Family

Thelma Swana’s advice for a good life is simple: Decide what you want to be and don’t worry about love – not quite yet.

I’m a Christmas purist. No tree, décor, tunes or movies until the day after Thanksgiving.

In October, The Spokesman-Review wrote about how “The Strange Beautiful” author Carla Crujido is seeking stories from the Crescent and is calling on readers to submit their tales of the shopping mecca.

In October, The Spokesman-Review wrote about how “The Strange Beautiful” author Carla Crujido is seeking stories from the Crescent and is calling on readers to submit their tales of the shopping mecca.

 The last time Karley Alejo spent Christmas with her dad was when she was 3 years old.

HOUSTON – Lainey Landry’s parents hung the stocking embroidered with her name on the mantel beside her older brothers’ even though the 9-year-old is gone. She’s still in the family Christmas card photo, but they added a message: “There’s a brighter star in the Texas sky.” And they placed two new ornaments on the tree, etched with lines from letters Lainey wrote home from Camp Mystic.

Dr. Universe: What determines the size and shape of someone’s belly button? – Isana, 16, Washington state

In October, The Spokesman-Review wrote about how “The Strange Beautiful” author Carla Crujido is seeking stories from the Crescent and is calling on readers to submit their tales of the shopping mecca.

Dick and Nancy Smith met in Longview, Washington, in 1955 when he was in fourth grade and she was in third.

Dr. Universe: How many volcanoes are in the world? – Garrett, 10, Maryland

Kimberly Slavens saw the flashing blue lights in her rearview mirror as she neared her Ohio apartment. She knew she was in trouble: She was returning from a bar after drinking about a half-dozen vodka tonics.

In October, The Spokesman-Review wrote about how “The Strange Beautiful” author Carla Crujido is seeking stories from the Crescent and is calling on readers to submit their tales of the shopping mecca.

In October, The Spokesman-Review wrote about how “The Strange Beautiful” author Carla Crujido is seeking stories from the Crescent. After researching to write a novel inspired by the meet-cute of her parents at the downtown Spokane department store, she was quickly met with dead ends.

In 1918, Lucy Gooch received a wondrous gift from her parents – a new player piano from Montelius Music House in Seattle.

An available electrical outlet spawned a collection of pinball games that offers Mike Hogue an ongoing entertainment outlet.

Directing cars to their Thanksgiving dinner pickup, Tom’s Turkey Drive volunteer Trevor Holcomb was cold but very happy.

Imagine living in a war torn, politically unstable country where there is so much violence that you are afraid for your safety. Imagine having to make the hard decision to flee your country at the first opportunity without any of your belongings or money. This is the life of a refugee.

Known for her spunk and unapologetic “alpha female” energy, University High School junior Bella Jackson-Fleming died unexpectedly on Nov. 11 in her Spokane Valley home. She was 16.

Before the DNA revolution of the early 2000s, genealogy was a study dependent on records. Tracing a line of heritage could hit a dead end if documentation had gone missing or been destroyed. But as DNA science progressed rapidly through the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, genetic testing became an affordable, accessible tool to confirm existing genealogical records, or fill in the gaps entirely.