In brief: Council approves settlement in case of boy hit by city truck

The city of Spokane and its insurance company will pay $2.5 million to the family of a boy hit by a city dump truck.

The deal, reached in mediation last month, was approved Monday by the Spokane City Council in a 4-0 vote. City Council members Mike Allen, Nancy McLaughlin and Steve Salvatori were absent.

Zach Donovan was 9 years old and riding a scooter when he was struck by a dump truck that was part of a city street sweeping crew working near Finch Arboretum.

He spent six weeks recovering at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and about a month at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute. Among the injuries he suffered were pelvic fractures, internal bleeding and a severe kidney laceration, according to court documents.

The city will pay about $614,000 of the settlement. The city’s insurance company, Everest National Insurance, will pay the rest.

Legion Auxiliary president tours veterans’ facilities

The national president of the American Legion Auxiliary, representing 800,000 members nationwide, visited Eastern Washington over the weekend, touring facilities that serve veterans and attending a fundraiser for Honor Flight.

Peggy Thomas, who was named national president in August, has been a member of the auxiliary for 31 years and has held a variety of leadership positions.

Thomas visited the Spokane Veterans Home, the Washington State Veterans Cemetery and the Pioneer Victory House, which is a transitional housing facility for veterans, said Laura Bondurant, the auxiliary’s 8th District president for the Spokane area.

Bondurant said it has been more than five years since an auxiliary president visited the organization’s Eastern Washington district.

Speakers, events this week benefit the Fig Tree

Two events to benefit the Fig Tree newspaper, resource directory and website will emphasize the importance of helping people connect with each other and with ideas that motivate them.

The Making Connections breakfast begins at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday in Gonzaga University’s Cataldo Hall. Speakers at the event include Denise Atwood of Ganesh Himal Trading; Jan Martinez of Christ Kitchen; John Osborn of the Veterans Administration Medical Center; and Peggie Troutt, of the Calvary Soup Kitchen.

A lunch event Friday begins at 11:45 a.m., also in GU’s Cataldo Hall. Speakers include Tony Stewart of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations; Dick Boysen of the Spokane Guilds’ School; and Lena Lopez Schindler of the Cathedral of St. John’s Women’s Guild.

Table hosts cover the cost of food for the guests they invite. For information on being a table host or guest, call (509) 535-4112, (509) 535-1813, or email info@thefigtree.org.

Girl Scouts appeal to lift state sales tax on cookies

BOISE – Girl Scouts of all ages appealed to an Idaho House committee to lift the state’s sales tax from their annual cookie sale.

They won over the House’s tax committee on Monday.

The bill now moves to the full House. It needs passage there and in the Senate and the governor’s signature to become law.

It would remove Idaho’s distinction as one of only two states that tax the annual Girl Scout cookie sale; Hawaii is the other. Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax takes 22 cents from every $3.75 box of cookies.

Search under way for man after grandparents’ deaths

SEATTLE – Police are searching the Northwest for a man accused of killing his Seattle-area grandparents, who had just picked him up after his release from a Washington prison, hosted a party in his honor and offered him a room in their home for the night.

Police said 26-year-old Michael “Chad” Boysen is considered extremely dangerous and has tried to obtain guns.

Boysen was released from prison Friday after serving several years for robbery. King County Sheriff John Urquhart said Boysen’s grandparents – an 82-year-old man and 80-year-old woman – picked him up from prison and hosted a family “welcome home party” for him that night.

The couple was killed later Friday or early Saturday at their Renton home. Authorities believe Boysen also stole their car. A warrant was issued for his arrest.