In brief: Watch meeting will be Thursday

Valleyford Neighborhood Watch will hold a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at On Sacred Grounds coffee shop. The neighborhood patrol group formed recently after a rash of burglaries hit the rural community southeast of Spokane.

Anyone interested in participating can call 747-6294 for details. On Sacred Grounds is at 12212 E Palouse Highway.

Mead

Speed limit raised on Hawthorne

Mead-area residents are getting a higher speed limit where jobs used to slow them down.

The demise of Kaiser Aluminum’s Mead smelter eliminated much of the traffic congestion on Hawthorne Road, so county commissioners voted last week to raise the speed limit in front of the shuttered plant.

The limit was to go from 35 to 45 mph from a point 2,500 feet east of Nevada Street to Parksmith Drive as soon as new signs could be installed, which was expected to happen this week.

The maximum speed remains 35 mph elsewhere on Hawthorne.

Mission Park

Art of Recovery event Sept. 15

The Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council’s Prevention Center will present the Second Annual Art of Recovery Sept. 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the north Shelter of Mission Park, 1200 E. Mission Ave.

The event will feature speakers Judge Richard White of Spokane County District Court, and Lynn Soderquist, the community outreach specialist for GSSAC.

There will also be musicians, painters, sculptors, jewelry artists, photographers, dancers and more.

Lunch will be available from ROAR, or Reaching Out Advocating Recovery for a nominal fee.

For more information, call Soderquist at 922-8383, or e-mail lsoderquist@ gssacpreventioncenter.com..

– From staff reports