November 2019 Current

NOVEMBER

2019

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2 • NOVEMBER 2019

The Current

RIVER CROSSING

Magnanimous Mobility

New nonprofit provides caring lift

By Craig Howard Current Contributing Editor

Alli Beeler found herself in a familiar place last month – a nondescript hospital room in Seattle with high-tech machinery serving as the medical version of interior décor.

Alli’s mom, Leasa Bolen, was also there, standing by her daughter as she has for years – unwavering in her support, a lighthouse in Alli’s sea of uncertainty. When it came time for Leasa to leave and return to the comfort of her hotel room, she simply pulled up a chair and grabbed a blanket.

She was not leaving Alli alone.

“It speaks to why I don’t give up,” Alli said weeks later after returning to Spokane. “It’s my mom, my family – we don’t give up. If there’s a way, we’re going to find that way.

My family has kept me going.”

Alli was 10 when her left foot began bothering her. It was dragging behind and causing pain, but doctors were unable to pinpoint the cause. At 11, she underwent the first of three brain biopsies and was later admitted to Shriners Hospital.

What specialists originally thought to be an orthopedic condition was now leaning toward a neurological issue.

When she was 12, Alli was injured in a snowmobile accident. A CT scan revealed something that looked like hemorrhaging but wasn’t. The one place that might be able to help was in California – at the UCLA Medical Center.

In addition to her worries about Alli, Leasa had to figure out how to get her daughter to those who could possibly help. Friends and family rallied to raise money and cover the round trip and accompanying costs.

Yet Leasa was still left wondering.

“People get sent places for treatment, but what happens when you can’t afford to go?” Leasa said.

The question later developed into an idea for a nonprofit to help families with transportation, lodging, food and other expenses related to medical care. The hope was to lessen the stress so parents and their children could concentrate on getting well.

“We understand because we have been there ourselves,” Leasa said. “We want people to focus on their health or the health of a loved one.”

Originally founded as Care Packages for Alli, the effort is now known as HALO Medical Travel Services. Leasa, a West Valley High grad who now lives in Greenacres, serves as executive director while

a distinguished board of directors helps guide the mission. HALO works to, in Leasa’s words, “find resources that exist already to help people.” HALO has secured its 501c3 nonprofit status and has launched its first capital campaign while looking for a donated space to call home.

On Nov. 8, HALO will host a fundraising gala at the Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center.

While HALO works to help families achieve their own journeys of healing, Alli continues on a unique path of her own. Eventually diagnosed with vasculitis – characterized by inflammation of blood vessels that are mistakenly attacked by the immune system – Alli has refused to let her many medical hurdles impede her progress. After graduating from Central Valley

Photo by Craig Howard Alli Beeler (left) and her mom Leasa Bolen have turned years of family medical challenges into the start of HALO Medical Travel Services, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families with travel, lodging, food and other expenses related to medical treatment.

High School in 2009, she went on to earn her degree from Spokane Community College, followed by a bachelor’s in psychology from Eastern Washington University.

She has overcome seizures for the last 10 years that have resulted in significant weakening of her left arm and hand. She also deals with the fatiguing effects of fibromyalgia.

Through it all, Alli continues marching toward her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. Her goal after achieving her advanced degree is to work as a counselor with HALO. “I see myself doing something that makes a difference in the world,” Alli says.

The Current caught up with Leasa and Alli recently to chat about HALO and other topics. The result was more inspiration than conversation.

Q: Leasa, I know you could spend all day on this question but how has Alli inspired you?

Leasa: Alli inspires me every day.

She is the strongest young lady that I know. She has goals and dreams of helping others just like me. Her goal is to counsel medically fragile children and families. Despite having multiple brain surgeries, seizures that last sometimes over two hours, fibromyalgia that causes her a great deal of pain every single day and left-sided weakness that greatly impacts her mobility, Alli has been driven to finish her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.

Alli does not let her disabilities stop here from pursuing this. She has a tagline in her text messages that says, "Rock Star," and she is truly just that. As a mom I could not be prouder of her hard work despite the pain and restrictions she faces every single day.

Q: Alli, how difficult was it to deal with all of your medical challenges over the years without really knowing what your condition was and how it could be treated?

Alli: The unknown was the most difficult part of all of this. In fact, I

NOVEMBER 2019 • 3

The Current developed a fear of the unknown so severe that it would stop me from going on simple theme park rides like Gravitron, as it was fully enclosed.

Q: What have you learned about yourself as you have gone through such an uphill battle?

Alli: This is a difficult question to answer as I was so young when I was first identified as “sick.” My illness has taught me to never give up even when it looks like that hill is vertically facing up.

Q: Leasa, you've gone through so much with Alli and made it a point to never leave her side. What advice would you give to parents whose child is experiencing ongoing health challenges?

Leasa: Take care of yourself! You cannot be there for you loved one if you are not taking care of yourself.

