Public Perscope

Adding to insult

Spokane County Commissioner Phil Harris doesn’t think much of Dawn Mining Co.’s plan to haul slightly radioactive soil through the county. But he does think it might be worth something … Harris and colleague Steve Hasson slammed the project earlier this month when Dawn officials paid a courtesy call on the commission to talk about the plan to truck dirt to the company’s Ford, Wash., uranium mill. Asked if he had read the voluminous environmental statement, Harris replied: “I don’t read that trash. It’s already a done deal. I don’t want to waste my time” … If Dawn officials were insulted by that, and they said afterward they were, wait until they hear Harris’ latest comment. Last week he asked county managers to find out if they can charge a highway user’s fee to every Dawn truck. The money, he said, could go to close the county’s contaminated landfills.

Whoops

Famous pilot and favorite son Capt. Scott O’Grady will NOT be the grand marshal of this year’s Spokane Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade, as reported in The Spokesman-Review earlier this week. That honor has been bestowed upon Rear Admiral Thomas F. Hall, commander of the U.S. Navy Reserve … O’Grady, the Lewis and Clark High School graduate who survived behind enemy lines for nearly a week after being shot down in Bosnia last year, is instead an honorary grand marshal. He shares that title with U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt and William Johnstone, president of the Tournament of Roses Association.

On the road again

Somehow it seemed appropriate when state Transportation Secretary Sid Morrison returned a telephone call from a moving car. We assume - but didn’t ask - that he wasn’t behind the wheel at the time … Recent statistics show that dialing while driving greatly increases the risk of accidents.

Next time, we’ll call collect

Unhappy with the service from Spokane County bureaucrats? Try King County.

A Spokane reporter tried for the better part of a day to reach someone who could explain how to get a transcript from a King County court proceeding. He was transferred four times, disconnected twice and left messages that went unanswered.

Finally, the next day, he reached a court clerk who knew the telephone numbers of four companies that do the work. All four numbers were wrong.

It has been lower

Records show that this year’s drawdown at Lake Roosevelt isn’t unusual. As recently as 1991, the water behind Grand Coulee Dam was lower than it is now … But dam manager Steve Clark told members of the Lake Roosevelt Forum last week that visitors tell him every day that they’ve never seen the reservoir so low. “Often, it’s true, because a number of people have not seen the lake before this year,” he said.

, DataTimes MEMO: Public Periscope, published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. You can write us c/o The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane, Wash., 99210. Or e-mail to jimc@spokesman.com. Or fax to (509) 459-5482. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touch-Tone phone, then press 9120 to leave a message.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Hot Topics Friday: Interested in improving the connection between vocational training and jobs? The state Council on Vocational-Technical Education addresses that topic at a public hearing. 10 a.m., Spokane Vocational Skills Center, 4141 N. Regal.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports