Valley voters pass levy for Fire Department
A three-year operating levy for the Spokane Valley Fire Department passed Tuesday with 70 percent support.
The vote was 15,620 to 6,681.
Officials said the levy will allow the department to hire additional employees, purchase new trucks and improve response times. The department relies on special levies for about 60 percent of its budget.
The new levy will collect nearly $11.8 million in its first year, $12.5 million in its second year and nearly $13.4 million in its third. The rate will range from $1.70 per $1,000 of assessed value in the 2006-07 collection year to $1.83 per $1,000 in the third year.
The department serves about 125,000 residents in the Valley, which includes most of Spokane Valley, Millwood, Liberty Lake, Otis Orchards, Greenacres, Trentwood and surrounding areas of the county.
Whitman County measure looks likely to pass
Final election night results weren’t available in Whitman County but, with absentee and vote-by-mail ballots counted, a countywide emergency communications system proposition was passing Tuesday with 57 percent support.
The proposal required only a simple majority.
Ballots cast at the polls hadn’t been counted, but an elections official described the turnout as “very poor,” with almost no one showing up at some polling places.
Levies in the Lacrosse, Tekoa, Steptoe, St. John school districts were passing with strong support in the early totals, while those in Colfax, Colton and Endicott had weaker support.
A pair of levies in the Oakesdale School District were failing, as was a levy in the Rosalia Park and Recreation District. The town of Rosalia’s Proposition 1 was failing, while Proposition 2 was passing.
GU student honored for raising awareness
Ryan Olson, a senior at Gonzaga University, has been chosen as the first recipient of the Matthew Shepard Foundation’s “Making a Difference” youth award.
As president of Gonzaga’s HERO – Helping Educate Regarding Orientation – Olson has given others on campus a better understanding of issues that affect the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. During his freshman year, he helped organize a number of events, including the Day of Silence and National Coming Out Day. Olson also planned and produced the first GLBT dance at the university, as well as the first gay-friendly Valentine’s Day dance.
The Matthew Shepard Foundation was established by Dennis and Judy Shepard in memory of their 21-year-old son, Matthew, who was murdered eight years ago in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming.
Olson will be honored in Denver on March 25 during the foundation’s fifth annual Bear to Make a Difference Gala Dinner and Celebrity Teddy Bear Auction. For more information, visit www.MatthewShepard.org.
SNOQUALMIE, Wash.
Fire burns lounge at Snoqualmie Falls lodge
Fire investigators say an electrical problem sparked a fire Tuesday that caused an estimated $500,000 damage to the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls.
About 75 guests were safely evacuated after fire broke out shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Witnesses saw flames burn a hole in the roof.
Firefighters contained the fire to the Attic Bistro. No one was hurt.
The hotel opened after the fire was put out, but the restaurant was closed for repairs and so crews could clean up water damage.
SEATTLE
Seattle priest resigns after investigation into conduct
The pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in West Seattle resigned after an investigation by the Seattle archdiocese into alleged improper conduct. Parishioners were told Sunday that the Rev. Jeffrey Sarkies had left his post because of an ethics violation.
Archdiocese spokesman Greg Magnoni declined to provide details but said there is no legal action pending against Sarkies.
The priest told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that his resignation was neither due to sexual improprieties nor statements he has made urging the church to be more inclusive of homosexuals.
Compiled from staff and wire reports