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Chris Jackson
Rod Higgins City of Spokane Valley Position 1
2017 Voters Guide Brandi Peetz
J. Caleb Collier
page 21
City of Spokane Valley Position 2
Pamela Haley
City of Spokane Valley Position 4
Angie Beem
Mike Munch
Linda Thompson City of Spokane Valley Position 7
City of Spokane Valley Position 5
SPOKANE VALLEY INTRODUCES NEW CITY HALL PAGE 12
Ben Wick
Ed Pace
UNIQUE CAMPAIGN HONORS VALLEY STUDENT PAGE 40
COMMUNITY RALLIES FOR FREEMAN PAGE 47
2 • OCTOBER 2017
NEWS
The Park Bench
Add-On to the House – Nethercutt branches out after Congress
By Craig Howard Current Editor For George Nethercutt, autumn means celebrating an October birthday and reflecting back to an historic race that propelled him from private law practice to the halls of Congress. In the fall of 1994, Nethercutt was a political unknown who had worked for over two decades as a Spokane-based attorney. His first campaign was nothing short of head scratcher – taking on incumbent Tom Foley, longtime 5th District delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives and reigning Speaker of the House. No challenger had dislodged a sitting Speaker from that particular post since 1862. Nethercutt’s personal “Rocky” storyline included a few important footnotes. He was facing a Democratic candidate in an Eastern Washington region that leaned predominantly Republican outside of urban Spokane. Foley – who had represented the 5th District since 1965 – was also facing a public hailstorm over his opposition to term limits. Nethercutt capitalized on Foley’s lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of a 1992 initiative passed by Washington state voters restricting the terms of certain leaders, including federal officials. While Foley won in court, many felt the high-profile case – featuring a well-known figure like Foley facing off against the people of Washington – benefited Nethercutt’s campaign in the long run. Nethercutt and Foley – both Spokane natives – debated nine times leading up the 1994 general election. By the time voters were ready to cast their ballots, the challenger had held his ground and more, despite a campaign budget that included far fewer zeroes. “I didn’t say anything too stupid during the campaign,” Nethercutt recalls. “He was a champion debater and knew that first-time
Spokane native George Nethercutt served as the District 5 delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for a decade starting in 1995. Since leaving Congress, Nethercutt has remained engaged as an author, consultant and facilitator of his a foundation promoting civic awareness. candidates usually say something stupid and their candidacy is doomed. I managed to appeal to non-executive voters while Mr. Foley appealed mostly to executives. He raised and spent about $4.5 million. I raised and spent $750,000.” Nethercutt campaigned ambitiously throughout Eastern Washington, including the greater Spokane Valley area. One Valley resident he met while doorbelling happened to own a motorcycle. “I avoided the home, thinking that the owner would not be a supporter of mine,” Nethercutt recalls. “However, he came out and introduced himself to me and said he would give me his vote. I learned never again to judge someone by their appearance.” When the ballots were tabulated on general election day, Nov. 8, 1994, Nethercutt held a lead of nearly 4,000 votes. While the final margin was somewhat closer, Foley was on his way out and Nethercutt was headed to Capitol Hill. Three decades earlier, Foley had been on the other side, defeating Republican incumbent Walter Horan in an upset that would jar the political terrain east of the Cascades. “Mr. Foley later told me it was the best campaign he ever waged as I treated him to lunch after the contest the same as he treated former Rep. Walt Horan in 1964
when he was first elected to the House,” Nethercutt said. Nethercutt’s win was part of a landslide for Republicans who took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Many theories were offered to explain the shift in momentum as well as why the highest ranking Democrat in Congress wound up offering his first concession speech. Shortly after his victory, Nethercutt was at an airport when one supporter shared a more obscure rationale for her vote. “She said that she voted for me because we had a beautiful Golden Retriever dog in one of our TV commercials, figuring that if I had a dog that beautiful, I must not be a bad guy,” Nethercutt said. “I learned then never to feel myself too important since I had just been told that it wasn’t I who earned her vote – it was the dog!” Nethercutt served in Congress for a decade before appearing on the ballot as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004 against incumbent Sen. Patty Murray. He earned 51 percent of the vote in Spokane County but lost to Murray by 10 percentage points statewide. During his later tenure in Congress, Nethercutt would face some of the same public criticism Foley once fielded over term limits.
The Current
Since leaving the public sector, Nethercutt has remained occupied as an author, consultant and columnist. He works Of Counsel with the Spokane-based law firm of Lee & Hayes, PLLC and runs the George Nethercutt Civics Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting civic awareness. Nethercutt has also had an impact in his hometown on the social service front, co-founding the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery and serving as a longtime board member of SNAP. He currently serves on the board of several charitable corporations, including the Washington Policy Center, Earl Palmer Ministries and the National Presbyterian School. Nethercutt was born Oct. 7, 1944 and raised by parents who he remembers teaching him principles of “honesty, integrity, humility, education, statesmanship and self help.” He grew up playing sports and the drums and has the distinction of being the second baseman on the NC baseball squad 15 years before fellow alum Ryne Sandberg who would go on to a Hall of Fame career as a second baseman with the Chicago Cubs. Prior to facing Foley, the only time Nethercutt had appeared on a ballot was in high school when he ran, but fell short, in a bid for ASB office. Both of Nethercutt’s parents graduated from Washington State University and he followed suit, earning a degree in English in 1963. He returned to Spokane to attend Gonzaga Law School, working parttime at the Spokane County Clerk’s office. Living at home, Nethercutt observed trials during the day and went to law school in the evening. His first job after securing a law degree and passing the bar exam was in Anchorage, Alaska as a clerk in the office of a federal judge. These days, Nethercutt splits his time between Spokane, Priest Lake and the Washington, D.C. area. He and his wife Mary Beth have been married for 40 years and have two grown children, Meredith and Elliott. There is also still a Golden Retriever in the Nethercutt family, though not the one who helped him defeat the Speaker of the House. “Winston,” described by Nethercutt as “a great dog,” turned a year old in June. No word if he will someday be part of a political campaign. Q: You had never run as a candidate before challenging Tom Foley. What do you remember about campaigning in the 5th District? A: I loved campaigning in the 5th District because I like people and am not afraid of them. I had a clear difference of opinion with Mr. Foley about what direction our
See NETHERCUTT, Page 3
The Current
NETHERCUTT
OCTOBER 2017 • 3
NEWS
Continued from page 2 country should take and I was proud of my thoughtful positions. I studied hard so that I wouldn’t be tripped up too badly in debates. I memorized the names of the mayors of each 5th District town, I knew the state flower and song and knew the cost of most groceries. I recall several luminaries I had speak on my behalf, including the late Jack Kemp. It was a long-shot victory, but I had a presidential level team on my side, including Ed Rollins, a press secretary from Florida, a campaign manager from California and New Jersey and a nationally recognized polling firm and ad producer. The first time I debated him was in Walla Walla. I recall traveling there by myself, while he had an entourage which worshipped him. I recall sitting alone in the first debate venue, with a bank of national television cameras and a national press that loved Mr. Foley, thinking, “What in the world have I done?" Mr. Foley entered the room to great fanfare. He seemed 9 feet tall and I seemed shrunken. Yet, I held my own and survived that first debate. Q: When you were a student at North Central High School, did you ever imagine that you would wind up serving as a representative of Congress? A: When I was a student at North Central, I never dreamed of becoming a member of Congress. I was focused on my school work, law school, athletics and school activities. I had an old 1930 Chevrolet that I cleaned up and drove during high school, so Congress was not on my mind, but athletics and getting good grades were. However, I always had an interest in public affairs. My parents had such an interest. My dad, a mentor of mine, served eight years on the District 81 School Board, so I guess I always was interested in public service, but never dreamed about serving in Congress. Q: What was your career ambition when you enrolled at Gonzaga Law School? A: My career ambition when attending law school was to graduate and be able to pass the Washington State Bar Exam. I did so in one try, and became a oneyear clerk in Anchorage, Alaska, for a federal judge, so I found myself in a big state with a small population with a great job that paid me $16,000 per year. Through that job, I became a staff attorney and then chief of staff to Alaska U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, one of the smartest people I’ve ever known and met my future wife there. My career ambition was to be a
good lawyer. When I interviewed with Senator Stevens, he inquired of his former chief of staff what I should be paid to start out. The former chief of staff said $12,000, so I immediately took a 25-percent hit in salary in going to work for Senator Stevens. He quickly adjusted my salary upward after I arrived in Washington, D.C., and he promoted me to chief of staff since he hadn't had one for some time. I became at about age 27, the youngest chief in the Senate. I stayed until late March 1977 and was married on April 2, 1977 and then moved to Seattle to start a law partnership with my dear dad, who passed away at age 65 on June 4, 1977. My mother lived to age 93, passing away in 2009. Q: You practiced private law for over 20 years before running against Foley in 1994. Why did you decide to pursue public office? A: I decided to pursue public office because the Spokane County Republicans had no one else to run. I was chairman of the county party at the time. It was suggested that I become a candidate, so I decided to do so after much back-andforth, thinking about it. I figured since I was happy practicing law, if I won, it was a miracle. If I lost, I was not unhappy with my life and I’d just continue practicing law successfully. Q: What mattered to voters in your district back then? Do you think there has been a significant change in those issues since you left Washington, D.C.? A: What mattered to 5th District voters was a smaller government, less federal control over their lives and local decision making. Those principles were to some extent accomplished via the Republican Contract with America, a set of principles that members of the House committed to passing. I never had any 5th District voter want to fist fight me over an issue. They sometimes said, “I don’t agree with you, George, but I appreciate knowing how you came to your conclusion.” I signed every letter that ever went out of my office and put a personal note on each, probably millions of letters over 10 years and traveled to Eastern Washington every other weekend and every congressional recess for 10 years, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I always told the voters of any foreign trips I planned to take, what I wanted to accomplish and always reported back to them what I had learned or found. That was a way to build trust between voter and representative, since I always
See CONGRESS, Page 5
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4 • OCTOBER 2017
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“I am passionate about the success of our city and want to bring back honesty and transparency to the Spokane Valley City Council.”
Community Safety Community Development Community Engagement
“I have endorsed Brandi because I know her to be honest and of high character. She has worked hard on police oversight issues, and the people of Spokane Valley deserve honest people to represent them.” Ozzie Knezovich
“It is important to have people that care about our community. Brandi will make decisions that will benefit the people they represent. It is called governing!” Chuck Hafner
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HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE CANDIDATES FOR SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL?
SHOULD SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL? 1. Permit livestock in residential yards?
5. Spend taxpayer funds for special police car colors?
2. Permit LARGE storage containers in residential areas?
6. Spend taxpayer funds for unique police uniforms?
3. Continue spending taxpayer 7. Place more taxpayer funds in money to pass a resolution reserves rather than hiring more declaring we are NOT a sanctuary police officers? city? 4. Should Spokane Valley City Council spend taxpayer funds to favor certain business sectors?
County commissioner selection deferred to governor By Craig Howard Splash Editor
It turns out a Democratic governor will wind up picking the next Republican representative of the Spokane County Board of Commissioners. After sitting Commissioners Al French and Josh Kerns – both Republicans – were not able to reach an agreement on the replacement for former colleague and fellow Republican Shelly O’Quinn on Sept. 12, the decision was automatically transferred to Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat. O’Quinn’s position has been vacant since July 17. O’Quinn was first elected in 2012 to represent District 2, an area that includes Liberty Lake, the city of Spokane Valley, Millwood, southeast Spokane County, a section of the city of Spokane east of Perry and parts of unincorporated Spokane County. After being reelected with 62 percent of the vote last November in a defeat of Democratic challenger Andrew Biviano, O’Quinn announced this April that she would be stepping down to become chief executive office of the Inland Northwest Community Foundation. After initially announcing she would leave her county role in June, O’Quinn stayed on another month to see through an extended legislative session. Republican precinct committee officers (PCOs) voted on a shortlist of potential
The Current
replacements on Aug. 5. The list included Spokane Valley Deputy Mayor Arne Woodard, County Treasurer Rob Chase, County Chief Deputy Auditor Mary Kuney, John Guarisco, an executive at a Spokane Valley marketing company and Devin Samuelson, owner of a Spokane aerospace engineering firm. Chase, Kuney and Guarisco surfaced as the top three candidates in the process. While Chase emerged with the most PCO votes, French and Kerns have not been able to reach a consensus in the designated 60-day period following O’Quinn’s official resignation. In responding to criticism that it would be best to concur with the PCO majority, French has referred to the state constitution making no mention of such a mandate. Kerns, who defeated Democrat Candace Mumm last fall to become the newest commissioner, has stated that he and French “are looking for different qualifications.” While O’Quinn won voter support for another four-year term, her replacement will only serve a year before a special election takes place. Guarisco has already indicated he plans to run when the position appears on the ballot. Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson is one leader within District 2 who is scratching head over the impasse. “Really, it’s unfortunate they can’t come to a decision on a person for a year,” Peterson said. “All three of those candidates are well qualified. You just need to find common ground. Now you’re going to have a Democratic governor picking your commissioner.” Inslee has 30 days from Sept. 12 to announce an appointee from the list of three GOP finalists.
8. Place no restrictions on the parking of large trucks on residential streets?
9. Spend taxpayers funds to challenge the Health Districts decision to send unvaccinated students home from school? YOUR SELECTION OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL BE CRITICAL TO THE FUTURE OF SPOKANE VALLEY.
MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT! Spokane Valley Business Association P.O. Box 14402, Spokane Valley, WA 99214 president@svba.us
Candidates in the appointment process to replace Shelly O'Quinn on the Board of Spokane County Commissioners include (from left to right): Mary Kuney, Rob Chase and John Guarisco. Photo by Ben Wick
The Current
CONGRESS
NEWS
Continued from page 3 believed I was elected to serve the public, not the other way around. Q: When you think back to your time in Congress, what are some of your proudest accomplishments? A: Some of the most rewarding work I accomplished has to do with helping farmers in the 5th District. I received several national awards, passed legislation to lift the embargo on food and medicine to Cuba, allowing farm products grown in Eastern Washington to be sold to Cuba for cash, now amounting to over $2 billion and enhancing diabetes research. I helped form the House Diabetes Caucus, then the largest House caucus and served with distinction as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, an “A” committee of the House. I also served as a member of the House Science Committee. There are other cost saving and tax cutting efforts I’m proud of but being loyal to the 5th District was always paramount to me. Q: How was the transition for you from public life back to the private sector after losing to Sen. Patty Murray in 2004? A: While I felt sad to lose the 2004 Senate race, I looked ahead, not behind. I ran for the Senate because I wanted Eastern Washington to have a senator representing us. It had been 70 years since we had one from Eastern Washington. I transitioned to writing, first articles for newspapers, a book, "In Tune with America: Our History in Song,” served on several corporate boards, am Of Counsel with Lee & Hayes Law Firm and focused on the nonprofit George Nethercutt Civics Foundation, helping all Americans, but particularly students, receive a better civics education. I’m currently writing a book tentatively titled “American Patriotism in a Global World.” Q: What will it take to have a Republican U.S. Senator from Washington state again? A: An outstanding candidate must emerge for there to be a U.S. senator from Eastern Washington. Running in an open seat would help, too, not against an incumbent. It’s documented that 95 percent of all incumbents are re-elected, so it’s difficult to win a seat from an incumbent. The Seattle press is not supportive of Republican candidates from Eastern Washington, making it difficult to win. But, having traveled to remote areas of Western Washington tells me that voters there are hungry for representation from someone not from Seattle. Q: It seems that bickering between parties now defines the political landscape. What
do you think are the keys to effective bipartisanship? A: The keys to effective bipartisanship are willing members of Congress, leaders who aren’t selfish about party politics and a president who lives bipartisanship. If a president is particularly bipartisan, members of his political party affiliation will get that message. It also does good for party leaders to reach out to their opposites to get to know each other. Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor once told me she wished then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi would hold Friday night votes and Monday morning votes so members would stick around D.C. to get to know each other. Party leaders can stress bipartisanship more, too. Mr. Obama was wrong when he said, “I won, you lost. I get 100 percent, you get nothing.” President Reagan once told Speaker Tip O’Neill, “I won, you lost. I get 51 percent, you get 49 percent or 60-40.” A president must give the opposition something to go home with, or else compromise is impossible. Reagan’s position was the better one. Q: Tell us about the George Nethercutt Civics Foundation. What are your priorities and goals with this ongoing effort? A: The George Nethercutt Civics Foundation is a nonprofit, 501 (c)3 organization. Its emphasis is civic learning for all. We have several interesting programs ongoing. One is providing tutors to applicants for American citizenship and an online test to help them learn about U.S. history, government, economics and foreign policy. We are also working with Boy Scouts to help troops earn their Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge and their American Civics Knowledge Award. We’ve partnered with Mead School District on a “Senior-to-Senior” program, placing seniors in high school with senior citizens so they can learn from one another. The high school seniors interview senior citizens. So far, students, teachers and school administration officials approve of the project. Q: How closely do you follow the news and issues emerging from our nation's capital these days? A: I follow news in the nation’s capital frequently. I subscribe to and read each day the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, giving me a balanced look at national news. I also travel to Capitol Hill frequently, so am able to keep up with developments there. Living in the Washington, D.C., area, I’m near the latest in national news, too. I travel back to Eastern Washington for about a week each month, serving with Lee & Hayes, because Eastern Washington is where my heart is.
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CVSD steps up to plate with healthy nutrition program By Julie Humphreys
Splash Correspondent Health advocates have been promoting the “eat right and exercise” message in earnest to school children for well over a decade. In the Central Valley School District (CVSD), a friendly dog named “Captain Canine” is leading the charge and he’s managed to get students to adopt some healthy habits. In fact, Captain Canine led two elementary schools to a prestigious Healthy U.S. School Challenge award. Last school year, Progress Elementary received a silver award and University was awarded a bronze for their “Smarter Lunchrooms” approach. They are the first schools in the surrounding Spokane area to receive the award since new guidelines put a focus on smarter lunchrooms and whole school wellness. Both honors were announced in May. “The awards are pretty significant” says Raeann Ducar, registered dietitian with Washington State University Spokane County Extension’s Food Sense program, which collaborates with the school district to implement overall school wellness. “We are looking at a culture of school wellness that includes teachers presenting nutrition education information in the classroom, P.E. teachers tying the healthy eating message into physical activity and an overall school philosophy around healthy celebrations and fundraisers,” Ducar said. “So instead of selling
NEWS
candy bars to raise money for school projects, children might get pledges for how many times they can run around a track.”
