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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

New vote set on ambulance plan

A Spokane City Council ambulance proposal that failed in a tie vote last week will get a second chance.

City Council President Joe Shogan has scheduled a new vote about joining a board that will take bids for a countywide ambulance contract.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department and several fire districts and smaller cities are working to combine forces to have one ambulance contract in hopes of lowering costs.

Some council members have been unenthusiastic about joining the board, arguing that the city already has a good deal from American Medical Response and that they would lose control over city emergency services in a countywide system. Others, like Shogan and Mayor Mary Verner, say it would be best to see the countywide bids before making a final decision.

Last week, the proposal to join the board failed on a 3-3 vote. Councilman Al French was absent.

The new vote is scheduled for Aug. 4.

Free swimming at closing pools

Spokane has scheduled free swimming for the last day demolition-bound pools are open.

The two-hour event is the Spokane Park Board’s way of thanking “the community for its support during the transition from this year’s much-used pools to the brand new pools that will greet swimmers in 2009,” said Nancy Goodspeed, city parks and recreation spokeswoman.

The swims are 2 to 4 p.m. at the following locations and varying days: A.M. Cannon on Aug. 2; Hillyard and Comstock on Aug. 16; and Liberty and Witter on Aug. 23.

“And we haven’t forgotten our four-legged friends who are important members of so many families,” Goodspeed said.

The Doggie Dip is planned for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at Hillyard Pool, Goodspeed said. People must bring dogs on leashes and provide proof of current vaccinations. Small and medium dogs can swim during the first hour, and large dogs are welcome during the second hour.

Spokane county

Officials identify body in river

Anderson D. Corral, 25, has been identified as the man pulled from the Spokane River on Sunday afternoon, officials said Monday.

“Corral was reported missing after he disappeared while swimming in the river with two friends near the Idaho/Washington border late last week,” said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

A jogger spotted Corral’s body in the river near Harvard and Euclid Avenue shortly after noon Sunday and called 911.

The sheriff’s marine unit recovered the body, Reagan said.

Airway heights

Corrections center still locked down

Airway Heights Corrections Center remained in lockdown Monday, while investigators determined what caused the eruption of fights a day earlier.

The lockdown means 1,560 inmates in medium security are confined to their cells, which went into effect about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Offender jobs, education classes, volunteer programs and visits have been suspended while staff investigates.

The minimum security unit of the facility, which houses 600 inmates, is not locked down, said Risa Klemme, an Airway Heights spokeswoman.

The duration of the lockdown will be determined on a day-to-day basis, based upon offender behavior, Klemme said. The offender population is calm at this time, officials said Monday afternoon.

boise

Sali files report on campaign funds

Idaho 1st District Congressman Bill Sali filed a belated campaign finance report late Friday, but it contained incorrect figures, so he filed another version Monday.

Campaign spokesman Wayne Hoffman said Monday that the latest version also contained at least one error, showing the campaign still with the same amount of debt it had in the prior reporting period, $135,674. That figure should’ve gone down by about $9,000, Hoffman said.

Overall, the report showed that Sali was out-fundraised by his Democratic challenger, Walt Minnick, both for the reporting period and for the campaign to date. Sali received $139,245 in contributions during the quarter, and came out with $250,248 in cash on hand to balance against his continuing debt. Minnick raised $286,184 during the period and came out with $444,134 cash on hand and no debt.

Two-thirds of Sali’s contributions in the quarter were from political action committees, while the majority of Minnick’s were from individuals.

Cataldo, idaho

Man charged with battering woman

Zachery Thomas Little, 30, was charged with four felonies Sunday after two days of physically terrorizing a woman, according to police.

The Cataldo, Idaho, miner crushed his victim’s hands with pliers, shoved her head into the wall, struck her with a “staff,” whipped and strangled her briefly with a leather belt and raped her over the course of Saturday and Sunday, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. The victim escaped Sunday morning while Little was sleeping. A friend took her to the Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene.

Little was charged with domestic battery, attempted strangulation, rape and first-degree kidnapping.

He remained in the Kootenai County Jail Monday on $150,000 bond.

Spokane valley

Woman charged with identity theft

A 23-year-old Spokane Valley woman was arrested Sunday for using a stolen driver’s license to identify herself to Spokane Valley police.

Cpl. Mark Fox went to a home in the 4600 block of North Burns Road around 11 a.m. Sunday to look for Cristal Charleen Cox, who was wanted on previous warrants, according to Spokane Valley police. Fox checked a previous booking photo before he arrived at the home. A woman at the home provided a driver’s license and traffic ticket written in the name of the person on the license, police said. The woman stated the driver’s license was her own. Because the license photo “generally matched” the woman’s appearance, Fox released her, police said. He later received a tip that she had lied.

Fox returned to the area and stopped the woman as she drove to a grocery store on Trent Avenue. He determined that she was Cox and was using a license stolen in a car theft last October.

He called the theft victim who said she did not know Cox.

Cox was charged with second-degree identity theft and on the two outstanding warrants for domestic violence assault and escape from community custody.

Cox remained in Spokane County Jail on $20,050 bond Monday.

Post falls

Man crushed by road grader dies

Jay D. Peterson, 53, who was crushed by a road grader near Post Falls last Wednesday, died late Monday morning at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Peterson, of Post Falls, was driving the grader about 4:10 p.m. Wednesday when it rolled over and pinned him on Mellick Road, about 2 ½ miles south of Schilling Loop near Post Falls, according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

The grader’s owner, John W. Mack, called police and told them he had found Peterson pinned after he drove the grader to test it for purchase, according to the sheriff’s department report. Jay D. Peterson Jr. told authorities he didn’t believe his father would have tested the grader because he was on disability and did not have the money for such a purchase.

Peterson was flown to Harborview Medical Center Thursday in critical condition.

The cause of his death has not yet been released. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating.

From staff reports