Kevin Blocker

2A It wasn't what Lakeside didn't do. It was what Toppenish did. Toppenish won the State 2A wrestling crown at the Tacoma Dome with an overwhelming performance. "We did all the things that I thought were necessary to win," Lakeside wrestling coach Scott Jones said.

Lakeside High School's wrestling team may be feeling a bit like the Green Bay Packers at halftime of the recent Super Bowl. Most observers didn't think anyone could touch the Eagles in their quest for a second straight wrestling title in the Class 2A ranks at Mat Classic X in the Tacoma Dome. However, the Toppenish Wildcats are assuming the role of the Denver Broncos.

1. Joe Moison, right, rides the No. 1 chairlift with his coach, Dave Smith. Moison is one of the strongest downhill skiers in the Powder Hounds and has been in the program for 11 years. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 2. Valley resident Kurt Mavioglu has skied with the Powder Hounds for 10 years and "lives and breathes" for it, says his coach, Dick Doughty. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 3. Wynn Willis wears the gold medal he won in a Special Olympics competition and is congratulated by coach Dick Doughty. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 4. Below, Aaron Evans follows coach Jon Valencia skiing Northwest Passage at Mount Spokane. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 5. Above, Scotty Olson always looks forward to Saturdays at Mount Spokane. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 6. At left, Valley resident Shalla Wigen, a Powder Hound coach for 7 years, works with Olson on a practice ski course. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review

1. Pictured above: From left, Chris Alfeterieas, Morgan Berednia, Brandon Stoddard and Justin Deiss watch Black Phantom cover a distance of 20 feet 11 inches in a vegetable derby at Browne Elementary School last week. The derby was sponsored by Albertson's and Washington Apple Commission. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. At right: Jessica Gonwick, 10, left, and Joella Dondzill, 9, try to hang on to what's left of their fruit-and-vegetable car after their first run down the ramp. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Talk about divots. Rick Guilbert, a golf pro at Esmeralda Golf Course has seen plenty of them in his day. But nothing compares to the chunks of grass that a vandal recently inflicted on the North Side course.

The North Central High School Chess Club took top honors in a local seven-team chess tournament on Feb. 11. Following NC in competition was Gonzaga Prep. Rogers and Mount Spokane High finished tied for third, a team of four home-school students were fourth, and Chewelah and Cheney finished sixth and seventh. There were 44 students participating in the challenge, which was held at NC.

1. Kurt Mavioglu is a consistent medal winner for the Powder Hounds ski club. He has skied in the program for 10 years and "lives and breathes" for it, says his coach, Dick Doughty. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 2. Joe Moison, rights, rides the No. 1 chairlift with his coach, Dave Smith. Moison, a North Side resident, is one of the strongest downhill skier in the Powder Hounds and has been in the program for 11 years. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 3. Rusty Hand skies powder snow near the face on the No. 1 chair at Mount Spokane Ski Resort on Saturday. Hand has bought his own ski equipment so he can ski with the Spokane Powder Hounds. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review 4. Wynn Willis wears the gold medal he won in the Regional Special Olympics competition in Chewelah, Wash., and receives a handshake for his accomplishment from Powder Hounds head coach and founder, Dick Doughty, before heading out to the slopes at Mount Spokane Ski Resort on Saturday. Photo by J. Bart Rayniak/The Spokesman-Review

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