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Brian Coddington

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News >  Washington Voices

Two Homes Hit By Gunfire In Apparent Random Shooting

Bullets hit two south Valley homes late last Thursday, apparently the result of random drive-by shootings. Two bullets hit a house on the Palouse Highway near Madison Road after shots were fired from a passing car about 10:40 p.m. About 20 minutes later, a bullet smashed through the bedroom window of a home near Dishman-Mica Road and South Mohawk Drive. A car sped east from the area following the shooting.
News >  Washington Voices

Valley Fire Incumbents Face Challengers

Honesty between administration and the firefighters union, maintaining current direction and responsible spending were among the issues stressed by Spokane Valley Fire District commissioner candidates. Two positions on the five-member board will be up for grabs when voters enter the booths on Nov. 7. James Fox faces off against incumbent Ronald Schmidt in the race for commissioner position 1. Lynn Schindler will try to unseat current board chairman Harry Larned as commissioner position 2. All four candidates are seeking six-year terms.
News >  Washington Voices

Fire Blamed On Space Heater Placed Too Close To Wall

A space heater sparked a fire that damaged a Spokane Valley home early Tuesday. Investigators said a small kerosene heater was left too close to the wall and other combustible material, igniting the fire at 7206 E. Euclid at about 2 a.m. Fire Marshall Paul Chase said the fire is the first of its kind this season, and could have been prevented. "As a rule of thumb, whatever it's heating against, if you can't keep your hand there because it's too hot, it's too close" he said.
News >  Washington Voices

Woman Bites Attacker On University Road

A woman was able to fend off a man who attacked her in the Spokane Valley early last Thursday by biting him on the cheek. The 18-year-old woman was walking north along University Road near Third Avenue at about 2:30 a.m. The man, who was carrying a white stick or a pipe in his hand, walked toward her along University. As they passed each other, the man grabbed the woman by the neck and flung her to the ground, said Lt. David Wiyrick, Sheriff's Department spokesman. He pulled the woman's hair, tugged on her sweater and hit and kicked her several times. The woman tried to ward off her attacker by screaming and hitting him, before finally biting him on the left cheek.
News >  Spokane

Gathering In Harmony Men Find A Common Voice In Singing Competition

The music men. Jerry Potter, Bruce Vondergeest and Lorne Downton of the Mount Baker Toppers get in their last-minute practice before performing at the Evergreen District barbarshop quartet and chorus singing competition at the Opera House Saturday morning. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review
News >  Spokane

Police Believe Body In River Is Missing Murder Victim

Spokane police believe a body pulled from the Spokane River early Saturday is that of 29-year-old Ruben Rivas, who has been missing for a week. Divers from the Spokane county dive team found the body floating in the water near the T.J. Meenach Bridge, on the river's north side, about 7 a.m. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to confirm identification of the body, said Dick Cottam, a police spokesman. But evidence found near the body matches information detectives have compiled during their investigation, which has included a search of Rivas' house at 2102 E. Pacific and his car.
News >  Washington Voices

Dog Attacks Woman As Her Children Watch

As Pamela DeMaine walked across the street from her Spokane Valley home to check the mail, her two youngest children waited in the family car parked in the driveway. Moments later, the children, ages 2 and 3, watched in horror last Saturday afternoon as their mother was knocked down and attacked by a neighborhood dog. "Jake," a black and gold Rottweiler, had trotted innocently down Mission Avenue toward DeMaine. The year-old dog sat back on his haunches and watched DeMaine.
News >  Washington Voices

Man Arrested After Witnesses See Gun

Spokane County sheriff's deputies arrested a man Saturday afternoon after an off-duty deputy saw him point a gun at a car full of people across the street from a Spokane Valley tavern. The off-duty deputy said the man walked away from a two-tone, brown Lincoln which was parked in a lot in the 4800 block of East Sprague about 3 p.m. He then turned and pointed a handgun at the car's occupants before tucking the gun behind his back and into the wasteband of his pants, the off-deputy said. The man then walked across the street to the Phase II Tavern at 4824 E. Sprague, where several witnesses were on the phone with law enforcement dispatchers, said Lt. David Wiyrick, Sheriff's Department spokesman.
News >  Spokane

