EMS, arson and park dominate year's news

From a financial crisis enveloping Bonner County EMS to at least one defective gate at Albeni Falls Dam to an arson fire that destroyed the Sandpoint Army Surplus store, 2024 had no shortage of news.

Among the top stories of the year, in no particular order, were:

By year's end, Bonner County voted to settle a pair of lawsuits and apologize for the controversial arrests of Dave Bowman and Rick Cramer on trespass charges after failing to leave the Bonner County Administrative Building. Former county commissioner Luke Omodt had ordered the pair trespassed, claiming they were disruptive and has made potential threats against county employees. 

However, the pair claimed they were not disruptive and were merely exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech and to attend county commission meetings. The pair later sued, with the county apologizing and paying to settle the lawsuits by Bowman and Cramer.

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The Pine Street Sled Hill officially opened to the pubic with a special dedication and sledding party for the community's youth in mid-January. The Jan. 16 event marked the return of the sled hill to public use after the Kaniksu Land Trust was able to purchase the site thanks to a community donations and KLT supporters financing the purchase of the Weiss family homestead for the land trust and leasing it back to KLT for $1 for 18 months.

That gave the land trust the time needed to implement a capital campaign to raise the $2.1 million needed to buy the property outright — and make the necessary immediate improvements to use the property to the fullest extent possible.

The land trust has spent the past year drafting a master plan for the whole Pine Street Woods complex, which includes the sled hill. Amenities for the site, which include a 75-car parking lot, are included in that master plan.

The 48-acre parcel of land on which the sled hill sits also includes forests, meadows, a picturesque pond, and historic homestead structures. The Sled Hill had been the site of a community ski hill in the 1940s prior to Schweitzer's opening in 1963 and later served as a community sledding hill until 2021. With the successful campaign, the homestead site — often referred to by the land trust as the property's front porch — joins the Pine Street Woods, which has become a treasured community landmark since its purchase in March 2019.

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Former West Bonner County School District leader Branden Durst has filed notice with the state in late February warning he intends to sue two education agencies for $1.25 million.

Durst served five months as West Bonner’s leader, a period marked by turmoil on the local school board and acrimony among trustees and the community. West Bonner voters subsequently held a recall election that ousted two trustees supporting Durst’s leadership tenure.

Following a Sept. 13, 2023, letter denying his emergency certification, Durst submitted his resignation to the board in September. Trustees accepted that resignation in October and appointed Joe Kren as interim superintendent. WBCSD trustees later named Kim Spacek as permanent superintendent for the school district.

Durst would file suit against West Bonner in mid-June, alleging he was fired without cause. The lawsuit alleges both breach of contract and failure by the district to act in good faith. In the alleged breach of contract, Durst is seeking a minimum of $100,000 — the amount he should have received had he been allowed to fulfill his contract, but with the amount to be set at trial. In the alleged breach of good faith, Durst is seeking an amount to be determined at trial.

West Bonner officials asked the court to dismiss the complaint with prejudice and order Durst to pay its costs and attorney fees. They said Durst's contract and a Sept. 25, 2023, letter posted to his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, speak for themselves.

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A long-awaited forensic audit has found no financial misconduct, West Bonner trustees were told in mid-March by auditing firm Eide Bailey.

In the audit covering a five-year period from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2023, forensic auditor Brandon Waldren said his firm went over 260 transactions and 160 credit card charges. The audit had been planned to be done by the end of the month, but after noting the urgency in completing it as quickly as possible, the auditor said the firm offered to complete it early.

The 260 bank disbursements tested totaled $21,393,908 and while he was on site, Waldren said he was able to test 248 of them — roughly 95%.

During a visit to the district, Waldren conducted 13 interviews of both current and former employees as well as doing an in-depth review of a sampling of the district's financial transactions.

As part of the audit, Waldren said the firm listened to the concerns, reviewed the applicable data, including financial records and other documentation, and interviewed pertinent district staff and former employees.