Captain Canine is the superhero created by Food Sense and CVSD as a character that could resonate with students. Three elementary schools targeted for Smarter Lunchrooms – Progress, University and Summit – took part in a contest to name the caped canine. A lifesized cutout of Captain Canine was eventually featured in each lunchroom and kids were on the lookout for his daily healthy eating messages. Denise Kwate, Nutrition Services supervisor for the district, says Captain Canine is just one resource to encourage children to establish better health. “He helps nudge children into making healthier choices with small nudges,” she said. “The goal is to make the healthy choice the easy choice.” Aside from Captain Canine’s messages and the paw print notes he writes to children with shoutouts like “I tried the asparagus,” Smarter Lunchrooms include simple steps to help students be intentional about healthy eating. Existing school wellness policies give Smarter Lunchrooms a good launching point. Salad bars offer six different fruits and vegetables, of which five are fresh. Through Smarter Lunchrooms, students are encouraged to take and eat at least three types of produce. Is it working? Kwate says studies looking at how much food was left on students’ plates were done prior to implementing Smarter Lunchrooms. Studies of food waste at the end of the program this past school year showed fewer fruits and vegetables remaining on plates. “We also saw that we needed to order more fruits and veggies at
The Current
bonus. Progress received $1,000 for the silver award and University $500 for the bronze. University put the money toward nutrition education. Progress used it to fund a six- week cooking class teaching students to create dishes from basic recipes. At the end of the class they cooked for their parents. “You’ve got 24 fifth graders getting a hands-on cooking experience and being excited about being a chef,” Kwate said. “We talk about fiber and we talk about soda so they get nutrition education.”
A mascot named “Captain Canine” is helping get the word out about healthy nutrition in the Central Valley School District. Progress and University elementary schools were honored in May with the Healthy U.S. School Challenge award for their “Smarter Lunchroom” program. Contributed photo the three participating schools, so we suspect more kids took them,” added Kwate. Another simple step to encourage children to makes healthy choices is placing plain milk at the front of the lunch line in a cute container, with chocolate and strawberry milk further down. School lunchroom staff also encourages students to take the healthier of two hot entrees offered. For example, crispy chicken pita might be on the menu along with pizza. Staff pushes the whole wheat pita with grilled chicken, lettuce and a little cheese over the higher calorie pizza. Staff may share with students that they have tried the pita and relay what they liked about it. The awards include a nice cash
WSU’s Food Sense program focuses on childhood obesity. Smarter Lunchrooms is one part of the equation aimed at impacting rising obesity rates. The Centers for Disease Control report that today about one-in-five school-aged children is obese. Ducar says data on the impact of school wellness programs on obesity rates at area schools is not great, but there are definitely markers that indicate programs like Smarter Lunchrooms are making a difference. “Kids are going home and telling parents what they are learning and experiencing about healthy habits,” Ducar says. “Hopefully, they are also impacting what foods parents bring into the home. By the time they are sixth graders, they’ve heard the message and they’ve had the opportunity to taste and try new thing.” Ducar adds that the approach is bringing awareness to the benefits of local food. “I’m especially excited that we’ve been able to promote local harvest,” she said. “Kids understand the value of good foods harvested right in their backyard.” While continued grant funding for Smarter Lunchrooms is uncertain, CVSD plans to continue and hopefully grow healthy eating concepts in the 2017-18 school year.
The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 7
Introducing the
Safety Awareness Channel
By Spokane Valley Police Chief Mark Werner
Freya
The maps provided below depict where citizens have reported Vehicle Thefts, Thefts from a Vehicle (also known as vehicle prowling), Burglaries and Thefts. As you view the map each circle will contain a number indicating how many instances of a particular crime were reported at that location. Thefts from a vehicle is often under reported as people often feel nothing can be done or they only lost a small quantity of loose change. However, the Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s office analyze this data to determine high crime areas and where to allocate resources. I encourage citizens who have been a victim of crime to call 911, if the crime is in progress, or Crime Check at 456-2233, if not in progress, to report a crime.
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8 • OCTOBER 2017
Spokane Valley City Council report – October 2017 By Bill Gothmann
Current Correspondent Marketing the city From 2012 to 2015, the city of Spokane Valley contracted with MDI Advertising to improve its permitting image. In 2016, Atlas Advertising was contracted to develop a five-year marketing plan for the city. The resulting plan identified four focus areas: brand development and position, local community engagement, tourism and economic development. Seven key strategies were presented to implement these focus areas: develop and position the city’s brand, launch an economic development website, increase use of social media, develop various media materials, feature existing and new event opportunities, leverage community assets and enhance marketing channels through local partners. As a result,
NEWS
Atlas developed a new marketing logo and a new tagline, “Where tradition meets ambition.” The website, www. spokanevalleyed.org, was launched in December of 2016, resulting in 12,750 visits. In October 2016, the city launched a Twitter feed. Additionally, ads on digital media have resulted in 1.5 million impressions and 11,000 site visits while 88 percent of traffic coming to the new website is from digital ads. The city has also developed videos featuring CEOs from local businesses touting the ease of development in Spokane Valley, its ideal location and availability of a hardworking, well-adjusted work force. Finally, one-page brochures have been developed targeting such areas as aerospace, distribution, and land options. Events such as Valleyfest, Cycle Celebration, Crave and Oktoberfest are seen to bolster interest in the city. During the next three years, staff hopes to refine the strategies based upon metrics and improve target marketing. Staff recommends city hire a retail recruiter Staff reviewed the progress in implementing six strategies for
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improving retail businesses for the city: develop policy to support retail in the right locations, plan and build infrastructure to support retail, strengthen Spokane Valley’s image as a retail destination, leverage regional and local assets to drive local commerce, support catalytic, transformative or innovative retail projects and fill vacancies and support anchors for retail centers. Acknowledging they are not experts in retail recruitment for this last strategy, staff issued a request for quotation for such services on Aug. 11, 2017. The recruiter would review the city’s retail recruitment strategy, conduct market and retail gap analysis, develop a retail recruitment plan and a retail prospect list and recruit retail establishments on behalf of the city. This would require a onetime cost of $50,000 and is already part of the 2017 budget. They received responses from two firms – Buxton and Retail Strategies, both nationally recognized companies. Hirst decision letter approved In Whatcom County vs. Hirst, the State Supreme Court decided that, because the Growth Management Act requires municipalities (including counties) to assure that there is an adequate water supply before approving a developer application, reliance upon the Department of Ecology’s rules did not suffice. This meant that counties must hire their own hydrologists and conduct their own tests. As a result, development has stalled in many locations including our own. This resolution by the council to the legislature asks that they “act with all due haste in adopting a legislative fix.” It was approved 6-0, with Council Member Caleb Collier absent. Wellesley sidewalk and citywide back-plate projects Following a public hearing, the City Council adopted a resolution adding two projects to its 2017 Transportation Improvement Plan, having received grants for each. The first project will add a sidewalk along Wellesley from McDonald to Evergreen and will cost $447,000, with the city paying $44,000. The second is a city-wide signal backplate project costing $123,830, with the city’s match being $1,032. Janitorial contract approved With the new City Hall being completed, staff wanted to see if they could save money by issuing a janitorial contract for all four of the city’s facilities: City Hall, the police precinct building,
The Current
CenterPlace Regional Event Center, and the street and stormwater maintenance shop. They issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) that included a provision that the city had the right to reject all of the responses. The city received four responses that included all four facilities and one response that included just CenterPlace. Based upon the responses, staff recommended that the city award a contract to Argus Janitorial to provide services at the new City Hall, police precinct and maintenance shop. Staff recommended keeping its current contract with ISS for CenterPlace. The current contract with ISS, which expires April 30, 2019, carries a lower cost than any of the responses and staff is very satisfied with their service. Without CenterPlace, Argus Integrated Services had the lowest proposal for the remaining three facilities. Argus provides current services at the police precinct building and the city has had a good history of service from the company. After considerable discussion, council unanimously approved this plan. It will cost $109,385.40 annually. Parental rights The recent mumps epidemic resulted in sending non-vaccinated children home from school. As requested by council, on Aug. 29, staff presented their findings on parental rights. Washington law, RCW 28A.210.080, requires all school students to be immunized prior to enrollment and RCW 7.05.070 requires the health officer to “enforce the public health statutes of the state.” However, parents may claim a medical, philosophical or religious exemption for their children. Staff also noted that, although the state constitution requires the state to “make ample provision for education of all children residing within its borders,” the Supreme Court ruled that there is a corresponding obligation for children to access this education. In addition, the state is not required to provide identical education to all children. If a disease outbreak occurs, the local health officer “shall take all appropriate actions deemed to be necessary to control or eliminate the spread of the disease.” Thus, he/she has the authority to exclude all unvaccinated and under-vaccinated students from school or can close a school. Council Member Pam Haley noted that she has a day care and “the purpose of this is to protect
See SV COUNCIL, Page 9
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SV COUNCIL
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Continued from page 8
those who cannot be immunized or those who are fragile.” Council Members Collier and Mike Munch joined Council Member Ed Pace in requesting that the city “push back” and that staff prepare a resolution declaring that within the city, no government or government official has the authority to usurp natural parental authority over this. Haley asked that staff provide a cost estimate of how much this research costs. The required three assenting council members placed both of these items on a future agenda. On Sept. 19 during the public testimony portion of the agenda, seven citizens testified in favor of an expected proposal to be put forth by some council members opposing the Spokane Regional Health Department’s (SRHD) exclusion of unvaccinated students during an epidemic. SRHD Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz testified, “Few realize that it is the responsibility of the health district to protect our health in preventing disease and injury.” He noted that this is codified in state law and Washington Administrative Code (WAC) and he is required by law to enforce health rules. Lutz said the code requires him
to exclude unvaccinated children during an epidemic. SHRD’s attorney Michelle Fossum, noted that “SRHD’s board is made up of 12 members, nine of which are elected officials.” Their authority is derived from the Washington State Constitution and state law. She noted that SRHD controls outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB), the spread of HIV and AIDs, on-site sewage as well as hygiene issues at restaurants and pools. Amending the public defender contract Three amendments to the public defender contract were proposed that would both assure the city is paying for the services it receives while receiving the services for which it pays. First, indirect costs would be computed based upon not only salary and benefits, but also maintenance and operations (M&O). Second, allocation of general M&O and general administrative costs will be changed from an FTE (full time equivalent) basis to a payroll basis. Third, investigator costs would be based upon payroll costs rather than a fixed 1 percent. These costs have increased due a Supreme Court decision requiring more investigative resources for indigent clients. All these result in an annual increase of $26,940 to the city. In addition, since annual
OCTOBER 2017 • 9
settle and adjust has been on hiatus, the 2010-2016 reconciliation of $114,361 would be paid. Last meeting at Redwood includes grant consideration Sept. 19 saw the last City Council meeting in the Redwood Building as the city officials moved into the new City Hall at 10210 E. Sprague that week. A total of 24 agencies presented their requests for part of the $150,000 set aside by the city for economic development and social services grants. Grants sought ranged from $500 to $100,000. Council members were instructed to give their dollar recommendations for each agency to Finance Manager Chelsie Taylor by Oct. 13. Each council member’s total recommendations must be no more than $150,000. Taylor will average each agency’s council recommendations and make those stats available to council. An agency must receive recommendations from at least four council members to receive any funds. The final decision on the grants will be made by council on Oct. 24. Council Briefs • Mayor Rod Higgins proclaimed Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week in honor of the 230th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution. •
Property taxes collected by
the city will remain the same for 2018 as they are this year except for the addition of taxes from new construction. The estimated tax rate will be $1.45 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The implementing ordinance will be presented to council on Oct. 10. • Council held a public hearing on 2018 revenues and expenditures as detailed in the September 2017 issue of the Current. • City Clerk Chris Bainbridge has been named an Athenian Fellow by the Washington State Clerk’s Association. • City Manager Mark Calhoun reported that the city rejected the bids for the Corbin to Sullivan Appleway Trail because they were over the engineer’s estimate. The project will be rebid during this winter. • Staff is applying for grants from two recently-announced federal programs for both the Barker and the Pines rail crossings. • Pace asked council to change the way the mayor announces a proclamation by seeking a vote from the council on each proclamation. He also asked for a resolution and a proclamation recognizing public, private and home schools. • Munch asked staff to look into the costs versus revenue to the city for the marijuana industry. • Deputy Mayor Arne Woodard asked council to consider raising the amount available for social service and economic grants in light of inflation over the last several years since the $150,000 cap was adopted. • American Red Cross Executive Director Megan Snow recommended that all citizens assemble and maintain a household emergency kit. Go to redcross.org to search for emergency apps.
www.amaculate.com
The Current
10 • OCTOBER 2017
SVFD report – October 2017 From Current News Sources
Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) crews responded to a total of 1,305 emergency calls from Aug. 25 through Sept. 21. Incidents included: • Balcony fire – Aug. 27 – SVFD crews responded to a reported second floor apartment balcony fire in the 2800 block of North Cherry Road shortly before 4 p.m. Firefighters found a smoldering flower pot and potting soil on the balcony and noted cigarette butts in the smoldering planter as well as another pot. They fully extinguished the fire. The residents never arrived on the scene but a maintenance man said he would pass along the information when they returned, including the fact that potting soil is not dirt. It is highly flammable, especially when dry. • Brush fires – Aug. 27 – Just after 2 p.m., SVFD crews responded to a report of two brush fires burning north of the 19900 block of East Euclid Avenue. Crews arrived to find two small, slow moving grass fires on the north side of the railroad tracks. No buildings were threatened by the fires and crews quickly established wet lines around the fires for containment and extinguishment. • House fire – Aug. 29 – SVFD crews responded to a reported structure fire at 10806 E. Fourth Ave. just before 3:30 a.m. They arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming out the door and windows on the front of the small home. Fire crews knocked down the flames before moving inside. Two women were inside the residence when the fire started. One woman woke to the sound of the fire, alerted her roommate and they escaped, one
with minor injuries. A dog died in the fire. Investigators determined that the fire started in the living room furniture. Although the cause is considered undetermined, investigators eliminated all causes except discarded smoking materials. Damage was estimated at $62,500. There were no working smoke alarms in the residence. • Motor vehicle/ motorcycle accident – Sept. 7 – Shortly before 11 p.m., SVFD crews responded to a reported car/ motorcycle accident in the 26700 block of East Appleway Avenue. The driver of the car was uninjured. The 35-year-old female motorcyclist was found deceased about 120 feet from the accident scene on the side of the road over the guard rail. • Rescue Task Force – Sept. 13 – Members of SVFD’s Rescue Task Force were called to Freeman High School just before 10:15 a.m. to assist the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office in responding to an active shooter. The RTF team entered the school and supported law enforcement teams searching the school and evacuating remaining students. • Barn fire – Sept. 18 – SVFD crews responded to a reported structure fire in the 26700 block of East Wellesley Road at 12:45 p.m. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from a barn that was fully involved in fire. Two homes, several vehicles and a small shed were adjacent but untouched by fire thanks to the quick action by firefighters. About 80 percent of the barn was damaged or destroyed with damage estimated at $60,000. The cause of the fire is undetermined. A variety of barnyard animals were outside at the time of the fire and were unharmed. Kootenai County Fire and Rescue responded to the fire, thanks to a new mutual aid agreement, along with Spokane County Fire District 8.
• Vehicle extrication – Sept. 18 – Shortly after 12:30 pm, SVFD crews responded to a vehicle extrication call in the 11000 block of East Trent. A small Ford Escort collided head-on with a large semilogging truck. The driver of the car was trapped inside. Firefighters provided patient care inside the vehicle and continued after crews extricated the patient until care was transferred to Life Flight crew. The 47-year-old woman was transported by helicopter to the hospital. She later died. She was wearing a seat belt and the airbags inside the car deployed. Burn Ban lifted – As of Sept. 25, outdoor recreational fires are allowed in the cities of Liberty Lake, Millwood, Spokane Valley and unincorporated Spokane County. Open burning of yard waste, garbage and fields is always prohibited. Read more at www. spokanevalleyfire.com By the numbers: • Fires* = 114 • Emergency medical =1,047
service
•
Motor vehicle accidents = 66
•
Hazardous materials = 8
•
Building alarms = 48
•
Service calls = 16
•
Vehicle Extrication = 3
1
•
Water Rescue = 2
•
Rescue Task Force - High =
*Brush, Commercial, Residential, Rubbish, Vehicle Fires and Unauthorized Burning About SVFD - Spokane Valley Fire Department serves the cities of Liberty Lake, Millwood, Spokane Valley and unincorporated areas of Spokane County including the communities of Otis Orchards, Pasadena Park, and the area surrounding Liberty Lake, with a combined population of 125,000 across approximately 75 square miles. SVFD firefighters and paramedics responded to more than 16,250 emergency calls in 2016. Established in 1940, SVFD is an Accredited Agency by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), one of only a handful in the state of Washington. SVFD operates 10 stations providing fire suppression, emergency medical services, vehicle extrication, hazardous materials response, special operations rescue, fire investigation, fire prevention, commercial property inspection, CPR and fire safety training. SVFD also offers free fire safety inspections and installation of free smoke detectors. For more information call 928-1700 or visit www.spokanevalleyfire.com.
The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 11
JOIN US IN SUPPORTING
“I would be honored to have your vote! Together we can lead our city toward a brighter future.” SPOKANE COUNTY SHERRIF OZZIE KNEZOVICH SPOKANE COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY LARRY HASKELL FORMER WASHINGTON STATE REPRESENTATIVE LEONARD CHRISTIAN FORMER SPOKANE COUNTY COMMISSIONER SHELLY O’QUINN FORMER CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY MAYOR MIKE DEVLEMING FORMER CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY MAYOR DEAN GRAFOS FORMER CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY MAYOR TOM TOWEY FORMER CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY MAYOR DIANA WILHITE FORMER CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEMBER BILL GOTHMANN FORMER CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEMBER CHUCK HAFNER LIBERTY LAKE COUNCIL MEMBER DAN DUNNE WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS SPOKANE REGIONAL LABOR COUNCIL SEIU HEALTHCARE 1199NW RECOMMENDED BY THE SPOKANE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY CHUCK and VIRGINIA ADOLFSON JACQUELINE EIDE BILL ANDERSON BARBARA ESTINSON GENE ARGER CHARLIE FLORANCE MATT BALL STEVE FLORANCE NATHAN BATSON ANN FRACKENTHALL JEFF BEAULAC LORI GARDNER JO BROWN LARRY GARNER KAREN BURGARD MYRNA GOTHMANN MARGARET CADWALLER LIZ GRAFOS ROYAL CADWALLER MISTY GRIFFITH SERENA CARLSON ALANA and BRIAN GRUSS JOHN CARROLL CINDY and TOM HALLETT LINDA CASIMIR LESLEY HASKELL ROSEMARY COOK NATHAN HAUBER MIKE DAVISSON DEANNA HORMANN JOE DAWSON BARB and JOHN HOWARD TOM DINGUS PETRA HOY JAN EASLMAN CAROL and DARYYL ISOTALO
CHRIS JACKSON SALLY JACKSON BRANDY JONES JOY KATTERFELD-SULLIVAN ART KEINATH ELIZABETH KERSHAW JEFF KERSHAW MARK KINNEY MAX and MARY KUNNEY JENNIFER LARUE DEE DEE LOBERG PATRICIA MANN DENA MAZZOLA MARIAH MCKAY DALE MCLAUGHLIN JESSICA MCLAUGHLIN ALBERT MERKEL BETTY MEYER JULIE MEYERS LEHMAN BEVA MILES ROBERT MOORE KARIN MORRIS JAN MUNSON DONNA O’LEARY DENNIS OLSON ANNE OSWALD JENNA PASQUALE BRANDI PEETZ MARY POLLARD
BERT PORTER ROBERT and SHARON RACE SUZANNE RADMAKER SHERRI ROBINSON JENNI ROSS STEPHEN ROSS MARCIA SANDS MYRNA SCHIMMELS HAYLEY SCHMELZER ANN SCHNIBBE DALE SCHNIBBE ELDONNNA SHAW-DAVIS CAROL SNYDER CHRIS and MALINDA STEIN CHARLES TAGGART KATHY and TYRUS TENOLD RICH THOMPSON KEN VORHEES RACHEL WARD BOB and DAWN WEST ADAM and AMANDA WICK DANICA WICK DIANE and TY WICK LAURA and TIM WICK TERRY WICK RICK WILHITE TARYN WILSON KAY WRIGHT MCGLOCKLIN
Spokane Valley City Council Position 4
www.electbenwick.org
Paid for by the Citizens to Elect Ben Wick 12018 E Frederick Spokane Valley, WA 99206
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12 • OCTOBER 2017 LIKE US ON
You can be anything with a
NO REFERRAL NECESSARY
SMILE!
