Brian Coddington

Roxanne White, 9, and her dog, Elmo, wait outside the West Central Community Center with Abbey Aune, 9, for the children's parade to start. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Only the front door is left standing on bombed outhouse. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane County road crews patched more than 100 holes in weather-torn Valley roads last month. Working from calls to a "Pothole Hotline," residents identified 252 potholes across the county. Approximately half of those were in the Valley. County road crews have filled about 80 percent of those potholes so far and expect to complete the job in the next several weeks, county spokesman Chad Hutson said.

A Washington State Patrol trooper inspects a car that ended up in the yard of a Valley day-care center after a high-speed chase Wednesday. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane Valley couple was injured Monday night when their truck was hit by a car, then careened into a tree and a porch at Fourth and Blake. Lowell and Betty Chandler of Veradale were driving east on Fourth Avenue near Blake Road about 8 p.m. A 1989 Pontiac driven by Diane L. Pocock, 33, also of Veradale, ran a stop sign on Blake and hit Chandler's 1984 Toyota pickup truck, Washington State Patrol troopers said. The impact pushed Chandler's truck into a corner yard, where it bounced off a tree and slammed backwards into the porch, troopers said.

The decision to delay a vote on two proposed Spokane Valley cities also has slowed efforts to form an even larger city. Backers of Lilac Valley, a Valley-wide incorporation movement, may have to wait until late next year before their proposal finally comes to a vote. Proponents of the proposed cities of Opportunity and Evergreen - angered by a decision by elections officials to conduct a mail-in election - appealed the Boundary Review Board's final decision last Tuesday, kicking incorporation off the May 21 ballot.

1. On the freeway near Argonne Road, the last thing you probably want to see is the approach of Washington State Patrol trooper Brad Hudson in your side-view mirror. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Hundreds of people waited for the police to clear the roadway in a fatal accident last week on the interstate near Liberty Lake. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 3. The new mumbers are posted on a sign just west of Sullivan Road.

Faire fight. Game master John Czarnecki, left, helps Mark Krienke plot strategy for a medieval battle game at the 17th annual Game Faire at Spokane Falls Community College on Saturday. The game lasts up to six hours and involves a land dispute and a castle siege. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review<

From left, Derrelyn Hewlett, Patty Earls and Rick Schamber were honored this week by Valley Fire District 1. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Neighbors have complained about the bad conditions under which the animals live on this farm on South Jackson Road. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Cat attack 1. Kannon Langley, 5, snuggles up with his teddy bear after a run-in with a real live cougar Friday. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Charlie's days may be numbered after Friday's attack.

Spearheading the Opportunity incorporation drive are, from left, Bob Graham, Grace Graham, Evelyn Santesson, Stan Flagran (in back), Ed Meadows, Abe Ferris, Barb Kelly, Herb Brindle and Lois Meadows. The Opportunity and Evergreen campaigns were canceled by backers because of a belief mailed ballots would doom their chances. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Sheriff's deputies charged a 17-year-old with burglary Saturday night, after two other teenagers reported he threatened them with a gun and stole a hat. Two boys, ages 15 and 17, told deputies they were walking south along Long Road when a white car stopped next to them. A teen got out of the car, pulled a revolver from his pants and pointed it at the two teens, deputies said.

Incorporation is off again in the Spokane Valley. Supporters of incorporating two Valley cities on Tuesday thwarted a May vote because they said conducting the election by mail-in ballot would doom their proposals. Proponents of Opportunity and Evergreen feared the mail-in election would draw a large voter turnout - and too many "no" votes from uninformed residents.

West Valley High School's Abigail Palmer was chosen as the Lilac Festival Queen Saturday night over 10 other area high school girls. Palmer was overwhelmed by her coronation and at a loss to explain why she was chosen. "I do not know what it could have been," she said. "It's something that I never could have imagined."

Sally Martin

Proponents of two Spokane Valley cities have asked a judge to clarify a law allowing the county auditor to conduct the upcoming incorporation election by mail. County Auditor Bill Donahue earlier this month overruled the county commissioners when he decided to conduct the May 21 incorporation election by mail-in ballot. A suit demanding Donahue justify his decision was filed Monday in Superior Court. A hearing before Judge Robert D. Austin is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Crystal and Sherry Marshall (holding Tanner) spotted a thief at Sullivan Square and helped with his capture. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Loud popping sounds woke a Spokane Valley couple early Tuesday just before fire roared through their Ponderosa home. Lloyd "Les" Blom and his wife, Carolyn, were asleep in their upstairs bedroom when the fire began. Les Blom followed the noise downstairs to the back porch and pulled open curtains covering the sliding glass door. "It was just a wall of fire," Les Blom said. "You couldn't even see out."

Sheriff's deputies are searching for three men who reportedly beat a man Saturday afternoon and robbed him at gunpoint. The 19-year-old victim was taken to Valley Hospital and Medical Center where he was treated for facial cuts and bruises and released. The robbers stole an undisclosed amount of cash.

Among the myriad of no votes that have stopped three attempts in the past five years to form a Spokane Valley city, three precincts have quietly said yes. After voters across the Valley thumbed their noses at incorporation in 1990, voters in neighborhoods around Valley Mission Park and Opportunity Elementary, and south of Broadway Elementary have supported the last two incorporation efforts.

A man who claimed masked men broke into his trailer house, sprayed it with gasoline and then set it on fire was convicted Friday of first-degree arson. A Superior Court jury decided that David W. Janson set the fire himself. Janson, 42, could be sentenced to more than three years in prison. The verdict came one year and one day after the trailer Janson shared with his two daughters in the University Mobile Home Park burned to its metal frame.

A decision by the Spokane County auditor to hold a mail-in election has sent proponents of two proposed Valley cities scrambling. After spending months preparing a low-key, low-cost campaign, proponents of forming the cities of Opportunity and Evergreen said they will have to shift gears with little more than a month left before the election. Proponents of both cities said they will hold emergency strategy sessions early next week.

1. Police and federal agents investigate the bombing scene at the U.S. Bank branch at Sprague and Mullan. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review 2. Robert Smiths cleans up around the back door of The Spokesman-Review Valley Office Tuesday. A pipe bomb destroyed the door, shattered two winders and did other damage to the building. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review