Washington Voices

Holy Names Academy Class of 1959 – Friday-Sept. 13. Contact Marcia at (509) 343-5075 or (509) 710-3741 for schedule of events or for more information. North Central High School Class of 1959 – Friday-next Saturday. Informal gathering and pizza is at 6 p.m. on Friday at Sinto Seniors Activity Center, 1124 W. Sinto Ave. Next Saturday events are a fellowship breakfast at 9 a.m. at the Old Country Buffet, 5504 N. Division St.; meet and greet at 5 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. at the Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside Ave. Contact Torge Moore Lorentzen at (509) 326-6811 or Charlene Schmidt at (509) 328-5885; or e-mail nc59reunion@comcast.net.

For the week of Sept. 7-11 Monday – Labor Day, closed.

Fairies and witches sparkle with whimsy

Fairfield City Council – Bids were opened for the sewer improvement project and the low bidder was Piersol Construction at $55,949. The project will begin in two or three weeks and is expected to last about 10 days. The town will apply for a grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation to pay for additional exit doors at the Community Center. Landscaping at the Community Center is nearly complete. Vandalism problems are continuing in Thiel Park and residents spotting suspicious activity are urged to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233. (Source: Town clerk Cheryl Loeffler) Rockford City Council – The council passed on ordinance to amend the 2009 budget. A company has volunteered to donate a backstop for the town’s ballfield. The Emma Street construction project will begin after Labor Day. (Source: Town clerk)

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate completion of a one-acre city park will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at 508 S. Lawson St. in Airway Heights. City Parks and Recreation Department Director J.C. Kennedy said the park, which includes a large open area, walking paths and a playground, was constructed by Viking Construction under an agreement reached with the city last fall.

I was new to Spokane’s Nevada/Lidgerwood neighborhood when I reached a point in life that many face. I had been a stay-at-home mom for 17 great years, but I felt it was time to go back to work. I am legally blind. I lost all usable vision when I was 11 because of juvenile macular degeneration. I worked in my family’s restaurant before becoming a mother, and I volunteered at my children’s schools when they were younger. I was ready for something more, but I wasn’t sure who would hire me.

Attendant Care Registry – Free service matching disabled adults and children with personal-care providers; sponsored by Coalition of Responsible Disabled; (509) 326-6355. Change Point/Displaced Homemaker Center – Ideal for women and men who are making the transition from the home to the workforce because of a separation, divorce, loss of a spouse or partner, or because a spouse or partner is unable to work. Free training is provided in computers, resume preparation, job and communication skills, and conflict resolution techniques. The Change Point/Displaced Homemaker Center program is sponsored by the Institute for Extended Learning. Call Denise McKinnon at (509) 279-6065 for more information.

I never thought I’d be grateful that my husband shocked himself and simultaneously fried the hard drive on my computer last August – but I am. After Derek’s home improvement mishap, he managed to salvage important things, like family photos, from the computer and create a backup disk. This is a good thing because last weekend we returned from the lake to discover our 17-year-old son had annihilated Anabelle, the replacement computer I’d had for less than a year. Perhaps not everyone names their computer, but Anabelle and I spend so much time together that she feels more like family than an inanimate office instrument. She knows my darkest secrets, like my inability to spell “definitely” without spell check. She knows about my forays into fiction writing and the title of the memoir I’m going to write someday. She tracks the contact information of dozens of folks who wrote to me, eager to share their love stories in this newspaper. Unfortunately, she took those secrets with her after the crash and is now unable to give them up.

The 2009 tropical storm and hurricane season has been relatively uneventful thus far. Over the next few weeks, we will reach the peak of this period, which began on June 1 and will end on Nov. 30. As of early Monday, there have only been four named storms with one becoming a hurricane (Hurricane Bill) in the Atlantic Ocean. During a typical season, the eastern Pacific Ocean will see more tropical storm and hurricane development. In fact, one hurricane may bring some much-needed rainfall to Southern California.

Today Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture – “Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television” is a traveling exhibit featuring more than 30 costumes and related objects from science fiction films and television programs such as “Star Wars,” “Blade Runner,” “Terminator,” “Star Trek,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “Batman.” Examine how costume design incorporates color, style, scale, materials, historical traditions and cultural cues to help performers and audiences engage with the characters being portrayed. Open noon-4 p.m. 2316 W. First Ave. $7/adults, $5/seniors and students with ID, free/age 5 and younger. (509) 456-3931.

The Spokane Valley Business Association planned to register this week with the state Public Disclosure Commission because of its opposition to disincorporating the city. “I’ll get that done tomorrow,” association Treasurer Dick Behm said Monday after learning the commission staff considered registration necessary because of the “Support Our City” signs the association has distributed.

DOWNTOWN – The community is invited to the second annual Celebration of Life on Sept. 11 at The Knitting Factory, 919 W. Sprague Ave., from 7 to 11 p.m. The event will benefit The Candlighters of the Inland Northwest. The event includes music from London Get Down, The Back Row Kings, and Ron Greene and the Right.