Region in brief: Woman dies after apartment blaze

A 70-year-old Spokane woman died Tuesday after being pulled from her burning apartment in downtown Spokane.

Ethel Maxfield was rushed by ambulance from the Cathedral Plaza Apartments to Deaconess Medical Center, where she died, according to the Spokane Fire Department.

The fire, which was reported at 6:46 a.m., was confined to the woman’s apartment, but smoke filled the lower section of the 15-story senior apartment building, 1120 W. Sprague Ave. The fire heavily damaged Maxfield’s apartment, No. 106, and the rest of the first floor sustained minor smoke damage.

Shoe print leads to teens’ arrest

A shoe print on the face of a man badly beaten in a Spokane alley helped detectives identify two teenage suspects, according to court documents.

Kent. S. Moses, 60, was found unconscious in an alley near Bridge Avenue and Nettleton Street in west Spokane about 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

Two 17-year-old boys are in Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center on first-degree assault charges after being arrested Monday. One of the suspects had a shoe that matched the print found on Moses’ face, according to the search warrant.

One of the boys told police he knew they’d gotten into a fight in the alley but that he’d “blacked out from drinking and could not recall anything else,” police wrote.

Moses was in serious condition at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with three broken ribs and facial fractures, according to the warrant.

Motorist in crash fatally shoots self

A Spokane driver involved in a rear-end collision on Trent Avenue on Tuesday fatally shot himself following the crash, state troopers said.

The 57-year-old man made a lane change in a westbound 1997 Ford F-350 pickup and hit a delivery truck at 12:15 p.m. near Fowler Road in Spokane Valley, according to Washington State Patrol.

The delivery truck driver, 27-year-old Matthew P. Risley, was uninjured.

A witness who’d contacted both drivers after the accident said neither was injured, investigators said.

But the driver of the Ford pickup was found dead in his truck from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, WSP said.

Board members sought in county

Spokane County is looking for a dozen volunteers to fill vacancies on various boards and commissions.

Some of those with vacancies are the Historic Landmarks Commission, the Mental Health Advisory Board, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee and the Substance Abuse Advisory Board.

For a full list of vacancies, as well as an application form, go to www.spokanecounty.org. For more information, call Ginna Vasquez at (509) 477-2265.

Rights institute plans cultural day

The Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene plans to hold a Chinese cultural immersion event next week to celebrate International Human Rights Day.

The Dec. 10 celebration will feature authentic Chinese cuisine, interactive booths on Chinese calligraphy and medicine, a Taijiquan martial arts demonstration and live performances of traditional dance and music. The institute’s gallery will feature visual displays from Chinese dynasties through the ages.

The event will be held at the institute, at 414 ½ Mullan Ave., from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets cost $50. Attendance is limited to 200. For more information, call (208) 292-2359.