In brief: Chewelah wins award for best community float at Lilac Festival

The Lilac Sweepstakes Award for best overall community float went to Chewelah at the Spokane Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade on Saturday.

Chewelah, a town of 2,600 in Stevens County, garnered the best community float award for the third year in a row.

“Although the float experienced some technical issues and had to be towed along the Spokane parade route, the award was happily received,” the Chewelah Independent newspaper noted on Monday.

Addy Hatch

Firefighters find pot, butane in South Hill home

Spokane firefighters responding Monday to a report of several unconscious people in a South Hill home instead found evidence of a drug operation.

A man in the home called 911 to report a half dozen people were unresponsive at an address in the 2600 block of East 38th Avenue before 3 p.m. When firefighters arrived, they found the man in the front yard but no one inside, said Spokane Fire Department Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer. The man showed symptoms of dementia, he said.

Firefighters entered the house wearing hazmat suits. They found what appeared to be marijuana and several other items, including butane, which can be used to process the plant into a more potent form. The process has caused several recent fires in Washington and elsewhere because of the explosiveness of the butane.

“We had a very good ending today,” Schaeffer said. “Nobody’s hurt.”

The call sent several engines and ambulances to the address, which is near several schools, including Ferris High School.

Neighbors said they saw the homeowner frequently out on walks with assistance, but he was unaccompanied Monday afternoon. One woman said there was frequently loud music coming from the address and a lot of foot traffic.

Kip Hill

Police: Woman who crashed car had drugs

A 28-year-old woman who drove her car into a tree in the yard of a northwest Spokane home Sunday morning was arrested and accused of carrying powdered Ecstasy, amphetamines and more than $500 in cash.

Michelle Sweeney received some cuts in a crash that occurred around 8 a.m. Sunday in the 6200 block of North Sutherlin Street.

Police said they found several baggies in her car that appeared to contain drug residue. Inside her purse were scales, more drugs and a large amount of cash.

Sweeney told police the drug powder was the remnants of Molly, a form of Ecstasy that contains other synthetic drugs, records state.

Kip Hill