Offices, services closed today
Today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday means a day off for many area workers.
• City offices will be closed except for Medical Lake.
• County, state and federal offices will be closed.
• Schools, colleges and universities will be closed.
• Spokane County Library District libraries will be closed. Spokane Public Libraries will be closed Tuesday because the system is always closed Mondays.
• The Spokane Regional Health District will be closed.
• Garbage pickup from the city of Spokane and Waste Management will run on a normal schedule today.
• Spokane Transit Authority buses will run on a regular weekday schedule.
• Parking meters in Spokane and Cheney will not be enforced.
• Most liquor stores will be closed. Some contract stores may be open.
Rockslide closes main road into Avery
A rockslide Sunday morning blocked the main road into Avery, Idaho, about two miles west of town.
The St. Joe River Road is going to be closed for a week, said Craig Herrell, foreman of the road crew for Shoshone County. Avery is about 45 miles east of St. Maries.
An old highway still gives the 53 permanent Avery residents access in and out of town, Herrell said. Crews made the old highway a little more drivable, Herrell said.
The rockslide is about 50 to 75 feet wide with two boulders about 10 feet thick, Herrell said.
“There’s a couple of nice nuggets there,” Herrell said. “We’ll have to drill and blast it.”
Man arrested after alleged shot at car
A 22-year-old Post Falls man was arrested early Sunday after he allegedly shot out the rear window of another car on Interstate 90 with a pellet gun, Spokane Valley police said in a news release.
Andrew E. Pretetskiy was booked into Spokane County Jail on one count of first degree assault.
Pretetskiy pulled up behind an eastbound car that had entered the interstate from Freya just after midnight, police said. According to the report, Pretetskiy flashed his lights and honked his horn while tailgating the car. The victim called 911 from a cell phone and said a car was next to him and the driver was waving a gun. When they both reached the Sullivan Road exit, the victim’s rear window had been shot out. Pretetskiy then turned off the highway.
The victim gave police a description of Pretetskiy’s blue Honda Civic and his license plate number.
Police saw Pretetskiy driving near Sullivan and 16th Avenue about 3 a.m. and stopped his car. Inside they found a pellet gun painted black, police said.
Washington State Patrol troopers reported a similar incident involving a blue Honda Civic on the freeway a week earlier, police said.
State Route 291 washout from stream
High stream flows caused a washout Saturday evening on State Route 291 between Willow Bay and Tum Tum in Stevens County. The road is expected to be closed for a week, according to a Washington State Department of Transportation news release.
Water got around two 30-inch culverts, which are drains under the road. The water pressure washed out the fill materials that supported the pavement. About 20 feet of the roadway has been deemed unsafe for travel by the transportation department.
State workers at the site have determined that a new drainage system will be needed, according to the news release. The road is next to the Spokane River, and the stream is a tributary so the state will consult with state environmental agencies during the repair.
Traffic can detour over Charles Road, Devils Gap Road and State Route 231.