News briefs

Medical Lake 2015 Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year nominees sought

The annual Medical Lake Kiwanis Senior Citizens Valentine’s Day dinner is coming Feb. 13, and Kiwanis officials are looking for nominees for its 2015 Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year award.

Nominations should be submitted in writing, and forms along with more information can be obtained by calling 299-5478. Reasons for nominating someone need not be confined to the past year, but can go as far back as the person nominating feels is relevant. Officials encourage those nominating to name someone who has not been chosen in previous years for the award.

Deadline for nominations is Feb. 5. The Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year will be announced and honored at the Feb. 13 dinner and will be honored in the Founder’s Day parade, June 18.

The dinner begins at noon at Saint Anne’s Parish Hall, corner of Lake and Prentis streets, and will feature a traditional turkey dinner, entertainment and door prizes. The dinner is free to all Medical Lake-area senior citizens, and is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Medical Lake.

Cheney Boys Basketball Association dessert and silent auction Jan. 23 at high school

The Cheney Boys Basketball Association (CBBA) announced in a Jan. 11 news release that it is holding its annual “Live Dessert and Silent Auction” fundraiser Saturday, Jan. 23. The fundraiser begins at 6 p.m. in the Jim Hatch Gymnasium at Cheney High School.

According to the release, admission is free, but tickets will be given out ahead of time as well as at the door for bidding numbers and “Save the Date” purposes. There are only 240-tabled seats available, but plenty of items to bid on.

The theme this year is “Game On!” The event will be a night of competitive live bidding, trivia by CHS faculty, desserts and many silent auction items that included Gonzaga University basketball game tickets and exclusive Bulldog Club pre-game admission, cookies known for their $100 bids, CHS Cheesecake Club Desserts, local and online gift cards, services provided by community members and small businesses, baskets donated by area small businesses, door prizes and much more provided by the Cheney, Airway Heights and Spokane communities along with the boys basketball players and families.

The auction is put on by the CBBA to benefit the Blackhawk boys’ basketball program, and is the largest fundraiser of the year. To reserve or order bidding tickets or an entire eight-person table, please email [email protected], send a Facebook message at /Cheney-Boys-Basketball-Association, or ask one of the CHS basketball program members.

Monthly speed emphasis patrols starting January

The Spokane Police Department, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Eastern Washington University Police Department, Airway Heights Police Department, Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol will be participating in extra monthly patrols focusing on speeding drivers this year. 

According to a Spokane County news release, speeding is a common practice for many drivers because they do not fully understand the many dangers and increased risk factors that are associated with speeding. Few drivers realize that the faster they drive, the more likely they are to be killed or seriously injured in a crash. 

Speeding is the third-most common factor contributing in fatal and serious injury collisions. From 2009-2011 speeding was involved in nearly 40 percent of the fatal and 30 percent of the serious injuries, right behind impaired driving and run-off-the-road. In 2014, 159 people died in Washington from speeding involved crashes, according to Washington Traffic Safety Commission data. 

Drivers can reduce these risks by obeying the speed limit, adjusting speed for the road and weather conditions and not tailgating. Slow down in the rain, ice or fog during heavy traffic.

Regulators set lower rates for Avista’s electric customers, raise natural gas rates  

In a Jan. 6 news release, Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) rejected Avista Utilities’ request to increase electric rates, and instead ordered a rate decrease for the company’s electric customers in Washington. The UTC allowed an increase to natural gas rates for its Washington customers.

The UTC approved a multi-party settlement that resolved several issues, including the company’s request to recover in rates certain expenses for providing electric service. The decrease in electric rates ordered by the commission is due partly to changes to electric power costs the parties agreed to in the settlement.

The commission also determined the company did not demonstrate an immediate need to recover certain projected expenses. Instead, it requested Avista provide more evidence to support those requests in a future proceeding.

Under terms of the order, Avista’s annual electric revenues will decrease about $8.1 million, or 1.41 percent. An average residential electric customer using 966 kilowatt-hours a month will see a decrease of $1.57 or approximately 1.92 percent.   

Avista will be allowed to collect an additional $10.8 million, an increase of about 6.3 percent, in annual natural gas revenues. A residential natural gas customer using an average of 68 therms a month will see an increase of $4.87 or approximately 7.15 percent.

The new rates became effective Jan. 11.