In brief: Memorial service set for Beattie

A memorial for Army Sgt. 1st Class Clifford E. Beattie, 37, of Medical Lake, will be held Saturday in Cheney.

Beattie, of the 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan., was killed May 22 by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad.

The service will begin at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 10405 W. Melville Road in Cheney.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Bringing Children Home, a religious charity that assists families in local, national and international adoptions. Donations can be sent in care of Tomoka Christian Church, 1151 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach, FL 32174.

Staff reports

Body that of man missing in December

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Francisco Poncho Johnston’s identity Wednesday after an autopsy Tuesday.

Johnston’s badly decomposed body was found about 7 p.m. Saturday in a heavily wooded area near 2000 W. Riverside Ave. after neighbors noticed a foul odor.

Medical examiners have not determined a cause of death. Spokane police asked for help finding Johnston Dec. 23 after he was last seen near the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza in downtown Spokane.

Johnston, 44, was to take a bus home to Airway Heights but never did. Police said he had the mental capacity of a 14-year-old because of head trauma and required daily medication to treat seizures.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Three-month period was wet indeed

The past three months were the fourth-wettest on record in Spokane, the National Weather Service reported on Wednesday.

The March-through-May period this year produced 6.89 inches of precipitation, which was the wettest since 7.23 inches fell in 1997.

Spokane also saw one of its coldest three-month periods with an average temperature of 44.3 degrees. That was tied for the ninth-coldest since record keeping began in 1881.

Lewiston saw its wettest March-through-May period, with 6.88 inches of precipitation. Records there also date to 1881.

Lewiston also saw its third-coldest period of those months.

Pullman saw its wettest March through May since record keeping started there in 1940, with 8.59 inches of precipitation.

Staff reports