Fire damages North Side home

Four people are homeless after a fire damaged their Spokane home Tuesday evening.

Spokane police Cpl. Jon Strickland arrived at 618 W. Shannon Ave. about a minute after the fire was reported and helped an elderly man out of the home, according to fire officials.

Fire crews spent about 10 minutes containing the blaze, which started in the basement, said Craig Cornelius, a battalion chief with the Spokane Fire Department.

The cause was under investigation, but Cornelius said investigators were looking at a portable electric heater.

The single-story home sustained heavy smoke damage, but Cornelius said the fire was limited to the basement. No one was injured.

“They will salvage a lot of what they have,” Cornelius said.

Police on lookout for failure to yield

Police will patrol the Washington State University campus area near Spokane Falls and Riverpoint boulevards today for drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

Most city crosswalks are not marked.

But the law requires drivers to stop when a pedestrian or bicyclists is on or within one lane of the road, according to a news release.

The speed limit in the area is 30 mph.

Police said five of the 10 people killed in Spokane crashes last year were pedestrians. Of the 152 crashes involving pedestrians last year, 132 involved injuries.

PULLMAN

Amateur porn actor faces trial

An amateur porn actor accused of raping a woman at Washington State University will go on trial Monday.

Christopher Jack Reid, who made adult films under the name Jack Venice, is charged with rape and burglary for allegedly breaking into the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house a year ago and attacking a woman as she slept.

Reid could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

Student falls from frat house roof

A Washington State University student is in the hospital after falling from the roof of a fraternity house last weekend.

Police say the 19-year-old student fell from the roof of the three-story Phi Kappa Tau frat house early Sunday morning.

He was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital with undisclosed injuries. His name has not been released.

It’s the second such accident at the school in as many weeks. On Sept. 28, a WSU student was injured when she fell from a fire escape at the Theta Xi fraternity.

Chelan county

Man killed on hunting trip named

Authorities on Tuesday released the name of the man who died in a hunting accident Sunday in Chelan County.

Timothy Cooke, 36, of Port Angeles, Wash., was killed when a bullet fragment struck him as he sat in the cab of his truck.

The accident occurred when a friend of Cooke’s unloaded a high-powered rifle and it fired off a round, said Chelan County Chief Criminal Deputy Jeff Middleton.

Seattle

Afghan scholars reported missing

Five Afghanistan scholars visiting the University of Washington to work on their master’s theses were reported missing after failing to show up for a week of training sessions, university officials said Tuesday.

The five were among 38 mid-career government and nonprofit officials in Seattle for a three-month research and training program. They are working toward a master’s degree in public policy and administration at Kabul University.

The program is in its second year through the Evans School of Public Affairs. It’s also the second time Afghani scholars have gone missing.

The five men, who are all 30 or younger, attended the first week of training workshops after arriving in late September but failed to show up for the second week of the program and have been missing since Oct. 6, university spokesman Norm Arkans said.

“They’re not violating any laws; they’re violating a condition of their visa,” said university spokesman Arkans said. The university has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, Arkans said, adding that there has been no indication that the men are a security risk.

Lorie Dankers, Seattle spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed her agency was investigating, but declined to comment further.

“We have the information and we’re looking into it,” she said. “We hope to be able to encounter these individuals.”