In brief: WSU student recovering from fall at fraternity
A 21-year-old Washington State University student was in stable condition after falling down a flight of stairs early Tuesday inside the Delta Chi fraternity where he lives.
Anthony Pentecost is the second “highly intoxicated” student to fall at one of the university’s fraternities since mid-August, said Pullman police Cmdr. Chris Tennant. On Aug. 14, a 19-year-old woman fell through a fire escape at Phi Kappa Tau, again alcohol related.
“I don’t think the fraternities have really stepped up and shown any leadership on this issue,” Tennant said. “Until they do, I don’t think we are going to see a reduction in these types of incidents.”
Pentecost reportedly had been drinking wine when fellow fraternity members told him to go to bed, police said. Students heard a thud and found Pentecost at the bottom of the stairs.
The WSU junior is recovering at Pullman Regional Hospital, police said.
Appeals court overturns county land-use change
Spokane County for the second time on Tuesday had a North Side land-use change overturned by the state court of appeals.
The appellate judges said the county violated the state’s growth management law when it approved limited commercial development on a 4.2-acre site owned by McGlades LLC near the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and Day-Mt. Spokane Road.
A restaurant had operated for a short time in 2006 at the location of a former fruit stand.
County commissioners approved the land-use change and rezone in 2007, but lost when neighbors appealed to the Growth Management Hearings Board.
A series of appeals followed, including an earlier decision by the appellate panel rejecting the change.
Tuesday’s decision by the Division 3 court is the second time that the appeals panel has rejected the commercial designation. In this latest appeal, the county argued a technicality that the hearings board could not overrule the zone change along with the land-use change.
Man gets life sentence for killing pregnant wife
A North Idaho man convicted in the fatal stabbing of his pregnant wife late last year has been sentenced to life in prison.
The punishment was handed down Monday in the case of 28-year-old Jeremy Keith Swanson, of Priest River.
Swanson pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder earlier this year for repeatedly stabbing his wife, Jennifer Marie Bosch-Swanson, in the head and torso with an ice pick and knife.
Swanson declined to address the court during his hearing Monday, the Bonner County Daily Bee reported.
First District Judge Benjamin R. Simpson said he had no other choice but to order life in prison, saying the crimes were committed with “unspeakable violence.”