It is OK to leave the hospital and take a walk, get some lunch away from the cafeteria or go home or back to the hotel to shower. I have tried to do this during down time when Alli was going for a procedure or napping. It gives you a piece of mind and also allows you to have emotions that you are keeping in check while trying to be strong in front of your loved one. It is easy to start becoming numb to the emotions and those emotions can come out at times that you are not expecting it so it is important to feel those emotions as you experience them. Stepping away for a moment will allow you to do that.

Q: What has sustained you over the years as you've stayed strong for your daughter?

Leasa: My support system! My husband and family are my rock.

I am very fortunate to have such a strong support system. My husband is my rock and takes control of the household stuff so I can focus on my daughter. I also think that a sense of humor is important. Oftentimes these situations are very serious and can drain you. A little sense of humor now and them can lift the spirits and a sense of relief if only for a moment in time. We have turned these hospital stays into slumber parties or out-of-town appointments into adventures. For example, Alli had to go to Oregon Health Science University in Portland. My sister and I both went on the trip, did the doctor appointments and then took a trip to the ocean. My mom and son

went with us to Seattle Children's Hospital for an appointment and we made an adventure in Seattle out of it doing all of the tourist activities.

Just recently Alli had her normal appointments at the University of Washington and ended up in the hospital. Instead of going back to the hotel, we made it a slumber party and I slept in a chair turned bed right in her room. We braided hair, did manicures and watched shows together.

Q: Alli, what would you say to many of us who often take stable health for granted?

Alli: To be blunt, there is no stable health which is what too many of us take for granted. The mother with the child sitting in the waiting room of the ER might both look healthy, but little do you know the child has undetected stage four cancer. Also, the mother is there for burning her arm on the grill at her third job.

Health is not noticeable and we too often look down or turn our eyes away from those who are sick. This is why at almost 29, I am so stubborn to use a cane, walker or wheelchair because of the way people look at those my age using them. Finally, pain passes so if you stub your toe don’t cry about it all day.

Q: As you approach the completion of your master's degree, what have been some of the key factors in you pursuing this and other goals?

Alli: Growing up, the rule in our house was “go to school or get a job.” My mother treated me just like my “normal” brother. If we did one of the two, we could continue to live at home. While our biological father had granted both my brother and I his GI Bill, logically we went to school because now we were getting paid. My brother and I both completed our associate's degrees, then transferred to EWU. However, with my bachelor’s in psychology, I thought, “What I am going to do?”

So I continued on to my master’s in clinical mental health counseling.

Some of the key factors thus far are that I had a lifetime opportunity to complete my education and not work, as I am disabled. My family's support has always been a key factor. As far as pursuing my goals and not just giving up, as long as I have been alive and have known my disease might kill me, I

See HALO, Page 4

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4 • NOVEMBER 2019

The results are in!

The Current

NEWS from our mock election

Last month, on October 3, 2019, the students from East Valley High School and University High School partnered with The Current to create a candidate forum that featured the Spokane Valley City Council Candidates. All those in attendance were asked to participate in a mock election at the completion of the program. Here are the results.

Spokane Valley City council

Spokane Valley Fire Department

Pos. 2

Commissioner Position 1

Brandi Peetz Michelle Rasmussen

46 9

83% 16%

8 46

15% 85%

Tim Hattenburg 41 Bo Tucker 13

76% 24%

POS. 3

Arne Woodard Lance Gurel

Pos. 6

Central Valley School District Board of directors District 1

Cindy McMullen 71 John Myers 12

Board of directors District 3 Susan Dolan Debra Long

16 76

HALO

Continued from page 3 just knew that I couldn’t give up. I literally took that phrase out of my vocabulary. However, I remember a time after a seizure, which can bring on depression, that I stated to my mother that maybe I should just give it all up. She grabbed my head gently and said that is not who you are. You fight. Therefore, as you can tell my mother is a very essential component to me not giving up.

Q: When the idea for Care Packages from Alli (now HALO) first surfaced, what was your hope for the project?

Alli: When the idea for Care Packages from Alli first surfaced, my hopes were for it to go national the next day. I hope and still hope for great success for my mother’s

86% 14%

17% 83% nonprofit, which is why I truly anticipate after I graduate and become licensed, I will join HALO as its counselor.

Q: Leasa, what sort of feedback have you had since introducing the idea of the nonprofit?

Leasa: We have had nothing but positive feedback on HALO. It is more difficult than I could have ever imagined to start a nonprofit. We have spent an extraordinary amount of time connecting with people and organizations in the community that relate to HALO’s mission. Every person that we have encountered recognizes that what we are doing is not only important but so needed!

No one does what we do. There are resources that handle pieces of it in many organizations but not one organization that does everything we do. For those organizations,

Patrick Burch Bradley Mertens

64 34

Commissioner position 2 Mike Kester Ron Schmidt 34

52

65% 35%

60% 40%

Initative 976 Yes 10 No 72

12% 88%

Thank you to all of the students, teachers and our partners who helped make this event possible. we have partnered with them or are working to partner with them.

We are not working to reinvent the wheel, but rather to enhance the experience with the wheel and remove the stress to our families to allow them to focus on their health or the health of a loved one.

Q: Finally, what can people do to support your cause?

Leasa: We currently have a few ways for people to support HALO. We have our inaugural gala on Friday, Nov. 8 at the Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center.

