Missing Afghans found in Canada
Five scholars from Afghanistan who went missing from the University of Washington were found in Canada on Wednesday morning, U.S. immigration officials said.
Lorie Dankers, a Seattle spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said her agency worked with Canada Border Services Agency to confirm their whereabouts.
The five men crossed the border separately over the last several days, Dankers said, and she did not know whether any had been taken into custody or where they were found. A spokeswoman for the Canadian agency said she could not provide any information.
“We wanted to find them and we found them, so our investigation is now closed,” Dankers said. “They’re not in the U.S. so they’re not in violation of U.S. immigration law.”
Coeur d’alene
Public’s help sought finding missing man
Police are asking for help finding a Coeur d’Alene man reported missing by his apartment manager nearly a month ago.
Philip R. Cavinder, 57, last paid rent at his apartment at 3105 N. Fourth St. on Aug. 4. His landlord told police Sept. 19 that a notice asking for that month’s rent was still on Cavinder’s door.
Police recently learned that the manager found Cavinder’s glasses, cell phone and dentures while cleaning the apartment.
They also learned that Cavinder’s truck has been at a towing yard since it was removed from the Dalton Market, 5632 N. 15th St., on July 29.
Cavinder has difficulty speaking because of a medical condition and quit his job with Sunshine Minting in March, according to police.
Police don’t know when Cavinder was last seen. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the police at (208) 769-2320.
Controlled burn planned for portions of Tubbs Hill
Most of Tubbs Hill in Coeur d’Alene will likely close for one day this week as firefighters conduct a controlled burn.
The burn will cover parts of about 60 acres of the popular hiking hill from the south side extending east and west, according to a news release.
The north side of the hill might stay open if the weather doesn’t allow for a burn there.
The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department hasn’t conducted fire-control burns on Tubbs in three years, and crews monitoring the weather forecast think conditions could allow for one today or Friday.
The hill would be closed for about 24 hours the day of the burn, starting at 7:30 a.m.
spokane
Vandals cause $3,000 in damage to gardens
Vandals have struck the Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens on Spokane’s lower South Hill, destroying a sundial, damaging a fountain and rolling a boulder across restored garden structures.
City parks officials said the vandalism occurred sometime after 9 p.m. Monday and was discovered Tuesday by the garden caretaker.
A boulder was dislodged from the upper reaches of the gardens, allowing it to roll across the tops of rock terracing before coming to rest in the rose garden.
Plants and rock work were damaged.
A fountain sculpture of the head of the Greek god Pan was torn off. The vandals apparently got through a fence enclosing the gardens.
City parks officials said that the damage was estimated at more than $3,000 by A.M. Landshaper Inc., the construction contractor for restoration completed a year ago.
The gardens were originally built for a private mansion that has since been torn down.
The gardens, located in Pioneer Park adjacent to the Corbin Art Center, 507 W. Seventh Ave., are closed until spring.
Car, foot chase brings variety of charges
A man was arrested Wednesday after a car and foot chase and a game of chicken with a police officer.
Jason M. Clark, 35, ran a stop sign near East Central Avenue and North Nevada Street about noon, then drove away as Officer Ryan Snider tried to pull him over, according to police.
Clark, who was driving a truck, hit a car at Francis Avenue and Nevada Street before another officer followed him through an Albertsons parking lot.
Snider entered the lot from the other side but moved out of Clark’s path “when it became apparent Clark was not changing his direction to avoid a collision,” according to a news release.
Clark crashed into a tree at North Napa Street and East Rockwell Avenue and was arrested after a short foot chase, the news release said.
Clark was booked into the Spokane County Jail on charges of attempting to elude, failure to cooperate with an officer, reckless driving, hit-and-run, driving on a suspended license and drug charges, including two outstanding warrants.
Spokane county
Motorcyclist injured in slide under school bus
A motorcyclist slid under a school bus after losing control Tuesday evening, suffering broken bones. The bus driver and his four student passengers weren’t injured.
Robert B. Anderson faces a charge of driving under the influence.
A Riverside School District bus driver said Anderson, headed east, slid his 1980 Harley-Davidson motorcycle under the bus as it headed west on Chattaroy Road near North Jim Hill Road about 6:30 p.m., according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
Anderson told a sheriff’s deputy he was headed home with a sack of food on his lap when his motorcycle’s back wheel slipped out from under him, according to a news release.