In brief: County OKs suit over annexation
Spokane County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to sue the city of Spokane to prevent the annexation of 134 acres along North Division.
Last week, the City Council voted to notify the Boundary Review Board of the city’s intent to annex the North Division Costco store, Holy Cross Cemetery and several other properties.
City leaders argue that state law stipulates that urban areas should be within cities. County leaders say Spokane wants the tax revenues.
Commissioner Bonnie Mager said there’s still time to negotiate a solution because the lawsuit won’t be filed for at least another week. But Mayor Dennis Hession said he’s uncertain how to stop the county’s action.
“They don’t seem to be interested in letting us annex, so I don’t know how this can be resolved,” Hession said.
Kettle Falls, Wash.
Food bank hits the jackpot
A Kettle Falls couple who won a $250,000 lottery prize have decided to share their good fortune with a local food bank.
“It was absolutely the best Christmas present we could have gotten around here. I was speechless,” said Susan Urhausen, director of the Kettle Falls Food Bank. Urhausen said that without the permission of the couple, Tina Marie and Bob Rubio, she could not say how large the gift was, but she called it “very generous.”
Urhausen also said the couple regularly contribute to the food bank.
“They’re really nice people and it was well-deserved,” said Urhausen.
The Rubios bought four Mega Millions tickets at the Yellow Pine Mini Mart in Kettle Falls, north of Spokane, but almost walked out of the store with only three tickets. However, before they left the clerk realized his error and printed out the last ticket for them. That was the one worth a quarter of a million dollars.
Montesano, Wash.
Trucker admits guilt in fatal crash
The driver of a logging truck has pleaded guilty to causing an accident that killed two university scientists.
Garland Massingham, 41, of Rochester, faces a maximum of 4 1/2 years in prison. He will be sentenced next Tuesday in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for two counts of vehicular homicide.
The victims were University of Washington seismologist Tony Qamar, 62, and Daniel Johnson, 46, a University of Puget Sound geophysics professor. They died when their car was crushed by the truck’s logs on U.S. Highway 101 near Humptulips.
Massingham had been accused of being under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the Oct. 4, 2005, crash. But in exchange for his guilty plea, Prosecutor Stew Menefee agreed to drop that part of the charge.
From staff and wire reports