Deputies raid house, but nobody home
Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies raided an Otis Orchards home Tuesday, but the man they suspected of selling drugs wasn’t home.
Deputies are now searching for 23-year-old Nicholas A. Franklin of 1732 N. McMillan Lane. He reportedly faces felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and delivery of a controlled substance.
Investigative Support Unit detectives raided the home on McMillan Lane after making several undercover purchases of drugs, said spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan in a press release. A pregnant woman and child were at home during the raid, but were released.
Detectives allegedly found an ounce of cocaine, an ounce of methamphetamine, marijuana and cash in the home. They also discovered a shotgun and a homemade bomb that was defused by the Explosive Disposal Unit, Reagan said.
Franklin’s most recent arrest was in January for possession of a stolen gun, Reagan said. Anyone with information on Franklin’s location is asked to call the Sheriff’s tip line at 242-TIPS.
One more statue goes missing
Maybe everyone should just chain their statues down.
Yet another concrete statue has gone missing in Spokane Valley, the sixth in the last two weeks. The most recent, a 400-pound gargoyle, was lifted off the lot at Concrete Works, 205 S. Pines Road.
Owner Laura Grenz thinks at least three people would have been needed to make off with the 4-foot statue. “We would use a fork lift,” she said. “I can’t imagine two people being able to lift that. They didn’t just walk off easily with this.”
The statue went missing sometime in the last two weeks. It had been placed in an out of the way area so employees aren’t certain when it vanished. The thieves cut chains holding a gate shut, but that likewise wasn’t in a highly visible area.
The statue’s selling price was $400. “It looked like a large bulldog with wings,” Grenz said.
The worst news of all is that the statue cannot be replaced. “We have our own molds for everything, but not for that one.”
The first statue reported missing was a Buddha from a couple’s front porch in the 7600 block of East Broadway. A pair of lions disappeared from in front of Encore Home Furnishings at 16413 E. Sprague Ave. a few days later. And last week two gargoyles came up missing in the 4500 block of South Havana.
All the statues were worth several hundred dollars and weighed between 200 and 300 pounds. Anyone with information on the thefts is asked to call the Spokane Valley Police Department tip line at 242-TIPS.
Barker Bridge meeting
Drivers who frequently traverse the Barker Bridge or neighbors who live in the area might be interested in a meeting being held by the city of Spokane Valley’s Public Works department.
The bridge is scheduled to be rebuilt and widened between 2005 and 2008 at a cost of $8.1 million.
The city’s staff wants to answer questions about what the work will entail at an information session at 6:30 p.m. next Thursday at Greenacres Middle School, 17409 E. Sprague Ave.
For information, call 688-0198.
Singing valentines
An all-girl barbershop quartet from Central Valley High School is offering singing valentines Monday.
For $25 lovers can hire the Four Evers – consisting of CV students Meisha Hemenway, Alex Mackay, Anna Daines, and Kali Clark – who will deliver a box of chocolates, a single red rose, and sing “I Love You Truly,” and “Mr. Sandman” to sweethearts.
A student discount will be given to any performances given to high school sweethearts at the school. Those will cost only $15.
Proceeds will help support the group and pay for any travel expenses to and from competitions.
To schedule a signing telegram, call 954-0759. Callers who get voice-mail will be treated to a preview of the quartet’s music.