Girl’s bruises lead to arrest
A 27-year-old Othello woman was arrested Monday after she admitted to smothering a girl in an attempt to quiet the child.
Heather Seanene Smith was charged with second-degree assault of a child, according to Adams County Jail records.
Officials at an Othello elementary school called Washington’s Child Protective Services on Monday when they suspected the girl had been abused, Adams County Undersheriff Kevin Fuhr said. When authorities spoke with the 7-year-old girl, they noticed that she had bruising around her neck and broken capillaries around each eye.
When deputies went to Smith’s home in Othello, she admitted to the abuse, Fuhr said. Smith was booked into the Adams County Jail.
Springdale, Wash.
Front-porch fire levels home
A Springdale home burned to the ground Tuesday after a venting pellet stove ignited a pile of garbage sitting on the front porch, fire officials said.
A man and his two children escaped without injury, said Lt. Russell Armstrong, Stevens County Fire District spokesman.
Shortly after 2 p.m. the man noticed something glowing on the porch, Armstrong said. After he realized it was a fire, he tried to call 911, but the flames had burned out his phone lines.
The man retrieved his 5-year-old daughter from the living room and his 2-year-old son from upstairs where the toddler was napping, Armstrong said. Then the father drove to a neighbor’s home to call for help.
Firefighters responded to the 4200 block of Jepsen Road about 2:24 p.m. to find the west side of the home engulfed in flames, Armstrong said. The crews could hear the man’s ammunition going off inside the home. They doused the house with water they had trucked in and called for more water trucks, since there aren’t hydrants in the rural area.
By the time the other firefighters arrived, the house was engulfed in flames, Armstrong said. The two-story wood-frame home quickly burned to the ground.
Red Cross was able to help the family with temporary accommodations, Armstrong said. The man was buying the home from his mother, and he didn’t know if it was insured by her.
Kootenai County
Sale to benefit victim’s family
The Kootenai County 4-H Program is planning a garage sale to benefit the Wright family of Rathdrum after a head-on automobile collision Friday killed Kerriann Wright, 16, and injured her father and two brothers.
The sale will be May 6 and 7 at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
Anyone wanting to contribute clothing, household goods, tools, equipment or other items to the sale can drop off donations May 3 and 4 at the fairgrounds, Building 8.
The fairgrounds will accept donations May 3 from 3 to 6 p.m. and May 4 from 3 to 5 p.m.
All proceeds will go directly to the Wright family. The 4-H program will give any unsold donations to Hospice.
For more information, contact Don Buss at (208) 755-8944 or Jim Wilson at (208) 446-1680.
People who want to make a financial contribution to the family can do so at Panhandle State Bank, where the account “Donna Osborne for the Benefit of Wright Family” has been established.
Crane causes power outage
About 900 members of the Kootenai Electric Cooperative lost power Tuesday afternoon when a construction crane snapped a power line near U.S. Highway 95 and Setters Road.
Most of the blackout was in the Rockford Bay and Worley area. Power was restored by late afternoon.
The cooperative issued a statement reminding construction crews and heavy equipment operators to “always look up” when maneuvering tall machinery near power lines.