ERIC WELCH
Staff Writer
Recent Stories

LPOSD expands campus officer team
District’s security detail among Idaho's most robust
At the start of the 2023-24 academic year, Lake Pend Oreille School District joined a small collection of Idaho districts employing armed campus security when it hired a pair of former law enforcement officers to work full-time in local schools.

‘The Sled Hill’ short film to debut
Filmmaker, land trust spotlight history, conservation
The film recaps KLT’s grassroots effort to preserve the property after discovering it was slated to go on the market in 2021 after decades as publicly available space. Additionally, it spotlights the land’s heritage as a community ski hill in the 1940s before Schweitzer’s 1963 opening, and its subsequent transition to a sled hill beloved by locals.

LPOSD introduces facilities timeline, policies
Lake Pend Oreille School District trustees reviewed a trio of proposed policies and an updated timeline for facility construction in a monthly meeting Tuesday.

Wildlife films to support conservation trip
Hastings was inspired to launch the initiative after he showed students in his Advanced Placement environmental science class a documentary about threats faced by coral reefs. When the high schoolers expressed a desire to help, he connected with a reef conservationist he had met on a diving trip and organized an eight-day expedition to the Dominican Republic to offer students’ labor to a local organization working to preserve corals.
Community gives feedback on proposed SHS hall pass
Attendees were apprehensive of data exposure risks and the change’s effect on students' sense of trust; SHS Principal Jacki Crossingham and Assistant Principal Chris Taylor said they would review the input with staff and evaluate before implementing the technology.
City staff give fire, planning, Russell Center briefs
While the facility's construction was supported by a $7.5 million gift, Sandpoint has budgeted for the center’s revenue to cover its operating costs, a mark not yet reached, according to Welker. “It's a little challenging, because we are trying to run this as a business,” he said. “So far, it's not there, but any new project like this is going to take a few months to get up and running.”
City revises paid parking plan
The changes, shared in a Feb. 4 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, include a time increase in free parking per visit for city residents with an annual pass from two hours to three hours at all lots except City Beach, where residents would receive four free hours.

SHS introducing attendance, hall pass tech
Beginning Feb. 10, students who arrive at the building late will bring receipts to teachers to be recognized as tardy. Additionally, all students at the school will start using SmartPass — a digital hall pass system — to request and receive permission to leave class during instructional time.
Magician cohort coming to Panida
“For this show, we have a full spectrum of different styles of magic that appeal to all ages,” said illusionist, event organizer and Sandpoint local David DaVinci. “There’s a little something in the show for everybody.”

West Bonner begins budget talks
WBCSD staff told attendees that due to a shrinking student population, the district is anticipating a reduction in support units — a metric used by Idaho to assess districts’ needs — which will likely lead to less state funding next year.