By Bill Gothmann
Here at our office we believe a confident, healthy, beautiful smile can help you accomplish anything. Come in and let us give a smile that will take you where you want to go.
Current Correspondent A beautiful, new Spokane Valley City Hall now stands at the corner of Sprague and Dartmouth. Utilizing brick, concrete, steel and wood, it creates a welcoming greeting to all who visit. However, it took 14 years to create the vision fulfilled by the new building.
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On May 21,2002, by a vote of 51.3 to 48.7 percent, citizens approved forming the city of Spokane Valley With 83,000 residents, it was the second largest city incorporation in our nation’s history. That fall, 51 candidates ran for the seven City Council positions, with a primary election narrowing the field to 14 candidates.
LIBERTY LAKE: E. 23505 Appleway Ave. Ste. #204 LINCOLN HEIGHTS: E. 2420 29th Ave. Ste. #200
On Oct. 3, 2002 these candidates met for their first meeting in the county library to plan the city. Incorporation was not to occur for six months, so there were no funds and no official place to meet. At this first meeting, council candidate Diana Wilhite presented several alternatives for a meeting-place, finally focusing on the Redwood Plaza property. The offer was four months free rent starting on Nov. 1, followed by a four-year lease. Previous tenants had left cubicles and other appurtenances that would be valuable to the new city
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staff. The 14 candidates met four more times. With the general election narrowing the field to seven in November, the official Spokane Valley City Council started meeting at Redwood Plaza on Nov. 12. Two days later, Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson offered a $50,000 loan from his city so Spokane Valley could get started and Prothman, a company specializing in government consulting, offered a contract to set in place an experienced interim staff. The council accepted both offers. Later, Spokane County loaned the city $1 million dollars. On Nov. 20, a swearing-in ceremony was held for the community at University High School, with Judge Mike Padden swearing in the seven council members: Michael DeVleming, Diana Wilhite, Richard Munson, Gary Schimmels, Mike Flanigan, Dick Denenny and Steve Taylor. At a later meeting, DeVleming was selected as the city’s first mayor and Wilhite as deputy mayor. On Jan. 29, 2003, the interim staff signed an agreement with Northwest Christian Schools (NCS), the owner of Redwood Plaza, to lease 15,940 square feet of space on the first floor of the main building. In addition, the city had access to common areas, such as restrooms, conference rooms, halls, elevators, stairs and so forth, for which there was no charge. There was to be no rental cost from Nov. 1, 2003 to Feb. 28, 2004 after which the city would be subject to an initial rate of $18,894.21 per month. The lease
See SV CITY HALL, Page 13
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The new Spokane Valley City Hall includes a "one-stop" reception area where citizens can inquire about various aspects of municipal government. On the same floor, near the building's west entrance, the citypermitting department offers efficient customer service. Photo by Hayley Schmelzer
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OCTOBER 2017 • 13
SV CITY HALL
Continued from page 12 called for $51,897 in improvements by the lessor, including a new City Council Chamber, paid for by the city over 48 months. During the construction, council met in a space with rudimentary furnishings where Hu Hot restaurant is now located. Finally, on March 30, 2003, Spokane Valley incorporation became effective and the city was born. By 2008, the city had 72 employees and was paying $440,000 per year in lease payments and an additional $25,000 in leasehold improvements. The City Hall design started with a May 13, 2008 draft report from Bernardo Wills Architects analyzing in detail the area, communication and other requirements for city staff. Their analysis showed 54,305 square feet was needed, costing $11,268,583 in 2008 dollars. A new council decided this was not what the city needed and the project was scrapped. In 2013, Council contracted with MMEC to do a site study based upon the Bernardo Wills analysis. They selected the University City location as the preferred site. As a result, in 2015, the city purchased 3.38 acres of land in the University City location for $1.3 million. They then contracted with Architects West, who, using the Bernardo Wills report, the MMEC report and other sources, determined that 44,033 square feet would be required for staff. The final result was a building of 47,585 square feet in floors one through three and an additional 17,687 square feet in the basement. The construction of the new City Hall was financed by $6.3 million in cash and a 30-year, $7.8 million bond sale for a total of $14.1 million. The debt service on the bonds will be $399,350 per year. Whereas the city’s Redwood lease included janitorial services and utilities, these are expected to be $92,100 and $77,000, respectively for the new building. The new headquarters of Spokane Valley serves a city with an estimated population of 94,8901. The basic structure of the new City Hall consists of two buildings joined in a “V” shape, with glassed in areas within the “V.” Using wood, steel, stone, concrete and brick, it is, as Site Superintendent Dave Clouse calls it, “a beautiful building that dresses up Spokane Valley.” City Hall was purposely designed “for what we do,” as City Manager
Prior to the move to the new City Hall, headquarters of the city of Spokane Valley were located just to the east at Redwood Plaza. The construction of the new City Hall was financed by $6.3 million in cash and a 30-year, $7.8 million bond sale for a total of $14.1 million. The debt service on the bonds will be $399,350 per year. Photo by Hayley Schmelzer Mark Calhoun stated. Efficiencies were gained by locating employees by communications need, not by the constraint of the building itself as was necessary at Redwood. Standing at the east entrance are two magnificent, bronze statues, donated by the Spokane Arts, Council: “Coup Ponies” and “Berry Picker.” A third statue is at the west entrance. Entering the east door, the visitor is greeted by a large, open area with high ceilings and an abundance of natural lighting that leads from the east entrance to the west entrance. Special attention was paid to make this hall a quiet place by using sound-absorbing materials between the wooden beams on the ceiling and installing easily maintained carpets. The first floor was designed for one-stop public service. On the left of this hall is a staffed reception counter. Any person calling the city’s phone number, 921-1000, during business hours will also get someone from this reception counter. Further down the hall on the left, closer to the west entrance, are a number of stations where building permits can be obtained. Community development offices are located in back of these stations allowing citizens to receive rapid responses from resources including supervisors, as they apply for permits.
The new City Hall features a room for City Council chambers that includes four large video screens. Space on the first three floors of the building totals nearly 48,000 square feet. Photo by Hayley Schmelzer The City Council Chamber is on the right side of this hall near the east entrance. The new chamber can accommodate three times as many citizens as the Redwood building could – over 190 people. Four large video screens, two toward the front and two toward the rear, permit citizens to see the same video as each council member sees on his/her personal screen on the dais. Finally, at the northwest part of the hall is the human resources space.
links engineering on the second floor with community development on the first floor, aiding in inter-office communications. The second floor also houses information technology and a large multipurpose/lunch room with a kitchen. It overlooks a diverse rock variety adorning the roof of the City Council Chamber.
The second floor houses street maintenance, building officials, the city engineer and accompanying staff and economic development. A private stairway on the south side
Spaces throughout the building permit future growth. The basement houses records but has a large, un-designated area available for the future.
The third floor houses administration, including the city manager, finance, and the city attorney. The mayor and council offices are also located here.
COMMUNITY
14 • OCTOBER 2017
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Calendar of Events COMMUNITY EVENTS Sept. 29-Oct. 1; Oct. 6-8 |Fall Festival of Homes; the Spokane Home Builders Association presents the largest new construction show in the Inland Northwest. The 13th annual Fall Festival of Homes features homes in locations throughout Spokane and surrounding areas. Neighborhoods include Eagle Ridge, River Ranch, Villages at Stonehill in Liberty Lake and River Crest at Coyote Rock in Spokane Valley. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those interested in viewing these homes can choose to begin their tour at one of the two “host sites.” Show magazines and maps will be available. Visit www. SpokaneFestivalofHomes.com to locate the host site nearest you and for more information. Sept. 30 │ Spokane Valley Fire Department Annual Open House, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., SVFD Training Center, 2411 N. Pioneer Lane, Spokane Valley. Enjoy a day of free family fun at the SVFD Open House. Check out the department’s brand new ladder truck and motor boat. Watch live fire and rescue demonstrations, try on fire gear and tour fire engines and enjoy refreshments. Retired Arson Dog “Mako” along with Smokey Bear will make guest appearances. Visit www.spokanevalleyfire.com for more information. Oct. 7 | 76th Annual Harvest Dinner hosted by Veradale United Church of Christ, 5 to 6:30 p.m. This dinner will feature turkey, ham and all the fixings. Donations are invited. Raffle baskets will be part of the festivities. All are welcome. The church is located at 611 N. Progress Ave., two blocks west of Sullivan, one block south of Broadway. For more information, call 926-7173. Through Oct. 31 | Green Bluff Apple Festival. If you haven’t been to Green Bluff as the leaves turn color, now is the time to plan your visit. This celebrated collection of farms and orchards in north Spokane has been featured in numerous national publications including Town and Country and is a traditional autumn favorite among tourists and locals alike. The Apple Festival showcases picturesque rural settings right out of a Winslow Homer painting. The landscape includes straw mazes,
many varieties of apples, music, arts and crafts, pumpkins and more. Nearly three dozen orchards are featured as part of the “Green Bluff Loop.” To learn more, visit www.greenbluffgrowers.com. Saturdays through Oct. 14 | Liberty Lake Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Town Square Park, 1421 N. Meadowwood Lane. Market features local food and farm vendors, artisan crafts and baked goods, music and more. Art at the Market will take place this month, beginning Friday, Sept. 8 at noon and running through 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. For more information, visit www. libertylakefarmersmarket.com.
RECURRING ACT 2 senior classes | Affordable classes offered by Community Colleges of Spokane to those who are retired or planning to retire. A wide range of courses from geology and history to exercise and art are offered at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place, as well as other locations throughout the area. “Focused Fitness on Dishman Mica,” a yoga class, is now part of the schedule. More at www.sccel. spokane.edu/ACT2. Baha’i Fireside Conversation | 5 to 6 p.m., third Friday of the month. Spokane Valley Library, 12004 E. Main Ave. Discussion of Baha’i teachings, history, and perspectives on resolving the challenges facing humanity. All are welcome. More at 599-2411 or www.bahai.us. Inland Empire Blues Society monthly meeting | Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m., Bolo's 116 S. Best Road. Café Card Club | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesdays. On Sacred Grounds, 12212 E. Palouse Hwy., Valleyford. Play pinochle, cribbage, or hearts. More at www.onsacredgrounds. com. Catholic Singles Mingle | Meeting times and locations vary. This group, with no dues, is for single adults of all ages. More at www. meetup.com/Catholic-SinglesMingle. DivorceCare Recovery Support Group | Tuesdays 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Eastpoint Church, 15303 E. Sprague Ave. Learn how to heal from the deep hurt of divorce and discover hope for your future. DivorceCare for Kids (ages 5-12) meets at the same time and location. Cost is $25 for workbook. More at 892-5255 or eastpointchurch.com.
Military Sobriety Support Group | 10 to 11: 30 a.m., Spokane Vet Center, 13109 E. Mirabeau Parkway, Spokane Valley. Call Steve at 8934746 for more information. Grange Meeting and Dessert | 6:30 p.m., first Wednesday of the month, Tri-Community Grange, 25025 Heather St., Newman Lake. The public is welcome for this community-based service organization. For more information call 226-2202 or see us on Facebook. Men’s Weekly Bible Study | 7 a.m. Tuesdays. Millwood Presbyterian Church, 3223 N. Marguerite Road, Millwood. The men’s weekly Bible Study meets in the Reception Hall with different members sharing in the leading of the study. All men are invited to join. More at www. milwoodpc.org. Pancreatic Cancer Action Network | 6:30 p.m., the first Monday of each month. Liberty Lake Municipal Library, 23123 E. Mission Ave., Liberty Lake. More at www.pancan.org or 534-2564. Rockford Crochet Class | 10 a.m. to noon, Saturdays. The Harvest Moon, 20 S. First St., Rockford. Free classes. We have crocheters, knitters, embroidery, quilting and needlepoint. Come and share with us what you are doing. Call 2913722. Rockford Historical Society | 11:30 a.m. second Friday of the month (Feb. to Nov.). Harvest Moon restaurant, 20 S. First St., Rockford. More at 291-3193. Spokane County Library District | Locations include Argonne, Fairfield, Otis Orchards, and Spokane Valley. Special events and weekly activities for all ages including book clubs, children’s story times, classes, Lego club, teen anime club and writing clubs. More at www.scld.org Spokane Valley Eagles | 16801 E. Sprague Ave. Breakfast served Sundays 9 to 11:30 a.m. Lunch served Thursdays 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. followed by bingo from 1 to 3:30 p.m. More at www.foe3433. com. Spokane Valley Partners Food Bank | Weekly distribution takes place Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10814 E. Broadway by appointment. Appointments are available during the following days/times: Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to
COMMUNITY
MUSIC & THE ARTS Oct. 3-29 | Spokane Watercolor Society annual juried show, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Helen South Alexander Gallery and Eric A. Johnston Auditorium, 2316 W. First Ave., Spokane. Reception Oct. 6, 5 to 8 p.m. and awards reception Oct. 20, 5 to 7 p.m. Hours are TuesdaysSundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays, 10 a.m.to 8 p.m. Oct. 7 | Spokane Symphony Classics 2: Beethoven and Dvorak, 8 p.m., Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, 1001 W. Sprague Ave., Spokane. Tickets range from $17 to $60. To order or for more information, call 624-1200 or visit www.spokanesymphony.org.
Spokane Novelists Group | Noon to 4 p.m., second and fourth Saturday of the month. Otis Orchards Community Church, 23304 E. Wellesley Ave., Otis Orchards. A support/critique group for writers. Open to anyone with an interest in writing fiction (no memoirs, nonfiction, poetry, etc., please). Participants should bring 5-10 pages to read aloud and 6-8 copies for others to read along and critique. More at 590-7316. Spokane Valley Camera Club | 7:15 p.m., third and fourth Monday of the month (September through April). Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District building, 22510 E. Mission Ave., Liberty Lake. All levels of ability—students through experienced photographers—are invited to learn. Social events include field trips and workshops. More at 951-1446 or www.sv-cc. org Spokane Valley Writers’ Group | 6:15 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month. Lakeside Church, 23129 E. Mission Ave. This supportive critique group welcomes adult writers. More at 570-4440.
Oct. 28 | Watoto Children’s Choir, 3 p.m., Opportunity Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 708 N. Pines Road, Spokane Valley. The Watoto Children's Choir, comprised of 20 orphans, comes from Kampala, Uganda, and is touring the U.S. to help raise awareness for the ministry that is helping them overcome a variety of challenges. Opportunity Christian Church and Greenacres Christian Church are collaborating to make this concert possible. For more information, contact Jim Huttenmaier at 4759934.
HEALTH & RECREATION
RECURRING
Oct. 6 | Family Fun Day, 1 to 3 p.m., Valley YMCA, 2421 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley. This free event is for those with or without a YMCA membership and will feature aquatic and gym
Drop-in Square Dance Lessons | 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (through May 18). Western Dance Center, 1901 N. Sullivan Road. Square dance lessons for $3 per person; no partner needed. More at 270-9264.
Seasonof Romance
Spirit of Spokane Chorus | 6:45 p.m., Tuesdays. Opportunity Presbyterian Church, 202 N. Pines Road. Make new friends by joining this women’s chorus, specializing in four-part, a cappella harmony in the barbershop style. More at 2184799.
Sept. 29 | HUB-apalooza Family Fun Festival, 4 to 7 p.m., HUB Sports Center, 19619 E. Cataldo Ave., Liberty Lake. This free open house will celebrate the HUB’s 10th anniversary and include a jump house, basketball, volleyball, Pickleball, futsal/soccer, appearances by local sports mascots and more. For more information, call 927-0602 or go two www.hubsportcenter.org.
See CALENDAR, Page 16
Little Women
Fall Production
November 2017
Winter Musical March 2018
Romeo &
Juliet
Spring Production
May & June 2018
Season Tickets are on sale Now! ™
Y
Spokane Valley Quilt Guild | Meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of February, April, June, August, October and December at Valley Assembly of God Church, 15618 E. Broadway, Spokane Valley. Open to all interested in sharing ideas and skills of our quilting craft. Participants have can access a comprehensive library, can engage experienced teachers and participate in community service projects. More at www.svqgspokane.com
Pages of Harmony | 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Wednesdays. Thornhill Valley Chapel, 1400 S. Pines Road. If you enjoy singing, you will love the four-part, a cappella harmony of this men’s barbershop chorus. More at www.pagesofharmony.org.
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3:15 p.m. Thursday (reserved for advanced-age seniors — age 60 and over — and/or physicallyhandicapped people with limited mobility): 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Address verification is required. To make an appointment, call 927.1153 ext. 10, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m
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CV Performing Arts Center | 821 S Sullivan Rd, Spokane Valley Underwritten in part by:
Visit us online at cvtheatre.com
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16 • OCTOBER 2017
CALENDAR
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games as well as arts and crafts, free popcorn and more. Call 7779622 or visit www.spokane.org for more information. Each Wednesday | Mindful Music and Movement class, 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Specifically designed for those living with chronic health issues such as Parkinson's, dementia, COPD, MS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue or cancer. Supporting body, mind and soul. Facilitated by board-certified Music Therapist, Carla Carnegie at Willow Song Music Therapy Center. 21101 E. Wellesley #102. Otis Orchards WA 99027. More information at www.willowsongmusictherapy.com or call 592 7875.
RECURRING HUB Sports Center 19619 E. Cataldo Ave., Liberty Lake. Various activities and events occur throughout the week including: • Pickleball drop-in: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Mon. through Thurs.; 10 a.m. to noon Tues. and Thurs. and 6 to 8 p.m. Wed. and Sun. $3/seniors ($5/non-seniors)
• Classes including Kenpo Karate and Zumba Aerobics. See website for cost and times. Yoga in Rockford | 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Rockford Park, 20 W. Emma St., Rockford. In case of inclement weather, classes will be held at Dave’s Autobody, 8 W. Emma St.
CIVIC & BUSINESS Sept. 28 | YWCA Women of Achievement Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Davenport Grand, 333 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. All proceeds directly benefit the YWCA’s programs for domestic violence victims and their children, including emergency shelter, counseling, legal services, employment readiness, child care and pre-K programs for low-income children. For more information visit www.ywcaspokane.org. The YWCA 24-hour domestic violence helpline can be reached at 326-2255. Sept. 28 | HUB All Star Breakfast, 7 to 9 a.m., Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center, 1100 N. Sullivan Road, Spokane
Thank you for supporting us!
