Kevin Blocker

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

The fifth annual Logan Neighborhood Block Party wraps up tonight after two days of events. The free party is being held in three adjoining parking lots at the corner of Indiana and Standard. Game and snack booths, activities, entertainment and sports contests will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. An hour-long stage program starts at 8 p.m., and features drawings for door prizes. Local businesses, community and nonprofit organizations and churches are hoping to exceed last year's record attendance of 4,000.

Work is under way to connect 193 homes in the Forest Hills neighborhood to the county's sewer system. The $1.1 million project started June 30 and is scheduled to be finished by the end of September. The Spokane County Public Works Department also plans to bring the Country Homes neighborhood on the sewer system by the end of the year. That project, expected to also cost $1.1 million, will start in August.

Spokane police confiscated a marijuana pipe from an 11-year-old boy at Witter Pool, and later arrested his 35-year-old mother for growing pot in her home. On July 2, police were called to the pool at Mission and Perry where a security officer was holding the boy. He had a marijuana pipe and first told officers he found it nearby, said police spokesman Dick Cottam. Later, the boy admitted he occasionally smoked pot and that his mother grew marijuana, Cottam said.

Second of two parts Lorna Doon Sebers' flair for the dramatic is eclipsed only by her flair for the extravagant. The Gonzaga University senior racked up $6,000 in credit card debt to go along with a $12,000 truck.

Administrators at Deer Park Health Center and Hospital want to donate property to the Spokane County Library District for construction of the town's proposed $1.14 million library. "We're very pleased with the proposal we have submitted to our governing board," said hospital director Cathy Simchuk. The land is a one-acre plot adjacent to the hospital, which is run by the Sisters of Providence. The sisters and their Dominican Network also operate Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Sheriff's deputies arrested a 45-year old Salt Lake City man after he allegedly stole a credit card and used it to rent a green Cadillac. The man also stole a driver's license that said his age was 30, deputies said. A Spokane County sheriff's deputy arrested Lester Van Dixon June 26 after questioning him in the parking lot of Prudential Crane Realty at 7407 N. Division, sheriff's spokesman Dave Reagan said.

Youngsters in Spokane can't say there's nothing for them to do this summer. "Open Gym Night" and "Night Life" are two programs being offered to kids looking for a little nighttime activity. And "Kids Play," a new low-cost program sponsored by the Spokane County Parks and Recreation Department, will be offered to kids during the day.

Drug treatment supervisor Rob Watter speaks at a neighborhood training center. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

The commandment "Thou shall not steal" meant nothing to a thief who robbed a Deer Park church of stereo equipment last week. Rick McCombs, pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 809 S. Colville, believes the thief knew his or her way around the church. "They left the equipment that didn't work," McCombs said. "I seriously doubt we'll ever see it again." The thief stole a public address system, a dual cassette recorder and microphones. Between $1,500 to $2,000 was stolen, McCombs said.

Percussion Park. Adrian Anderson, left, Andrew Fromm, center, and Jennifer Crouch punctuate the evening in Manito Park with sounds of summer. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

The head of the NAACP's Spokane chapter is calling for an outside investigation into an African-American man's claim that he was a victim of police brutality. The Rev. Percy "Happy" Watkins said he will ask the U.S. Justice Department to look into the Feb. 9 arrest of Stanley Tensley. Watkins said he also wants Mayor Jack Geraghty, City Manager Bill Pupo and the Citizens Review Board to review the incident.

Spokane Police Department officers did not use excessive force when they made arrests in two February incidents, an internal investigation has concluded. The department's Office of Professional Standards determined that officers were justified in using force to subdue a man at a North Side nightclub and to arrest a man in east Spokane.

A 33-year-old Spokane Valley woman was arrested for attempted second-degree assault early Thursday after her roommate said she chased him with a large kitchen knife. Glenda C. Francis, 1221 S. Bettman, was booked into Spokane County Jail after deputies investigated a domestic violence assault at that address.

Lindsey Miller plays Twister with some of the 400 Mead graduates who attended the school's 12th annual after-graduation party at the YMCA on Thursday. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Two con men posing as police officers are wanted for bilking an elderly northwest Spokane couple out of $18,000. A woman in her 80s received a phone call May 29 from a man claiming to be a police officer. The man said the "chief" wanted to talk with her, and another man came on the line, according to Sgt. Larry Evans.

More than a hundred students walked out of class Tuesday after noon at Cheney High School to hold their own memorial service for a classmate who will be buried today. Gathering on the football field, the students remembered senior Paul J. Shelley, 18, who was killed in a Friday night car wreck. "We had a moment of silence and some of us told stories," one student said.

Jeff Zabinski walks from the jump zone after completing his first night jump recently. Photo by Roger Ames/The Spokesman-Review

After John Stockton hit the game-winning basket, sending the Utah Jazz to the National Basketball Association's championship round, the crowd at Jack & Dan's Tavern acted like they were holding their own post-game press conference. "Two point eight seconds! Two point eight seconds! Brother Johnny pops open, squares up to the hoop - boom - sinks the basket," said Clark "Chopper" Chapman, president of Spokane's Utah Jazz fan club. "You can't believe what this feels like."