In brief: CdA Tribe to require applications for aid

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has gone to an application process for distributing casino revenues to schools and nonprofit groups.

The change was prompted by an increase in requests for donations and a need for a more systematic approach to picking which causes to support, tribal leaders said.

The tribe also will start requiring reports from recipients detailing how the money was spent.

Applications for funding in 2013 must be submitted by Sept. 30. The tribe plans to notify recipients in late January and mail checks in February.

Under its 1992 gaming compact with the state, the tribe volunteered to give 5 percent of net gaming revenues to support education in the region. It has donated more than $18 million since 1994.

Men identified in standoff arrest

Two men arrested after a SWAT team standoff in Otis Orchards Wednesday have been identified as Michael Francis Hicks, 55, and David Ray Galland, 58.

A sheriff’s detective was driving east on Interstate 90 near Sullivan Road when he saw a red truck in front of him with what appeared to be an invalid or modified license plate.

A sheriff’s deputy and a Liberty Lake police officer responded to assist the detective in stopping the vehicle, which had stickers and signs indicating a growing “sovereign” movement that questions government authority.

The truck’s driver tried to turn around, according to a news release, but the patrol cars blocked it. Hicks, who was driving, and Galland refused to get out of the vehicle.

The SWAT team was called because law enforcement believed “there was a high probability the occupants may be armed,” according to a news release.

Hicks and Galland were booked into jail for allegedly obstructing a public servant and refusal to cooperate. Hicks also is charged with third-degree driving while license suspended.

Driver of stolen car crashes, arrested

A woman being pursued by police crashed a stolen car into a house in north Spokane Wednesday, then tried to hide in a stranger’s garage, police said.

Kristina M. Groce, 21, ran from the crash at the 4900 block of North Pittsburg Street and entered a home on the 1700 block of East Wabash Avenue, uninvited, asked to use the phone and told the homeowner not to call police, according to court documents.

Officer Dan Cole had tried to stop Groce after realizing the 2003 Toyota Celica she was driving was stolen. Cole said Groce drove over 60 mph and ran a stop sign at Wabash and North Nevada Street before crashing into the home.

“Luckily no children were in the yard,” police wrote on Facebook.

The car’s owner was at a laundromat earlier that day when someone grabbed his keys and stole his car, police said.

Groce was booked into jail on charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and attempting to elude police.

Shoot on Saturday to aid cancer group

The sixth annual John Ashby Memorial Shoot to benefit local children with cancer will be Saturday at Coeur d’Alene Skeet and Trap Club.

Ashby was diagnosed with adrenal cortical carcinoma in 1994 at age 14. He died in 2000. His mother, Rhonda Harvitt, started the memorial shoot in 2007 to support what is now the American Childhood Cancer Organization Inland Northwest.

The event has raised more than $20,000 to provide families with hands-on support and financial assistance during their children’s cancer treatment and recovery.

The shoot starts at 10 a.m. at the club, 1879 W. Miles Ave., in Hayden.