Voices

Coeur d'Alene cops are cracking down on underage drinking with the help of a federal grant that pays overtime for officers to go on party patrol. The first of six to eight emphasis patrols targeting "party houses" was Memorial Day weekend. That Friday, officers issued nearly 30 citations for minors in possession of alcohol and a DUI.

More vacation Bible school sessions are coming up at Valley churches, providing a fun way for kids to learn about their faith. •Valley Assembly of God Church will host a session this Monday through Friday at the church for children in grades K-6. "Power Lab: Discovering Jesus' Miraculous Power" is the theme of the event, which will be held daily from 9 a.m. to noon.

Attendant Care Registry – Free service matching disabled adults and children with personal-care providers; sponsored by Coalition of Responsible Disabled; 326-6355. Change Point! program – Ideal for women who are separated, divorced, or widowed, have a disability, or who have been incarcerated; provides free training in computers, resume preparation, job interviewing, communication skills, and conflict resolution techniques; sponsored by the Washington State Displaced Homemaker Program; contact Denise McKinnon at 279-6065.

The following students have been named to the third trimester honor roll at Evergreen Middle School. Sixth grade

Plans to build an event center at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds are on hold as supporters of the proposal wait to see what happens with a Riverstone proposal to build a Coeur d'Alene sports arena. SRM Development is only in the initial stages of studying whether there is enough of a market in Coeur d'Alene for a 4,000- to 6,000-seat complex, but those backing the fairgrounds event center say it makes sense to put their project aside until the SRM Development study is complete.

Tuesday Spokane Valley City Council – 6 p.m. at City Hall, 11707 E. Sprague.

Spokane Valley has finally gotten enough summer to give firefighters some barbecue fires. There were a couple of them among the 216 calls to which the Spokane Valley Fire Department responded in the seven days that ended Wednesday.

East Valley interim superintendent Debra Howard will leave the district this week, having accepted a position as superintendent of the Selah School District near Yakima. She'll assume her new duties on July 1. "It's a little smaller than ours, but about the same," she said. "I felt like this was a good opportunity."

Summer is officially here. The solstice occurred yesterday at 4:59 p.m. PDT, and today we will enjoy one of the longest days of the year with 16 hours of daylight. Daylight hours are dependent on latitude, so that the farther north you go from the Tropic of Cancer, the more daylight hours you will have. Folks in Anchorage, Alaska, will enjoy about 19.5 hours of daylight today, while in Barrow it will be daylight for a full 24 hours. South of our region, sunny Los Angeles will receive about 14.5 hours, and hot, humid Houston will get about 14 hours.

A Kiemle & Hagood commercial real estate office will become the newest occupant of the office building at 2065 W. Riverstone Drive. The three-level, 16,500-square-foot building, now the most northwest of the Riverstone Development buildings, will be in the center of the complex when it's complete. The Kiemle & Hagood (pronounced Kimley and Haygood) office will be the first in Idaho for the Spokane company. From four to seven employees will be there when it opens July 1 in 1,450 square feet on the first floor.

Dogs are everywhere in Liberty Lake and the City Council is considering changes in how animal control is managed and whether dogs should be allowed in city parks during major events. Representatives have met with the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service and obtained an estimate on how much a contract would cost, police Chief Brian Asmus said during this week's City Council meeting. Police officers currently respond to all animal calls and have the option of calling in SpokAnimal at $45 per hour to help with situations above the officers' level of expertise.

On Wednesday morning, Destiney Turner was about to begin her day at King Pizza on Fourth Street when she received an unusual call. About 9:45. A guy wanted to send a pizza to his gal because she'd forgotten her lunch. Nothing unusual about that, you say? Well, the guy was a sergeant calling from Iraq. And he had his lover on his mind. Not the temperature in the Middle East, which he said hit 130 degrees that day. Destiney told Huckleberries that he ordered a medium pepperoni pizza and a Pepsi for his love – and wanted to add a $10 tip to the bill. The King Pizza worker refused to accept the tip or payment for the pizza. She couldn't remember the name of the sergeant. But said that his true love worked at the U.S. Bank call center. Also, Destiney recalled the love note she added to the order for the soldier, word for word: "I love you, Sugar Drop. Hope you're having a wonderful day." After fielding Sgt. Sugar Drop's call, Destiney hung up and cried: "He's over there and concerned about her. Amazing." Indeed. Spencer for ire

Regarding Steve Shirley's letter (Valley Voice, June 7), imagine what might happen if we don't stop these "PETA People" from expressing their "extremist" ideas and "personal agendas."