State orders closure of 41 driving schools

The Washington Department of Licensing moved Wednesday to close 41 driving schools, including the Quality Driving School in Spokane Valley, unless their owner sells them.

All 41 are owned by Pierce County resident Gary Probst.

According to a Department of Licensing press release, Probst is ineligible to own the schools because of guilty pleas in a general court-martial on charges of signing false documents, wrongfully appropriating government property, wearing unauthorized decorations and falsifying a claim.

Probst is also facing a felony charge of evading sales tax payments on 15 vehicle purchases.

Students now enrolled in the schools can finish their courses, as long as they are completed by the end of the year.

“They’re probably getting training that meets the bare state minimum,” said Licensing Department spokesman Brad Benfield of students enrolled in Probst’s schools.

Probst has until Feb. 15, 2007, to sell the schools and relinquish all financial interest in them.

His daughter, Malia Orbino, has also agreed to relinquish her driver training school licenses in the 19 schools they partner in and to not reapply for driving school licenses for 10 years.

The schools’ new owners, however, would have to reapply for the school licenses.

– Amy CannataSANDPOiNT

Coldwater Creek donates $100,000

Nancy Brinker, the founder of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, was at the Bonner County Fairgrounds on Wednesday to accept a $100,000 donation to the foundation from Coldwater Creek Inc.

In addition, Coldwater Creek also gave $10,000 each to Komen affiliates in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

Brinker praised the company’s “abiding sense of social responsibility.” The Sandpoint-based retailer is a national sponsor of Komen Race for the Cure events.

More than 700 Coldwater Creek employees, wearing pink T-shirts with the Komen logo, attended the event.

Four employees spoke about how breast cancer touched their lives.

Among them was Ann Johnson, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Johnson said she detected the cancer early, which increases her chances of survival.

She thanked the foundation for its efforts to educate women about breast cancer.

– Becky Kramer

Spokane

Water line repairs close 17th Avenue

Seventeenth Avenue will be closed today between Perry and Hogan streets for water line repairs.

Traffic will be detoured to neighboring streets.

– Staff reports