NEW THIS MORNING: Saturday, Oct. 19
From left, Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance Executive Director Maggie Lyons, Avista North Idaho regional business manager Todd Kiesbuy and Avista community outreach program manager Nicole Rumpel celebrate a $50,000 donation from the Avista Foundation to the Miracle on Britton project Friday. About $700,000 of the $1 million needed to build the Miracle on Britton homes in Post Falls has already been raised. “Avista is really pleased to join with the community to make this investment in Miracle on Britton,” Kiesbuy said.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
1. Avista Foundation donates $50K to Miracle on Britton
About $700,000 of the $1 million needed to build a neighborhood of 28 attainable "Miracle on Britton" homes in Post Falls has been raised.
The Avista Foundation bolstered the funding pool Friday with a donation of $50,000 to the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance.
“Avista is really pleased to join with the community to make this investment in Miracle on Britton,” North Idaho regional business manager Todd Kiesbuy said.
2. Hayden Creek shooting areas close for burning
The Idaho Panhandle National Forests on Friday said the next stage of the Kootenai Fuels Reduction Project will begin Monday and require closing of the Hayden Creek shooting pit on Forest Service Road 437 and adjacent areas until Oct. 27.
Crews will conduct pile burning in the vicinity, including downrange of the shooting area.
The current shooting closure follows a longer closure in the same area that began in April facilitating non-commercial thinning, pruning and piling, a press release said.
The closure area extends along Hayden Creek and Stump Creek toward the summit of Hudlow Mountain.
3. Hayden man jailed for fatal crash
A Hayden man who pleaded guilty to causing a head-on crash that killed a family will serve time in jail and may be ordered to pay support for the surviving children of the victims.
Matthew D. Martin, 39, pleaded guilty in August to four counts of vehicular manslaughter, all misdemeanors.
Idaho law defines manslaughter as the unlawful killing of a human being, including a fetus, without malice. When the operation of a motor vehicle is a significant cause contributing to the death because of “an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, without gross negligence,” the act constitutes a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.
Last year, a grand jury indicted Martin on the charges, which stemmed from the night of Nov. 18, 2022.