In brief: Girl run over by truck improving, in intensive care
A Liberty Lake toddler who sustained head injuries last week after being run over by her father is recovering.
The girl was hospitalized after the Friday afternoon incident but is expected to return home after a week, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release.
“The tough little girl is improving well,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said in the news release. “She sustained a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.”
The girl has been in the intensive care unit at a local hospital since her father backed over her in his Dodge pickup truck at their home in the 2400 block of Chase Lane.
The mother had set the toddler down to go inside and grab something and the father, thinking the child was with her mother, began to move the truck and struck the girl.
Higher density allowed for Waikiki development
Spokane County commissioners on Tuesday approved a comprehensive plan amendment to allow higher density of housing units on a development near Waikiki and North Five Mile roads.
The 22-acre property owned by Harley Douglass had previously been designated for low-density residential use for up to 50 units.
Commissioners Al French and Mark Richard voted in favor of the amendment with Commissioner Todd Mielke absent.
The change will allow up to 15 units per acre, although the total number of units would likely fall short of the maximum density allowed, officials said. The site is on a hillside and has a number of utility easements on it.
Douglass wanted the higher density to provide more flexibility in using the odd-shaped parcel.
Residents of the area earlier voiced concerns about the development adding traffic to narrow Five Mile Road, but an agreement with the developer to place the main entrance on Waikiki Road should help resolve that concern, commissioners said.
The county Planning Commission had previously voted 4-2 against the change.
County library district names executive director
The Spokane County Library District board announced a new executive director Tuesday.
Nancy Ledeboer will take over the position effective March 1.
“We are very excited to have Nancy coming on board,” said Board Chair Tim Hattenburg.
“Her passion for libraries, commitment to community partnerships, knowledge of the industry and breadth of experiences make her the perfect fit for Spokane County Library District.”
Current Director Mike Wirt is retiring Feb. 24 after 40 years with the district.
Ledeboer has served as library director for the 27-branch Pima County Public Library in Arizona since 2005.
While in Pima County, Ledeboer established a virtual library to revitalize online services, opened four new libraries and two satellites, and renovated several libraries.
She is a member of the American Library Association and the Public Library Association.
EWU may cut general math, music graduate programs
Graduate degrees in general mathematics and music are two Eastern Washington University programs the administration is recommending for elimination.
Many of the programs were flagged for having fewer than 10 graduates per year. But other reasons were also considered. For example, “the MS in mathematics has a limited market, it fills positions at community colleges and it’s a step to a Ph.D.,” said Provost Rex Fuller, adding all the cuts are “a difficult decision.”
Those two degree programs along with about a dozen others, such as master’s degrees in biology, urban and regional planning, computer science and history, were reviewed by university officials as part of the ongoing process to “tighten our academic array because of budget cuts,” Fuller said.
In June, university officials announced as many as 10 programs were being considered for elimination.
The math and music departments will have one more opportunity after the holidays to present arguments to keep the graduate programs.
Anyone with questions or comments can email the provost at rfuller@ewu.edu.
Five enter guilty pleas in counterfeiting scheme
Five suspects accused of bleaching money and printing higher denominations onto the paper have pleaded guilty to federal counterfeiting charges.
Jessica A. Crabtree, 28, Melissa A. Smith, 27, and Brittney R. Hearn, 24, all of Spokane; Robin Knuttgen, 52, of Spokane Valley; and Brandy Mueller, of Pasco, all recently pleaded guilty as part of the scheme uncovered by the U.S. Secret Service and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators learned that about $5,000 worth of currency had been passed as part of the operation.
A conviction for counterfeiting currency carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Rice said in a news release.
Family sues Forest Service over death of girl at ice caves
SEATTLE – The family of a girl killed by an ice boulder at the Big Four Ice Caves near Verlot filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the U.S. Forest Service of failing to maintain danger signs warning people of the risks of collapsing ice, snow and unstable caves along trails.
Grace Tam, 11, of Lake Stevens, was crushed by the ice boulder on July 31, 2010, while on a trip with her mother, father and brother to Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The family said that while there were signs warning hikers not to go in the ice caves or stand on them, there were no warnings about the dangers of falling ice.