EWU posts another gain in enrollment
Eastern Washington University has posted its 19th straight quarter of enrollment growth, though its freshman class was smaller than last year’s.
The dip in freshman enrollments was anticipated during the spring and summer, with applications down statewide from Washington residents.
But the freshman class was about 100 students larger than expected, and the school saw better retention and increases in some programs.
The result was a “head count” of 9,999 students, 131 higher than last year’s fall quarter enrollment.
In terms of full-time equivalent students, the enrollment was 9,637.
Eastern released the figures Thursday, after the traditional 10th-day enrollment count.
The school also made what President Rodolfo Arevalo called “giant strides” in increasing its ethnic diversity.
More than 28 percent of new students identified themselves as a minority or multi-racial, up from about 20 percent last year.
Spokane Valley
Reward offered in tavern burglary
The Secret Witness organization is offering a reward for two women, one of whom allegedly was involved in a burglary at the Bottoms Up Tavern in Spokane Valley.
Sheriff’s deputies identified the suspects as Tori R. Wentz, who they said worked at the tavern and admitted helping her boyfriend burglarize it, and Andrea R. Scanlon. Deputies said that while searching Wentz’s home, they found evidence that Scanlon possessed methamphetamine.
Wentz is described as 21 years old, white, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 125 pounds, with blond hair and green eyes. She is wanted on warrants charging second-degree burglary, third-degree theft, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and third-degree driving with a suspended license.
Scanlon’s description matches Wentz’s, except that she weighs 5 pounds less. She is charged with drug possession.
Sheriff’s detectives said Wentz last lived at 1613 S. Glenn Road; Scanlon, at 8923 N. Oakland Road. But both women reportedly are highly transient.
To give information, call (509) 327-5111. Use a code name or number to remain anonymous.
Olympia
State commission reprimands judge
Censured in 1996 for incompetence and partiality to his friends, Grant County Superior Court Judge Kenneth L. Jorgensen now has been reprimanded for denying a woman her right to counsel.
The reprimand, announced Thursday by the state Judicial Conduct Commission, is considered more serious than the censure. In both cases, Jorgensen stipulated that the charges against him were accurate.
Jorgensen opened a hearing in June 2005 before it was scheduled to start, and he forced a woman to represent herself in a child custody dispute despite her protests that her lawyer hadn’t arrived.
In the 1996 case, Jorgensen acknowledged he had given the appearance of being biased in favor of people who belong to the same organizations as him, that he “repeatedly” appeared to have conducted court business outside court in discussions that excluded some of the parties, and that he frequently gave the impression he was inattentive.
Jorgensen also acknowledged that his incompetence in civil issues “placed an unmanageable burden” on other court workers, including Judge Evan Sperline, who at the time was the county’s only other Superior Court judge.
Lincoln City, Ore.
CdA woman dies after rock hits car
Carol M. Martin, 75, of Coeur d’Alene, was killed Thursday morning on the Oregon Coast Highway when a 10-pound rock smashed through the windshield of her pickup truck and struck her as she sat on the passenger side.
The accident occurred near Gleneden Beach, south of Lincoln City, on U.S. Highway 101, according to a release from the Oregon State Police.
The victim and her husband, Gerald D. Martin, were traveling northbound about 11:40 a.m. near a traffic control light for the Salishan Lodge. The couple was in a 1995 Dodge Ram towing a fifth-wheel trailer.
Martin was hit in the neck and shoulder area. She was pronounced dead at North Lincoln Hospital.
Troopers believe the rock may have been tossed into the air after being lodged between dual tires on a passing truck. They have been unable to identify the vehicle from which it may have come.
The investigation is continuing, and troopers are asking for the public’s help, including drivers of large trucks that may have been traveling through the area at the time. Contact OSP Northern Command Center dispatch at (800) 452-7888.
Blanchard, Idaho
Powerball win still unclaimed
No one Thursday had stepped forward to claim a $200,000 Powerball prize for a ticket sold at the EZ Stop in Blanchard, Idaho, in southwestern Bonner County.
The winning ticket was part of Wednesday’s Powerball drawing (3, 7, 27, 39, 40 and Powerball 8).
A $200,000 winning ticket matches all five numbers but not the Powerball.
“When people hear the jackpot was not won, sometimes they forget to check their numbers for the other big prizes,” David Workman, Idaho Lottery spokesman, said in a statement.
The winner has 180 days to claim the prize. Blanchard is along Highway 41 near the Idaho-Washington border.