September 24, 2008 in City

WSU provost on personal leave

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A Washington State University vice president and provost has been placed on personal leave at his own request.

WSU officials aren’t saying why Steven L. Hoch made the request Monday, less than two months after taking the job.

WSU spokesman James Tinney said the request was granted by university President Elson S. Floyd, “effective immediately.”

Hoch was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky when he accepted the WSU position in May. He started work Aug. 1.

Tinney said Hoch’s provost duties would be assumed by Warwick Bayly, dean of WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Bayly headed the 18-member selection committee that recommended hiring Hoch.

Dan Hansen

Stevens County

Disabled man sues jail over wheelchair

A disabled man jailed on a drug charge has sued Stevens County, claiming jailers wouldn’t let him use his wheelchair in the facility.

Robert Crace, 22, spent a month and a half without his wheelchair in the Stevens County Jail in Colville beginning in March 2007 because officials said the jail couldn’t accommodate it, according to a lawsuit filed recently in Spokane County Superior Court.

Crace crawled on the floor to get around and was unable to access jail activities or resources, according to the suit, which seeks unspecified damages. He served the remainder of his two-month sentence for possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) with intent to deliver at the Ferry County Jail, said Paul Burns, Crace’s Spokane lawyer.

“It’s our view that a facility like a county jail should provide accommodation for … inmates who are disabled and or relegated to the use of wheelchairs,” Burns said. “It seems to me that that should be pretty well established at this point.”

Burns said that before the lawsuit, he filed an administrative claim with the county in December that was denied.

Stevens County officials could not be reached for comment.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Spokane

Pedestrian bridge over I-90 reopens

The state has reopened the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 90 near Regal Street, but repairs won’t be completed until mid-October.

The bridge has been closed since Sept. 5, when an oversize truck crashed into it.

Staff reports

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