Mike Prager

Suzanne Hatcher's neighborhood on Moran Prairie is a flood zone. Homeowners have coped with waterlogged basements. A sinkhole opened up in front of her house two years ago. Hatcher said she discovered the hole when her daughter went to get the mail and her foot broke through the pavement. The girl plunged up to her waist.

The next time you drive through the intersection of 29th and Southeast Boulevard, be sure to smile. The city of Spokane is taking your picture. Video cameras were mounted on the cross-arms of the traffic lights about a year ago. The cameras don't really show drivers' faces. The images are not detailed enough for that.

People recovering from mental illness in Spokane are getting a chance to grow. The Spokane Community Gardens volunteer group is installing 20 raised-bed vegetable gardens for the Evergreen Club. The volunteers will be doing the work Saturday on a residential lot behind the club at Sprague and Helena.

Fixing the stormwater problems in southeast Spokane could cost $18 million or more. A consultant who spent months studying drainage on Moran Prairie, Glenrose Prairie and Browne Mountain will unveil recommendations at a public meeting tonight. Residents living in the watershed are invited to the 7 p.m. meeting in the cafeteria at Chase Middle School.

Healthy living will be the focus of a free family carnival in the East Central Neighborhood on Saturday. The Total Health Center Natural Grocery & Cafe is sponsoring the back-to-school event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in its parking lot at Fifth and Thor. Store owner Tamy Roloff said she is putting up a large tent in case of rain.

Correction: 10-16-97; S5 The address of the pizza shop was reported incorrectly in last Thursday's South Side Voice.

Bonanza Ford in downtown Cheney wants to move its main sales lot out of the small college town and relocate near busy Interstate 90. But the site chosen by the owners may not comply with county land-use laws. The Spokane County hearing examiner has denied a request by Bonanza Ford to rezone 18 acres along the eastbound lanes of I-90 just east of Four Lakes. The business owners say the new location will be larger and more convenient for customers and increase county tax revenue by $600,000 a year. Bonanza Ford is appealing the denied rezone to the Board of County Commissioners. No hearing has been set. "I see no downside to it, frankly," said Deborah Loy, president of the company. Bonanza Ford was purchased two years ago by the Ponderosa Motors dealerships in Coeur d'Alene. Loy said Ford has been pushing dealers throughout the country to locate their lots near main highways. The current lot in Cheney holds only 48 vehicles. Bonanza Ford has an option on 18 acres on Melville Road just east of the Four Lakes-Cheney interchange on I-90. The company has spent more than $57,000 on designing the new facility and agreed to contribute $14,000 to planned improvements to the freeway interchange. However, the land is currently zoned for agricultural use and is designated as rural under the broad comprehensive land-use plan. Hearing Examiner Mike Dempsey ruled last month that the rezone could not be granted because it would conflict with the comprehensive plan. The state's growth management law requires zoning and comprehensive plans to be consistent. Loy said the property is of little value for raising crops and is an unlikely location for homes because it is next to the freeway. She said the proposed car lot would employ 50 people. It would have space for 500 cars, a new service department and a larger parts warehouse. Its new building would cover about 11,600 square feet. If Bonanza is allowed to move its lot, it would continue to sell some cars in Cheney for at least several more years, Loy said. The new site would allow Bonanza Ford to increase its sales volume and maintain competitive prices, she said. A Ford dealership has operated in Cheney since about 1917, she said. It previously was Reynolds Ford. The Ford dealership owners are puzzled because the county is going to allow Power Chevrolet to open a used-car lot in Four Lakes. Ken Wright, the owner of Power Chevrolet, said his dealership is going to open the lot on seven acres already zoned for business use adjacent to the interchange. The used cars will sell at a small markup above wholesale cost, he said. Work to develop the lot is expected next spring. The main dealership, which formerly was Anderberg Chevrolet, will stay in Cheney, he said.

1. "I love you," Johnathan Carter, 4, tells his teacher, Lisa Foster, as he gives her a hug at Southeast Day Care Center. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Sean Davidson gets a tweak on the nose when he picks up his son Ian, 2, at the Southeast Day Care Center. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Picking up more litter than you can shake a stick at is Jeanne Wennes, left. Cleaning up higher terrain along Highway 195 are Mary Wakeley, center, and Mattie Stallcop. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Once frost starts killing tomato plants in the region's gardens, can the first snowfall be far behind? It's not. The National Weather Service issued a forecast Tuesday for snow in the mountains of northeastern Washington and North Idaho.

