Alison Boggs

Spokane Valley firefighters had a standing lunch date at Egghead Software by Monday. It was the fourth day in a row that the alarm system malfunctioned - at precisely 1:26 p.m. - at the new Greenacres customer service center. "They're starting to schedule their meals around it," joked Valley Fire inspector Kevin Miller, referring to the firefighters who responded to the calls.

A water district serving about 5,000 people in the Spokane Valley recently discovered contamination at one of its test sites. A bacteria was found in samples taken from a gas station restroom on Jan. 10, said Spokane County Water District No. 3 General Manager Ty Wick. A sample taken from a test site next to Zip's Drive-In, E6411 Sprague, also contained the contaminant the following week, Wick said.

Four teenagers were arrested after asking a sheriff's deputy for directions while driving a stolen car in the Spokane Valley on Wednesday morning. Deputy Paul Jackson was sitting in a patrol car near N2000 Argonne about 4:40 a.m. Four youths in a GMC pickup pulled up next to him and one boy asked for directions, said sheriff's Lt. Clyde Ries. Another deputy, Lyle Johnston, ran the vehicle up on a police computer and it registered as stolen from Clarkston.

One crime prevention program is giving a big boost to another in the Spokane Valley. Several SCOPE (Sheriff's Community Oriented Policing Effort) volunteers have completed a 24-hour training in setting up neighborhood Block Watch programs.

Family members console each other in the driveway of their burned-out home at E13420 Boone on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

James Earl Ray did not kill Martin Luther King, Jr., but was definitely involved in the plot, an expert on American political assassinations said Saturday night. "I believe it is a conspiracy," Philip H. Melanson, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and author of a book on the assassination, told about 30 people gathered at The Met in Spokane.

A Valley man who authorities say is mentally ill is accused of trying to set his apartment on fire Tuesday night. Daniel L. Wentz, 28, of E4403 Eighth, No. 106, was arrested and charged with first degree arson. He is being held at Spokane County Jail. Deputies and Valley Fire District crews responded to the apartment complex about 8:15 p.m. Wentz told his story several times, and it changed each time, said sheriff's Lt. Clyde Ries.

An Otis Orchards man is accused of burglarizing his neighbor's house Sunday night. Sheriff's deputies responded to a burglary in progress at E21323 Queen about 7:30 p.m. Mikhail Grishko said he came home from church and found his neighbor, Lewis Austin, in his front yard, said sheriff's Lt. Clyde Ries. Austin, 36, of E21324 Queen, was arrested and charged with residential burglary. He is being held at Spokane County Jail. When Grishko got home, all the lights in his house were on, and a light in a basement bedroom had been smashed, Ries said. Missing from the house were a stereo, vacuum cleaner, clock, floral bedspread and gold watch.

1. Karl Bold has resigned as chief of the Valley Fire District. He will return to his previous position as assistant chief. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Valley Fire Chief Karl Bold says he didn't see eye-to-eye with the board. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

The executive deputy chief of the Vancouver (Wash.) Fire Department plans to apply for the position of chief at Valley Fire District. Pat Humphries, 48, said in a phone interview Thursday that he would be candidate. "I just got my resume done up," he said. "I should get it off here shortly."

Crosswalks at elementary schools in north Spokane County should be a little safer this year. A Spokane insurance company donated $10,000 so the county sheriff's department can buy traffic safety cones and flags for speed limit signs at county elementary schools.

Children crossing the street around Spokane County's elementary schools should be a little safer this year. A Spokane insurance company donated $10,000 so the county Sheriff's Department can buy traffic safety cones and flags for speed limit signs at county elementary schools. School districts to be included are: Central Valley, East Valley, West Valley, Mead, Riverside, Nine Mile and Deer Park.

Children crossing the street around the Spokane Valley's elementary schools should be a little safer this year A Spokane insurance company donated $10,000 so the county sheriff's department can buy traffic safety cones and flags for speed limit signs at county elementary schools. School districts to be included are Central Valley, East Valley, West Valley, Mead, Riverside, Nine Mile and Deer Park.

A Newman Lake man is searching for his daughter's lost dog. Kit Massengale's daughter, Heather (Massengale) Grooms, was killed in a head-on collision on icy Interstate 90 near Pines in the Spokane Valley on Saturday night. Heather Grooms' husband, Galen, who was a passenger in the car, is in satisfactory condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

A delegation of 20 from Valley Fire Department joined thousands of others at a memorial service Wednesday for four Seattle firefighters who died last Thursday inside a burning warehouse. "It's just brotherhood," said Kevin Miller, a Valley Fire inspector. "They'd do the same for us." The department's four chief officers, the 11 members of the union's executive board and five other firefighters attended the service.

Authorities suspect a 14-year-old girl of being a ringleader in numerous car, check and property thefts from Spokane and Coeur d'Alene health clubs in the past month. The thefts all occurred in the same way, said Spokane County sheriff's detective Dave Martin. After the thieves asked to use the bathroom, car keys were stolen from coats hanging on racks and belongings were taken from unlocked lockers. The 14-year-old has confessed to five of the car thefts and numerous thefts of belongings, Martin said. Authorities said they'll charge her with multiple felonies.

A six-car pileup on Interstate 90 left four people injured. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane police convinced a suicidal gunman to surrender to authorities after more than an hour of negotiations at a golf course Wednesday afternoon. The man, whose name was not released, was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center for psychiatric evaluation. The man never threatened anyone's life but his own, said Deputy Chief Larry Hersom. Still, about six armed officers were positioned behind trees at Esmeralda Golf Course and Driving Range, E3933 Courtland, in case of a threat, Hersom said.