Pellets hit bus; two arrested

Two men were arrested in north Spokane on Thursday morning after a school bus was shot several times with a pellet rifle, according to Spokane police.

No children were on the bus, and nobody was injured, police Officer Bill Hager said.

As the bus approached the intersection of Wellesley Avenue and A Street, the windshield, door and back window shattered, and the driver and a bus aide thought they were being shot at, Hager said.

Police questioned Brandon Affre, 21, and Steven Bowdish, 20, at a nearby home. They were arrested and charged with two counts each of felony malicious mischief, two counts of reckless endangerment and one count each of misdemeanor discharging a firearm in city limits.

“They said they were shooting at birds,” Hager said, adding that two of the pellets that struck the bus were at head level.

Child support rules forum planned

A public forum on Saturday could lead to changes in payments non-custodial parents are required to make for child support.

The Child Support Schedule Workgroup, established by the Legislature in 2007, is reviewing 14 topics.

Parents who pay or receive child support are encouraged to attend and share their thoughts; however, they are asked to focus their comments on the 14 topics under consideration.

Topics include whether support payments should be different for children older or younger than 12; whether it should be based on gross or net income; whether income from overtime or second jobs should be considered when calculating payments; and whether the minimum support of $25 per month per child should be adjusted. The full list of topics can be viewed at: www.dshs.wa.gov/dcs/ Resources/workgroup.asp#w5.

The forum will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Ramada Inn at the Spokane Airport, 8909 West Airport Drive.

Boise

Guard members returning home

About 30 Idaho Army National Guard soldiers are expected to return home to Boise’s Gowen Field this week after spending nearly a year in Kuwait.

The soldiers in Company A of the 1-168 Aviation Battalion were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing command, control and communication support to the U.S. Army.

The soldiers are expected to arrive at Gowen Field Friday evening.

National Guard officials say friends and family members will be on hand to welcome the soldiers home.

Since 2001, more than 3,000 of Idaho’s citizen soldiers and airmen have deployed overseas to Operation Enduring Freedom, which supports military operations in Afghanistan, and to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

SEATTLE

‘C-diff’ takes toll in health facilities

Health officials are on guard against an intestinal bug known as “C-diff” that strikes people in hospitals and nursing homes.

The Seattle Times reports 259 people in Washington died in 2006 with the infection, although it may not have been the primary cause.

The bacteria live in the colon. Antibiotics that wipe out beneficial bacteria allow C-diff to grow out of control.

The disease causes diarrhea and can lead to colitis.

An expert on C-diff at the VA Medical Center in Seattle, Lynne McFarland, says most cases can be cured with the right antibiotics.