In brief: Grant to be used to keep kids in school

Financial services firm JP Morgan Chase recently awarded $100,000 to the Inland Northwest Community Foundation to be used to address the area’s high school dropout rate.

The grant will be passed from the foundation to Priority Spokane, a group that has identified raising the high school graduation rate as a priority, said Mark Hurtubise, foundation president and CEO. It’s the first grant to the Priority Spokane effort from a for-profit organization, he said.

Priority Spokane intends to address the graduation rate by focusing on middle school; a study done by Gonzaga University for the group suggests that identifying potential dropouts there and offering more support could help students stay in school in later years.

“The work of INWCF and Priority Spokane is exactly what needs to happen to create transformations in education,” Cree Zischke, vice president of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, said in a news release Tuesday.

Staff reports

Three hurt in collision in Spokane Valley

Three people were injured early Tuesday in a collision at Fourth Avenue and Bowdish Road in Spokane Valley.

Jacob Zinkgraf, 21, of Spokane Valley, suffered numerous internal injuries and was in critical condition Tuesday afternoon at a local hospital, Spokane Valley police said.

He was driving west on Fourth in a 1996 Honda Civic just after midnight when he collided with a 1984 Chevrolet pickup driven by Petty Sherman, 43, of Spokane Valley, who was headed north on Bowdish.

Sherman was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected, landing under the front of her vehicle, where she suffered burns on her arms and cuts on her face. Her condition was not given.

A passenger with Zinkgraf was treated at a hospital and released.

Detective David Thornburg said Zinkgraf may have been under the influence of alcohol. An investigation of the accident was continuing.

Staff reports

Horse killed, drivers injured on U.S. 2

A horse that wandered onto U.S. Highway 2 was killed and two drivers suffered minor injuries in an accident Tuesday morning west of Spokane near Reardan.

The Washington State Patrol said a semitruck hit the horse, knocking it into an oncoming pickup that ran off the road.

The WSP said the highway was blocked for two hours.

Associated Press