Pat Sciuchetti

Steve Schneiderman isn't an actual police officer. But the tenants of Catherine Johnson Court in Edgecliff say he definitely deserves a badge. In just four months, the ex-Marine and single dad has spearheaded a turnaround of this troubled low-income housing complex on Fourth and Eastern. He's kicked out drug dealers, tightened new tenant screenings, patrolled the complex nearly every night and convinced residents to take ownership in their home.

1. Cecil and Ruth Cunningham started a support group for former prisoners of war that is now the state's largest such group. Cecil was a Japanese POW for more than three years. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Ruth and Cecil Cunningham look at a scrapbook of Cecil's World War II experiences. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 3. Cecil's hat is heavy with prisoner-of-war medals and pins. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Shirley Meyer has tried to get her neighbor's land cleared up for more than a year. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Burglars broke into 20 trucks parked at Ryder Truck Rental and Leasing on North Farr Lane Saturday night, vandalizing cabs and stealing stereos and CB radios. The burglar apparently scaled an eight-foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire to get to the trucks, sheriff's deputies said. The burglar may have done this despite back problems. Deputies found two pairs of gloves and a back support at the crime scene.

From water quality to golf, Spokane County is seeking volunteers to serve on various county advisory boards. The following positions are now open to Valley residents. For specific information on the boards, call Demeris Skaggs at 456-2265. Application forms can be picked up in the county commissioners' office, 1116 W. Broadway. Community Services Substance Abuse Board: 2 openings, Nov. 4 deadline. Spokane County Construction Review Board: 1 opening for an industry representative, Nov. 4 deadline.

People living along North University Road are looking forward to a silent night. And it might even arrive by Christmas. The neighborhood's long battle to silence train whistles at the University Road crossing is about to be won, say officials with the Federal Railroad Administration.

Arsonists hit two abandoned Valley buildings late last week, causing minor damage to each. The incidents were not linked, police said. Someone set fire to the attic of the old Holiday Hills lodge early Saturday, causing about $500 in damage, Valley fire officials said. The long-abandoned ski lodge near Liberty Lake has been the victim of repeated vandalism, sheriff's deputies said. Broken windows and empty beer cans point to the lodge as likely site of parties. Firefighters from the Spokane Valley Fire District No. 1 were called to the lodge just after midnight. They found a fire burning in the attic, as well as one in the lodge's fireplace. Both were quickly extinguished. No arrests have been made. Jireh Investments of Post Falls has been negotiating with Liberty Lake Land Co. to purchase the lodge and 640 surrounding acres. The sale has not yet closed, but could be completed within the next few weeks, according to officials with Kiemle and Hagood Co., the firm marketing the land for Liberty Lake Land Co.

Boxes are stacked to the ceiling at the Valley Food Bank. Unfortunately, most are empty. Lagging donations have left the food bank struggling just as it heads into the busy holiday season, said Barbara Bennett, food bank manager. Last month's campaign by real estate agents brought 1,600 pounds of food into the food bank, down from the 6,000 to 8,000 pounds typically generated by the agents' annual effort. Individual donations also are down.

1. A backhoe digs out the Chester Creek channel along Dishman Mica Road near Painted Hills Golf Course to allow for better stormwater runoff. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. A trailer mounted on stilts south of Painted Hills Golf Course, is testament to the flooding in the area that occurs when stormwater runoff has no place to go. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

For Tom Gregory and Joe Dawson, the Nov. 4 election won't represent much of a challenge. Both are incumbents seeking to remain on the Spokane Valley Fire District's board of commissioners. Neither faces an opponent. As a result, they've focused their sights on the bigger challenges ahead. The Valley's primary fire protection agency faces several pressing issues: growth, traffic, expansion, new equipment and technology needs.

Sally Gerimonte has lived in Chester all her life and has collected her memories in scrapbooks. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

With a three-year legal moratorium in effect, debate over Valley incorporation has for the moment died down. Except at the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce. For the last eight months, a 12-member chamber task force has been studying different options for governing the Valley. The group's goal is to determine which form of government would provide the best quality of life in the most efficient manner. It will present the results to the full chamber, and the community, sometime next year.

1. Sheriff's Deputy Greg Snyder checks out a Valley apartment complex for architectural features that might make it more prone to crime. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Thick shrubbery around a home can make the residence an easy target for burglars. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

A stranger followed a 19-year-old Valley woman into her apartment parking lot on East Mansfield Avenue Monday night, grabbing her then stealing her purse, Sheriff's deputies said. The woman told deputies she noticed a car race up behind her and follow her into the parking lot at about 10:30 p.m.

When Liberty is at stake, a sewer district race can get stinky. Take the contest between Frank Boyle and Larry West six years ago. At one point, supporters of the two Liberty Lake Sewer District commissioner candidates nearly came to blows. This year, the blows are verbal, but the passions are just as strong as the incumbent Boyle faces a new opponent, John Mellick.

A Spokane County employee lost a piece of equipment containing radioactive material Wednesday night, spurring a search and concerns that someone might break open the tool's inner capsule. A contractor found the $3,000 device later that night at Fourth and Maple near downtown Spokane. He returned it to the county Thursday. It sustained slight damage but no radioactive leaks, county Public Works Department spokesman Chad Hutson said.

Burglars hit more than a dozen Valley homes and businesses last week, stealing thousands of dollars in property and thus far eluding police. The thieves took guns, televisions, jewelry and other valuables. They also swiped candy, pop and cigarettes, Sheriff's deputies said.

Wendell Walls

The county is accepting public comment on a proposed subdivision on the shores of Liberty Lake. Rex Harder is seeking approval to subdivide a 24.5-acre parcel of land into 35 lots for single-family homes. The land is on the east side of Liberty Lake, one-quarter mile south of the intersection of Lakeside and Neyland roads.

The burglar was too bright - at least his headlights were. And the lack of courtesy didn't go unnoticed. Sheriff's deputies arrested a man, early Thursday for second-degree burglary of a garage on North Farr Street. A Valley man called police after a pair of bright headlights played across his wall at 1:30 a.m. His neighbors, he told deputies, almost always dim their headlights when driving by in the evening.

FOR THE RECORD (October 14, 1997): Name misspelled: The Liberty Lake woman killed in a two-car collision in the Spokane Valley Thursday was Bernice M. Derr. Her last name was misspelled in Friday's edition of the Spokesman-Review.

1. Sage Poland, 5, fishes at Liberty Lake early in the morning recently. His line became snagged and his mother Jill went into the water to free it. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. William Funk, of Washington State University, has studied Liberty Lake for more than three decades. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

FROM VALLEY VOICE page V3 (Thursday, October 30, 1997): Correction The Moab Irrigation District does not have the authority to enforce stormwater control measures in the Newman Lake area, as was stated in an Oct. 9 story in the Valley Voice. To implement such controls, which were recently recommended by two WSU researchers, residents would have to form a new entity specifically for that purpose.

A thief has stolen four boat motors in recent weeks, and may be reselling them to unsuspecting buyers, the Spokane County Sheriff's Department said. Two of the four outboard engines were taken from the Valley. They include a $1,500 9.8-horsepower Mercury outboard stolen from a boat parked at a home on East Sunview Circle and a $100 MinnKota trolling motor that disappeared from a home on East Valleyway. A $1,000 10-horsepower Sears Gamefisher outboard and a $600 9-horsepower Mercury trolling motor were stolen from the West Plains area.