Washington Voices

Five days a week, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Ted Siekerman, 82, can be found at the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center. From his post at the ambassador desk in the lobby, the Medical Lake resident welcomes visitors, helping them find their way around the sprawling campus. He greets returning patients and guests like old friends.

Some years are like this. The 2012 edition of the West Valley girls volleyball team will be dominated by seniors. Rounding out the initial varsity unit will be a lone junior and a couple freshmen.

By the end of the summer, if people are honest, an exhaustion sets in. So much light and heat, so much pressure to pursue evening and weekend fun. September’s routine offers a return to “ordinary time” to borrow a term from church liturgical calendars. People are back in the saddle, nose to the grindstone. You get the drill.

Several large road construction projects are coming to an end in Spokane Valley, but don’t sigh with relief yet. A few more projects are waiting in the wings, though they promise to be shorter and less disruptive. Half of Sprague Avenue between Evergreen and Sullivan roads has been paved and the final half of paving in the eastbound lanes is set to begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The paving will take place overnight and should be complete by Wednesday morning.

Michael Lax, of Spokane: “I’m going to be in Atlanta, Ga., for my niece’s wedding.”

 The sun is shining, the playfields are full and the birds are singing. We’d like to see your best seasonal photographs for Picture Perfect, our community scrapbook of photos from Spokane Valley readers. We want the type of pictures that show why this season is one of the best in Spokane Valley.  Share photos of family feasts, children in their best summer outfits, teammates on the field. Think of holiday gatherings, special milestones and outdoor fun. Send us your party pictures, garden snapshots and candid photos.

On Sept. 15 and 16, six artists on the South Hill will open their homes to the public during the ninth annual Spokane Town and Country Studio Tour. At each stop on the self-guided tour, artists will be exhibiting their wares in a variety of media including painting, pottery, photography, wearable art, and sculpture. Four of the studios have been on the map before, but two are opening their doors for the first time. “Opening my home studio just sounded like a great way to meet other artists and to share what I love about art,” said watercolorist Joy Gruenewald. “Spokane has an incredible arts community.”

It used to be a Rite Aid, but has long stood mostly empty, aside from West Valley Contract Based Education, which has been using part of it for a few years. On Wednesday, representatives from local government, four school districts and the business community turned out at the site, 115 S. University Road.

Mother Nature has given us everything we wanted this spring and summer: lots of water and heat. Problem is that the water and cold weather lasted too long and there was a wee bit more heat than some of the tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and melons could handle when they were flowering. As a result, pollination and the formation of fruit lagged. This year, nothing really started growing until early July when it warmed up. As a result, heat-loving vegetables didn’t really start blooming until almost the end of the July. By then, we were into a string of 90-plus-degree days that affected the plant’s ability to release pollen and pollinate the flowers. The heat also slowed down the pollinating insects such as honey bees.