Kevin Blocker

If you're tired of hearing, "Mom," or, "Dad," followed by "I'm bored," then next week is definitely the time to get the young ones out of the house. KidsWeek, sponsored by the Chase Youth Commission, runs Aug. 16-23. It's the commission's 15th annual salute and celebration of kids in the area.

Rogers graduate Tiffany Bruns and her friend, Clint Horwath, pose for the camera of Tiffany's mom, Kristy McAdams, while little brother takes charge of the smiles. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review

1. Clockwise from left, Herman Sleizer and Violet Garbarino dance a rhumba together at the Corbin Senior Center dance. Photography by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review 2. Women, who usually far outnumber the men, wait in line for a dance. 3. Mary Martinez cools herself off. She spends many summer evenings dancing at the center with her husband Joe.

Residents of the Reflection Lake water association are working with an attorney to figure out how to get back more than $35,000 they say was embezzled from them by a sheriff's deputy and his estranged wife.

1. Ingenious pursuits. Kat Murray, left, and Maria Montague from Sandpoint High School crack up when their science project misfires. These two and teammates Amy and Christi Urann were assigned to build a model trebuchet, a medieval device used to catapult projectiles. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Charlotte Boutz uses everday items to build her trebuchet.

A Spokane man and a juvenile got a scare when they tried to break into a car early Saturday, police said. Police allege that an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old juvenile tried to break into a white Volkswagen Golf, which was parked at the intersection of Carlisle and Wall at 1:30 a.m. The owner of the car and a passenger were still in the car. The driver was returning the passenger home when they noticed a black GMC Jimmy pull up behind them while they were parked, police said. The driver told police that the suspects peered into the car and tried to break in with a small crowbar. The tinted windows prevented the suspects from seeing the people inside.

The annual Hillyard Festival kicks off tonight with a dinner and live country music at Harmon Park. Event coordinators are hoping Saturday's parade at 11 a.m. will draw a crowd even larger than the 7,000 people who watched last year. Festival coordinator Bill Crippen said there will be even more games and booths for kids this year. Most Hillyard-area businesses are getting involved in the four-day event, which starts today and runs through Sunday.

1. Kat Murray, 15, left, and Maria Montague, 18, from Sandpoint High School, crack up whne their science project misfires. They and partners Amy and Christi Urann, foreground, were assigned to build a model trebuchet, a type of siege machine used in the Middle Ages, as part of math and science camp at Gonzaga University. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Charlene Boutz uses everyday items to craft a trebuchet. 3. Charlotte Boutz reacts to a test of her siege machine loaded with M&M;'s, while Eric Malm makes repairs with some tape. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

1. Chris Benn, 6, and his classmates from Grant Elementary stay a safe distance from the cat pens at Cat Tales. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Jambo the lion looks unexcited by the attention. Photo by Jeremiah Degenhardt 3. Jeremiah Degenhardt carries food trays into the tiger pen while Brandy Martin keeps the big cats out of the area until the keepers can leave safely. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 4. Cat Tales owners Mike and Debbie Wyche say the park is more popular and financially stronger than it's been in seven years. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Mechanic Jeff Longhoper, left, talks to Glenn Tweedy who has worked at the Exxon on Whitworth and Wall for 18 years, knows most of his customers by name and has been to 10 customers' kid's weddings. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

A group of people living along North Division and Hawthorne says their community has gotten lost in the shuffle, hustle and bustle of north Spokane. The Morningside Partnership was formed in March to put residents at the forefront of the community. Organizers hope to give kids more things to do while getting more adults involved in activities. "The neighborhood is real unique because it's in the Y," said Jack Scott, one of the founders of Morningside. "It's not a giant area, but it's densely packed. There's a lot of traffic and congestion, and recreationally, there's not a lot for kids to do."

Residents of a north Spokane home for people with mental illnesses will move next year to a new residential care facility in the Spokane Valley. The 30 residents of Linwood Residential Rehabilitation Center will move in February from an old building at Summit Boulevard and A Street to a new facility now under construction at 11th Avenue and Raymond Street in the Valley. The Dikes family, owners of Sunshine Health Facilities Inc. in the Valley, is building the new facility and will work in conjunction with Spokane Mental Health to provide service to current Linwood residents.

The Spokane Police Department will demonstrate aspects of its diverse job Saturday during a day-long open house. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the police training center in east Spokane. The public is asked to park at the Spokane Community College lot on East Mission and ride free shuttle buses to the event. The SWAT team will perform live-fire demonstrations, police dogs will "take down" a volunteer posing as a felony suspect, and explosives experts will show off "Elvis," a remote-controlled robot used to defuse bombs.

