North Idaho Briefs August 31, 2011
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 14 years, 3 months AGO
Chili cookoff
set for Sept. 18
The 15th annual Chili Cookoff and Benefit for the Children's Village is set for Sept. 18 at Coeur d'Alene Honda.
All chili cooks, chefs and competitors are urged to join the fun. Coeur d'Alene Honda/KTM's cookoff has raised more than $40,000 for the kids at The Children's Village.
At least two gallons of chili must be prepared on site, with set up 8-9 a.m., and a shotgun start at 9. Chili must be ready for eating at noon, followed by judging at 1:30 p.m.
Competitors must use propane or gas stoves and cookware. Tables, chairs, cups, napkins and spoons will be provided by Coeur d'Alene Honda, 2745 Seltice Way.,
There is a $5 donation for chili tasting - $2 donation drawing for prizes.
First place is worth $350, second, $250, third $150 and People's Choice, $100.
There will be a DJ and prizes.
Info: Mike Scott 765-5005 or email [email protected]
Hearing set for BNSF permits
The Kootenai County examiner will hold a hearing on Thursday evening over proposed permit amendments for a train refueling station in Hauser.
The county commissioners have proposed several new conditions for Burlington-Northern Santa Fe's facility, with the aim of improving safety.
The proposed changes include additional safeguards in the event of a leak, and the railroad continuing to fund a staff person at the Department of Environmental Quality's aquifer protection program.
Similar amendments were previously proposed, but the railroad responded with a lawsuit. The company has indicated it will drop the litigation if the amendments are adopted as proposed.
The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 1 in Room 1 of the county Administration Building.
The commissioners will hold a hearing at a later date.
The refueling station sits over the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, the drinking water source for 500,000.
Bid awarded for U.S. 95 widening
PONDERAY - A bid has been awarded for a long-awaited project to improve traffic flow and safety on U.S. Highway 95.
The Idaho Transportation Board accepted Apollo Inc.'s $12.7 million bid to reconstruct and widen the highway from Sandpoint through Ponderay. The board accepted the Kennewick, Wash., company's bid on Thursday, said Barbara Babic, spokeswoman for the Idaho Transportation Department.
Construction is expected to start before the year is out.
The project will widen the corridor to four lanes separated by a median. A traffic signal will be installed at Bonner Mall Way. A pedestrian path will also be constructed.
The stretch of highway carries 20,000 vehicles per day and has an elevated crash history. There is an average of 15 accidents a year in the corridor, with 40 percent of those crashes occurring at Bonner Mall Way, according to Damon Allen, ITD's District 1 engineer.
The project's bid came in over the $11.8 million engineering estimate, requiring the board to make the final funding decision. Babic said she was not aware of what influenced the increased construction cost.
Montana man's bike stolen
COEUR d'ALENE - A Choteau, Mont., man reported the theft of a $5,000 bike on Saturday.
The bike, secured with cable locks, was in the open bed of a pickup truck parked on the street overnight on the 800 block of north Eighth.
When the man went out to the truck at 8 a.m. Saturday, the customized downhill racing Giant brand bike was gone. The locks, which had been cut, were left behind.