In brief: Man hospitalized after being stabbed in throat during fight
A man was stabbed in his throat during a fight outside a bar Tuesday in east Spokane.
The man was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening but serious stab wound, Spokane police Officer Ben Green said.
Police responded to the 1900 block of East Sinto Avenue about 5:30 p.m. and determined the man had been stabbed in the area of East Mission Avenue and North Fiske Street, about a block away, and walked from the area.
The victim is in his 20s. His assailant is described as a white man in his 30s.
“The only real description that we’ve got is that he was wearing a light blue tank top and shorts,” Green said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Nine new directors elected to county United Way board
Nine new volunteers have been elected to three-year terms on the Spokane County United Way Board of Directors.
Tom Stevenson, a retired partner of Moss Adams, LLP, will serve as board chair.
The new directors are: Carla Altepeter, Numerica Credit Union; Carrie Cheshier, Travelers Companies; Barbara Doyle, Itron; Kim Ferraro, West Central Community Center; Dan Johnson, The Spokesman-Review; Rob McCann, Catholic Charities Spokane; Shelley Redinger, Spokane Public Schools; Ken Schumacher, Wells Fargo Bank; and Dennis Vermillion, Avista Utilities Corp.
Police still searching for suspect in string of armed robberies
Police continue to search for a suspect in a series of armed robberies.
Avery Lee Loring, 25, is believed to be one of four men who robbed the McDonald’s at 4647 S. Regal St. at gunpoint on May 25 while six juvenile customers were inside. The other three suspects have been arrested.
Loring and another man also are believed to have robbed the Zip Trip at 2020 W. Francis Ave. at gunpoint on May 31. The robbery netted $14, cigarettes and cigars.
Loring was sentenced to four years in prison in 2006 for a robbery attempt near Gonzaga University.
Anyone with information on his location is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
State will auction right to farm property above Columbia River
YAKIMA – The Washington state Department of Natural Resources plans to auction off the right to farm its largest parcel of irrigated farmland, a prime piece of property overlooking the Columbia River in Eastern Washington.
The nearly 3,400-acre property known as the Sandpiper Tree Farm sits about five miles from Paterson in rural Benton County, southwest of the Tri-Cities – an area that has seen a marked increase in orchard and vineyard development in recent years.
An open house will be held at the property from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. The state will open all sealed auction bids on Aug. 14.
The land was developed in the 1970s for row crops. Boise Cascade Corp. developed part of it into a poplar tree farm in the 1990s, and Greenwood Resources bought the land in 2007 for a timber investment fund. The state bought the land in May for the school trust that helps pay for public school construction.
Man arrested after hiding gun in planter box at Portland airport
PORTLAND – Police at Portland International Airport say an Oregon man who was told he couldn’t carry a loaded gun through a security checkpoint disregarded the recommendation that he check the pistol through as luggage. They say the man dropped the gun in an airport planter box.
Transportation Security Administration employees told Port of Portland police on June 24 that a passenger had asked for advice about what to do with the firearm. They say they watched as the man put it in the planter box instead.
Port of Portland spokesman Steve Johnson said port police recovered the loaded .22-caliber pistol. The traveler was taken into custody as he was once again proceeding through a security checkpoint to get on a flight.
The Oregonian reports that police arrested 69-year-old Soren Muir Johnson of Eagle Point for investigation of reckless endangering. Police say the man told them he hid the gun so he could retrieve it when he returned from his trip.