Rockefeller to lead Mead schools

Thomas Rockefeller was selected Wednesday to be the new superintendent of schools for the Mead School District.

Rockefeller, 49, is the superintendent of the Pullman School District. He was selected by the Mead School Board as one of two finalists for the job. Michael Dunn of Cheney Public Schools was the other finalist for the post, selected from a pool of 18.

“(Rockefeller’s) qualifications are what made him our choice; his vast experiences, and his style of leadership, which is a great fit to take the school district to the next level,” said Denny Denholm, school board president.

Rockefeller has been the superintendent for the 2,100-student Pullman district for six years.

He was previously the director of curriculum and instruction for the Ridgefield, Wash., school district, where he was also a principal, curriculum director, and the director of technology. He was also a teacher in that district for 14 years.

He is scheduled to start in Mead on July 1.

– Sara Leaming

Prison says Atkinson attacked two officers

A Spokane murderer who ran over his wife in front of their children sent the Washington State Penitentiary back to full lockdown Thursday after he allegedly attacked two officers.

The penitentiary at Walla Walla had been on lockdown for three weeks because of a previous assault on corrections officers, but officials had eased some restrictions and were planning to end the lockdown. Those plans are now being reconsidered, spokeswoman Lori Scamahorn said.

She said Richard A. Atkinson, 34, had just left the dining hall when he attacked a prison unit manager, Al Walter. Corrections officer Mark Hill intervened and was taken to the hospital with an unspecified injury, while Walter was treated at his doctor’s office, Scamahorn said.

Last September, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Robert Austin sentenced Atkinson to 50 years in prison for what the judge called one of the worst murders he had seen in 23 years on the bench. Atkinson chased down his estranged wife, 29-year-old Andrea Atkinson, with a van and ran over her repeatedly in front of their three children and his 9-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

– John Craig

‘Between Fences’ stopping in Valley

Starting Saturday a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit will be on display at the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum.

“Between Fences” examines the culture and history surrounding the device that divided the West, defined suburbia and has affected the course of American life in countless other ways.

The Spokane Valley museum is one of six in the state to host the exhibit.

It runs through April 30. The museum is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. The museum is located at 12114 E. Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley.

Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for those 16 and under.

For more information, visit the museum’s Web site at www.valleyheritagecenter.org or call (509) 922-4570.

– Peter Barnes