Man stabbed in scuffle downtown
A fight in an alley behind Eastern Washington University’s downtown campus sent one man to the hospital and another to jail Tuesday afternoon.
The man who was wounded was stabbed in his side about 5:15 p.m. behind the EWU Spokane Center, 705 W. First Ave., and appeared to have suffered an injury that was not life-threatening, said Spokane Police Officer Matthew Cowles. Names of those involved, who are about 20 years old, were not released at the scene.
Cowles said the alleged stabber and victim are friends who were fighting over alcohol.
Dennis Magner, who works across the street, said he saw a group of youths head to a loading dock attached to a building behind EWU. It’s not unusual for people to hang out and drink in the alley, he said.
After the group had been there a few minutes, the two men jumped down and started fighting.
“It didn’t look like it would escalate,” said Magner, a partner of the advertising firm Magner Sanborn. “It was like they were shadowboxing.”
After a couple of minutes, however, real punches were exchanged, Magner said. Soon, an EWU police officer came out of the building, drew a gun and stopped the fight.
Magner said he didn’t see the victim get stabbed.
The alleged stabber was expected to be booked into the Spokane County Jail on a charge of first-degree assault, Cowles said.
Police collected a T-shirt soaked in blood and a knife as evidence.
A television crew shooting for the FOX show COPS filmed the aftermath of the stabbing.
Four arrested in raid on check fraud ring
An alleged check-cashing ring discovered after a pizza delivery person’s car was stolen last month was busted Tuesday, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Three homes were raided Tuesday in Spokane in connection with the fraud case, Sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said in a press release.
Arrested were John S. Silk, 48; Gary D. Dibble, 56; Shawn M. Anderson, 32; and Scott W. Allison, 32.
Reagan said methamphetamine and stolen checks were found when officers raided homes at 3918 N. Martin St., 1810 E. Mallon Ave. and 1843 E. Marshall Ave. The deliveryman’s checks were found in one of the homes raided.
Investigators believe the suspects stole checks and changed personal information on them before cashing them.
Group seeks to join high-water-mark case
A group representing waterfront owners along Lake Coeur d’Alene wants inclusion in a lawsuit to determine the legal high-water mark at popular Sanders Beach.
The case could determine whether the beach is public or private.
The Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore Owners Association, which has about 1,200 members, told a judge Tuesday that any decision about the high-water mark could impact the amount of property each of its members owns.
“They are watching because their valuable property rights are going to be affected,” said Coeur d’Alene attorney Peter Erbland.
The Idaho Conservation League also asked the judge for inclusion. The conservation group advocates for public access to public waters and thinks the Sanders Beach case could impact access not only to Lake Coeur d’Alene but all Idaho water bodies.
The judge didn’t rule Tuesday on the two proposals for inclusion. Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County filed a lawsuit in 2004 to determine the legal high-water mark at Sanders Beach, which is east of Tubbs Hill and inside the Coeur d’Alene city limits.
By state law, the high-water mark is the line where private land ends and publicly owned beach begins.
Inland Empire Way closed Thursday
Inland Empire Way will be closed Thursday between 23rd and 26th Avenues. Traffic will be detoured to Chestnut Street from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The road is expected to reopen Friday.
Ball donates $2,500 to Valley groups
Organizers of the third annual Mayor’s Ball in Spokane Valley donated over $2,500 raised at the event to Valleyfest, the Spokane Valley Senior Center, the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum and Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Opera Tuesday.
Mayor Diana Wilhite said $1,200 will help fund a free opera at Mirabeau Park on Aug. 4.
Valleyfest, which will be held Sept. 23 -24 at Mirabeau Park, received $1,000.
The Mayor’s Ball is a formal gathering that elected officials created to celebrate Spokane Valley’s 2003 incorporation. April’s ball drew over 300 people.
If the event made a profit, the money was slated to go to the opera and Valleyfest.
“But we made so much more than we anticipated; we decided to extend it to the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum and the Senior Center,” Wilhite said.
Funds given to the Senior Center will help pay for a dance floor at the new Centerplace community center.
Armstrong grant helps children with cancer
Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital will extend the help it gives to children with terminal cancer and their families under a grant it received from the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
The hospital announced in a press release that the $39,000 grant will be used over two years to hold regional workshops for health care providers on palliative care, which deals with end-of-life issues. The goal is to improve access to pain management, family support and other terminal cancer issues.
The grant also will allow the hospital to create a Web resource guide on palliative care.
“It’s one thing to have all the resources at the Children’s Hospital,” Peggy Mangiaracina, executive director of the children’s hospital, said in an interview. “These children go home and the families need resources in their own communities.”
The Lance Armstrong Foundation was founded in 1997 by the U.S. bicyclist, who is trying to win his seventh Tour de France.