Treva Lind

Spokane County residents seem to be getting flu shots this year at a typical rate, said a regional health immunization coordinator. But it's a different outlook regarding low numbers for COVID-19 booster shots.

Halloween tends to have all eyes on costumes and candy, at least among the children. Families can add in some last-minute holiday activities to reduce sugar overload and tone down excitement. For a list of favorite Halloween books and shows, The Spokesman-Review turned to librarians, bookworms and movie fans.

As explorers and fur traders entered the Pacific Northwest by the 1700s, so did smallpox. Today, experts describe the infectious disease’s blow to regional tribes as devastating, sometimes wiping out entire villages.

Dark nights, old mansions and ghostly history get weaved against a backdrop of Spokane's oldest neighborhood – Browne's Addition – for a series of Halloween weekend walking tours. SpookWalk, a fundraiser to benefit the neighborhood's Coeur d’Alene Park, is akin to telling campfire ghost stories but using the tales of Spokane's settlers and where they once lived, said tour guide MaryLou Sproul. The guides spin together facts, stories and sightings from modern residents, who have shared with them what seems like ghostly or mysterious events.

Research led by a Providence Spokane physician found "concerningly" high rates of chronic kidney disease occur in people with diabetes – and are most evident in racial and ethnic minority groups – findings published this past week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The five-year study with more than 654,000 diabetes patients is a call for action among health providers to seek early intervention and treatments for kidney disease if someone has diabetes, including regular testing and awareness about high-risk populations, said Dr. Katherine Tuttle, regionally Providence's executive director for research.

Using a few tricks closer to Halloween, families can get past those triangle eyes when carving a Jack o'Lantern. Start by searching for patterns online or in kits, and try to find the kits' tiny hand-held saws for more flexibility to create shapes beyond straight lines, among other tips from Eric Frickle, co-owner of the Kitchen Engine, who has hundreds of festive carves under his belt from more than a decade of a festive family tradition growing up.

After 45 years farming in the Newman Lake area, Marv and Jo Carver have decided they're done with harvests at Carver Farms and officially retired in June. However, the farm still will continue to sell Christmas trees, a venture started in 2002 by son Scott Carver and his wife, Tamryn.

Afghan refugees who live in Spokane talk regularly with relatives in their former country, so news hit hard about a Sept. 30 attack at a West Kabul learning center. A bomb there killed up to 53 people from the Hazara community – most of them girls and young women.

Claudia Bjorklund will keep her stride Saturday – walking again as she has done for a decade to support a Spokane Alzheimer's Association fundraiser. She'll also wear a cape that tells a story, in step with the memory of her husband, Randy, who had younger-onset Alzheimer's disease.

As their 2-year-old daughter Aurora played in Manito Park recently, Gordon and Jenna Hamers got a few moments to thank hospital caregivers who last saw Aurora as a fragile newborn.

Optometrists can see more than just vision needs, potentially also glimpsing signs of early diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol issues. Longtime Pullman optometrist Jim DeVleming has worked in state and national in leadership roles to raise awareness and also to advocate for the profession to evolve, including the ability after training to offer simple laser treatments now allowed in 10 states. It's called full-scope contemporary optometry.

A new child grief support nonprofit, R.I.S.E. Northwest – the acronym being for Resilience Is Strength and Endurance – is scheduled to start its Spokane programs in early October, said founder Tracy Gyllenhammer. She hope the services will fill a void by offering free support programs for children and teens who are grieving the loss of a parent. Serving ages 5-18, the nonprofit is offering two separate programs: Team R.I.S.E. and Camp Cope, with no-cost enrollment now open. Both have a built-in peer focuses, because that grief is a lifelong journey for children, Gyllenhammer said.

CJ Curtis is the creative force behind the Garden Coffee & Local Eats in Spokane Valley. She designed the space to draw people together for coffee, healthy foods and a calm vibe. She also applies some store proceeds to help survivors who escaped sex-trafficking, with 88 cents from the sales of certain items toward the rescue work of HRC Ministries, a local nonprofit providing shelter, skills training, counseling and therapy. What people may not know is that Curtis long ago escaped herself.

With 27 years in the opioid addiction field, Caleb Banta-Green said he didn't think it could get as bad as today's dramatic hike in fentanyl use statewide. Another difference is that fentanyl is killing people from accidental overdoses in higher numbers than any other drugs, he said. For a recent Gonzaga University talk about strategies, he compiled Spokane reports showing that fentanyl deaths from accidental overdoses spiked in 2021, far surpassing methamphetamine, heroin or cocaine causes. It mirrors trends across Washington.

September ushers in a time when family calendars get packed, but it's also a good time to be active. This fall, the region's family and youth events are ramping up after two years on hold. It's a season ripe for being on the move.

Aurora Nilles, 3, already had plenty of excitement this week with her first preschool days at the West Valley Early Learning Center. Then on Saturday, she and her family will watch for her portrait in Times Square.

Respect, then tragedy, dominate the life of Spokane's first female physician, who by1888 became esteemed for her expertise in health care and philanthropic work, but it all seemed to unravel after a son's death and arson conviction. Now, Latham's life is covered in a new book, “Mercy and Madness: Dr. Mary Archard Latham's Tragic Fall from Female Physician to Felon." Author and Spokane resident Beverly Lionberger Hodgins cares about more than just history. She's a distant relative of Latham's.

Connor "Hubba" Hagerty held on for 8 seconds with a high score for a win in the Aug. 19 bull-riding contest at the Pend Oreille County Fair & Rodeo. But when Hagerty moved to get off the bull, that's when everything went horribly wrong. 

Sister Rosalie Locati accepted a call 22 years ago to encourage caregivers, regularly wandering the hallways and nooks of Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. This week, she retires after 60 years of service, including early as a teacher and years mentoring Washington State University students. At Sacred Heart, she gained respect for compassion and humor, and Friday, Locati reluctantly agreed to some fuss over her. Staff organized a parade send-off, with her in a convertible.

More access to mental health services with a cultural focus – and tools to address trauma – are among issues facing Native Americans who are struggling, said counselors in a Spokane program. They're also fighting a fentanyl crisis. Now, the American Indian Community Center's Goodheart Behavioral Health program is able to add mental health counseling, through UnitedHealthcare's $150,000 grant.