In brief: Drowned angler found

Thu., May 3, 2012

The body of an angler who died Saturday after jumping into Waitts Lake in Stevens County to retrieve his fishing rod has been found.

The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as Frederick Barker, 48, of Spokane. The Sheriff’s Office said the rod slipped out of the boat and Barker went in after it without a life jacket.

Sheriff Kendle Allen said a sonar team from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department was able to locate the body Wednesday morning. Divers from Stevens and Spokane county sheriff’s offices then retrieved Barker.

News reports said others in the boat threw life jackets to him but were unable to save him. Deputies believe he was unable to respond because of the shock of the cold water.

Donors of $3 million named

Whitworth University revealed Wednesday that the donors who gave $3 million to fund a new faculty position at the school focused on gifted education are James and Wanda Cowles.

The donation, announced in October, was made in honor of Margo Long, a retired associate professor whose longtime focus has been on gifted-and-talented education programs. Wanda Cowles worked as an elementary school teacher in California and has served with Long on a state advisory committee for gifted education.

James Cowles is chairman of Inland Empire Paper Co., a subsidiary of Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

Whitworth President Beck Taylor said in a news release that the school asked the couple if it could release their names. “The news was simply too good for us to keep secret, particularly given their long history with Whitworth,” he said.

United Way to lead initiative

Spokane County United Way is set to manage an initiative that aims to improve the quality of local after-school programs serving youth in third through 10th grades.

The Seattle-based Raikes Foundation selected Spokane County United Way to manage the Youth Program Quality Assessment tool, which helps organizations conduct a self-assessment, create an improvement plan and access staff training to carry the plan out, according to a United Way news release.

The new tool aims to improve grades, work habits, test performance and social skills through participation in high-quality after-school programs, the news release said.

Numerous local organizations currently use the assessment tool that will now be supported by United Way.

Workshop to focus on fish

The Washington Department of Ecology will hold a public workshop May 15 in Spokane Valley to discuss possible changes to the state’s fish consumption rates.

The workshop takes place from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Place.

Fish consumption rates guide standards for how clean Washington’s waters must be to ensure that people who eat fish and shellfish aren’t exposed to toxic compounds in the water. Current fish consumption rates were developed more than 20 years ago and assume that individuals eat as little as one meal of fish per month.

More recent studies show that fish consumption is much higher, particularly among Native Americans and people of Asian descent.

Motorcycle safety rallies set

A motorcycle safety program in Idaho is sponsoring a series of motorcycle awareness rallies across the state, including one on Saturday in Coeur d’Alene.

The rally will start at 11 a.m. at the Kootenai County Courthouse, 451 Government Way, and proceed down Sherman Avenue.

The Idaho STAR Motorcycle Safety Program promotes rider safety and is currently urging all drivers to look twice for motorcycles when pulling out, changing lanes or merging into traffic.

STAR stands for skills training advantage for riders, and it provides training programs. For more information about classes, locations and fees, go to idahostar.org.

May classes in Hayden and Sandpoint are filled, but spaces are available in June.

Family: Inmate has changed

DEER LODGE, Mont. – Family members of a Canadian on a U.S. death row told Montana parole officials Wednesday that he has changed and deserves to live. But relatives of the men he killed said Ronald Smith is the “scum of the earth” and should be put to death.

Smith is asking the Montana Parole Board to recommend commuting his sentence to life in prison for the 1982 murders of Harvey Mad Man and Thomas Running Rabbit.

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