Brian Coddington

Sheriff's deputies arrested a 30-year-old woman for assault early Sunday after she allegedly stabbed a man in the face with a broken beer bottle. Donna A. Sarratt was booked into the Spokane County Jail for second-degree assault. She is accused of stabbing a 30-year-old man during a party at an apartment in the 3000 block of South Wipple.

A weeklong string of freeway shootings has steered some frightened motorists away from the region's busiest roadway and forced authorities to heighten patrols. Authorities are investigating a series of 10 window-shattering incidents along Interstate 90. They believe a sniper is terrorizing motorists with a pellet gun or a rifle.

The Spokane Valley Fire District's maintenance and operations levy, rejected by voters in the primary election, passed Tuesday by a comfortable margin. The $6.325 million levy got 67.6 percent approval from Valley voters. The roughly 3,000 absentee ballots remaining to be tallied will not be enough to defeat the levy, which needed 60 percent of the votes to pass.

Republican incumbents were winners in the three 4th District legislative races. Sen. Bob McCaslin and Reps. Larry Crouse and Mark Sterk, all GOP candidates, were re-elected Tuesday by wide margins. In the closest race, McCaslin collected 53.7 percent of the votes on his way to defeating challenger George Orr, a Democrat, for the 4th District's Senate seat.

Sen. Bob McCaslin's current ads attack George Orr as a champion of legalizing marijuana, citing the Democrat's response to a question on the topic. The ad's claim is absurd, his answer taken out of context, Orr said. He mistakenly thought the question dealt with legalizing marijuana for medicinal uses.

A woman was shot to death and a man was injured late Saturday at a South Hill park during an apparent robbery attempt. The injured man drove them both to Sacred Heart Medical Center. The man's wounds were not life-threatening, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

1. Valley Fire training officer Larry Rider works on a practice blaze at the district's training center on Sullivan Road. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Valley Fire personnel attend to car accident victims at Sullivan and Fourth. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review 3. In full gear, a firefighter breaks through a wall of smoke at the Valley Fire training tower on Sullivan Road. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Lynda Maselli tugs at the leash tethered to a frisky German shepherd trotting a couple of paces in front of her. "Sit. Sit. Sit," Maselli says firmly to the dog. "He knows how to sit." Eventually the dog obeys, and Maselli allows the walk to continue. The county animal shelter volunteer is headed toward an undeveloped area in the northeast corner of shelter grounds on Flora Road.

Supporters of a plan to build a community center in the Spokane Valley on Thursday asked county commissioners to build a road through the complex. Building the road would formally commit the county to the Mirabeau Point project and clear the way for the YMCA to build a new $5.4 million Valley facility at the community center's proposed site.

Rising fire protection costs have caught up with Rockford and the surrounding area. For the first time ever, the Rockford Fire Department will ask residents to approve a general fire and emergency medical services levy.

Four of the five candidates seeking three positions from the 4th District have legislative experience. Only Democrat Frank Galizia, who is challenging GOP incumbent Larry Crouse for a House position, is a political newcomer. Mark Sterk, the GOP incumbent, is unopposed for the other position.

An arsenal of guns was taken during a home burglary Monday afternoon, but a boy who was inside the house when the intruder broke in managed to escape unharmed. The 14-year-old told deputies a car pulled into the driveway about 1:30 p.m. Moments later, a man in his early 20s knocked at the door of the home in the 16100 E. Foothills and then began kicking it.

A man who was remodeling his home was burned late Friday when the propane heater he was using to warm a room suddenly unleashed a ball of fire. Fire investigators said 28-year-old Troy Vincent was lucky his injuries weren't more severe than the first- and second-degree burns he suffered to his hands, arms and face.

Dan St. John is just one of the spooky creatures lurking inside the House of Terror at Hamilton and Trent. The haunted house is open today from 3 to 7 p.m., Monday through Wednesday from 4 to 9 p.m. and Thursday from 4 to 11 p.m. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Zoe McManus comforts a German shepherd that had been shot. The dog was treated at the Ponti Animal Clinic. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane County Health District is offering flu shots at four Valley locations beginning this week. Health district officials recommend that people who are 65 and over, have chronic health problems and reside in community living situations get flu shots. Health care workers providing care to high-risk patients, people providing essential community services and oversees travelers also should get shots.

Several Spokane Valley residents who stepped to the microphone Wednesday night at a growth management workshop pleaded to keep future development out of their neighborhoods, saying other areas are better able to handle it. Residents of the Micaview area, currently included in all four interim urban growth areas, want out, said Pat Brown, who spoke on behalf of the landowners association. The neighborhood's large lots and farm animals give it a rural flavor that residents like, Brown said.

The air over the Longhorn Barbecue's Valley production facility was smokier than usual Wednesday after a fire broke out in a building that houses two smokers. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

It's not that Republican state Rep. Larry Crouse and Democratic challenger Frank Galizia don't have common ground. They're just inclined to take different routes to get there. The candidates for the 4th District Position 1 House seat are critical of the state's Growth Management Act, saying it does not give county government enough of a voice.

The two candidates vying for the 4th District seat in the state Senate represent 20 years of legislative experience.

Wattleton

Their backgrounds are as different as their ages. One is a firefighter. Another an optometrist. One graduated from college 10 years before another was born.

1. Justin Whiittekiend became licensed to drive in the state of Washington on Wednesday afternoon. His companion, Keri Whitney, holds the photographic proof, a source of great amusement to both of them, as they emerge from the Valley Dept. of Licensing office in the Bowdish Center. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Debbie Jacobson has her driver's license picture taken at the office on Bowdish. The facility will move next year to a new building on West Plains. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

A man in a passing car fired several shots from a handgun in front of a Spokane Valley house early Saturday, injuring a dog. Sheriff's deputies said a dark-colored Thunderbird with a loud muffler drove by the front of the house in the 7100 block of East Eighth at about 2 a.m. A passenger leaned out the window and shot several times at the house, Lt. David Wiyrick said.