Washington Voices

Spokane Valley Mayor Tom Towey suggested a new formula for allocating city money to economic development and social service agencies at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Towey recommended not giving any money to any agency that was not recommended for funding by at least four council members. The money allocated to those agencies could then be given to the agencies that were recommended for funding by all seven council members.

Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton ruled Wednesday that the voter registration of Spokane Valley Fire Department Commissioner Monte Nesbitt will be canceled because he does not live at the Spokane Valley address he listed. Nesbitt, however, wasn’t present when Dalton announced her ruling. Typically a talkative man, Nesbitt was quiet and complained of feeling ill as Dalton deliberated. He was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center where he remained for tests as of Thursday morning, said Valley Fire Commissioner Joe Dawson.

Tuesday Fairfield City Council – 7 p.m. at City Hall, 218 E. Main St., Fairfield.

SPOKANE VALLEY – The 2012 Spokane Preview Showcase Marching Band Festival is today in the stadium at University High School, 12420 E. 32nd Ave. High school marching bands from Cheney, East Valley, Lewis and Clark, Mt. Spokane, University, West Valley, Chiawana and Clarkston will perform for judges and visitors. The festival starts at 10 a.m., with final performances starting at 3:15 p.m.

Mead High School Class of 1963 – Aug. 9-11. Call (509) 487-5141 or email c-mae@comcast.net for more information. For information on military reunions, write to: Military Locator and Reunion Service Inc., 3330 Springs Road NE, Hickory, NC 28601; (828) 256-6008 or fax (828) 256-6559.

The Edgecliff neighborhood has struggled to maintain its identity in the five years since Pratt Elementary closed. That struggle will be even harder now after the Edgecliff Senior Center, the last community gathering spot, shut its doors last week. Spokane Public Schools closed Pratt in June 2007. Later that same year the city of Spokane Valley gave $20,000 and a private donor gave $10,000 so volunteers could rent part of the school as a neighborhood center. There was an after-school program, classes, open gym nights and free community movies. The funding lasted until 2009, when the neighborhood center closed. A group of volunteers, all of them retired, started the senior center but that too has closed because of lack of funding.

For the week of Oct. 1-5. Monday – Option 1: Salisbury steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, beets, dinner roll, peaches. Option 2: BLT wrap, mashed potatoes, beets, peaches.

I think of it as the peripatetic dresser. When I was little, my parents bought my sister and me a set of solid maple early American bedroom furniture, including a wide dresser with a framed mirror, a chest of drawers, and a desk. Although not top of the line, the furniture was nicely made and we took good care of it. When my sister left for college, my brother inherited the chest and desk. When I moved out the dresser went with me and I carted it to four different apartments.

Inland Northwest Blood Center - Volunteers are needed to serve refreshments and assist with possible donor adverse reactions after blood donations. An ability to discern and assist with adverse reactions and good customer service is required. For times and details call Selina Worley at (509) 624-0151 or visit www.inbcsaves.org. Inland Northwest Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society - Inland Northwest Chapter is looking for volunteers to assist the staff with receptionist duties, data entry, filing and hands-on projects in preparation for special events. Call Kerry Wiltzius, program director, at (509) 482-2022.

After weeks of the discussion, the Spokane Valley City Council voted Tuesday to kill a proposed 1 percent property tax increase for 2013. The decision will save residential taxpayers about 76 cents per year. Not collecting the additional $108,000 means that the city’s estimated revenues will be only $33,000 over projected expenses in 2013. Finance Director Mark Calhoun told the council that he recommended the city collect the tax. The city doesn’t have control over revenues, he said. “All of these are estimates,” he said. “It’s still an unknown.”

Citizenship Course – Offered by World Relief Spokane, 1522 N. Washington St., Suite 204. For more information call (509) 484-9829. Employment, Education and Training – For Spokane County residents who have been laid off from work or have low income; provided through Work Source Spokane. Call (509) 532-3120 or visit www.workspokane.org and click on “Job Seekers.”

Spokane Valley Fire Department Deputy Chief Larry Rider told fire commissioners during Monday’s meeting that things are not going as planned with the construction of Station 6, 6306 E. Sprague Ave. The project has been beset with problems since the beginning, and two new ones have cropped up that will delay the project further.

Ava arrived at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services on Sept. 17. She’s an adult female calico with long tufts of fur on her cheeks. Shelter workers say she’s quiet, but loves petting and attention. She’s litter-box trained.