Kim Barker

Intoxicating words Victor Charlo of Dixon, Mont., reads poetry Sunday to the crowd at Mootsy's Tavern, 406 W. Sprague. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Cheryl Burkett and Robert Collins didn't plan on having a lake in their back yard, but Sunday night, they got one. The couple, who live in the 1600 block of South Grand Boulevard, looked in their yard just after 6 p.m. They saw a lake. They saw their garbage cans floating by their porch. They saw the water rush over a bed of freshly planted tulip bulbs into their basement and into Burkett's 1987 Mercury Cougar.

For Mike and Michelle Madonna, the Basic Health Plan was a blessing found after months of researching health insurance.

Three men and a woman were killed Sunday afternoon when their car crashed into a Ponderosa pine about a mile north of Valley, Wash., on state Highway 231. Alcohol may have been a factor in the accident, the Washington State Patrol said. The dead woman was identified as Tina M. Edwards, 22, of Valley. The names of the men were not released Sunday, pending the notification of relatives.

After $305,000 in federal money and a year of work, Spokane's free computer access network is finally up and running. Well, jogging at least. Most of the computers are still in boxes, stacked in corners of the network's downtown office. The phone lines for rural areas aren't yet working. Several of the information areas aren't yet filled with information.

When the car slammed into Lana Shollenberger in her front yard Sunday afternoon, she worried most about her 4-year-old daughter, Rachel, playing just feet away. The car, driven by a suspected drunken driver, smashed through two cars and a chain-link fence. It landed in the front yard of a triplex in the 800 block of West Mansfield about 4 p.m. Sunday. The car missed Rachel and her playmate Connor Mize, 2, by several feet. The fence raked Connor's mother, Tami Mize. The car and the fence knocked Shollenberger to the ground.

Key to health: Unsatisfied with her doctors, Tammy Peterson turned to the Internet for other opinions. It's like having a library in your livin groom, she says. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

A 21-year-old man was killed in a motorcycle accident on T.J. Meenach Bridge Sunday afternoon only 11 days after the motorcycle was purchased. The cycle, which still had temporary plates, had racked up only 395 miles.

Chuck Eller was praised as a hero for pulling handfuls of sandy soil away from a buried co-worker May 4 and possibly saving the man's life. Now his company, Eller Construction, has been fined $48,000 by the state Department of Labor and Industries for the construction cave-in.

He rented a U-Haul truck, packed some of his belongings and down-loaded points of interest and an itinerary from the Internet. Stephen M. Hesson was ready to leave Newport, Wash. There was only one problem for the theft suspect. He left a map behind. With it and a point-by-point itinerary, the Spokane County Sheriff's Department was easily able to track the 28-year-old man, accused of passing thousands of dollars in bad checks and then skipping across the country.

A Spokane man stopped on a traffic violation Monday was carrying an explosive device in his car, police said. Kelly R. Parr, 33, who gave his address as 2513 W. Gordon, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on several charges. Police said they stopped a car about 1 a.m. Monday at Second and Stevens for an illegal turn. The driver was identified as Parr.

John Hintz was walking home with his mother from a bowling alley Friday night when a teenager hit him in the head, knocking him to the sidewalk. The 35-year-old cement mason now is on life support at Sacred Heart Medical Center. He's listed in critical condition.

Ruben Rivas, a former Playfair jockey, was accidentally shot to death last week by a childhood friend, the friend's brother said Sunday. Hector H. Castaneda, 36, and Julio C. Castaneda, 34, were arrested early Tuesday in the home they had shared with Rivas, 29, for about three weeks. They were charged Friday with second-degree murder.

FOR THE RECORD: Saturday, October 14, 1995 CORRECTION: A Tuesday article should have stated that new hemp collector's cards are available at the Dead Rock, 2716 N. Division. The store name was wrong in the story. 1. Andy Nelson, distributor of the hemp cards, at home with his wife Kelly and son Jared. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Hemp cards display a picture on one side and words on the other. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

The young men whipped out of Yoke's Pac 'n Save at 4507 W. Wellesley early Saturday after running out of gas.? Now, police want to find them. The youths didn't pay for their whipped cream. They've been dubbed the Reddi Whip bandits. "I don't know, it's the aerosol gas I guess," police spokesman Dick Cottam said. "You know, how people sniff glue and use aerosols. I don't want to give anybody any ideas."

The Citizen Connection wants to provide government pit stops along the information highway, but it needs some fuel first. The new group is holding a fundraiser at 7 p.m. today in the teleconferencing room of the Foley Center at Gongaza University. Experts will show people how to log on to the Internet, and how to use the Citizen Connection home page, which will offer information on local, state and national government.

Getting a shot of adrenaline. Redwolf, aka Leonard Marlow, left, and Blastman, aka John James, stalk through the maze at Laser Quest hoping to tag their opponents before they get tagged. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Local artist Rob Johnson sits at the police firing range in a chair he made with disabled guns. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Keasha Miner, 4, waits to try on a cap while sister Jazmaine, 3, holds a stuffed elephant at God's Warehouse. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Would-be workers line up at 5 a.m. in front of Labor Ready. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Ernest Bourguignon scratches his head with a dauber-stained hand during his 88th birthday bash. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

A Monday story about a repossession man should have stated that Ed Hudson repossesses cars an average of 60 to 90 days after the bills are delinquent. The story might have implied that all repossession men wait that long. Ed Hudson works at dawn when people are asleep and vehicles are at home. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Leather workers Pat McGowan, left, and Darrin Stockman are hard at work at the Indiana Harness and Saddlery Co. on East Sprague. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

An 11-year-old girl who stayed overnight at a friend's house last weekend caused police to spend hours searching for her. The girl was supposed to be home, on East Shiloh Hills Drive, by 9 p.m. Sunday. When she didn't come home, her mother called a number of the girl's friends. None had seen her. About 2:30 a.m. Monday, the mother called police and said her daughter was missing. Police on both the overnight and day shifts started a full-scale search.