SANDPOINT — From racist propaganda and criminal cases, to carousels and snow storms, there was no shortage of news in 2017.

This is the tenth and final in a series looking back at the top stories of the year. We look forward to a news-filled new year. Stories are listed in no particular order.

- Scott Rhodes was identified as a person of interest after Sandpoint High School students became the latest targets of racist propaganda that has hit the area in recent months.

A SHS student, who discovered a compact disc on his windshield around 1:30 p.m. Nov. 30 contacted Spencer Smith, the Sandpoint Police Department's school resource officer. A total of 56 discs were then collected by Smith from the windshields of vehicles in the SHS parking lot, according to a statement by city officials Friday.

The CDs, titled "What are They Hiding From You," included several versions of the flyers previously distributed throughout Sandpoint, among other materials. Distribution of the CDs on school grounds was in violation of LPOSD policy.

According to the statement, Sandpoint Police obtained video surveillance from SHS to identify a person of interest. Contact was made with Rhodes on Dec. 1. He was trespassed from school district property at the request of LPOSD officials.

- The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a suspicious death in the Clark Fork area. BCSO officials said an investigation revealed that George Gerald Andres, 73, returned home from a shopping trip about 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, when he interrupted a burglary in progress.

He was confronted by one or more people in his front yard and the confrontation turned deadly and Andres was shot multiple times. Multiple items were taken by his killers during the commission of the crime. Andres’ body was discovered in his front yard in the 1200 block of Mountain View Road near Clark Fork approximately 6:12 p.m. BCSO detectives immediately responded to the scene and began investigating along with the assistance of ISP detectives and Idaho Department of Fish & Game agents.

- When a group of local youth set out to address the problem of suicide in the community, they had no idea their project would spread worldwide.

The group of six Sandpoint Middle School students represented the United States in November at the Design For Change global conference in Spain. As they recalled their experience in a December interview, Ann Dickinson, a Washington Elementary School teacher who started the group on their DFC quest as sixth-graders last year, said the trip was “eye opening” for all of them.

“We learned that suicide is a worldwide problem — It’s not just happening around here,” said group member and SHS seventh-grader Gage Ramsay.

- Reno Hutchison was mesmerized by the Carousel of Smiles as it spun around in all its 1920s glory. "It's a dream come true," she said, nearly speechless during a "pre-unveiling" event Dec. 15, where a group of community members got the first look at the assembled carousel.

The Carousel of Smiles is a nonprofit organization founded by Clay and Reno Hutchison after they brought the 1920 Allan Herschell Carousel to Sandpoint in 2016. Following the “pre-unveiling” event, the assembled, though unrestored, carousel was revealed to the public during an unveiling on Saturday, Dec. 16. The carousel remained assembled in the main building of the Bonner County Fairgrounds through Sunday for community members to enjoy the Golden Age machine.

- Safety hazards, trash, sewer leaks and other issues at the S&W Motel and trailer park have drawn the attention of city officials.

Property owner Steve Wasick joined the City Council meeting on Dec. 18 by phone to discuss ongoing issues with the property. Following a conversation with Wasick during the city’s Dec. 4 meeting, Mayor Steve Geiger said he stopped by the property and said 12 out of the 13 doors were "kicked in or non-existent, and there was trash and debris everywhere."

Ponderay Police Sgt. Mike Victorino went through each trailer on Dec. 7 and took a video of the trash and damage to each unit. All of the units were open and easily accessible, he said. Trash was piled on floors and counters, doors were torn from hinges and other damage visible.

- Crews spent much of the day on Dec. 19 in snowplows and graders trying to keep up with the onslaught of snow, and their efforts continued throughout the day Wednesday.

City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said the city had 10 operators running three graders, two plow trucks, three loaders, a sander and two skid steers working to clear the streets. In addition, she said, three contract trucks and drivers hauled snow from the downtown core on Wednesday. They began work at 2 a.m. in the downtown area so it could be cleared before having to work around all of the cars typically parked on the streets.

In addition to the mad rush to clear the snow, emergency crews responded to many calls throughout the day. Selkirk Fire, Rescue and EMS responded to 46 calls during the snow storm, according to a posting on their Facebook page. The Sandpoint Police Department responded to several calls as well, including three vehicle slide-offs and three collisions.

In the Bonner County 911 call log for Tuesday, there were 49 reports of traffic hazards, as well as 20 vehicle slide-offs and more than 20 non-injury and injury accidents reported. Numerous people reported power outages as well, and many were still without power the following night.

- “America’s Veterinarian,” Dr. Marty Becker, made his annual visit to the Panhandle Animal Shelter on Dec. 19.

Each year, Becker comes from Bonners Ferry to visit the animals at the shelter, bringing many family members, gifts and hugs with him, said Mandy Evans, executive director of PAS. He brings enough dog treats to last most of the year, as well as toys for the dogs and cats.

