Voices

Rose Dimico has her hands full managing a clothing bank for an average 175 people a week. She wouldn't have it any other way. This energetic great-grandmother volunteers 25 to 30 hours a week at Spokane Valley Partners, a community center that provides services for individuals and families in need.

The air is crisp and cold and we've got another project for Picture Perfect, our weekly community scrapbook of photos from Spokane Valley readers. We'd like to see your best seasonal snapshots, the type of pictures that show why this season brings out the best in Spokane Valley. Think of holiday gatherings, feasts, fun family events and special milestones. Send us your party pictures, snowboarding snapshots and candid photos.

It's official. Liberty Lake residents will be asked to pass a 20-year bond for $9.8 million to pay for a new library and community center on the April 22 ballot. The City Council voted to approve an ordinance containing the ballot language at Tuesday night's meeting.

There's one good thing about potholes. Well, maybe not good exactly, but interesting. And not all potholes, just some of them on the lower South Hill and in a few other spots around town – particularly the ones along Sixth Avenue between Browne and Bernard streets.

Kootenai County Terry Mellon, Post Falls, pole structure, valued at $27,643.

For 02-21-2008

Potholes have been proliferating in the recent freeze/thaw cycles and sometimes seem to grow deeper by the minute. The city of Spokane Valley is asking motorists to call in the locations of problem potholes so crews can make temporary repairs. Permanent repairs will be made later in the spring when asphalt plants open for the season. Pothole locations can be reported to 921-1000. Callers should have the name of the street, the names of the nearest cross streets and which lane the pothole is in. People can also go online to www.spokanevalley.org and select the "Report a Pothole" link under "Hot Topics."

WEST PLAINS – Cheney Public Schools on March 11 will ask voters to approve a capital projects levy to pay for computers, roofs and bleachers for the high school football field. The two-year levy is expected to raise $3.6 million each year. The levy would cost $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2009 and $1.55 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2010. It should maintain the total tax rate in the district, since the the voter-approved 2006 transportation vehicle fund levy it would replace will expire before any new funds are collected and the overall assessed valuation has increased.

The Rathdrum Area Chamber of Commerce is holding a town hall meeting Saturday with Idaho State Sen. Mike Jorgensen and State Reps. Jim Clark and Phil Hart. The meeting at the Twin Lakes Elementary School commons will run from 9 to 11 a.m.

The latest trend is to celebrate high school rivalries with commemorative mementos. Stinky Sneakers, Rubber Chickens, Groovy Shoes. They're grand events, community theater complete with costumes and song-and-dance numbers. In some ways, the event has grown to overshadow the very game for which it was created. And then there the classic, old-school rivalries that are events all by themselves. For years, Colfax and Freeman have enjoyed just such a rivalry. It's been old-school in every sense of the word.

POST FALLS – Though not yet an official unveiling, a land-use map for future development of the Rathdrum Prairie was presented to the public at the Post Falls City Council meeting Tuesday evening. More than 40 people gathered at City Hall where the color-coded map, the forerunner to the town's potential Smart Code plan that envisions Post Falls' future growth beyond its current northern border at Prairie Avenue, was revealed and discussed by council members and some residents in attendance. The land-use map shows how future growth areas would be managed by sector designations, which discourages sprawl and promotes mixed-use centers on the prairie – though how far north remains unclear.

Central Valley, University and East Valley solidified their position in the state high school wrestling power structure with strong efforts during last weekend's Mat Classic XX in Tacoma. The Bears brought home the third-place state team trophy, had two individual finalists and six medalists, while the Titans shared their third-straight fourth-place trophy after winning the title in 2004.

CHATTAROY – Margaret Evans remembers standing in front of the television with a baby balanced on her hip. It was 1995 and "Riverdance" was performing on the public television channel. Captivated by the exuberant energy of the dance, she recalled thinking, "I have to learn how to do this!" So she did. And when she and her husband, Carl, bought Valley Prairie Grange Hall in Chattaroy eight years ago, she decided to share her passion for Irish dance with others. She formed the Kelly Irish Dancers and began offering lessons at the Grange.

From a corner alcove in Rathdrum's Super 1 Foods, Dave and Susann Draper's business embodies the spirit of a small town mom-and-pop shop. However, surrounded by hard drives, flat-panel monitors and disassembled towers, the couple, owners and operators of Dawghaus Computers, break that business mold as the kind of folks who can upgrade a PC while their customers shop around the corner.

What is a caucus? Why is the presidential election called a race? What's so important about Iowa, anyway? These questions and more are the focus of presentations given this month by students at the Barton School, 318 S. Cedar St., an adult ESL and literacy program at First Presbyterian Church. The school provides one-on-one tutoring for adult immigrants, providing them with language skills, conversation, citizenship preparation and many other skills necessary to thrive in their new homeland. Currently, the school serves close to 40 students from more than 12 different countries.

OLYMPIA – Little-known fact: Drug companies can see what your doctor's prescribing and use the information to tailor the pitches of their salespeople. A bill approved late Monday night by the state Senate would ban that. Proponents say the practice drives up costs – are the salespeople really out there pitching generics? – and that doctors are often unaware of how much information drug companies can get.

Ongoing Burgers with a Heart Fundraiser - Eighth annual fundraiser benefitting the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. Red Robin will donate 50 cents from every gourmet burger sold through Sunday to the nursery. Restaurant guests will also be able to purchase specially designed paper hearts for $1. Local Red Robin locations include: Downtown, 725 W. Main Ave. 838-5260; North, 9904 N. Newport Highway. 467-3382; Valley, 14736 E. Indiana Ave. 921-1634.

I recently attended my first political caucus. I never really cared to before, content to watch from the sidelines, discuss political candidates and issues with friends and do my civic duty in the voting booth, quietly. Besides, I find the goings on of the two major political parties rather distasteful, frankly, which I concede is rather effete of me. You know, let others do the nitty gritty, then just step in at the end and cast a vote with self-righteous smugness. Look what a good citizen I am.

Madeline Dickson, a fifth-grader at the Libby Center-Odyssey School, has been named as a finalist in the Washington Poison Center's statewide Mr. Yuk Poster Contest. The contest was open to third-, fourth- and fifth-graders and Dickson's prize includes $200 for her teacher, Kristy Masteller, to use in the classroom, a $50 savings bond, an Mp3 player, a watch from Sketchers, hair products and other items from stores and supporters of the Washington Poison Center.