Jim Lynch

1. Joseph Imes, 11, plays king of the mountain under a majestic Almost Heaven sky, near Kamiah, Idaho. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Bob Imes works in bitter wind, with a case of the flu, trying to kinish his waterline before the ground freezes. His son, Joshua, 8, keeps him company. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 3. Patty Imes and her daughter, Rebecca, share their hairbrush ritual as morning sun streams through a small window. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 4. Rebecca Imes, 2, greets Rex the puppy, while her cousin, Cory Imes, 4, plays on the slide outside the Imes family trailer. Bales of straw surround the trailer for insulation. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Sisters Kathy Satack, left, of Tacoma, and Ginger Barrett of Spokane didn't know of each other's existence until last year.

The state agency charged with protecting children is under so much political gunfire the director sent a memo to workers warning them not to mess up. Last month's fax from Jean Soliz, state Department of Health and Human Services secretary, asked child welfare workers to sign an oath that they will follow agency rules.

1. Longtime rancher Kenneth Grumbach fears son Doug won't be able to continue the tradition. 2. Kenneth Grumbach's grandfather started the family ranch. Now Grumbach says land-use regulations threaten to end it. "The land is more than just something to look at," his son Doug says. "We're attached to it." Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Gary DeMott predicts an economic crash will help the middle class see that government has strayed from the Constitution. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

The way Rick Birnel recalls it, he pried the knife out of his wife's back, then tripped over her and the blade accidentally entered her chest., He says they both had their hands on the handle of the 12-inch butcher knife almost the entire time he frantically tried to defend himself against his estranged, drug-crazed spouse. The jury heard Birnel's testimony Friday during the last day of a murder trial in the March 30 death of Mary "Cookie" Birnel.

The key witness nervously raised the wrong hand to be sworn into court, then forgot almost everything about the night she turned 10 years old and her mother was stabbed to death. Police said Lisa Birnel was likely the only witness to a brawl between her parents that ended with a 12-inch butcher knife stuck in her mother's chest.

Federal spending cuts threaten Spokane's social programs, but the biggest impact might hit the city's classrooms. If Congress gets its budget past the White House, Spokane schools will lose about $1.5 million next year, said Carla Nuxoll, regional representative for the U.S. Department of Education.

Spokane is touted as a grand place to raise families, but an undercover investigation reveals widespread discrimination against potential renters with children. That's the assertion of a class-action lawsuit filed in Eastern Washington's U.S. District Court.

A final solution for an underground oil spill in downtown Spokane is being delayed another two months. After hearing economic concerns about leaving most of the oil in the earth, the state agreed to extend the public input period to Jan. 31. Until then, people are invited to comment on Washington Water Power Co.'s proposal to dam its estimated 75,000-gallon spill at First Avenue, pump out about 10 percent of the gooey fuel and monitor the rest for years.

Before leaving for Thanksgiving, Congress saved a subsidy program that helps provide about a fifth of Spokane's low-income housing. The so-called housing preservation program had been slated for elimination by both Congress and the White House.

Even when U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt flew home to Spokane to speak at a Veterans Day ceremony Saturday, he couldn't escape the mounting furor over the federal budget. Standing in the second row was veteran B-25 pilot Scott Rohwer, holding a sign that read, "Clinton-Gore 96" and criticized the Republicans' budget stance. Rohwer claims Nethercutt and other Republicans are forcing a prolonged government shutdown that will lay off 800,000 federal workers.

Bill Hofmann, foreground, and two other members of the color guard fire a salute Saturday during rededication of the memorial that was moved to the southeast cormer of the Spokane Arena. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane's advocates for the poor rallied Monday to turn the public against federal plans to cut spending on social programs. Last month, activists drove a steamroller to U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt's office. On Monday, they released a report that depicts Spokane as the target of a mob hit. "There's a Contract Out on Spokane" is the title of the report, which shows a rifle sight fixed on the city.

A new volunteer group hopes to create emergency homes and a charitable network for Spokane's needy and imperiled children. "Winners" was sparked by a gruesome 1993 slaying witnessed by two toddlers. The Rachel Carver murder last June broadened its resolve. Winners is now a growing coalition of social workers, citizens, church leaders and police. Its goals include a computer-coordinated charity system which matches donations with needy kids.

At times it sounded more like a hot political strategy session than a housing conference. Spokane housing activists discussed how to motivate the poor to vote, how to "document human pain" and battle the "Congress from hell." One woman at Saturday's "A Roof Over My Head II" conference on Spokane's affordable housing crisis even advocated civic protests such as activists chaining themselves to housing administrators' desks.

Juanita and William Fager paid the mortgage on their north Spokane home for 23 years. They were only $7,000 away from paying it off. But on Friday morning they lost their brick home on Central Avenue when it was auctioned off on the Spokane County Courthouse steps.

An upcoming Spokane housing summit may plant seeds for a new low-income housing levy voters could see as soon as next spring. A broad spray of housing advocates, city leaders and others will gather Saturday to brainstorm ways to create more affordable homes in the area. "A Roof Over My Head II" comes as Congress announces plans to shrink the federal government's role in housing the poor.

Tina Clinkenbeard didn't expect Spokane to rescue her. By going public with her plight to stop her eviction last week, she hoped to make people see how hard it can get to stay off welfare. All she wanted for herself was a little help with September's rent, and some more hours at her parti-time waitress job. But by Wednesday, Clinkenbeard had 11 job offers and her rent paid through November. One

They stood up, one by one, Tuesday night and tried to describe their personal horror stories to a panel of politicians. Along the way, they accused state Child Protective Services workers of kidnapping infants and ripping families apart for no good reason.

'I'm too old for this monkey business'. "I don't want to move," says 91-year-old Regal Village tenant Claire Wilks. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Charles Jungblom

It soon could be almost impossible for the poor to find free lawyers in Spokane. Congress is considering bills this week that slash federal spending on poverty law and gut the city's primary legal services for the poor. The legislation offends many attorneys by stripping away client confidentiality in some cases and making it tough to collect any fees.

At a time when many Americans are shouting for less government, Gov. Mike Lowry found refuge in Spokane Tuesday. Instead of confronting tax-hostile Republicans, the liberal governor met with political soulmates who support his fight to protect child care and other threatened social programs.