All the proceeds from Captain Bill’s food booth at the Fair and Expo Center go to our local scholarship program. Thank you to our Sponsor
Valley. Kevin Stocker, former MLB player and current Pac-12 Network announcer, will be the featured speaker. Proceeds from the breakfast go toward programs like HUB 360, an afterschool program for at-risk middle school students, HUB camp scholarships for disadvantaged youth and/or the HUB Capital Campaign to secure this facility for the benefit of future generations. For more information, call the HUB at 927-0602 or go to www.hubsportscenter.org. Sept. 30| ISAAC Foundation 10th anniversary celebration, 2 to 7 p.m., Project ID, 1412 W. Central Ave., Spokane. The ISAAC Foundation is celebrating its 10year anniversary supporting the local autism community. This is a family-friendly event, with food trucks, jumping houses, face painting, free children’s books, raffle drawings and more. Your ticket ($5-$10) gets you into this event and all the activities are free of charge for your family. Proceeds from this event provide critical funding for the ISAAC Foundation’s educational, emotional and financial support programs for families in our area impacted by autism. For more information, please contact Jess Silvernail, jess@theisaacfoundation.org. Oct. 4 | Homebuying 101, 6 p.m., North Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Road. Discover the factors to consider when you’re deciding whether to buy a home or continue to rent; what it means to be a homeowner, how to find the right home and what happens after your offer is accepted before closing. Register for this free workshop online at stcu.org/workshops. Oct. 7 | Inland Northwest Flight Fundraiser, Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane. This sixth annual event helps send veterans, free of charge, to Washington, D.C. to thank them for their service and to visit the memorials built in their honor. Enjoy silent and live auctions and more. To make a reservation, donate or become a sponsor, visit www.blacktie-northwest.com and enter event code INHF2017. Oct. 17 | Ode to Opportunity fundraiser benefiting SNAP, 11:30 to 1 p.m., Spokane Convention Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane. Proceeds from this luncheon event support SNAP, Spokane County’s community action agency since 1966. Last year, SNAP served nearly 48,000 low-income residents through over 30 programs designed to increase
financial stability. To learn more, call 456-7627 or visit www.snapwa. org. Oct. 22 | 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, 2 to 4 p.m., CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley. The event is free and open to the public. Oct. 26 | Newman Lake Ladies Aid Fall Roundup, noon, the Tri-Community Grange, 25025 E. Heather Lane, Newman Lake. Attendees at this fun, free community fair are encouraged to dress in their best Western attire. A bag auction and gift table will be held and a $5 donation is requested. Nov. 1 | KiDDS Dental 10th annual Great Candy Buy Back, 4 to 8 p.m., KiDDS Dental, 1327 N. Stanford Lane, Liberty Lake. KiDDS Dental will pay $1 per pound for children's unopened Halloween candy. Collected candy will be shipped to Operation Gratitude and included in care packages for troops serving overseas. Parents must be present. For those unable to attend, donated candy will be collected between Oct. 31 and Nov. 9 during regular operating hours. This program is underwritten by Banner Bank. Call 891-7070 for more information.
RECURRING Spokane Valley City Council | Regular meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at Spokane Valley City Hall, 11707 E. Sprague Ave., Ste. 101. Council study sessions are held the first, third and sometimes fifth Tuesdays at 6 p.m., also in Council Chambers. Flag Museum | Sponsored by the Sons of the American Revolution and the Fairmount Memorial Association, details the rich history of the American flag, Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Pines Cemetery, 1402 S. Pines Road, Spokane Valley. For more information: 926-2753 or www. fairmountmemorial.com/southpines-cemetery Spokane Valley Kiwanis | 6:45 a.m. Tuesdays. Valley Hospital Education Center, 12606 E. Mission Ave. More at www. spokanevalleykiwanis.net. Spokane Valley Rotary | Noon to 1 p.m., Tuesdays. Darcy’s, 10502 E. Sprague Ave. More at www. svrotary.org.
The Current
Boosting businesses with digital marketing
By Erin Dodge Current Guest Correspondent How you present your business online directly affects customer response, yet marketing your business doesn’t need to be a mystery. That’s where the class “Digital Marketing with Dr. Tim Olsen” comes into play. Over the course of one hour, you’ll get an overview of the appropriate design of blogs, website and landing pages, which social media tools are the most useful and how Google AdWords and Google Analytics can boost your business. On Wednesday, Oct. 18, you
LIBRARY can start your morning with this informative class at Spokane Valley Library, from 8 to 9 a.m. The class is free and coffee and donuts will be provided. However, you will need to register to attend. To register, visit www.scld.org/ events/business. Olsen is an assistant professor of Information Systems in the School of Business at Gonzaga University. His areas of research include crowd sourcing of business processes and business process management and he is recognized as a leading academic on the business potential for crowd labor. Olsen has published in MIT Sloan Management Review along with other top conferences and journals, including Strategic Outsourcing and Computer Supported Cooperative Work. Prior to coming to Gonzaga University, Olsen taught at Arizona State University in the online, professional, and full-time MBA
Seniors go back to class with financial planning workshop
By Erin Dodge Current Guest Correspondent We all put off things that we think could be too difficult or expensive. You don’t have to put off planning for retirement and your senior years any longer. The Spokane County Library District has partnered with the Spokane Elder Resource Team to bring you professional and comprehensive information sessions over the course of five weeks, all at no cost to you. The Spokane Elder Resource Team is a network of local professionals who are committed to getting relevant information into the hands of those in the retirement and senior community. They provide guidelines for developing a sensible, sustainable and comprehensive senior plan. The five sessions give you the planning tools to successfully navigate your senior years and to help the seniors in your life. You’ll learn how to plan for your financial future and make things easier for your loved ones, and gain understanding of often confusing topics, including Medicare, Social Security and estate planning.
The Spokane County Library District is partnering with the Spokane Elder Resource Team to offer a five-session program on senior planning. Contributed photo “Session 1: The Big Picture” covers how to develop your senior plan in an uncertain world, with presenters Gail Goeller, author of “Coming of Age with Aging Parents: The Bungles, Battles and Blessings” and Becky Tiller, Geriatric and Adult Care Management specialist. This session takes place at Argonne Library on Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 6 to 7 p.m. and at North Spokane Library on Thursday, Oct. 12, from 6 to 7p.m. “Session 2: Long Term Care” explores insurance basics and Medicare planning, including different products and enrollment periods with presenters Joel Ferris Jr., an insurance agent, and Duane Tait, a long-term care specialist.
programs. He received a PhD from Georgia State University in 2012, where he developed a process for instituting IT shared services and received a Masters of Information Systems Management from Brigham Young University in 2007. Olsen has also worked as a systems engineer at FamilySearch. org and as an associate at Ernst & Young. Spokane County Library District (SCLD) partners with local business specialists to bring you classes that provide value for your business. SCLD also supports local businesses with free, invaluable resources. Did you know you can get a library card for your business? The business library card gives you and your employees access to powerful digital resources, like the training courses at Lynda. com, Gale Courses and Microsoft Imagine Academy. You can learn more at www.scld.org/business.
This session takes place at Argonne Library on Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 6 to 7 p.m. and at North Spokane Library on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 6 to 7p.m. “Session 3: Medicaid Asset Preservation Strategies” provides insights on how to qualify for Medicaid long-term care benefits without going broke with presenter Lynn St. Louis, an attorney with Elder Law Spokane, PLLC. This session takes place at Argonne Library on Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 6 to 7 p.m. and at North Spokane Library on Thursday, Oct. 26, 6 to 7 p.m. “Session 4: Preparing for a Secure Financial Future” covers how to prepare for a secure financial future in your senior years and gain understanding of the basics of Social Security with presenters Dustin Allbery, financial planner and Daria Brown, CPA. This session takes place at Argonne Library on Wednesday, Nov. 1, from 6 to 7 p.m. and at North Spokane Library on Thursday, Nov. 2, 6 to 7 p.m. “Session 5: Real Estate Planning” helps you understand how to create a plan for real estate changes in your senior years with presenter Kathy Bryant, senior real estate specialist. This session takes place at Argonne Library on Wednesday, Nov. 8, from 6 to 7 p.m. and at North Spokane Library on Thursday, Nov. 9, from 6 to 7 p.m. Along with these senior planning sessions, you’ll find additional financial literacy and consumer education workshops in our programs and events guide ENGAGE at www.scld.org/engage.
OCTOBER 2017 • 17
Business Matters Digital Marketing with Dr. Tim Olsen SPOKANE VALLEY LIBRARY Oct 18, 8–9am
SCORE BUSINESS WORKSHOPS • 6 Marketing Must-Haves for Small Business • How to Write a Business Plan • See Your Business Through the Eyes of Your Customer For days & times, visit www.scld.org/events.
We’re your partner in success. www.scld.org/business
years
The Current
18 • OCTOBER 2017
Church garden flourishes with community support
community thing,” Rupert explained when asked how he expected to maintain the gardens. “We want to enlist church members from our local Adventist churches, neighbors and other people of faith in the Spokane Valley area to help as well.”
By Shaun Brown
Regular work parties are scheduled Sundays at 10, Monday’s at 6:30 a.m. and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Members of the two congregations are staffing the work parties along with LDS missionaries but community members are also invited. For details or to sign up, community members can visit www.JustServe.org – or just show up with your garden gloves and tools.
Current Correspondent You might call Rupert Salmon a preacher of produce. “From a biblical, spiritual point of view, I believe that gardening is something everybody should learn,” Rupert says. “No matter where I’ve been, where I’ve lived, even my younger days in an apartment I was growing a tomato plant in a pot.” So, it comes as no surprise that when Rupert learned of the acreage behind the Spokane Valley Seventh Day Adventist Church on Sullivan Road, he envisioned a community garden, a resource to provide food for needy families and homeless people in the area. Rupert, who came to Spokane from Louisiana in 2004, is the head of the men’s ministry at the church. The community gardens that are taking shape on the church property began as a project directed through the men’s ministry in his congregation. The first efforts to get the garden started in winter of 2015-16 really didn’t come together, so Rupert buckled down with William Alston, a community member whom he met selling vegetable plants in his driveway. Rupert explained his plan and William volunteered to join him in the quest to develop a solid plan. “We really need to get this done!” Rupert recalls saying back then. “So we did some costing and figured it would cost $42 to build each raised garden bed and $20 per fruit tree.” Rupert put a flyer in the church bulletin, letting his congregation know they could sponsor a bed or a tree in the community garden. Over the winter, Rupert received donations of about $1,800 from the men’s ministry department and fellow church members. This spring, he bought the lumber for 18 beds. Rupert’s vision for the garden is to turns out 50,000 pounds of food a year through greenhouses, raised beds and fruit trees. “That is what
A community garden has sprouted up behind the Spokane Valley Seventh Day Adventist Church on Sullivan Road. Rupert Salmon, who leads the men’s ministry at the church, is coordinating the project. Photo by Shaun Brown we’re aiming for by the summer of 2018,” he explained. “This summer is building, structure and putting everything together.” In addition to the raised beds, Rupert had planned to plant 2 of the 16 overall acres as garden area, but had no way to get the dirt turned. Little did Rupert know that Odin Langford, a Liberty Lake resident and member of the Valley Seventh Day Adventist church, was sharing news about the project with Brian Penwell, a local coordinator with the “JustServe” program through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Brian became aware of the community garden project, he offered to find a tractor to do the work.
“We’re planting 50 pounds of potatoes, over 100 tomato plants, over 75 pepper plants of various varieties, onions, squash, strawberries, raspberries as well as corn, beans and a variety of other items,” he explained. Brian also brought another work party from his congregation to join Rupert’s team laying down truckloads of bark, “so we don’t have to worry about weeding,” Rupert added. “We
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With warmer weather, tomatoes are poking up and a few strawberries are turning red. As the garden takes shape, Rupert hopes it will offer more than food to the community. “I also want do some teaching,” he shared. “Some families who are in transition and people in general from the community want to learn about gardening. They can come in and get a bed or two and help care for the garden and learn while they are doing it.” “It’s better to teach them to fish than to give them a fish,” Rupert stated. “We want to give, but we want to teach at the same time so people can learn to do some of these things for themselves.”
In the late spring, a gentleman farmer on the Saltese Flats drove his massive John Deere through the backroads of Spokane Valley to the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Sullivan. “Steve Holdaway came with his tractor and tilled the entire 2 acres,” Rupert said. Within hours, the entire area was turned, but Holdaway wasn’t done. “Steve drove back across the Saltese Flats, picked up his disc, and came back down to Sullivan and disced the whole thing,” Brian said. “Steve did a wonderful job.” Rupert explains that those involved in the project have “taken the hoes and made rows.”
The vision for the community garden is to generate 50,000 pounds of food a year through greenhouses, raised beds and fruit trees. Photo by Shaun Brown
The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 19
Millwood City Council report
dance, an outdoor movie and “Wheels on Parade” that featured decorated wheeled objects with prizes for the most creative and best decorated entry.
Current Correspondent
The Grace Avenue and Sargent Road sidewalk project ran into some cost overruns due to unanticipated issues. A change order for the project was presented to council to reroute conduit to the softball fields at cost of $6,469; move an irrigation service power pole ($13,427); add a retaining wall ($29,640.00) and conduct spot repair. Due to overly damp soil, additional time was needed ($530.62) and ADA ramp grading added ($3,166.00) for a grand total of $52,232.62.
By Mary Anne Ruddis
The ongoing determination process for the use of two parcels of land purchased by the city of Millwood in November of 2016 has been extended for another three months. Originally, the properties were envisioned as a park but after vehement opposition from some residents, the council sent the matter to Planning Commission to receive additional public comments and input. The Planning Commission was scheduled to provide the council with a recommendation for the use of two unimproved parcels on South Riverway by July 31. Due to robust community input, the commission requested and was granted an extension until Nov. 1. The commission has gathered sufficient feedback and the public input process is now closed. The commission requested the extra time to put together a comprehensive report from the many comments and letters received. Information and comments can be found on the city website. The special events process update for the city is proposed with the first reading of Ordinance 485. The amendments clarify the language of the existing process following a template from Washington Cities Insurance Authority (WCIA). Insurance requirements as well as clarification of language for permit requirements are addressed and discretionary language has been added regarding damage deposits. The ninth annual Millwood Daze on Aug. 26 celebrated the community with a street fair, 5k family run/walk, country breakfast, entertainment and food, a street
Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) funds and West Valley School District funds would pay for four of the items. Since the current interlocal agreement does not cover changes, the council approved the change order contingent on a signed agreement from the district to pay for additional costs. The city has received a grant for planning and design of the leftturn pockets on Argonne Road at Euclid/Empire, Dalton and Liberty. It is anticipated that construction money will be secured soon. The city has posted noticed of its Comprehensive Plan amendment process on the website. Applications for amendments of the comprehensive plan and development regulations will be accepted through Nov. 1. According to a statement by the city, “the Comprehensive Plan addresses land use, transportation, capital facilities, housing, and utilities for the Millwood community. Development regulations include zoning, subdivision, and critical area regulations.” Amendments cannot be made more than once a year according to the Washington State Growth Management Act.
10.28.17 3:00 pm
Opportunity Christian Church - 708 N. Pines Road Spokane Valley, WA 99206
The Watoto Children’s Choir, a group of 18 orphans from Uganda, will continue its six-month U.S. tour in the Spokane area October 28th featuring a brand new concert, Signs & Wonders. We welcome everyone in the community to come see this amazing concert! Free admission, and the show is about 1 hour and 15 minutes long. Donations to the choir are welcome, and there will also be a merchandise booth to purchase souvenirs. Please come support this wonderful ministry!
Call for more information 509-926-3691
What qualifies Bill for this position.... Spokane Valley line Firefighter for 28.5 years. Served in every line position. DD 214 Honorable discharge from Army National Guard (7 years) and Air National Guard (3 years). Spokane Valley Fire Department Commissioner (18 years). Deacon, Millwood Presbyterian Church (1977 - 1981 and 2007 - 2011) A.A. degrees from SCC in Fire Service Science, Civil Engineering Technology and Basic Law Enforcement Academy. Graduate of Arson Investigation Course at the National Fire Academy. B.A. degree General Studies from Eastern Washington University.
Paid for by Committee to Re-elect William A “Bill” Anderson 4017 N Sargent Rd. Spokane, WA 99212
The Current
20 • OCTOBER 2017
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The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 21
2017
Special Election Guide
Dear Readers:
With the upcoming election heating up and the sea of political signs filling our streets, we at The Current wanted to take the opportunity to provide you with some information about the
candidates seeking your vote this election cycle. In order to give you more insight into who these people are we reached out to all of the candidates appearing on your ballot and asked them to please provide a 300-word response to the following questions (which we would publish at no cost). 1. What best qualifies you for this position? 2. What i s
the most important issue that needs addressed? While not everyone chose to respond to our request, a good number have and I hope that you find their unedited responses helpful for your voting consideration. In addition to the information listed in the following pages we have partnered with Central Valley High School, University High School, Mica Peak High School, East Valley High School and West Valley High School to host two candidate forums to give you the opportunity to come and hear directly from the candidates for Spokane Valley City Council (Oct.
4, 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm hosted at West Valley High School) as well as Liberty Lake City Council and Spokane Valley Fire Commissioner Candidates(Oct 11, 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm hosted at Liberty Creek Elemenatary School) and individually connect with a number of the other candidates that will be in attendance. The event are free, so we hope that you will come and join us. Thanks for reading The Current, we hope you enjoy it!
The Current Team P.S. If you have any feedback on how we can enhance the voter’s guide or if you found it valuable please let us know by emailing us at elections@ valleycurrent.com or by calling our office at 509242-7752
The Current
22 • OCTOBER 2017
City of Spokane Valley Position 1 in the Army.
Rod Higgins
What best qualifies you for this position? My experience from five years on Council and nearly two years as Mayor. Although retired, I’ve held executive positions in the mining industry, served as Executive Director of the Nevada Mining Association, a small business owner, business consultant and an officer
I’ve a BS degree in Finance from the University of Idaho. In my career, I’ve held the professional designations of Certified Financial Planner, Professional of Human Resources, and Chartered Life Underwriter. My strong and varied business background uniquely qualifies me to serve on the Spokane Valley City Council. What is the important issue needs addressed?
most that
I strongly believe that city government provides first for the safety of its citizens; that means an effectively and properly staffed police force. Then we ensure we have the roads and the infrastructure necessary for the conduct of business and living. This we’ve successfully accomplished with a lean government,
tightly controlled budgets and effective management. The rail crossings at Pines, Barker and Park roads is our most important issue. The rail traffic traversing those crossings present traffic safety hazards, and noise problems as well as challenges to the physical safety of Valley citizens from the possibility of spills. Our aquifer is precious and must be safeguarded at all costs. With help from our various partners to achieve the necessary funding to bridge those problem crossings, the solution is in sight. Imagine Pines, Barker and Park where it would be like Argonne to negotiate the rail crossing. What if trains didn’t blow their horns at those three crossings? We are working hard to make it happen!
