Washington Voices

LIBERTY LAKE – Due to the large number of people expected to attend the concert performance in Pavillion Park, featuring Big Bad VooDoo Daddy, on Saturday, it has been requested that concert-goers park at the Meadowwood Technology Center, 2100 N. Molter Road. A shuttle bus will run from the center’s parking lot and Pavillion Park. Attendees of the concert are asked not to park at Liberty Lake Elementary School, as previously listed.

SPOKANE – During August, Diamond Park’N Jet has partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank to raise awareness about hunger in the community. As a thank you to businesses and individuals who help, Diamond Park’N Jet will provide free airport parking and car washes during the campaign. They will also provide counter cards and posters for local businesses to display that encourage the public to donate food or cash at the Diamond Park’N Jet location. And, people who donate three or more cans of nonperishable food will receive a free day of airport parking or a free car wash.

An observant homeowner helped Liberty Lake police arrest two people for vehicle prowling in the early morning hours of July 19. A resident in the 1400 block of North Samantha Road called police around 1:30 a.m. to report that a woman was inside his car, which was parked in front of his home. When the homeowner tried to confront her, she ran away, said police Chief Brian Asmus.

For 08-04-2011

To morning commuters on busy Division Street, it could look like a tribal dance complete with jumps, hoots and hollers and rhythmic clapping. Three handsome young men dance in a circle in the Perkins parking lot to loud music blasting from a car – they do the “crazy chicken” arms flapping and feet scratching, and the “Arnold Schwarzenegger,” flexing their biceps and yelling, “Hasta la vista, Baby!” They do the “ballerina” leaping high in the air, toes pointed, arms extended, while they laugh and clap. Just before breaking into dance they stood intently listening to a chapter being read out loud from Og Mandino’s book, “The Greatest Salesman in the World.”

I am concerned that we may go forward with a ballot issue without carefully evaluating what we might learn, the possible interpretations of the result, and/or the unintended consequences. The problem: One-way traffic west on Sprague in front of Station 1 creates a legally indefensible public safety hazard. To wit, a 1 minute and 20 second delay in responding to emergency calls originating east of the station.

We’ve all heard about the severe drought conditions that are plaguing much of the central United States. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, July had the “highest level of drought since the monitor began documenting conditions 12 years ago.” Drought conditions have been listed as “exceptional” across approximately 12 percent of the U.S. in July. More than 40 percent of the U.S. is in the middle of abnormal dryness or drought.

The warm days of late summer always bring out the bugs. This year is no exception. The warmer weather is likely to bring on the spider mites. These are tiny, yellowish, greenish or reddish eight-legged mites that are found most often on the underside of leaves of a number of different plants. The presence of a fine web may be the first clue they are there.

For 07-30-2011

Attendant Care Registry – Free service matching disabled adults and children with personal-care providers; sponsored by Coalition of Responsible Disabled; (509) 326-6355. Citizenship Course – Offered by World Relief Spokane, 1522 N. Washington St., Suite 204. For more information call Robby, (509) 232-2809.

Drivers who routinely go through the Sullivan Road and Indiana Avenue intersection may want to find an alternate route. The intersection is being rebuilt with concrete starting Monday, and traffic through the intersection will be extremely limited for six weeks.

Spokane Valley Fire Department crews spent a lot of time this week responding to calls for help from other jurisdictions. The department’s swift water rescue team helped recover a body from the Spokane River at West Boone Avenue in Spokane this week. They were also called to assist the Washington State Patrol with a woman who had jumped into the river while trying to evade arrest at Greene Street just after noon on July 23. The team was canceled while they were on their way when the woman made her way out of the water, said Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford.

SPOKANE VALLEY – The Spokane Valley Fire Department is planning two open houses in August to ask residents for their opinion on what to name two fire stations. The department has long identified its stations solely by a number, but has started a gradual process of giving each station a name to help identify it. The first to be renamed was the Greenacres Fire Station, formerly Station 10.

SPOKANE VALLEY – The Liberty Lake Community Theatre will host, “Silence is Golden,” a murder mystery dinner theater and silent auction on Aug. 19 at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place, from 6 to 9 p.m. The whodunit includes an Italian pasta dinner, a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle. Beer and wine will also be available for purchase.