Washington Voices

The Center for Spiritual Living, 2825 E. 33rd Ave., will present a discussion on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. about Betty Williams, an ordinary woman who stood up for peace in Ireland. The event is part of the center’s Season for Nonviolence.

The goal of Somebody Needs You is to match donors with the specific requests of needy Spokane residents. The list of requests is coordinated by the Volunteers of America in cooperation with recognized social service agencies in Spokane.

What a difference a year makes here in the Inland Northwest. Last year, the Spokane International Airport had the snowiest season in recorded history. As of early Tuesday, only 12.8 inches of the snow had fallen, compared to a normal of just over 36 inches. The weather pattern that brought us the tough winters of 2007- ’08 and 2008-’09 moved eastward this year. The heavy snows are now falling along the East Coast. I recently talked with my brother-in-law Mark, who lives in Annapolis, Md. He told me that he’s never seen so much snow. With another 10 inches of snow expected, snowfall in that area will likely exceed 70 inches for the season. The normal is about 20 inches.

To paraphrase the real estate adage; it’s all about microclimate, microclimate, microclimate. Experts aren’t willing to say this is a record warm winter, but there are signs that the plants think it’s March in some places. Several people in the lower elevations of Spokane’s Peaceful Valley and the Spokane Valley are reporting crocuses and daffodils poking out of the ground. A couple of miles away or a few feet higher in elevation gardeners aren’t seeing a thing.

Story ideas We want to expand our coverage of South and West Plains neighborhoods and we need your help. All you have to do is let us know when something is happening that affects your neighborhood. We’ll take it from there.

For 02-06-2010

For some Valley churches, Super Bowl weekend has nothing to do with football. Instead, it’s all about helping the hungry. Several churches are participating in the annual Souper Bowl of Caring, collecting $1 from church members to donate to a local charity. It’s a national effort that began in 1993 and raised nearly $10 million the last two years. Church youth from around the country collect donations and report the amount, but the donations stay in the community where they are collected.

Millwood City Council joined forces with Spokane County in an effort to end homelessness. In a unanimous vote Monday, council members approved a resolution adopting the Spokane County Regional 10-year plan. “It’s a good program,” Mayor Dan Mork said.

Today Parent and Child Smart Smoothies - For ages 3-5. Learn how to make a smoothie containing 12 daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Pre-registration is required. 9-10 a.m. Fresh Abundance, 2510 N. Division St. $14 for parent/adult and child. (509) 625-6200.

Heat tape was the culprit in a fire on Jan. 30 that sent some bushes up in flames but only singed the house in the 24000 block of East Tum Tum Drive in Liberty Lake. The home had rain gutters that drained into a PVC pipe to direct water away from the home’s foundation and the homeowner had put heat tape inside the pipe to keep it from freezing, said Spokane Valley Fire assistant fire marshal Bill Clifford. Some excess tape was bundled up at the end of the pipe and eventually the pipe and some nearby wood caught on fire, which in turn caught the bushes on fire. “It was detected soon enough that the damage wasn’t extensive,” Clifford said.

Monday Fire District 2 (Fairfield) – 7 p.m. at 17815 E. Truax Road.

SPOKANE VALLEY – The Spokane Valley City Council has scheduled a daylong winter retreat Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place. The topics for discussion will include the Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan, the city’s policy of full-width paving after sewer work and the goals of the council.

SPOKANE VALLEY – University High School Baseball Boosters club is holding its third annual Poker Tournament at Northern Quest Casino and Resort on Feb 28. It’s a night of poker, food, raffles and silent auction. Must be age 21 or older. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., play starts at 5.