Flooding covers farm land
January
A thief breaks Good Grief’s Bigfoot and then tries to dump evidence on a Forest Service Road. However, Darrell L. Curtiss became stuck in the snow while trying to turnaround and Sgt. Bobby Goad solves mystery of disappearance.
• Jennifer Watts was sentenced to a minimum of one year in prison for grand theft from the Selkirk Loop Association, along with restitution of the $130,000 stolen.
• The USFWS proposes 375,552 acres be designated as critical habitat for the southern Selkirk Mountain woodland caribou. Boundary County Commissioners will be engaged in the process.
• The Bonners Ferry Annexation Group hires an attorney and appeals annexation of 77 parcels into the City of Bonners Ferry.
• Andrea Kramer was awarded top honors in the International IACP photography contest for images she took during the international Law Enforcement Torch Run in Greece last year.
February
• Two teens accused of Pro-X burglary with damages estimated at $15,000.
• Boundary County School District filed suit over the sidewalks at the high school to recover the costs to repair and replace them.
• US Customs and Border Patrol building projected to open in May at Three-Mile corner.
• A 21-year-old man from Coeur d’Alene committed suicide by jumping off the Moyie River Bridge.
• Boundary County Commission Chair Ron Smith announces intent to seek re-election of the District 1 position. Lee Pinkerton announces bid for the same seat.
• Donna Capurso announces candidacy for a seat in the Idaho’s House of Representatives.
• City of Bonners Ferry re-posts the chief of police position after advice from the city attorney. The city is hiring a replacement for retired chief Rick Alonzo.
• Boundary County Commissioners considering the creation of a county-wide taxing district for Boundary Volunteer Ambulance.
March
Pam Stout announces candidacy for the Idaho House of Representatives, Legislative District 1, Seat B.
• John Thole’s body was found in the Moyie River after missing overnight.
• Gary Leonard announces bid for Boundary County Sheriff.
• Steve Benkula of Twin Falls hired to replace former Bonners Ferry Police Chief Rick Alonzo.
• More than eight pounds of heroine were seized during a traffic stop in the city of Bonners Ferry, making it one of the biggest heroin seizures in Idaho’s history. Seven grams of cocaine were seized during a unrelated vehicle search.
• Bonner County is contracting with the Pacific Legal Foundation to petition the USFWS to delist the woodland caribou from the federal endangered species list.
• Aaramie Hoisington was named the 2012 Distinguished Young Woman.
•An explosion, most likely a propane tank, lead to investigation involving a marijuana-growing operation. Robert W. Baucum, 56, was at the center of the investigation.
• FIRST Robotics Team will compete in world championships after winning the Engineering Inspiration Award at the regional competition.
April
• Heavy rains cause flooding and mudslides throughout the county. A Union Pacific train derails north of Sandpoint when a 350-foot section of track was washed away.
•Drug trafficking charges for last month’s heroin bust were dismissed in Boundary County but federal indictments were made against Hector Rivera and Barbara Willoughby.
• A 31-year-old man dies in trailer house fire on Curley Creek Road, no identify confirmed.
• Wayne Williams died after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a deer on Highway 2.
• Annexation challenge continues in court after judge rejects request by city to dismiss suit.
May
• Mudslides and a road washout close Myrtle Creek Road.
• Boundary County will be issuing $14 million worth of tax-exempt bonds to pay for the construction of a fiber optic internet network.
• City raises safety concerns over Rod Benders Borders Three Jamboree being held downtown.
•Lee Pinkerton won the election for county commissioner seat over long-time commissioner Ron Smith, 999-801.
• Idaho State Police Corporal Allen Ashby to receive Idaho Medal of Honor from Governor Butch Otter.
• A dead grizzly bear sow and cub found on Hall Mountain.
• Alex Awbrey is one of 18 students in Idaho to win a National Merit Scholarship.
•A bomb threat at BFHS causes the school to be evacuated.
June
• Class of 2012 graduates 101 students at BFHS.
• The 14th annual Rod Benders Borders Three Jamboree went on without a hitch in downtown Bonners Ferry.
• City declares flood emergency to get help after the Kootenai River exceeded flood stage and continued to rise.
• City Council votes to cut down Tremain Albright’s tree house.
• Boundary County School Board announces Riverside High School will be merging with Bonners Ferry High School next year.
• Regional historian Robert Gunter passes away on June 20, 2012.
July
• Bonners Ferry is slated to be wired with fiber optic cable in the next few months for faster internet service.
• Flooding the worst since Libby Dam was built in 1974 according • to Boundary County incident commander Bob Graham. County crews help stranded Ward family on Westside road. High water table causes millions of dollars in lost crops in valley.
• William Barquin, attorney general of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, was selected to be on the advisory committee tasked with implementation of the new U.S. Forest Service Planning Rule.
• Kirk Hoff is the new principal of Bonners Ferry High School.
Five volunteer pilots flew 90 local kids around during the annual Young Eagles day at the airport.
August
• Former fire chief Cliff Kroeger celebrated his 90th birthday with a surprise party, starting with a ride in a firetruck.
• Sixteen-year-old Janna Mong drowned in the Moyie River.
• Nathan Grow and Zach Heigel received their Eagle Scout badges, the highest honor a Boy Scout can earn.
• Boundary County Commissioners and Boundary Volunteer Ambulance reach an agreement.
• Shawna Gust is being charged with grand theft from the former Boundary Well Life Pharmacy.
• Army Spc. Ethan Martin, 22, was killed when he encountered small-arms fire in Afghanistan.
• Fire destroyed Roger and Vicki Kramer’s home in the Naples area.
• Gabby Munson was crowned this year’s fair queen.
Tremain Albright’s tree house was removed.
September
• A Boundary County jury convicted John August Funkhouser of second-degree murder for the shooting death of his estranged girlfriend last November.
• The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho announces and begins Kootenai River restoration work for sturgeon and other native fish.
• Linda Hall volunteered at the 2012 London Olympics in August.
• BFHS 2012 Homecoming Royalty were Kody Rice, Makayla Fairchild, Tessa Payne and Jarey Lysne.
October
• Boundary County’s unemployment rate dropped from 14.1 percent last year to 10.6 percent this year.
• Boundary County Hospital sets goal of 147 mammograms for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
• Forty National Guard members from North Idaho deployed for a month-long training exercise in Alberta.
• Bomb threat evacuates students from BFHS.
November
• Sheriff Greg Sprungl won re-election in the only locally contested race.
• Three more bomb threats evacuate both BFHS and BCMS.
• Fire destroys late Gloria White’s house.
• Bonners Ferry City Council discusses lowering levee for Kootenai River Inn expansion.
•Boundary Community Hospital surpasses mammogram goal with 211 exams in the last month.
•Fiber optics not coming to Boundary County because it is not cost effective.
• District Judge Jeff M. Brudie finds the city annexation invalid because of lack of express findings.
• The USFWS designates 30,010 acres as critical caribou habitat in Boundary County and Washington’s Pend Oreille County, down from the proposed 375,552 acres.
December
• Voided annexation raises questions on tax collection, with money being held in trust until court decides.
• School Board votes to close Riverside High due to One-Star rating and will move students into BFHS.
• Several arrests have been made in association with the series of burglaries and thefts in the county.
• Bonners Ferry City Council and Mayor Anderson vote 3-2 against the second proposed annexation.
•Dr. Ernest Lucero passes away unexpectedly.
• Flames of Knowledge sculpture unveiled at Boundary County Library.