Wal-Mart critics file wetland complaint

Opponents of a proposed Wal-Mart store at 44th Avenue and Regal Street in Spokane have filed a complaint with the city’s code enforcement office asking for enforcement of city laws against the dumping of rock and fill material in a wetland.

They said there is evidence the proposed Wal-Mart site qualifies as a wetland, and the city is obliged under its own laws to protect wetlands.

The complaint also contends that the city issued a building permit for construction of an espresso stand in violation of a 1997 hearing examiner decision granting commercial zoning to the property. That decision requires a series of steps the developer must meet prior to gaining a building permit, including contacting neighborhood residents.

John Henry, of the city’s code enforcement office, said he is planning to consult the affected city departments and city lawyers before determining how to proceed with the complaint.

– Mike Prager

Lindskog appointed temporary sheriff

There’s a new sheriff in town.

County commissioners on Friday voted unanimously to appoint Undersheriff Larry Lindskog to the post temporarily.

Sheriff Mark Sterk’s resignation, which he announced in August, became official Friday. On April 10, commissioners will interview three candidates to fill the job until Sterk’s term ends at the end of the year.

Lindskog, 58, has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 1998, when he was appointed operations director by Sterk. Before that, he was a traffic officer with the Spokane Police Department, where he served for 29 years.

After the appointment, Lindskog said he’s hopeful that the commission will act quickly to appoint a permanent replacement.

“It’s important that we don’t become stagnant in the interim,” Lindskog said.

Three department employees want to become sheriff: Lt. Jim Finke, Sgt. Ozzie Knezovich and Spokane Valley police Chief Cal Walker.

Sterk isn’t the only upper-level administrator who left the department in March. Undersheriff Dave Wiyrick, and Dick Collins, chief criminal deputy for special projects, retired.

– Jonathan Brunt

Driver injured in collision with bus

A woman suffered a broken arm and head cuts Friday afternoon when she turned in front of a Spokane Transit Authority bus, according to a transit spokeswoman.

STA communications manager Molly Myers said the bus was northbound in the right-hand lane of Division Street when the woman, northbound in an inside lane, cut in front of the bus in an effort to turn right on Rowan Avenue. The woman’s vehicle was T-boned by the bus, Myers said.

It appeared no one else was injured in the crash, Myers said. No other information was available.

– John Craig