In brief: Hearing possible on Sprague couplet

Before it decides whether to kill one-way traffic along the Sprague-Appleway couplet, the Spokane Valley City Council might pitch the proposal to the public one more time.

“I don’t think the public has weighed in specifically on this issue,” Councilman Mike DeVleming said at a Tuesday night meeting.

Several times in the past, commuters have said they like the couplet as is, with each street handling a single direction of traffic. However the city has been planning a community center near University Road and Sprague Avenue, and consultants say that won’t work without traffic changes.

DeVleming said he wants to make sure commuters know about the city center plans.

The City Council must decide by August whether to make the changes. A date for a public meeting wasn’t set, though council members supporting the change said they’d consider DeVleming’s suggestion.

– Tom Lutey

Adams County

Skeleton discovered in shallow grave

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible homicide after the discovery of a skeleton in a shallow grave.

An orchard worker discovered a skull just before 7 a.m. at Saddle Mountain Orchard, 2560 W. Highway 24, south of Othello. Investigators from the Washington State Patrol’s crime laboratory later uncovered the rest of the skeleton.

The skeletal remains will be examined today by a forensic anthropologist to determine age, sex and ethnicity – and perhaps the cause of death and length of time in the ground, said Adams County Sheriff Doug Barger.

– Amy Cannata

Spokane County

Mother of five held in drug, forgery case

A mother of five was arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly cashing counterfeit checks in the names of at least three businesses and three individuals.

Kristin Alise Langley, 39, faces 12 charges, including forgery, identity theft, theft and possession of controlled substances. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said detectives who raided her Spokane Valley home found methamphetamine.

Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said counterfeiting checks is “the next big thing,” and that it’s often associated with meth or cocaine use.

“That’s why we tell people not to leave their checkbooks in cars,” he said.

Reagan did not name the victims, and he did not know how much money Langley is accused of stealing.

The Sheriff’s Office was tipped off by a teller at Washington Trust Bank on North Division Street. Bank representatives would not comment.

– Nick Eaton