John Craig

Gonzalez

1. Marshall 2. Eddy 3. Claudia Burwell, owner of the Stampede Motel in Omak, reflects on the shooting she witnessed that left a police officer dead, another wounded and a suspect in critical condition. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Tasker

Former Colville High School wrestling coach Monty Jones resigned Monday night before school officials could decide whether to fire him. Superintendent Rick Cole said he would file a complaint against Jones today with the state superintendent of public instruction, but declined to discuss the nature of the allegations.

State welfare fraud investigator Jerry Weeks has announced he is running for sheriff of Pend Oreille County. Incumbent Doug Malby is expected to seek re-election, but has not yet made a formal announcement.

A Colville Tribal Court judge has said fired tribal executive director Lou Stone isn't likely to win a lawsuit over his dismissal and shouldn't be reinstated while awaiting trial. Judge Dennis Nelson ruled this week that the tribal council is free to hire a permanent replacement.

Newport attorney Doug Lambarth is being reprimanded by the Washington State Bar Association for the second time in two years. Lambarth, 56, is scheduled to stand before the association's governors April 3 in Chelan for a formal rebuke that he botched a probate case he wasn't competent to handle and continued to work on another case after getting fired.

Students at a new community college center here will have a paved parking lot and carpeted classrooms, thanks to a fund-raising drive that exceeded its goal. Newport-area residents needed to raise $190,000 in cash and in-kind donations by April 1 to ensure construction of the classroom building. Donations already are at $230,000.

Newport Police Chief Gary Markwardt

(From For the Record, March 18, 1998): Lawsuit: A headline on B1 of the Region section Tuesday incorrectly stated that Dan Hoover had filed a lawsuit against the Colville Indian Reservation. His appearance in court Monday was in response to a lawsuit the tribe filed against him.

1. Walter "Randy" Todd. 2. Ryan Todd

The state Gambling Commission is engaged in a "mean-spirited" campaign against companies that supply tribal casinos, the Colville Confederated Tribes charged Wednesday. Threatening letters already have deprived the tribal casinos of two suppliers, according to Wendell George, president and chief executive officer of Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp.

A Cusick-area couple will be sentenced April 21 for a marijuana-growing operation that was fingered by their pot-growing neighbor, Jack Clayburn, the former girls basketball coach at Northwest Christian High School in Spokane. Doyle and Sharon Rucker pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court in Spokane to one count apiece of manufacturing more than 100 marijuana plants. They agreed to pay $25,000 or forfeit part of their horse ranch. The Ruckers were charged last November after Clayburn provided evidence against them as part of a plea bargain for a lighter sentence.

A recent investigation of the Newport Police Department shows an office in chaos - with records and evidence scattered haphazardly, including what investigators called enough marijuana to constitute a health hazard. The investigation, launched by the city's insurance department, shows numerous examples of sloppy recordkeeping that expose the city to liability.

Work is under way to convert the old Key Tronic building here into an aircraft-industry manufacturing plant, but production isn't expected to begin until next year. "We've got a long way to go in getting the plant set up," said Brian Laufenberg, engineering manager for Aerocell Inc. of Marysville, Wash. "We've got five people there doing all this setup, but we're not going to need any more people for quite awhile."

Baechler

A computer enhanced photo of the Newport redevelopment plan, Photo by Stephen Ross/Washington Department of Transportation

Newport High School sophomore Phillip Dionne, 15, performs a move in his garage, about the only place he and his skateboard haven't been kicked out of. Photo by John Craig/The Spokesman-Review

Longtime Ferry County Prosecutor Al Nielson will resign March 31 to become chief criminal deputy prosecutor in Stevens County. "He feels it is time for a change, and I'm going to take advantage of it," Stevens County Prosecutor Jerry Wetle said. "Stevens County is very fortunate to have someone of his experience apply."

Tina M. Sokoll appeared in court Thursday on charges that she put a $539 dent in Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer's patrol car after her murder-suspect boyfriend threatened Thayer with a baseball bat. Superior Court Judge Larry Kristianson ruled Sokoll, 25, may remain free without bail until she is arraigned next Friday on four criminal charges stemming from a Jan. 30 demolition derby with the sheriff's car.

Barnes

Stone

1. Trail 2. Becker 3. Edmondson 4. Lindsey 5. Thomas

A Newport police officer is in Pend Oreille County Jail for violating a no-contact order in a pending criminal case that involves allegations that he repeatedly battered his live-in girlfriend. Officer Mike Barnes, 31, must remain in jail until Monday while arrangements are made for him to be electronically tethered to his home. Barnes must pay for the monitoring under an agreement negotiated by Prosecutor Tom Metzger and Barnes' attorney, Phillip Wetzel.