In brief: Spokane County changes tee time reservation system

Spokane County is updating the system for reserving tee times at its three golf courses.

The county parks department on Monday announced the change to take effect today in an effort to simplify bookings.

Golfers can go online to reserve tee times up to 12 days in advance for regular golf rates. To make an online reservation, go to spokanecounty.org/parks and follow the link to golf.

By phone, regular reservations can be made up to nine days in advance.

The courses are Liberty Lake at (509) 255-6233, Hangman Valley at (509) 448-1212, and MeadowWood at (509) 255-9539.

Times can be booked with a single call for play at all three courses.

In addition, golfers can book more than nine or 12 days in advance by paying a higher prebook rate.

The county does not charge booking fees, and golfers don’t have to pay until they check into the pro shop.

Nearly $43,000 raised for Backpacks For Kids

Through their Backpacks For Kids campaign, which ran the entire month of July, Cenex Zip Trip stores raised $42,840 for the Salvation Army’s backpack and school supply distribution.

The Salvation Army will use this money to distribute more than 5,000 backpacks with school supplies at its annual back to school drive.

The Salvation Army Backpacks for Kids distribution is at the Salvation Army Community Center, 222 E. Indiana Ave, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 20. The backpacks will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees should bring a photo ID, proof of address and child ID.