Brian Coddington

1. Tim Ford and Randy Harris dive into the Spokane River near the site where they saved the lives of two people in July. The two will receive the Spokane Valley Fire District's Citizen Lifesaving Award Sept. 27. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Tim Ford and Randy Harris were relaxing on the river bank near when they heard cries for help near this spot on the Spokane River. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Michelle Coordes and her daughter Brandi walk down the tunnel of maple trees along Liberty Avenue in Millwood. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Two police cruisers responding with lights and sirens blaring to an "officer needs assistance call" on Saturday night collided in downtown Spokane, injuring three officers. An officer who responded to a domestic violence call in east Spokane earlier in the night activated the distress button on his radio, prompting the response from the other cruisers, said police Lt. Jim Nicks.

Reports of burglaries and stolen cars piled up at a torrid pace as property crime in the Spokane Valley continued to rise during the month of August. Burglary reports in the Valley soared to 111 - nearly double the July total, according to Spokane County Sheriff's Department statistics. About 60 percent of the 83 vehicles reported stolen county-wide were swiped in the Valley, said Sgt. Gary Smith, who heads the property crime division for the Sheriff's Department.

Two Spokane Valley landowners are hoping to capitalize on their property's proximity to one of the last undeveloped freeway interchanges in the Valley. Roy Leland and Nathan Marks will ask the Spokane County hearing examiner committee to rezone 15.6 acres of their Liberty Lake property for regional business. The property, north of Interstate 90 on Harvard Road, is currently zoned for light industrial use.

Spokane Valley educators and the Spokane County Sheriff's Department are working together to remind drivers to drive safely when school classes start this week. About 20,000 students will be going back to school next Wednesday in the Central Valley, West Valley and East Valley districts. Classes started on Tuesday in Freeman schools.

Leslie Bakonyi says his driving record has been tarnished by offenses committed by his ex-wife's cousin. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

A teenager pleaded guilty on Monday to taking part in an early morning robbery and the theft of a car from a Valley man in June. The 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and first-degree possession of stolen property. He was the second teenager to admit to the crime. A 17-year-old Valley youth pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and first-degree possession of stolen property a few weeks ago.

For the second time this month, a cat was found hanged in a tree in the Spokane Valley. A bicyclist, who asked not to be identified, found the large black cat hanging in a pine tree at the corner of 27th and Pierce about 7 a.m. on Tuesday. A green and blue Seattle Seahawks scarf was fastened tightly to the cat's neck at one end and to a tree branch at the other. Bob Franzen, the county animal control officer who investigated the hanging, said the cat's fur was also singed and its whiskers burned off after it was hanged.

Lines - though short - formed on the deck overlooking the water slides during a recent day at Splash-Down in the Spokane Valley. Kevin Preston, 9, splashed into the pool at the bottom of the slides. A little chilled, Preston hurried out of the pool trying to keep warm before his next turn. A late August sun was shining, but the occasional breeze that whipped through the park was a chilly reminder of this summer's cooler than normal temperatures.

Tess Talley and some of her adoptees. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

CORRECTION: Valley Voice, August 31, 1995: Laurie Tolbert, not Jackie Bellefeuille, heard the shots fired during last week's shooting in Millwood. Gunfire erupted in this quiet Millwood neighborhood Sunday night. At this intersection of Buckeye and Argonne, nine bullets ripped through a car, injuring three occupants. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

A 12-year-old boy who spent two days in the pediatric intensive care unit at a Spokane hospital after being run over in a grocery store parking lot in the Spokane Valley on Tuesday afternoon was released from the hospital Friday. Chris Rancourt was picking up trash in the parking lot in front of the Safeway store on North Argonne. Rancourt bent over to pick up a piece of paper and was hit by a full-size pickup truck.

A program that enlists SCOPE volunteers to take fingerprints from cars that have been burglarized will be the main topic of the Wednesday SCOPE East meeting. Kirk Hayfield, a representative from SCOPE University, will provide details to SCOPE East about how the program will work. "I'm going to explain to people what we're trying to accomplish," Hayfield said. "Basically I'm on a recruiting mission."

1. Battle of the Bands. Scott and Carol Knight, under umbrella, wait to see their grandson, Chris, perform at Riverfront Park Saturday as part of Kids Week "Battle of the Bands." Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Joe Bryan, 13, plays bass with the band Pitch. His band, students from Salk Middle School, was the youngest of the eight bands to compete.

Ritsler

For now, the war of words and gunshots has ceased at Arjay Mobile Home Park. Four sheriff's deputies have been assigned to the Otis Orchards mobile home park to make sure it stays that way. Also in place is a no-contact order that forbids Mark Topp and his mother, Barbara Prokopich, from talking to Leonard Williams, J'mi Beeching or any of the other residents involved in the conflict and vice versa, said sheriff's Lt. Doug Silver. The conflict at Arjay boiled over on July 23 when Williams told deputies Topp shot out the right front tire on his car. Topp was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment for the shooting.

Former Marine Sgt. Ron De Vore, left, received a Bronze Star for service in Vietnam, while former 1st Lt. Thor Killsgaard received his second Purple Heart, earned on Okinawa. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

The expiration of the terms of all three civil service commissioners forced Valley Fire commissioners to appoint three new people to terms of varying lengths on Wednesday. Barbara Jordan was appointed to a two-year term, Dave Groesbeck to a four-year term and Cecil Cleveland to a six-year term. Normally, commissioners are appointed to six-year, staggered terms. But through errors in previous appointments, all of the terms expired at the same time, said Dave Lobdell, Valley Fire assistant chief.

Spokane County sheriff's deputies arrested a man and woman on drug charges following a traffic stop Monday in the Spokane Valley. Roy Picou, 20, was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Chastity King, 19, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Picou, whose license deputies said was suspended, was driving the car when the two were stopped at the corner of Sprague and Park.

Tension rises as David Elton, a supporter of Dexter Amend, crashes a rally against the coroner Thursday. Elton's sign was ripped and he was escourted away by police. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Neighborhood kids play a game of football on the fields of Trent Elementary School on Pines Road. The convenience store chain Maid o'Clover has plans for a new store across the street from the school, but East Valley School Board members may decide to prevent the project. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Valley Fire inspectors are investigating the possibility that two fires which burned along south Dishman Road earlier this week are connected. The second of the two fires torched a small patch of grass early Sunday before burning through a garage wall at 1010 S. Dishman. Neighbors told investigators they were awakened about 2:30 a.m. by what Valley Fire Inspector Kevin Miller described as a sound "like popcorn." The popping sounds neighbors heard were exploding ammunition.

(From Valley Voice, Thursday, August 17, 1995:) Anita Anderson, who was pictured holding her 22-month-old daughter Courtney in Saturday's Valley Voice, was incorrectly identified. Courtney Anderson rests her head on the shoulder of her grandmother, Karen Hamilton. A spaghetti feed and auction will raise funds to help pay medical bills for a bone marrow transplant for Courtney. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review