This is a “Monte Carlo Night” and should be a lot of fun. It includes a champagne reception, dinner, gambling with "funny" money, opportunities to win some great prizes, a live auction and of course a way for people to come and learn more about HALO and what we

do. Tickets are available on our website. People can also donate by visiting our website at www. halomedicaltravel.org and clicking on the "give" button or by sending a check to P.O. Box 784, Greenacres, WA 99016. I am also available to meet and talk with potential donors to explain our organization, programs and plans for the future.

HALO also needs a home. We have been operating out of our homes and coffee shops. We really need a brick and mortar office space to bring our clients in where they feel safe and secure to open up about what they are going through and be able to share the emotions without fear of the other customers at the coffee shop staring at them. Considering we are working on our capital and program funding, it is important for us to pursue a donor that will give us this space in-kind.

The Current

NEWS

SVFD Report From Current News Sources

Spokane Valley Fire Department crews responded to a total of 1,479 emergency calls from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Of note, calls for building alarms were significantly higher this time period, moving up from 43 the month prior to 78: Emergency Medical Services 1,167 Motor Vehicle Accidents 86 Building Alarms 78 Fires 63 Dispatched and cancelled en route 39 Service Calls 18 Hazardous Materials 15 Vehicle Fires 5 Auto vs. Pedestrian 4 Technical Rescue 4 Alarm System – At 1:50 p.m. Sept.

16, SVFD responded to a call on North Greenacres Road regarding possible carbon monoxide (CO) issues inside a residence. The husband and wife occupants both said they were suffering from headaches that had lasted for several days. The SVFD detector had a reading of zero upon walking through the house and being placed near all gas appliances, as did other monitors used on the residence. Finding no CO issues, crews advised the couple to consult a doctor if headaches continued.

HazMat Investigation – At 10:02 p.m. Sept. 16, SVFD and Avista responded to a call reporting a gas odor at Evergreen Fountains on Evergreen Road. Staff detected an odor on the first and third floors of the facility. Crews and Avista took readings at those locations and the mechanical and boiler rooms, and no readings were present on Avista’s multi-gas meter. Crews advised staff on scene that it could be possible that the furnace kicked on for the first time this fall and the odor could have originated from there. With the site determined safe, crews returned to service.

Illegal Burn – On Sept. 21, SVFD responded to a call for a possible illegal burn on North Corrigan Road. Crews found the homeowner burning yard waste in her backyard.

The homeowner thought she could burn because the burn ban had been lifted recently. Crews provided education about what is allowed (dry firewood and not yard waste).

The fire was extinguished, and

crews returned to service.

Working Fire – At 9:12 p.m.

Sept. 22, SVFD responded to a commercial fire on Indiana Avenue at the Oxford Inn and Suites after a call into 911 reported smoke coming from a kitchen. Crews arrived at the fire and discovered smoke from an oven had moved into the hallway.

Smoke was clearly evident on the first and second floors. The building fire alarm had been pulled, and the building had been evacuated before crews arrived. Crews investigated and found a fire in the wall behind the commercial stove. Fortunately, they were able to quickly keep the fire contained to this area and maintain minimal damage. The fire did not get hot enough to deploy the sprinkler system. With the ability to extinguish the fire quickly, the smoke damage was contained to just the first and second floors. Crews vented the building and established safety. There were no firefighter or civilian injuries reported. No suspicious activity was suspected.

Working Fire – At 10:01 p.m.

Sept. 22, SVFD responded to a trailer fire on Jackson Avenue at Sunrise Place after a call to 911 reported smoke and flames coming from a double-wide manufactured home in space 34. From the road, the fire appeared to fully engulf the home. Upon approach, there was significant smoke that concealed all aspects of the fire. Inspection revealed one side of the home was actively burning from the ground to the top of the home. The other side was clear of fire. All occupants had evacuated the trailer, and crews were able to begin a defensive attack on the home and an offensive approach on the other exposures.

The separation wall between the attic and the interior of the house, kept the fire from fully engulfing the entirety of the home. Crews worked on the fire until approximately 11:30 p.m. and ended with a safety survey being completed. Clean up of the area ensued, and a fire watch was put in place around 12:30 a.m.

There were no firefighter or civilian injuries reported. Residents of the home were able to shelter with other neighbors.

Commercial Structure Fire -- At 11:27 p.m. Oct. 6, SVFD responded to a report of a commercial structure fire in the 5500 block of East Mallon.

A 911 caller from the area reported black and gray smoke coming from a commercial building. Crews arrived

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CALL OR REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT ONLINE on scene and located and shut down the gas. Avista was able to shut down the power to two different power poles. Crews then opened all the doors and gained access to the fire and put it out quickly and efficiently. Lime scooters were stored in the building where the fire occurred. With the high active fire temperature, conditions thermal runaway did occur with the lithium batteries in those scooters. Thermal runaway occurs if the temperature reaches a critical level. Paint, batteries, Lime Scooter parts and other items stored in the building

contributed greatly to the fire load.

Crews removed scooters from the building to keep the thermal runaway from continuing.

