Local News & NorthwestSeptember 7, 2021

Roads on Moscow Mountain closing because of fire danger

The North Latah County Highway District Monday announced it will close several roads on Moscow Mountain because of extreme fire danger.

The roads closed, according to a news release sent to are media, are Moscow Mountain Road/Rock Creek Road, and West Twin Road over the mountain. The Moscow Rural Fire District will still have access should an emergency arise, according to the release.

The recent Idler Fire between Idler’s Rest Road and Moscow Mountain Road instigated the closure discussion.

“Public safety always has been our mission as highway district commissioners,” Commission Chairman Chuck Bond said. “With fire danger in Latah County still high, closing the road(s) would be an appropriate and prudent measure to help ensure public safety.”

Weather conditions could cause the highway commissioners to consider reopening the roads. According to the release, commissioners are hopeful they can reopen access to the public roads before the annual winter closure Nov. 8.

For additional information, please call Dan Carscallen at (208) 882-7490 or email nlchd@nlhcd.com.

NRS continues ‘Just Add Water’ project

The paddling gear company NRS, based in Moscow, is working to break down the barriers that prevent people from participating in water recreation with a project called “Just Add Water.”

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The effort has involved numerous activities around the world, such as certifying 10 leaders of a group called Outdoor Afro as kayaking instructors through an American Canoe Association course at a state park in North Carolina, said Mark Deming, director of marketing for NRS.

The company also organized a kayaking camp on southern Idaho rivers for military veterans suffering from PTSD, Deming said.

Last year, NRS was set to host 10 festival-style events with paddling excursions in cities around the nation, but those were canceled because of COVID-19. Instead, the company released a webinar series featuring people of color talking about their outdoor experiences.

One of the segments featured Shoshone-Bannock tribal members who organized River Newe, a program that introduces Indigenous youth and their families to the middle fork of the Salmon River, Deming said. In its third year, Just Add Water grew partly from a realization that a large share of the people who paddle are affluent white men in the West and Southeast, who are increasingly aging.

While NRS is dedicated to continuing to serve them, Deming said, it also wants to encourage women and men of a variety of fitness levels, incomes and ethnic backgrounds to experience whatever bodies of water are accessible to them.

Effects of pandemic on area’s economy is topic of webinar

How well eastern Washington, north central Idaho and northern Idaho are recovering economically from the pandemic is the topic of a fall Inland Northwest Partners webinar.

Speakers include Sam Wolkenhauer, regional economist with the Idaho Department of Labor in Post Falls, and Gary Forsyth, chief economist with Avista Corp.

The event will be from 9-11:15 a.m. on Sept. 16. The cost to attend is $30, and registration is available at inwp.org.

Avista Corp. is the founding sponsor of Inland Northwest Partners.

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