Six-year old Shain Cothren of Suncrest holds a homing pigeon Sunday that will fly to the North Pole to deliver his Christmas wish list (attached to the right leg) to Santa Claus. He asked for a monster house and a Transformer. SR photo/Bart Rayniak

We've got a busy Valley Voice today, so grab a cup of coffee and get settled in. A new Christmas tree lot at Pines and Mansfield is offering a unique perk. Kids can send their letters to Santa at the North Pole via homing pigeon, which has apparently been a big hit. Readers following the exploits of "Chicken" can read an update by correspondent Stefanie Pettit on how well the bird is settling into her new home. 

This week the Spokane Valley city council voted by a slim majority to name Bill Bates, the half-brother of the mayor, to the city's planning commission despite protests from some council members that it appears to be a conflict of interest. Things are looking a little less dire in Liberty Lake than they were last week. The city council there held a special budget meeting this week and voted on how to allocate an extra $140,000 in income to alleviate cuts previously proposed.

Liberty Lake police have made arrests in a long string of garage burglaries and vehicle prowls. They've also had a break in multiple thefts of flat screen televisions from RV's. The Spokane Valley Planning Commission met to discussed a proposed emergency ordinance to remove the City Center zone from the Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan. The majority voted to recommend that the city council reject the amendment, but it doesn't end there. The issue will be considered by the council at the Jan. 4 meeting.

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