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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

No Heaters To Be Had

From Staff Reports Staff writer

When Black Sheep Sporting Goods and Toys in Coeur d’Alene opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday, people were waiting to get in.

Most were out of luck. They were hoping to buy something that’d sold out the day before.

“They wanted heaters, but we sold out,” said employee Lynette Hutchins.

By 3 p.m., the store had sold 15 camp stoves, at almost $50 apiece, along with numerous flashlights, headlamps, and batteries.

“And boots, and hats and gloves,” Hutchins added.

Although open all day, Black Sheep had power outage problems, just like its customers. For half the day, the power was on only in part of the store. Only one register worked, and people had to take flashlights with them to the bathrooms.

“And it started to get cold,” Hutchins said. “The half that went out, went to the heater.”

Good luck finding a roofer

Getting a roofer Wednesday morning was just slightly easier than winning the lottery. Of more than two dozen roofers contacted in the Inland Northwest, only two people answered in person.

Marilyn Davis’ telephone started ringing at 7 a.m. with frazzled homeowners eager to get an estimate on the damage from fallen trees and limbs. She takes calls for husband Wynn Davis’ Grizzly Roofing and Remodeling in Coeur d’Alene.

“We’ve gotten about 10 calls already,” she said. “It’s going to be pretty good for us, at least for the next two or three weeks.”

The same held true for Janet Mulvaney, who takes calls for her husband, Jim, owner of Spokane’s Mulvaney Roofing. “People seemed a little more frantic than usual on the phone,” she said.

Popcorn, movie and a little refuge

Movie fans searching for refuge from Tuesday’s ice storm were largely out of luck. Most area theaters either closed early or never opened.

The Garland Theater in Spokane, which runs a daily noon matinee along with its evening schedule, canceled a 5 p.m. showing of “Jack” following two short power disruptions.

“The equipment had surges of a halfsecond, or a full second, of going down and then back on,” said Paul Quam, theater manager. “They’re so hard on the equipment that we elected not to take those chances.”

The downtown Magic Lantern Cinemas, though, remained open for all scheduled shows.

“People need us,” said Magic Lantern co-owner Kathryn Graham. “Some of the people in here didn’t have power in their homes.”

Both theaters were open for business Wednesday.

A place to work and clean up

John and Valerie Sullivan’s only usable shower is at their Washington One Hour Photo shop at Northpointe Plaza in north Spokane.

The power went out Tuesday at the Sullivans’ Reardan, Wash., home, rendering the water pump useless. So the couple and their five children can’t use the shower - or toilet.

A hand-held shower attached to a sink served as a shower Wednesday. “My husband is threatening to stand in it,” Valerie Sullivan said. “He’s a desperate man.”

The Sullivans were planning Wednesday afternoon to go home, get their children and bring them in to wash up.

“We’re going to go home, load ‘em up, bring ‘em in and hose ‘em off,” Valerie Sullivan said.

Escaping the eye of the storm

Despite icy roads, some areas escaped serious problems from the storm.

State Highway 291 was closed for several hours at Big Sandy Hill near Suncrest in southern Stevens County while state road crews cleared fallen trees and limbs.

In Pend Oreille County, the only serious accident occurred when a semi-truck slid into Davis Creek on state Highway 211, about 12 miles west of Newport.

Authorities said no one was injured but about 20 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the creek. Crews from Pend Oreille County Fire District 4 contained the spill without assistance from the state Ecology Department.

, DataTimes MEMO: Changed in the Spokane edition

“After the Storm” special section

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = From staff reports Staff writers Dan Webster, Eric Torbenson, Alison Boggs, Grayden Jones and John Craig contributed to this report.

Changed in the Spokane edition

“After the Storm” special section

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = From staff reports Staff writers Dan Webster, Eric Torbenson, Alison Boggs, Grayden Jones and John Craig contributed to this report.