Jonathan Martin

Drug testing is the hottest thing on North Side junior high and high school campuses since the return of 1970s polyester flamenco shirts. More than 300 students at three schools are being tested for participation in another '70s infatuation: recreation drugs. The students are part of a fledgling state program called Washington Drug Free Youth (W-DFY). Membership is voluntary and its benefits are substantial. Clean students get discount cards good for fast food meals, laser tag games, bowling, movie passes, even Canadian ski vacations.

When aide Jeanne Munch had to spend three months in a wheelchair, it gave her a whole new understanding of what Terry Booth, 10, goes through. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

They began hoping to work with the system. Now, they're so frustrated they're collecting money to sue. Approval of a controversial 40-home subdivision on the Little Spokane River has turned a group of doctors, college professors and veterinarians into malcontents.

(A corrected graphic of the 1996 Northside test scores was published on page N8 of the February 6, 1997 edition of the North Side Voice)

The Spokane School District is considering demolishing one of it's oldest buildings, Browne Elementary, and constructing a $4.5 million replacement. The proposal is part of a long wish list unveiled by the school board last week. The board is considering asking voters to approve a $67 million for new buildings and massive computer improvements. Specifics of a proposed replacement at Browne are unclear. The district plans to hire an architect to draw several options, including building a new school on the site next to the current Browne, according to Assistant Superintendent Ned Hammond.

The old woman's face was worn and tattered as an antique rug. "You put your hand here on this left cheek," she croaked. "That's what slavery did."

Jitske Hart is a former literature teacher and now is in the freelance writing and editing business. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Talk about turning on the light in a kid's head. You can see the bright bulbs in Janet Knight's ninth-grade science class at North Central High School. Her students completed a semester-long project on electricity by wiring miniature homes for lighting, fans, even a hot tub by industrious freshman Nick Robinson.

Students may be bringing more than textbooks to school.

Relations between the Riverside School District and its two employees unions have disintegrated into a mud-slinging power struggle. Angry teachers have given Superintendent Jerry Wilson a vote of no confidence. The union representing bus drivers alleged violations of the state Open Meetings Act in their fight against a district proposal to subcontract bus services.

Joanne Taylor helps Nick Cantlon, who is diabetic, measure his blood sugar at Garfield Elementary. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

School nurse Linda Brodwell, left, and Laraine Nortell, a nurse with National Medical Care, go over details on administering Calab Wilhelm's medicine at Regal Elementary School. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

(From "Things to do" column, January 26, 1997:) The phone number for Whispering Waters Bed and Breakfast featured in a Hideaways column Jan. 12 was incorrect. The correct number for the Priest Lake B&B; is (208) 443-3229. The End of the Trail room has a definite outdoors feel.

Jim Mitchell used voice mail to set up an apartment for himself while staying at the Union Gospel Mission. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Possible expansion of softball and soccer fields in West Plains parkland is under consideration in a Spokane County plan to update recreation facilities. The County Commission is deciding how it will spend the $200,000 budgeted for parks improvements in or near Cheney and Medical Lake in 1998.

North Side water sports would get a boost under a five-year, $6.6 million parks improvement plan before Spokane County commissioners.

The pamphlets about condoms and frank talk about parenting responsibilities left the 50 teens fidgeting and, amazingly, without a thing to say.

The Nine Mile Falls School Board wants to design a student-friendly middle school, so who do they ask? Heidi and Trevor. Got a question about new curriculum. Turn to Heidi and Trevor.

Bruce Benedict will soon find out whether he has what it takes to play professionally when he tees off on the PGA circuit in two years. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

The Spokane County Hearing Examiner last week approved a rezoning request that makes way for 21-unit apartment complex overlooking the Little Spokane River. The decision ends a contentious five-month battle over a 3-acre triangle on the Little Spokane River, which included threats to the land's would-be developer and formation of a citizens conservation group.

Police responding to two calls 10 minutes apart early Monday found a 20-year-old North Side man with a stolen car, snowmobile, snowmobile trailer and a bag of methamphetamine. They arrested Ricky Mueller, 1724 E. Wabash. He was in the Spokane County jail Tuesday.

(From For the Record, January 1, 1997): Two teens convicted of spraying graffiti on Spokane buildings attend Spokane County Juvenile Court's structured alternative confinement program. An article in Tuesday's Spokesman-Review incorrectly said they attended another alternative program.

North Side neighborhood improvements in 1997 will include a community garden for Hillyard, bathrooms in Emerson Park, new roofs on West Central homes, trees for Logan and better day care in Nevada-Lidgerwood. North Side neighborhood steering committees recently finished their yearly budgeting for federal Community Development money, and their decisions are as diverse as the neighborhoods themselves.

Dan's temper is as black as his hair. "Why are you angry?" playground supervisor Jane Frohlich asked gently, her hand on the fifth-grader's head. "He ruined my tunnel," he said through clenched teeth.