Battle Of Bands Pits 2,000 High Schoolers

FOR THE RECORD: Wednesday, October 18, 1995 CORRECTION: Central Valley High School placed first in the Class AAA division, Mead was second and Kamiakin, from Kennewick, took third at the Lilac Festival Pacific Northwest Marching Band Competition. Results of the competition were wrong in Sunday's newspapers.
News >  Washington Voices

Property Crime Reports Sharply Up Over Last Year

The Spokane County Sheriff's Department's third quarter report card is in and the marks on property crime are high. Overall, crime reports in Spokane County soared to 4,159 incidents, a 25.5 percent increase over the third quarter in 1994. Typically, as many as 60 percent of those crimes are committed in the Spokane Valley, said Sgt. Gary Smith, who heads the Sheriff's Department property crime unit. "We have more people coming (to the Valley) with the idea that this is an easy place to commit crime and get away with it," Smith said.
News >  Washington Voices

Oily Rags Blamed In Furniture Store Blaze Spontaneous Combustion Is Third Case In A Month, Valley Fire Marshal Says

Fire ripped through a used furniture store Friday morning in the Spokane Valley, destroying the store's contents. Smoke and flames poured from Discount Furniture about 7:20 a.m. Firefighters controlled the initial blaze, but mattresses inside the store began to burn again while they prepared to clean up the store. The store's contents were still smoldering as firefighters dragged chairs, television sets, pictures and office furniture out of the building 2-1/2 hours after they arrived.
News >  Washington Voices

Shop Owner Invites Help

Sherri Wheeler knows what it's like to need something. That's why she is donating clothes to Ruth Ross, the 74-year-old woman who lost her home and all of her belongings when her son, Richard Ross, set fire to the family's 87-year-old Valley home last week. It's also why the single mother of three started Sherri's Consignments, a second-hand clothing store in the Spokane Valley. "It's hard to lose everything you have," Wheeler said.
News >  Washington Voices

County Fair In Rockford Keeps That Country Feel

What the Spokane Interstate Fair lacked in traditional, small-town fair appeal, Rockford's cozy Southeast Spokane County Fair will more than make up for. The fair's home-grown flavor has remained, despite the lure of big-money fund raisers during its 51-year history. Organizers of the 1995 version say they are offering a better, but not necessarily bigger fair. "We're just trying to keep it a community fair with local talent - not so commercialized," said Erik Larson, fair vice president. "At Interstate, you can't go anywhere without a commercial booth." Livestock judging on Friday morning opens the three-day fair, which winds up following Sunday evening's awards presentation. Last year, 4,000 people flocked to the town of 500 just south of the Valley for the fair. Fair mainstays such as bingo, a horseshoe tournament, parades, a nail-driving contest and the livestock show once again make up the backbone of events scheduled for the exhibition. Fruits, vegetables, prepared and canned food, sewing, needlework antiques and photography will also be among the items judged and viewed. An Icelandic Horse Show will replace the 4-H horse show for the first time this year. Carol Evans, organizer of the 16th annual Harvest Hustle Fun Run, expects about 75 runners and walkers to turn out for a race that in the past has been "hard to get 50" for. Contestants can choose the one- or three-mile course. Although numbers are down slightly, the fourth annual Harvest Hustle Hoopfest 3-on-3 basketball tournament will also be played Saturday and Sunday. Valley Hooops, another 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and the Washington State University football game have lowered the number of participants to 228 and teams to 58. WSU is playing its Pacific-10 conference opener against nationally ranked UCLA in Pullman. For those with a musical ear, the Ho Downers will return for another year and join bands such as the Roecks Players, Kitchen Band and Fiddlers on the Loose to provide musical entertainment. Barry Lee White and the Moonshiners will also play at the dance at the Rockford Fire Station on Saturday night.