Local unions for two groups of Spokane County corrections deputies will go ahead with county-requested merger discussions despite layoffs, a spokesman said Wednesday. Tuesday’s announcement that 57 of their members will be laid off June 16 threatened to derail a merger meeting scheduled tonight.
Spokane County will lay off 57 jail employees next month to offset a big drop in the number of inmates. The employees were notified Tuesday evening, and formal layoff notices were to be distributed today.
There aren’t a lot of bad seats at the Lilac parade, but some are better than others. Like thousands who lined sidewalks in three-deep rows, 5-year-old Levi Knight of Spokane watched the parade from a lawn chair on the curb.
A Liberty Lake family may add four houses to its 3.6-acre lakefront property, Spokane County commissioners ruled Tuesday. The houses would have larger lots than other homes on the lake’s densely developed north shore, and the houses would be 10 feet shorter than zoning regulations allow for other new homes in the area.
Former Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk announced Friday that he won’t challenge incumbent Ozzie Knezovich. Sterk declared earlier this month that he was considering a run, but he concluded there isn’t enough time to mount a competitive campaign.
A mistake by the state Department of Retirement Systems could cost Spokane County nearly $325,000 – if commissioners don’t pass the burden to employees. The mistake could shave hundreds of dollars a year from the pensions of employees who are within five years of retirement and aren’t represented by unions.
The most common suggestion at Wednesday’s public hearing on where to build a new Spokane County jail was that it shouldn’t be built at all. Many speakers urged county commissioners to focus instead on programs designed to keep offenders out of jail and out of trouble.
A mistake by the state Department of Retirement Systems could cost Spokane County nearly $325,000 – if commissioners don’t pass the burden to employees.
Spokane County Raceway officially reopened Tuesday under new management. “We’re back in operation, so I’m very excited about that,” Parks Director Doug Chase told Spokane County commissioners.
Spokane County Raceway officially reopened Tuesday under new management.
“We’re back in operation, so I’m very excited about that,” Parks Director Doug Chase told county commissioners.
Spokane County commissioners are still exploring options as they prepare to take final testimony on proposed jail sites. A public hearing Wednesday will focus on a study that says, if cost didn’t matter, the county courthouse campus is the best site for a new jail to replace the Geiger Corrections Center.
Ahoy, Spokane. Swab the decks. The Navy is coming. The Lilac City will be among 20 U.S. cities to host Navy Week celebrations next week. Spokane’s version will culminate with the Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade.
Former Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk may give his successor, Ozzie Knezovich, a run for his money. It’s a daunting prospect, Sterk acknowledges, because state Public Disclosure Commission records show Knezovich already has raised $38,778 and spent $17,959.
Restrooms will be available at Spokane County parks this summer despite budget cuts that threatened service at seven parks. Parks Director Doug Chase told county commissioners this week that it won’t be necessary to close restrooms at the Liberty Lake Off Road Vehicle Park or Gleneden, Brentwood, Sontag and Fish Lake parks.
Former Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk may give his successor, Ozzie Knezovich, a run for his money.
It’s a daunting prospect, Sterk acknowledges, because state Public Disclosure Commission records show Knezovich already has raised $38,778 and spent $17,959.
“That’s one of the things we will look at very carefully, as to whether we can win it or not,” Sterk said Wednesday after registering his potential candidacy with the state Public Disclosure Commission.
A new Spokane County jail may require two public votes: one for bonds to build it and another for a sales tax increase to operate it. “I think we have to be honest with the community,” County Commissioner Bonnie Mager said Tuesday. “I think people need to understand that we are going to have to pay for that (increased operating cost).”
A public closure ceremony for the Joe Mann Army Reserve Center in Hillyard is planned for May 26. Reserve units that have used the center at 4415 N. Market St. since 1958 are moving their operations to Fairchild Air Force Base.
A municipal real estate agent and apocalyptic author is the latest candidate hoping to unseat Spokane County Assessor Ralph Baker. Terry L. Cook, 62, registered his Republican candidacy with the state Public Disclosure Commission on April 8, the day after he registered to vote in Spokane County.
Omak artist Virgil “Smoker” Marchand has a 10-foot-tall plan to help his sister with medical costs from a disease that is expected to require a lung transplant. He calls it “Spirit Horse.”
The Inland Northwest Honor Flight chapter will fly 37 World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., on Friday for a tour of memorials. The vets mostly are from Eastern Washington and North Idaho and are in their mid-’80s to mid-’90s. They represent “quite the cross-section” of military service, said chapter President Tony Lamanna.
A $27.3 million federal economic stimulus grant promises cutting-edge fiber optic Internet service for southern Pend Oreille County, if officials accept it.
Colville city officials are revisiting a decades-old proposal to relocate the municipal airport. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, the City Council will consider a preliminary capital improvement plan and a financial feasibility plan for moving the airport.