Chris Jackson
What best qualifies you for this position? I do not want to be a politician. I dare to be different. I want to represent the City of Spokane Valley faithfully, with as little ‘politics’ as possible. This campaign has been an expression of my desire to be different. Insanity, it has been said, is doing the same things over and over again,
City of Spokane Valley Position 2
J. Caleb Collier
What best qualifies you for this position? Hello, my name is Caleb Collier, and I would be honored to continue serving you as your city councilmember. I am happily married to my wife Jill and have 5 wonderful children. I served four years in the United States Marine Corps, receiving a good conduct medal, and
was honorably discharged. I also worked for over 6 years as an EMT Advanced, serving the entire Spokane County. I have a proven track record of service to my country and my community. I have made it a hallmark of my political career to be readily accessible to the public that I have the privilege to serve. I make a point of answering any and all communications directed at me. I am proud to say that I spearheaded opposition to the original price tag of 36 million dollars for the Barker grade separation. The new projected cost is below 20 million. I am also currently working with our chief of police to aid in the recruitment and retainment of officers to better provide for public safety. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed?
The most important issue that needs to be addressed for our fair city is proper funding for the essential items required in city government. I operate the city budget the same as I operate my own household budget. In my personal budget I designate items as wants or needs. The needs of my family are paid first and if there is left over funds my wife and I then discuss our wants. This is how our city budget must be managed. The needs of our city include public safety, road maintenance, and infrastructure. These must be funded first, before any other projects are considered. Thank you for your consideration, I humbly ask for your vote. Sincerely J. Caleb Collier
Brandi Peetz
What best qualifies you for this position? I have a very diverse background and skills set. I graduated from Spokane Community College where I was elected Vice President of my Student Government, and was able to travel to Olympia and meet with some of our legislators. I earned an academic scholarship to Gonzaga
The Current
but expecting different results. To this end, I hold unique—dare I say, different—qualifications. Spokane Valley is my home. My family has been here for three generations. This is the place that shaped who I am and what I believe, from the Dishman Hills to the Spokane River. Through my experience working at the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, the family pool, and as a tutor of math and science, I have met many of Spokane’s parents and children and I have heard their thoughts about the community. I have taught college courses in psychology. I hold a bachelor’s, a master’s, and (almost) a PhD in the field of psychology. I have been part of several boards and research teams. Being a good researcher means looking at data and being open to solutions; even counterintuitive ones.
University where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology. I was appointed to the Spokane County Citizen’s Advisory Board, am endorsed by Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, and have been involved with many other programs and organizations locally, such as the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council, a work study position at UFCW 1439, among several others. It is with all of these opportunities, I have collaborated with local leaders and learned the importance of working together for a better community. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? We need to make honesty a priority. It is important to our citizens, who we serve, to be able to feel as though we are accessible, honest in
OCTOBER 2017 • 23
What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? The most important issue this election is to change the political environment. People are disillusioned with the process. Voter turnout in Spokane County was only 17% of registered voters. Most elected officials treat this as the cost of doing business. Voters have short memories, they say. City Council needs to work toward informing the public. When the public is not informed it allows the Council to pass policy that harms Spokane Valley. This election is an opportunity to be better. Together we can be better. I want to hear everyone’s voices, so I can represent Spokane Valley better.
our intentions, and a good representation for all of our community, not just our party affiliations. I believe that we should represent all of our community no matter our personal beliefs, so that our community members feel heard and know that their input is very vital to this process. I will be committed to full transparency and engagement with our community, which leads to the realization of our collective goals and dreams. Once we reach transparency, we can then work together to tackle the many pressing issues we face as a community such as Public Safety and Community Development. “Committed to our community, committed to your vision.”
East Valley School Board District 3
Justin Voelker
What best qualifies you for this position? I believe that I’m the best qualified candidate for this position due to several factors. I’ve served in this position over the last four years. The district faced significant challenges which were overcome through strong leadership and the support of our families, students, teachers and staff. I serve as the Chief Financial Officer for MultiCare Valley
Hospital and have advanced degrees in accounting and business. My experience and education ensure that I can provide financial oversight to East Valley School District. I have children enrolled in the district, and coach sports as well. I’m confident that East Valley is now poised to achieve even greater academic success in the future. What is the most important issue that needs addressed? The most important issue facing school districts this election is the change in funding mechanism that has been mandated by the state legislature. There are many significant issues that will impact students, and teachers. I’m also concerned about the long term status of our school infrastructure as our buildings continue to age. Meeting the changing needs of students and families going forward will be a challenge.
Ballot Drop Off Locations
Nathaniel Rooney
The Current made repeated attempts to reach this candidate for input to be included in this voters’ guide. No response was received prior to this issue going to print.
Liberty Lake Library 23123 E Mission Ave Liberty Lake, WA 99019 Otis Orchards Library 22324 E Wellesley Ave Otis Orchards, WA 99027 Spokane Valley Library 12004 E Main Ave Spokane Valley, WA 99206 Argonne Library 4322 N Argonne Rd Spokane, WA 99212
The Current
24 • OCTOBER 2017
City of Spokane Valley Position 5
Angie Beem
What best qualifies you for this position? I have my Master’s in Business Administration with a major in Operations Management. I have eleven years’ experience in managing a business. I spent ten years in the healthcare field developing my inherent skills in research and science. This is where I really developed my ability to find the facts and create solutions to problems both small and large. I work hard. I’m compassionate and caring. I am an honest woman of integrity. I will represent ALL the residents of Spokane Valley. Not just those who think or
Pamela Haley
What best qualifies you for this position? I was appointed to the council a year ago. During the year, I have learned so much about the issues that matter to our valley citizens. I have worked on our budget, economic development plan, bridging the valley, and road preservation. I am a successful small business owner, with over 27 years of experience. I know how to balance a budget, and make
believe as I do. Everyone has a voice and I will listen and hear those voices. This is a service position and I would be honored to serve my Spokane Valley community. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? There are so many important issues that need to be addressed in our city. We have serious problems. We need to take them seriously and find solutions for all of them. To name just one is difficult because a lot of these problems are all related and interwoven with each other. Human trafficking is a bigger problem than most people realize. It is perpetuated by drug addiction. Drug addiction is related to theft and violence. What we need are laws and city ordinances that provide a more long-term solution than 72 hours in jail or persecuting victims. We need to provide resolutions that our law enforcement can act upon. We need the wisdom of an ethics commission and a human rights commission to provide us with important information so we can create these resolutions.
smart business decisions. I have no personal agenda, I want what is best for the citizens of our city. I would like to work on our communication to make sure that decisions are transparent and follow the citizen’s needs. I graduated from Central Valley High School and I am extremely proud I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management, and MBA and an MSED. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? The most important issue that needs to be addressed is public safety. Our sheriff’s department needs new recruits. People are not applying to become deputies. This is a national problem, stemming, in part, from the media attention and the fact that officers feel that they have targets on their backs. I would like to work with our Sheriff’s department to see if we could offer incentives to recruit more lateral transfers.
City of Spokane Valley Position Hewlett-Packard production supervisor, EWU graduate (BA in English), and a second-career conservative Lutheran pastor. As a City Councilman I have been instrumental in capping spending growth (less than inflation rate from 2016 to 2017), keeping taxes low and significantly reducing regulations to make a more friendly business environment.
Ed Pace
What best qualifies you for this position? As a typical resident, I love Spokane Valley. I have worked hard during my first term on City Council to keep Spokane Valley a great place to live, work and raise a family. I am a husband of over 44 years, father of four, grandfather of six, Eagle Scout, Vietnam Veteran, former
There are two good candidates in the position #4 race. If you want NO new taxes, safe smooth streets without raising taxes and zero tolerance for crime, then vote for me. I am on record as never voting for a tax increase or a new tax. What is the most important issue that needs addressed? Our most important issue is keeping Spokane Valley streets the best in the County. Everyone loves our City’s roads. We all talk
City of Spokane Valley Position 7
Linda Thompson
What best qualifies you for this position? Having 35 years of local, state, and national public policy work with established relationships with agencies, organizations, schools, and elected/community leaders, I am best qualified to serve you on the Spokane Valley City Council in Position 7. Believing strongly in the greatness of our community, I will work hard to ensure the best education, employment, business and life opportunities
for all citizens. What is the most important issue that needs addressed? Public Safety: Spokane Valley Police Department, supported by force multiplier Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort (SCOPE), delivers exemplary enforcement of traffic safety, domestic and other violence, and property crimes. Infrastructure: Maintaining safe, structurally sound streets with effective storm water systems, safe pedestrian travel, and bridges/ railroad crossings are among the highest public services priorities. Economic Development: Businesses succeed in vibrant communities that provide skilled workforce, support excellent schools, and maintain quality of life for their citizens. With professional staff and strong economic partnerships, we are poised for increased economic development. Neighborhood Integrity: Maintaining the integrity of neighborhoods means listening to citizens’ concerns, understanding issues, and planning for the future
The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 25
4 about the obvious difference between City of Spokane streets and Spokane Valley streets. We need to keep it that way! In the past, City Council was given estimates for pavement preservation ranging from $4 Million per year to $10 Million per year. After some needed reorganizing in our City’s top management and public works functions, we are on a new path to maintaining our great streets sustainably into the future. One of my platform planks is SAFE smooth streets without raising taxes. Assessment of the true cost of street preservation by our reorganized City Staff is underway. This includes reassessment of pavement quality measurement, determining true cost, and developing a sustainable funding plan.
Ben Wick
What best qualifies you for this position? I am a 4th generation Spokane Valley native, graduating from East Valley High School and went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from Eastern Washington University. I have been involved in our community by serving on the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center Advisory Board for numerous
years, graduating from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Citizens Academy and the Valley Fire Departments Fire Ops 101 training program. I am currently a member of the Spokane Valley Kiwanis Club, member of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, and am a local business owner. I am married with three wonderful daughters. I believe what best qualifies me for City Council is my commitment and dedication to the future of our city. I want my daughters to not only grow up here, but be able to be successful and raise their families here in the Spokane Valley too. What is the most important issue that needs addressed? The most important issues that need to be addressed are: 1) Street maintenance: the city hasn’t been funding the street maintenance program. Even though they have additional revenues and studies have shown
that every dollar we invest in maintenance we save $8 by not having to rebuild a road, no sitting council members are advocating for investing in maintenance; 2) Public Safety: if we don’t have a safe city nothing else matters. We need to continue to enhance our public safety programs; 3) Protecting our neighborhoods: we have all seen a great number of apartment / high density developments going in. While we can’t stop development, we need to protect the integrity of our neighborhoods and carefully weigh where this development makes sense to go. I would greatly appreciate your vote for Spokane Valley City Council. If you have any questions, you can contact me at 509-928-2641, ben@ electbenwick.org or via my website at www.electbenwick. org
West Valley School Board District 1
7 while honoring the history of community. Development is important as we build infrastructure for expansion of our economy. That said, I am committed to preserving the ‘hometown feel’ of Spokane Valley. Citizen Engagement: I feel the most important issue to address is the lack of citizen engagement with our city government. Increased transparency providing clarity of issues about policies/decisions will build trust and increase participation. I would like to host an informative Citizens Academy where a series of classes will be provided by elected officials, city departments, and partners like Spokane Valley Fire, ValleyFest and the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber. We are wonderful people here—let’s value every one of us! Please learn more about me at www.VoteLindaThompson.com. I will be honored to have your vote.
Dan Hansen
Mike Munch
The Current made repeated attempts to reach this candidate for input to be included in this voters’ guide. No response was received prior to this issue going to print.
What best qualifies you for this position? I joined the school board in 2014 after several years as a WV Band Boosters volunteer, including one year as president. West Valley is in an enviable position with a 98% graduation rate and great facilities that include a unique middle school designed to nurture leadership, two non-traditional high schools that help assure student success, and a partnership with neighboring districts operating Spokane Valley Tech, a highly innovative school with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It is the board’s responsibility to assure that West Valley sustains that success, and builds on it. During my term on the board, we’ve reduced class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, with a win-win community partnership involving the lease of the former St. Paschal’s school building. Our challenges include the political landscape in Olympia and Washington, DC, which creates budgetary and regulatory uncertainty; a teachers shortage that must be solved at the state
level; and an economy that has left some West Valley families struggling. State and federal demands for standardized testing are constantly shifting, forcing districts to allocate time and resources to testing that would be better spent helping students become creative learners. For those reasons, I am one of 22 school board members statewide who serve on the legislative committee for the Washington State School Directors Association. What is the most important issue that needs addressed? The father of two West Valley graduates, I have served on the West Valley School Board (2014-present) and Millwood Planning Commission (2010-2015), and was a volunteer for the Millwood Farmers Market (2007-2013). In 2011, I organized Millwood’s “Culture, Race, and Understanding” speaker series as a response to the attempted bombing of Spokane’s Martin Luther King Day march. I am a Leadership Spokane graduate, hold a bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University, and have lived in the West Valley community since 1987.
The Current
26 • OCTOBER 2017
Spokane Valley Fire Commissioner Position 1 out of 5 candidates to fill this position. My previous 9 years of volunteer service as a member and team leader with Spokane Valley Fire Department’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Fire Corps also add to my qualifications as Fire Commissioner.
Patrick Burch
What best qualifies you for this position? As a candidate for Spokane Valley Fire Department’s Board of Fire Commissioners Position 1, the following are what best qualifies me for this position: I have been serving as the Position 1 Fire Commissioner after being appointed in July 2016. I was chosen by the current Board of Fire Commissioners
an U.S. Navy
Additional qualifications are my education and business experience. I received a MBA from WSU in 2010. While working for The Boeing Company I developed lean management skills and as a financial controller I was responsible for a $1.2 Billion budget so I am familiar with large budgets. I am also a successful small business owner here in Spokane Valley. I believe these add to my qualifications as Fire Commissioner. What is the most important issue that needs
to be addressed? My continued priorities as Fire Commissioner are fiscal responsibility while maintaining and improving Spokane Valley Fire Department services to our district. We need to continue to look for ways to reduce cost and improve our response times through improvements with our dispatch process. We also need to continue our ARU (Alternative Response Units, currently known as Medic 7) services which reduces the need to send an engine to less serious medical calls. This allows the ARU’s to stage at key locations in the district to increase response times and decrease the wear and tear which extends the life of the engine and reduces cost to our taxpayers.
Stan Chalich
The Current made repeated attempts to reach this candidate for input to be included in this voters’ guide. No response was received prior to this issue going to print.
It would be an honor to continue to serve as your Spokane Fire Department Position 1 Fire Commissioner.
ne Valley Spokane Valle yFire Commissioner Position 5 ess Owner
oeing Company— Manufacturing
coutmaster
s of Volunteer e for SVFD CERT m and Corp Bill Fire Anderson
What best qualifies you for this position?
WSU
My name is Bill and I would like your vote for Fire Commissioner Position 5. I started my career with the Department in July of 1970, and served in all line positions for 28.5 years. I have an A.A. degree in Fire Service Science, as well as Criminal Justice and Arson investigation.
n Patrick Burch WA 99037
I am proud to have served on the Fire Commission for the last 18 years, under my peers and my leadership our Department became one, of only a handful, accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. In addition the Washington State Survey and Rating Bureau classified The Spokane Valley Fire Department as one of only 5, Class 2 Fire Departments in Washington State. This results in lower insurance premiums for all businesses and property owners. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? As with any public entity continued funding is a problem. Thank you to all citizens for their support and their willingness to fund the best Fire Department in Washington State. We are
working hard to keep up with growth. An example is the proposed grade update at the rail crossing at Barker and Trent. This will open up many acres of land for development, much of which will be commercial, creating many new job opportunities and requiring another Fire Station in the area. Our Fire Department has grown along with the Valley and will continue to do so, thanks to our team of Professional Line Firefighters and personnel, as well as the Administration Support Team. We all thank you for your support, and hope you will continue to do so. I ask you that you vote to allow me to continue working for you to ensure the success of our Fire Department here in Spokane Valley as our community grows and prospers.
Larry Rider
What best qualifies you for this position? My name is Larry Rider and I am a life long resident of the Spokane Valley, a husband, a father and a grandfather to 7. I worked for the Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) for 35 years and retired in 2015. The last 14 years were as Deputy Fire Chief. Some of the experience that qualifies
The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 27
Millwood City Council Position 2
Dan Sander
What best qualifies you for this position? My life experiences, both personal and professional, have helped prepare me to continue being a member of the Millwood City Council. Having grown up in the Orchard Avenue area, and being an “official” Millwood resident for over 39 years, has allowed me to acquire a sense of neighborhood community that I would like to help
preserve. Childhood memories of riding my bike to the Millwood post office, barber shop, drug and hardware stores, Millwood Supply, the swimming pool on Buckeye, football and basketball practices in the Millwood park and the Millwood School gym, all played a role in deciding where my wife and I would call home and raise our children. My professional experience as a state drinking water program engineer brought numerous experiences with Town and City Councils in Eastern Washington. These encounters have shown me what a community can accomplish by working together. It also revealed that it sometimes takes time to bring these improvements to fruition. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? In my opinion there is no single issue that needs to be addressed,
but I think we need to continue to work on all the elements that are intertwined to make up the Millwood community. These elements include continuing the improvements to our park and adding a riverfront minipark; developing the Millwood Trail; maintaining our streets and utility infrastructure; supporting our local business community; and building on our relationships with other entities such as the Spokane County Sherriff’s office (traffic and burglary issues); SCOPE; Millwood Community Association (Millwood Daze, Millwood Night, and Christmas Tree Lighting); Spokane County Argonne Library; West Valley School District; Union Pacific Railroad (Marguerite crossing, re-establishing Euclid parking area and right-or-way improvements); and Inland Empire Paper Company.
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Millwood City Council Position 1 me to help oversee SVFD are; a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program, a Fire Command and Administration Degree, 23 years on the Local Emergency Planning Committee, 3 years work on the Washington State Fire Defense Board and 10 years on the Spokane Community College Fire Science Advisory Committee. I have held most of the positions at SVFD and have experience working with the Labor Organizations, Civil Service, the local governments they serve and almost every system that makes the department function. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? I am running for Fire Commissioner to help make SVFD better. I am very proud of the department and the service that it provides us but
you have to continually work at keeping those services relevant, maintaining the citizens trust, respecting your employees and keeping it good government. We have to make sure the department remembers it is there to work for us. I believe in being fiscally conservative because the money that is spent is the citizens’. With a 38 million dollar budget I believe the department needs to be more involved with our local governments so that it has an understanding of their issues and can look for ways to assist, if possible, or at least collaborate on solutions. SVFD is a good department but it can be better! I think it is time for some new perspectives on the commission and if elected I will work hard to keep it strong for all of us.
