Mike Prager

SCC machine shop student Clark Porter works on a lathe at the school. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Wind gusts up to 55 mph are forecast for tonight as an intense storm moves ashore from the Gulf of Alaska. The National Weather Service in Spokane issued a special storm warning on Monday.

Kevin Crosby is a sophomore at Gonzaga, also attended by his grandfather, Bing. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

When a powerful string of thunderstorms ripped across the region last summer, few people were prepared for their intensity. The storms surprised forecasters at the National Weather Service who didn't expect winds so powerful that traffic would be stopped and electricity cut off.

Jay Holman and Kellie Bailey enjoy the spray from water hitting rocks under the suspension bridge in Riverfront Park. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

After years of filling classes with students from Spokane and nearby counties, Eastern Washington University is looking to Seattle for more students. Enrollment is down this fall, and the university's budget is suffering as a result. An avalanche of high school graduates is expected west of the Cascades, and EWU wants more of them to consider college in Cheney.

With the state expecting a large tax revenue surplus, Washington's universities want money to build a video classroom network in 29 cities. The state is expecting a $690 million surplus, so it's the first time in several years that colleges are not facing cuts.

Professor Walt Powers laughs while a fellow member of the psychology department tells a story about Powers' 42 years of teaching at EWU. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

John Tietz navigates the St. Joe River where a road used to be Wednesday after tying down his property against the rising water. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

For the first time in six years, ski resorts around Spokane and North Idaho will be closed Thanksgiving weekend. The traditional start of the ski season is being delayed by rain and mild weather in the mountains. The freezing level above Spokane was at 11,000 feet Tuesday.

Washington State Patrol tooper Nick Gerard doles out a $114 speeding ticket Tuesday on Interstate 90 just west of Spokane. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

A rally at EWU draws attention to the problem of acquaintance rape. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

FOR THE RECORD (November 22, 1995): Correction: The mean grade point average of incoming freshman at Eastern Washington University went from 3.2 last year to 3.3 this year. A story in Monday's newspaper gave the wrong figures. EWU student Jamey Clark, pointing, and Renee Etchamendy study at the campus library Sunday. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

A wrestling coach at Liberty High School is the second teacher suspended with pay after former students reported having had sexual contact with the teachers between 1977 and 1980. Doug Gordon, who has taught at Liberty at Spangle for nearly 20 years, is accused by a former student of having had a sexual relationship with her in the 1977-78 school year.

Spokane School Board members made good on a promise to do more listening Monday night, but only about 50 people showed up to bend the board's ears. Several parents said they want to become more involved in decisions at schools, but are frustrated by the reluctance of school staff to cooperate. "Things don't look like they are changing," complained Tom Higgins, a North Side parent.

Former Gonzaga professor Ferdinand Mitchell, left, is filing suit, along with his attorney, Kenneth Isserlis, to get his job back. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

The girls' basketball coach at Lewis and Clark High School was put on administrative leave after two former students reported having sexual contact with him more than 15 years ago in another school district. Richard Trudgeon of Spokane is under investigation by the superintendent of public instruction's office as a result of a complaint filed on Oct. 30. He is accused of having sexual relationships with two seniors at Liberty High School in Spangle between 1978 and 1980.

Christie Querna, a school volunteer and former teacher, chalked up a big lead Tuesday in her race for an open seat on the Spokane School Board. Querna maintained a lead of more than 2-1 over her opponent, Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi, in the early vote count, and appeared headed for a win. She would replace longtime board member Carol Wendle, who did not seek re-election.

Fourth-grader Dewann Bach holds slime she made out of borax and guar gum. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

(From For the Record, Wednesday, November 8, 1995): A woman who reported being raped in a dormitory room at Eastern Washington University on Oct. 26 is a student at the school. An article in Tuesday's newspaper said incorrectly that she was not a student.

Pat Anderson, who loves to travel, study and volunteer, has worked with the American Red Cross for 50 years. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider/Seattle Times

Cr. C. Harold Mielke works under a safety hood in his lab at WSU's branch campus in downtown Spokane. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Children who can't read by the third grade struggle in school year after year and usually don't catch up with their peers. Spokane educators said reading is such a fundamental skill that it must be mastered in the first and second grades so other subjects can be taught effectively. They delivered their message to a panel of state legislators meeting in Spokane Wednesday night on the subject of reading.

Victims flee "Jason" at the Cheney Parks and Recreation haunted house. The horror continues tonight at 6. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review