In brief: Public can weigh in on jail location
The public will get a chance tonight to recommend where to build a new jail in Spokane County.
County commissioners are considering where to put a new lockup that would replace Geiger Corrections Center, which houses low- and medium-security inmates.
The top choice of a committee that examined the issue is land adjacent to the Spokane County Jail.
Two other sites remain in the running: county land off Tschirley Road, east of the Spokane Industrial Park in Spokane Valley, and private property on Medical Lake Road near Interstate 90.
No matter which location is chosen, the Spokane County Jail would continue to be used for inmates considered the most dangerous.
The matter will be discussed at a meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Public Works Building, 1026 W. Broadway Ave.
– Jonathan Brunt
Spokane
Man gets 48 months for vehicular homicide
A Spokane man will spend up to four years in prison for causing a crash that killed an 11-year-old boy four days before Christmas.
William R. Keizer, 45, was sentenced Monday by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno on vehicular assault and vehicular homicide charges.
Keizer told police he had been drinking heavily before he crashed his car into an SUV driven by Jaret Herres on Dec. 21 near the intersection of Trent and Mission avenues. The crash broke Herres’ pelvis and several ribs and killed his adopted son, Wyatt Michael Williams-Herres.
Keizer was sentenced to 48 months for the vehicular homicide and 24 months for the vehicular assault but will serve them concurrently.
Keizer’s sentencing includes alcohol treatment, $800 in restitution payments and 18 months to 36 months community custody upon release, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Clint Francis said.
– Meghann M. Cuniff
Council votes to hire Russell to direct parks
Spokane has a new leader for its parks system.
The Spokane City Council on Monday voted unanimously to hire Barry Russell as the city’s parks director.
Russell, 54, was nominated for the job by Mayor Mary Verner. He is the assistant parks director for land management for El Paso, Texas.
A native of Quebec, Russell was in charge of recreation programs for the Canadian military in Germany for eight years in the 1980s. He also is the former parks and community services director in Kirkland, Wash.
Russell said he has bought a home within city limits and will start work May 5. He said one reason he applied was to live closer to his two sons in Bothell, Wash.
“I’ve always had a love for the Pacific Northwest and wanted to come back,” he said.
Russell, who has a master’s degree in recreation administration from Indiana University, will earn $97,280 a year.
– Jonathan Brunt