Dan Hansen

Spokane County Commissioner John Roskelley plans to take a three-week vacation this summer to go to the Himalayas. File/The Spokesman-Review

The new Mount Robinson building at Sun Mountain. Photo by Michael Guilfoil/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane County commissioners will decide Tuesday whether to give four other elected officials a raise now in exchange for cost-of-living increases they would have received later. One commissioner said she'll vote against the package because it includes county Assessor Charlene Cooney.

Spokane County is about to force one of the biggest developers around to pave a strip of gravel outside the Liberty Lake post office. Harlan Douglass, who owns the post office building at 1423 N. Molter, refused to help pay for the work last summer, when Molter was widened and improved.

Spokane County commissioners have set aside the process normally used to hire contractors so loggers can start removing downed trees from three parks soon. November's ice storm felled about 180,000 board feet of timber at Liberty Lake Park in the Valley, and at Holmberg and Bear Lake parks on the North Side, said Fran Boxer, head of county parks.

Spokane County commissioners are balking at a developer's plans to put another spring water hazard on MeadowWood Golf Course. Pacific Properties of Bellevue, Wash., which is developing 90 lots near the county's premier course at Liberty Lake, wants to pipe the development's storm water into the rough along the 15th fairway.

About 150 people gathered in a suburban school Wednesday to talk about a line that will split Spokane County into urban and rural neighborhoods. Some were curious and others concerned. A few were angry.

Michael Eirls, a clerk at Super C convenience store on North Ash, holds up the fourt promotional checks featuring Keno winner William Howard. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Mike Potestio of Columbia Wood and Recycling moves another load of ice storm debris Friday at the waste-to-energy plant. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane County commissioners have reversed a hearing examiner decision and ruled that a West Plains landowner cannot subdivide 40 acres into four lots. Kate McCaslin, in her first land-use decision since becoming a commissioner on Jan. 1, said landowner Will Payne had not shown that his neighborhood has "substantially changed" since the land was zoned "exclusive agriculture" in the 1980s. That zone classification is intended to protect prime farm land. It prohibits lots smaller than 40 acres on Payne's land, about 1-1/2 miles north of Coulee Hite Road and just west of Riverside State Park.

Spokane County golf courses lost $24,000 in 1995 on businesses that generated profits for three golf professionals. Golfers made up the difference with greens fees - money that is supposed to go toward upkeep of Hangman Valley, Liberty Lake and MeadowWood golf courses.

It will cost about $155,000 to repair bridges damaged by flooding at Hangman Valley Golf Course, Spokane County officials estimate. One bridge, which takes golfers to the 18th hole, must be raised about 2 feet on one end and supported with piers. That work is expected to cost about $102,000 - less than the county's initial estimate of $120,000 to $150,000.

McCaslin

FOR THE RECORD (January 29, 1997): Correction: Spokane County Commissioner Phil Harris was a master sergeant when he retired from the Air Force. A story in Sunday's newspaper indicated otherwise. 1. Spokane County's point man. Phil Harris bursts into laughter while meeting with Rep. George Nethercutt in the Spokane County commissioners conference room. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review 2. A toy sheriff's badge in Harris' office. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Members of the audience await a chance to speak Wednesday as Commissioner Kate McCaslin appears on a nearby monitor. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane County government spends more than $200,000 to belong to professional organizations, with more than half that total going to just two groups. Saying they're not sure taxpayers are getting their money's worth, county commissioners want to drop some memberships and offer other organizations less money than requested.

1. Bernice Buchanan 2. Sign-waving members of the group Unity in Action stand as Bernice Buchanan pleads with county commissioners for charges to be filed in the stabbing of her son at the county fairgrounds. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

After three years of debate, Spokane County commissioners appear ready to decide which areas of the county should be off-limits to urban development. Although they can be modified in about a year and every five years thereafter, the "urban growth boundaries" commissioners plan to set early next month will provide a blueprint for county growth for the next 20 years. Outside the boundaries, no new urban subdivisions will be allowed. Under temporary rules, the minimum lot size of new lots will be 10 acres. County officials will spend the next year writing permanent regulations.

Renee and Herbert Smith bought their Dragoon Creek property in 1969. They say they've lost more soil from their 125 acres in the last year than the previous 20. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

A leading critic of local politics is suing the city for hampering his drive to change its government. In a suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, attorney Stephen Eugster says he should be allowed to count signatures gathered last year toward a petition drive to put the strong-mayor proposal back on the ballot this year.

Spokane County commissioners Tuesday approved the request of a couple who want to build a dock in front of their Fish Lake home. Some 15 feet of county property and more than 100 feet of lily pads separate Joseph and Jane Feil's land from open water at the county-owned lake near Cheney.

The county would like to remove a foot or two of silt left in the stream bed from erosion upstream, he said. Spokane County commissioners on Tuesday told staff to come up with a plan to prevent flooding along Chester Creek, and to do it quickly.

Golfers who play on Spokane County courses will be spared a couple of quarters for greens fees, but may need the money for pancake batter and spaghetti.

Taxpayers were the losers in a labor dispute that pitted Spokane County District Court judges and the county prosector against commissioners and union employees. The bills from attorneys who represented various sides of the dispute have topped $85,000. At times, attorneys hired by taxpayers were arguing both sides.