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Bridges are typically defined as a means of connection from one place to another — but some bridges connect hearts, communities, businesses and friends. Sandpoint’s Cedar Street Bridge has a history of doing both.

The bridge took steps toward the next phase of its journey after it was purchased by Joseph Worth, who owns a company that builds virtual production studios, Optic 8, and travels from Dallas to Sandpoint often to visit friends.

Through finding out that the structure was for sale, and developing family-like relationships with Stacey Mueller and Shery Meekings, he realized that purchasing the bridge while still residing in Dallas might not be impossible.

“With new ownership comes new vision,” Meekings said. “[Past owners] had a different vision. I don’t know what it was. But whatever people experienced the last couple years — that’s gone. That new, fresh community feeling that everyone has been missing, is back.”

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A historic mystery was uncovered when the remains of a old steamboat were discovered in the greater Pend Oreille River area. A dive to record and catalogue the boat were made in mid-March.

It's likely the boat was deliberately sunk; the rocks piled in the front of the bow attest to that. However, the boat's name and story are among the mysteries that the Bonner County Museum hopes to solve, starting that journey with a dive into a recently discovered historic wreck.

The location of the wreck is not being disclosed in order to protect the site, which is part of an ongoing archaeological research project.

A flat-bottomed boat, the vessel is a single-screw propellor — a fairly rare design, with most vessels designed for such travel having a double-screw propeller. While wooden, the boat was wrapped in steel — likely because it was year-round and the metal cladding was needed to help break through the ice.

"It was pretty spectacular," diver Chris McNaughton said of catching his first glimpse. "This wreck, this vessel, was once significant to the economy of this region. There are probably descendants still here of the men who built this boat."

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After months of deliberation, the City Council voted in mid-April to leave the Selkirk Joint Powers Association, with Mayor Jeremy Grimm breaking a tie in favor of leaving the area fire district.

The vote followed an hour-long debate by the council over a request by local fire districts to extend the joint powers agreement among the Sandpoint, Sagle and Westside fire departments by three months instead of a year.  

Prior to the JPA’s formation in 2014, Sandpoint was an independent fire station. Since the JPA was formed, Selkirk officials have said the firefighters have learned coordinated 911 response plans and combined resources to provide more efficient services. Some city officials have voiced concerns about how the JPA operates and the administrative burden it places on the city. 

Since its beginning, the agreement has operated on a term basis, being renewed every few years. Since it was set to expire in April, discussion about Sandpoint’s continuation in the JPA emerged earlier this year. During initial conversations, the council voted to extend the term until June to allow for further research and dialogue. In the meantime, Sandpoint officials have hosted a workshop and a special council meeting.

Before making a decision about the fate of the JPA, a council majority decided to invite the districts into a year-long extension to offer them time to address the city’s concerns, adjust the organizational structure, and evaluate the new structure’s success. 

Instead, the Sagle and Westside district boards agreed to extend the JPA until the end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2024. That prompted the Sandpoint council to vote on a move to give 60 days' notice to leave the JPA, ending in a tie vote that was broken by Grimm.

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Concern over gates at the Albeni Falls Dam also dominated the year's news after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discovered — and removed — a defective spill gate at the Albeni Falls Dam in mid-May in an effort to sustain current Lake Pend Oreille levels and mitigate potential flood risk on the shorelines nearby. While unknown, it is likely the remainder of the dam's gates could also be defective.

Replacing Albeni Falls Dam's troubled gates will be a lengthy process, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials. While they plan to "patch" Gate 3 as a spare by next spring's runoff, complete gate replacement won't begin for three years, with project completion expected in 2029.

The Corps is working to patch Gate 3 using fiber-reinforced polymer to reinforce the weakened steel. Once the first replacement gate is installed in 2027, subsequent gates would be installed every six months.

Col. Kathryn Sanborn, Seattle District commander, acknowledged this timeline isn't ideal but emphasized the need to balance speed with quality. The Corps has prioritized this project but must ensure the replacement gates will be durable.

