RPS garage repairs put on hold
Improvements to the River Park Square garage remain on hold as the city continues to examine its construction plans.
River Park Square officials said Aug. 4 that they would strengthen the garage walls by attaching steel rods and plates to outside-facing walls and hoped to have construction completed by the end of summer.
Summer ended Friday, but rods and plates built to fix the walls remain sitting in the garage, said mall spokeswoman Jennifer West.
City spokeswoman Marlene Feist said the city is waiting to approve River Park Square’s building permit for the changes until it receives an independent analysis of the construction plans. “It’s taken a little longer than we expected,” she said.
Earlier this year a Pullman woman died when her Subaru went through a garage wall on the fifth floor of the garage.
River Park Square is owned by the Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.
Ideas sought on future of Albi Stadium
Spokane City Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin said she wants residents to send her their ideas about what should be done to create a regional athletic facility at Joe Albi Stadium and its surrounding grounds.
McLaughlin is one of six members of a new panel appointed by Mayor Dennis Hession to plan the long-term future of Albi one year after council members rejected a proposal to demolish the 1950 stadium and sell adjacent property for home sites. The stadium continues a long tradition this fall of hosting the Spokane and Mead school districts’ high school football games.
Proposals include a softball complex, swimming facility, indoor field house, cross-country trails and other uses. The parks department has $3.75 million set aside from a voter-approved proposal to build a sports complex there.
McLaughlin is asking residents to e-mail her with their ideas at nmclaughlin@spokanecity.org. Also, letters can be mailed to her at the City Council office, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., 99201.
Motorcyclist dies of crash injuries
A Spokane motorcyclist died late Friday afternoon at Sacred Heart Medical Center of severe burns and other injuries he suffered Thursday when his bike collided with a pickup and burst into flames.
Brandon G. Lambert, 30, of 2823 W. Upton Ave., was eastbound on Garland Avenue when his Honda 500 collided with a pickup driven by Troy A. Haws, 39, of Loon Lake, Wash.
Police said Haws, who was northbound on Cannon Street, was making a left onto Garland when the collision occurred. There are stop signs on Cannon, but not on Garland.
The accident didn’t involve speed or alcohol, police said.The accident remained under investigation Friday and no citations had been issued.
Coeur d’Alene
Report of shots prompts lockdowns
Three Coeur d’Alene schools were on lockdown for nearly two hours Friday after someone reported hearing gunshots in the 2000 block of North Seventh Street.
School resource officers ordered Bryan and Borah elementary schools as well as the Project CDA alternative high school locked down after hearing the report about 12:14 p.m., according to a news release from Coeur d’Alene police.
A man told officers he thought he had seen someone in a nearby alley holding a gun. Officers cordoned off a two-block radius and rerouted traffic but determined there had been no shots fired or any other suspicious activity after speaking with two men at a house in the area.
The three schools were released from lockdown at about 2 p.m., and all buses were able to arrive on time.
No problems found with wood disposal
State and local officials on Friday took a closer look at how wood waste is being disposed at a former gravel quarry along the Spokane River in Coeur d’Alene. The agencies found no serious problems and took no action against developer John Stone.
Stone’s firm, SRM Development of Spokane, is reclaiming the 80-acre site for a public park, housing and retail shops. During the excavation work, the company discovered an old dump site containing tree stumps and other woody debris.
The dump site is beneath part of the planned Riverstone Drive, a roadway that will wind through the Riverstone development. Contractors have been excavating the old dump site and moving the material to a new location on the property.
The woody debris isn’t appropriate to build on because it eventually decays and settles, Stone said. He’s using material dug from the old dump as fill for a green belt adjacent to the public park.
A Panhandle Health District spokeswoman said officials who inspected the site Friday found no serious problems.
SRM Development is buying the former gravel quarry from Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. in phases.
Forest Service honors flycasters
For their work to restore and enhance local waterways, the North Idaho Flycasters were recently honored with the top volunteer award from the U.S. Forest Service.
The group has been working with the Forest Service since the 1980s to improve and protect fish habitat, according to a statement issued by the agency. Volunteers from North Idaho Flycasters also work with local students to help them understand the importance of conservation.
The award was presented earlier this month at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Compiled from staff reports