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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KAMIAH — A malfunctioning ceiling fire sprinkler at Kamiah Middle School burst unexpectedly on Jan. 27, sending water pouring into a boys’ restroom and down a hallway, prompting fifth- and sixth-grade students in four classrooms to be evacuated.
The rooms were part of the old school, said Superintendent Paul Anselmo, and were kept when the new middle school was built.
Teachers heard running water around 12:30 p.m. and notified administrators. Students were dismissed for lunch and then were held the rest of the day in the high school gym. Classroom instruction continued for the rest of the week by doubling up in some other rooms and by using the high school gym for physical education.
“The most important thing is the kids’ education being disrupted as little as possible,” said Anselmo.
He was impressed with the swift action by Kamiah Fire-Rescue that arrived and swept water from the hallway, the insurance company, and King Services (a Lewiston damage restoration company) that was there by that evening. The insurance company monitored the rest of the week for potential tile buckling and was concerned, Anselmo said, that the sink that was broken off the wall when the ceiling in the restroom collapsed on it would be visually pleasing as well as functional. King Services put floor dryers under the middle school gymnasium and moisture sensors in the walls.
Tests on moisture the next two days were negative, Anselmo said on Thursday, and everything would be thoroughly sanitized before classes resumed the following Monday in the impacted rooms.
— Lyn Krzeminski, Idaho County Free Press (Grangeville), Wednesday
City Council re-examines RV ordinance
OROFINO — Orofino’s City Council re-examined its RV ordinance during a regular session Jan. 28.
Michelle Lougee met with the council to discuss a special use application to continue living in an RV at 12546 Hartford Avenue to help care for elderly parents and grandchildren until they were able to move forward in purchasing more property. It is an issue that has been discussed in previous council and Planning and Zoning meetings.
Some of the concerns of the council and neighbors were about being connected to sewer and water. The 2022 RV sits on a concrete pad and is connected to the septic system that serves the whole property. They are connected to city water. Another issue was payment of property taxes when other residents are expected to pay. There is property tax being paid on the whole property.
Fire Chief Bart Jones also addressed concerns about the long-term use of RVs in regard to fire and emergency medical incidents.
The council discussed the fact that there are many RVs and campers all over Orofino beside homes and without living in those areas, it is hard to tell which are just stored and which have someone living in them long-term. There is also a housing crunch in the community.
After a lengthy discussion and comment by audience members, Councilor Mike Gladhart made the motion to grant the variance for six months and have Planning and Zoning go back and amend the ordinance to allow for some options, instead of the way it is now. It was approved with Councilor Patti Bangle abstaining because she had been at the previous P&Z meeting where there had been some emotions expressed that were not reflected in the minutes available to other council members.
With the $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for Downtown Revitalization, which is part of the Downtown Master Plan, an architectural survey has been requested by the Nez Perce Tribe Historical Preservation Office. Though not identified up front, this is one of the steps that needs to be completed, according to City Administrator Nathan Jones.
He contacted Gorman Preservation Associates (GPA) and the cost is $15,862.50. Since it was not previously identified in the budget, he proposed that it come out of the Fire Department budget for pavement at Station 2. The $30,000 budgeted for that would not be enough to completed the project, he said.
The cost for the survey by GPA was approved, following a motion by Councilor Josh Tilley and a second by Councilor Cristine Erbst.
The first phase of the Downtown Revitalization is replacing the infrastructure on Johnson Avenue and the second is replacing the asphalt and installing streetscape.
The third item on the Petitions, Applications and Appeals portion of the agenda was billing for J-U-B Engineering Services for the Final Plat of Township Development. The issue has been highly contested between the city and the developers. After a discussion of the pros, including the possibility of getting the project moving again if the city (which has already paid the bill) were to just absorb the cost and the cons of what they would tell other builders and other costs the city has already incurred, the council voted to bill the developers again. They may incur legal fees by doing so.
— Nancy Butler, Clearwater Tribune (Orofino), Wednesday
