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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Dan Hansen

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

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News >  Nation/World

Columbia Chronicles For Lake Campsite, Get There Early

By all means, bring your RV and your boat. Load up the kids and the fishing gear and head for Lake Roosevelt for the weekend. Just don't show up Saturday morning and expect to find a convenient campsite. Porcupine Bay, the National Park Service campground closest to Spokane, normally is full by Thursday night, said park ranger Terri Ray. Fort Spokane fills up by Friday afternoon. "Holiday weekends are a different story," said Ray. People will set up camp on Monday and pay for the whole week just so they'll have a place to stay on the weekend. The park service runs 31 campgrounds with 813 campsites in the Coulee Dam National Recreation Area. Others are available for groups only. Generally speaking, the farther a campground is from Spokane the less competition there is for space, said Ray. Boat-in campgrounds, such as Plum Point, Penix Canyon and Crystal Cove, offer fewer amenities than the larger drive-up camps. They typically lack running water or flush toilets - and are among the last to fill up. Beach campers can pitch tents anywhere below the high-water mark, as long as they are at least half a mile from the nearest developed campground. Fires are allowed only on portable fire pans or boxes that campers bring themselves. Ashes must be packed out. Some of the most remote campgrounds are on the two Indian reservations that border portions of the lake.

News >  Spokane

Plan Commissioner Kolva To Run For City Council

A member of the panel that decides growth issues in Spokane is looking to expand his authority. Jim Kolva, a seven-year member of the city plan commission, announced Tuesday he plans to run for the City Council. In a four-page statement that is more philosophical than specific, Kolva promised "a commitment to hard work, balance, diligence, equity, open decision-making, teamwork and civility."
News >  Spokane

Commissioners Triple Livestock Rule On Dry Land Doe Protests, Says Adding Animals Will Increase Dust, Pollute Water

It may get a little more crowded, and a lot more dusty, out on the range. Spokane County commissioners on Tuesday tripled the number of livestock that can be kept on dry land. Under the new rules, up to three head of livestock can live on every acre of non-irrigated pasture. That's always been the limit for irrigated land, where lush grass helps prevent erosion and other problems.
News >  Nation/World

Backers Think Conditions Are Just Right

Tuesday is the best chance so far for people who want to form a city in the Spokane Valley. They've lost twice before, when Valley residents rejected incorporation in 1990 and 1994. A third loss Tuesday doesn't preclude more attempts; in fact, some Western Washington cities weren't created until the fourth or fifth vote. But conditions have never been as ripe for Valley incorporation - and may never be again - as they are now. Here's why:
News >  Washington Voices

Environmental Review Ordered For Turtle Creek

In/Around Greenacres, Ponderosa, Otis Orchards, Orchard Avenue A developer must write an environmental impact statement before he can build a 101-home subdivision in the Valley. Concerned about the Turtle Creek development's impact on schools, roads and neighboring land, Spokane County commissioners in December ordered an environmental review for the project.
News >  Washington Voices

Commercial Sports Complex Wins Approval For Harvard Road Area

A pay-to-play sports complex that would ease overcrowding on public fields got the nod Thursday from Spokane County planning officials. Rob Lewis, a partner in Sports World, said he hopes to begin construction this summer on the 32-acre complex along Harvard Road in the Spokane Valley. A fitness center could be completed by fall and a sports bar and restaurant by spring, Lewis said. But the center's four soccer fields and four softball diamonds probably won't be done until the start of the 1977 softball season, said Lewis.
News >  Washington Voices

Incorporation And New Charter Are Separate Issues, But Linked

Incorporation isn't the only game in town. While Citizens for Valley Incorporation struggles to form a city, other Valley residents are helping design a proposed new regional government. They are the Spokane County freeholders, whom voters elected in November 1992. Seven of the 25 represent the 4th legislative district, which includes the Valley.
News >  Spokane

Freeholders Get More Money To Finish Up

Spokane County freeholders say they need more money to finish their quest for more efficient local government. County commissioners reluctantly agreed Tuesday to give the group another $10,000. Freeholders, who work without pay, already have spent $200,000. "In my opinion, we ought to say, 'Here's this, but don't come back for more,"' said Commissioner Skip Chilberg, a supporter of the freeholder process.
News >  Washington Voices

Panel Oks Hawthorne Manor Plan In/Around: Country Homes

A Spokane County panel last week gave the Hawthorne Manor Retirement Residence the OK to double its living quarters. Owners of the non-profit retirement home at 101 E. Hawthorne Road plan to add a three-story building with 93 units. Hawthorne Manor is home to about 100 seniors who live in retirement apartments or nursing units.
News >  Spokane

County Eliminates 64 Unfilled Positions

Spokane County Commissioners eliminated 64 county positions Tuesday without firing a soul. The positions, which Commissioner Steve Hasson called "bogus," were approved by commissioners over the years but never filled by county departments. Another 83 unfilled positions remain; commissioners haven't decided whether some of them should be eliminated. Commissioners last week put a 30-day freeze on most hiring to get a handle on exactly how many workers the county has. They want to know why the number grows by an average of about one employee every five days.