Washington Voices

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.

A trickle of people flowed through City Hall last week when Spokane Valley hosted an open house on its proposed shoreline designations. The designations are part of the state-mandated update of the city’s Shoreline Management Program. The city has maps showing two options. The second was prepared after input from the Department of Ecology and the city’s technical review group, said senior planner Lori Barlow. The DOE has final approval of the city’s Shoreline Management Program.

Area libraries offer storytimes for different ages. Here’s a look at some of the options: Baby lapsit

Liberty Lake Police officers had a busy week from Sept. 17 to 24, responding to everything from domestic violence calls to identity theft and fraud. At the top of the list were two arrests officers were unable to make even though the people involved were wanted on warrants. A car was pulled over at Mission Avenue and Grady Road on Sunday and the officer learned the passenger was wanted on a warrant. But a problem with the computer system meant the warrant couldn’t be confirmed and the man had to be released, Asmus said.

Girl Scouts - The Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho is looking for volunteers for leadership development and mentoring of girls. Call Janet Davis, volunteer manager, at (800) 827-9478 or visit www.gsewni.org.

There doesn’t appear to be any type of normal weather pattern in our area or across the globe. It seems like it’s either feast or famine in terms of moisture. For example, many areas across the Inland Northwest reported the wettest spring season in history. At Spokane International Airport, 4.56 inches of moisture fell in March, which was the most precipitation ever measured for the month of March. June was also a wet month with 2.86 inches of rain.

Two years ago, the HUB Sports Center, 19619 E. Cataldo Road, almost closed its doors. The building was for sale and executive director Phil Champlin was booking activities on a month-to-month basis. Since then, the HUB has turned things around. Champlin said they are now operating in the black and have taken the building off the market.

Got a birch tree that doesn’t look too healthy after our long, dry summer? You aren’t alone. Both European white birch and river birch are popular landscape trees in the Inland Northwest. However, they aren’t easy to keep healthy here. In their natural habitat, birches live along the forest edges or near streams where their roots can stay cool and moist even during the hottest part of the year. Their roots are very shallow and very sensitive to dry conditions even for a very short period. At the edge of the forest or near a stream, their roots are shaded by other trees or watered from a nearby stream while their crowns reach into the full sun.

For 09-22-2012

Spokane Community College – Offers free workshops on labor market and career preparation information, including assistance with résumés and cover letters. SCC Lair Student Center, 1810 N. Greene St. For more information call (509) 533-7249 or visit www.scc.spokane.edu/?cces. Veterans Counseling – Free counseling services, sponsored by the Veterans Outreach Center, 100 N. Mullan Road; (509) 444-8387.

Two elementary schools in the Central Valley School District celebrated their achievements in helping a local charity and received a visit from a special friend. Ronald McDonald visited Progress and Adams elementary schools Wednesday. The schools collected the most pop tops for the Ronald McDonald House last school year. The district’s elementary schools compete against each other to see which can collect the most.

Monday Spokane Valley Fire Department – 4 p.m. at the Administration building, 2120 N. Wilbur Road.

SPOKANE VALLEY – The Dishman Hills Conservancy will celebrate National Public Lands Day with a cleanup in the Dishman Hills Natural Area Sept. 29. Volunteers are needed to help remove noxious weeds, place mulch and remove garbage. Those interested in helping should meet at 9 a.m. at Camp Caro. For more information or to sign up, visit www.dhnaa.org. Mobile food bank at Advent Lutheran Tuesday

The East Valley Knights got a glimpse of the road back to the state Class 2A cross country meet, and what alarmed coach Bill Close wasn’t what was in his team’s rearview mirror. “We knew that Deer Park was going to be really tough and (the Stags’) No. 1 runner (Daniel Amann) is in a class by himself,” he said after Wednesday’s Great Northern League opening meet at Cheney’s Salnave Park. “But we also lost to Cheney and we thought we had a pretty good shot at finishing ahead of them. We’ve got our work to do because, with realignment, we’re going to have to have a district meet and only two teams advance from there to the regional meet. That district meet is going to be a real battle.”

Vacant lot comment out of line Shame on you Mr. Grafos.

Liberty Lake Elementary School in the Central Valley School District has won $519 from Gemtext Spokane, a textile recycling company. About halfway through last school year, members of the community could drop off used clothing, shoes and household items at a donation box in the school parking lot. Liberty Lake was one of 10 schools in the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene area to participate in the program to raise funds for their school.