Region in brief: Police arrest two in OxyContin cases
Two men were arrested Tuesday night for their alleged roles in recent robberies at Spokane pharmacies for the prescription painkiller OxyContin.
Aaron M. Weyrauch, 27, and Dustin J. Rockstrom, 26, were booked into the Spokane County Jail. Rockstrom was booked on two counts of second-degree robbery, and Weyrauch is being held on a warrant, Spokane police said.
Investigators received anonymous information that Rockstrom and Weyrauch matched physical descriptions given for two men wanted for recent robberies at various pharmacies. Detectives learned the pair was selling the stolen drug on the street.
Tour will promote green lifestyle
Spokane’s first-ever Green + Solar Home and Landscape Tour is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday with nine eco-friendly homes lined up for ticket holders.
The homes include a number of features from solar power to straw-bale construction to rainwater collection.
The cost of the tour is $10 per person, $25 for a carpool or $8 for a bicyclist. Children will be admitted free.
Ticket brochures may be purchased online at sustainableseptember spokane.org or in person at Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave., or Eco Depot Inc., 1326 E. Sprague Ave. Also, tickets will be sold at the Saranac Building, 25 W. Main Ave., starting at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Sales will be limited to 300 tickets.
The tour is being organized through several organizations, including Community-Minded Enterprises and the state Department of Ecology.
Foresters plan prescribed burns
Good weather conditions will allow the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service to launch a prescribed burn program within the next couple of weeks.
Burning will occur as weather permits and will last until conditions are too dry to burn safely, a district news release said.
Prescribed burns are planned for areas around Placer Creek, south of Wallace; Trouble Creek, near Pritchard; Flat Creek, on the north fork of the Coeur d’Alene River; the Coeur d’Alene Mountain area; and around Thompson Lake, east of Harrison, said Sam Gibbons, fire management officer.
The district hopes to burn between 100 and 300 acres in an effort to reduce hazardous forest fuels that can increase wildfire severity, the release said. For more information, call (208) 769-3035.
Bikers to raise money for dogs
Motorcyclists will take to the road Saturday to raise money for the Kootenai Humane Society.
The third annual “Hogs for Dogs” poker run begins at 10 a.m. at the Lone Wolf Harley-Davidson dealership, 722 W. Appleway Ave. People don’t have to ride to participate. Anyone can buy a $10 scorecard by calling (208) 818-1633. Bonus cards, which increase the chance of winning, can be purchased for $5 more, said Holly Stetson, the humane society’s development director.
Bikers will collect poker hands for all participants on the route, which stretches from Coeur d’Alene to Rathdrum to Spirit Lake to Post Falls. Prizes include $100 for best poker hand, $50 for second place and $25 for third.