In brief: Expect extra highway patrol for holiday weekend
Motorists should expect to see extra Idaho State Police, Montana Highway Patrol and Washington State Patrol troopers over the July Fourth weekend.
All three agencies plan for increased traffic, including motorcycle and recreational vehicle traffic.
Extra patrols on I-90 and secondary highways between Ritzville and Missoula should be expected.
The agencies encourage travelers to be careful as they will be locating and arresting impaired and aggressive drivers.
The emphasis begins today with an evening patrol near Post Falls. To report drunken drivers, call 911.
In Idaho, you can call *477. In Montana, call (800) 525-5555.
Spokane Valley
Man accused of stealing bike
A 21-year-old Spokane man was arrested Tuesday after he stole a bike from a Spokane Valley store, then pulled a knife on an employee who tried to stop him, Spokane Valley police said.
An employee at Wheel Sport, 606 N. Sullivan Road, saw Alan Warren Eugene Lines ride away on a stolen $275 Diamond Black mountain bike and pursued him, according to a police news release.
Another witness and his friend followed Lines in a pickup and confronted Lines on Riverside Avenue just east of Conklin Street after the employee grabbed the bike. Lines pulled a knife on the two and they backed way just as a Spokane Valley police officer arrived to arrest him, according to police.
Lines was booked into the Spokane County Jail on felony charges of second-degree theft and second-degree assault. During his first court appearance Wednesday, Lines told the court the men he’s accused of pulling a knife on were holding large pipe wrenches.
Spokane County
Detectives bust alleged meth lab
Spokane County sheriff’s detectives said they busted the first active methamphetamine lab of 2008 after raiding a north Spokane County home early Tuesday.
According to Department of Ecology records, it was the third active meth lab found in Eastern Washington this year. Seven years ago, there were 250 labs in the county, according to previously published reports.
Detectives raided the home at 17703 N. Timberlane Circle around daybreak Tuesday.
The resident, Bret R. Fifield, was not home at the time, but was later arrested in Hillyard. Fifield, 42, had a felony amount of marijuana and methamphetamine on him when he was arrested, police said.
Fifield is a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms. In addition to the suspected meth lab, detectives said they found 16 firearms, including shotguns to semiautomatics, as well as two living marijuana plants and evidence that he had recently harvested other plants.
Fifield was booked into the Spokane County Jail on a 13-year-old the Walla Walla warrant and a probation violation. Three felony charges were pending. Fifield remained in the Spokane County Jail on the probation violation charge Wednesday.
Okanogan, Wash.
Firefighters gain control of blaze
A wildfire that burned 1,500 acres near Okanogan and threatened about 15 homes, a hotel and bingo casino is under control.
Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers says firefighters are mopping up Wednesday. No one was injured. One outbuilding burned.
The fire was started Tuesday night by a lightning strike.
Post Falls
Volunteers will monitor river use
Homeowners along the Spokane River are starting a “RiverWatch” program to report unsafe boating activity to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department marine patrol.
The nine-mile stretch of river between Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Post Falls Dam is increasingly congested, and not everyone obeys the rules, said Steve Shamion, president of the Spokane River Association, which represents 250 property owners.
Tailgating, speeding and boaters failing to obey no-wake zones are some of the more frequent problems.
“We’re not here to be a Gestapo,” Shamion said. But by having extra eyes on the river, the association hopes to provide a deterrent to unsafe activity, Shamion said. When RiverWatch volunteers see laws being broken, they’ll alert marine deputies, so tickets can be issued, he added.
The upper stretch of the Spokane River draws several hundred boaters on the weekends.
It’s a mixed-use area, attracting Jet Skis and water skiers, as wells as canoes, kayaks and motorboats, said sheriff’s Sgt. Matt Street.
The speed limit on the river is 35 mph during the day and 20 mph at night.
Speeding tickets for boaters are $57.