Ward Sanderson

1. A few years ago this was an empty field. Now, MeadowWood is filling the fields and houses are showing up on the hill above Liberty Lake. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Another house goes up in the fields north of Liberty Lake. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Betsy Mott shows off one of her paintings at the the Corner Door in Millwood. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

You can buy it at the CD shop, hear it in church, it's even the theme to a popular public television game show. A capella music is big right now, and the Valley has its own troupe of no-band crooners based from the Valley Church of Christ. The group His Glory performs a couple of times each month, and its next show will be a big one. His Glory will perform along with another area group, Freedom, and big-name contemporary Christian vocalists Acapella.

One Valley company is doing its part to do away with the easel. Promo Prose, a two-man operation, makes three-dimensional computer animations. The cyberspace models can contain anything from walk-through architectural plans to event recreations for use in the courtroom. "You remember Legos from when you were a kid?" says Shawn Gants, 28, who runs the business with his father, Larry. "This is like the ultimate Lego toy."

Contrary to what some young people might believe, retirement doesn't have to mean sitting around talking to your cat. Ask the folks involved with Young at Heart - a group of seniors who meet monthly at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 503 N. Walnut Road. This month, they're planning a Valentine's Day potluck lunch Wednesday at noon. The seniors will exchange valentines and, like always, will celebrate all of the month's birthdays.

Pat O'Dea, left, and Charles Waltz run HAM & Electronics on Steen Road. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

The Moses Lake school shootings weighed heavily on the minds of those attending a youth violence conference Saturday. The conference, held at the Ridpath Hotel and sponsored by the Gonzaga University School of Law and Thomas More Scholarship Program, was scheduled long before the shootings. But the incident served as yet another horrific reminder that teenage violence is very real.

1. Snow and ice is piled several feet deep at a bus stop on Sprague where Greg Picou waits for a bus to University City. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Ande Alama walks to his bank past piles of snow and a temperature sign that proclaims it's 119 degrees outside. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 3. Joe Nelson wrapped himself in a scarf Thursday to protect his face against the cold during a trip to the grocery store. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

The auditorium at Trent Elementary was filled with fiddle fans. The snow quickly piling up outside didn't matter. The nostalgic string music inside did. And the lucky crowd got to witness a little gargling, too (we'll explain later). There were just a few fold-up, theater-style chairs to spare when the Washington Old Time Fiddlers winter festival kicked off Saturday night.

Jose Muinos owns The FlightLine Shop in the Valley. His research showed unmet demand for aviation supplies in this area. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

A country-style Valley landmark just went to the ballgame. Donahue's Restaurant & Sports Bar is the new name of the former Plantation Steak House and Landmark Lounge, 8122 E. Sprague. The business, known for the rock pyramid out front that marks where the Mullan Trail once ran, is dropping the country motif altogether.

When burglars struck three Valley churches in November, one of the places they hit was Christ Lutheran Church. The thieves made off with a computer, a television and a VCR. That computer, the Rev. Tom Shelly said, was something his staff used every day. But just when news like that makes you give up on humanity, someone comes along and rekindles a little spark of hope. Dale Damron is one of those people.

Parents sat on the edge of their folding metal chairs, waiting for the next number. The crowd at University City Shopping Center had just been treated to a minuet by Mozart, and a calm, flowery song called "The Journey of a Mountain Stream." Things were about to take a different turn.

1. Joe Lamphiear and Chris Anderson work on one of several new houses at River Walk, a new development at Barker and Wellesley. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Workers set rafters on this new house at MeadowWood near Liberty Lake. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

A 14-year-old boy fractured his neck in a sledding accident shortly after noon Friday at Valley Mission Park. Shawn Bos crashed head-first into a pole while riding on a sled made from two skis mounted on a board, Valley Fire District paramedic Terry Gese said.

Patty Cromeenes, right, of the Drezden International Modeling Agency offers walking tips at the Central Grange Saturday morning to contestants in the Fairest of the Fair pageant. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Larry and Claudene Uttke have continued operating the Hem House throughout their medical tribulations. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. The Uttkes have a reputation as superheroes in social work circles for their quality care and devotion to foster children. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Ron Yapp has a laugh with customer Bob Almeida in Yapp's Otis Orchards barbar shop. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Neighbors may call it "the I-HOP," but the price brings to mind caviar, not flapjacks. Industrialist Raymond Hanson last month sold his Liberty Lake waterfront home for $1.6 million. Neighbors gave it the nickname because of its the sky-blue tile roof, which some say resembles those that top International House of Pancakes restaurants.

It's a new year, with a new chance to get your finances in line - with a little help from above. That's the idea behind a series of taped seminars that will be shown at Spokane Valley Seventh Day Adventist Church beginning Wednesday. Although he's not there in the flesh, Ed Reid's pre-recorded finance lectures can be a big help to anyone feeling a pinch in the pocketbook.

Blurs of color sliced down the white slope, shrill screams trailing after. The screams weren't of the terror-filled variety. The din was the giggly screams of kids on sleds. Bathtub-like plastic jobs, aluminum saucers rippled with dents, plain-Jane inner tubes. Valley Mission Park, its concave grass bowl the perfect track, was full of them Saturday.

Construction of the Indiana Avenue extension, originally planned for fall of 1995, should begin this spring. The five-lane arterial will link McDonald and Sullivan roads. Hanson Industries is building the road just north of Interstate 90 to serve its Sullivan Park Center, a business and industrial park, and Price Development's Spokane Valley Mall.

People who attend Redeemer Lutheran Church will be seeing a lot more of the Rev. Dave Stuenkel. He's worked there part-time for six years, but now he's becoming a full-time pastor with a very special job - making sure the large congregation feels like a small family, and reaching out to people in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons. Stuenkel, 49, has worked as a chaplain at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla and most recently at Sacred Heart Medical Center. He said working in a hospital got increasingly tough.

Construction of a 60-unit apartment complex and a 20-bed facility for stroke victims at Park Place Retirement Community is nearly finished. That second, 20-bed building will also serve patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease and others who need 24-hour care. A staff member will be on duty at all times to assist patients with food preparation, taking medication or bathing. The smaller, intensive-care facility should open in early February. The apartments should open in April. Crews began construction last spring.