Cindy Hval

MEAD Alternative school’s one-on-one attention and structure helped turn around school experience for Addison Armstrong.

From a 9-year-old who didn’t speak a word of English to an accomplished student who finished four years of high school in three years, Yelizaveta Skoromnaya has traveled far.

Grace Thomas is driven and accomplished. A two-sport cheerleader, she also tackled six rigorous Advanced Placement classes at Lakeside High School in Nine Mile Falls and plans to attend Western Washington University this fall.

Brayden Race learned a very adult lesson about the fragility of life as a sophomore in high school when she was diagnosed with cancer.

Many years ago, our small sons had attempted to dig to China from our backyard. The resulting trench, shored up with whatever boards and branches they could scavenge, was a marvel of elementary engineering. It was also dangerous when 6-year-old Sam found himself in over his head.

When Megan Paternoster, 17, received a phone call in November informing her she’d been chosen as part of the Spokane Lilac Festival Fab 14, she said her first reaction was extreme relief.

Students writers, from high school age to senior citizens, create works for inclusion in a journal, all part of Whitworth University’s Writing in the Community class.

With four sons, I’ve lost count of the number of Chuck E. Cheese, Wonderland, Laser Quest and bowling birthday parties we’ve hosted. For years I insisted on home birthday bashes, which involved traditional games like pin the tail on the donkey and musical chairs. Those were the kind of birthday parties I attended as a kid. However, hot potato cannot compete with the electric mayhem of video games and fire trucks with lights and sirens.

Blood dripped, then poured from Colin (Zhipeng) Zeng’s nose. It was March 26, the final round of the NCAA men’s platform diving championship, and every time Zeng, 21, came up from a dive his nose gushed blood.

Widows Might has three core goals: to assist widows, to advocate for widows and to alert family and community members to the needs of widows.

Normally I like birds. I am, after all, the chicken lady. But a robin is testing my patience.

If today’s column seems littered with superlatives and exclamation marks, you’ll have to pardon my excess. I’m still coming off a literary high.

The Patriot Guard Riders stood silently, their flags held aloft as a light rain fell at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spokane Valley on Saturday. They’d come to honor Charles Boyer, 95, who died April 15.

Pages of Harmony has been active in Spokane for more than 75 years. About 35 regular members, ranging in age from33 to 87, make up the chorus, which includes men from professions ranging from law to medicine to education.

From spumoni to dumb questions, there are plenty of high fives to go around.

The Beluga whale swam to the edge of the tank and peered at Rachel Clark through the glass. Clark slowly nodded. The whale nodded back. She waved her arm. The whale waved its flipper. She spun around in a circle. The whale swam in a circle.

My most recent column was written the day we returned from Hawaii, and in my post-vacation fog, I forgot to include some important information.

Love Story: John and Darlene Rotell married in 1970 after spending a total of five days together.

Whether at home or across the sea, it’s our stories that connect us.

My husband now has the best eyesight of anyone in our family. He used to have the worst. Bruce has worn glasses since he was a very young boy. The big E at the top of the eye chart was not only fuzzy to him, he couldn’t even see the chart because the entire wall was a blur. We don’t actually know what his vision measured out to be. His optometrist explained that they pretty much stop counting at 20/400, so Bruce’s vision was considered 20/400-plus.

Giant Nerd Books on North Monroe features an eclectic selection of used books.

I left the suit in the hotel garbage can and thought no more about it until I got an email last week confirming our travel plans. Our 30th wedding anniversary is approaching and we’re spending it in Hawaii, which means I need a new bathing suit ASAP.

Secret teen marriage still going strong 60 years later.

The consensus? The vast majority of responders are annoyed as heck. While nobody objected to friendly greetings – “Any plans for tonight?” sparked widespread irritation.