About SVFD -- SVFD serves the City of Spokane Valley, City of Liberty Lake, City of Millwood and the surrounding unincorporated areas of Spokane County with a combined population of 125,000 across 75 square miles. Established in 1940, SVFD is an Accredited Agency by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, one of only a handful in Washington state.

For more information about SVFD, visit spokanevalleyfire.com.

6 • NOVEMBER 2019

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The Southeast Spokane County Fair was a huge success this year.

One of the new features was the Community Art Gallery. This project was presented by the North Palouse Cohort of the Rural Development Initiative’s Community Leadership Program (RDI). Half of the east side of the Fair exhibit building is covered with squares that were painted by fair attendees of all ages.

RDI’s purpose is to help cultivate vital rural communities in the Pacific Northwest through training local leaders. Sixteen local individuals, teenagers and adults of all ages, participated in leadership education and training sessions throughout the past winter and spring. Following the training, the cohort selected a project focused on community pride and identity. The presentation has three parts: developing a North Palouse mural and flag, providing a flag for each of the area towns to fly, and inviting participation in the Community Art Gallery.

The art gallery was a success, and plans are already in the works to make this an annual fair tradition.

In other Southeast Spokane County news: • Avista Utilities is donating an electronic reader board to Rockford as part of its assistance to selective small towns to promote economic development. The reader board will be placed along the city park on 1st street by the restrooms.

• The new playground equipment has been installed in the Rockford city park. It replaces the set that needed repair and was determined unsafe by the town risk management insurance.

• The Rockford council has agreed that the three-way stop at the main downtown intersection is dangerous. The existing signage is overlooked by the traffic coming from the south. Discussion will begin with Washington State Department of Transportation to either create a four way stop at the intersection or install a stop light. While no accidents have occurred, there have been numerous near-misses.

• Rockford Fire Chief Gary Hill reported that the FEMA grant request for new air packs was approved. The grant was for $40,000, with a 2 percent match requirement from the town. Hill also discussed concepts and ideas for improving the town’s rating from the Washington State Survey Rating Bureau. These include emergency reporting software to be used to track all trainings and incident responses; fire inspections resulting in fines for non-conforming and/

The Current or suggestions for improved safety; and annual hydrant testing and flow reporting.

• The Rockford council discussed the issues with the regional compost facility. Customers are dumping root balls and limbs larger than the town chipper can handle. So far, it costs more to operate than the fees taken in. Discussion includes if the facility should continue for Rockford residents only, be shut down completely, or take various actions that would increase monitoring or pricing for chipping.

The town insurance would have to be investigated to do this.

• An all-you-can-eat Prime Rib & Oyster Feed will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Fairfield Community Center, 304 E. Main St. The cost is $25 for adults, and the price funds the Fairfield Flag Day and other service club projects.

• A Veterans Day ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Fairfield Military Wall of Honor.

Plaques may be purchased to thank someone who has served or is currently serving in the military for $20. Contact Cheryl Loeffler at townclerk@fairfieldwa.com to obtain a form.

• The Spangle Service Club is hosting Turkey Bingo from noon to 10 p.m. Nov. 23 at 165 N. Main St. Prizes are available for every round, and raffle tickets will be sold culminating in a 500-pound Beef Raffle Drawing to close out the evening at 10 p.m.

Learn more! www.ccs.spokane.edu/head-start

Find us on Facebook!

Submitted photo The Community Art Gallery debuted this year at the Southeast Spokane County Fair. Planned to be an annual event, the area will be covered with white paint before the fair next year and painted over again as part of the 2020 festivities.

The Current

BUSINESS

The Garden serves coffee, local food — and purpose

By Josh Johnson Current Contributor

CJ Curtis opened a coffee shop for the 88 cents. Sure, she loves lattes and food and friendship and foliage – all the observable ingredients of The Garden Coffee & Local Eats. She loves the entrepreneurial aspects, the camaraderie with employees, the fact it’s located in the heart of Spokane Valley, her longtime home.

But the 88 cents? That’s where the business connects to her soul and to her story.

The 88 cents is for the vulnerable girl unwittingly lured by an older man into the commercial sex industry. In CJ’s case, age 13.

The 88 cents is for the teenager whose life is a spiral of prostitution numbed by drugs. For CJ, a coping mechanism in a life of trauma.

The 88 cents is for the thousands of women who need to be rescued, and for the rescued still enslaved by a longsimmering shame. CJ saw more than a decade pass between her escape from sex trafficking and the realization she had ever been a victim.

“I had to do something with the healing I gained from learning I was a victim -- and knowing that there are so many people who have no idea this is going on right under their nose,” CJ said. “So I started sharing my story.

In that process, God just put it on my heart that I would raise money for this ministry.”

The ministry? To “reach, recover and restore” fellow survivors of sex trafficking. The money? Well, it’s being counted 88 cents at a time.

CJ designed her menu to feature several entrees with prices ending in 88 cents, mostly favorites made from scratch in the The Garden’s kitchen.

Purchase one of these, and you can “eat food, restore lives,” as a sign near the register puts it.

