Police say armed man threatened STA driver
A 29-year-old Spokane man was in jail Friday after allegedly threatening an STA bus driver with a knife and demanding to be taken fishing.
The man, Daniel A. Zupan, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment, second-degree assault and felony harassment, Spokane police Officer Teresa Fuller said.
Spokane police responded about 6 a.m. to a call about a man causing problems on a bus near 14th Avenue and Grand Boulevard. Zupan had boarded the bus, which was not yet in service, Fuller said. He allegedly held a knife to the driver’s throat and demanded the driver take him someplace to go fishing, Fuller said.
At one point he dropped the knife, grabbed an ice scraper and struck the driver in the face, cutting the driver’s lip, Fuller said.
Zupan then picked up the knife again and “would not allow the bus driver off of the bus,” Fuller said.
Post Falls
Environmental group honors mayor, others
Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin was honored by the Kootenai Environmental Alliance at its annual meeting Friday for his leadership on water conservation and other issues related to the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.
Larkin received the 2008 Art Manley Environmentalist Award, given annually by the alliance for ongoing work on the environment.
“As a well-respected political figure, Clay lends credence to the concerns we all have over the future of the (aquifer) and the Spokane River,” said Barry Rosenberg, the group’s director.
During Larkin’s tenure as mayor, Post Falls enacted ordinances restricting midday watering and requiring rain sensors on new construction that turn off automatic sprinklers during rainstorms. Post Falls also purchased 626 acres of land on the Rathdrum Prairie to irrigate with treated wastewater. The irrigation will keep the wastewater out of the Spokane River.
Other honorees: Judy Edwards, who volunteered to help revise the Kootenai County comprehensive plan; Kelly Garasky, for work on the alliance’s Community Roots produce program; Coeur d’Alene Water Superintendent Jim Markley, for water conservation efforts; and Post Falls Public Works Director Terry Werner, for aquifer protection.