Washington Voices

Bumper crop: Reader Chris Lang submitted a photo of this dwarf apple tree, with this caption: “It stands only 3 feet high in an overgrown garden on the South Hill, yet it has about a bushel of apples on its branches.” To submit your backyard photo, visit spokesman.com/ reader-photos/.

When architect Alfred Jones began building his dream home on Spokane’s South Hill in 1909, little did he know the family’s stay there would be short. They moved in when the house at 238 E. 13th Ave. was finished late in 1910 and moved out five months later, relocating to Arizona for health reasons. He had lost two children already to tuberculosis and was himself suffering from the disease.

Shadow is available for adoption at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service. Shelter workers say this playful and energetic dog would benefit from SCRAPS’ free dog training classes. Refer to the pet’s ID number when contacting SCRAPS with questions about one of the adoptable pets. If interested in this dog or any animal at SCRAPS, call (509) 477-2532 or visit the shelter at 6815 E. Trent Ave., in Spokane Valley. Dog adoptions are $87.04 and include spay or neuter, first set of vaccinations, health check, microchip and first year’s license.

The Spokane Valley City Council got its first look Tuesday evening at potential designs of the new city hall to be constructed at the corner of Sprague Avenue and Dartmouth Road. Using public input from meetings in the spring as well as interviews with council members and an analysis of space needs of the different city departments, contractor Architects West presented two potential options: a classically styled, three-story brick building and a slightly more contemporary building featuring a large open space between the three floors, with significantly more glass and large timbers. 

If you are looking to improve the attention span and concentration of an elementary school class, perhaps introducing a bunch of large, bouncy rubber balls for the students to sit on isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But counterintuitive as it may seem, sitting on WittFitt stability balls – which look much like Kangaroo Balls but without the handles – may help students in many ways.

Those of us who garden know the joy and peace of being in the garden after a long day. There is nothing like plunging your hands into warm earth, picking a ripe tomato or listening to the birds squabble over their seed even if it is only for a few short minutes. For Mike and Chantel Dibiase of Spokane Valley, it’s that and more. Not only do the Dibiases love the joy of being in the garden, they also love playing with the plants as they blend hundreds of flowering perennials, shrubs and annuals together into a season-long kaleidoscope of color. The Dibiases’ efforts won them the August Garden of the Month Award from the Inland Empire Gardeners and a place on next year’s Spokane in Bloom tour.