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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Spokane Valley Mayor Tom Towey will run for Legislature

Spokane Valley Mayor Tom Towey said he will join two other contenders in attempting to fill the seat being vacated by the retirement of Rep. Larry Crouse, R-Spokane Valley.

Crouse, a 19-year veteran of the state Legislature, plans to retire Dec. 31 in the middle of his four-year term because of health issues.

Towey, who filed the required paperwork with the state Public Disclosure Commission two days ago, will go up against former Spokane Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite and Robert McCaslin, son of the late Sen. Bob McCaslin.

Towey has been mulling a legislative run for several months and knew Crouse was considering retirement.

“I thought (Crouse) was going to wait until the next election,” Towey said. “He called me up a couple Fridays ago and said he was leaving at the end of the session. It just moved up my decision by half a year.”

It will be up to the Spokane County commissioners to appoint a temporary replacement for Crouse. The appointee will serve until the next general election in November 2014 but could remain in the seat if chosen by voters.

Nina Culver

Wal-Mart robbery suspect jailed

An 18-year-old Spokane man remains jailed after allegedly using the computer tablet he stole from Wal-Mart to bludgeon a security officer last week.

Calvin Fischer is being held on $10,000 bond for robbery after investigators said he left the store at 2301 W. Wellesley Ave. on Thursday evening carrying the stolen device. When an employee confronted him outside the store’s garden section exit shortly after 6 p.m., Fischer allegedly struck the man in the head with the tablet and attempted to stab another with a folding knife.

Fischer told police he stole the tablet to buy meth.

Kip Hill

Police warn to lock up valuables

Don’t want your stuff to be stolen from your garage or your car? Lock them up, the Spokane Police Department and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office say.

Spokane police received reports of 22 garage burglaries last week; there were 13 such reports to the Sheriff’s Office. In half the cases, the garages were open or unlocked, the agencies said in a news release Monday.

Likewise, last week there were 117 reports of vehicle prowling in the city and 41 reports in the county. “In the majority of these cases, doors to vehicles were left unlocked and valuables were left in plain sight,” the release said. The agencies offered this advice: Lock cars and don’t leave them running unattended; hide valuables if you leave them in a car; and keep garage doors closed and locked.

Addy Hatch

Boy Scouts honor church affiliation

Area Boy Scouts and community members of all faiths are invited to attend open houses Wednesday celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Scouts’ affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Mormon Church was the first nationally chartered organization to affiliate with the Boy Scouts of America through church-sponsored troops, according to the Scouts’ Inland Northwest Council. Now dozens of other religious and community organizations have similar affiliations, a news release said.

The open houses will take place at five Mormon wards and stake centers. They begin at 6 p.m. at the Liberty Lake Ward, 23515 E. Boone; at the Foothills Ward/North Evergreen, 5322 N. Evergreen; and at the Spokane Valley Stake Center at 21022 E. Wellesley. They begin at 7 p.m. in the North Stake Center, 401 W. Regina, and at the LDS Church at 2122 W. Francis.

The events feature a live broadcast of performances from the church’s massive conference center in Salt Lake City.

Staff reports