The Garden, located at 213 S. University Road, donates the 88 cents to the anti-slavery work being done by Spokane Valley-based HRC Ministries, a movement CJ not only believes in but plays an active role as HRC’s community engagement specialist.

Before starting The Garden, she helped launch HRC’s Repeat Boutique secondhand store at 13524 E. Sprague Ave., where proceeds also help survivors of human trafficking.

All of this work connects to a calling she feels from God to “share the message and love of Jesus” and

his ability to heal and restore. As such, her vision for these enterprises goes beyond raising money, and she hopes to eventually provide work experience for survivors.

“That first real job that I got was life changing for me,” CJ said. “I want to be able to offer that to these ladies and have a place for them to cultivate their gifts and passions.”

THE NAME In some ways, the initial seed of inspiration for The Garden was planted years ago by Mr. Curry, a teacher in a drug rehabilitation program CJ attended as a teenager.

He taught students the intricacies of tending to a rose garden, and upon graduation each selected a rose to take with them.

“I think that really helped inspire a lot of my love for gardening in general, as well as for bringing things to life and restoring things,” CJ said.

She would later earn a degree in horticulture and has years of experience as a florist, a skill she exercises through hosting popular workshops such as an October event where centerpieces were created using succulents and pumpkins. The garden concept also matches her focus on healthy, fresh food.

The name’s deepest roots, though, are clearly found in a more personal place of renewal -- “any sort of way I can correlate restoration in the life and heart of people,” she said.

THE VIBE While the décor and feel of The Garden showcase the talents and tastes of CJ the Florist, the use of space for people to make connections is clearly her priority. While it’s a comfortable place to throw in headphones and zero in on a project, the layout of the large seating area is geared around access to other people – not the nearest outlet.

“I wanted to create spaces so people can engage with one another, environments where people can get together and look at each other face to face,” CJ said.

She recounts the regularity of old friends bumping into one another or loyal customers reporting The Garden proved to provide the perfect soil for a soul-enriching conversation. That, she doesn’t take credit for.

“Personally, I think it is the presence of God; I really do,” CJ said. “I believe that people can sense his presence even if they don’t know it.”

NOVEMBER 2019 • 7

The White Pumpkin, a latte featuring white chocolate, pumpkin and chai, is a popular autumn drink at The Garden Coffee & Local Eats.

Photos by Josh Johnson The from-scratch omelette bar is one of the popular staples CJ Curtis introduced when opening The Garden Coffee & Local Eats June 1.

THE TOP PICK “Avocado toast is huge,” CJ said.

“People love them for a healthier, quick bite.”

As CJ has transformed the former Cool Beans location – and before that, Cuppa Joe’s – into her own likeness, the healthy options truly have become the most famous orders.

To pair with the switch to Indaba coffee (see below), CJ converted most of the syrups to healthier Monin brand versions, and her decision to invest in the organic Holy Kakow chocolate syrup for the mochas has proved popular.

Still, the first drink she listed when asked about popularity? The chai tea.

THE CULT FAVORITE The super avocado toast: egg, bacon, red onion, sprouts grown by The Garden, sriracha and sesame seed. When interviewed in October, CJ admitted the dish wasn’t even on the menu for a time, but people keep asking about it.

THE TIME WHEN …

CJ was approached shortly after taking the reins at The Garden June 1 about using her coffee shop as a movie set. And so it came to be that a Christian romantic comedy about a flirtatious barista who falls for a humanitarian construction worker took over The Garden for two days. If the prominence

of the shop in the movie’s one-minute trailer is any indication, The Garden will have plenty of screen time.

“I can’t wait till it comes out, because I want to do a movie viewing party here,” CJ said.

“Home Sweet Home” features Ben Elliott and the barista, Natasha Bure, daughter of former NHL right-winger Valeri Bure and “Full House” star Candace Cameron-Bure.

THE TEAM About the time she began dreaming about opening a coffee shop, she tasted Spokane’s Indaba coffee for the first time.

“I always compare it to the first time I rode a Cannondale after growing up on a Huffy,” CJ said. “I tasted the coffee, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I been missing my whole life? This is so good.’”

She also connected to the “Love People, Love Coffee” mission of Indaba and how it partners with nonprofits and has a heart for local causes.

Like the coffee, all the food she doesn’t make in-house she gets from local outlets, and over the summer, she loved shopping at Farmers Markets for ingredients used in the kitchen.

Josh Johnson is a “coffee shop-based journalist” who lives in Liberty Lake. For more stories about shops like The Garden or inspiring conversations over local coffee, visit coffeejosh.com.

8 • NOVEMBER 2019

Council reviews 2020 SV budget

By Bill Gothmann Current Contributor

A public hearing was held and the Council approved the 2020 City of Spokane Valley budget’s first reading.

The city intends to spend $90 million next year. This includes $29 million in capital expenditures, with $20 million, or 70 percent, covered through state and federal grants. The General Fund recurring expenditures are expected to be $43 million, or 3 percent more than last year, whereas nonrecurring expenses are expected to be $1.8 million. General Fund recurring revenues ae expected to be $48 million, or 6 percent greater than last year, whereas nonrecurring revenues should total $70,000.

