Pair in wheelchair struck by truck
A 48-year-old Spokane man and his 2-year-old daughter were hospitalized Wednesday after the wheelchair they were in was struck by a truck.
John A. Albright suffered a head injury in the crash, but it was not considered life-threatening, said Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee. The 2-year-old was being evaluated at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Albright and his daughter were returning home from a grocery store about 9:41 a.m. Wednesday when they were hit, Lee said.
The wheelchair was being driven along a sidewalk on Nevada Street just south of Hawthorne Road when a 49-year-old man backed his truck out of a driveway.
Albright’s daughter was sitting in his lap, Lee said. The truck driver, Gerald M. Hansen of Colbert, was not hurt.
Police continue to investigate the crash, Lee said. No charges have been filed.
Tacoma
New fire marshal will be sworn in
A new Washington fire marshal will take the helm today.
Mike Matlick will be sworn in at 1:30 p.m. in Tacoma by Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste.
Matlick has worked for the Washington State Patrol for about 30 years in numerous areas including patrol, investigations, training and fire protection bureau, said Sgt. Monica Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Patrol Office of Government and Media Relations.
The fire marshal is responsible for the Fire Protection Bureau of the Washington State Patrol, which provides fire and life safety services to the citizens of Washington state.
Those services include inspections of state-licensed facilities, reviews of fire protection systems and school construction projects, licensing of fire sprinkler contractors and pyrotechnic operators, training of Washington firefighters and collecting emergency response data.
Hunter said the State Fire Marshal’s office will also be unveiling a new slogan as part of its education effort, which was created by a statewide coalition to call attention to personal responsibility in preventing fires.
Region
Protection sought for giant worm
A petition has recently been filed to grant federal Endangered Species Act protections for the giant Palouse earthworm.
The rare, white worm grows to 3 feet in length and as wide as a finger.
Although it once inhabited large portions of the Palouse prairie, the worm was thought to be extinct until last year, when a specimen was unearthed by a University of Idaho graduate student.
In late August, a coalition filed a formal petition with the U.S. Department of the Interior to protect the worm. The groups include the Friends of the Clearwater, the Palouse Prairie Foundation and the Palouse Audubon Society.
Steve Paulson, a resident of Lenore, Idaho, who helped write the petition, said the fate of the worm is now in the hands of Interior Secretary and former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.
By law, Kempthorne must respond to the request within 90 days.
Paulson said protecting virgin Palouse prairie is key to the worm’s survival. Less than 1 percent of the grassland has not been plowed.
Newman Lake
Meeting planned on lake cleanup
A plan is under way to clean up phosphorous in Newman Lake, and even lakeshore home restrictions are on the table.
Phosphorous, which promotes algae growth and leads to oxygen shortages in the water, has been traced to various sources around the lake, including streams feeding Newman and – to a lesser degree – home septic systems in the area, according to a state phosphorous report.
The Department of Ecology hopes to reduce the amount of phosphorous to 20 micrograms per liter of water, a goal that will mean trying to restrict phosphorous caused by humans.
Ecologists will meet with Newman Lake residents to discuss the matter at 6 p.m. today in the Tri-Community Grange Hall, at the intersection of Starr Road and Heather Lane. The two-hour meeting will focus on possible cleanup strategies.
The Department of Ecology is also accepting written public comments on their draft report on the total maximum daily load of phosphorous in Newman Lake.
Comments can be mailed to Ecologist Ken Merrill by e-mail at kmer461@ecy.wa.gov or mailed to Merrill at 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane, WA 99205.
Copies of the report are available online at www.ecy. 0wa.gov/pubs/0610045.pdf. For a written copy, call (509) 329-3515.
District 13 hires new fire chief
After almost a year without a chief, Spokane County Fire District No. 13 has hired a new leader for Newman Lake’s volunteer fire department.
Rick Cokley will start work as the new fire chief this month, according to a release from the department.
He was one of more than 20 applicants reviewed for the position, said board member Robert Neu.
For the last 16 years Cokley was the fire chief in San Juan Bautista, Calif., a city of about 1,700 in San Benito County south of San Francisco.
Before that, he spent 14 years with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Newman Lake residents can meet him at the annual Newman Lake Barn Dance Sept. 16.
Bob Kolva’s resignation as fire chief was announced last December.
Compiled from staff reports