Daily NewsVolume 93 | Number 224

Pullman, Washington & Moscow, Idaho

Tonight’s low: 45Thursday’s high: 83Weather | 10A

Moscow-PullmanWednesdaySeptember 17, 2008

A rental inspection program will soon be in operation, giving safe housing the “Cougar Choice” stamp of approval

WSU housing:

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Death toll hits 51 as divers begin cleanup| nation/7A

Civility forumPanelists ask people to ‘agree to disagree’ | Local/3A

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By Mark WilliamsDaily News staff writer

A Canadian mining company’s plan to construct and operate an open-pit mine near Bovill may be held up by administrative road-blocks.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Michael Doherty said the company, i-minerals, Inc., may have to develop a more detailed plan that defines the size of its proposed open-pit quartz and feldspar mine near Moose Creek and how it plans to mitigate environmental damage.

“They’ve got a lot of work to do on mitigation and their project develop-ment may have been a little prema-ture,” Doherty said.

“When we went out there it became obvious to me that they didn’t know the extent of the open-pit mine.”

Doherty said there is a strong possibility the company may have to withdraw its application to more thoroughly develop its plan.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s comments on the project also suggested the company with-draw for the same reasons, Doherty said.

“There are several different sce-narios that could happen, one of

Proposedmine facesroadblocksCorps of Engineers, EPA urge i-minerals to withdraw application until it has more detailed plans for project

LATAH COUNTY

See Mine, Page 10A

practice makes perfectStacy Pettitt of Pullman helps her son, Riley, 5, practice his violin at Reaney Park in Pullman on Tuesday. Riley recently started taking Suzuki violin lessons.

Geoff CrimminsDaily News

By Halley GriffinDaily News staff writer

Andrew Turner agrees with Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s opinion that access to medical education in Idaho needs to be improved.

Otter spokesman Jon Hanian said the governor is concerned about the ability of a cooperative program between the University of Washington School of Medicine and schools from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and

Idaho to keep doctors in Idaho and get them to medically underserved areas.

Turner, director of the WWAMI program for the University of Idaho and Washington State University, said the schools are doing what they can.

“It’s true we don’t meet the needs for physicians, but we only have 20 funded seats (in the WWAMI program),” he said.

WWAMI was formed with the goal of providing medical educa-tion at in-state tuition rates to

students from states that do not have their own medical schools, as well as students from other Washington colleges and universi-ties.

The difference between out-of-state UW School of Medicine tuition and what Idaho students pay is picked up by the state of Idaho, Turner said, so students only pay about $20,000 per year.

There are only 20 spots avail-able each year for Idaho students in the WWAMI program and eight from another cooperative with the University of Utah Medical School,

Otter, WWAMI official agree on need to expand medical education optionsLegislative committee considering options for increasing medical school access

IDAHO

See WWAMi, Page 10A

By Hillary HammDaily News staff writer

Construction of a new Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories engi-neering facility on the company’s Pullman campus could begin this fall.

Company founder and President Edmund O. Schweitzer announced the plans Tuesday during a presen-

tation to the Pullman City Council. He said the 30,000-square-foot labo-ratory is in the concept phase, and ground could be broken as early as October.

“We’re growing all over the world, and a lot of it is right here in Pullman,” he said.

SEL Director of Public Affairs Susan Fagan said the new facility is a necessity.

“We are getting crowded. As we hire more people, we have to have space to put them,” she said, noting the company currently has 142 open positions. “With this new building we’re making room for more peo-ple.”

SEL introduced the world’s first

Schweitzer announces plans for expansionPULLMAN

See SeL, Page 4A

QUICKREADn WHAT HAPPENED: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories founder and President Edmund O. Schweitzer announced that ground soon will be broken on a 30,000-square-foot engineering facility on the Pullman campus. Entry-level manufacturing employees also will be given a nearly $1-per-hour raise and will make about $10 per hour.n WHAT IT MEANS: More facility space could lead to more jobs.n WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Schweitzer said he’ll continue to push the company to create new products and launch them in new markets.n WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Growth means more sales tax for the community.

Staff report

Pullman Police closed off Spring Street between Main Street and Reaney Park for several hours Tuesday night after a suspicious device was discovered attached to a bridge.

The device turned out to be a Washington State University graduate student’s project, Pullman Police Chief Ted Weatherly said, although he wasn’t sure about the nature of the project.

“It’s nothing dangerous,” he said.

The device was discovered shortly after 7 p.m. by a group of juveniles walking along the South Fork of the Palouse River. Police arrived on scene to find the device — described as a “highly suspicious” tangle of wires and tubes — attached to the side of the bridge with duct tape. The device was near what originally was believed to be a natural gas main.

Weatherly said a portion of the contraption was feeding into the water.

He said calls were made to the Washington State Department of Ecology and the city parks and public works departments to deter-mine if they had placed the device under the bridge.

The Spokane Bomb Squad was called, but

deemed unnecessary. Instead, bomb squad officials assessed pictures of the contraption and advised Pullman police officers how to safely determine whether it was dangerous. Weatherly said an officer trained to handle improvised explosive devices also provided assistance.

A waterproof bottle was located in the water containing the name of the student who built the device and indicating it had been approved by the public works department.

“Apparently he had been coordinating with someone at the city,” Weatherly said. “He did the coordination in June 2007, so we didn’t know he was going to be doing this again this year.”

Contraption turns out to be part of WSU student’s project

Dean Hare/Daily NewsOfficers from the Washington State University and Pullman police departments guard the Spring Street bridge Tuesday after the discovery of a suspicious device. Traffic on Spring Street was diverted for several hours during an investigation and consultation with the Spokane Bomb Squad.

‘Suspicious’ device causes scare in Pullman

FAlSe AlArM