Treva Lind

Head to toe, Brenda Parker will wear holiday bling galore while working eight days as a greeter at the Christmas Bureau. Two felt reindeer will sway on her headband. She’ll wear bright holiday sweaters and elfish shoes with bells on her toes, all with the hope to bring smiles. She’ll also offer up plenty of hugs, and a dance or two to live Christmas music.

Dan Sullivan loved everything holidays, but the Christmas Bureau meant the most to him. The 69-year-old volunteer died shortly after last year’s event.

Marilee Roloff knew a year ago that “Peanuts,” “Star Wars,” and princesses would reign for popular holiday children’s books, so she bought such titles early for the Christmas Bureau. Buying books for kids is a role that Roloff, 64, relishes. So is distributing them; the CEO of Volunteers of America works each year at the bureau at the book table.

One memory stands out for Fred Preston, a Christmas Bureau volunteer for the past 23 years. It happened some dozen years ago. He lifted a small girl, about 4 years old, so she could see Mr. and Mrs. Claus. He’ll never forget the joy he saw in her face, he said.

Spokane Valley woman sews coats to donate to area children

Wolverines will enter Spokane Valley soon, under wraps of a school name change. Barker High School will become Mica Peak High School with a February move to new permanent quarters and adopt the slogan, “Home of the Wolverines.”

Kelly Shea knew by the time he was a teenager that he’d work in education. In a bit of a homecoming for the 51-year-old who grew up in Spokane Valley, Shea began his new post July 1 as East Valley School District superintendent. “I made a conscious decision when I was 16 years old that I wanted to be a teacher, because of the coaches and teachers I had,” Shea said. “They had expectations for me.”

More than 70 players queue up weekly in north Spokane for Ellie’s Bridge Club, a nod to the group’s director, Ellie Lund. The Wednesday sessions held at Country Homes Christian Church are an unlikely draw for Lund, who 12 years ago told a sibling she lacked the brain power to learn the strategy card game.

While volunteering in Ethiopia in 2013, Ted Nichols was asked to design a basic hospital bed. Now his model could spread to hospitals throughout southern Ethiopia.

Teachers at The Oaks – A Classical Christian Academy get a visual aid to tell apart identical twins Trent and Neal Gray: Trent wears a blue uniform shirt and Neal wears white. The twins have attended the private Spokane Valley school since kindergarten, so most classmates can name them correctly, even when the brothers are in street clothes.

Kyra Pauley doesn’t remember much about spring break last year, only what to call the rare autoimmune disease that stole weeks of her life: acute necrotizing encephalitis. Pauley felt so sick in early April 2014, she couldn’t go to classes and missed softball practice at University High School.

Teachers at North Idaho Christian School frequently use one word to describe Jodi Johnson: joyful. Laughter arrives rapid-fire 10 minutes into a conversation with Johnson. She jokes about herself, with people around her and despite painful rheumatoid arthritis slowing her movements.

Cameron Conner spent most of his freshman year traveling the world. Six months of trekking with his parents took him to Peru, Spain, Nepal and Morocco.

On a recent warm, sunny day, Oliven Harris belted out a song from the movie “Frozen” in rehearsal for her job performing as an ice queen. It’s a skill still in high demand for Harris, 19, working as one of 11 employees who sing at events in costume as popular movie characters for the Spokane entertainment business Once Upon A Time Productions.

Karaage, a Japanese-style fried chicken, drew a gasp of approval from Ai Fujita, but an orange-colored mochi fell short. Fujita, a student at Spokane’s Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute, had joined a focus group last week to give feedback about campus meals. This spring, Mukogawa’s kitchen staff began adding more Japanese comfort foods into menus, alongside typical U.S. dishes.

Signs near the Newman Lake community warn motorists on Trent Avenue to slow as they approach Starr Road, but residents say the 45 mph zone is largely ignored by commuters. Residents also cite too many accidents and near misses as drivers cross the busy highway or turn, where Starr comes in from the north at a skewed angle compared to its route south. To call attention to traffic concerns, members of Tri-Community Grange organized a public meeting at the Grange hall in Newman Lake.