M’S Park Loan Ok’d

The Metropolitan King County Council Monday approved a $25 million loan to the board overseeing construction of a new ballpark for the Seattle Mariners.

The vote was 8 to 5.

The loan to the Public Facilities District is to be used for preconstruction costs. Backers said the loan won’t endanger the county’s general fund because taxes already being collected for the project will cover the costs in the unlikely event that county construction bonds are never issued.

Issuance of the bonds has been delayed by lawsuits brought by stadium opponents.

The stadium board and the Mariners want to have the stadium ready for the start of the 1999 baseball season.

Hockey

Billings Bulls owner Eric Bonanno, a former Spokane Chiefs employee and the vice president of the American Hockey League’s Frontier Conference, will serve as acting commissioner of the conference.

A full-time replacement is being sought after commissioner Gary Firko resigned Friday. Firko, of Littleton, Colo., said he will work in an advisory capacity until a successor can be named.

League teams are in Billings, Bozeman, Butte and Helena in Montana and Jackson Hole and Casper in Wyoming.

Boys high school basketball

Chewelah 65, Wellpinit 47

The Cougars got scoring from 11 of the 14 players they used in rolling to the victory over the visiting Redskins in a makeup game Monday night.

Travis Meserve scored 15 points and Steve Wissink 12 as Chewelah used its varsity in rolling to a 34-12 first-quarter lead, then using mainly junior varsity players the rest of the way. Perry Pakootas’ 17 led Wellpinit.

Wellpinit 12 17 4 14 - 47

Chewelah 34 8 13 10 - 65

WELLPINIT Lebret 11, Gould 0, M.Tonasket 2, T.Flett 3, D.Flett 0, McCrea 0, Carter 0, Garrett 2, D.Tonasket. 8, Andrew 4, Pakootas 17, Stearns 0.

CHEWELAH Nitschke 8, Meserve 15, Miller 6, Edwards 5, Carpenter 5, Wissink 12, Culler 0, Landram 6, Puttoff 0, Main 2, Kinley 0, Grubb 3, Sunday 1, Parrish 2.

, DataTimes