Hearing tonight on YMCA building

The Spokane County Commission will host a public hearing tonight and could decide whether to purchase the YMCA building in Riverfront Park.

The public hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Commissioners Hearing Room at the Public Works Building, 1026 W. Broadway Ave.

Spokane’s Park Board agreed in 2006 to purchase the YMCA building and land for $5.3 million. It put $1 million down, using a right-of-first refusal option to stop a developer from buying the site. But city officials didn’t have enough money to complete the purchase.

They asked the county to tap Conservation Futures funds, collected countywide through a voter-approved property tax used to buy land and protect habitat.

Plans call for renting the office space to the YMCA for five years before demolishing the building and converting the land into an extension of Riverfront Park.

Cameron named to park board

The chief operating officer at a construction company will join the Spokane Park Board.

The Spokane City Council on Monday voted unanimously to appoint Randy Cameron to fill a vacancy on the board through February 2010.

Cameron, a 1975 graduate of Cheney High School, holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University, according to his application for the position. Since 2000, he has worked for Baker Construction & Development. He owned Pepperdine Sports Bar & Grill from 1994 until 2000. Cameron lives in the Latah Valley neighborhood.

Mayor Mary Verner said she nominated Cameron for the job because of his experience in business management, especially because the Park Board will face tough budgeting decisions.

She said she will “look for a different set of talents” when she fills two vacancies expected next year.

The Spokane Park Board decides how to spend city park money and sets park policy and rules.

Lytle trial could begin Wednesday

Jury selection for Jonathan Lytle’s trial is expected to conclude today, court officials said. Opening statements for the trial could begin Wednesday.

Lytle is accused in the torture death of his daughter, 4-year-old Summer Phelps, who died in a Spokane hospital March 10, 2007.

The girl’s stepmother, Adriana Lytle, pleaded guilty in July to a charge of homicide by abuse, but she won’t be sentenced until Jonathan Lytle’s trial concludes. She could testify against her husband.

Jonathan Lytle’s attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have the trial moved out of Spokane because of extensive news coverage of the girl’s death.

More than 100 potential jurors have been questioned.

Post falls

House fire caused by wood stove

Fire officials are reminding people to be careful when heating their homes after an improperly installed wood stove sparked a blaze at a Post Falls home Monday.

A pipe for the stove was too close to wood studs in a wall at the home at 304 E. 15th St., said Kootenai County Fire and Rescue spokesman Jim Lyon. Crews responded to the blaze about 5:30 a.m. and left around 8 a.m. The residents – two adults and two teenagers – were not injured, Lyon said.

Firefighters doused another fire at a mobile home at 982 N. Labelle Loop in Post Falls on Monday.

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue hadn’t determined the cause of that fire, which left the resident homeless. She arrived home from work while crews were fighting the fire and said she had no insurance. She was receiving assistance from the Red Cross.

Medical lake

Escaped patient back at hospital

An escaped Eastern State Hospital patient was found late Sunday in Medical Lake, officials said Monday.

Michael Howard Hunter, 55, escaped Sunday afternoon. Hunter is suspected in several area bank robberies.

He was found walking in Medical Lake, said Medical Lake police Officer Nathan Bohanek. An officer happened to be driving by late Sunday, and Hunter walked out of the bushes and put his arms up.

Hunter was arrested in 2007 in connection with the bank robberies, officials said. He was ordered to Eastern State Hospital after his arrest.