Shawna Beese
What best qualifies you for this position? As a lifelong citizen of Millwood, this city is the foundation of every aspect of my life. My family, my friends, treasured neighbors, and my faith community are all here. I was honored to be appointed to the vacant City Council position by the board of county commissioners. My hope is that the citizen’s of Millwood will elect me in November to continue my service. Professionally I am a licensed
Registered Nurse and a Gonzaga graduate. For the last 14 years I have served in various cross functional hospital leadership roles. My husband and I are avid gardeners with a deep respect for the natural world. We are engaged members of this community. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? After 2016, I become convinced that: * Our nation will be healed by people who are focused on local work that needs to be done. Water management, local infrastructure, the strength of our local commerce, and long term regional resilience are all issues that will greatly impact Millwood’s tomorrows. * Our nation will be healed by loving neighbors who develop their communities through non-partisan relationship building. I hope to bring my years of corporate leadership and development experience to the Millwood City Council. Together we can live today, with tomorrow in mind.
The Current
28 • OCTOBER 2017
Spokane Superior Court Judge
Jocelyn Cook
What best qualifies you for this position? I am best qualified for Superior Court judge, position 6, because the position is nonpartisan and I am the only candidate that has not participated in partisan politics. I have not sought political appointment and I do not bring a list of conflicts, in the form of endorsements, to a bench that is supposed
Tony Hazel
What best qualifies you for this position?
Judge Tony Hazel is the incumbent candidate who currently serves as your Spokane County Superior Court Judge in Position #6. He is seeking to be retained for this office. Before becoming a Judge, he worked as a Senior Deputy Prosecutor for Spokane County (13 years) and had
to be free from the appearance of bias.
and responsibility of judicial decision-making.
During my career, I have worked on identifying issues of appeal and briefing them, I have challenged unconstitutional practices in the courtroom, and I work to represent indigent clients. The work I’ve done has not been for public consumption and evaluation. It has not been for recognition that I could parlay into talking points. It has been because I believe the work is necessary to preserve the protections the Constitution offers our community.
I believe in the neutral, non-politicized, application of the law. I believe that the law applies to everyone, from the indigent, to the wealthy, to the officers that enforce it. I am committed to these beliefs and to following the law regardless of whether doing so is popular or politic.
I have also stood with people most affected by the court system. I have visited institutions, group homes, hospitals, and treatment centers. I have watched the impact the court system has on the people before it. These experiences will make me a careful, deliberate judge who truly understands the impact
extensive criminal and civil trial litigation experience. Judge Hazel has been a community leader in criminal justice having served on City’s Public Safety Team and having formerly served as President of the Spokane County Bar Association (2015). His educational background includes a law degree from Gonzaga School of Law where he obtained his JD with honors. Judge Hazel has been an active participant in the community and currently serves as a Board Member for TeamGleason (nonprofit ALS organization), WSU’s School of Medicine Steering Committee, and he was the recipient of Salvation Army’s “Making Spokane Better” award. Judge Hazel was born and raised in Spokane. Judge Hazel places a high value on public safety while always guaranteeing individuals’ civil rights. Judge Hazel has a proven record for treating all persons with fairness and respect while always upholding the rules of
What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? Consistency from the Bench- We should be able to anticipate consistent application of the law from the bench. When judges do their work within the parameters of the law, people in the community have access to justice that doesn’t change from courtroom to courtroom and isn’t impacted by politics or individual ethic.
law and constitution(s). Judge Hazel is the only candidate in this race to receive an “Exceptionally Qualified” rating from the Spokane County Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Panel, the highest rating issued. Judge Hazel sites the lack of a sentencing court’s legal ability to impose community custody (probation/supervision) for property crime offenders as a serious issue currently facing the Superior Court. What is the most important issue that needs to be addressed? Due to State law, Washington is the only State in the country that disallows a sentencing court to impose probationary services as part of a sentencing for anyone convicted of a property crime related offense. This law prohibits a judge from imposing sentences aimed at curbing criminal recidivism in the context of property crime.
Thank you to all of the candidates who took the time to respond and answer our questions for this Special Election Guide. We appreciate the hard work you are putting in and your willingness to serve our commmunity in these public service roles. Thank you to the staff of The Current for your hard work in creating this special feature as a public service to our community. Please note that these statements were provided by the candidates or their staff and have been printed ‘as is’ and without any editing by The Current.
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The Vikings were people from Denmark, Norway and Sweden which was known as Scandinavia in medieval times. It wasn’t one unified group. There were many villages that each had their own chieftain. Vikings had three main classes of people; Jarls (Noblemen), Karls (Average free citizens) and Thralls (Slaves). They fought as much within themselves as with foreigners. The longhouse they lived in was just one big room with a fireplace and a smoke hole in the ceiling. Usually the animals lived in the house with the family. They were fantastic sailors that carved dragons on the front of their dragon-ships to frighten people. They made boat raids along the European coastline all the way to southern France and Italy. Christian monasteries became one of their favorite targets, the monks had no weapons but did have valuable treasure. Gradually their goals changed from raids to conquering and they were very successful taking control of much of modern day England, Ireland and Scotland. Only Alfred the Great was successful in defeating them in battle. In the 8th century they founded Dublin shortly thereafter took over the area of York and by 1000AD, some had settled in Northern France where they were known as Normans, or Northmen, the area became known as Normandy. Religion was important to the culture. Vikings
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worshiped many gods and goddesses like Thor and Odin. Prominent Viking men and women were laid to rest in ships with items they would need in the afterlife; weapons, slaves and treasure. The ships were set to sail, set on fire and sent on their journey to Valhalla, their version of heaven. Many Vikings converted to Christianity when they settled in areas they had raided. Other Vikings sailed west to Iceland, Greenland and Nova Scotia. Some married Native American women and settled there. A few Viking traders made journeys to modern day Turkey and Iraq. They sold honey, leather, ivory, fur, wheat, wood, tin, wool, iron and slaves. They bought silk, spices, wine, glass, silver and pottery. Family life was important to Vikings; everyone over the age of five had a task to do. Children needed to be healthy and if they weren’t they might be thrown out to sea. Children didn’t go to school but they were taught to read and carve runes called Futhark when their chores like gathering wood, fetching water, weeding, caring for the animals and cleaning were done. They also were taught archery and how to use their sword and fight! In their free time they swam, ice skated, played with carved animals and boats, musical instruments, dolls, dice and board games. At night, by the fire, the family would sing, tell family stories and heroic tales of their Gods.
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30 • OCTOBER 2017
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Cut them out and collect them all! BLUE WHALE - Found Worldwide - 80 feet, weigh 200 tons, live 80-90 years - Family unit called pod - Largest mammal - Eats eight tons a day - Spray from blowhole is 30 feet - Eats Krill - Cruises at 5 mph - A baby grows 200 pounds a day for the first year of life - Their age can be determined by counting the layers of wax in their ear plug
PACE Trait Responsibility Being accountable, the pursuit of excellence, and the exercise of self control. Eric the Red
Erik Thorvaldsson, 950 – 1003, is one of the most famous Vikings to be remembered. He acquired his memorable nickname from his red hair and beard but also from his temper. While Erik was a child, his father was banished from Norway for committing manslaughter. The family sailed West and settled in Iceland. Things went well until Erik’s neighbor killed his slaves, so of course, he killed his neighbor in retribution and was banished. The family moved to the island of Oxney. While there he had an altercation with another neighbor and was banished by the village court again. He sailed West and founded the first European settlement on what is now Greenland. After his three year banishment was over, he returned to Iceland and convinced several hundred people to join him on Greenland. The settlements thrived during his lifetime. Erik is thought to have died from complications from falling off of a horse.
The Current
Student of the Month The East Valley girls’ basketball program has been among the best in the state over the past three years and Emily Fletcher has been right there as a major contributor. As a sophomore, Fletcher was part of a squad that finished third in state, the best placing in school history. Fletcher has been a varsity player on each of EV’s three state-qualifying teams and was a starter on the Knights’ 2015-16 Great Northern League regular season championship squad. Last year, she scored a seasonhigh 15 points against Clarkston. Now a senior, Fletcher has also participated in volleyball and lettered two years in track. Last season, she threw the javelin and discus. In the classroom, Fletcher maintains a 3.2 grade point average, participates in Key Club and is part of the Student Advisory Council.
Citizen of the Month
Thanks you for all you do in our community
OCTOBER 2017 • 31 Whether he’s studying for a test or practicing for a wrestling match, East Valley senior Tyler Gillingham approaches challenging scenarios with a stellar work ethic. “If you don’t work hard now, you’re not going to have success in the future,” he says. Gillingham maintains a 3.9 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is part of the school’s leadership program and has been a member of Washington Drug Free Youth since his freshman year. In wrestling, he placed second at the district tournament last year, advancing to regionals. For his accomplishments as a student and athlete, Gillingham was named 2A academic state champion at 160 pounds. In addition to wrestling, the senior has participated in golf, baseball and tennis and is part of the EV cheerleading program. He plans to study computer science and business in college.
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Athlete of the Month Since beginning as a volunteer with S.C.O.P.E (Sheriff Community Oriented Policing Effort) in January 2016, Larry Gants has contributed close to 2,400 hours. Gants has taken on the leadership role of the agency’s radar reader board program to help curb speeding in local neighborhoods. He is also part of the SIRT (S.C.O.P.E Incident Response Team) that supports the sheriff’s office in controlling traffic in various scenarios. Gants also donates time to Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels. He served as Master of Ceremonies of the “Road Rally” this summer. Over the years, Gants has served as president of numerous volunteer organizations including Spokane Youth Sports Association, Spokane Civic Theater and the Spokane Ad Club. Larry and his wife Marian have been married 55 years and are parents to two sons, Shawn and Colin.
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32 • OCTOBER 2017 Brought to you by
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Volunteers at Kindred Hospice provide diverse support
Those who donate their time here like Mark Jacobus say the support provided to patients can make a real difference. “Even when you hear of their passing, you have this great feeling that you were the light at the end of their tunnel,” said Jacobus, a Liberty Lake resident.
Carpenter spends her days recruiting community members who can sit with patients, read to them, do light housekeeping and run errands. But a lot more goes into it than just finding people with time on their hands. Carpenter needs people with all kinds of skills. If there is something you can do, she can find a patient who needs it. “I met a lady who signs (American Sign Language) the other day,” said Carpenter. “And I said, ‘I have patients who need that.’ I have a guy here in Liberty Lake who says ‘If you have someone who needs yard work done, call me.’” She also has people who can provide beauty services and bake. “One of my patients was getting married last year,” she said.
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Carpenter says that goes for any kind of involvement, whether it is doing handyman work, putting together “cheer baskets” of personal items for patients or picking up donated materials from the Kindred office to make blankets, scarves and other items for patients. Even those who are homebound can help. Carpenter and volunteers drop off materials for blankets and the baskets for other volunteers to make, then pick them up when complete. This also provides some companionship to the homebound volunteers.
Just as birth is part of life, so is death. At Kindred Hospice in Liberty Lake, the end-of-life process is defined by a dignified level of care with volunteers providing a critical layer of support.
“After what I went through with my grandmother, it meant so much to have that help,” she said.
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“Mary (Carpenter) always puts it very well, ‘Your involvement may be one of the last things in their life that’s good,’” Jacobus said.
Current Correspondent
Mary Carpenter is manager of volunteer services at Kindred and has first-hand experience with the impact volunteers can have.
LIVING COMMU
other times he visits multiple patients a couple times a week. His only regret is that he doesn’t have more time to volunteer as he says it gives him an incredible sense of well-being.
By Staci Lehman
Kindred helps patients and provides reinforcement to families throughout Spokane County and North Idaho by offering physical, emotional and spiritual resources at the end of life. It takes a team to make this happen – doctors, nurses, social workers, family and many volunteers.
Fountains
Kindred Hospice volunteer and Spokane Valley resident Judy McDonald types up reports and enters patient notes every Wednesday at the Kindred office. Photo by Staci Lehman “Volunteers did a cake, there was a volunteer photographer. Someone did nails and someone did hair.”
because she is uncomfortable with patients but because administrative work is what she did before retiring.
Carpenter currently has 38 volunteers. Ideally, she would like twice that many to have a volunteer inventory featuring more skills and experiences.
Every Wednesday, McDonald enters volunteer notes into a spreadsheet, calculates volunteer hours and compiles reports on each patient; all of which she says is personally rewarding.
“I try to match them based on being a similar age or having had a similar career,” she says. “I try to find out a lot about our patients from our nurses and match them with people with similar interests or lifestyles.” For those who want to give of their time but aren’t comfortable interacting directly with patients who have been diagnosed as terminal, Carpenter has options. “I have churches that bake goodies,” she says. “The Union Gospel Mission donates flowers and I have someone who arranges them to take bouquets to our patients. We can use volunteers in the office, answering phones.” Spokane Valley resident Judy McDonald is one of those volunteers who works in the Kindred office. Not
“It’s my way of giving back,” McDonald said, although she is quick to give more credit to others. “My hat is off to the people in the field, the people who read to patients, hold their hands, paint their nails,” she said. Jacobus is one of the people in the field. He plays his guitar for patients, often writing original compositions or learning songs they request. “I thought if I could combine playing music and going to help someone, I thought that was pretty cool,” he says. As a freelance sales consultant, Jacobus describes his work hours as “feast or famine.” So, some months he sees a single patient just a couple times a month and
One of the best parts of Hospice’s services is that they are paid for entirely by Medicare so families aren’t overwhelmed by additional bills at an already stressful time. Yet in order to make the system work, volunteers are required. “Part of Medicare requires 5 percent of staff hours are matched by volunteer hours,” Carpenter said. McDonald says the time spent volunteering for Kindred is well worth it. “Go in with an open mind because the rewards are great,” she said. Jacobus agrees. “I get out of it probably more than I put into it,” he said.
If you have a skill you can offer, whether it is flower arranging, plumbing, cleaning or just reading aloud to someone, Kindred Hospice needs your help, even if it’s only one hour a week. Call Volunteer Services Manager Mary Carpenter at 7894377 or learn more about volunteer opportunities on the VolunteerMatch.org website.
The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 33
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Ground game will dictate U-Hi’s success on gridiron
By Mike Vlahovich
Current Sports Editor Prior to this Greater Spokane League football season, Adam Daniel heeded the advice of Gonzaga Prep assistant coach H.T. Higgins. “You’ve got to be true to yourself,” Daniel said. The previous year, rookie coach Daniel had stayed with the finesse passing game the Titans had been accustomed to in previous seasons. This year Daniel returned to his roots, the power ground game that had been so successful at Mead when he assisted there. Through the first four games, two against the area’s top teams, the Titans have run behind a line that averages 270-pounds, buoyed by the return of Campbell Barrington, who committed to Brigham Young University as a sophomore. Barrington, now healthy, had a tendon pull loose in his leg and take some of the bone with it a game into the 2016 season. Terrell Sanders has benefitted from the scheme change, rushing for 571 yards in four games. Titan backs have rushed 191 times for 1,235 yards through four games. U-Hi is averaging 34 points per contest. At the same time last year, U-Hi had fewer than 200 yards rushing as a team and scored a total of 20 points. The Titans trounced Lewis and
Valley Sports Notebook By Mike Vlahovich
Current Sports Editor Eagles start hot There’s been no letup for a football team that’s accustomed to success. State quarterfinalists last year, West Valley won its first four football games with flair.
Clark 49-10 on Sept. 22 to reach .500 at 2-2. The mark includes a non-league win over Sandpoint, a non-league loss to Post Falls and a defeat by Daniel’s former squad Mead, 49-28, on Sept. 15. Last year, three of Daniel’s key players, including Barrington and another key lineman, Luke Davis, were lost to injury before U-Hi had even played a game. “We had a lot of adversity before the season started,” Daniel said. “If we stay healthy we’ll be a team to reckon with.” In their final game of 2016, The Titans routed Pasco behind the rushing of Sanders and Hunter Gregerson who combined for 300 yards. The duo is protected by a line that averages 270 pounds, among them Davis, Julien Sears, Gage Harty and Roman Shelly. They will help take the pressure off first-time starting quarterback Gavin Wolcott. Most of the running backs who contributed in that Pasco game, including Tyler Bishop and Zach May, were young. “Last year we couldn’t run the ball no matter what,” said Daniel. “We’d be second and 12 on almost every play. If we got in the red zone we couldn’t score a touchdown. It was frustrating.” A Gonzaga Prep assistant coach told Daniel to trust himself. “We’re going back to what I did at Mead. It was a physical brand of football,” he said. “I’m more familiar with power football. It isn’t flashy, but is really effective.” That means the Titans behind the huge line will be “running the ball a lot,” Daniel said. Quarterback Blake Transue rushed for three touchdowns and passed for two more in the Eagles’ season opener against Shadle Park and had nearly 300 yards of total offense. Collin Sather and Connor Whitney comined for 190 receiving yards and a couple scores. Chase Howat’s 40-yard field goal beat Colville 13-12 and during a rout of North Central, Transue threw three touchdown passes and Sather had two receptions and rushed for his third touchdown.
University senior Campbell Barrington returns as one of the top offensive linemen in the Greater Spokane League. Barrington clears the way for a strong Titan running game that has helped the team to a 2-2 start. Photo by Mike Vlahovich Transue scored twice more against Moscow. East Valley started the season 1-3, the victory coming 58-57 over North Central. Quarterback Christian Johnston threw for 344 yards and five touchdowns and Aledre Bracey scored four times, two on pass receptions the air. Johnston then passed for 281 yards in a loss to Lakeland. Rodrick Fisher had six catches for 157 yards.
Titans on right track The start couldn’t have been better for first-year volleyball coach Todd Collins whose University Titans won their first five matches heading into the meat of the Greater Spokane League season. Returning GSL co-MVP Rachael Schlect had 70 kills in four matches, led the team in service aces and was defensively tough at the net. Sophomore setter Joli Poplawski
See NOTEBOOK, Page 37
The Current
NOTEBOOK
Continued from page 36 averaged some 20 assists per match, twice reaching 25. Libero Alaina Chester was a defensive giant in backcourt and had 30 digs in one contest. Jaylynn Buehler gobbled up stats for West Valley whose only earlyseason victory came at the expense of East Valley in five sets. Buehler led scoring in four categories, kills, assists, aces and trailed only Ayana Oka in digs. East Valley setter Sydney Frogge piled up 113 assists during four matches and Lydia Gordon totaled 68 digs for the 2-3 team. EV soccer fares well East Valley girls’ soccer improved to 4-1 through Sept. 23 with Chloe Gellhaus and Autumn Stewart doing much of the damage. Gellhaus scored five goals and had five assists and Stewart also scored five times for the Knights. University was 3-2 when this issue went to press. The Titans were led by Kelsey Crosby and freshman Lauren Chester with a goal and five assists.
Remembering Jud – Late coach began distinguished career at WV By Mike Vlahovich
Splash Sports Editor The sneeze carried like a tsunami from behind the shy youngster slumped at his desk in search of anonymity. “Are you alright, Mike?” the geometry teacher called out, furthering the embarrassment. “I thought you might drown in the spray.” Or words to that effect. That was my first real personal contact with Jud Heathcote who died Aug. 28 at age 90, one of the thousands whose lives he touched. Sept. 23 was his sendoff by friends, former players and coaches throughout the country, a man who went from high school basketball success in Spokane Valley to an eventual national title at Michigan State. West Valley High was the beginning some six decades ago.