Residents of a north Spokane home for people with mental illnesses will move next year to a new residential care facility in the Spokane Valley. The 30 residents of Linwood Residential Rehabilitation Center will move in February from an old building at Summit Boulevard and A Street to a new facility now under construction at 11th Avenue and Raymond Street in the Valley. The Dikes family, owners of Sunshine Health Facilities Inc. in the Valley, is building the new facility and will work in conjunction with Spokane Mental Health to provide service to current Linwood residents.

The Deer Park City Council has voted to raise the mayor's salary from $400 to $1,000 a month. The council approved the change by a 3-1 vote, with one council member not in attendance at last week's meeting.

Deer Park teachers and administrators overwhelmingly approved a new three-year contract which will take effect this school year. The Deer Park school board were expected to ratify the contract on Wednesday. Unlike the case in previous years, the majority of the contract provisions were approved before the school year ended, according to a district official.

How about the name Community Center West? Or, does Fort George Wright Community Center sound more appropriate? Then again, does the Riverbend Community Center tickle your fancy? Maybe West Central Community Center is good enough.

Volunteers of the Nevada-Lidgerwood COPS station hope to move into their permanent home on Sept. 6. If all goes as planned, it will mark the end of four years of temporary housing for the police substation.

Two teenage boys were arrested for setting fires in a shopping center complex last week, police said. The boys, ages 13 and 15, were spotted carrying wood and paper into a building being remodeled at 7702 N. Division, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.

1. The long wait is over. Seahawks fans follow the flight of a pass from quarterback John Friesz during the opening day of training camp in Cheney on Wednesday. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. John Friesz and Seahawks land in Cheney.

1. Mary Toy, a North Side music teacher for decades, encourages more advanced students like David Wiens, 13, to mentor younger ones like Mackenzie Madsen, 10. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Mary Toy assists Mackenzie Madsen, 10, and Rachel Cutler, 9, with their compositions. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

The Deer Park School Board selected Samuel "Trip" Goodall as the new high school principal last week. Goodall, 42, was vice principal of Olympic High School in Silverdale, Wash., since 1994. He also taught English and social studies there from 1987 to 1994. "He is an energetic young man with an academic vision for Deer Park High School," said Superintendent Glenys Hill.

Deer Park Mayor Bob Dano has decided not to seek re-election in November. Dano announced his decision at last week's City Council meeting. "I don't plan to be in this much longer," said Dano, 75. "My wife and I still have things we'd like to do." But Dano said he also has something he'd like to do before he retires: convince the council to raise the mayor's salary from $400 per month to $1,000. The council will vote Wednesday on Dano's proposal, which would require the mayor to spend a specific number of hours in the office during the traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work day. If the mayor works at least 20 hours a week, Monday through Friday, he or she is eligible to receive $1,000 a month. The mayor would get $400 a month for anything less than 20 hours a week. "Those are the hours that people in town come in and want their questions answered," Dano said. "That's when employees are working here. If you're going to be a mayor, then you've got to be here. "We know that any mayor is on-call for 24 hours a day out here," Dano said. "But if he or she doesn't have the time to manage (in that time frame), I don't believe they should run for office." Deer Park resident Mike Wolf, who served on the city council in the 1980s, doesn't agree with the measure's hourly mandate. "No other city in the state requires a mayor to serve X number of hours for X number of dollars. It's not an 8 to 5 job," Wolf said. "I've told this to Bob before. He's a good friend, we have coffee together, but I don't agree with it. This proposal is trying to dictate management technique in my estimation." Some opponents of the measure say paying the mayor based on set hours could eliminate good candidates for the position who have full-time jobs. They say it would be difficult for the mayor to make a living solely on $1,000 per month. Despite some opposition, city councilman Duane Golden said he will vote for the proposal. "Let me ask you this," Golden said. "How does someone run for mayor if they're obligated to something else and don't have the time? "I never worked a job in my life where I didn't have to be there," Golden said. "I never told my bosses what hours I was going to work, they told me." Golden said Deer Park's changing environment makes it necessary for the mayor to be in the office at least part time during the day. "The city is growing, we need a mayor who can be there at least part of the time during the working day. And that person should be compensated for it," he said.

1. Barbara and Howard Clark have a ball in their back yard. Barbara's visual puns include her bird-in-the-hand birdhouse and "cow paddy-o furniture." Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. A "flower bed" amuses neighbors. 3. Barbara Clark, shown in her watercolor studio, has been painting since 1973. She's busy getting ready for the big art show, Art on the Green, in Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 4. Harold Clark created this "Crow d'Alene Resort" bird house. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review