In brief: Deputies say Valley man shot relative
A Spokane Valley man is in custody after authorities say he fatally shot a relative with a shotgun Tuesday afternoon.
Spokane County sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting call at 4:30 p.m. at the corner of East 31st Avenue and South Vercler Road, across the street from University High School, Deputy Craig Chamberlin said. The suspect, who has not been identified, called to report that he shot a man in the stomach outside his home.
The two had been arguing when the suspect went to his car, grabbed a shotgun, and shot the other man, Chamberlin said. The victim died in a local hospital.
The victim is believed to be the suspect’s brother, though deputies have not confirmed their relationship.
Woman arrested after sons found alone
A 27-year-old Spokane woman is in jail facing child endangerment charges after police found her two sons, ages 1 and 6, in a motel room with a pipe used to smoke methamphetamine.
Ashley Fry was arrested earlier this month after an employee of a southwest Spokane motel called police and said there were two boys complaining of hunger in one of the rooms. Police discovered Fry’s sons in squalid conditions, left in a room with only “smashed donuts” to eat, towels covered in human waste and a fast-food bag with the pipe inside, according to court documents.
The older son told the employee he was watching his brother. Fry is 8 months pregnant, and the boy said he thought she’d left to have the baby. They hadn’t eaten in a day, he said, and he hadn’t attended school because the family “moved around a lot.”
Child Protective Services were aware of the case but told police they’d lost contact with the family. Fry is being held on $20,000 bond.
The two boys have been placed in foster care, according to court documents.
Suspect wanted in drive-by shooting ID’d
Spokane police have identified a suspect in last week’s drive-by shooting at the 2900 block of East Joseph Avenue.
Davon Henderson, 27, is wanted on charges of first-degree assault for allegedly shooting at a man just before 10 p.m. on Oct. 15. Police said Henderson was driving by the victim’s house when the two got in an argument.
Henderson shot the man and sped off, police said. The victim suffered injuries to his arm.
Henderson is described as black, between 6-foot-2-inches and 6-foot-3-inches tall, and weighs between 180 and 195 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen driving a black 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with tinted windows and black rims.
Driver in wrong-way crash on U.S. 195 dies
The Washington State Patrol said a woman who was driving the wrong way in a collision on U.S. Highway 195 has died at a Spokane hospital.
The patrol says 93-year-old Evelyn Emery was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center Thursday and died Monday of her injuries.
The other driver in the head-on crash, 60-year-old Kathleen Babbitt, is listed in satisfactory condition.
Emery had been driving north in the southbound lanes about 5 miles south of Spokane, a WSP news release said. Her 2004 Buick Century hit Babbitt’s 2006 Honda CRV just before 7 p.m.
Comments sought on Hydraulic Code
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will accept public comments through Nov. 15 on proposed updates to the state Hydraulic Code, which governs construction work in and around state waters.
Agency staff will hold a public meeting to discuss the changes on Monday at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place in Spokane Valley.
Hydraulic Code rules were last updated in 1994, with the exception of those for mineral prospecting, which were updated in 2008.
The proposals would update the requirements to stay current with fish science and design technology and streamline the review process for hydraulic permit applications, agency officials said.
Report: Altered river flows harm sturgeon
The eggs of endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon in Idaho and Montana are less likely to hatch in the river because of flow changes caused by Libby Dam and other human actions, according to a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The report issued this week concluded that sturgeon eggs hatch best in places where rocks are washed clean of algae by river flow.
The report, prepared in cooperation with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, examined hatch success in the laboratory on various surfaces, such as clean rocks, algae-covered rocks and sand. Sturgeon eggs settle and adhere to those surfaces in the wild while they develop into larvae.
Sandy surfaces now dominate the Kootenai River in areas currently used by spawning sturgeon, the report found.
Meanwhile, dam operations for flood control and hydropower during the spawning season have largely eliminated spring flows that typically would scour rocks of algae and other growth, the report said.
“This is another piece in the puzzle of understanding why some white sturgeon populations in highly altered river systems succeed and others don’t,” USGS fishery biologist Mike Parsley said.