dec. 17 that said, "While NIC has submitted monitoring reports as required since that time, hired a new president, and has a fully constituted Board with five Trustees, recent and subsequent public actions of the NIC Board of Trustees appear to place the institution at significant risk of being out of compliance."

The board must respond to the letter after the first of the year and show how the college is not out of compliance with a list of accreditation eligibility requirements and standards related to operational focus and independence; institutional integrity; the governing board; the chief executive officer, which in NIC's case is the president; the administration; and the college's relationship with NWCCU.