UI art, architecture students protest

Art and architecture students gave voice again Wednesday to their displeasure with the University of Idaho’s decision to eliminate the College of Art and Architecture, with a protest on the Administration Building lawn in Moscow.

The college was merged in 2003 into the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, and a well-organized effort by students and alumni to undo that decision has been under way ever since.

Brandon VanTassell, a student leader of the effort, said about 150 students attended the protest and about 700 signatures were gathered in support of reinstating the college.

“It went very well,” he said Wednesday afternoon.

Supporters of the college say it was unfairly made to pay the price for financial problems at the school, though it operated in the black for years. They also say the university didn’t follow the proper procedures in terminating the college, and are asking the state Board of Education to overturn the decision.

UI President Tim White, in an interview in late August, said that the university still offers the same classes and degrees in art and architecture that it did before. But saving money on administrative costs became a high priority at the school in recent years, and he says that it’s hard for him to envision retreating from the decision to merge the colleges.

Register Rock now part of National Reserve

Almo, Idaho Register Rock, a granite monolith covered with pioneer signatures dating to 1843, has become part of the City of Rocks National Reserve through an acquisition by the National Park Service.

The acquisition, announced this week by National Park Service Superintendent Wallace Keck, includes the 290 acres surrounding Register Rock.

“The Reserve’s comprehensive management plan calls for the Register Rock area and the California Trail corridor to be restored to the historic landscape and interpreted to the public,” Keck said in a statement.

The National Park Service purchased the land from a partnership made up of the Oregon-California Trail Association, The Conservation Fund and the Idaho Department of Parks. Another 80 acres near the City of Rocks will be purchased later from private landowner William Loughmiller, officials said.

From 1843 to 1869, approximately 250,000 pioneers camped at and passed by Register Rock, officials said. Many signed the rock as a sign for friends and family following behind.

City of Rocks National Reserve was created by Congress in 1988.

Just details left on Monroe Street Bridge

The pesky little details are all that are left to finish on the Monroe Street Bridge.

On Wednesday morning, one worker pushed a broom along the bridge deck. Others installed the railing between the sidewalk and roadway. Another man was grinding down rough patches on a decorative column.

After being closed for more than 2 ½ years, the bridge will reopen for a weekend of festivities on Sept. 16-18, and then accept vehicle traffic on Sept. 19.

Despite a couple of surprises, like a hollow north pier, the bridge reconstruction project will even wrap up $2 million under its $20 million budget.

Spokane Preservation Advocates will host a $75 gala fund-raiser on Friday, Sept. 16, featuring music, dinner and more. For more information, visit www.spokanepreservation.org or call 325-SEAT.

The city of Spokane is throwing a free day-long celebration on Sept. 17, starting with an opening ceremony at 11 a.m., continuing with a street fair and wrapping up with a dance at 6 p.m. and fireworks at 8 p.m. On Sept. 18, people can participate in a worship service at 7:30 a.m., cycling event at 9 a.m. or a cancer walk at 9:30 a.m. For more information, visit, www.spokanecity.org.

Detectives ask public for leads in killing

Spokane County sheriff’s detectives continue to investigate the killing of a 52-year-old Native American man found dead Monday.

Rick L. Tiwater was killed by blunt force to his head and chest. His body was discovered by a man riding his four-wheel, off-road vehicle near the 13400 block of East Laurel Road in north Spokane County.

The body was about 150 feet off of Laurel Road, up a seldom-used trail.

While investigators have identified Tiwater, they are no closer to learning who killed him, Deputy David Thornburg said.

“We want to talk to anybody who has seen him recently or knows his friends or knows the vehicles he has owned,” Thornburg said. “We are taking any and all leads.”

Tiwater has lived on the West Coast, in the Tri-Cities and most recently in Spokane, Thornburg said.

Anyone who has information about Tiwater can call Detective Tim Hines at 477-6626. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Secret Witness at 327-5111.

Alleged victims urge diocese to end to appeal

The Catholic Diocese of Spokane should drop its appeal of a bankruptcy court ruling that churches and parochial schools can be sold to pay sexual abuse claims, and instead initiate a series of public meetings to resolve the case, a group of alleged victims said Wednesday.

During a press conference outside the Chancery, they held children’s pictures, sometimes photos of themselves, to underscore the point that as children they were allegedly raped and molested by priests. As adults, they now deserve healing and financial help putting their lives back together, said Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Spokane Bishop William Skylstad “is not doing the right thing for these people,” Blaine said, who made a trip from her home in Chicago to Spokane. “Drop the appeal and begin the healing,” she said.

The bankruptcy case has pitted alleged sexual abuse victims against the diocese, with the stakes growing higher as the bankruptcy continues.

Though both sides talk of settlement, negotiations have stumbled. And now, with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams ruling that parish property belongs to the Diocese and thus may be included as a financial holding to pay claims, Catholic churches nationwide have a stake in the appeal.

In the appeal filed in U.S. District Court in Spokane Tuesday, the Diocese contends that it does not own the parishes and other Catholic properties across Eastern Washington. The Association of Parishes also appealed the judge’s decision.

Little case law has been established regarding this issue and appeals were anticipated.