The defects, described as rolling flaws, occurred during the gates' construction in the mid-1950s. These flaws weaken the steel by delaminating it into thin layers, creating the potential for catastrophic failure. The defects remain hidden until gates are removed and decades of paint stripped away.

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A Bonner County woman remains under case at the state hospital after she was charged with setting a July 4 arson fire that destroyed the Army Surplus store.

Jennifer Suzanne Meyer, 50, was charged in mid-July with setting the fire after police said multiple surveillance videos from businesses near the Army Surplus building showed the woman in the vicinity and acting suspiciously.

During a search of Meyer's home, officers allegedly found a bag next to the front door containing personal documents, including her driver's license, birth certificate, college transcript and passport, $1,000 in cash, a gun and ammunition, and silver valued at an estimated $1,200.

Originally delayed until late August, the commitment order was extended for an additional 180 days, ending May 18, 2025. The decision comes on the heels of a progress report from Idaho State Hospital North that indicated Meyer was, “not fit to proceed at this time, but that there is a substantial probability the defendant will be fit to proceed within the foreseeable future,” according to court documents.

Meyer was deemed incapable of assisting in the defense of her case and committed to the custody of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for care and treatment on Aug. 18, for a period not exceeding 90 days.

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While on paper the changes are slight, a boundary line adjustment between the county's two library districts will have a huge impact on the West Bonner Library District.

Under the change, which was approved Aug. 20 by both the East Bonner County and West Bonner library districts, library taxing boundaries would be changed to match those of the Lake Pend Oreille and West Bonner County school districts. 

The idea has been discussed for decades, officials with both the West Bonner and East Bonner County library districts said. However, nothing formal was ever done — or asked. That is until May when West Bonner Library Director Megan Mize approached her counterparts in Sandpoint to gauge the East Bonner County Library board's interest in changing the boundary line between the two districts.

It is, Mize and East Bonner Library Director Vanessa Velez said, an idea that makes sense — and one whose time had come.

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With hundreds gathered, families picnicking, and kids playing soccer and lacrosse, Ponderay celebrated the grand opening of its Field of Dreams recreation complex in late August.

"This is an honor to be standing here in this great, amazing facility that was a vision many years ago that we finally made happen," Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger said at the field's grand opening.

The first phase includes four full-sized multi-sport fields that can be broken down into different configurations of smaller fields, a concession stand and infrastructure for the Field of Dreams complex, representing a $10 million investment.

Planned future phases include a pavilion, as well as nature and multi-use trails, a playground, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, baseball fields and an indoor field house. Also, additional phases could include more picnic areas, expansion of the field house and event center, an indoor ice rink and, potentially, a pool.

The dream of a regional sports complex in Ponderay has been around since 1993, when Floyd McGhee and Mike Read, on behalf of the Sandpoint Soccer Association, started work on what was then called the McGhee Sports Complex. In 1994, McGhee and Read were joined by others in creating the North Idaho/Ponderay Youth Sports Association, established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit to help raise funds toward the effort.

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A Bonner County man was arrested by the Secret Service in August for making repeated threats against Donald Trump, according to court documents.

Sixty-four-year-old Warren Jones Crazybull, of Sandpoint, was arrested in Missoula, Mont., on Aug. 1 after Secret Service was able to trace him using phone data.  

Crazybull was indicted Aug. 20 and has pleaded not guilty to one count of making threats against a former and incoming president, which is punishable by fines and/or up to five years in prison. He is currently on a U.S. Marshal hold at the Kootenai County Jail.  

According to the criminal complaint, Crazybull made at least nine phone calls to Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago resort July 31, in which he made threats against the former president’s life.  

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In a Tuesday afternoon ceremony, city staff, residents and members of the local racquet sports community celebrated the completion of the James E. Russell Sports Center. 

In the facility’s community room, several city staff members and donor Jim Russell spoke about the process of creating the $7.5 million facility and expressed their excitement for its upcoming opening. After years of planning and 13 months of construction, the Russell Center is set to host players in early December. 

