Man struck by car while toting rocks
The Spokane Valley transient who suffered a broken leg Monday when he stepped in front of a moving vehicle on Sullivan Road was identified as Jeff Kukla.
Kukla, who is in his 30s, was attempting to cross the busy street between East Indiana Avenue and the Spokane River just before 6 a.m. when he was struck by a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Roger Hamilton of Selah, Wash., said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.
Hamilton was stopped at the red light at Indiana when Kukla began walking across Sullivan in the middle of the block, Reagan said. Kukla was wearing dark clothing and a dark backpack with a dark sleeping bag tied to it. The backpack was filled with rocks.
Hamilton accelerated from the light and did not see Kukla before striking him, Reagan said.
Kukla’s leg injury might have been more severe because of the weight of the backpack and rocks, investigators said. He was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he was in satisfactory condition.
Hamilton was not cited.
Spokane
Reward offered for tip on vandalism
Secret Witness is offering a $200 reward for information that solves a long-running series of malicious mischief incidents in the Corbin Park area of Spokane.
On as many as 15 occasions, someone has thrown rocks or other items through front picture windows of homes in the 300 to 600 blocks of West Waverly Place and Park Place.
The damage in the months-long spree runs into the thousands of dollars, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.
The incidents now are occurring on weekends, leading the sheriff’s neighborhood resource officer to suspect that one or more students are responsible for the vandalism.
Anyone with information about the incidents is encouraged to call (509) 327-5111. Callers do not have to give their name to collect the reward, but they should leave a code name or number.
Spokane County
Meeting to address site for new jail
Spokane County officials and consultants will conduct a public meeting Thursday to talk about choosing a site for a new low- to medium-security jail.
Questions and comments will be taken after an explanation of the “essential public facility site process” for analyzing 10 possible locations.
The meeting will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Spokane Fire Training Center, 1618 N. Rebecca St., east of the Spokane Community College campus at Greene Street and Mission Avenue.
WENATCHEE
Fruit growers double farmworker hires
Washington fruit growers hired twice as many seasonal agricultural workers through the federal guestworker program this year as they did last year, reflecting a shortage of farm hands.
Bill Tarrow, spokesman for the state Department of Employment Security, said growers received permission to hire 1,657 workers through the federal H-2A program, and at least 1,140 were in fact hired. In 2006, permission was granted for 814 workers, and 515 hirings were verified.
Under the program, growers can hire foreign workers on temporary visas if there’s a shortage of workers. Growers must pay $9.77 an hour, provide housing and pay for the workers’ transportation. Many of the workers come from Mexico.
Low unemployment and efforts to crack down on undocumented workers have increased the demand for legal foreign workers, Tarrow said.
DUPONT, Wash.
Chief of police hospitalized after fight
DuPont Police Chief Michael A. Pohl has been injured in a fight at a home, and investigators say it’s hard to determine what happened because so many witnesses were drunk.
The 49-year-old Pohl was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia by ambulance after the fight early Friday morning. Authorities say his face was swollen from being hit.
Thurston County sheriff’s Lieutenant Christopher Mealy says it’s unclear whether Pohl was a victim. Mealy says investigators have been hampered by “the level of intoxication of a number of witnesses.”
Municipal Administrator Bill McDonald says Pohl is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
From staff and wire reports