Sorted by date Results 248 - 272 of 288
Last Thursday, Nov. 29, the board of Spokane County Commissioners voted to pull their funding from Martin Hall Juvenile Detention Center in Medical Lake beginning in 2013. The move is estimated to save the county $320,000 each year for the guaranteed five beds reserved for Spokane County. Martin Hall currently has 60 beds, but only 20 are in regular use, Commissioner Al French said. Payments averaged out to $175 per bed every night, regardless of whether it was being used. Contract negotiations arose with other counties...
Select offenders at Airway Heights Corrections Center are receiving some invaluable real-world experience during their time at the facility, leading up to their release date. Correctional Industries blends both business and government in an effort to provide offenders with much-needed workplace skills while also providing state facilities with various items, including furniture, clothing, office furnishings and commissary items. The Airway Heights Corrections Center is the...
Unbelievably, the year 2013 is nearly upon us. We’re nearing the end of the year, and this is the time of year to start reflecting on the previous 340 days of what was 2012. At the same time, it’s a chance to look ahead and hope we’re a lot smarter next year. Specifically, it’s time we lay to rest some of the overused terms and figures of speech that have plagued us thus far. Sure, some are carryovers from previous years, but it’s time to tackle these life-threatening issues once and for all. Every year, Lake Superior...
Christmas gifts came a few weeks early for the Medical Lake School District’s budget. At the Tuesday, Nov. 27 school board meeting, business manager Don Johnson said the district had received about 15.3 percent of its projected revenues after two months of school. To help with other revenues, final federal impact aid payments from previous years will soon be coming to the district. An adjusted final payout from 2008, totaling $99,000, would arrive in the near future, followed by adjustments from 2009 and 2010, amounts of whic...
Facing another tight budget year, the Airway Heights City Council voted to postpone a reduction in sewer rates for 2013. The City Council received a suggestion from the FCS Group, which recommended reducing rates by 9.63 percent next year, which would have dropped rates from $67.50 to $61 per month. It would have resulted in an estimated $29,000 revenue drop. One large concern factoring in the delay was a union contract currently in negotiation that could affect the city’s payroll. “I want to reduce sewer rates as much as...
The city of Medical Lake unanimously adopted a moratorium on the processing and retailing of marijuana on land-use applications. Marijuana use, by the passage of I-502 last month, becomes legal today, Dec. 6. The state has until December 2013 to finalize its rules regarding marijuana, and some cities are passing similar moratoriums until some direction comes from the state level. “What most cities are doing, and what I would propose to you, is passing this moratorium since we don’t know what we’re supposed to do on issue...
The Medical Lake School District continues to enjoy the early months of its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) grant awarded in June earlier this year. Last week’s article focused on the programs being offered at the district’s elementary schools. This week’s article takes a look at how STEM principles integrate in the regular classroom. While the after-school events at the elementary schools have taken off in popularity, the real effect of the grant can be felt in the classrooms. Teachers are able to ap...
The murder of a male patient at Eastern State Hospital Tuesday, Nov. 20 is still under investigation. Amber I. Roberts, 30, is suspected of killing Duane Charley, 56, between Monday and Tuesday. According to Associated Press reports, she appeared in court Wednesday, Nov. 21 and pleaded not guilty. At the time of publication, she was being held in Spokane County Jail on a $1 million bail for first-degree premeditated murder. “The Spokane County Sheriff’s Department is investigating in an effort to determine the facts sur...
By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter Recommendations to reduce sewer rates in Airway Heights were presented at the Monday, Nov. 26 City Council study session. City Manager Albert Tripp said rates increased as construction commenced on the wastewater treatment plant. They are currently set at $67.50 for this year. “This rate worked progressively its way to that current funding level over the past four to five years as the city was undertaking construction for the plant,” he said. Prior to the plant’s construction, rates in the city...
The Medical Lake City Council heard the first reading of its preliminary 2013 budget at its Tuesday, Nov. 20 meeting. The city is putting forward a $9 million budget, one that remains virtually unchanged from previous years but includes a decrease of 4.5 percent from 2012. Spending in the city’s general fund has decreased from $3.103 million in 2010 to the proposed $2.911 million for 2013. In his budget message included in City Council packets, Mayor John Higgins said the c...
The holiday season is in full swing at Teen Challenge’s Christmas tree lot, evidenced by a stock of trees, games for kids and even the two reindeer at the site. Tony Cloud, program coordinator for Teen Challenge, said the lot has been the organization’s site for Christmas trees for the last six years. Continuing off the success of its pumpkin patch in October, a number of amenities help make it a destination for Airway Heights residents and those in the area. The 600 tre...
The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program is in full swing in the Medical Lake School District. Right now, programs in both Hallett and Michael Anderson elementary schools are up and running. The hour and a half programs at the elementary schools are after school and run on alternating days. Monday and Tuesday, the program is at Hallett Elementary, while Wednesday and Thursday, it takes place at Michael Anderson Elementary. Over the two days at each school, over 60 students were at Hallett and 35 were at...