Park Planning and Development Manager Maeve Nevins-Lavtar, who acted as the project manager for the Russell Center throughout its development, thanked the contractors, city staff members and volunteers who worked to bring the project to life and recognized the achievement of completing the 18-court facility within its budget while navigating inflation, rising material costs and unstable earth at the site.

The sports complex has not been without critics with some saying the facility was out of place in what was meant to be an outdoor sports facility and hampered the park's playground area.

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Bonner County and EMS officials are working to navigate their way through a cash crunch crisis that came close to shuttering the organization when the crisis came to light on Nov. 8.

The Bonner County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to have Bonner County apply for a $2 million tax anticipation loan to Bonner County EMS, allowing them to operate until late January when they receive a tranche of funds from taxes. 

The lack of funds caught both county officials, EMS leaders and the community off-guard, causing concern over the agency's financial future.

The troubles for Bonner County EMS’ budget appear to have started when $2 million was taken out of the department’s budget to pay for part of the new Bonner County EMS building on Division Avenue. 

The county was able to draft a solution to the cash flow problems that did not include a reduction of force while revamping how the organization is structured as well as its funding structure.

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An August surveillance hunt by Idaho Department of Fish & Game yielded 172 samples which uncovered two new chronic wasting disease-positive white-tailed deer in the Bonners Ferry area.

According to a Sept. 27 Idaho Fish and Game press release, both diseased deer were harvested within one mile of the original CWD-positive carcass discovered by a landowner in early July. 

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One by one, the Carousel of Smiles' ponies were carefully led from their home of the past few years out into the sunshine, en route to a hoped-for new home in the former Bizarre Bazaar building on Church Street.

Carousel of Smiles officials are working to buy the building and give the ponies both a permanent home. The goal, the Hutchisons said, is to blend the existing operations, studio and workshop into one site and transform the location into a showcase carousel for the community. 

The nonprofit has leased the building and, with that, has the opportunity to purchase the Church Street site. That allows the Carousel of Smiles to begin work on a capital campaign to buy the site and renovate the building into a showcase facility for the community. The Hutchisons said they are excited about the building's potential and the future — that after years of unknowns and frustrations, the Carousel of Smiles could have a permanent home.

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One week after voters narrowly rejected a $1.13 million levy in the Nov. 5 general election, West Bonner County School District officials made it clear. They’re facing a financial crisis. 

The latest levy’s shortfall marked the third time in two years residents have denied supplemental funding to the district. As a result of an existing budget strain, trustees voted unanimously in June to close the junior high for the 2024-25 school year and consolidate eighth through 12th grade at Priest River Lamanna High School. 

Now, the district is preparing for additional cost-saving measures, including the potential closure of additional schools and another levy measure.

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The future of stray animal care in Bonner County underwent a significant shift after the Better Together Animal Alliance — a nonprofit shelter based in Ponderay — and a trio of local municipalities failed to reach agreement on housing stray dogs. 

Local elected officials in Sandpoint, Ponderay and Bonner county began exploring other options after BTAA announced it would substantially raise its rates after chronically undercharging the municipalities.

In the 2023 budget cycle, Sandpoint, Ponderay, and Bonner County paid BTAA a total of $18,400 to take in 406 stray dogs. According to the shelter, the actual cost of caring for the animals was $274,054. 

The annual contract amounts proposed by BTAA in March were $19,184 for Ponderay, $65,773 for Sandpoint, and $169,913 for Bonner County. The $254,870 total represents a 1,285% total increase from the 2023 combined amount. 

All three of the entities opted to contract with other entities or handle any stray animals on their own.

    Bonner County Commissioners celebrate the opening of the new Bonner County EMS building on Sept. 6. In early November, commissioners passed an emergency loan to keep Bonner County EMS afloat.
  

    Col. Kathrynn Sanborn, Seattle District commander for the Army Corps of Engineers, listens to a comment at a 2024 meeting on spillway gate restrictions on the Albeni Falls Dam.