Washington Voices

Spokane Valley This week Car-B-Que – Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-noon annual car show, barbecue, plant sale and Inland Northwest Bloodmobile blood drive at Opportunity Presbyterian Church, 202 N. Pines Road. $5/barbecue. (509) 924-9750.

Sacajawea Middle School recently announced its third quarter honor roll for the 2013-14 school year. Students honored for their achievement received a grade-point average of 3.5 or above. Students are listed by grade level. Eighth grade

Billed as the world’s largest celebration of creativity, Destination Imagination’s global finals in Knoxville, Tennessee, later this month will draw teams from 40 states and 12 countries. Two of those teams are from Spokane: one from St. Aloysius and one from Gonzaga Prep.

For 05-08-2014

For the week of May 12-16. Monday – Option 1: Spaghetti with meat sauce, roll, steamed vegetables, fruit. Option 2: BLT wrap, steamed vegetables, fruit

The South Perry Business and Neighborhood Association’s next meeting is on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Liberty Park Methodist Church, 1526 E. 11th Ave. Volunteers and ideas are needed for the South Perry Street Fair and Parade on July 26.

American Cancer Society Discovery Shop - Volunteers are needed for the Discovery Shop, 805 W. Garland Ave., for help with a number of duties. For more information, call Joanne at (509) 465-1607. Anna Ogden Hall Long Term Recovery Shelter - Volunteer opportunities include in the nursery and kitchen; various program class teachers; reception work; and help in the medical clinic. Required introductory classes are offered three times per month. For more information, call (509) 535-8510 or visit www.ugmspokane.org.

For 05-03-2014

Spokane Valley Mall’s Center Court will be converted into City Hall for a day on Thursday. Information booths will be set up from noon to 5 p.m. to help people connect with city services and learn about upcoming projects such as the planned Appleway Trail or the Sullivan Road bridge replacement. A police car and fire truck will be available for up close looks, demonstrations will be given on using the new Spokane Valley smartphone app, and council members will be on hand for questions.

Central Valley School District is using ThoughtStream to collect information before potentially putting a bond on the ballot next year. The program allows individuals to take an online survey.

A splash of yellow caught my eye while waiting at a stoplight the other morning. In the center of a large concrete median, surrounded by a lake of asphalt where three multilane roads meet and diverge, a bush of a dandelion plant burst from a crack. The leaves, full and green, spilled and sprawled from the bottom while more stems than would fit in my fist stood tall, buds and flowers a defiant bouquet to the traffic streaming past at 40 miles per hour.

The Freeman School District is accepting applications for a seat on the school board after Randy Primmer resigned earlier this week. The open position is for District 3, in the northwest portion of the school district. A map is available at www.freemansd.org.

Last week I discussed planting onions. That brought questions from readers about the timetable for planting other vegetables. Most vegetables that you seed into the garden germinate when the soil gets to the right temperature. A month ago I measured the temperature in my garden at 45 degrees. Saturday it was up to 50. Not much of a shift but enough that more cool season crops are able to germinate.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department recently responded to several house fires, apartment fires and two arsons at local schools that will likely lead to criminal charges. The first school incident was reported April 22 at East Valley High School. “A student lit a garbage can on fire and sat there and watched it burn,” said Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford. The incident was captured on surveillance video.