In brief: Holiday affects offices, services

Government offices and other services will be affected by the Independence Day holiday on Monday.

Banks: Most will be closed.

Buses: Spokane Transit Authority will operate on the holiday schedule Monday, with extended service after the fireworks in Riverfront Park.

Garbage: Collection will be delayed one day in Spokane, Kootenai County and areas served by Waste Management. Garbage facilities and transfer stations will be closed.

Government: Federal, state, county and city offices in Washington and Idaho will be closed. Spokane city swimming pools and golf courses will be open Sunday and Monday.

Libraries: Closed Monday in Spokane, Spokane County and Coeur d’Alene. Eastside, Hillyard and Indian Trail branches also will be closed Tuesday.

Liquor stores: State stores in Washington and Idaho will be open.

Mail: No service Monday.

Parking meters: Free on Monday.

Driver, 18, faces assault charges

An 18-year-old Newport, Wash., man was charged with vehicular assault Saturday after an alcohol-related accident on a Pend Oreille County road that injured three, the Washington State Patrol reported.

Michael P. Dumaw was southbound on Ashenfelter Bay Road in a 1995 Geo Prizm about 4:30 a.m. with three passengers when his car left the road to the right and hit an embankment, the WSP said.

A 17-year-old girl was injured and transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, where she was in satisfactory condition late Saturday, a hospital supervisor said.

Two other passengers, Russell F. Womack, 20, and Chaize T. Exkano, 18, both of Newport, were treated at the Newport Hospital and released.

The cause of the crash was listed as drunken driving, the WSP said. Dumaw was booked into the Newport jail.

Duplex garage damaged in fire

One man was displaced from his Spokane Valley duplex Saturday after a fire burned through the roof of his garage.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to a fire at 1214 N. Greenacres Road about 5 a.m. after law enforcement reported that the garage and possibly the home next door were on fire. Smoke could also be seen from nearby fire stations, fire officials said.

The resident of the duplex where the fire was reported was awakened by a “pop” and found fire in the garage. He was not injured.

The blaze caused an estimated $40,000 in damage, fire officials said. The other unit of the duplex was not damaged.

The American Red Cross is providing assistance to the displaced man.

Treasurer stole from charities

A former treasurer for two Spokane charities who became involved with a cash-strapped woman he met at a spa has been ordered to repay $24,000 after pleading guilty to felony theft.

Curtis G. Wasson, 59, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft this week for embezzling from the North Lions Club and the Hillyard chapter of the Knights of Columbus.

Wasson had been treasurer of the North Lions Club, a nonprofit group that helps people with vision or hearing impairments, for at least 10 years. Group members began investigating Wasson after a donation check to a Spokane high school student who was volunteering with hurricane relief assistance bounced and the student was charged overdraft fees. Police believe Wasson stole about $18,000 from the group beginning in 2004.

Wasson, a self-employed tax accountant, also stole about $6,000 from the Knights of Columbus, a charity for the sick and disabled.

According to court documents, Wasson gave some of the money to a woman who police believe was desperate for cash to pay her child-custody attorney. The woman told police she met Wasson while working at Suzi’s Spa.

State park visitors must have pass

OLYMPIA – If you’re headed out for some outdoor recreation this weekend, don’t forget your Discover Pass. The new recreation permit is now required to access state parks and recreation lands.

If you’re camping in a state park, you don’t need the pass to use the park where you are camping.

Other restrictions and exceptions, as well as purchase information, can be found online at discoverpass.wa.gov.

Searchers find body in river

McCALL, Idaho – An official in western Idaho said a woman’s body was recovered Saturday from the Payette River following a two-day search.

McCall Interim Fire Chief Garrett de Jong said the body was found in a logjam about 11:30 a.m. Saturday about six miles downstream from McCall.

The woman’s name has not been released.