The city will be paying out $190,000 for information technology and transferring $1.5 million to Parks Capital Projects to complete improvements to the CenterPlace west lawn. The budget authorizes 93.75 employees. This includes one additional code enforcement officer and an additional half-time attorney to process code enforcement actions.

The budget includes setting up a crisis response team for $100,000, $70,000 of which could come from a possible Trueblood grant. This team would include a behavior specialist to ride along with police to help in mental health crises.

Telephone utility tax revenues continue to decline an average of 5.37 percent per year. As a result, at Council’s request, staff included a one-time transfer of $1.4 million to the Street Fund from the Capital Reserve Fund. Pavement preservation is relying more heavily on Real Estate Excise Tax, leaving less for city grant matches required for road capital project grants.

The projected ending fund balance for the General Fund at the end of 2020 is currently expected to be $34 million, or 79 percent of recurring expenses. Since the city goal is to maintain a 50% ending fund balance, if things go well, the 29 percent excess is eventually expected to be transferred to the Capital Reserve Fund where it will be used for one-time capital

NEWS

projects. The Sullivan West Bridge Replacement, Appleway Trail, City Hall, Euclid Avenue Construction, and BNSF Grade Separation are some of the past projects targeted.

Future projects include additional funds for BNSF Grade Separations and improvement of the Barker corridor.

Property tax levy first reading As required by state law, Council approved the 2020 Property Tax Levy. The ordinance specifies the total amount of tax to be collected by the city. This amount was determined by adding an expected $250,000 to be collected from new construction taxes to the amount actually collected last year, $12,182,436. Note that the city is not increasing its taxes to existing properties. To determine the levy rate, divide the total to be collected, $12,432,436, by the total assessment of property within the City, $10,163,140,111. This gives the tax rate per one dollar of assessment.

To get the rate per $1,000 assessed, multiply this by 1,000. The result is $1.223287, or 7.9 cents per $1,000 less than the 2019 levy. For a $200,000 house, this would be about 200 times $1.22, or about $244. However, if the assessment went up over the last year to $250,000, the city tax would be about 250 times $1.22 or $305.

The total amount a residence will be taxed will include the Spokane Valley tax plus those of other taxing entities such as state, county, school district, water district, library and fire district. In general, the city tax amounts to about 12 percent of the total of a residential bill.

2019 budget amendment Council approved an amendment to the 2019 budget that included a number of changes since it was last amended on June 4. Expenses to the General Fund increase by $500,000 for repairing the City Hall wall, balanced by $500,000 expected reimbursement from the contractor.

In addition, expenses increased $500,000 for previously approved CenterPlace improvements, $21,000 for preliminary engineering to fix the CenterPlace roof, $30,000 for outside legal expenses, and $10,102 for a census coordinator in partnership with the Spokane Regional Transportation Council.

Street Fund revenues decreased by $100,000 because of reduced phone revenues and $61,400 because of reduced gas tax revenues. Pavement Preservation funds increased by

$2.3 million in revenues, primarily from grants and the street wear fee bringing in $108,000 more than expected. Expenditures increased by $2 million, primarily for the south University Road project. Parks Fund revenues increased by $2.9 million, primarily from $2.1 million in grants, and expenditures increased by $3 million, primarily for Appleway and the west lawn projects. Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) funds increase by $800,000 because of higher than expected REET tax receipts. REET expenses increased by $500,000, used for grade separation and other projects.

There are enough funds available to cover these amendments.

Outside agency grants approved Since incorporation in 2003, the city has provided partial funding for economic development and service agencies. The 2020 budget includes $243,000 for this purpose. $43,000 is committed for a contract with Greater Spokane Incorporated and $19,000 for a contract with the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, both of which are for economic development activities.

The remaining $182,000 is available for grants to applying agencies.

On Sept. 17, 20 agencies made their pitch to the council. After that, Council members each gave their proposals to staff in for allocating the $182,000 among these agencies.

Staff averaged the council suggested amounts for each agency. Agencies receiving support from less than four Council members were then deleted from the list and their funds distributed equally among the agencies receiving support from seven Council members. As a result, the following amounts were granted: Elevations Children’s Therapy, $3,929; Family Promise, $9,071; Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels, $12,969; JAKT, which sponsored CRAVE, Oktoberfest and Farmers Market, $14,862; NAOMI, $7,254; Spokane Center for Independent Living, $5,071; Spokane Valley Arts Council, $25,548; Spokane Valley Heritage Museum, $9,326; Spokane Valley Partners, $39,780; Spokane Valley Summer Theater, $4,183; Teen and Kid Closet, $6,500; Valleyfest, $28,146; and Widows Might, $15,361.

Pavement preservation discussed Council had its 45th discussion of pavement maintenance and

The Current preservation, the funding of which has challenged the city since 2003.

Grants provide considerable funding for arterials, but the city must fund all of its local streets, which represent 68 percent of the road miles within the city.

