Snowed out of most alleyways
One year ago today: Friday, Dec. 26, 2008: Christmas is over. Put out the trash. Headaches continue for solid waste employees. Most alley service is suspended in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane because automated garbage trucks can’t push through the snow. “We are officially out of the alleys until probably March,” says a Waste Management manager. The roof on a building at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center collapses; just a week earlier, families in need were there collecting vouchers and toys at the Christmas Bureau. Inland Northwest stores and businesses have been swept clean of anything with “snow” in the name – tires, chains, shovels and blowers. A Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman says that “stolen snowblowers are now more valuable on the street than stolen OxyContin.” The forecast for the next week: More snow, more cold.