The unsung heroes in the Spokane region were honored last week at the annual Red Cross Hometown Heroes event, Thursday, Nov. 15 at Northern Quest Resort and Casino. Representatives from numerous cities were in attendance, along with families and friends of those nominated for an award. Giving the event’s welcome statement was Spokane Mayor David Condon, who thanked each of the award winners for their actions in a larger-than-life scenario. “They exemplify what makes our community our town,” Condon said. Those receiving the h...
The Airway Heights City Council approved a 1 percent increase in property tax rates for 2013 at its Monday, Nov. 19 meeting. The increase, according to city treasurer Richard Cook, amounts to 2 cents per $1,000 assessed value. The amount paid in taxes would have increased regardless, due to the city’s assessed valuation dropping for the first time in several years. Assessed valuations across the region were also lower than previous years. Kevin Richey was the dissenting vote in the 4 to 1 decision. Lee Taylor from Project A...
Students in Medical Lake High School’s Junior ROTC program performed a drill routine at the Veterans Day program Thursday, Nov. 8. See more photos of the concert on page 3....
The Airway Heights Planning Commission continued its work on chapter three of the city’s comprehensive plan, which focuses on community issues, visions and goals. At its Tuesday, Nov. 13 meeting, the commission reviewed its work from the previous meeting, largely tackling the issues they believe will face Airway Heights over the next several years. A large part of the chapter focuses on transportation issues. The commission particularly considered Highway 2 and Hayford Road to be important, while also recognizing that b...
Medical Lake High School put on a show Thursday, Nov. 8 in the auditorium. The high school’s Wind Ensemble (above), Windborne Singers (below), and Jazz Band performed in a Veterans Day program, showcasing their musical talents. Parents, family and veterans all attended the concert. Brian Newberry, Commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base was also in attendance. At right, Brendan Satcher performs a solo during the jazz band’s rendition of “Bo...
We all have our own ways of moving on from an election like we saw last week. My way? See a James Bond movie. I’m not a diehard James Bond fan, but the latest movie, Skyfall, is by far one of the best in the franchise. Over the last 50 years, 23 Bond films have entertained audiences and made millions of children wish they were secret agents. After all this time, the franchise has an entrenched legacy that has endured through the good, bad and slightly weird entries. In order to remain relevant, the franchise has had to c...
Big changes are in store for Medical Lake’s Care and Share Thrift Store. Since mid-October, the store has been under the knife, receiving some tender loving care in the form of renovations. Additional space has allowed the store the opportunity to spread out and create proper departments for its items with a brand new floor plan. Generous donations from Medical Lake residents totaling between $10,000 and $15,000 helped jump-start the much-needed project. Care and Share director Ann Starr said the community has been a s...
The Airway Heights City Council heard the results of its housing study from earlier this year, relating to the Fairchild Preservation and Community Empowerment Project. Those results show that a large percentage of residents living in APZ Two would be interested in moving, if a competitive alternative housing location was offered. Chris Venne from Community Frameworks in Spokane revealed the results at the Monday, Nov. 5 Airway Heights City Council meeting. The eventual goal of the project is to have residents voluntarily...
The year-end budget report for the 2011-12 school year continued difficult financial news in the Medical Lake School District. The district saw its revenues decrease by $1.5 million from 2010-11, although almost all of the decrease came from the end of federal stimulus money and Impact Aid reductions. A drop of 88 FTE students, however, proved to be another struggle. Last year, the district recorded 1,805 students, including those taking part in the Running Start program. At the Tuesday, Oct. 23 school board meeting,...
Finding a location for a new Spokane County jail site moved forward in a public meeting Thursday, Oct. 25 with the results of the qualitative analysis portion of the current Essential Public Facility siting process. The top three locations will move forward to the weighted analysis stage, which will last through November. This marks the second time the county has gone through the siting process to determine a new jail facility, following the 2009 process that resulted in two facilities split between downtown Spokane and the...
For the past 42 years, Lakeland Village’s College In-Resident Volunteer (CIRV) program has provided college students an alternate style of housing. Students, after first passing a background check and going through training, volunteer for 15 hours each week with Lakeland Village clients. In exchange, they receive housing, utilities and have the option to eat at the facility’s dining hall. Volunteers live across the street from the main facility, where three buildings are spl...
The adoption of Spokane County’s Joint Land Use Study in Airway Heights took a large step forward Oct. 29 with the Planning Commission recommending repeal of the city’s current mixed-use ordinance. The recommendation was forwarded to the City Council for its Monday, Nov. 5 meeting at 5:30 p.m. A public hearing is scheduled at the meeting to further explain the upcoming process regarding the city’s penultimate approval of JLUS. For nearly the past year, the city has been in discussions with surrounding jurisdictions relat...
The Medical Lake police office is slowly but surely opening its doors thanks to help from volunteers at the Medical Lake-Espanola SCOPE office. Volunteers have begun to handle basic administrative duties in the front office in an effort to relieve other personnel of time-consuming tasks, resulting in a stronger, more effective policing effort in the West Plains and southern area of Spokane County. The volunteers have gone through training to work in the front office, and will help refer residents to appropriate contacts. Whil...
