In brief: Ridpath’s neon sign glowing once again
The large neon sign on top of the Ridpath Hotel in downtown Spokane is lighting up the night sky again thanks to a group devoted to preserving and restoring historic neon signs.
Light ’em Up! is a project sponsored by Spokane Arts. It contacted Ridpath owners Ron Wells, Paul Mann and Mark Mackin earlier this year with a plan to restore the sign. The sign went dark six years ago as the multiple owners of the building fought over the control of the building, which fell into disrepair.
The project cost about $4,800, which was split between the developers and Light ’em Up, said Tobby Hatley, Light ’em Up’s project manager. Work was completed about two weeks ago.
Idaho truck driver killed in rollover
A Lewiston man died Tuesday morning when his log truck crashed and overturned in shallow water along state Highway 6 just west of the community of Santa, south of St. Maries.
Danny Boyd, 49, was killed in the crash shortly after 6 a.m., the Idaho State Police said.
Boyd was traveling eastbound nearing the junction with state Highway 3 when he failed to maintain his lane and struck a concrete barrier, investigators said. The trailer full of logs separated from the truck, and the truck went off the road and down an embankment, landing submerged in 5 feet of water.
Boyd was not wearing a seat belt, according to the ISP.
Driver dies in crash west of Newport
A man died following a crash late Monday about 12 miles west of Newport, Washington.
The Washington State Patrol said the man was speeding southbound on state Route 211 in a 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass shortly after 10 p.m.
He passed another vehicle, overcorrected and left the road. His car rolled down an embankment on the west side of the road, WSP said in a news release.
The Oldsmobile caught fire, a news release said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was not released, pending family notification.
3 Colville teens hurt in one-car accident
Authorities say inattentive driving is to blame for a single-car accident that injured three Colville teenagers Monday evening.
Austin B. Arrell, 18, was charged with negligent driving after the car he was driving veered off state Route 20 and crashed into some trees and the embankment near Inchelium. The Washington State Patrol reported that Arrell and his two passengers were injured in the crash.
Arrell and Aysia I. Hoag, 17, were taken to Mt. Carmel Hospital in Colville. The third teen, Livia S. Schweyer, 16, was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. Arrell was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, but it’s not clear whether the passengers were, WSP reported.
Town hall meeting today for skatepark
Spokane’s parks department is holding a town hall today to discuss the location for a new skatepark.
Discussion and initial planning of the “wheelpark,” as the city is calling it, is a project between the city and Grindline Skatepark, which has designed and built more than 250 skateparks worldwide.
The town hall will be held in the basement City Council chambers at Spokane City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., at 6 p.m.
The Coeur d’Alene School District wants to hear community opinion on future high school growth, including which programs and environments will best serve high school students.
Several focus group sessions lasting 45 minutes each will be held this week and next to gather opinions. In addition, people can answer a three-question survey on the district’s website, www.cdaschools.org.
The sessions will be at noon today, 7:15 a.m. Friday, noon Monday, 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, and 7:15 a.m. June 3. All are at the district administrative offices, 1400 N. Northwood Center Court. RSVP to Laura Rumpler at lrumpler@ cdaschools.org.