Voices

Much has been said about the proposed audit of the city of Spokane Valley’s contract with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department to provide police services to our citizens. I would like to put the conversation in a relevant frame of reference. A few years ago our citizens overwhelmingly voted in favor of Initiative 900. This initiative requires audits of state, county and city governments to assure the entities are spending your money efficiently while providing the highest level of service possible.

Weather forecasts consist of quite a bit of information. People want to know whether it will be wet or dry, sunny or cloudy, windy or calm, dry or muggy, and of course whether it will be warm or cold. Different aspects of the forecast get more or less attention from a meteorologist, depending on the weather situation.

Perhaps it was a little late in the season, but when I pulled up to the Porch Public House that sunny noontime Friday, I was mildly surprised to see that the place wasn’t already percolating with golfers and other random Hayden Lakers. Tucked away in a primarily residential area, the restaurant sits directly across the street from Avondale Golf Course, so I expected to see at least a few of the pleated-pants crowd debarking from their climate-controlled carts. Instead, the large lot behind the Porch was completely vacated, causing me to circle around the building a few times looking for signs of life. Are they even open?

For 10-25-2008

For the week of Oct. 27-31 Monday – Pork chop with mushroom gravy, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, French bread, pears.

Shopping for prom dresses and formals is a rite of passage in high school. But as prices continue to rise, and labels are as important as what your hair looks like on the night of the big dance, those fancy dresses can get pretty spendy. The girls at Coeur d’Alene High School have an opportunity to find the perfect dress for a perfect price at Your Next Best Dress, held at the High School from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

West Valley is preparing to join a list of Valley school districts placing a maintenance and operations levy on the Feb. 3. ballot. Board members also discussed renewing a technology levy on the same ballot during a meeting Wednesday. Districts are allowed to ask voters for an amount that equals up to 24 percent of all the state and federal money received by a district annually. A levy can be set for up to four years, but most school districts in the area have stuck with a three-year term. Local districts usually try to be placed on the same ballot in order to share in the election costs.

To paraphrase the trailer for the 1943 movie “Lassie Come Home,” this isn’t a pretentious story or an epic. It is “too real, too human, too beautiful for high-sounding adjectives.”

The Spokane city hearing examiner has approved a conditional-use permit to the city Parks and Recreation Department to allow development of a sports complex at Joe Albi Stadium. The permit was needed prior to construction of an $11.6 million proposal, including a new softball complex. Hearing Examiner Greg Smith said in his decision on Monday that the expansion of sports facilities would not cause any adverse impacts to the area. Concerns had been raised about additional traffic that the center would generate, and that conditions could be imposed on the project to mitigate any potential problems.

Fresh pumpkin donuts. Steaming hot cider. Homemade apple dumplings. There’s only one place where you’re guaranteed to find all three – the harvest festival in Green Bluff. Ever since our sons were tiny, we’ve taken them to the Green Bluff festival to pick their Halloween pumpkins. It’s our annual autumn tradition. So, on a recent sparkling Sunday afternoon, the kids scrambled out of the car at our first stop, Siemers Farm. While the boys scoured the patch for the perfect pumpkin, I loaded our green handcart with Honey Crisp apples, yellow onions and gallons of cider.

Fresh pumpkin donuts. Steaming hot cider. Homemade apple dumplings. There’s only one place where you’re guaranteed to find all three – the harvest festival in Green Bluff. Ever since our sons were tiny, we’ve taken them to the Green Bluff festival to pick their Halloween pumpkins. It’s our annual autumn tradition. So, on a recent sparkling Sunday afternoon, the kids scrambled out of the car at our first stop, Siemers Farm. While the boys scoured the patch for the perfect pumpkin, I loaded our green handcart with Honey Crisp apples, yellow onions and gallons of cider.

Kootenai County Gerald Brown, Rathdrum, residence addition/alteration, valued at $38,364.

Candidates for two Spokane County commissioner positions will answer questions tonight at Liberty Lake. The forum will focus on issues of special interest in that community, but all county residents are welcome to attend and submit questions, according to the sponsoring Liberty Lake Property Owners Association.