Voices

Wednesday I awoke like I do most mornings, with a full to-do list chugging like a steam locomotive through my sleep-deprived brain. In the preceding two days, I'd interviewed a master quilter, a Japanese paper doll artist and an NFL referee. In addition to work responsibilities, home duties kept me scrambling. I'd cooked a vat of chili, several pounds of chicken-and-rice casserole and made a slew of salami sandwiches in an effort to satisfy the starving savages who live in my home.

Broadway Elementary School will present the Seventh Annual Stinky Teacher Basketball Game on Friday at 6 p.m. The game will be held at North Pines Middle School, 701 N Pines Road. Admission is $2 for Broadway students and $3 for other students and adults. Children under 5 are free.

Liberty Lake Police had a bumper crop of calls and arrests the week of March 3-10. Several of the 10 arrests were for driving with a suspended license and failure to show liability insurance. Those arrested for those two charges include 45-year-old Timothy S. Bernal of Otis Orchards, 39-year-old Cindy K. Hansen of Otis Orchards, 36-year-old Janelle M. McLaughlin of Newman Lake and Liberty Lake resident Cody L. Thompson, 22.

Liberty School District's technology levy appears to be passing after Tuesday's election, but the capital projects bond is too close to call at press time. Bonds require a 60 percent super-majority to pass and the measure has 60.56 percent approval so far. "We're kind of on pins and needles," said Superintendent Bill Motsenbocker. "We're encouraged that at least at this point it looks like the bond is successful. With a community as small as ours, one percent of the vote could be as small as 15 votes. Things can go one way or the other depending on whatever the last-minute ballots have in store for us."

COEUR d'ALENE – An upgrade of the software used to track circulation services and computer catalogs for the libraries in the Cooperative Information Network will affect some library operations in North Idaho and Eastern Washington Tuesday through next Thursday. The Washington Information Network that manages the CIN computer network through a network server at Gonzaga University will upgrade the Voyager software used by the libraries to check items in and out, arrange for holds, and to manage patron records and requests.

Officers arrested a 36-year-old Deer Park man about noon Monday after a short pursuit that ended with his stolen car being pinned against a parked vehicle near North Pines Middle School. Officer Chan Erdman attempted to stop Mark R. Yeager, 4871 Williams Valley Road, at Mission Avenue and Pines Road about 11:34 a.m., said Spokane Valley Police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

Mead School District voters at press time Wednesday were rejecting a $900,000 technology and portable classroom levy, but voters in the Loon Lake School District had approved a separate $2 million capital levy that would contribute to the construction of nearby Deer Park High School. A simple majority is needed to pass the Mead levy, but only 46.9 percent of the voters had cast ballots in favor of the measure. Go to www.spokesmanreview.com for the latest election results.

MEDICAL LAKE – Medical Lake voters decided Tuesday against a $19.5 million school bond which would have paid for a new elementary school, but voters in Cheney approved a separate measure to raise $3.6 million for new technology and several capital projects. The Medical Lake bond would have raised $19,544,500 to replace the old Medical Lake Elementary School and new classrooms for the junior high to replace portable classrooms. The 50-year-old elementary school has electrical problems, no air conditioning, and inadequate fire-safety equipment, according to Superintendent Pam Veltri.

At the recent Washington State Bowling Proprietors Association high school championships in Tacoma, you could have heard a pin drop. Lots of them, actually. For 43 years, the WSBPA has sponsored programs for high school bowlers who, until 2001, didn't have an opportunity to compete on behalf of their schools. For the past eight years in the 4A classification and the past two in 3A, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has sanctioned bowling in several Washington districts.

•The Whitman Neighborhood Council will meet today at 6:30 p.m. at Whitman Elementary School, 5400 N. Helena St. •The North Hill Neighborhood Council will meet today at 7 p.m. at Willard Elementary School, 500 W. Longfellow Ave.

POST FALLS – Post Falls may never have the tourist cachet of Coeur d'Alene, but local leaders and businesses are doing their best to attract visitors and their dollars to the River City. The Post Falls Chamber of Commerce is purchasing advertising touting itself as a driving trip destination in an Idaho tourism publication that will be distributed in newspapers throughout the Northwest. The group also will soon be opening a visitors' center near Cabela's. Meanwhile, Post Falls hotels market themselves as a less-expensive and more family-friendly alternative to staying in Coeur d'Alene.

I moved into a new neighborhood. It's truly God's Country – all hills and woods nestling houses. I sit on my porch to watch and listen to the wildlife. I love it. The first winter, I realized how wildlife could get here. It snowed big. It was beautiful – truly a winter wonderland with tall white branches on trees and snow a couple of feet deep.

A California-based urban planner who was hired to help create a new Spokane downtown design is calling for the city to protect views of the Spokane River for both aesthetic and economic development reasons. Daniel Iacofano, a principal designer with the MIG firm based in Berkeley, said that successful cities, including Portland, Vancouver, B.C., and Denver, have taken steps to protect their scenic views.

Discover the Truth Free Conference – Sunday, 8:40 a.m. and 10:40 a.m., Truth and Culture, at His Place Church, 3079 E. 16th Ave. Presented by Dr. Douglas Geivett. Call for information, 777-9654. "New Annointing" Concert – Sunday, 6 p.m. at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 3115 N. 15th St., Coeur d'Alene. Free admission, love offering will be taken. 664-3862.