Washington Voices

Spokane Valley This week “Marvelous” Free Vacation Bible School – For ages 3 through sixth grade, Monday through July 11, 9 a.m.-noon at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2511 S. Pines Road. Preschoolers should be toilet-trained and all participants should be born between Sept. 1, 2002, and Jan. 1, 2011. Featuring the staff of Lutherhaven Ministries. The week follows the theme of Super Heroes of the Bible and concludes with a potluck barbecue. Registration forms are available online at www.jvlm.org under the VBS menu tab or call (509) 951-7512.

New listings University High School Class of 1994 Reunion - July 25-26. A Friday night casual gathering is planned. Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Terrace View Park, bring your own picnic for the family friendly gathering. Saturday night Northern Quest Casino Ballroom, 7 p.m., formal gathering with dinner and music is $50 per person. Email UHigh1994Reunion@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/uhigh1994.

For 07-03-2014

For the week of July 7-11. Monday – Option 1: Tuna noodle casserole, roll, steamed vegetables, fruit. Option 2: Potato soup, ham and cheese sandwich, fruit.

The goal of Somebody Needs You is to match donors with the specific requests of Spokane residents in need. The list of requests is coordinated by the Volunteers of America in cooperation with recognized social service agencies in Spokane. If you have an item to donate, please contact the social service agency directly. Donors who can deliver items are especially appreciated. If someone you know needs help, contact a local social service agency provider.

Spokane Public Schools is offering four-day STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) summer camps to kids looking for fun and interesting activities during their vacation. Students entering grades 5 through 8 will learn about game and app development, video editing, 3-D printing, and water resource engineering. They will have the opportunity to complete a final project to share what they’ve learned and will also take a trip to Mobius Science Center as part of their camp experience.

The numbers are startling. Between 1999 and 2010 nearly 14,000 Americans age 19 and younger died by accidental drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even more startling is the fact that 40 percent of those deaths involved children between 1 and 4 years old.

Shannon Sullivan shuts off the roar of the gas powered stump grinder, pulls a smartphone out of a pocket and sticks an earbud in her ear to answer a phone call. By the time the grinder has stopped rumbling she’s set up an appointment to do an estimate the next day. She fires the grinder back up and gets on with shaving down a big tree stump. Sullivan owns Ray McElfish Tree Specialists, a landscaping and tree business that’s been in her family since her grandfather, Maril McElfish, started Tall Tree Service in Spokane in 1948.

For 06-28-2014

Central Valley High School has announced its honor roll for the second semester of the 2013-14 school year. 12th Grade

There’s something to be said for determination and persistence, but one man was showing a bit too much of it in Liberty Lake this week. The man was arrested June 19 at 24000 E. Spotted Owl Lane for violating a protection order and on a warrant. The next day, his ex-wife called police to report that he had called her multiple times from the Spokane County Jail and left threatening messages, said Liberty Lake Police Chief Brian Asmus. The ex-wife is the person the man is barred from contacting, so after listening to the threatening voicemail messages an officer went to the jail to add on another charge of violating a protection order.

Paige Gallaway’s first soccer season at Eastern Washington University turned out to be a bigger challenge than expected. After a high school career that saw her win four letters for soccer at Central Valley, helping to build the foundation for last year’s state championship season, Gallaway was signed to a national letter of intent to play at EWU and picked to come in and challenge for both playing time and a starting job with the Eagles right away.

In moving forward on selling our house, I never expected to work as hard or dig through as much stuff as I have. During this delving into the depths of closet despair, I recalled an article I read once about simplifying life. Stop buying and stashing, get only what you need and only when it’s needed the article implored. Made sense and I thought I was abiding by that concept quite well, thank you.

A little more than a year ago, upward of 50,000 bumblebees died while feeding on linden trees in Wilsonville, Oregon. The culprit? A spray company that applied a neonicotinoid-based spray to blooming trees in violation of label directions. This incident has been a lightning rod for the debate about the use of neonicotinoids in a wide range of pesticides available to homeowners.

SPOKANE VALLEY – The third annual Greenacres Independence Day party in the park will be held Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Greenacres Park at the corner of Boone Avenue and Long Road. The day begins with registration for the parade. Participants get a free flag. The parade begins at 10 a.m. and will be followed by free ice cream or popsicles.

Summer has officially begun and so have a series of suspicious fires in the Spokane Valley area. “Schools out and the kids are starting to play already,” said Spokane Valley Fire Department Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford. “Matches and lighters are tools and not toys.”

Military USS Iwo Jima (LPH2/LHD7) Shipmates Reunion - Aug. 27-31. For all ships company and embarked Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Crowne Plaza Hotel, Jacksonville, Fla. Contact Robert G. McAnally at (755) 723-0317 or yujack46709@gmail.net, or visit http:// ussiwojimaship mates.cfns.net.