1. A construction crew prepares a lot at Hayden Meadows subdivision in Airway Heights, where 300 homes are proposed for the next several years. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review 2. Workers install a roof on a new home in Hayden Meadows in Airway Heights. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

About 75 children have joined a new East Central Campus Life Center that opened on East Fifth Avenue two weeks ago. The center provides recreation, tutors, computer access and adult supervision three days a week. "We are giving them a place to go that is safe," said Rick Kienholz, director of the Youth for Christ organization, which is sponsoring the center.

The strongest El Nino in decades is spawning some nasty weather around the world this year, but not in the Inland Northwest. Scientists say Eastern Washington and North Idaho can expect less snow, mild temperatures and a good slug of rain in the months ahead.

Spokane County officials are holding the second in a series of public meetings on solving storm-water problems in southeast Spokane. The meeting is scheduled for Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at Chase Middle School. Brenda Sims, county storm-water utility manager, said the county will unveil recommendations of a Boise consultant and hear public reaction.

A $6.6 million retirement living center on the Palouse Highway could offer rents as low as $244 a month if the state approves low-interest bonds for construction. Harry Green, developer of the project, said he is seeking $3.3 million in tax-exempt bonds from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. In exchange for the bonds, Green would agree to maintain affordable housing in the 120-unit apartment complex.

Too few voters turned out on Tuesday to pass a $700,000 property tax levy in Fire District 3, which serves southwestern Spokane County. Those who did show up at the polls favored the measure 2-to-1, but the measure needed about 500 more yes votes to be validated, said Fire Chief Bruce Holloway.

A Spokane architectural firm is seeking a rezone to build a new office structure on property near the Sunset Boulevard Bridge. The site overlooks Latah Creek and would provide great views from office windows, said Gary Connor of 3-E Design Group. The creek runs through a gorge 150 feet below the property. Connor said the commercial neighborhood at the foot of the Sunset Hill has suffered from urban decay in past years but may be ready for a renewal as growth increases west of downtown.

Former Cheney Mayor Tom Trulove emerged from Tuesday's primary as a finalist to regain the city's top job but faces a strong candidacy from a Cheney business leader. Amy Jo Sooy, the director of the Cheney Chamber of Commerce, captured the most votes in the four-way primary race for Cheney mayor. Trulove trailed Sooy by 75 votes out of nearly 900 counted.

Elizabeth Brush, one of three candidates running for position 1 on the Airway Heights City Council, said she wants to work on children's issues. Brush has been involved with children for several years in Airway Heights. She's volunteered with Girl Scouts and after-school and recreation programs. She was a paid recreation coordinator at the community center in Airway Heights until budget cuts forced the city to cut her salary, she said.

Voters in Medical Lake have plenty of choices to replace outgoing City Councilman Howard Jorgenson. Four candidates are competing for the two years remaining on Jorgenson's council term. Jorgenson was the longtime president of the Washington Federation of State Employees. He resigned his council position and union job to accept an appointment to the state Personnel Appeals Board earlier this year.

A hearing on a proposal to build a shopping center and more than 100 housing units at 57th and Regal has been postponed until Oct. 29. Cedar Builders Inc. and Rich Naccarato are seeking zone changes to develop 25 acres at the southeast corner of the intersection. The hearing had been scheduled for Sept. 3 but was postponed on a request by Naccarato, who said in a letter that he wanted more time to prepare answers to potential questions at the hearing.

Incumbent Spangle Councilman Kevin O'Grady is facing a primary election challenge from two contenders. They are Joseph D. Coombs and Jeneal Layton. O'Grady is finishing up his first term on the Spangle City Council. He has lived in Spangle for 10 years and runs an upholstery shop in Spokane.

The city of Airway Heights has become a civic-minded community this election season. Fourteen candidates are seeking the mayoral post and three city council seats on the Sept. 16 primary ballot. The top two vote-getters in each race will move onto the general election.

Traffic on Bernard Street has nearly doubled in the weeks since Grand Boulevard was closed for reconstruction. City vehicle counts show Bernard is absorbing the bulk of the traffic detouring off Grand, said Don Ramsey, traffic engineer. Before construction, Bernard had averaged just under 7,000 vehicles a day.