In brief: School evacuated because of odor
Children and staff at Stevens Elementary School enjoyed an outside lunch Thursday after the North Side school was evacuated because of a strange odor.
Members of the Spokane Fire Department hazardous materials team determined a product used to clean paint off the back of the building caused the fumes.
Firefighters were called to the school at Sinto Avenue and Pittsburg Street about 10 a.m.
One child complained of a stomachache, and one staff member with an existing condition was treated with oxygen, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said.
The school was ventilated, and students and staff returned inside to finish the school day.
Lands Council wins anti-lead grant
The Lands Council has been awarded a $72,000 federal grant to reduce lead poisoning in inner-city Spokane neighborhoods over the next two years.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the grant in conjunction with Lead Poisoning Prevention Week as part of a nationwide campaign targeting areas at risk of lead exposure.
Kat Hall, environmental health program director for the Lands Council, said the funds will be used for computer mapping of at-risk neighborhoods, educating families about the health risks of lead on children and free screening for high blood-lead levels.
“We are really thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the community to help protect kids from lead poisoning,” Hall said. “This project dovetails with our work over the last decade to clean up the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene watershed from a century of mining, and protect the health of those most affected by exposure to environmental toxins.”
Knife-wielder robs Shell station
A man armed with a knife robbed a North Side Shell station early Thursday morning, taking cash and cigarettes before running away.
The robbery happened about 6:40 a.m. at the Devine’s Shell Station at 10222 N. Division St., according to a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
The man is described as white, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 and heavy-set. Despite a stocking over his face, unshaven stubble was reportedly visible. He was wearing a blue stocking cap and maroon sweat shirt.
The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about the robbery to call (509) 242-TIPS.
Colbert
Child predator moves into area
A convicted child predator recently moved to Colbert.
According to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, 35-year-old Steve Voorhees is a level 3 sex offender. He is not wanted at this time.
Voorhees was convicted in 1992 for first-degree rape of an 8-year-old boy. Before that he was tried as a juvenile for taking indecent liberties with a 5-year-old boy.
His new address is in the 2400 block of West Woolard Road.
Voorhees is described as 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.
Level 3 sex offenders are those considered most likely to offend again.
Liberty Lake
Officials identify officer in shooting
The Liberty Lake police officer who shot a man after he allegedly fought the officer earlier this week was Taj Wilkerson, authorities said Thursday.
Wilkerson stopped Jeffrey Thomas Ward, 39, to check on his welfare Monday night. During the stop, Ward reportedly pinned Wilkerson between the patrol car and its door.
Wilkerson slipped out and took Ward to the ground, but Ward grabbed Wilkerson’s gun and tried to fight it out of the officer’s hands, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release. Wilkerson fired four times, and a bullet struck Ward’s right knee.
Also suffering other injuries from the struggle, Ward was taken to Spokane Valley Hospital and Medical Center after sheriff’s deputies arrested him.
Ward was released from the hospital Thursday, and authorities booked him into Spokane County Jail. He faces a charge of third-degree assault of a police officer, according to the release.
Grant County
Drug raid suspects face U.S. charges
Two women arrested during an August drug bust in Grant County were arrested again Wednesday on federal warrants.
Mattawa, Wash., residents Anna Barajas, 21, and Vicky Gonzalez, 32, were out on bail awaiting trial on cocaine and marijuana charges, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. A third person, Marcelino Ramos-Lopez, was federally charged but authorities had not located him Thursday.
The three were arrested Aug. 28 by the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team, but the U.S. Department of Justice decided a federal case against them would be strong, said Chief Deputy John Turley, of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Federal authorities “have superseded the county, so the county dismissed the charges and they’re handled by the feds,” Turley said.
The federal indictments on Barajas, a resident alien, and Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, are for conspiracy to manufacture 1,000 or more marijuana plants and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, according to the news release.
TACOMA
Explosions blamed on propane hose
A mechanical failure in a propane supply hose apparently led to the massive explosions that rocked the Atlas Castings and Technology foundry earlier this month and caused the severe burns that killed a propane truck driver, Tacoma Fire Department investigators say.
The investigative report released Wednesday by Deputy Fire Marshal Lee Britt also said two Atlas employees had worked on the propane hose, which is owned by Atlas, before the blast.
“The statements that the Atlas employees worked on the hose are accurate,” said Duane Britschgi, Atlas chief executive and president. “What is missing is that they did that at the request of the driver.”
Britschgi said that when IXL Transportation Services driver Charles “Chuck” McDonald arrived on the site on Oct. 6, he needed a gate unlocked.
“As he walked through the gate to get the hose, he noticed the fitting that makes the coupling to the truck was disengaged from the hose,” Britschgi told The News Tribune newspaper.
A cloud of propane gas was released during the delivery and was ignited by a furnace inside a building about 75 feet away.
TWIN FALLS
EPA fines 13 developers
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined 13 developers working in this Southern Idaho city for violations discovered during inspections in May, officials said.
The fines from the violations at six construction sites total $41,500.
The agency said the violations were related to national storm-water rules, and inspections found that work crews were allowing sediment, oil, grease and concrete to wash out of sites. Officials said that can cause health hazards to workers and residents.
Other violations involved not getting federal environmental permits before starting construction.