Dead woman identified
The woman found dead Sunday in the downtown area has been identified as 46-year-old Melanie A. Durham.
Her cause of death has not been determined, said Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee. An autopsy Tuesday showed that Durham did not suffer from any trauma.
Detectives no longer are investigating Durham’s death as a possible homicide, Lee said.
A passer-by called 911 on Sunday shortly after 8 a.m. when he saw Durham lying in a stairwell in the north alley near Second Avenue and Madison Street, Lee said.
Also on Sunday, a dead body was found on a north bank of the Spokane River where West Boone Avenue ends at a mobile home park.
The man’s body was snagged in trees in the river, police said.
Police think the man was a suspect who jumped in the river earlier this year to elude officers, Lee said. The man’s identity remains unknown.
Man, 24, admits molesting children
A 24-year-old man who infected a baby girl and a 7-year-old girl with gonorrhea pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of second-degree child molestation and agreed to an above-standard 10-year prison sentence.
David Scott Waring had been charged with two counts of first-degree child rape, but a Spokane County Superior Court jury was unable to reach a verdict last August after a 3 1/2-week trial. The jury was split 10-2 in favor of conviction.
Waring is to be sentenced in September after a pre-sentencing report is completed.
Waring also pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree burglary, even though he didn’t commit a burglary. The arrangement, called a Barr plea, allows prosecuting and defense attorneys to negotiate sentencing ranges that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
Waring’s youngest victim hadn’t yet had her second birthday when he assaulted her in the summer of 2004.
Tesoro donates to Meals on Wheels
Tesoro will donate $1,000 in fuel cards to Meals on Wheels programs in Spokane and Spokane Valley today.
The donation is part of the company’s three-day campaign to support Meals on Wheels, a program that delivers hot meals to homebound elderly residents. In recent months, some volunteers have left the program or reduced their participation, according to a company press release.
In addition to the fuel cards, Tesoro will donate 2 cents of every gallon of gasoline sold nationwide today through Sunday. The company has pledged a minimum contribution of $100,000 to the Meals on Wheels Association of America Foundation.
Health aid likely to be canceled
A federal program to help schools identify and connect low-income students and families with health care coverage will likely be canceled.
The Washington Department of Social and Health Services began notifying school districts this week of a proposed cut to the Medicaid Administrative Match program.
The program, created sometime in the 1980s, provides $8 million in reimbursements to districts for time spent helping direct low-income families to Medicaid resources.
Spokane Public Schools stands to lose about $300,000 as a result of the cuts, said Craig Numata, a district financial supervisor. The money was primarily used to help fund summer programs.
Other districts across the state have used the money to fund social work or nursing positions, said Alan Himsl, a manager for the Administrative Match program at DSHS. “Basically anything to benefit the children,” Himsl said.
Nationally, the program was credited with expanding health programs for the poor and locate candidates who might otherwise have fallen through the cracks, state officials said. The program will likely shut down by Oct. 1.
SCAPCA board to vote on hiring
The Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority board is scheduled to finalize the hiring of the agency’s new director this afternoon.
The board introduced Bill Dameworth, former environmental manager for timber company Pope & Talbot, as the director on Monday. He started work on Tuesday.
The board never voted on the hiring but decided by consensus in a private meeting to offer him the job.
Legal experts on the state’s Open Meeting Act said the board appeared to have violated the law by not voting on the matter publicly.
Today’s meeting will be held at 2 p.m. in room 2B of the Spokane County Public Works Building, 1026 W. Broadway Ave.
Idaho
Hiawatha trail opens for season
The Route of the Hiawatha opened for the season Thursday.
The popular rails-to-trail bike and hike path usually opens in May, but there was a delay this year while workers reinforced tunnels along the route.
Several chunks of rock fell in September from the roof of one of 10 tunnels the bikers and hikers go through on the 15-mile trail.
The scenic trail also crosses seven trestles – and the Idaho-Montana border.
Users must pay a fee and helmets are required. Lights are also required for going through the tunnels.
For more information, call (208) 744-1301 or visit www.ridethehiawatha.com.
Driver cited for miles-long oil slick
A Montana truck driver was cited Wednesday for failing to secure his load after a leaky 250-gallon oil drum he was transporting left a slippery and messy trail along miles of Interstate 90 and state Highway 3.
Jimmy N. Swindoll, 44, was traveling from Butte to St. Maries, according to Idaho State Police. An accident in Shoshone County, which resulted in minor injuries, was attributed to the miles-long spill.
“It was like following a trail of bread crumbs,” ISP Capt. Wayne Longo said. “It was slick.”
The Idaho Transportation Department sanded the roads until fire crews mopped up the mess.
“We’re just lucky it didn’t rain,” Longo said.