In brief: Prosecutor picked to be city attorney
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has made her choice to lead the city’s legal department.
City Prosecutor Howard Delaney will become city attorney July 28, pending approval from the City Council, the mayor announced Monday.
Delaney started with the city in 1998 and became the top prosecutor in 2002. He served as acting city attorney from August 2005 through May 2006 and replaces Jim Craven, who left in March.
About 20 people applied for the job, said Dave Chandler, city human resources director. Five finalists included two other internal candidates: acting City Attorney Pat Dalton and Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi.
An interview panel sent three names to Verner for review, Chandler said.
Delaney earns $87,007 as city prosecutor. His pay will increase to $122,734 as city attorney.
Delaney holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a law degree from the University of Idaho.
Man’s death likely natural, police say
Spokane police said Monday they believe a man found dead Sunday in a South Hill home died from natural causes.
A white male in his 40s was discovered about 4 p.m. by a roommate who returned home from a weekend away, Sgt. Dan Torok said Sunday.
While some toxicology tests are pending, detectives believe the man’s death was natural, Sgt. Joe Peterson said.
“He had a lot of medical problems,” Peterson said of the man, whom he would not name.
County tax records indicate the home at 2007 S. Lincoln St. is owned by Allen and Barbara Wunderlich, who are brother and sister, according to newspaper archives. The dead man is not Allen Wunderlich, Peterson said.
The roommate told police he moved in about a month ago.
“There is no indication of foul play,” Peterson said.
No one injured in house fire
Two adults and four children escaped safely from a house fire Monday morning. Spokane Valley firefighters responded to 1504 S. Virginia Road, where a fire started in the attic, fire Chief Mike Thompson said. The fire investigator believes faulty wiring sparked the blaze, Thompson said.
For a time, smoke from the fire caused visibility problems on state Route 27, Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Baker said. But firefighters were quickly able to knock the fire down, he said.
Thompson said the fire was confined mostly to the home’s attic.
At home were a couple, their child and three other children who had stayed over, Thompson said. The fire caused about $80,000 in damage.
Man in hospital after shooting
A man in north Spokane who told police he had no idea how he was shot in the back apparently shot himself after several days of methamphetamine use, police said Monday.
Police still aren’t sure how the 29-year-old man did it, but they believe the wound was caused by his gun and have no indication that anyone else was involved, police Sgt. Joe Peterson said.
“He’s been on a multiple-day meth binge and he can’t really remember what happened,” said Peterson, who spoke to the man at the hospital. “From looking at the scene, we feel he probably shot himself by accident.”
Authorities were summoned to 618 E. Longfellow Ave. about 7:30 a.m. Monday. Paramedics rushed the man to a hospital, where he remains in stable condition, Peterson said.
Detectives found blood that indicated the man, whose identity was withheld, shot himself on a couch with a large-caliber pistol.
“And then he went to bed hoping it would all go away. When he woke up, it hadn’t gone away and he called the cops,” Peterson said. “I don’t think he’s being untruthful. When you’ve been on a three- or four-day meth binge, that will happen to you.”
Spirit Lake
Man says he beat neighbor’s dogs
A Spirit Lake man who admitted to authorities he beat a neighbor’s dogs nearly to death with a baseball bat said he did it because the two canines might have been responsible for an attack on his dog.
But he didn’t see the attack, he’s just guessing, according to a Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department report.
The two dogs were hurt so badly that the deputy loaded them into his patrol car and took them to a pet emergency clinic, where the animals received treatment, officials said. The dogs are expected to live.
Authorities began the investigation of the man last week after a neighbor witnessed him beating the dogs, the report states. The neighbor told authorities the man broke into the dogs’ yard and kennels after their owner left on vacation.
The deputy submitted the report to the Kootenai County prosecutor’s officer to make a decision on possible charges.
Sandpoint
Aviation museum holds open house
The Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center near Sandpoint will celebrate its first anniversary Saturday and Sunday with an open house, a fly-in and an opportunity to meet noted inventors.
Dr. Forrest Bird and his wife, Pamela, opened the museum a year ago to house flight exhibits and invention displays, with the aim of inspiring children to study math and science and to create. Bird invented the first reliable, affordable respirator for mass production.
This weekend’s open house will be Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Planes will fly in Saturday morning. Inventors and pilots will greet the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days. All events are free.
To get there from Coeur d’Alene, head north on U.S. 95, turn right at Sagle Road and go 11.8 miles, then turn left onto Bird Ranch Road. For more information, visit www.birdaviation museum.com.
Stevens County
Court upholds habitat ruling
Stevens County erred by passing an ordinance to protect wildlife areas that did not designate all such “critical habitats” or consider the “best available science” in selecting them, a Washington appeals court ruled last week.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals upheld a mandate that the county must amend its code to better protect sensitive species. Advocacy group Futurewise had objected to the county law, which county commissioners passed in 2004 to comply with the state’s growth-management law.