In brief: Sewage spill put at 50,000 gallons

The city of Post Falls reported a sewage leak Friday that spilled about 50,000 gallons.

The spill occurred about 3 p.m. and leaked the sewage into the former trailer park west of the Post Falls Senior Center, according to a city news release.

City officials believe the spill was caused by a power spike at the Third Street lift station that caused a temporary failure, the news release said. Crews have repaired the lift station.

City crews were on the scene within 15 minutes of receiving reports of a spill and the site was cleaned up by late afternoon, the news release said. The city reported the incident to the Department of Environmental Quality and will have a hydrologist monitor the spill’s effects. Results from the monitoring could take up to 30 days.

Day care ‘grandpa’ sentenced for rape

A man known as “Teacher Grandpa” at a Spokane day care has been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for child rape.

Eugene R. Wright, 66, is to serve 123 months and undergo a sexual deviance evaluation before he’s released, which could mean he stays in prison for the rest of his life.

Wright was arrested in August 2010 for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl at the Bigfoot Child Care Center at Spokane Community College.

Wright passed a background check and began working at the center in late June 2010. He was dismissed in mid-August 2010 when a young girl told her mother that Wright had molested her. Another parent told police she’d witnessed inappropriate contact between Wright and the girl.

DNA on cigar leads to arrest

A cigar left at a burglary scene last summer led to the arrest of a a 21-year-old  suspect.

DNA on the cigar matched DNA that Trevor Codi Frantz provided when he was convicted of felony first-degree theft in April 2010, according to court documents.

Detectives seized the cigar while investigating a burglary in the 8500 block of East Cataldo Avenue in Spokane Valley on July 30 and sent it to the state crime lab. They believe the burglars used the cigar to try to light the home on fire.

During the burglary, Larry A. Powell, a career criminal now serving life in prison, fired shots at a neighbor who tried to stop the men.

Powell, 54, was arrested shortly after the shooting.

Frantz was booked into jail Wednesday on charges of attempted first-degree arson and first-degree burglary.