East Valley keeps interim schools chief
East Valley School District interim Superintendent Christine Burgess will head the district for another year, the school board announced Friday.
The board hired Burgess in June to step in for one year after Michael Jones left the position in May. But the board recently postponed the search for a permanent superintendent until after a maintenance and operations levy this spring.
“We realized that Chris had the qualities that people were looking for,” board President June Sine said of Burgess’ extended tenure.
Both Sine and Burgess said the extension would allow for continuity in the district as it faces the levy and other challenges in the coming year.
“We have a lot of good things to be proud of in East Valley,” Burgess said.
She worked as an assistant superintendent in the Lake Stevens School District before accepting the interim position and has also worked as a principal and a teacher during the last 33 years.
Burgess said she was honored to be asked to stay with the district another year, but she has no immediate plans to apply for the permanent superintendent position.
“Doing it another year is probably a very good thing for the district … after that my intention is probably to consider retirement,” she said.
Woman who died in trailer fire identified
The woman found dead in a trailer fire Oct. 21 has been identified as 56-year-old Catherine Lamb.
Preliminary results from the medical examiner show that the cause of death was smoke inhalation, said Clifton Mehaffey, a fire investigator with the Spokane Valley Fire Department. However, a toxicology report is pending.
Firefighters responded to 2612 N. McMillan Drive about 9 p.m. Oct. 21 to find the residence, two mobile homes connected in an L-shape, engulfed in flames.
The woman was found dead in her bathtub after the blaze was doused, Mehaffey said. Her dog was found dead in the bathroom with her. A deceased cat was also found in the home.
Lamb was identified through dental records from California, Mehaffey said. She had apparently only been in Washington for about a year.
The cause of fire was officially undetermined, Mehaffey said. However, investigators think it may have stemmed from electrical wiring in the master bedroom, where the blaze began.
Man dies in 1-car crash near Moscow
A 52-year-old Pullman man died Thursday night after driving off U.S. Highway 95 north of Moscow and hitting a concrete barrier.
David Retan’s 1998 Camry landed upside down. Retan, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The road was dry, according to Idaho State Police, and it’s not known why Retan veered off the northbound lanes. ISP is investigating the crash.
Documentary pre-empted for Billy Graham
A documentary on the political influence of evangelical Christians did not air in Spokane because KHQ-6 had already scheduled an evangelical crusade.
A station employee said she received several calls of complaint when the Billy Graham Special aired at 8 p.m. Friday instead of “Tom Brokaw Reports: In God They Trust.”
Lon Lee, general manager of KHQ-6, said in a written statement that the Graham special was scheduled for the time slot normally filled by Dateline NBC, part of the station’s regular Friday-night lineup. The Brokaw special was a “late program change,” Lee wrote.
“The late change by NBC moving the Brokaw special into the time period caught the station unawares, and we were unable to accommodate both programs on our air,” Lee wrote. “If we had to make the decision again, we would have moved Billy Graham to another time period or a different night.”
According to NBC’s Web site, Brokaw’s special looked at the influence of evangelical Christians “determined to reshape the social contours of this country …” A syndicated preview printed in Friday’s Spokesman-Review said Brokaw’s documentary was originally scheduled to air in September, but was bumped due to coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
Owner to move casino from city, citing tax rate
The owner of Big Daddy’s Casino, Bar and Grill in south Spokane said this week he plans to move his business from the city.
H.T. Higgins said in a press release that Spokane’s 20 percent tax rate on gambling is too high and that his Lincoln Heights Investment Co. would save money by moving to either the Spokane Valley, which has a 10 percent gambling tax, or to the unincorporated county, where the tax was recently lowered to 2 percent.
A group of city night-spot owners recently met with some Spokane City Council members, asking them to reduce the city’s card room and pull-tab taxes. During the meeting with the council’s finance committee, Council President Dennis Hession did not reject the request, but pointed out the city is facing a $6 million cash shortfall in its budget for 2006. He indicated the council might be willing to reduce the tax over time.
Higgins said his business, located in the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center, will pay $600,000 in card room taxes to the city for 2005 while employing 130 workers under a $2 million payroll. Moving to the unincorporated county would save the business $500,000 a year, he said.
The investment company staff has proposed lowering the city card room tax to 15 percent in January and 10 percent in 2007.
Local gambling establishments also are concerned about competition from tribal casinos, and the possibility that voters in the state may approve Initiative 901 this November to ban smoking at indoor locations, including bars and restaurants. The smoking ban would apply no matter where in the state the nontribal gambling establishments are located.
Bake sale benefits Christian Youth Theatre
A bake sale will be held today to raise money for the Christian Youth Theatre.
On Thursday, a fire destroyed the sets for the group’s upcoming production of “Oliver!”
Producers say the show will go on, even though the opening is days away.
Money will benefit the production.
Volunteers also will accept building materials and tools to replace those lost by the set builder.
The sale will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Christian Youth Theatre, 711 W. Indiana Ave.