Jennifer Plunkett

Marvin Brugh, who works as a letter carrier at the Shadle-Garland Post Office, makes his way through the Queens Place section of his route. Brugh prefers walking through snow rather than risking slipping on icy sidewalks. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Gini Wilburn holds a photograph of the needlepoint stocking now hanging in the White House. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

November's ice storm did more than pummel the Valley's power lines. It put the freeze on Valley home sales, too, said real estate analysts. "Things came to a screeching halt in this community with the ice storm," said Don Walker, spokesman for the Spokane Association of Realtors. "No one could get in to look at homes."

1. Jeff Merideth of Columbia Rural Electric in Dayton works to restore power to this snowbound corner of west Newman Lake on Mountain View Road. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Renee Hartshorn and her 18-month-old son were without power for 15 days until crews repaired their lines. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 3. Above, with phones and power out at Newman Lake, people left notes to line crews in fluorescent orange spray paint. 4. Right, Brian Schimmels removes trees that are leaning on power lines. 5. Below, Jeff Clark brings a load of hay to his livestock on the west side of the lake. 6. Above, lineman Rich Willimas of Wilson Construction works on a line that leans under the weight of several trees on the west side of Newman Lake. 7. At right, Renee Hartshorn and son Cade in front of their home that was dark for two weeks. Photography by Steve Thompson.

Foam dancing one of the latest nightclub novelties P atrons at the Valley's Blue Dolphin nightclub will soon find the dance floor full of lather if owner Garth Werner has his way. Werner is seeking approval from the state liquor board to bring "foam dancing" to his establishment.

A women's consignment shop in the Valley has a new owner and a new name. Joan Lewis purchased Sherri's Consignment, 11622 E. Sprague, last month and renamed the store Repeat Boutique.

Sprucing up. Fitting a Christmas tree into the family van wasn't a problem for Bruce Jorgens at the Alpine Trees lot on 29th Abenue on the South Hill Saturday. Getting his four children, including Ben 8, into the vehicle took a little more creativity. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

It's looking a lot like Christmas this weekend at the Valley's Red Lion Inn, where Santa's elves have set up antique trains, miniature Christmas villages and dozens of decorated trees. Today marks the start of the 10th annual Festival of Trees. The four-day event features dozens of decorated Christmas trees donated by such businesses as Telect, Target and Simply Northwest. The businesses decorate the six-foot artificial trees for the public to bid on, said Marianne Jolley, executive director of Deaconess and Valley Healthcare Foundation, the event's sponsor.

Last week's ice storm froze all construction at the Spokane Valley Mall. Power at the site was cut off for two days, the mall developer said. But the power is back on and work now continues. "There's no question that the storm slowed us down," developer Rex Frazier said. "Storms do come and you try to be prepared the best you can."

Some longtime Valley residents recently bought Mathew's restaurant on Pines Road near the freeway and renamed it Trendz off 90. East Valley High graduates Elaine Sarff and Chuck Givas, along with Sarff's husband, Hal, and brother-in-law, Larry, took over the well-known eatery and have done some renovations and menu changes.

If the county approves plans for three separate Valley subdivisions, almost 600 new homes would be built near Barker Road and Eighth Avenue. One of the proposed developments, Meadowview Terrace, includes 309 lots on 130 acres at the southeast corner of Barker and Eighth. The land is being developed by Spokane Valley resident Clara Hepton, who also is developing the 32-lot Meadowview Ranch Estates immediately south of the proposed Meadowview Terrace site.

1. A crowded parking lot is good news for University City mall tenants catering to holiday shoppers. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Below, young Zachary Stroh is enthralled with cars in a mall display. 3. The shelves are filled and waiting at J.C. Penney for the busiest shopping period of the year. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

WWP workers Ben Carter and Harvey Jewett repair a line at 44th and Ponderosa. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Bettie Shute tells of a Thanksgiving meal in which the main dish was mysterious turkey substitute. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Cherrie Franklin collected speeding tickets gping to and from her mom's house in Wenatchee. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 3. An expressive Carolyn Conrad is good-humored about her Thanksgiving Day tale of woe. (4 photos)

Darlene Kilby is shivering. It's not because she can see her breath as she walks through her house on the 800 block of West Dalton. It's because she's mad. Plenty mad. "It's a good thing I'm not a violent person," she said, taking a long drag on her cigarette. "I'm ready to take hostages."

While 30,000 homes throughout the Spokane area remained dark and cold Thursday night, two small Valley electric companies had restored warmth and light to all but a few hundred of their customers. Only about 1,800 of Vera Water and Power's 7,500 electric customers lost power during Tuesday's ice storm. By Thursday, general manager Kevin Wells said, Vera crews had restored power to all but about 500 of those customers.

The Newman Lake area was one of the Valley areas hardest hit by Tuesday's ice storm. All 1,000 homes in the area served by Inland Power and Light lost electricity during the storm and have been without power ever since.

Downhill delight The season's first snowfall brought out the sleds for Jessica English, front, Melanie Piperek, middle, and Amanda Hess as they scoot their way down the hill at Manito Park on Saturday morning. Boxie, a blacklab, playfully nips at Piperek's boot. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Average home sale prices in the Valley were less in October and houses stayed on the market about a week longer, when compared to the same month last year. Last month, it took an average of 82 days to sell 93 Valley homes. In October of 1995, 130 homes sold after being on the market an average of 71 days.

A new Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant will open next spring at Sprague and Sullivan. The 2,700-square foot eatery will face Sprague and will be at the northwest corner of the Sullivan Square shopping center, in front of the Best store, franchise owner Sam Sibert said.

Liberty Lake Sewer District customers will not be included in the county's proposed sewer rate increase, said district manager Lee Mellish. Spokane County's 12,000 sewer customers would pay an additional $4 a month over the next three years as part of a plan to build a savings account to pay for improvements at the city-county sewage treatment plant in the Downriver area. About 10,000 of the county's sewer customers live in the Valley.

Danny Mathews, 9, made a new friend at Pet Mania '96 at the Spokane Convention Center on Saturday morning. Gizmo, an 8-month-old green iguana, belongs to Paul Brickey of the Inland Empire Herpetological Society. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Two public hearings concerning Valley developments are scheduled for Wednesday. Arger Capital Corporation is petitioning the county to rezone land near Fourth Avenue and Evergreen Road upon which it wants to build a 40-unit apartment complex.

Workers from Catlow Professional Movers jack up the four-bedroom house at 620 N. Argonne. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review