Grenade found by road

    Bonners Ferry — A man taking his daily walk on Upper Pack River Road Sunday came across the unexpected — an old, military-style hand grenade.

 The man, who was not identified, called the Sheriff's Office at 12:35 p.m. to report the find, prompting a full haz-mat response, which included notifying not only members of the Sheriff's Office, but state officials as well.

 Boundary County emergency management incident commander Bob Graham identified the object as a military fragmentation grenade, apparently still armed with the pin and spoon in place.

    After conferring with state officials, he moved the grenade to a safe bunker and notified the bomb disposal unit from Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, which sent a team to Boundary County on Monday.   

    The device was safely detonated by the FAFB bomb squad at 2 p.m. Monday afternoon.

    Graham said he had no idea who left the grenade by the side of the road, located about eight miles from U.S. 95, but said the man who found it was sure the grenade had not been there the day before.

    He said it appeared that it may have been tossed from a vehicle.