GRANGEVILLE – “Our coding department has gone from the ICD-9-CM in 2015, which has 13,000 diagnostic codes, to the ICD-10, which has 68,000 diagnostic codes,” Carri Forsman reported to the Syringa board of trustees, Aug. 27.

Idaho Transportation Department State Bridge Engineer Matt Farrar had been working for the department’s bridge section for just a few years back in late summer 1989, when he was tapped to design the new Lawyers Canyon Bridge connecting Idaho County to Lewis County in North Central Idaho.

Save the date for the upcoming Elks / ARF fund-raiser Halloween ball at the Elks Saturday, Oct. 19. Vintage Youth will play from 7 to 11 p.m. Stay tuned for more details.

What’s your commute like? Within Idaho County, you’re more likely to spend time on the road to work if you are from the Kooskia and Riggins zip code areas, according to U.S. Census data compiled by United States ZipCodes.org.

KAMIAH – The Kamiah Valley Historical Society’s “event of the year” is set for Oct. 6, 2 p.m., at the Welcome Center on Main Street.

GRANGEVILLE – A benefit fund-raiser for Heather Kunkel Van Ostrand has been set for Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Elks Lodge, 111 South Meadow Street.

CLARKSTON, Wash. – A fund-raiser for Erika Pepper is set for Saturday, Oct. 12, in Clarkston, Wash.

City elected positions will be contested in Grangeville, Kooskia, Riggins and White Bird in the Nov. 5 elections, as will trustee positions for Mt. View School District 244.

On Thursday, Sept. 5, Syringa Hospital celebrated its 80th anniversary with a barbecue for staff and patients.

KAMIAH – The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests will host the Smokey Bear Historic Portrait Tour exhibit at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center through Sept. 29.

GRANGEVILLE – Idaho County’s calm was shattered last week when an armed subject sped through the region, eluding law enforcement, stealing two vehicles – one at gunpoint – and ditching north of Grangeville where he hid out in a canyon before surrendering to police.

COTTONWOOD – Rod Behler practically teethed on the tires at Fred’s Body Shop. He was 2 years old when his father purchased the George Kaschmitter Building in 1959.

Camas Prairie Cruisers want you to bring out your cars and bikes for their Octoberfest car show Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sign in at 9 a.m. This will be held again at Umpqua Bank’s back parking lot in Grangeville, just off Main Street. Finished and near-finished projects are…

AARP Idaho recently released new state data and an infographic illustrating the impact of high prescription drug prices for Gem State residents, specifically those living with cancer, prediabetes or diabetes, and heart disease.

Like many mountain roads in Idaho and the West, the Keuterville Loop Road from Cottonwood wasn’t necessarily built with state-of-the-art engineering and design in mind. The road corridor might have been a game trail or a Native American trail to start with, and then a pioneer wagon road, and…

GRANGEVILLE -- Grab an Ameripass for one low fare and “ride the dog” across America with author Paula Coomer for a gritty, unflinching journey through some of the country's most poignant and vulnerable moments: war, racism, women’s rights, the sexual revolution and more.

PINEHURST – A chance meeting several years ago put a little bug in Carol Weber’s ear.

GRANGEVILLE – More than 300 quilts lines the streets of Grangeville Saturday, Sept. 7, in celebration of the Biannual Quilt and Art Walk.

Comments and questions will be entertained at a public meeting in Lowell on Wednesday, Sept. 18, regarding the proposed Pete King Wildlife Restoration Project.

A prompt from another newspaper on Facebook last week got me thinking about fall, back to school and the teachers who influenced my life.

RIGGINS -- Beginning Sept. 16, Riggins Elementary and Salmon River Junior High students through grade eight can receive free dental sealants and fluoride varnish to help prevent cavities, as part of Delta Dental of Idaho’s Grins on the Go program. Dental sealants fill the deep grooves of a c…

GRANGEVILLE – Syringa Hospital passed its fiscal year 2020 budget at the regular monthly meeting Aug. 27.

LUCILE -- Idaho State Police is continuing to investigate last week’s multiple injury collision between a car and motorcycle on U.S. Highway 95 at Lucile.

GRANGEVILLE – “My competitive nature had my hackles up a bit at first,” Syringa board chair, Leta Strauss, said at the Aug. 27 meeting. “I had to realize that everything does not have to be that competitive.”

GRANGEVILLE – “I know you have a lot of important things to worry about, but I hope this falls in line with Syringa’s vision,” Daryl Mullinix spoke to the Syringa board of trustees at the Aug. 27 monthly meeting.

COTTONWOOD -- At Evening Prayer (Vespers) on Thursday, Aug. 16, in the chapel of the Monastery of St. Gertrude, sisters and guests honored Sister Maria Elena and her 75 years as a Benedictine sister. Assistant Prioress Sister Mary Marge Goeckner led a community procession into the chapel and…

The Grangeville’s Biannual Quilt Walk is this Saturday, Sept. 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Main Street. More than 300 quilts will be available for viewing outdoors and in businesses. This event is sponsored by Home Grown Quilts.

Kamiah’s 83rd Annual Barbecue Days brought in community and business members, as well as Kamiah High School alumni and friends, for the annual Main Street parade. The weekend held a variety of events from quilt and art shows to auctions, vendor booths, a football game and food.

Temperatures soared to the high 80s, low 90s, Saturday, Aug. 31, as these two dogs – Bell and Piper -- enjoyed a dip in the Middlefork of the Clearwater River in Kooskia.

COTTONWOOD – Stone tools and other artifacts unearthed from an archeological dig at the Cooper’s Ferry site, in Idaho County, suggest that people lived in the area 16,000 years ago, more than a thousand years earlier than scientists previously thought.

Mark H. Lankford’s third murder trial related to the 1983 deaths of U.S. Marine Capt. Robert Bravence and his wife, Cheryl, a special education teacher, is set to begin Sept. 3 in Canyon County.

GRANGEVILLE – With two wells out of action, and three supplementary wells left to now carry the load, water use is restricted for human consumption, firefighting and pets.

The public is invited to join Syringa Hospital and Clinics staff for a free barbeque as they celebrate 80 years of Syringa! This is set for next Thursday, Sept. 5, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., at the Soltman Center in Grangeville. Join in for a free lunch and prizes!