- Mediation was ordered Dec. 6 in the case of a man implicated in a shooting incident involving anglers fly fishing the Priest River.

The state and the defense in Leo Michael Inwood’s case both agreed to use civil mediation in an attempt to resolve felony criminal charges, court records show. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 24 in case civil mediation bears no fruit.

Inwood, 42, and Eric Rampton Wood, 52, were charged in connection with the Sept. 13 shooting incident in which a 13-year-old boy was struck in the leg by incoming gunfire. The teen who was shot and another teen, also 13, told Bonner County sheriff’s investigators that they were casting into the river when the motorized scooter they rode to the fishing hole was hit by incoming rounds.

When the shooting subsided, the teens got back on the moped attempted to leave the area. That’s when the teen was struck in the femur, according to a probable cause affidavit.

- An Oldtown man was arrested Nov. 30 on charges that he threatened a 4-year-old girl with a knife and injuring a 2-year-old boy.

David Fernandez Jr. is charged with aggravated assault and two counts of misdemeanor injury to a child. Fernandez, 23, made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Dec. 1. Judge Lori Meulenberg set Fernandez’s bail at $35,000 and appointed a public defender to represent him, court records show.

- The body of a Bonner County woman who disappeared in 2004 has been recovered, Kootenai County sheriff’s officials announced on Dec. 7.

The remains of Christine Lott were discovered in a remote and wooded area along a U.S. Forest Service Road near Coeur d’Alene in February 2016. The discovery was kept confidential until her husband could be located and interviewed by detectives in Kootenai County, officials said in a news release.

Lott’s death is being investigated as a homicide by detectives in Bonner and Kootenai counties. Lott was reportedly last seen outside Mitchell’s IGA — now Mitchell’s Harvest Foods — on March 25, 2004.

- An Oldtown man implicated in a wave of vandalism that washed over Priest River last summer has been ordered in December to serve 40 hours on the Bonner County sheriff’s labor program. Sears was one of four people implicated in the vandalism spree in which vehicles were vandalized with spray paint and buildings were tagged with swastikas and profane denunciations of President Donald Trump. An all-terrain vehicle was also taken and ruined in a crash at a gravel pit, according to Priest River Police reports.

Sears, 19, Sears pleaded guilty to one count of vandalism and one count of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent. He was given concurrent 90-day prison sentences with 85 days suspended and the balance of the custodial term converted to hours on the labor program. He was also fined $400 and placed on probation for 18 months, court records show.

Sears was accused of actually perpetuating the vandalism and the ATV theft or aiding and abetting Faith Longest, Kurtis Barker-Hayden and Melissa Starr.

- Officer Rob Dressel was driving on Pine Street when he noticed a cyclist on Forest Avenue approaching the intersection. But instead of stopping for traffic which had the right of way, John W. Grimes sprinted his bike through the intersection and raised his hands as though victoriously crossing a finish line, a police report said.

Grimes’ dash forced Dressel and another motorist to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting Grimes. Dressel contacted Grimes to warn him about the rules of the road, but Grimes allegedly sped off on the bike after providing the officer with his name, touching off a brief pursuit on the bike and pedestrian path and side streets alongside U.S. Highway 2 that culminated in Grimes’ arrest for obstruction.

- A Ponderay woman died following a collision north of Bonners Ferry on Dec. 2.

State police said Jennifer R. Jones was southbound in a 2006 Ford Explorer when she drove into the opposing lane of travel. Her sport utility vehicle struck a 2008 Dodge Caravan head-on. The occupants of the minivan, Dale L. Olsen, 82, and Dorothy N. Olsen, 78, both of Bonners Ferry were taken to Boundary Community Hospital.

Jones, 39, was also taken to Boundary Community, but was transferred to Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene and again to Harborview Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.

- Carol Kunzeman, former mayor of Ponderay, announced her candidacy in December for the District 3 seat on the Bonner County Commission.

Kunzeman is seeking the GOP nomination for the seat currently occupied by Commissioner Dan McDonald. Kunzeman served as mayor from 2008 to 2016, after serving on the city council for five years. Well known for her ability to get things done, she led Ponderay through a time of transition.

- Bonner County sheriff’s deputies who were involved in a gunbattle with a Blanchard were cleared of wrongdoing in December, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies William Craffey, Michael Gagnon and Justin Penn were attempting to arrest Adam Deacon Foster outside his home earlier this year. Foster allegedly opened fire on the deputies, striking Gagnon and Penn. The deputies returned fire and wounded Foster, according to court documents.

As a result of the use of deadly force, the incident was submitted for review by the multi-jurisdictional North Idaho Critical Incident Task Force. The results of the review were referred to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, which determined the deputies’ use of force was justified.

Foster pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder on Dec. 18, 1st District Court records show. The charges included a sentencing enhancement that adds 20 years to the sentence for inflicting great bodily injury upon deputies Michael Gagnon and Justin Penn.

Foster is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2018. He remains jailed with bail set at $2 million.

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