Stories by Thomas Clouse for the Spokesman-Review

News > Spokane

Operations and security upgrades dominate levy requests for area schools

Sat., Jan. 27, 2018

The ballots already going out to voters are asking Spokane County residents to reduce the property taxes they give for schools. Sort of.

News > Spokane

Shadle Park milk controversy mostly solved, Darigold says

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 26, 2018

Darigold announced Friday that it has located most of the milk cartons that somehow contained food-grade sanitizer and water instead of chocolate milk. The problem was discovered Tuesday when a student at Shadle Park High School opened one.

News > Spokane

Dwayne Thurman manslaughter trial likely delayed until March

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 25, 2018

The first-degree manslaughter trial against former Lincoln County reserve deputy Dwayne Thurman is expected to be moved Friday from February 12 to March 26.

News > Spokane

Spokane Schools pull milk cartons after students find them filled with cleaning solution

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 23, 2018

Spokane School officials raced Tuesday to pull all of the cartons of milk dated Feb. 6 after a Shadle Park High School student opened a Darigold chocolate-milk container only to find a white liquid that turned out to be a mixture of water and cleaning solution.

News > Washington

AR-15-style rifle found near Hilinski was taken from former WSU teammate

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 23, 2018

The AR-15-style rifle that Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski used to kill himself came from a former teammate, Pullman Police announced on Tuesday.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Forged judge’s signature turns civil case into legal fracas

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 22, 2018

A lawsuit filed over the condition of a South Hill home has erupted into legal mess involving a host of attorneys and a Spokane police major-crimes investigation after someone forged the signature of Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno onto a fake court order reversing her earlier decision.

News > Education

Rogers students verbally spar with judges to raise funds for debate team

Mon., Jan. 22, 2018

A verbal showdown will kick off Tuesday that will match wits of the Rogers High School debate club against two sitting Spokane County District Court judges.

News > Spokane

Three-vehicle crash on Interstate 90 Friday in Spokane injures two

Fri., Jan. 19, 2018

A three-vehicle crash Friday afternoon on Interstate 90 in Spokane prompted emergency crews to transport two drivers to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

News > Spokane

Road rage shooting report in Coeur d’Alene uncovers $25,000 in stolen coins

Fri., Jan. 19, 2018

Two Montana men were arrested Friday morning in Coeur d’Alene after a driver reported shots fired during an apparent road-rage incident.

News > Spokane

Mead High’s Miranda Reed is a go-getter balancing school, volunteerism and Girl Scout cookie sales

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 18, 2018

A Mead High School junior has somehow learned to balance the demands of a 4.0 student, myriad school activities and community involvement to become the queen of the Girl Scout cookie.

News > Spokane

Mead and Central Valley school districts seek bonds to keep up with growth

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 13, 2018

Voters will be asked later this month to approve construction bonds that would create a new high school in the Central Valley School District and provide more classrooms to keep up with growth north of Spokane.

News > Spokane

Spokane woman loses insurance legal fight over definition of ‘automobile’

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 20, 2018

A Spokane woman’s legal battle to force State Farm to help pay for her son’s injuries hit a dead end this week after appellate judges ruled that Washington’s definition of an “automobile accident” doesn’t apply to bus crashes.

News > Idaho

Kellogg Schools shut down after influenza outbreak hits students

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 10, 2018

The Kellogg School District has shut down operations after dozens students have missed several days following an influx of influenza cases, according to the school’s website.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Spokane settles federal lawsuit by Mexican national who claimed he was unlawfully detained by police

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 10, 2018

The City of Spokane has settled a federal lawsuit filed by a Mexican national who alleged he was unlawfully detained by an officer following an automobile collision, that he didn’t cause,

News > Spokane

Judge’s study calls for more security in Washington courtrooms

Wed., Jan. 10, 2018

A courtroom security study has found that about half of the Superior Courts in Washington – where divorces are settled, lawsuits are argued and killers are sentenced – still do not have even the most basic security screenings that would prevent people from entering county courthouses.

News > Education

Search for Coeur d’Alene superintendent nets 34 applicants

Fri., Jan. 5, 2018

The search firm hired to help find the next superintendent of Coeur d’Alene Public Schools announced Friday that 34 persons from 20 different states have submitted applications.

News > Education

Ferris’ Mandy Manning makes final four for National Teacher of Year

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 4, 2018

Ferris High School’s Mandy Manning has been named a finalist for National Teacher of the Year.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Alaska Airlines sued for wrongful death after elderly woman falls down escalator

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 28, 2017

The family of a Spokane Valley woman filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against Alaska Airlines claiming that a contractor that works for the airlines failed to escort its elderly mother to her gate for a flight to Spokane and the mistake resulted in a fall down an escalator that led to the woman’s death in September.

News > Spokane

Spokane announces full-city plow as snow hits region

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 28, 2017

Snow hit Spokane Thursday, but the heaviest accumulations by midday were found in Spokane Valley, the South Hill and it was expanding into downtown. The accumulating snow prompted the City of Spokane to announce a full-city plow.

News > Spokane

Spokane nun who spent 55 years in service of others dies on Christmas Day

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 27, 2017

Sister Celine Steinberger, who led many fundraising efforts and was a friend to all who knew her, died on Christmas Day. She was 75.

News > Spokane

Volunteers provide a hot meal on a cold and snowy Christmas Day

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 25, 2017

A hot meal on Christmas started because Carl Perron and his former wife didn’t want seniors to get a frozen meal for Christmas.

News > Spokane

Spokane wakes to white Christmas, slick roads

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 25, 2017

The dream of a white Christmas turned into a travel headache as new snow made for slick holiday driving.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Federal prosecutor arrested Friday on DUI charge

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 22, 2017

An Assistant U.S. Attorney, who was part of the prosecution team that won a conviction against former Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr., was arrested early Friday and charged with DUI.

News > Spokane

Principal Lori Wyborney has reached outside the walls to change the culture within Rogers High School

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 22, 2017

The first semester had just ended last year and Rogers High School Principal Lori Wyborney was walking with a 20-year veteran teacher, who turned, looked back at still-new structure and said: “We are never going to fix this.”

News > Crime/Public Safety

Westport man pleads guilty in Spokane to $65 million biofuels scheme

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 20, 2017

A Westport man, who until recently worked an alternative fuels company that operated in both Moses Lake and Pasco, was sentenced Wednesday to 6 1/2 years in prison after investigators discovered that he defrauded taxpayers and fuel producers out of about $65 million.

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