In brief: Trampoline lands on odd outage list
A wind gust lifted up a trampoline last year and sent it crashing into an electrical substation on Upriver Drive.
The event was weird enough to qualify for “most unusual causes of power outages” for 2011, according to Blackout Tracker’s annual report.
“I remember it very well,” Avista spokeswoman Debbie Simock said of the April 30, 2011 event.
She was the on-call media relations person that Saturday and was deluged with inquiries about the trampoline. About 11,000 Avista customers lost power during the outage, which also affected the company’s corporate headquarters and took down Avista’s website. Electricity was restored that evening.
An East Missoula power outage also made the list. In that case, residents lost electricity when an eagle dropped a fawn carcass onto power lines.
The Blackout Tracker is compiled by Eaton Corp. of Cleveland, which analyzed 3,071 reported outages nationwide.
Two men arrested on drug, theft charges
Investigators seized stolen property and drugs and arrested two men Thursday while serving a search warrant at a home in the Garland District.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Burglary Task Force and Investigative Task Force developed information that stolen property and drugs were being trafficked out of a home in the 400 block of North Kiernan Avenue after a “lengthy investigation,” according to a news release.
A SWAT team helped secure the home.
Nathan Carter, 29, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree possession of stolen property, first-degree trafficking in stolen property and possession of heroin.
Jeffrey Jennings, 32, was arrested on suspicion of possession of meth and heroin and second-degree possession of stolen property, as well as a warrant for drunken driving.
Seized stolen property includes musical instruments, laptop computers, overhead projectors and other electronic components. Some of the items were matched to theft reports through serial numbers, but many will need additional follow-up by investigators to identify.
Free vaccines Saturday for whooping cough
Free whooping cough vaccines will be given Saturday at the Spokane Regional Health District.
The free clinic is for those age 19 and older who don’t have health insurance or whose insurance doesn’t cover the immunization.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is highly contagious. It’s at epidemic levels in Washington. Spokane County had 18 confirmed cases as of Thursday.
It affects people of all ages, but it poses the biggest threat to infants. Health officials encourage adults to get a single booster vaccine to help prevent the spread of the illness to babies.
The free clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the health district offices, 1101 W. College Ave. in Spokane.
Deputy was going hitchhiker’s way
A Spokane Valley hitchhiker looking for a ride downtown got what he wished for when he stepped in front of what turned out to be a patrol car driven by a sheriff’s deputy.
David Carson Cooke, 51, was standing in the middle of East Sprague Avenue near Vista Road looking for a ride when Deputy Tyler Kullman was driving westbound on Sprague and encountered him about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Cooke told Kullman “he was looking for a ride downtown and did not realize he had stepped out in front of a police officer,” sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Craig Chamberlin said in a news release.
Cooke is considered by law enforcement to be an armed career criminal.
Kullman said Cooke allowed him to search his belongings and said he didn’t have anything illegal on him, but Kullman found a white plastic baggie in his backpack that contained methamphetamine. Cooke said he had no idea where it came from.
Kullman provided Cooke a free ride “downtown” and booked him into the Spokane County Jail on a felony drug charge.
Thousands expected for Tutu’s GU speech
Gonzaga University officials are expecting a crowd exceeding 11,000 Sunday morning for South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s graduation commencement speech at the Spokane Arena.
Admission is by invitation only, but Gonzaga will live-stream the event for viewing at gonzaga.edu/watchtutu. Graduation starts at 9:30 a.m. and Tutu’s speech will begin around 10:10 a.m.
Tutu, a Nobel laureate who campaigned against apartheid, AIDS, poverty and sexism, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the university.
His visit has been controversial with some Catholics, who disagree with the retired Anglican archbishop’s support of gay marriage and abortion rights.
Carriers to collect food on Saturday
Second Harvest is joining forces with Spokane County letter carriers to collect food donations for its Stamp Out Hunger food drive Saturday.
Spokane County residents are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag of nonperishable food such as canned soups, vegetables and fruit, and pasta and cereal by their mailboxes before mail is delivered.
Letter carriers and Second Harvest volunteers will collect the food donations along postal routes and the donated food will help stock the shelves of Second Harvest’s core network of 20 emergency food outlets in Spokane County.
The food drive will provide assistance to thousands of Spokane County residents.