Voices

MEDICAL LAKE – About a dozen years ago Kevin Brown went to his first bluegrass festival and fell in love. Since it began in 2001, he’s been the music director for the Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival in Medical Lake. The festival started modestly but recently has burst with activity, with over 1,000 people attending in 2007. “The first few years were real small,” Brown said. “We had probably less than a hundred people out there the first year or two. Then two years ago it started taking off, and last year it just kind of exploded. That park was filled to capacity last year, and will be this year again I’m sure.”

All I was trying to do was enjoy the last of the evening sun on the deck but they wouldn’t leave me alone. They kept nagging me that they were hungry. Kids? Cats? No – hummingbirds. Both of their half-pint feeders were empty and they needed to fill up before dark. Good thing I stock a quart of pre-made food in the refrigerator. Hummingbirds are big eaters. Weighing about as much as a nickel, they eat half their body weight in nectar and insects and eight times their weight in water every day. They have to. Their wings beat an average of 200 times a second, allowing them to fly at an average speed of 27 miles per hour and 50 miles per hour when they want to hustle. That burns a lot of energy in a hurry between the first morning light and twilight.

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – A beer garden, a bouncy house for the kids, a whiz-bang car show, and an award-winning band are expected to draw more than 8,000 people to the annual Airway Heights Festival on Friday and Saturday, event coordinators say. Too Slim and the Tail Draggers, a regionally renowned blues band, will set up their instruments around 8 p.m. Friday. The nearby beer garden will offer brews for $4 each.

Call it creative license. Brandilyn Collins got rid of the mountains between Spirit Lake and Priest River and dropped a body of water and a community there: Kanner Lake, a town much like Spirit Lake – population 1,700 – only with a higher murder rate.

The city of Spokane is looking at the possibility of buying development rights to an unusual use of land in an urban area – farming. A handful of farmers still work the soil in Latah Valley, and city officials said the use of the land for agriculture is so valuable that the government should take steps to preserve it for the future.

The Liberty Lake City Council meeting held in Pavillion Park in honor of National Night Out was over quickly on Tuesday. Library Director Pamela Mogan presented the council with a floor plan for the new library that will fill part of the building the city is purchasing at 23123 E. Mission Ave. The building will be shared with the Police Department.

Dozens of dogs and their owners are invited to flood downtown Cheney at the Farmers’ Market on Friday. The “Dog Days” festival has invited a troupe of dancing and barking dogs that entertains audiences under the name “The Ruff Review” at 11:30 a.m. People can bring in their own canines to frolic in the dog parade at noon. On the roster, but possibly not yet set in stone, is the owner and dog dress-alike contest.

September is all about crisp new sheets of paper, freshly sharpened pencils and colorful new backpacks stuffed with school supplies. But some Spokane Valley kids might have to do without if more donations of school supplies don’t materialize at Spokane Valley Partners. Valley Partners holds a school supplies drive every summer to outfit low-income children with classroom necessities. Demand is up this year and donations are down.

Upcoming Rathdrum Concert Series – Fridays through August, 6-8:30 p.m. at Rathdrum City Park, Highway 53 at Latah Road. This week’s performance by Generation playing rock music. 667-3162.

Today Free Kids Summer Movies at the Garland Theater - Doors open at 9 a.m., show at 9:30 a.m. Today-Friday, “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie,” Rated G; “Nim’s Island,” Rated PG. Garland Theater, 924 W. Garland Ave. 327-1050.

HUETTER – Huetter is little more than a blip on the Kootenai County map, but the tiny town of 100 residents could soon mark a new spot in Idaho elections law. An ongoing dispute over whether two elected town officials are eligible to serve their terms in office has been appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court.

A judge has tossed out a lawsuit against a Liberty Lake couple who built a house that was too tall because of a mistake by Spokane County planners. For Paul Shields, and his wife, Heather Amity, beating back their neighbors in court was a hollow victory. Their lakefront “dream house” is awash in legal bills.

There has been a large amount of controversy since the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Law began, with many arguments presented on both sides. Because this law directly affects the future for youth around the country, it seems vital to base our views on a comprehensive understanding of the issue. Here are some key points to consider that often get left out of discussions. •Between 1975 and 2005, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Law saved nearly 25,000 young lives, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Thanks for keeping memories alive Kudos to Dave and Doug Ross for keeping a legacy alive in McKinley School (July 24, North Voice).