Spokane Tribal officials arraigned

The chairman of Spokane Tribal Council and two other council members were arraigned Thursday on charges of misappropriation of tribal property, abuse of office and intimidation, according to tribal prosecutor Dale Nagy.

Council Chairman Greg Abrahamson was ordered to appear for trial Sept. 22 on each of the three charges stemming from a 2005 incident, Nagy said. A trial date of Sept. 8 was set for council Vice Chairman Warren Seyler and council member David C. Wynecoop on the three charges stemming from a separate 2004 incident.

Nagy declined to explain the charges. However, at a June 3 news conference, Tribal Council member Ronald “Buzz” Gutierrez said the charges against Abrahamson, Seyler and Wynecoop involve “several thousand dollars” worth of property purchased by the tribe through the state’s government surplus program.

Nagy said the judge is considering a defense motion that as council members the three defendants have immunity from criminal prosecution under Spokane tribal law. The council members’ attorney, Dave Lundgren, said Thursday his clients would have no comment on the case.

Driver seriously hurt when Jeep crashes, rolls

An Athol woman suffered serious injuries and two other people sustained minor injuries Thursday afternoon in a one-vehicle, rollover crash on Dodd Road near Hayden, Idaho.

Peggy L. Burch, of Athol, was driving a 1987 Jeep Cherokee west on Dodd Road at about 3:30 p.m. when she drove onto the left shoulder. She overcorrected and the Jeep rolled at least once before it came to rest on its tires, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Sgt. L. Carrington said in a news release.

Burch was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected. She suffered serious head injuries and was taken to Kootenai Medical Center.

Also taken to KMC were Thomas L. Crain, of Twin Lakes, who suffered minor injuries, and a 6-year-old boy. The boy was treated and released. Deputies continue to investigate the cause of the crash, he said.

Tuition increase boosts EWU budget

Eastern Washington University will see an 8 percent increase in its operating budget next year, thanks in part to a tuition increase that will add about $222 per academic year for a resident student.

The board of trustees last week approved an operating budget of about $155 million for the coming school year, an 8 percent increase over last year, according to university reports. The increased funding comes in part from the tuition increase and state support for an additional 324 full-time students in the coming year.

More than half the new funding will go toward salary increases for members of the classified staff and workers who aren’t represented by any bargaining unit. Those workers will see average raises of 3.2 percent.

The Legislature authorized tuition increases at universities and colleges around the state, but individual institutions also had to approve the tuition hikes.

Eastern tuition will rise 6 percent for resident undergraduate and graduate students. A resident undergrad paid $3,822 in tuition last year; that goes to $4,044 next year.

Though tuition is increasing, university officials around the state were pleased that this year’s budget included more state funding. Tuition accounted for 40.8 percent of last year’s operating budget, for example, and will account for 38.7 percent of this year’s, said Mary Voves, Eastern’s vice president of business and finance.

Smoke from escalator causes Macy’s evacuation

The downtown Spokane Macy’s building was partially evacuated Thursday morning after an employee reported smelling smoke in the building.

Fire officials said they received a call at 8:37 a.m. from someone who reported smelling something burning and seeing smoke inside the building, but no flames were visible. Battalion Chief Ken Kirsch said a malfunctioning escalator brake was to blame.

Most employees were evacuated by the time crews reached the scene, but a group of workers on the ninth floor office was asked to stay and wait with a crew of firefighters. Employees were allowed to return to the building at 9:17 a.m.

“Sometimes we have people stay where they are because they’re safer than trying to move them,” Kirsch said.

Kirsch said the smoke had affected only a ninth-floor air-handling room and a ground-floor entryway.