Voices

On June 22, because of the Ironman Triathlon, the Coeur d'Alene Library at 702 E. Front Ave., will be closed due to street closures. Front Avenue and Eighth Street are on route for the running portion of the race.

The Spokane County Library District is offering a summer reading program to adults to run with the annual children's summer reading program. Adults in the program will be asked to read three books and log the books they read. Once they're done, they can turn the log into the local library branch and receive a two-for-one admission coupon to the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.

A 32-year-old Spokane Valley man was arrested on felony drug charges last week after his failure to signal a turn caught the eye of a curious officer. The driver was northbound on Evergreen when he made an abrupt and unsignaled turn as officer Jeff Welton approached him from behind. Instead of pulling into the parking lot of a convenience store located at Broadway Avenue, the driver pulled into an alley behind the store.

MEDICAL LAKE – Fireworks and junk cars topped the recent City Council agenda, with people on both sides of the issue weighing in on a possible fireworks ban and leaders getting an update on the removal of 26 abandonded vehicles from city limits. Longtime fireworks stand operator Dennis Snyder, who won approval to operate his stands again this year at Denny's Harvest Foods, E. 215 SR 902, and at the Medical Lake Car Wash, E. 625 SR 902, took the opportunity to speak to the council during the public comment section of the June 3 meeting.

Today "ALL SHOOK UP" (MUSCIAL) – 7:30 p.m., Coeur d'Alene Summer Theater, Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center, Coeur d'Alene, 769-7780.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail detailing a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientific paper indicating that fewer tropical storms and hurricanes are likely during much of the rest of the 21st century, especially if we see more global cooling down the climatological highway. These respected scientists are forecasting 27 percent fewer named tropical storms overall with 18 percent less storms that actually become hurricanes. Also, there will likely be at least 8 percent fewer major hurricanes like Katrina and Andrew above a Category 3. NASA claims that "increased wind shear in the tropics will actually cut the number of hurricanes."

Sex education is a volatile topic in the Central Valley School District, judging by the overflow crowd and raised voices at this week's board meeting. One speaker said that if the district taught contraceptive use it would be "condoning sexual promiscuity." The district has been teaching an abstinence-only curriculum, but the Legislature has passed a new law that requires school districts to teach safe-sex practices along with abstinence. If a district refuses to teach safe-sex practices, it can't teach abstinence, either.

After a year of hard work and just in time for summer, Oasis Park is ready to open to the East Central community it serves and a community that has supported its creation from the very beginning. The park is a playground for children of the Crisis Shelter for Women and Children and will be open to the public. It is the brainchild of the shelter's director, Rich Schous, and his staff.

On Saturday, Rich Leon, a local photographer, will hold a wildlife photography workshop and photo-finding hike, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, 26010 South Smith Road in Cheney. There is a $3 entry fee, per vehicle, paid at the refuge gate. Funding is by donation.

This week "What's Hot in Summer Travel" Christian Women's Luncheon – Today from noon-2 p.m. at the Coeur d'Alene Resort, 115 S. Second St. Featuring programs by Maryann Harlow and Irene Newton. Call for reservations, 687-0291 or 687-6906.

Spokane Valley residents James and Mary Pollard are suing the city for allegedly ruining their driveway and stifling discussion of their complaint. The Pollards seek unspecified damages and an order prohibiting what they say is an unconstitutional policy of directing City Council members and city employees not to talk to them.

Nah, they weren't filming an Alfred Hitchcock movie the other day at Coeur d'Alene's City Park. But you woulda thought so by the way the crows were dive-bombing park users near the public restrooms, including one Berry Picker who reports: "I was body-boinked on the head by a crow (fortunately, feet first) and then endured about four to six other dives that didn't result in touches." Frightened, the woman later saw the crows dive at two other people in two separate incidents. Although neither was hit, the Berry Picker said, "both people boogeyed out of the park as quickly as possible." The only problem seemed to be around the toilet building. Later, she said, she called Lake City's parks department and talked with a woman who said "birds are a natural element of a park – and the department has no responsibility (or interest) for wild animals/birds." The distressed damsel of this tale was told to contact someone who knew about birds. (Read: Someone who cares.) The woman had heard about the diving birds in banter among department worker bees but seemed "pretty unsympathetic." Be careful out there. Without excuse

New software and equipment being piloted in Liberty Lake will allow police officers to spend more time on patrol and less time doing paperwork. The city has been selected as an Eastern Washington test agency for the Eastside (Statewide Electronic Collision and Ticket Online Records Program). The city is the first in the area to get the program, which is sponsored by the Department of Licensing and the Traffic Safety Commission.