Kevin Blocker

Six high school students will be recognized at a ceremony Friday night as they're awarded Eagle Scout status. The award is the highest offered among the ranks of Boy Scouts. Benjamin Dinsmore, 15; Reed Fessel, 14; Chase McCarthy, 14; Wesley O'Dell, 13; Nicolas Zambryski, 16; and Jared Stanton, 15, will be presented as Eagle Scouts at 7 p.m. at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center. They are all members of the Boy Scout Troop 19 Inland Northwest Council. Dinsmore, Fessel, O'Dell, Zambryski and Stanton all attend Lakeside High School; McCarthy attends Gonzaga Prep.

Volunteers at COPS Northeast are pleased with what they are doing for the community. But like any other group that depends on volunteers, they can always use a helping hand. The COPS Shop at 5208 N. Market was Spokane's second-ever volunteer cop shop. It opened in 1992, a year after COPS West in West Central opened. COPS Northeast needs more volunteers for its neighborhood Blockwatch programs and especially for its Neighborhood Organization Patrol, said public relations coordinator Kelley Reinlasoder.

Mary and Lawrence Zimmerer have been married for 60 years. Lawrence has lived in Deer Park all of his life, collecting photos and memorabilia of the town and its people. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane woman is grateful for "Peto." Margaret "Peto" Rice is 82-years-old, has the mind of a child and the vocabulary of a toddler. As a dwarf, she's just 3-feet-8-inches tall. But last week, Rice may have saved her own life and that of her guardian, Diana Pollin, when she alerted Pollin that their house was on fire.

Bill and Geraldine Sprague, standing next to the marks made in the mud during a recent accident, have both been permanently injured in separate accidents at the intersection at Bruce Road and Highway 206. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

In 1654, a group of Jewish settlers arrived in New Amsterdam. The Dutch allowed the immigrants into the settlement, but refused to give them the same rights as other citizens. Four years later, another group of Jewish settlers arrived in colonial Rhode Island. There, they were treated like equals. For America to maintain the principles of equality and tolerance on which it was founded, everyone must recommit themselves to the Rhode Island example, an expert on religious liberty said Saturday in Spokane.

Erin Haick and Serene Paladin, juniors at Jenkins High School in Chewelah, participate in the egg bungee jump. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Tyler Ross practices with the NC Chess Club at Gonzaga Prep. Ross, the club president, is ranked in the top 10 in the state. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane man and a teenage girl were arrested for stealing a truck early Thursday morning in North Spokane County. The truck's owner, a 40-year-old Elk-Chattaroy Road resident, chased after the truck after it was stolen. He told a sheriff's deputy he suspected the stolen truck was driven at speeds past 90 mph during the chase, sheriff's spokesman Dave Reagan said.

Linda Bordwell, Washington State School Nurse of the Year, reads "The School Nurse from the Black Lagoon" to Bemiss Elementary students, from left, Bryce, Carol and Hank Austin. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Johnny Marsh, left, has gotten a lot of his life experiences through his relationship with the man he calls "Dad," Phil Camp. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

The aye's have it in the North Side school districts. Voters in the Deer Park, Nine Mile Falls and Riverside School Districts all approved their maintenance and operating levies. And North Side Spokane schools will be better off as a result of district voters approving a $74.5 million bond as well as a two-year, $74.5 million levy.

Drug-free zone Garry Middle School counselor and coach John Schutz makes some notes as he watches one of the school's basketball teams prepare for a game. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

1. From left, students Stephanie Glanville, Nichole Watson and Danielle Friesen, all 7, play a game in front of Browne Elementary School, which is slated for demolition. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. A student carefully navigates the steps to a steep ramp connecting a building addition to the original Browne Elementary. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 3. Billy Rigsby, 10, left, and Ben Corson, 9, right, chow down in the combination gym and lunchroom at Browne Elementary. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

The crust was a bit too crispy at Pizza Hut Monday morning. And so was the rest of the building. It took 23 Spokane firefighters to put out a blaze early Monday morning at a Pizza Hut at 1827 W. Northwest Blvd. The blaze gutted the building, according to battalion chief Skip Powell.

Many residents in the Mead School District are wondering why it takes $31 million to modernize Mead High School when it cost $32 million to build Mt. Spokane High. Al Swanson, the district's superintendent of finance, said the answer is inflation.

Shadle Park senior Jarrod Lowe delivered the closing remarks in Seattle after meeting with retired Gen. Colin Powell during a conference of the national youth initiative "America's Promise." Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane police responded to several reports of shots fired in the 1700 block of East Gordon on Sunday night. Officers interviewed neighbors in the area of Gordon, Glass and Providence. Some residents reported as many as five or six loud shots, others heard fewer, police spokesman Dick Cottam said. Police found several shotgun shells in the area and collected them as evidence. Police did not find any evidence of damage or injuries from any of the shots, he said.

Two hundred residents in the Mead School District gathered at Mead High School Tuesday night at a rally to support a March 10 bond and levy measure which would improve the school and many others in the district. The event rally was sponsored by the Citizens Planning Committee.

1. Corey Kanon celebrates his first year of the Deer Park Winter Festival by stretching his mouth around a jumbo dog. Photo by Julie Boehm/The Spokesman-Review 2. Donavon Hodgson runs to first base after hitting the ball Saturday during the Deer Park Winter Festival snowshoe-baseball tournament. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review 3. Children wait in the snow for the bonfire to start. When it failed to get going, they improvised with a snowball fight. Photo by Julie Boehm/The Spokesman-Review

Jennifer Baldwin, left, is accompanied by student teacher Christy Kubista as she makes her way through the boys locker room at Rogers to get treatment in the training facility for an injured ankle. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Deer Park is celebrating its 14th annual Winter Fest, which starts Friday night and concludes on Sunday. The festival will feature winter games and activities. This year's festival will kick off with the opening ceremonies on Friday at 6 p.m. It includes an acknowledgment of Larry and Pat Barden, this year's "Honored Couple," for their civic service. The traditional bonfire will immediately follow the opening ceremonies. The bonfire is fueled by discarded Christmas trees. Friday night's festivities will conclude with a fireworks display at Perrins Field at 7:20 p.m.

If Mead school district voters approve a $25 million bond measure, the district would be eligible to receive $9.5 million in state matching funds. It also has $9 million to spend from its capital projects fund. Here is a breakdown of how the district would spend the $43.5 million if the March 10 measure passes. Modernize Mead High School; $31.5 million.

1. Mead High School seniors Brian Wolverton and Sara Clements spend lunch together in "The Mall," the dark hub of the school. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. From left: Christy Evenson, 18, and Brandi Curry, 17, work on their current issues assignments on Mead High School computers. All-new wiring had to be run and hangs down through the ceiling in the library to accommodate the computers. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review