GOP candidates gain as counting continues

Several Republican candidates gained ground Thursday as Spokane County elections officials continued counting ballots from the state primary, but none of the matchups for the November election showed any sign of changing.

GOP challenger Dino Rossi pulled ahead of Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire in Spokane County by 402 votes. Gregoire had been ahead by about 2,200 votes in the first count Tuesday. She still led statewide by more than 34,000 votes on Thursday evening.

Incumbent Rep. John Ahern put a little more distance between himself and Democratic challenger John Driscoll in their two-person primary in the 6th Legislative District. He now leads by 774 votes, compared with just 41 votes in the Election Day tally.

County Commissioners Todd Mielke and Mark Richard also expanded their leads over Democrats Kim Thorburn and Brian Sayrs.

Spokane elections officials expect to count more ballots this afternoon. For a complete list of vote totals, go to spokesmanreview.com/ elections/2008 and click on Latest Primary Results.

Jim Camden

Spokane

Sacred Heart among best for transplants

Heart transplant patients at Sacred Heart Medical Center have greater survival rates after three years than those treated at most other hospitals in the United States.

The Spokane hospital was among three across the country able to claim a statistically proven survival rate greater than the national average. The others are the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the University of Michigan.

The findings were included in a July report released by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

The three-year survival rate among heart transplants at Sacred Heart was 100 percent from July 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2006. The national survival rate was 80.1 percent, according to a news release issued by Sacred Heart.

The results are compiled every six months. Results from January 2008 also showed Sacred Heart’s transplant program had survival rates that bested the national average.

John Stucke

Kootenai County

Body of missing man found in forest

The body of a missing North Idaho man was found in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest around 2 p.m. Thursday.

Kootenai County Search and Rescue teams found the body of Daniel Varner, 53, close to his Ford pickup and chain saw equipment near Forest Service Road 202 and Deception Creek, said Kootenai County sheriff’s Sgt. Mike McFarland.

Varner had been missing since Aug. 16, when he reportedly went to cut wood in the forest.

The cause of death was still under investigation.

Carley Dryden