Washington Voices

New listings Rose Lake Historical Society All-Class Reunion – Reunion and picnic is Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at the Rose Lake School, Highway 3, Rose Lake, Idaho. Tours of the old school, museum and library will be available all day. Open to the public. Call (208) 682-3478 or (208) 682-2643 for more information.

Some siblings look so much alike it’s hard to tell them apart. Not my four sons. While there’s a familial resemblance, they aren’t mistaken for each other. Their temperaments and talents are equally dissimilar. But during a conversation with my youngest, I discovered that when comes to choosing friends, my children are very much alike. One afternoon, Sam slumped into the car after school, his eyes brimming with tears. “Tough day?” I asked.

For 08-05-2010

Spokane Junior Soccer, Valley Youth Soccer and the Spokane United Soccer Club staff will have a soccer skills clinic for players, ages 4 to 8, and coaches on Tuesday and next Thursday at Trent Elementary, 3303 N. Pines Road, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

Can you believe there are “back to school” sales going on? It seems like summer just started. Well, kids, there are still plenty of fun activities going on here in Washington’s northeast corner. • If you are interested in theater, consider the Music Theater Camp for youth grades 5-12 at the Pend Oreille Playhouse. The two-week camp is $50 per student and takes place Aug. 16-20 and Aug. 23-27 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. The camp is limited to 25 students. Call (509) 671-3389, or stop by the theater at 240 N. Union Ave. in Newport, Wash., between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The camp includes instruction in acting, improvisation, stage direction, singing and voice development, dance and stage movement, makeup and costuming, set design and construction, and photography and videography. Students will showcase what they learn on Aug. 27 in a final performance. All materials, snacks and beverages will be provided; students are to bring a sack lunch.

The Spokane Valley City Council is expected to choose a new city manager at its regular council meeting Tuesday. The three announced finalists out of 26 original candidates are current acting city manager Mike Jackson, Michael Wilson of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Paul Schmidt of Cheney. The position opened earlier this year when the council, with four new members, asked for the resignation of thencity manager Dave Mercier. The council has not yet publicly discussed when a new city manager would start work or what the annual salary will be.

Now that August has begun, it’s time to get roses ready for the fall and winter. Keep plants well watered. Check how deep the water is getting by digging a small hole in the rose bed a few hours after a watering and measure how deep the water soaked the soil. If its only three to four inches, increase your watering enough to wet the soil six to eight inches down. Add two to three inches of mulch to the bed to help keep moisture in. Untreated grass clippings, shredded pine needles or leaves or compost are all readily available for free or a nominal cost. As you mulch for moisture, stockpile more mulch nearby so it is easier to cover the tea roses in late October.

There is an interesting little walking tour happening downtown Aug. 15. Nicki Sabalu and a group of friends have collected nine personal stories about downtown landmarks and places in a booklet. The writers of the stories will gather on Aug. 15 at 3 p.m. at the Community Building on West Main Avenue, and anyone who’s interested can join them on a walk from place to place.

Yard sale season is here on the West Plains. Yard sale enthusiasts hit the brakes for those colorful poster board signs at the end of a gravel road. High-tech bargain-hunters can even download iPhone and iPad apps to track garage sales. One online yard sale sign conveyed how motivated sellers can be: “Buy my house and get all this great stuff free!” Postings such as “Moving sale, all must go!” attract frugal shoppers.

For 07-31-2010

It is too late to get anything on the November ballot, but the Spokane Valley City Council still spent a considerable amount of time discussing the one-way versus two-way issue on the Sprague/Appleway couplet at Tuesday’s council meeting. Several council members had differing opinions about when the public should be asked to weigh in or if there should be a vote at all. The Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan calls for converting Sprague Avenue and Appleway back to two-way streets between University and Argonne roads as well as the extension of Appleway to Greenacres Road. Councilman Dean Grafos made the initial request to add the issue to the November ballot. “This has been going on since 2004,” he said. “That’s why I say let’s settle this once and for all.”

Monday Millwood City Council – 7 p.m. at City Hall, 9103 E. Frederick Ave.

Coated with baby oil, my teen friends and I lie on the beach, where the same cool radio station blares from blankets down the sand. Every half hour, the DJ cheerfully reminds us all to turn over and the beach resembles a giant rotisserie. Later, we’ll slap soothing lotion on our painful sunburns, and wear white to enhance them. We baby boomers grew up being outside all day, burning, peeling, and tanning. Now we’re paying a huge price for our romance with the “healthy” sun – an alarming epidemic of skin cancers. We’re flocking to have lesions treated, and some of us suffer and die from melanomas.

SPOKANE VALLEY – Tuesday is National Night Out and dozens of Valley neighborhoods plan to throw a party. The 27th annual event is designed to heighten crime- and drug-prevention awareness as well as bring communities closer. As of Thursday there were 39 parties registered, 29 in the Greater Spokane Valley area, said Spokane County Sheriff’s Office crime prevention Deputy Greg Snyder. More groups are expected to sign up before Tuesday.