In brief: Volunteer receives president’s award

SPOKANE VALLEY – Jeff Ripke received the President’s Volunteer Service Award as part of National Volunteerism Week.

Ripke is a network field operations manager for AT&T, and he volunteers for the Royal Rangers, a church-based organization that mentors boys from kindergarten through high school.

“I have a 10-year-old son, and I focus on teaching him and the other Royal Rangers how to lead positive lives and help others,” Ripke said.

National Volunteerism Week is sponsored by Corporation for National and Community Service.

Ripke spends hundreds of hours each year teaching the Royal Rangers about things like astronomy, camping, firearm safety and archery.

“If I can make a difference in their lives, it’s all worth it,” Ripke said.

Benefit planned for student with cancer

FREEMAN – A benefit event for Freeman Middle School student Gabe Tesch, who is battling brain cancer, will be Saturday.

The Gabe’s Avengers Against Brain Cancer Barbeque Dinner and Auction will feature a silent auction of more than 150 items and a live auction featuring items such as tickets to any 2015-16 Gonzaga men’s basketball game, a Lake Coeur d’Alene cruise and a jet boat ride.

Singer Brenna Yaeger, a Mead graduate who appeared on television show “The Voice,” will also perform.

The event will be at Freeman High School, 14626 S. Jackson Road, in Rockford. Dinner and silent auction will begin at 5 p.m.; Yaeger’s performance will be at 7:30, and the live auction will be at 8.

Admission for teens and adults, including barbecue dinner, is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. A hot dog dinner for children ages 6 to 12 is $5 ($7 at the door); child’s barbecue dinner is $8 ($10 at the door). Children age 5 and younger will be admitted free.

Visit www.gabesavengers. com or call (509) 290-9625 for more information.

Public may submit shoreline plan views

SPOKANE VALLEY – The Washington state Department of Ecology is seeking public input on Spokane Valley’s shoreline master program starting Monday.

Public comment will be accepted until 5 p.m. May 20.

To review and comment online, visit www.ecy.wa.gov, click on “water,” click on “shoreline management,” go to citizen guide, then click on Spokane Valley.

Hard copies of documents are available at Ecology’s office, 4601 N. Monroe St., and at the Spokane Valley Planning Department, 11707 E. Sprague Ave.

Call Ecology at (509) 329-3411 or Spokane Valley’s Planning Department at (509) 720-5240.