Student runs from school, falls in river
A 10-year-old ended up in the Spokane River after running away from Stevens Elementary School Friday morning, authorities say.
Stevens is located at 1717 E. Sinto Ave., about 2 ½ blocks from the river.
“He was misbehaving and running away from the building,” said Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman Terren Roloff. “He fell into the river.”
District Resource Officers retrieved the boy.
Stevens school officials could not be reached for comment.
Area schools to gain from technology grant
The Inland Northwest Community Access Network, known as TINCAN, landed a $1.2 million grant to train rural high school and junior high teachers to better use technology in teaching science. The grant will fund the training of 60 teachers in three years.
The National Science Foundation grant is intended to serve schools in Stevens, Ferry, Pend Oreille and northern Spokane County. The project will set up training for teachers in environmental science, mapping systems like geographic information systems, computer modeling, simulations and video game development.
A training session for the first group of 20 teachers will begin in June. In the second year, 20 more teachers will be added, and then 20 more in year three.
TINCAN is a nonprofit organization that uses technology for economic, social and community development and education. It has a staff of eight.
“When I was going to apply, I actually wondered if they would give us a grant,” said executive director Karen Michaelson. This particular grant is generally obtained by universities, she said.
“This is an affirmation of the good work we’ve been doing,” Michaelson said.
New system causes traffic lights to flash
Spokane city traffic lights switched to an “all flash” mode of flashing yellow or red lights shortly after 8 a.m. Friday, causing minor inconveniences for motorists.
The problem stemmed from a malfunction in new traffic control software that was installed on Thursday, city officials said. The malfunction lasted about 15 minutes and traffic engineers were working on the problem to ensure it doesn’t occur again, said Marlene Feist, public affairs officer for the city.
Computers normally switch a large number of intersection lights to flashing yellows or flashing reds in the early morning hours. Feist said the new software apparently caused lights to switch to the flashing mode at the wrong time of day. No accidents were attributed to the problem, she said.
Man’s body found in Snake River
A body was found Friday afternoon in the Snake River, the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office reported in a press release.
The body of an adult male was about 14 miles downstream from Clarkston. Foul play does not appear to have been a factor in the death, the office said.
No further information was available on Friday.
Teens hold downtown rally against meth
Self-described punks rallied Friday evening in downtown Spokane in an extemporaneous demonstration against methamphetamine.
The teens, some of whom were homeless, held signs like, “Honk if you say no to meth” and cheered when drivers answered with their horns. About 20 teens – their numbers grew as the evening wore on – gathered at the corner of Wall Street and Riverside Avenue.
“I’ve seen most of my good friends get dragged down into meth,” said Windy Dean, 18. “They’re losing everything, including their minds.”
A Spokane Police officer stopped about 7:30 p.m. to warn the group that the department had received some complaints about noise and protesters standing in traffic. He told them he supported the theme of the demonstration and gave them directions for rallying lawfully.
“Just because we’re dressed like this doesn’t mean we do drugs,” said Faith Reed, a Cheney High School student who had black lines drawn from the corners of her eyes. “Meth will mess you up.”