Region in brief: Woman sues Avista for injuries
A woman injured when equipment failure killed an Avista Utilities worker in 2007 during an egg drop for a group of schoolchildren has filed suit against the utility and the equipment manufacturer.
Melissa Martinez, a teacher at Hiawatha Elementary School in Othello, filed the suit last week in Spokane County Superior Court. On May 31, 2007, Martinez was the last of five people selected to do the egg drop demonstration with Robert D. Smith, an Avista employee.
As the Avista crane lowered Martinez and Smith, the crane’s turret bolts failed, causing the bucket to drop about 30 feet, according to the suit. Smith died and Martinez suffered serious and “permanent” injuries.
Avista was later cited by the Department of Labor and Industries, according to the suit, which also names the crane maker and others. The suit seeks damages to be determined by a judge.
Man sentenced for child porn
A child pornography conviction has netted a Shoshone County man 10 years in federal prison, authorities said Wednesday.
Kenneth “Jack” Hendryx, of Silverton, Idaho, pleaded guilty in March to possessing sexually explicit images of minors in a case brought by federal agents working with the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office. The arrest came in October.
Many of the video images were of children younger than 12, officials said.
The sentence handed down in federal district court on Tuesday includes 15 years of supervision after Hendryx’s release from prison.
Hendryx, 57, is a registered sex offender. In September 1993, he pleaded guilty to lewd conduct with a minor younger than 16 in a Shoshone County District Court.
Water plan gets stimulus funding
The 50-year-old water system in Metaline, Wash., will be replaced through a combination of federal and community grants.
The city is receiving $600,000 to replace a water-filtering system. The money is being paired with a $980,000 federal block grant to pay for a 319,800-gallon water storage tank, a filtration plant and water service meters.
Metaline, with 175 residents, was devastated in March when its major employer, the Pend Oreille Mine, closed. About 150 people in north Pend Oreille County left to find work elsewhere. The population loss has staggered the local economy.
The Pend Oreille County system is among 24 projects in the state receiving $38.5 million in stimulus money to pay for drinking water system improvements to help protect public health.