Riverfront fountain dedication Thursday
City officials will dedicate the new Rotary Riverfront Fountain in a ceremony Thursday, but whether it will stay open to the public is yet to be seen.
Officials may have to shut off the water once guests leave if the Spokane Regional Health District fails to approve the fountain by Thursday, said Spokane Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Marion Severud.
“It might be that we turn it on for the dedication and close the construction fencing around it until the permits have been obtained,” Severud said. “Our goal is to have it open soon for public use.”
But that decision won’t keep the mayor, council members and other officials from dedicating the new fountain during an 11 a.m. ceremony Thursday in Riverfront Park.
The 60-foot-wide fountain features sculptures by local artist Harold Balazs and has more than 150 jets that will spray 3,500 gallons of water a minute around the piece of public art. Water will soar 35 feet in the air before returning to a collecting pool under the fountain, where it will be filtered as if it were in a swimming pool.
Once the health department approves the fountain it will be free and open to the public.
If the health department approves the fountain by the time of the dedication, around 100 children from YMCA and YWCA programs will descend on and play in the fountain after the ceremony.
Steel and bronze salmon figures are inset into the concrete to display donor names for the $1 million-plus project. Construction began in early April.
Spokane woman to head abuse council
Gov. Christine Gregoire has appointed a Spokane woman to head a statewide child-abuse prevention council until 2008.
Mary Ann Murphy will lead the Washington Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Murphy will continue to serve as the executive director of Spokane’s Partners with Families & Children, a treatment center for abused and neglected children that is sponsored by Sacred Heart and Deaconess medical centers. Murphy has held that title for 17 years.
The council, which meets quarterly, administers a trust fund providing grant money to child-abuse prevention groups.
“They are heavily committed to the evaluation of the programs to be sure they are effective,” Murphy said.
Currently, the fund gets its money from a fee paid by those applying for a marriage license in Washington. Murphy said she would like to find a way to increase sources of funding for the grant program.
The council also advises the governor on child-abuse prevention policies.
“It just seems like right now there’s such a great need,” Murphy said. “Most of the focus is on the treatment of terrible injuries. Instead, we need to think smarter and look at prevention. … That’s really my passion.”
Man jailed after Spokane Club incident
A man wearing only red boxer trunks was arrested Monday after an employee at the Spokane Club saw him running out a fire escape door on the third floor of the building.
Spokane Police Officers Jake Jensen and Derek Bishop found the suspect at 12:40 p.m. on the fire escape and took him into custody, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.
Andrew M. Goihl, who gave his address as Wyoming, Minn., claimed he was a guest of the club but was not, Cottam said. Goihl had broken glass in one door of the building and was booked into jail for second-degree burglary.
Post Falls man faces new charge
A Post Falls man accused of using the Internet to entice minors was arrested Tuesday on a charge of lewd conduct with a minor, Coeur d’Alene police said.
Samuel Joseph Grillo, 22, made an appearance in court Monday on a misdemeanor count that he used the Internet to entice a child. A continued investigation of Grillo resulted in Tuesday’s arrest on the felony charge, police spokeswoman Sgt. Christie Wood said in a press release. The alleged victim was a 15-year-old girl.
Grillo, of Post Falls, was in the Kootenai County Jail on Tuesday night. Bail has not been set.
Police request that anyone with information related to the case contact them at (208) 769-2291 or (208) 769-2296.
Time for some to start driving in circles
Let the circling begin.
Construction crews will be pouring concrete today for the center island of a roundabout being built at Highway 206 (Mt. Spokane Park Drive) and Bruce Road.
So starting tonight, drivers will have to negotiate the roundabout.
Know the rules:
•Slow down as you approach the roundabout.
•Yield to traffic on the left.
•There’s no need to stop if the left is clear.
•Traffic always moves one way, to the right. If you want to turn right, follow the roundabout to the right. If you want to go straight, circle the roundabout halfway. If you are turning left, you must travel around the center island in a counterclockwise direction until you get to the street you’re turning onto.
•When you reach your exit, turn on your right turn signal to indicate you’re leaving the roundabout.
•Keep a lookout for pedestrians and bicyclists when exiting.
The Washington state Department of Transportation is building the roundabout to improve safety at the intersection.
Paving, curbing, signage and additional traffic islands still need to be built to complete the project.
For more information, including video instructions of how to negotiate a roundabout, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR206/ BruceRoadRoundabout.
Police to be out in force over holiday
All four local police agencies will work together patrolling area highways during the Labor Day weekend, which is traditionally one of the heaviest traffic weekends of the year.
Spokane Police, Washington State Patrol, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and Spokane Valley Police will patrol highways and busy area streets looking for speeders, aggressive drivers and those who are not wearing their seat belts, police spokesman Dick Cottam said.
Drivers under the influence will get special attention, Cottam said.