SPORTS
WV girls stride to victory
The Eagles girls dominated their first two Great Northern League cross country races, including a 1550 sweep of East Valley by claiming the first seven places in the victory. Depth carried them to a 22-36 win over Pullman. Annika Esvelt was individual winner in both races with but a minute separating the five runners against the Knights. EV’s Hunter Reynolds won the boys’ race, but WV had the next four scorers for a 24-31 victory. Pullman edged the WV boys. Reynolds won again in EV’s 18-45 victory and the girls swept Clarkston. University’s Rebecca Lehman and teammate Clare Dingus finished first and second, Lehman winning by a minute in victory over Mead and Ferris. Titan Jacob Eastman won the boys’ race by half a minute. CV soccer off to stellar start Youth wasn’t entirely served when playoff losses by the Central Valley girls’ soccer team in 2015 and 2016 denied them state 4A tournament berths following consecutive state championships. There was an excuse considering
He was the guy whose wastebasket stood near his desk at WV and told the students that throwing balled up paper at the receptacle was allowed, even encouraged, but “Just don’t miss.” One such accurate thrower was asked to try out for basketball as a sophomore after his successful shot during garbage time. Although that was probably coincidental, he did turn out and while seeing scant playing time and threatening to quit during the season, was convinced to hang on and proved valuable at state. Jud would follow me to Washington State University as junior varsity coach, gravitate to Montana and opened eyes where the Grizzlies missed by a basket of upsetting John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins who continued a streak of NCAA titles to 10. It had nothing to do with basketball at the time, but at WV he convinced me to turn out for tennis. Sports were my passion from the time I could read. One fine fall day riding with him to the courts, for no reason I blurted out, “How’s the basketball team doing?” Embarrassed, since it was football season, the kid sought to cover up his blunder by adding for unknown
OCTOBER 2017 • 35
half a dozen freshmen and sophomores played key roles and yet the Bears did finish 10-6 in 2015 and 11-4 last year.
decided in five sets. And the constant during the early part of the season has been the play of the Bears’ returning veterans.
The team is still youthful with six seniors on the 19-player roster, but with a wealth of experienced juniors the Bears took a much more experienced team into the 2017 season and are likely to growl again.
Seniors Paige Wollan led the team in kills and blocks and Hannah Wampler was sterling as the team’s setter, averaging some 22 assists per match. Junior libero/defensive specialist Sami Smith led the team in service aces and digs. She had 23 digs against Shadle.
In early going, the Bears had won all five matches with juniors Megan Robertson contributing six goals and Kailyn Labrosse adding five goals and an assist. Senior Kaelyn Barnes provided three goals and two assists. Included was a 4-1 victory over co-leader Mead in a big early match. Bears right volleyball ship It was a rocky start for new volleyball coach Jason Allen, but when it counted the most, the Bears were ready. CV defeated Shadle Park in four sets to begin Greater Spokane League action, their first win of the season after dropping four noncounters. Despite the 1-5 record prior to Sept. 26 several matches were
reasons if he could be a manager when basketball did begin. Outwardly, Jud was volatile, intense, driven, demanding – words that alone don’t begin to define him once you got to know him. He was, for some, outwardly an acquired taste. He would be tough on his players, and yes, there were some who didn’t respond to that (Some, I felt, who would have fared better if treated with kid gloves.) But people like Larry Winn, a year behind me in school, thrived on Jud’s harangues that made him arguably the best player during Jud’s tenure which included four state tournaments. “He taught, coached and mentored me throughout my life, from sixth grade on,” Larry said, of the man who became his surrogate dad. Luckily, a group of his former players, including Ray Stein and one manager, got to share lunch with Jud occasionally where the raconteur held court, mind sharp as ever. He had been in demand as a speaker and master of ceremonies at various functions. Stein, who was Jud’s nemesis at Richland and blessing for him as a Cougar, DVD’d some old film of Jud when he played for the Cougars in
Beginning Sept. 26, the Bears faced eight remaining GSL matches to determine post-season berths. Cross country No. 1 The state’s top-ranked Bears boys overland team won an early invitational and opened the GSL season with two meet victories. Different runners took their turns at the top including Gabe Romney, Ryan Kline and Evan Peters. On Sept. 22, the Bears placed third in the prestigious Bob Firman Invitational in Boise, featuring some of the West’s best programs. Kline (17th), Romney (22nd) and Peters (36th) again paced CV. CV’s girls also won twice in the early season, led by Olivia Sine, Erica and Anna Pecha and placing six runners among the top nine. the late 1940s. You could tell by watching the video that Jud had been ahead of his time just by the way he approached the game with his defense and shooting style while the others burped up step shots. Another thing that stood out about Jud was, as intense as he was on the court, when the game was over it was if it had never been played. We’d go into the locker room, win or lose, for a post-game review and leave laughing. I’d sit in the stands afternoons at WSU’s Bohler Gym looking down into the handball coach where the trio of basketball coach Marv Harshman, baseball coach Bobo Brayton and Jud were joshing each other while headed for a game (now you know why I barely got out of college. I like to think it was good training for my eventual career.) It was war, no-holds-barred, but once they walked out of the room were as jovial as before. You’d never know they’d even competed. When I was working for The Spokesman-Review, he’d occasionally give me a call and open with some droll quip about my writing wrestling stories. He knew that to this day basketball is my favorite sport and that’s nothing to sneeze at.
The Current
36 • OCTOBER 2017
Merger creates Rotary Club of Greater Spokane Valley By Brandon Brown
Current Correspondent With a motto of “Service Above Self,” Rotary International has earned a reputation for
strengthening the communities it serves. Now, a certain Rotary effort in Spokane Valley is that much stronger. In July, the Rotary clubs of Spokane Valley and Spokane East merged into a single club, creating one of the largest groups of Rotarians in the area. For around half a century both clubs existed independently, but in early 2016, Paul Fletcher, president of Spokane Valley Rotary
at the time, talked with then-Club East president Katie Allen about a possible merger of the two clubs.
International, the organization that oversees the more than 35,000 Rotary clubs all over the world.
Club East had around 30 members and Spokane Valley had closer to 35.
The other challenge of merging the two clubs was getting the members on board.
Fletcher and Allen first talked about the option after a meeting both had attended. He said they both thought it was a good idea at the time but it took more than a year to get all the details worked out.
Fletcher said for the most part everyone was excited about it, but there were a few people who did not like the idea of change.
There were logistics to determine, like the name of the group and where and when the new club would meet. Rotary Clubs usually meet once a week and the meetings traditionally include a meal and a speaker. So finding a place that could hold the merged group and that all the members would approve of was essential. The two clubs decided the name of the merged group would be the Rotary Club of Greater Spokane Valley and the club would meet every Wednesday at noon at Darcy’s Restaurant, 10502 E. Sprague Ave. The venue is where Spokane Valley Rotary previously met. The two clubs also needed permission to merge from Rotary
“Katie worked extremely hard and was met with some resistance,” Fletcher said. “But she was very compelling.” Eventually everyone agreed to the transition and Fletcher said it has proven beneficial to Rotary efforts in greater Spokane Valley. “There is a lot of excitement in the room when we meet now,” he said. “It was a natural fit,” said Heather Schelling, current president of the Rotary Club of Greater Spokane Valley. “Why wouldn’t we combine the clubs?” The two clubs had similar demographics as far as age, gender and status, Schelling said, so that has helped with the change.
See ROTARY, Page 39
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OCTOBER 2017 • 37
ROTARY
Continued from page 38
Former Club East president John Guarisco said that many members from both clubs knew the members of the other clubs already. “We knew it would work,” Guarisco said. “We would visit the other clubs a lot and the cultures carry through.” Even though there was already some camaraderie between the two clubs when they were separate, there may still be some growing pains. “It’s been great,” Fletcher said. “But it will take some time to get to know one another.” There are plans to assemble a photo directory of the new club that will allow the Rotarians to place names with faces. Guarisco said he can feel a synergy between representatives of both clubs now, a bond that will be critical for the club to be successful. He said that there are two main reasons people join Rotary – fellowship and serving others. By merging the two clubs its members believe the effort can
expand and better carry out the club’s services to the community. Both clubs had a number of regular service and fundraising projects and now the newly merged club has to decide which events to keep and if it may be time to start new ones. For this year, Schelling said she believes they will be able to follow through with all the service projects and fundraising events both clubs usually take part in, but going forward club leadership will determine which ones are the most successful and worth the club’s time. For the past 25 years Club East had a stand at the Spokane County Interstate Fair they called the “Corn Booth.” They always sell corn on the cob, baked potatoes
She said the Corn Booth’s success is proof that merging the two groups together will be beneficial, not just to the members, but to the community.
and smoked turkey legs. The money raised goes to a number of different community organizations. But running the booth is no small feat. Fletcher said to keep the booth operational the entire time the fair is open it takes six people there at a time and there are 30 shifts throughout the 10 days of the fair.
The club’s leadership is still ironing out all the details and logistics of the merger. They still need to vote and ratify the new club’s bylaws and merge the club’s bank accounts. But members have been encouraged during the first two and half months of the Rotary Club of Greater Spokane.
In the past, Schelling said Club East would struggle to get all the shifts filled and many times had to reach beyond the Rotary Club to get volunteers. But that wasn’t the case in 2017 with the merged clubs. There were plenty of members who were able to volunteer their time.
“It’s going good,” Guarisco said. “Other Rotary clubs may want to consider a similar merger if they can.” For more information about the Greater Spokane Rotary Club, visit www.gsvrotary.org.
“Having more hands available was definitely helpful,” Schelling said.
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The Current
38 • OCTOBER 2017
Victim of impaired driver honored with unique campaign By Julie Humphreys
Current Correspondent It’s just a pair of socks. That would be true for most people when considering the clothing item that covers their feet. But for the mother and best friend of a Valley teenager killed by an impaired driver, a pair of socks represents so much more.
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Brandon Dunkle was hit on Feb. 23, 2016 as he crossed the street near his home and died a week later. A Spokane Valley man was charged with vehicular homicide for the collision near the intersection of Mansfield and Pines. He is now in prison. That gives Brandon’s mother, Laura Smaltz, some peace but it is a special campaign honoring her son’s memory that perhaps brings her more solace. A drive to collect socks for the homeless culminated in an event at the Spokane Valley Library on Sept. 16, just days before Brandon would have turned 17. Brandon’s best friend, 16-yearold Christine Dugger, wanted to do something to honor and remember her childhood friend. It wasn’t a stretch to come up with the idea of providing socks for the homeless. Brandon had been giving his own socks to people in need for some time. “He would literally give people the socks and even shoes right off of his feet” says Laura. “Brandon was unconditional love. When he gave away his socks or sometimes food from our cupboard to other people in our apartment complex, he would say ‘They need it more than I do.’” Smaltz believes Brandon had a heart for the homeless because his own family had spent several years without a secure home after escaping a domestic violence situation. They lived in various safe shelters run by what Laura says are some amazing domestic violence
alternative programs in Spokane. Christine and her mom, Amanda Dugger, decided to collect socks and find a way to distribute them to homeless people in Brandon’s memory. Last July, they created a project called “Socks for the Homeless,” put up a Facebook page and received enormous support. “I was really surprised at how the community came together to support Brandon,” Christine said. “He would be happy. It’s a good way to honor him in a positive way.” So began months and months for Christine and her mom of driving around to homes, schools and other sites collecting new and gently used socks. Local stores and shops allowed them to put brightly wrapped boxes for socks at their place of business. When they started the project, Amanda guessed maybe they would collect 500 pair of socks if they were lucky. But when they held a donation event at the library, complete with raffle prizes donated by community members, they ended up with 1,900 pair and more still coming in. “People who were complete strangers were willing to say ‘Yes, we will help the homeless,’” says Amanda. “A lot of people don’t know that socks are the number one item the homeless ask for.” Christine and her mom now hope their effort will continue as long as there is interest. Amanda has connected with social service programs in Spokane to distribute men’s, women’s and even baby socks, to those in need. The story of a once-homeless teenager giving his socks to others in need seems to resonate with people. As does the tragic story of a teenager killed far too young by an impaired driver. Linda Thompson is the executive director of the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council (GSSAC), based in Spokane Valley. She says often, people suffering the painful loss of a loved one because of an impaired driver look for ways to remember that person as someone who could have made a difference if given a chance. That’s what Christine has done for Brandon through this unique effort. And she’s also doing something else for Brandon. She is lifting the banner
See SOCKS, Page 41
The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 39
Tired? Snoring?
A drive to collect socks for the homeless was held at the Spokane Valley Library last month in honor of Brandon Dunkle who was killed by an impaired driver last February. File photo
SOCKS
Continued from page 40 against drunk and impaired driving with a renewed vigor. As a student at East Valley High School, Christine is involved in the Washington Drug Free Youth (WDFY), a program facilitated by GSSAC at schools throughout the region. “I deal with a lot of drunk drivers so it’s sad that s how my best friend went.” reflects Christine. “It’s unfortunately kind of a sad truth, a lot of people don’t’ know the risks behind drunk driving.” Christine has been involved in WDFY since the eighth grade and is now a leader of the program at East Valley. She talks to other students about the dangers of impaired driving, encourages people to make good choices and invites them to join WDFY. “Students listen to their peers, it’s not just some adult telling them what to do,” says Christine. East Valley has one of the most robust WDFY programs in the state with some 300 students, says Thompson. Throughout the Spokane area there are 2,000 youth in middle and high schools
taking part in WDFY which involves pledging not to drink or drug and taking random drug tests throughout the school year. Thompson says with severe cuts to WDFY funding, they are depending increasingly on the community for support. For example, Yoke;s gives West Valley students a free slice of pizza when they show their WDFY card. Other businesses are hiring WDFY students because they regularly pass drug tests in a culture where it can be difficult to find such employees. “It’s a way for the community to reward students for making the choice to be drug free” says Thompson. For Christine, involvement in WDFY is a way to help prevent another senseless death like that of her best friend Brandon from ever happening again.
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Want to find out more? For more information on WDFY go to www.gssac.org. For more information on Socks for the Homeless contact sfthspokane@ gmail.com or see sfthspokane on Facebook. The local YWCA domestic violence 24-hour helpline can be reached at 326-2255.
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The Current
40 • OCTOBER 2017
Safety Scroll
What is personal safety? By Deputy Chris Johnston
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Spokane Valley Police Department I’d like to take this opportunity to address the topic of personal safety. Let’s start by answering the question, “What is personal safety?” I’m sure if you looked in a dictionary, there are likely several definitions that could be used to describe what it means. First, I want to point out that personal safety is not self-defense. I think of self-defense as physical tactics that one might employ to defend themselves if they were being attacked physically. An arm bar, a leg sweep, or strikes like punching and kicking. There is a proper way to employ these techniques and, if properly used, they can be effective. That being said, let’s get back to my original question: What is personal safety? I have created a definition that I think accurately answers this question. Personal safety is “the art of avoiding self-defense.” To clarify what that means, it’s really quite simple – if we do our best to make good decisions in our day-today lives, we can effectively reduce the chances of becoming the victim of an attack. Another strong belief I have is that to be prepared does not make us paranoid; instead, it helps us confidently avoid the need. Upon donning my patrol uniform and gear, I gain 27 pounds. Each piece of my duty gear has a purpose, and allows me to be prepared for whatever situation that I might face. Let’s discuss some simple ways for you and your loved ones to be prepared, and don’t worry, I won’t ask you to carry 27 pounds of gear like I do. The most powerful set of personal safety tools humans have is our senses. All too often, people choose to ignore that underlying, subconscious feeling that something is wrong. Don’t do that! If something feels amiss, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and trust your instincts. Walk with “purpose!” When moving about in your daily life, pay attention to what is going on around you. Avoid distractions like talking on the phone or texting, updating your Facebook or Twitter feeds, and my personal favorite, stopping every 30 seconds to take a selfie. It’s best to have your head up, your eyes open and your ears open, too (turn down that iPod). Don’t be afraid to react! For example, if you think you’re being followed, abruptly change direction. Also, don’t be afraid to look directly at the person who is putting you in fear, as this accomplishes two things: First, it sends a message that you will not be an “easy” victim. Second, it allows you to get a good description
of the person, should something happen. The idea here is to move confidently and make yourself a difficult target. Use the buddy system whenever possible. We’ve been hearing this throughout our entire lives and that’s because it really is good advice. When I respond to any call that is potentially dangerous, I always request a backup, or “cover” officer. The reason why is simple: more eyes, more ears, and another set of hands should something go wrong. As an added bonus, it creates a deterrent in the mind of the attacker. Let people know where you’re going and when you’re expecting to return. I’ll use myself as an example once again; when dispatching myself on a service call, I always let the communications center know the call type, where I’m going, when I arrive and when I leave. This gives other first responders the best chance of reaching me quickly should an emergent situation occur. Property is never worth your safety! There shouldn’t be anything in a purse or wallet that isn’t replaceable. However the person carrying that purse or wallet is irreplaceable. Assume that someone is armed and dangerous, even if you don’t see a weapon. People who commit these types of crimes are often desperate and must be considered dangerous. To that end, you do have the legal right to use force to protect yourself and others if you feel threatened. Make some noise! Noise draws attention, and bad guys don’t like attention. If you’re able to shout, do it. Another great way to make noise is with a personal alarm. They’re inexpensive, easy to carry, simple to deploy, and they are loud! Other tools. There are a myriad of other tools we can use to defend ourselves, such as pepper spray, stun guns, tasers, edged weapons and even firearms. If we are considering using any of these, we are now in “self-defense” mode. These are all fine options, but make sure that you train and practice with whatever you select on a regular basis so you know that you’re capable of using it/ them under stress. Also, I advise you to take the time to learn the laws in your state as they relate to selfdefense and the use of force. During my career, I have seen people get arrested and receive criminal charges for using force in an unlawful manner (such as using a firearm to protect property). Do some drills and practice for the “What if?” Have you ever taken the time to ask yourself, “What would I do if this happened?” “How would I react?” “Am I prepared?” It’s worth mentioning one more time that this does not equal paranoia. Being prepared includes knowing as much information in advance as possible! These are just a few ideas that you can use to help yourself stay safe. On behalf of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the Spokane Valley Police Department, I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are enjoying the beautiful summer weather! As always – be safe!
