In brief: Salvatori to break chairperson tie

Another City Council member will be added to the Spokane Public Safety Committee to break a tie vote for chairperson.

Steve Salvatori is expected to break the tie between Jon Snyder and Nancy McLaughlin for committee chairperson at the next meeting in February, said City Council President Ben Stuckart.

Stuckart, Snyder and council member Amber Waldref voted to confirm Snyder as chairperson at a meeting last week while McLaughlin and council members Mike Allen and Mike Fagan voted for McLaughlin. Stuckart said city attorneys told him “there was no precedent for a three-to-three tie” and offered to vote again as City Council president to break the tie, but members opted to include Salvatori at the next meeting instead.

School Bloomsday sign-up ends today

Today is the last day elementary schools in Eastern Washington and North Idaho can sign up for the Fit for Bloomsday, Fit for Life youth fitness program.

The 10-week program, run by school personnel and volunteers, prepares kids to run or walk Bloomsday while teaching them the importance of fitness, nutrition and safety. It was developed by Bloomsday volunteers, physical education instructors, coaches and parents. More than 60 schools are expected to participate.

Schools can sign up for Fit for Bloomsday by downloading an application form from the Bloomsday website, www.bloomsdayrun.org, and returning it to the Bloomsday office by today. Kids and adults who want to sign up for the 36th annual Lilac Bloomsday Run can register online at the same site. The run is May 6.

Foster program receives donation

An emergency foster care program serving Spokane and North Idaho has received $14,000 from employees of Numerica Credit Union.

Sally’s House, operated by the Salvation Army, was among beneficiaries of the credit union’s annual benefit auction, which raised $17,000 in employee donations, Numerica announced last week. The emergency foster care service provides a safe environment for children removed from dangerous homes.

Other organizations benefiting from the fundraiser include My Friend’s Place in Tri-Cities, the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation in Moses Lake and Solomon’s House in Wenatchee.