The recent Nichols Consulting Engineers (NCE) analysis of streets showed that, in general, the city streets are at a 70 Pavement Condition Index (PCI), a 0-100 scale used to measure the condition of the streets. Based upon this analysis, staff presented two alternatives: The city could maintain its present PCI of 70 with a budget of $10 million.

This would require $4.7 million in additional revenues per year. The second choice is to allow the PCI of residential streets to drop to 65.

This would require a budget of $6.9 million annually, costing an additional $1.6 million per year for the next five years. After that, the cost would rise substantially per year in order to stop the decline. The report says, “Generally, the annual cost to maintain a given condition increases as the pavement condition rating decreases.” Because of this principle, the city would be paying higher in annual costs for the second option compared with the first option after the five-year interval.

Council had discussed previously appointing a city committee to determine what citizens want for their streets, and Mayor Rod Higgins suggested they implement this action. Council agreed by 5-2, with council members Ben Wick and Linda Thompson dissenting. Wick stated he wanted more information about the cost of the second option.

Staff and council members stated that we are lucky the economy is robust and we can address this problem. On a second informal vote, Council agreed to move forward, with Wick dissenting.

Homes northeast of Barker and river to be sewered Spokane Valley is part of the Spokane County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Consortium, to which the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides yearly grants. The county and Spokane Valley reached an agreement several years ago whereby 20 percent of the annual HUD grant is set aside for Spokane Valley, typically about $270,000. HUD requires that the funds target low and moderate income areas of the county. Grant

The Current

NEWS

proposals are evaluated by county staff to assure HUD compliance, then evaluated by the county’s Community Development Advisory Committee, on which Spokane Valley has representation, then sent to the County Commissioners for final approval.

This year, the city is considering a collaborative effort with the county’s Environmental Services and its Community Development Division to provide for both sewering and road reconstruction in the area northeast of Barker and the Spokane River. Many of the houses in that area now have septic tanks. In addition, the roads are in poor condition. Spokane County Environmental Services would install the sewer and pave back the roadway, with the city providing an estimated $1,615,000 in financial support through its Street Wear Fee. The total assessment charge for each home to be paid to the county is estimated to be $6,340. This may be financed over 20 years at $46 per month. In addition, each home must pay a private contractor a connection cost to bring the pipe from the street to the house, estimated to be $4,000 per home. The City Council approved a resolution “authorizing the relinquishment of the City’s 2020 and 2021 program year CDBG Spokane County setaside in order to assist eligible lowand very low-income homeowners with assessment and connection charges,” estimated to cost $540,000.

Parks Master Plan presented Staff presented a 45-page draft master plan for City Parks that draws from the 2013 Parks Master Plan.

The plan provides an inventory of present park assets, presents results of public input on what residents want, provides a needs assessment and suggests specific projects for the future. Key takeaways from the public involvement were that partnerships are critical. Also, the city needs include more fields, increased river access, more trail connections, improvements to CenterPlace and Balfour Park, and a community center. The plan provides for developing new parks in underserved areas, ensuring all user groups are accommodated, increasing access to the north side of Spokane River, replacing the horse arena with a bicycle pump track and/or a skate park, supporting events at CenterPlace, and completing Balfour Park expansion.

It also lays out a six-year capital plan to finance the projects.

Park rules, hours changes considered City park officials are proposing a number of changes to park regulations: limiting drones to specified areas; defining “high risk or damaging activities”; expanding the definition of motor vehicles to include motorized bikes, golf carts and all-terrain vehicles; and closing parks at 9 p.m. rather than 10 p.m.

Further discussion is expected.

Park camping issues would be moved to a separate regulation that prohibits camping on public property.

Encampments, that is, accumulations of belongings typically associated with camping, would be provided a 48-hour notice to vacate on non-park properties, but removed immediately from park property. Belongings would be stored for 60 days. Staff is working on how to provide shelters and transportation to beds at night. This is required by the recent “Martin vs Boise” decision by the appellate court in order to enforce “no sit or lie” regulations.

Staff reports on Initiative 976 Council asked staff to report on the effects of Initiative 976. Among its provisions, it would limit motor vehicle license fees to $30 and eliminate the 0.3 percent motor vehicle sales/lease tax on vehicle purchases. State law prohibits the city from taking a stand for or against any ballot proposition without a public hearing. They can, however, provide information. The city’s comment concerning the $30 fee was, “The city currently receives funds through state grants. [The initiative’s] impact is undetermined at this time. It may affect future state grants.” The city’s comment on the 0.3 percent sales/lease tax was that, “The city receives a distribution of multimodal transportation funds as part of state shared revenues.

The city currently receives funds through state grants. [The initiative’s] impact is undetermined at this time. It may affect future state grants.” Council noted that many of our most important road projects have received major funding from the state.

State legislative agenda discussed Council discussed its proposed

See SV COUNCIL, Page 29

NOVEMBER 2019 • 9

Valley Chamber

HIGHLIGHTS

CONNECT.

EMPOWER.

INNOVATE.

Greater Spokane Valley Chamber

ANNUAL MEETING The Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce is celebating the people and ideas that have transformed the way we do business here in our area at our upcoming annual meeting.