The Current
New look Relay for Life resonates with participants
By Staci Lehman Current Correspondent An annual fundraising event that used to be held at multiple locations around the greater Spokane area saw some big changes this year. It turns out the new format brought new life to Relay for Life. “Hearing feedback from our participants, volunteers and sponsors, we chose to combine the area Relay for Life events into one big event for the community,” said Whitney Jones, Community Development manager for the American Cancer Society. “After announcing that merge last fall, I've heard nothing but excitement about that decision and I'm definitely glad we did it. As a bonus, hosting one big event allows more of the funds raised to go directly to the mission.” This year, Relay for Life-Inland Empire was held at Spokane Community College (SCC) on June 8, instead of in Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley like in the past. The relay is the largest annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, taking place in more than 5,200 communities and 27 countries around the world. The local Relay is organized and staffed by about 35 volunteers, 15 who serve on a leadership team that helps organize the event throughout the year and about 20 additional people the day of the event who help ensure it is set up and runs smoothly. “We are truly driven by our volunteers,” said Jones. “If you want to make an impact in this community and be part of leading the fight to end cancer, consider volunteering with one of our events or mission programs.” Those volunteers helped raise $78,000 this year to be used for cancer research and treatment, including locally. Programs in this area include Road to Recovery, Reach to Recovery, Look Good Feel Better and Cancer Resource Centers. The top fundraising teams, according to the Relay for Life website, include Kaiser Permanente Lifesavers who raised $8,551, Airway Heights Walmart with $6,925, Carcinogen Crushers with $5,264 and Shadle Wal-Mart with $3,728. A total of 50 teams took part with
OCTOBER 2017 • 41
approximately 400 participants and attendees. Besides having a new location this year, the new look Relay also had expanded hours. It started at noon on Saturday, July 8 and concluded at 6 a.m. the following morning. The Relay starts with cancer patients and survivors taking a lap around the college’s track while being cheered on by the crowd. Next, caregivers take to the track to walk a lap, often with the people they cared for accompanying them if able. After that, members of each team took turns circling the track all night. Each team is required to have a member on the track at all times as a symbolic way of representing the ongoing fight against cancer. While one member walks, the other team members continue their fundraising efforts in themed “camps,” by selling food and admission to play games and take part in other activities. Some of the contests and entertainment offered this year included team obstacle course relays, a water balloon toss, a bean bag toss tournament, vendor booths, team tug-of-war, volleyball, a hula hoop contest, movies, a scavenger hunt and country line dancing. There were also food trucks on site for the first time so participants and observers didn’t have to leave the area to eat. Bands also played to help rally the crowd and relay participants as they walked all night. As it got dark, luminaria were placed around the track and lit to guide the walker’s way. The luminaria, decorated paper bags holding candles, are purchased as an additional fundraiser and each is dedicated to someone who passed from cancer. Jones’ goal is to have less people lose that battle in the future; as part of that effort, she is dedicated to getting the word out about the American Cancer Society and its programs. The organization reports that 80 percent of cancer deaths could be avoided through a combination of regular screenings, healthy nutrition, exercise and avoiding tobacco products. “I want to make sure everyone knows we're here and we should be one of the first calls someone makes after hearing a cancer diagnosis,” she said. “It breaks my heart to hear, ‘I wish I would have known about that program, it would have really helped me and my family.’” For more information visit us at http://www.relayforlife.org/ inlandempire. You can also find out about volunteer opportunities for the next Relay and through the American Cancer Society at the site.
A holiday guide for the Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Millwood, Otis Orchards, Newman Lake and Rockford areas
tio
“Eat, Shop and Be Merry” is a special cover section that will champion what the Valley area has to offer in the way of gifts and food. Advertise in this holiday guide aimed at area consumers and businesses — and as a bonus we’ll include your idea as part of our story featuring can’t-miss local gift ideas. Restaurants are encouraged to advertise and contribute a tantalizing menu item for our article on dining out. On November 20 and 21, the guides will be distributed throughout the greater Valley area via The Splash and The Current. The December issues are strategically scheduled to land before Thanksgiving, just in time to remind residents about supporting local businesses on Small Business Saturday (Nov. 26) and throughout the holiday season.
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The Current
42 • OCTOBER 2017
Larry Rider SVFD Fire Commissioner for
Retired SVFD Deputy Fire Chief with 35 Years Fire Service Experience
Valley’s Graham a staple at Fall Folk Festival
Fall Folk Festival in its early days to watch the Angus Scott Pipe Band, Highland and Scottish Country dancers perform. Since then, she has watched the festival, hosted at Spokane Community College, grow by leaps and bounds.
Graham, a longtime volunteer with the Spokane Folklore Society’s annual Spokane Fall Folk Festival, has attended all but a few of the 22 music festivals. The ones she didn’t make it to were for a good reason.
The gym at SCC was added to the venue’s layout when the festival grew so much that additional stages were needed. Today, there are so many bands and performers that seven stages are needed to accommodate them. Festival organizers say the event draws over 6,000 people and features over 300 performers representing 100 performing groups and a variety of cultural traditions.
“I can tell you I didn’t go to the very first one because it was the week of Ice Storm and we didn’t go anywhere,” said Graham.
“It is probably the only ethnic/ cultural event in the Spokane area that has grown to the size it is today and still free,” Graham says.
Graham has lived in Spokane Valley for all but four years of her life when her husband was stationed with the Navy in San Diego. High School sweethearts, Graham and her husband are both of Scottish descent and started attending the
Even if they had to pay, people would get their money’s worth based on the number of performers and the variety of music types. The Fall Folk Festival offers many genres
By Staci Lehman
Current Correspondent It was Donna Graham’s love of Scottish music that introduced her to community service.
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FESTIVAL
Continued from page 44 of music, including Celtic, Blue Grass, international and traditional, African, Asian, Hawaiian, Klezmer, Native American, Americana folk and many others, including music for and by young people. “There’s gotten to be more and more young children’s groups and children’s choirs,” said Graham.
OCTOBER 2017 • 43
was looking for someone to manage the CD sales table, which allowed the artists who perform at the festival to sell their CDs. Graham volunteered and has been manning the CD table since. Over the years, she organized a bookkeeping system and branched out into selling T-shirts as well. She has since recruited others to her cause.
“We did have some that come over from Seattle,” Graham said. “Some from Idaho and Montana, some from the Tri-Cities area.”
“Over the years, a dedicated group of sales volunteers has formed,” said Graham. “In the beginning I only left the booth to grab a bite to eat. In recent years, because of volunteers who return each year, I’ve been able to just oversee the sales and am able to catch at least of few of the performances.”
After attending the festival for many years, Graham finally got involved as a volunteer in 2004. At the time she was a member of Celtic Music Spokane (CMS), a group formed to organize and promote Scottish music concerts. They were looking for a way to promote the group when Graham read in the Spokane Folklore Society newsletter that the festival
“It has provided a vast array of performers who represent many of the cultures that make up the Inland Northwest and gives many of them exposure in a positive environment,” she said. “I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Most of the performers are regional, coming from all over the Northwest.
Graham says working the Fall Folk Festival is one of the highlights of her year. But more than that, it is a cultural and learning experience.
Spokane Valley resident Donna Graham has been a longtime volunteer with the Spokane Fall Folk Festival. She began donating time to the event in 2004 as a member of Celtic Music Spokane. Contributed photo
The Spokane Folklore Society’s 22nd annual Spokane Fall Folk Festival will take place Nov. 1112 in the Lair and side gymnasium at Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene Street in Spokane. It is a free event. Go to Spokanefolkfestival. org for more information and a schedule of performers. There is also information on the website on how to volunteer.
44 • OCTOBER 2017
LOCAL LENS
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Brandon Brown, Shaun Brown, Bill Gothmann, Craig Howard, Julie Humphreys Mary Anne Ruddiis, Ross Schneidmiller, Mike Vlahovich The Valley Current P.O. Box 363 Liberty Lake, WA 99019 Phone: 242-7752; Fax: 927-2190 www.valleycurrent.com The Current is published monthly by or before the first
Moving clockwise from the top left: Ben Wick admires his service award for the last six years as Superintendant of the llama barn at the Spokane County Interstate Fair. Danica Wick and one year old daughter Celaena at The Current booth during Valleyfest. Spokane Valley Princesses on their float during the Valleyfest “Hearts of Gold Parade.” Little boy enjoying Totfest, an event hosted by Valleyfest at Centerplace. Children fishing during Valleyfest thanks to their sponsor, Cabelas.
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be received by the 15th of the month in order for the subscription to begin with the issue printed the end of that month. Correction policy The Current strives for accuracy in all content. Errors should be reported immediately to 242-7752 or by email to editor@valleycurrent.com. Confirmed factual errors will be corrected on this page in the issue following their discovery. Advertising information Display ad copy and camera-ready ads are due by 5 p.m. on the 15th of the month for the following month’s issue. Call 242-7752 for more information. Advertising integrity Inaccurate
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The Current
OCTOBER 2017 • 45
Valley Chamber
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The Heart of a 21st Century Editor: A ‘true believer” takes the reins at The Spokesman Review
Business Connections Breakfast Guest Speaker: Rob Curley
Join Spokesman-Review Editor Rob Curley for a refreshing perspective on what Spokane looks like through the eyes of a tech-savvy newcomer. Rob’s been around the block. He is one of the most respected and award-winning editors in the world, and he’s been in leadership positions at some of the largest and best newspapers in the nation, including The Washington Post and Orange County Register. Community stories and serendipity are his motivators, with print and gorgeous visual displays high on his list of loves. However, as one of Internet publishing’s pioneers, Rob literally helped develop things many of us use everyday on the web. Plan for an engaging and fun presentation that may make you fall in love with Spokane all over again.
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Following are the local advertisers in this issue of The Current.
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gymnastics and on teaching Adorkable Flowers and Gifts 3 focus Friends of Chris Jackson 40 Simonds Dental Group 48 gymnastics in a fun and safe Amaculate Housekeepingquality 9 Greenstone 42 Sleep Better NW 315-5433 39 environment. Classes run year-round AutoCraft 31 Gus Johnson Ford 48 Spokane County Library District 17 with three 13-week sessions (Fall, 2515 N. Locust Road Bill Anderson Liberty Lake 40 Spokane Gymnastics 30 Winter and19 Spring)Healthy and oneLiving 10-week Central Valley Theatre summer session. 15 Inland Empire Utility CC 14 Spokane Valley 99206 Spokane Model Train Show 10 www.spokanegymnastics.com Citizens to Elect Ben Wick 11 Jim Custer Enterprises 12 Spokane Valle Business Association 4 Clark’s Tire and Automotive 20 Kiwanis Spokane Valley 16 Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce 45 Committee to Elect Brandi Peetz 4 Legacy Church 36 Spokane Valley Heritage Museum 43 Committee to Elect Ed Pace 37 Liberty Lake Baptist Church 10 Committee to Retain Patrick Burch 38 Cornerstone Penecostal Church 5 Eagle Rock RV and Boat Storage 38 East Valley ECEAP 14 Evergreen Fountain 33
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Of note: This thank you message was produced by The Current’s advertising team, which works its tail off on behalf of partner businesses, helping them share their messages through advertisements. This is an independent function from The Current’s editorial team, which has its own evaluation process to determine the community news stories and features it pursues. For more information about a win-win partnership that expertly markets your business to thousands of readers (while making this home-grown community newspaper possible), email advertise@valleycurrent.com. With story ideas, contact editor@valleycurrent.com.
The Current
46 • OCTOBER 2017
SERVICE DIRECTORY “Honoring local communities and encouraging citizen involvement” 509.242.7752 | PO Box 363 | Liberty Lake, WA 99019 | www.libertylakesplash.com
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FROM
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from Josh. The new owners live in Spokane Valley, are invested here and understand what matters to their neighbors. As handoffs go, the two papers could not have landed in better hands.
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In late 2015, Ben Wick – known by most for his service on the Spokane Valley City Council – stepped up with his wife, Danica, to purchase the Current and Splash
“Close, but that’s an interesting story in itself. You see, our agricultural heritage means many of our community place names and identities were formed around a patchwork of irrigation districts …”
By Josh Johnson
He was the stereotypical inky wretch, grizzled and grumpy. Coffee: black and bottomless. Blood type: CMYK. His opinion from decades in the business: Publishing a community newspaper was challenging enough on its own without doing it for Spokane Valley.
“What do you have, like three city or town councils in the greater Valley?” he asked me.
“Four, because we want to cover Rockford, and of course there are thousands of unincorporated residents governed by Spokane County, so keeping tabs on the commission will be important, too.” “And four or five high schools?”
“Four school districts, six high schools to report on.” “Shoot, you have like a billion water districts.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he interrupted. “The bottom line is that community newspapers thrive because of a shared sense of community. With such a mishmash of overlapping jurisdictions and loyalties, that’s a challenge in Spokane Valley.”
And it was. And it is. But to this day, I remain convinced that even if I’m a Central Valley Bear and current owner and publisher Ben Wick is an East Valley Knight, our common interests far outweigh a couple miles of geography. And so, five years ago, when I led a team made up of greater Valley folks like myself to launch The Current, the name itself was intended to be a reflection of what holds us together, like the Spokane River winding its way through our neighborhoods.
We wanted to build a community newspaper for everyone in the greater Spokane Valley, whether their kids attended East Farms or Seth Woodard, whether they rose
As the Current embarks on its
early to see the hot air balloons off at Mirabeau or floated frogs down Rock Creek in the annual regatta.
As for dealing with all the jurisdictional dividing lines, we employed twin strategies. One, we would hit the high points. In the early years, we did a “3 Up, 3 Down” feature to give “at a glance” news from around the community and we always made a point to dig deeper into the most important jurisdictional items. But mostly, we relied on strategy two: Write about the issues we have in common, because there are an awful lot of them.
I wrote the cover story for the very first issue of The Current about homeless students in the greater Valley. This is an issue we should continue to address as a community, because suburban homelessness is a growing problem nationally, and it is one that isn’t always effectively fought with the same tools we would deploy downtown. By issue 12 (January 2013), we shared what we called our “One Valley Initiative.” These were four “topic threads” – Growing Business, Poverty in the Valley, Healthy Valley and Innovative Education – we used to help us focus and plan our
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next five years, the future looks brighter than ever. Readership is growing, advertising is up and the stories keep generating talk.
The Current now has a 25,000 copy Current founder circulation with 15,000 being direct weighs in on formative days of paper mailed to households across the Spokane Valley area in addition to the 10,000 copies being available for pickup at over 250 business locations. About 9,000 copies of The Splash are distributed around the end of each month, 5,500 of those through direct mail to every home and business in the greater Liberty Lake community.
accounts of the human spirit overcoming adversity from U-Hi grad Mitch Carbon’s remarkable triumph over cancer to the feats of Spokane Para Sport athletes
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FEBRUARY 2017 • 9
COVER STORY
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Thank you for the support, greater Spokane Valley. This is your paper. coverage.
Of course, we also had so much fun along the way. There was our annual food bracket placing Valley eats in a single elimination competition. The idea here was to advance great Valley menu options through a bracket while sitting on couches watching the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Not a bad gig. Indeed, owning and publishing The Current through its first 48 issues remains a highlight of my life, but I am certain I couldn’t say that save for one qualifying factor: We covered the greater Spokane Valley, my home and yours.
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The Current
ON THAT NOTE
OCTOBER 2017 • 47
Freeman Strong – Community mobilizes with support, healing By Craig Howard Current Editor The boundaries for Freeman School District are drawn up in a block of southeast Spokane County that meanders along Highway 27 east to the Idaho state line, encompassing rural communities like Rockford, Mica and Valleyford. These days, Freeman School District borders have expanded to include the entire county and beyond – at least in the sense of a resonant communal heart. Residents in the Freeman area are leaning on each other and their neighbors far and wide after the incident on Sept. 13 at Freeman High School that left sophomore Sam Strahan dead and three fellow students injured. In the days following the tragedy, reinforcement came from all over. Greg Baker, superintendent of the Bellingham School District, who grew up in Spokane and once worked with Freeman Superintendent Randy Russell, posted a letter that day, noting how his district’s “hearts go out to the FHS community.” The Washington State University football team adopted the same helmet stickers worn by the Freeman Scotties in their game against Oregon State that week. At Lewis and Clark High School, students wrote words of encouragement on a giant poster that was delivered to Freeman High School. “Meet unkindness with kindness,” a phrase on the poster read. Rockford Mayor Carrie Roecks has seen how this time of sorrow has been met with an extraordinary influx of concern and compassion. “Everyone in Rockford has been rallying just like everyone in the Valley and all over,” she said. “I’m just floored by all the support for the school and this community. My hope is we can all learn from this and get better from here on out.” Even though downtown Rockford sits a few miles away from the Freeman High School campus, it is the geographical home of the school and includes many Freeman alumni among its citizens. Roecks applauds the way the school district has responded, saying the steps
A memorial vigil was on display before the Freeman home football game against Medical Lake last month. Freeman sophomore Strahan died on Sept. 13 after being shot by a fellow student. Three other students were injured. Authorities say Strahan’s actions saved the lives of others. Photo by Erik Smith taken there will have a ripple effect in the community. “I know it’s going to start at the school,” she said. “They’ve been so helpful in working with the kids that I think it will have an impact on the parents and the families here. This is a close-knit community. We watch out for each other.”
said. “But this community is very caring. I’ve seen it. People know that others are hurting and they’re going to go out of their way to show kindness and civility.” Hernandez said the Freeman academic culture will continue to be the catalyst for healing throughout the affected area.
In the neighboring Central Valley School District, Superintendent Ben Small said, “now is the time to rely on each other.”
“There is no downtown in Freeman,” he said. “The school is the center of the community. It’s where everyone gathers.”
“It takes time, perseverance and the continued love and support of one another to heal,” Small said. “We are a compassionate and caring community that reaches out to support, surround and sustain one another in this time of need, this time of healing. Together we are one community.”
Surrounding schools that have been rivals with Freeman over the years are doing their part to show solidarity. Lakeside Athletic Director Jeff Pietz has led a campaign to print “Freeman Strong” T-shirts in the Scotties’ signature blend of sky and navy blues. Some 4,000 have been printed with opposing teams throughout the Northeast A League among those now wearing the shirts. Profits are going toward assistance for the students shot on Sept. 13 and their families.
Small said the collection of greater Spokane school districts shares a bond and awareness that mobilizes resources to make a difference. This time, the march back started in Freeman. “We have always known that the Freeman community is strong and resilient,” Small said. “I admire them and how they have stood together.” Sergio Hernandez served as superintendent of the Freeman School District from 2007 to 2012, rallying support for a critical capital facilities bond in 2008 that built the new high school and elementary school. Now living in Walla Walla, Hernandez said he has seen repeatedly “how the Freeman community works together to help one another.” “Your heart just goes out to them after what happened,” Hernandez
With school back in session, counselors have been brought in from other districts to help Freeman students while staff from outside districts are helping to give teachers there a reprieve.
When Linda Thompson lost her 3-year-old son, Trevor, to a drunk driver on Aug. 16, 1986, it began a path that would eventually find her switching careers from banking to substance abuse awareness and prevention. She has served as the executive director of the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council for nearly 25 years. For those impacted by the happenings in Freeman, Thompson recommends “focusing on what you have left.” “There are blessings to be had,” Thompson said. “The biggest thing I learned was to tell people how you feel because you never know when you’ll have that chance again.” In the case of Strahan, a 15-yearold who enjoyed cooking, music and volunteering at local nonprofits like the Calvary Soup Kitchen, residents have started a campaign to name part of Highway 27 in his honor. “You can keep that person in your heart by living your life in a way that honors their memory,” Thompson said. “You can live with compassion and kindness. When you look at it, we’re all here together. Let’s do the best we can for each other.”
The unique displays of local encouragement have included David’s Pizza catering to the entire school and a nonprofit in Coeur d’Alene hand-decorating 363 rocks – one for every Freeman High student – with words of consolation and hope. Some in the community can relate to the impact of deep personal loss felt by those in Freeman – as well as the steps it takes to mend and thrive again.
The rally of support for Freeman High School can be seen throughout the greater Spokane community. Photo by Craig Howard
The Current
48 • OCTOBER 2017
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