In brief: Council to hold development hearings
The Spokane Valley City Council has scheduled two public hearing on its new development code.
The city has been rewriting the Uniform Development Code it inherited from Spokane County. Encompassing zoning, building regulations, design standards and numerous other issues, it will govern almost every aspect of construction and land use in the city.
The first hearing takes place 6 p.m. Tuesday at the CenterPlace community center, 2426 N. Discovery Place, in Mirabeau Point Park.
Another hearing will be held at the council’s regular meeting 6 p.m. Sept. 11 at City Hall, 11707 E. Sprague Ave.
For more information or to view drafts of the code, visit www.spokanevalley.org.
Ritzville
Highway 395 closed because of fire
A brush fire temporarily closed all four lanes of Highway 395 near Ritzville on Saturday afternoon. It was contained by evening.
The fire started on one side of the highway then jumped to the other, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Crews managed to get one lane open by about 3:30 p.m. The fire burned near power lines and the highway at mile marker 85.
Information on the cause of the blaze was unavailable.
Rice, Wash.
Blaze burns south of Kettle Falls
About 90 firefighters fought a 200-acre blaze Saturday near Rice, Wash., south of Kettle Falls.
The fire was reported about noon and was 10 percent contained by evening with a dozer line around it, said a dispatcher from the state Department of Natural Resources. She said the fire was burning mostly in timber litter, grass and brush. No structures were threatened, and traffic was not affected.
The cause is under investigation.
Spokane
Man, woman wanted on warrants
Secret Witness is offering rewards leading to the capture of two persons wanted on warrants for separate crimes.
Joseph Lee Schreurs, 39, reportedly used a knife to assault a man in July. Now he is wanted for second-degree assault on a $20,000-bail warrant, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Schreurs is white, weighs about 170 pounds, stands 6-foot-2, and has brown hair and blue eyes. His last known home address is 6901 N. Wiscomb St., the release states.
The second person who is wanted is Bambi Jean Ford, 40, who has an outstanding warrant for possession of lorazepam, methadone and hydrocodone, which are controlled prescription drugs, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. The charges are from March 2006.
Ford is a 5-foot-6 American Indian who weighs about 135 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes, the release states. Her last known address is 614 E. Broad Ave.
People can anonymously call the Secret Witness tip line at (509) 327-5111. The organization is not affiliated with law enforcement.
Sandpoint
Anglers can get free fishing tips
A free fishing seminar will be held at the Sandpoint Community Hall from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 7. The seminar will focus on catching lake trout – also known as mackinaw – and rainbow trout in Lake Pend Oreille.
Topics will include boater safety, etiquette, trolling, jigging, using a down-rigger and the angler incentive program. The state has been encouraging anglers to harvest lake and rainbow trout to help boost the lake’s plummeting kokanee salmon population.
The seminar is sponsored by the Lake Pend Oreille Fishery Recovery Task Force.
HELENA
Legislator queries helicopter’s inaction
A state legislator wants to follow up on claims that a helicopter available to drop water on a wildfire north of here did not do so because the U.S. Forest Service wanted to let the fire burn.
The blaze that began in July and continues to burn in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness and Beartooth Wildlife Management Area has blackened more than 43,000 acres, or about 67 square miles, and is nearing containment.
Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell, has asked Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to investigate response to the Meriwether fire. Baucus spokeswoman Sara Kuban said the senator’s staff will do so.
Barkus said a state helicopter with a bucket to drop water on the fire was ready to fly after the fire was detected July 21, but at the request of the Forest Service, the chopper did not head to the blaze.
Helena National Forest Supervisor Kevin Riordan said he is comfortable with the response. It is possible the Forest Service found conditions too risky for the helicopter pilot, he said