Food warehouse construction starts

After more than a year of planning and raising money, Spokane Valley Partners has broken ground on a new food warehouse at its location on East Broadway. The facility is expected to make life considerably easier for food bank volunteers and clients.

Part of that year was spent in a lengthy process to get a building permit, and raising money also got considerable attention.

“The construction is the easy part,” said Valley Partners CEO Ken Briggs. “It’s such an important project for us. That warehouse is going to be absolutely critical for our operation.”

The food bank serves about 3,400 families, up 16 percent over last year. The economy has had an impact, as did the closure of the St. Vincent de Paul food bank last year.

The plans are to attach a new addition to the northwest corner of the existing building and knock out walls to connect the new and old spaces. A walk-in cooler is planned so the food bank can stock fresh produce and perishables like milk. There is currently only limited cold storage space. “We have to give them away immediately,” he said.

The new space will give the food bank five times more storage space. Now food is crammed into the Valley Partners basement, carried down by a conveyor belt. Volunteers must lift each box repeatedly to send the food down, sort and store it and then move the food back upstairs for distribution. Briggs estimates that each can of donated food is handled 10 times before being sent home with a family.

“It’s just a ridiculous situation,” he said. “It’s just insane. The reason it was tolerated is because the old building was so much worse.”

The food bank also has off-site storage at the Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home, which adds more volunteer time and transportation costs.

The plan is for the new facility to have rolling shelves to make moving items around easier. A loading dock will also be constructed. “We’ll be able to take pallets right off the truck,” he said.

The project is expected to cost about $600,000. Construction on the new addition is expected to be complete by the end of June.

Nina Culver

Firefighters save dog

Spokane Valley firefighters resuscitated a dog that was overcome by smoke inhalation in a house fire Wednesday evening.

Deputy Fire Marshal Bill Clifford said the female chocolate Lab was unresponsive when firefighters removed her from the smoke-filled home at 4123 N. Maringo Drive.

The dog was lethargic and breathing laboriously when firefighters began treating her with a special oxygen mask for animals.

“After about 15 minutes, the dog started coming around and, when owner Jason Lee would get down and start talking to the dog, its tail would start wagging,” Clifford said.

He said the dog was taken to the Pet Emergency Clinic for further treatment, and was expected to make a full recovery.

Clifford said the Fire Department has two sets of small, medium and large masks for administering oxygen to pets. The masks, which were donated, are carried on battalion chief and safety officer vehicles so they are always available at fires.

The dog was alone when the fire broke out in a faulty light fixture under the basement stairs of the ranch-style home. The fire was discovered when a family member came home about 6 p.m., Clifford said.

He said the home sustained heavy smoke damage on the ground floor as well as fire, smoke and water damage throughout the basement. Investigators hadn’t estimated the extent of the loss.

John Craig

DUI catchers honored

Keeping drunken or drugged drivers off North Idaho roads takes the combined vigilance of area law enforcement agencies.

And to honor their efforts, the top DUI-ticketing officers in seven local agencies were singled out recently at an annual awards luncheon.

More than 40 people, including officers and their families, administrators and representatives from outside agencies, gathered recently in the basement of the Idaho Transportation Department for the annual Top Cop banquet to recognize eight officers and their efforts in keeping impaired drivers off area roads last year, while also raising public awareness on the risks of driving under the influence.

The award recipients were from Idaho State Police, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department, Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police, and the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Rathdrum and Spirit Lake police departments. Two ISP officers were honored. In total, 2,497 DUI tickets were issued by the seven law enforcement agencies in 2008, with the eight Top Cop officers recording more than 300 of those tickets.

The event is put on in part by the Kootenai County Substance Abuse Council, a nonprofit group that focuses on educating people about the dangers of impaired driving. The council is funded by the fees DUI-ticketed drivers must pay in attending a substance abuse class.

“This is our way of honoring a law enforcement officer from each local agency for the work they do to keep our roads safer,” said Anita Kronvall, director of the substance abuse council, as she helped prepare a buffet of sandwiches, salads, chips and beverages. “It’s just our way of showing our appreciation.”

“Each person that they take off the road during a night probably saved someone’s life,” she said.

The Top Cops are presented with gift cards and certificates, and their names are placed on plaques that hang in the ISP regional headquarters.

The officers honored were ISP Officers Holly Branch and Jeff Jayne; Jason Robinson, with the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police; Bob Aragon, with the Spirit Lake Police Department; Jeff Jobes, with the Rathdrum Police Department; Chris Thompson, with the Post Falls Police Department; Pat Sullivan, with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department; and Kevin Mumford – who issued the most DUI tickets last year with 77 – of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department.

Jacob Livingston