history for Chron

A judicial probe of professional gambling included 25 subpoenas to prominent Spokane residents, including state Sen. William S. Day.

Reached at home, Day said he had been served on the day before, ordering him to court on Sept. 18.

“I’ve never gambled a day in my life,” Day said. “I’m totally surprised.”

A separate published report indicated that illegal gambling may total $350,000 a weekend during football season.

Frank Fontaine, 58, who rose to stardom on the “Jackie Gleason Show” television series, collapsed and died at the conclusion of an Eagles international convention in Spokane.

Fontaine died of an apparent heart attack after completing his fourth encore for a crowd of about 3,000 people.

Just prior to his collapse, Fontaine accepted a check for $25,000 that he planned to donate for medical research.

A bus carrying mentally and physically disabled people went off a roadway about 50 miles south of Montreal and plunged into a lake, drowning 41 passengers.

Survivor Alain Pouliot said the brakes failed on the bus, the driver failed to make a turn and the bus slowly sank in the murky water as the passengers desperately screamed for help.