Health district posts top job again
The Spokane Regional Health District has restarted its search for a new health officer.
The job posting at www.srhd.org/links/jobs.asp has been rewritten. The new posting includes a salary range topping out at $165,000 a year. There’s also a link to a draft contract in which the health district offers negotiable moving expenses and severance pay – two items not included in an earlier offer.
The two-year search has netted just one finalist, who rejected a job offer last year.
The search parallels a move by the board to study the district’s management structure. The board is expected to decide in the coming months whether to split the top job between a physician and an administrator or keep its current format and hire a new physician executive.
Washington Trust gains Oregon bank
Washington Trust Bank late Friday acquired the deposits and some assets of Pinnacle Bank in Beaverton, Ore.
The Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities had closed the bank earlier in the day, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. negotiated the takeover of Pinnacle’s single branch with Washington Trust.
The Spokane bank assumed $64 million in Pinnacle deposits and purchased $72 million in assets, discounted by $7.6 million. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for sale later.
Washington Trust and the FDIC will share any losses on $66 million in assets, an arrangement the FDIC said will maximize returns to the Spokane bank, which last week received a $110 million investment from the U.S. Treasury Department.
Washington Trust President Jack Heath said then that an Oregon bank charter was a priority.
The Pinnacle office will open as a Washington Trust branch on Tuesday.
An FDIC statement said the transaction was the least costly option for the insurance fund, which will absorb a loss estimated at $12.1 million.
Pinnacle was the first bank to fail in Oregon since 1991. It was the 13th to fail in 2009, the fourth on Friday alone.
Presidents Day to affect services
Monday is Presidents Day. As a result, many government offices and services will have the day off.
Most banks will be closed. There will be no mail delivery, and federal and state offices will be closed. Spokane County offices and most county court offices will be closed. The Municipal Court clerk and probation offices will be open to answer telephone calls.
Spokane County libraries will be closed, while the Spokane library’s Shadle and South Hill branches will be open. Spokane Valley City Hall will be closed.
Spokane city offices will be open, as will Riverfront Park attractions. The Carrousel, however, is closed for maintenance through Feb. 27. Parking at metered spaces in downtown Spokane will be free for the day. Garbage and recycling pickup will not be affected.
In Kootenai County, city and county offices will be closed. State liquor stores, however, will be open, and garbage service for rural and city residents will not be affected by the holiday.
Suspect captured soon after robbery
A man suspected of choking a convenience store clerk and stealing money from the register Thursday was arrested minutes after the crime.
Gregory J. Brimer, 39, attacked Spokane police Officer Nate Spiering when Spiering stopped him as he ran north on Stevens Street, according to police.
Spiering restrained Brimer as other officers arrived, and the clerk at the Quick Mart at 164 S. Browne St. identified him as the man who had robbed the store about 4:50 p.m., police said.
Brimer was treated at a hospital for minor injuries, then booked into Spokane County Jail on charges of first-degree robbery and third-degree assault.
Brimer was arrested in April 2005 on suspicion of setting his own house ablaze as well as intentionally setting two other fires. He pleaded guilty to second-degree arson in August 2005 and was sentenced to two years in prison and 36 months probation, according to newspaper archives.
Olympia
Farmer to lead agriculture agency
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday appointed state Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, as director of the state Department of Agriculture.
“As a farmer and state legislator, Dan brings a wealth of experience to the Department of Agriculture and understands the important role agriculture plays in our state’s economy, culture and our future,” Gregoire said in a statement announcing the appointment.
Newhouse, elected to the House in 2002 and the son of longtime lawmaker Irv Newhouse, said he’s excited “to bring a farmer’s perspective to this agency, as well as a diverse point of view to the governor’s Cabinet.”
Newhouse’s marching orders: expand international markets and work with state environmental officials “to identify new water sources for Eastern Washington communities, farmers and fish.”
Newhouse will assume the post Wednesday at a salary of $122,478 a year.
Officials discount missing child alert
Authorities are warning of a false missing child report being forwarded via text messages and e-mail.
The message claims a 7-year-old girl was taken by a man driving a silver truck with license plate 72B381, but no such report or Amber Alert activation exists, according to the Washington State Patrol. Some versions of the alert indicate the girl was taken from Idaho Falls.
The state of Washington posts Amber Alerts at washingtonamberalert.com; Idaho at www.idahoamberalert.com. WSP urges people to use official sources for information about missing children.
“Even well-intentioned citizens who attempt to formulate their own alerts and forward them can unwittingly create confusion and a lack of integrity in the system,” said WSP Amber Alert Coordinator Marty Knorr in a news release.
Athol
Woman cited for duct-taped dog
An Athol woman who duct-taped her dog’s mouth shut told a sheriff’s deputy she knew what she did was wrong but thought it was “better than it killing something,” according to a Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department report.
Amber Schulke, 28, was cited Wednesday for misdemeanor animal cruelty and trespassing after a deputy found her border collie-heeler mix, named Blue, with duct tape covering his mouth on a vacant property across from the woman’s home near Highway 54 and the railroad tracks in Athol.
The woman said she taped Blue’s mouth shut because he was biting two Pomeranians who had visited the home with their owner the night before, according to the report by Deputy David Dunkin.
She told Dunkin she’d taped the dog’s mouth once before, but she hadn’t removed the tape this time because it was too difficult, according to the report.
Hayden
Man with gun robs doughnut shop
A gunman robbed a Hayden doughnut shop late Thursday, and Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information that helps find him.
A white man in a teal hooded winter ski coat with a scarf partially covering his face robbed the Donut House at 8671 N. Government Way about 10:10 p.m., according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. Employees described the robber as in his 20s, about 6 feet tall with an average build. He brandished a black or blue semiautomatic gun.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS or submit tips online at www.crimestoppersinlandnorth west.org. Tipsters do not have to leave a name but should provide a code name or number.
Boise
Dad held in death seeks new judge
A father accused of involuntary manslaughter and felony injury to a child in the hypothermia death of his 11-year-old daughter has requested a new judge to preside over his trial in south-central Idaho.
A public defender filed a motion on behalf of Robert Aragon seeking to disqualify Fifth District Judge John K. Butler on Feb. 3. Attorney Patrick McMillen did not give a reason in his motion.
Aragon is accused of letting his two young children walk to their mother’s house on Christmas Day after his car got stuck in a snowdrift. Bear Aragon, who was 12 at the time, survived.
The body of his sister, Sage Aragon, was found the next day.
Fifth District Magistrate Mark Ingram ruled last month there was sufficient evidence to take the case to trial and Aragon is scheduled to appear at an arraignment hearing on Tuesday.
Butler is scheduled to preside over the court proceedings.