In brief: Attacker with knife threatens woman in CdA
A female employee of the Coeur d’Alene Goodwill store said she was attacked at knifepoint at 2 p.m. Monday when she left the store to make a bank deposit.
The woman said she was getting into her vehicle in the store’s parking lot at 1212 N. Fourth St. when she was grabbed from behind by a man who put a knife to her throat, a Coeur d’Alene Police Department news release said.
The man demanded her purse, and after a struggle, he shoved her to the ground. Someone came out of the store, saw what was happening and shouted at the man. He ran off through an alley between Fourth and Fifth streets.
The woman was able to hold onto her purse, which contained the bank deposit. She had a red mark on her neck from the knife, the release said.
The attacker is described as a white man in his 30s with black hair. He was 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, possibly with silver writing on it, and blue jeans.
He was last seen around 11th Street and Foster Avenue jumping a fence and running south.
Medical office identifies pedestrian killed
The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the pedestrian killed last week when he was struck by a semitruck.
Larue Brown, 39, died of head, neck and chest injuries as a result of the Nov. 23 incident at Second Avenue and Thor Street in Spokane, according to a medical examiner’s spokeswoman.
Spokane police have not released the identity of the driver, who has not been charged and who apparently was unaware that Brown had been struck.
Missing woman’s body found in Spokane River
The body of a missing Post Falls woman was found Monday morning in the Spokane River, just below the Avista dam in Post Falls.
Post Falls police identified the body as that of Cheryl A. Corbett, 61, a news release from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department said. An Avista employee told police the body was spotted in the river Monday morning just below the debris gate.
Corbett was reported missing on Nov. 10. Her family has been notified.
The Sheriff’s Department was called to the scene about 10:30 a.m. Members of the dive rescue team recovered the body.
No outward signs of trauma were visible, the release said. An autopsy will be performed but had yet to be scheduled.
Adopt a Family program seeks help for needy
The Salvation Army seeks businesses, churches or individuals willing to help families in need this holiday season.
The Adopt a Family program serves homeless families who are either living on the Salvation Army campus or have recently graduated from transitional housing.
Food and presents must be delivered to the Salvation Army, 222 E. Indiana Ave., by Dec. 19 to be distributed to the families by Christmas. About 18 families remain to be adopted.
In addition, the Salvation Army would like to place Christmas toy collection bins at local businesses and organizations.
For information about both programs, call Sheila Geraghty at (509) 329-2726.
State agency to close north Spokane office
The Washington Department of Social and Health Services is closing its north Spokane office on Francis Avenue early next month as part of departmentwide consolidations.
Services provided at the Spokane North Community Services Office, 1925 E. Francis Ave., will continue at the department’s Access Spokane Valley office, 8517 E. Trent Ave. and at the 1313 N. Maple Street office in Spokane.
The department expects to save more than $500,000 a year by closing the north office, which currently serves about 6,000 clients a month.
Clients may continue to access services online by visiting www.washingtonconnection.org or by calling the customer service center at (877) 501-2233.
Federal grant to provide more free school lunches
More Washington children from low-income households will be eligible for free school meals as a result of a $965,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The money will help the state automatically enroll students from households already participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, without requiring families to complete an additional application.
The grant is part of a childhood nutrition emphasis by the USDA that also includes updating school meal nutrition standards to increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy, and applying science-based standards for all foods and beverages sold on school campuses.
More information, visit www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/grants.htm.