In brief: Suspect held, second sought
Spokane police have arrested a suspect in a stabbing and attempted robbery at a Comfort Inn last month and are asking for help locating a second suspect.
Walter S. Reiter, 31, is wanted for first-degree robbery, police said Friday. Anyone with information on his location should call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Jason M. Doyle, 32, a felon, was arrested Thursday on charges of first-degree attempted robbery, first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He and Reiter are accused of using a shotgun to try to rob a man at the Comfort Inn, 923 E. Third Ave., on July 25 at about 1 a.m.
The victim suffered a non-life-threatening stab wound after reportedly bragging “about how much money and dope he had in his car,” police said at the time.
Surveillance photos released last week led police to identify Doyle and Reiter as suspects.
Whooping cough cases rise
An outbreak of whooping cough has spread to 16 children in Benewah County and has hospitalized one.
The affected children range in age from 3 months old to 17 years old, said a Panhandle Health District news release. The child who was hospitalized has returned home and is improving.
The first known case in Benewah County was reported May 27. Since January, 24 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, have been reported in five northern counties, including eight in Kootenai County. The five northern counties typically report six or seven cases a year, the news release said.
Most children with pertussis were not immunized, the news release said. Untreated, pertussis, which is characterized by severe coughing spells that lead to vomiting and shortness of breath, can cause pneumonia, seizures and encephalitis.
For information on immunizations and boosters call the Panhandle Health District: Benewah County, (208) 245-4556; Bonner County, (208) 263-5159; Boundary County, (208) 267-5558; Kootenai County, (208) 415-5270; Shoshone County, (208) 786-7474.
Raw sewage spills in Hayden
A broken valve caused a sewage leak in Hayden near Honeysuckle Avenue and Ramsey Road on Friday.
About 7,500 gallons of raw sewage was released in the residential area, according to a Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board news release. The spill did not pose any immediate threat to drinking water supplies, the news release said. The Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board has contacted a hydrogeologist to evaluate the leak and determine its impact on groundwater and nearby wells.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has also been notified of the leak and will be given a written follow-up, which is standard procedure in such incidents, the news release said.
Seasonal weather continues
The warm weather the region has seen during the last couple weeks will continue into the weekend.
Today is expected to be sunny, with a high near 88 degrees in both Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Sunday will be sunny, with a high near 83 degrees.
Nighttime temperatures will be in the low to mid-50s in Spokane today and Sunday. In Coeur d’Alene, nighttime temperatures will be in the mid- to upper 50s
It could get breezy over the next couple of days. An east wind of 5 to 11 miles per hour becoming southwesterly is expected today. There will be a southwest wind of about 10 miles per hour Sunday, with gusts reaching 21 miles per hour Sunday night in Spokane.
The dry weather has prompted a burn ban in Kootenai County and Pinehurst/Silver Valley.
However, the dry weather might not last. In both Coeur d’Alene and Spokane, there is a 20 percent chance of rain Monday.
Fire closes highway near Coulee City
U.S. Highway 2 and state Route 17 about three miles west of Coulee City were closed Friday as firefighters battled a 2,500-acre wildfire.
Grant and Douglas county firefighters were dispatched about 4 p.m. Friday to the area, where the fire burned sagebrush and grass, according to a Grant County Emergency Management news release. As of Friday night, about 50 percent of the fire was contained. No homes or structures have been lost and none was threatened Friday night. The news release did not indicate how the fire started.
Several Bonneville Power Administration transmission poles were damaged, but no power outages were reported and no one has been injured, the news release said. Fire resources from around the state responded and the State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray was activated to support firefighting efforts.