In brief: School evacuated after small fire
Canfield Middle School was evacuated late Thursday morning because of a small electrical fire in the bathroom of the boys locker room.
A student smelled smoke in the locker room about 11:30 a.m. and alerted a teacher, who used a fire extinguisher to douse a small blaze coming from an electrical socket.
The smoke activated an alarm, and three firetrucks responded.
Most students were outside about 15 minutes. Those who were in classes in the gym, which is separate from the main school building, were kept out a few minutes longer while the fire department investigated, Principal Jeff Bengtson said.
The locker room is open but the bathroom remains closed.
“The damage was pretty minor,” Bengtson said. “We’re talking an electrical outlet and maybe a two-by-two section of wall.”
Safety in schools will be discussed
Parents, students, school staff, law enforcement and community members are invited to share their views about safety in schools Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Midtown Meeting Center, 1505 N. 5th St.
The focus group, hosted by the Coeur d’Alene School District, is one of several being held across the state as part of a “safe and secure schools assessment” sponsored by the state Department of Education.
A Boise-based security assessment company, DACC Associates, will conduct the assessment, which will include visits to schools. A company representative will moderate Tuesday’s discussion.
Crews extinguish Tubbs Hill fire
Firefighters spent about an hour extinguishing a small blaze on the north side Tubbs Hill near McEuen Field on Thursday morning.
The blaze, about an eighth of an acre, was reported about 8:30 a.m. and appears to have been started by a homeless person camping in the park, city fire inspector Glenn Lauper said.
Firefighters found some personal items near the fire, he said.
Spokane
$7 million donated to pay settlement
Eastern Washington Catholics have donated $7 million of the $10 million parish pledge settling the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane bankruptcy.
The money will fund payouts to people sexually abused decades ago by priests and other diocese agents.
“The people in the pews have been incredibly generous – and they have made real financial sacrifice – often using personal savings, even portions of Social Security or retirements payments” to fulfill the parish obligation, said Robert Hailey of the Association of Parishes, a group of priests and laity representing the diocese’s 82 parishes.
The AOP is procuring a loan for the $3 million balance, due Dec. 31, according to a press release.
The parish collections are part of a $48 million settlement reached last spring. Other funds have been collected from insurance carriers, a separate campaign by Bishop William Skylstad, and the sale of diocese land, investments, and buildings including the Chancery in downtown Spokane.
Each parish had a collection target based on a pro rata share of their collective $10 million promise.
Southeast Blvd. will reopen today
Southeast Boulevard was supposed to open Monday. It didn’t. But it will open today.
Though the road is paved and striped, Shamrock Paving crews kept it blocked while constructing traffic islands.
The project to reconstruct Southeast Boulevard from Sherman Street/Fifth Avenue to 18th Avenue wraps up behind schedule. Another Shamrock Paving project in Browne’s Addition is slowly progressing.
Street Department spokeswoman Ann Deasy-Nolan said Shamrock had two months to finish the work, which gives them until Oct. 14.
Keller, Wash.
Lab gets evidence in arson wildfire
Investigators have sent material to a forensic lab in an effort to track down an arsonist they believe started the Manila Creek fire on the Colville Indian Reservation, a fire official said Thursday.
David Nee, fire planner at the Mt. Tollman Fire Center near Keller, Wash., said he could not elaborate on what investigators found at the head of the 26,800-plus acre burn site.
The blaze, which was contained a week ago, so far has cost $6.4 million to fight, Nee said. On Thursday, three firetrucks were assigned to patrol the wildfire’s perimeter for signs of smoke within 1,000 feet of the fire line.
In 2003, firefighters battled a smaller suspicious wildfire in the same area. Investigators believe that 4,000-acre fire also was intentionally set, but the case has yet to be solved.
From staff and wire reports