Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s Tribune.
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STITES — Drivers on Idaho Highway 13, between Stites and Sally Ann Road, can see the construction of two new houses on the west shore of the South Fork, the same site where Lanalee Anderson’s large log home was consumed by fire last March. A large collection of original art, artifacts and items from her travels around the world, and family memorabilia were destroyed that night when a gas explosion set off the fire. Awakened by the blast, Anderson immediately ran outside to save her dogs and was unharmed, but one of the dogs was badly burned as the five labradoodles climbed the kennel fencing to escape.
The decision to rebuild was heart-wrenching for Anderson, who was not sure she would be able to handle it emotionally. Her only son, Andy, had died from an unexpected illness two years before the fire.
“It was hard for me to rebuild because it was Andy’s house, too,” she said. “We owned it together. Now I’m rebuilding this fabulous place, and he doesn’t get to see it.
“I think about the precious things I have carried around with me forever,” Anderson said. “I had decided to leave everything to Andy, so I took pictures of it all because it was overdecorated with a lot of incredible stuff. I lost my phone last summer with pictures of Andy and the house, and when I went to get a new one, they said I wasn’t getting anything back. But you know what? The pictures just popped in and loaded up! They didn’t even try the cloud, so I don’t know how that happened, but I have them all.”
Anderson credits her contractor, Jeremy Wells, owner of Bar E Builders in Stites, for encouraging her to continue with the rebuilding. He and his employee Jim Brando’s support and optimism convinced her to go forward.
“Jeremy knew my son and told me that Andy would never want me to be sad about it. He would want me to be happy.
“They have been the best thing about this whole experience,” she stated.
Anderson and her friend, Chuck Melgin, began the cleanup of the burned house when the sun came up the morning of the fire. She had been in contact with her insurance and the fire marshal was there that day, too.
She contacted Bar E Builders of Stites for a bid when she learned they had a crane, and even though the firefighting equipment was unable to cross the bridge, the crane was able to be brought across through the river.
“I never saw anything burn so fast as those logs!” Anderson said about the fire. “So, I’ll never build a log house again. I asked Jeremy if he could do metal siding, and he said, ‘We can do that.’ ”
The guest house was first to begin, and it is drywalled and painted inside, just needing flooring, some fix-it things, and the bath and kitchen fixtures installed.
The tall pines along the river shore were damaged from the fire but remained standing afterward; they were taken down at the suggestion of the fire marshal to prevent them from falling later.
“We thought we would use them for wood or just give them away when Jeremy suggested they could be the outdoor pillars,” Anderson remarked. “He said he’d never worked with logs as big as they are.”
They form the support for the outdoor living area of the main house and can be seen from Highway 13. They were also used to create a large gate with a sign at the entry to the pastures and land of her South Fork Ranch.
Anderson has been living in one of the guest houses on the property since the fire and rebuilt the dogs’ kennels at that location. They will be moved to the new house when it is completed. Her plans are to reopen guest houses for those who come to fish, hunt and visit the valley, but she will not open the River Clan site as a restaurant again.
“It will be opened as a guest bar in the evenings,” she said.
Dempsey, the dog who suffered the burns, is now lively, happy and healed. Anderson was surprised at the number of people who contributed to his medical treatment, even those who did not know her or Dempsey.
“In town, some who didn’t know me would come up and ask me how the dog was doing! The people in this area are wonderful.”
Anderson is looking forward to the completion with a glad heart now, and said she will be happy with a smaller home than the one she lost — but the memories remain.
— Lyn Krzeminski, Idaho County Free Press (Grangeville), Wednesday
Booster pump construction progress discussed by city council
POMEROY — The Pomeroy City Council discussed progress on the booster pump, appointed a historic preservation commission and discussed firework regulations at their meeting Feb. 4.
Construction on the booster pump during January included trenching, laying pipe, assembling the manifold and installing a flow meter vault. Expected construction during February includes creating building footings and walls, surveying lines, and placing pipe and conduit sleeves in the building foundation walls. The project is scheduled to be completed in October 2025.
The Historic Preservation Commission consists of Ray Watson, Will Marquart, Lillian Heytvelt, Naomi Scoggin and Melody Tillinghast. Muriel Bott will serve in an advisory capacity. The commission has been inactive for several years.
Firework codes and regulations were discussed. Washington law states that any changes to firework rules will go into effect a year after the change was made. The council discussed possible changes to firework code for 2026, including limiting locations and shortening the firework season surrounding July 4. Fire hazards such as shake roofing are being identified.
In other business, the council approved an agreement with Keller Associates for retaining engineering services. The agreement will be valid from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2027. The agreement has no monetary compensation. Instead the agreement will be amended for each project where Keller Associates services are needed with project-specific amounts. The council approved an amendment to the agreement for the Main Street Sidewalk project, engaging Keller Associates for $175,000.
— Naomi Scoggin, East Washingtonian (Pomeroy), Thursday
