Kim Barker

The ailing children and their families will wait at an Ethiopian hospital next week for a team of 24 Spokane health care workers. Only a few will be picked, and the others could die. Some of the children will have walked hundreds of miles over rough terrain and difficult roads. Their families will sleep on mattresses in hospital hallways or camp and cook meals outside.

An Oregon research group wants to help people stop chewing tobacco. Or sniffing it, spitting it or even sticking a pinch between the cheek and gum.

Authorities are investigating the death of a disabled woman whose body was found in her bathtub at Lakeland Village. Billie Jean Klossner, 41, died Sunday in her cottage at Lakeland, a state institution for the developmentally disabled in Medical Lake. A pathologist said Klossner probably had a seizure. But authorities also are investigating whether she drowned in the bathtub while she wasn't being watched.

After considerable debate, this controversial ad was shelved by the Spokane Health District Board.

Some people welcomed the region's first sex survey, while others thought it was a little too racy. Here are a selection of comments people made: "We live in a society of anything goes as long as it doesn't 'hurt' anyone else. But it does damage kids who aren't ready for the responsibility and don't realize they aren't ready." "Abstinence should be made to look cool instead of prudish."

Spokane teens first have sex at 15 or 16, in the back seats of cars or in their parents' homes after 9 p.m. They listen more to their peers about sex than to their parents. At least, those are the opinions of people who responded to the Spokane Regional Health District's first sexual attitudes and beliefs survey. The unscientific survey raised eyebrows at health board meetings earlier this year. On Thursday, board members looked at the results of the quiz, which tackled what people think about teenage sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases and premarital sex.

Lay reader Richard Davis talks with Iaian Adams of Newcastle, England, following a memorial service Friday at St. Stephen's Church. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

A year ago, the Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium was a volunteer army with only one paid employee and a picayune annual budget of $35,000. Now, nine people work full-time jobs. And the consortium is running on a three-year, $2.5-million grant - one of three national sites selected for the money by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We've been busy," said Jennifer Pearson Stapleton, the consortium executive director, explaining why the group waited a year before announcing the money.

Dale Fox said he's receiving death threats for a fire he didn't start. The 44-year-old man said he's had to move his son and wife to an Idaho campground since the Tum Tum fire, which chewed through 1,155 acres in six days earlier this month. "We had to leave our home," Fox said. "We had death threats."

Bob Larimer, spokesman for the No Official Preferential Employment committee, holds a press conference to discuss defeating Initiative 677. Bishop Walton, left, also opposes the initiative. Photo by Jeff Green/Associated Press

Michael DeRyan, an autistic man who's worn down the inside soles of his tennis shoes by rocking back and forth like a pendulum, was released Wednesday from Eastern State Hospital. But DeRyan, 36, didn't go far. He moved only two miles, to Lakeland Village, a home for the developmentally disabled. DeRyan has lived at the mental hospital for 16 months. His mother and siblings have been fighting for his release, arguing he doesn't belong at Eastern.

A 61-year-old Spokane psychologist has been charged with unprofessional conduct for having a sexual relationship with a client more than 12 years ago. But Phyllis B. Mast maintains that the six-month relationship happened before she was a psychologist and after she stopped counseling the female client. A hearing before the state Examining Board of Psychology is set for Oct. 10.

The fight to get Michael DeRyan out of Eastern State Hospital heated up after he was injured by staff when he tried to leave his ward without permission. His face was scraped and bruised June 20. An outside investigator found that Eastern staff did nothing wrong.

Washington state doctors are encouraging women to be tested for HIV early in their pregnancies. If the virus is detected early and treated with AZT, the transmission of HIV to the unborn child can be dramatically reduced.

Lakeland Village, a state institution for the developmentally disabled, will lose millions of dollars in government money unless it provides its residents with more active services. The Medical Lake center, which has 286 residents, didn't meet all the conditions required to receive Medicaid payments in its annual survey. Its Medicaid provider agreement will be terminated Dec. 1 unless problems are fixed.

St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute can't find rooms for some patients who are ready to leave the hospital. Those patients are often still on ventilators or using tracheal tubes. They still need help, but not the intensive help available at St. Luke's. Most need a nursing home with specialized care. But nursing homes in Spokane aren't taking the patients. One was sent to Missoula. Two others will soon leave for Seattle. "The nursing homes in this town will not accept them," said Debbie Hanks, St. Luke's administrator. "To be honest, I think it's because of the expense of the care."

Tom McCormick, with stepdaughter Paladie, lost his job at St. Luke's after 10 years. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Wendell Durner, who survived esophageal cancer, addresses other survivors and doctors Tuesday at Sacred Heart. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Dick Oakes, a former firefighter, knew what to do to save his home near Tum Tum. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane hospital officials were all smiles last month when they announced plans for a new cancer treatment center promising the latest in technology and affiliation with one of the world's best-known cancer clinics, Fred Hutchinson in Seattle. But they didn't mention the center would compete head-on with another in the works for nearly two years by local doctors and a for-profit national physician management group.

Bowing to pressure in the health care industry, St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute has cut about 5 percent of its work force. The center, at 711 S. Cowley St., announced Friday that it has eliminated 24 of about 470 staff positions. "This is not easy," said Debbie Hanks, administrator at St. Luke's.

A Spokane man drowned this week after hopping into the Pacific Ocean when he stopped for gas near Long Beach, Wash. Timothy DeRyan, 35, a computer consultant who's been trying to get his autistic brother released from Eastern State Hospital, died Monday.

An autistic man will stay in Eastern State Hospital indefinitely - even though the mental hospital provides no services specifically for people with autism. Michael DeRyan, 36, was sent to Eastern State by Sacred Heart Medical Center about 15 months ago, after he lashed out in an adult family home. Since then, his family and friends have tried to get him released to another home. They say Eastern isn't appropriate for DeRyan, who likes to move around freely. He was injured last month when staff members restrained him as he tried to leave his ward.

Surveillance cameras captured the scene at the U.S. Bank Valley branch during a 1996 robbery. Workers expressed relief Wednesday when three men were convicted in connection with the crime. Fiel/The Spokesman-Review