Liam Kennedy, left, and Jaden Conwell, both 8 years old and students at Adams Elementary, read pen pal letters from schoolchildren in Ghana, Wednesday. The most recent letters included talk of Christmas activities. SR photo/Jesse Tinsley

I'd wish everyone a good Monday morning, but it's no longer morning. At least it's still Monday! Once again we have some Saturday Valley Voice highlights to mention. The Spokane Valley Police Department saw great success on emphasis patrols for vehicle prowling and garage burglaries at the end of 2012. The department is currently looking for a way to keep that success going within current staffing. The effort took four officers off patrol and reassigned them for a month.

Reporter Nicole Hensley came up with a couple of great stories. Fourth graders at Adams Elementary have been sending letters to pen pals in Ghana. The students also raise money to help pay for school improvements for their pen pals, such as tables in the cafeteria and used computers. Central Valley High School basketball score keeper Bill Pierce has been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame for his three decades of service to the school.

Nichole also has a report on how the city of Liberty Lake allocated its lodging tax money.

Adams Elementary media specialist Julie Custer reads “Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum” to second-graders Oct. 5. SR photo/J. Bart Rayniak

There are a lot of stories to highlight from today's Valley Voice, so let's get started. We hae city council candidate Q&A stories from Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake. Today we are highlighting Dean Grafos and John Carroll in Spokane Valley and Shane Brickner and Keith Kopelson in Liberty Lake. The rest of the candidates will be featured in Saturday's Valley Voice.

A complaint has been filed with the PDC against Spokane Valley City Council candidate Marilyn Cline alleging that she is running a hairdressing business out of her home without declaring in on her financial affairs statement. Reporter Lisa Leinberger has a story on how a grant fromTarget allowed Adams Elementary to buy books for its library and volunteers also showed up to redecorate.

The city of Spokane Valley and Spokane County are in the early stages of discussions about turning the old Milwaukee Railroad right-of-way into a mixed use trail. At one point the city wanted to use the land, which is still owned by the County, to extend Appleway Blvd. to the east.

Liberty Lake Mayor Wendy Van Orman presented her proposed 2012 budget to the city council this week. It calls for reducing the city's new utility tax to three percent while purchasing a new police car, getting a new records management system for the police department and completing phase two of the city's arboretum.

We've managed to cram a bunch of stories into Thursday's Valley Voice, which will arrive on doorsteps tomorrow morning. We're doing another round of candidate question-and-answer format stories for candidates running for office in Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake. First up are Dean Grafos and John Carroll in Spokane Valley and Shane Brickner and Keith Kopelson in Liberty Lake. The rest of the candidates will be featured in the Saturday Valley Voice along with summaries of the local ballot issues.

Reporter Lisa Leinberger has a story on a grant-funded library makeover at Adams Elementary. I will have a story on a complaint filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission against a Spokane Valley City Council candidate. I'll also have a report on several topics discussed at Tuesday's Spokane Valley City Council meeting. There was so much going on (the meeting didn't end until 10:30 p.m.) that I had to save some of the discussions for Saturday's Valley Voice.

Bubba Ferguson, Tyler Zandhuisen, Chris Lewis, Kaleb Allen, Aaron Danneker and Loren Vanden Berg muscle up a hide-a-bed couch from the banks of the Spokane River near South Riverton and Desmet during the Seventh Annual Spokane River Clean-Up in 2009. SR file photo.

It has been a busy week in Spokane Valley and we've got the news for you in today's Valley Voice. If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity this weekend, check out the ninth annual Spokane River Clean-Up, This year several sites in the Valley have been selected to be a part of the clean up day, which is organized by the Friends of the Falls. You could also choose to help restore the hillside at the Mirabeau Park trailhead in a project organized by the Spokane River Forum.

Spokane Valley city councilman Dean Grafos paid a visit to the Spokane Valley Fire Department commissioners meeting this week to talk about response time delays at Station 1 caused by the one-way segment of Sprague Avenue.

During this week's City Council meeting, the council members had a long discussion before voting on how much funding to allocate to social service and economic development agencies that applied for grants.

Reporter Lisa Leinberger stopped by Adams Elementary last week when the school was visited by Ronald McDonald. The elementary schools in the Central Valley School District collected 1,150 pounds of pop tops, which will provide 30 night at the Ronald McDonald House. The house provides housing for families of children undergoing medical treatment.