Tom Sowa

Families from Mullan Road Elementary School were getting out the vote Tuesday morning. At the corner of 57th and Regal were, from left, Camille Miller, Stefanie Yep, Marcia Yep and Barbara Bennett. Their efforts paid off as the District 81 levy passed easily. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Emergency crews rushed across icy Eastern Washington on Monday evening, dealing with more than 100 accidents, including a lethal two-car wreck in Stevens County. C.W. Miller, 60, of Colville died of head and internal injuries after the car he was riding in was struck head-on north of Addy on Highway 395. Washington State Patrol troopers said the highway was slick with water and ice when the accident occurred about 4 p.m.

Voters decide today whether they want to spend more money on schools, improved county library services and fire district operations. Polls throughout Eastern Washington open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. The major ballot measure in Spokane County is the Spokane School District's two-year levy that officials say provides almost 20 percent of the operating budget.

This might not seem like a good time for the Spokane County Library District to push a $7.66 million bond proposal.

As more people take advantage of discount airfares, airports are turning into the nation's stuffed couches. Lift up a cushion and find just about anything - from junk to jewelry. For proof, check out the lost-and-found areas at Spokane's airport after the winter holidays, when families and kids lose or misplace more items than at any other time of the year. Enough eyeglasses and gloves show up to stock a Post Falls outlet store, said an airport baggage checker.

These monkeys will move sooner than expected. File/The Spokesman-Review

About 370 people gathered in downtown Spokane Friday, agreeing that the region needs to tackle its problems but unsure of the best way to find solutions. Before Spokane residents mount strategies against rising crime, economic stagnation or teen violence, a Colorado planning consultant urged the group to spend more time getting more people involved. "If you bring together the appropriate people in a constructive way, and let them act on good information, you will get authentic visions of how to deal with those problems," said David Chrislip, a Boulder, Colo., consultant who served as discussion leader.

Workers roll in desks at the new South Hill branch of the Spokane Public Library at 33rd and Perry. Lower left, the outside of the $1.7 million structure. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Four groups have launched projects that involve the community in planning the future of Spokane. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Some Spokane residents phoning in fast-food orders got heartburn instead of pizza last weekend when they tried paying with a check. South Hill resident Al Berger called Little Caesars to order home delivery of two pizzas for his teenage son and friends. He was asked for his home phone number.

While their Alaska Airlines flight circles above the fog at Spokane International Airport, Mark Stockman and Brandie Pace huddle as they await word on departure. Minutes later, their flight was canceled. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane County Clerk Tom Fallquist stands among vulnerable records. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Ice skater Jacky Borden, 13, a member of the Spokane Blades, reaches for a big hug from Mickey Mouse, a member of the Disney on Ice cast, at the Riverfront Park Ice Palace on Thursday. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Eyraud Company employees include, from left to right, Hector Heredia, Jorge Ortega, Jesus Heredia, Octavio Ortega, Oscar Octavio Heredia, Eladio Nauono and Andres Ventura. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

David Buxton, director of Regional Information Services at Gonzaga University, uses his laptop computer to check some data. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

When Spokane businessman Donald Barbieri hears about the information-everywhere future, he has mixed feelings. A developer and chief executive officer of a hotel chain, Barbieri says he thinks computers will make people work smarter. He also worries that computerized information can be misused. His uncertainties grew when The Spokesman-Review recently found his Social Security number and other personal information by having someone

The dusty basement of EWU's gynm houses the state's Eastern Washington archives, a collection of official records and odds and ends. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Cox Cable Spokane is shedding its image as just another home-entertainment business. After test-driving a new modem that lets users receive and send data, Cox officials say they're moving into a bright digital future where cable companies will have the fastest, biggest pipelines in the data-transmission business.

Don Whiteaker, mayor of one of Wyoming's tiniest towns, came to Spokane on Friday to say yes, the much-hyped information superhighway can reach small-town America. CBS News and several magazines have declared Whiteaker a guru of the high-tech home on the range. Because of his efforts, isolated Lusk, Wyo., with a single stoplight and 1,500 residents, is now known as "the best-wired little town in America." Equipped with a new fiber-optic network, residents of the small eastern Wyoming city have a telecommunication pipeline with state-of-the-art capacity and speed.

These monkeys being used at the University of Washington's primate research center will be moving to Louisiana next summer. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Che-Chung Tsai says he expects a University of Washington review will clear him of charges of inaccuracy and misconduct. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Moran Prairie School fifth-graders Sarah Carroll, left, and Rachel Proctor work on an alphabet project for their video pen pals from Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute. Says teacher Nancy Wolfrum: "I don't let students just hunt and peck." Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane law firm will spend about $15,000 on a sundial and interpretive center next year along the downtown portion of the Centennial Trail. Preston, Gates and Ellis, celebrating its 15th year in business, donated the money to install the sundial near the Don Kardong Bridge The sundial designer, Spokane inventor Timothy Cunninghamm, said it will be built as a reference point for river-watchers and those using the nearby higher education center.

Eastern Washington University friends and faculty will gather tonight to remember former president Emerson C. Shuck, who died Monday at age 79. Shuck took control of EWU then known as Eastern Washington State College - in 1967. He guided the school until 1976, keeping the Cheney campus relatively calm during the protest era. "He approached students on their own ground and was a good listener," said retired EWU history professor William Kidd.