In brief: Walgreens robbed on Argonne Road
A man robbed a Millwood pharmacy of OxyContin on Wednesday evening after threatening a customer with a knife in the second armed robbery for the prescription pain medication this week.
An employee at Walgreens, 2702 N. Argonne Road, told sheriff’s deputies a man held a knife to the chest of a customer – identified only as a local attorney – and demanded OxyContin from employees about 5:30 p.m., according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. No one was injured, and the robber left with an undisclosed amount of the drug, officials said.
The man was described as in his 20s, 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-11, heavyset and clean shaven, and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a black knit cap with a skull emblem on the front, and dark shoes that could have white edging around the tops, according to a news release.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information on that robbery or one Sunday at the Walgreens at 15510 E. Sprague Ave. in which witnesses said a white man in his 20s, about 5-foot-10 with short, brown hair and a mustache, drove off in a white sport utility vehicle.
Tipsters should call Crime Stoppers at (509) 327-5111 or submit tips online at crimestoppersinland northwest.org. Tipsters do not have to give their name to collect the reward but should leave a code name or number.
Spokane county
Ride service receives funding
The Spokane County Commission reversed an earlier budget cut and decided to give $25,000 to help fund Care Cars for Elders, which provides rides for seniors 60 and older to reach essential medical services.
The money will only extend the service until the end of March.
“This will ensure that an important service continues during the winter, so that many of our seniors are able to take care of their medical needs,” Commissioner Mark Richard said in a news release.
The service provides transportation to seniors who are unable to use STA buses or Medicaid Transportation Brokerage services because of physical or mental impairments, county spokeswoman Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter said in a news release.
To volunteer or to get more information about Care Cars, which operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, call (509) 458-7450.
Boise
Otter apologizes for laptops remark
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter apologized to lawmakers Wednesday for the tone of the threat he had his budget director deliver a day earlier, when the governor took on the Legislature for buying lawmakers new laptop computers after he’d vetoed the funding.
Otter, in an interview with Idaho Public Television’s “Idaho Reports” that will air in full Friday night, said he opposed the purchase of laptop computers for lawmakers because he wanted to include them in a standardized purchasing program for the state to save money.
“But this is a year later,” the governor said.
“It was probably poor timing to bring it up, especially the second day of the session, and I apologize.”
The governor’s move had prompted a round of name-calling between the administration and Legislature just as they begin negotiating difficult state budget cuts.