U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R.-Wash., will hold a town hall meeting Wednesday in Spokane at the Lincoln Center.

The meeting announced Monday by her office begins at 6 p.m. at the North Side event center, located at 1316 N. Lincoln St. A news release from the congresswoman’s office said the third-ranking Republican member in the House of Representatives will be discussing legislative and economic issues in Eastern Washington.

The event is free and open to the public. Questions should be directed to McMorris Rodgers’ legislative office in downtown Spokane, which can be reached at (509) 353-2374.

Kip Hill

State Highway 20 open after mudslides

The North Cascades Highway reopened Monday morning after mudslides closed the route last week.

Crews cleared state Highway 20, which had been blocked by eight separate slides triggered by torrential rainstorms Aug. 10-11.

The slides were strung along 7 miles to the northwest of Rainy Pass at the Cascade crest. The largest slide was 25 feet deep and a quarter-mile long.

Crews have been repairing guardrails, drainage ways and pavement surface. Slopes also were being stabilized.

Remaining work could result in traffic restrictions through the construction zone.

Mike Prager

Plane crash victim was Spokane man

The pilot killed in a Sunday evening plane crash in rural Kootenai County has been identified as John T. Lippis, of Spokane.

The 67-year-old pilot was flying a 1980 fixed-wing, single-engine plane, classified as “experimental,” according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. Lippis apparently took off from the Shoshone County Airport on Sunday afternoon to do some recreational flying in the area.

Lippis owned Swedish Motorcar Service in north Spokane for more than 20 years.

The downed plane was located near a residence in the 1300 block of Beaver Road near Cataldo. Lippis, the plane’s only occupant, was found dead.

The cause of the crash is not known.

Scott Maben

Bank robbery suspect arrested on South Hill

Dozens of police swarmed the South Perry neighborhood in Spokane on Monday evening and arrested a suspected bank robber who had holed up inside a house.

Hostage negotiators used a bullhorn to coax Scott Ruziecki, 41, from the empty house. He is suspected of robbing at least three banks this month.

The standoff paralyzed the neighborhood surrounding the 600 block of South Arthur Street on Monday evening, and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office used a helicopter to shine a light on the house.

Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich on Friday issued a public safety alert regarding Ruziecki, saying the man had threatened to shoot police if confronted.

Jonathan Brunt

Silverwood park sued over patron’s 2011 fall

A Kootenai County man who fell while boarding a roller coaster at Silverwood Theme Park two years ago has sued.

William Hutchins claims negligence and described falling over the front car of the Corkscrew coaster before the ride began and landing on his back about 10 feet below. He claims he was knocked unconscious, awoke in extreme pain and suffered permanent head, neck, shoulder, rib and nerve damage from the Aug. 19, 2011, incident.

Hutchins said he fell after a passenger stepping into the car behind him pushed on the harness bar for the front car, hitting him in the back. Silverwood has not modified the ride to prevent such falls, the suit alleges.

The Corkscrew, built around 1975 and purchased by Silverwood in 1989, has “outlived its useful product life as defined by law,” the suit claims.

A Silverwood representative did not return a call seeking comment.

Scott Maben