Sandpoint Briefs
Pedestrians hit in crosswalk
SANDPOINT - A mother and her 12-year-old son were struck by a vehicle while using the Pine Street crosswalk on Division Avenue on Friday evening, according to Sandpoint Police.
The mother was taken to Bonner General Health with facial fractures and the son escaped serious injury, said Sgt. Derrick Hagstrom. The driver, Rachel Patterson, 23, was cited for reckless driving.
"She was not looking where she was going at the time of the accident," said Hagstrom, explaining that Patterson was distracted by other occupants in her vehicle.
The collision happened at about 5:20 p.m. in dark and drizzly conditions. Hagstrom was driving northbound on Division and the pedestrians were walking eastbound on Pine when the collision occurred.
"Certainly, it's a scary thing. People just really need to pay attention on these dark, rainy days," said Hagstrom.
Empire Builder returns to normal schedule
By KEITH KINNAIRD/Hagadone News Network
SANDPOINT - The Empire Builder schedule is back on track.
The Amtrak train service was shifted to a temporary schedule to accommodate $1 billion in BNSF Railway projects last spring.
The projects involved double-tracking in some areas to increase capacity and limit traffic conflicts, in addition to repairing weather-damaged infrastructure.
"It is still a work in progress, but so far we have seen a huge improvement in getting back to our regular schedule," said Mari Hirabayashi, a marketing and sales manager for Amtrak Pacific Northwest.
The Empire Builder's regular schedule was restored on Jan. 15.
The temporary schedule forced the Portland and Seattle segments of the Empire Builder to leave three hours earlier. Those segments connect in Spokane before moving east toward Chicago.
"It broke quite a few connections," Hirabayashi said of the temporary schedule.
The amended schedule also thwarted the ability for Inland Northwest train passengers to take day trips to Seattle or Portland.
"The goal of it was to make all the trains heading east meet their connections in Chicago because Chicago is such a main hub and connector for Amtrak," saidHirabayashi.
During the 2014 fiscal year, there were 8,489 boardings and alightings in Sandpoint, according to Amtrak. That total station usage was down about 7 percent from the counts in the 2013 fiscal year.
Amtrak spent $2.7 million on goods and services in Idaho in fiscal year 2014.
The overhaul of the historic Sandpoint Depot is still ongoing and a grand opening is planned for Saturday, May 20, although Hirabayashi said there may be a soft opening before that date.
The grand opening coincides with the Idaho Historic Preservation Council's 38th annual Orchids and Onions Awards Ceremony in Sandpoint, said city planner Melissa Bethel.
The event celebrates individuals and organizations that have made a positive contribution to historic preservation. Onions are awarded to projects that jeopardize cultural resources.