Date & Time: Friday, November 15th 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Mirabeau Park Hotel 1100 N Sullivan Rd. Spokane Valley, WA 99037

Non-Profit Showcase December 13th 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

CenterPlace Regional Event Center The annual celebration of businesses and non-profits partnering to better our community.

Sponsor a Non-Profit Spotlight Table for $175

Donations are being accepted for Toys for Tots!

For more information, visit: spokanevalleychamber.org.

SAVE THE DATE 17th Annual Gem of the Valley Gala January 24th 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Mirabeau Park Hotel This premiere event features a live auction, an elegant dinner and our yearly awards program.

September New Members: Farmers Insurance Inland Northwest Behavioral Health IT Connections Life Decluttered Mental Health Solutions Schooley Mitchell dba Heather Hartman Spokane Angels Spokane Fitness Center TechFort The Image Architect The Ref Sports Bar Widmyer Commerical Real Estate

1421 N. Meadowwood Ln. Liberty Lake, WA 99019 | 509-924-4994 | spokanevalleychamber.org

10 • NOVEMBER 2019

NEWS

depot forged Spokane Getting right WWII Valley Industrial Park to work Velox Naval Supply Depot employed 2,000+

At the time of the commissioning of Velox in January 1943, just seven months after the contract had been started, the following had been accomplished: • 140,000 cubic yards of excavation for buildings • 16,000 cubic yards of grading for roads and streets • 4.6 million bricks were laid • 14.5 million board feet of lumber was used • 68,000 cubic yards of concrete was placed for warehouse foundations • 3.3 million square feet of roofing was placed

THEN

civilians at its height

By Keith Erickson Current Contributor

Bustling with more than 120 companies employing in excess of 4,500 people, the Spokane Business and Industrial Park off Sullivan Road in the Spokane Valley is touted as the region’s largest employment center.

Its evolution into a thriving mecca for economic development was never envisioned when the first buildings were quickly — if not hastily — erected on the mile-square piece of land back in the early 1940s.

Had it not been for World War II, the buildings that now make up the industrial park would never have been built in the first place. It was never envisioned to be an industrial park at all.

It was built as

the Velox Naval Supply Depot, a $12 million (at the time) depot consisting of 17 warehouses that would become the Navy’s main West Coast military storage facility. It was commissioned in early 1943 and employed more than 2,000 civilians at the height of operations in late 1944.

This history of Velox all began when the United States entered World War II in December 1941. At the time, Spokane was struggling with high unemployment and stagnant growth from the Depression era.

But nearly overnight, the region became a thriving hub for servicemen and women.

Except for the fact that project would offer a temporary whirlwind of jobs, there was little interest in it, local history buffs said.

“Not even a gambler could have

NOW

Photo by Keith Erickson Jayne Singleton, Director of the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum, pictured at the railway crossing through the industrial park.

The Current guessed that the planned group of 17 warehouses would have a lasting impact on the Valley’s future and be a viable part of the business community at the turn of the century,” wrote the late Florence Otto Boutwell, an exNavy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) who was stationed at the depot during World War II. “After all, the buildings were supposed to be of ‘semi-permanent construction,’” Boutwell wrote in her 2004 book, “The Spokane Valley: Naval Supply Depot at Velox.”

Boutwell, who has written several books on the history of Spokane Valley, went to work at the Velox Naval Supply Depot in her early 20s.

From a family of four sisters, she wanted to do what she could to help the war effort, so she signed up for the WAVES. “Just about everybody was either in the military or working in some war-related industry,” Boutwell wrote.

Boutwell was assigned to the accounting office and was charged with compiling monthly reports on Velox. She said the facility sparked a mass migration to the Valley, with people moving to the previously rural area to build the depot and work there once it opened.

Velox jobs created at the military installations gave many people their first taste of more structured employment.

“Most of these people had never been in business except at a general store or something like that,” Boutwell wrote. “Most of these people didn’t know what nine-tofive meant.”

Boutwell said the resulting local demand for housing was too heavy for the wartime supply of construction materials like steel and lumber. Many homes were divided up into apartments; families and churches offered rooms. Some workers bought property and waited to build.

“When you would drive around the Valley, you would see an expanse of tar paper,” she wrote. “They had dug cells in the ground and covered them with something, lived in the basement —waiting for the war to be over so they could build a first floor and a second floor.”

Today, the former Velox has more than 80 buildings, ranging in size from 1,200 to 270,000 square feet,

NOVEMBER 2019 • 11

The Current and boasts amenities like lodging, restaurants, retail operations and even day care.

Two railroads — Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe — serve the industrial park, which is home to companies like AT&T, FedEx, MoHawk Industries, Spokane Industries, Sears and other nationally known firms.

Jayne Singleton, director of the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum, is still awestruck by the Velox Supply Depot and its continuing mark on history.

“The buildings look the same as they did in the year they were constructed,” Singleton said recently as she toured the site. “These were built in June 1944, and most of them are still standing.”

To preserve history, a few of the buildings, officer’s quarters landmarks, have been moved from the Industrial Park and relocated to various spots around the Spokane Valley, she said.

The U.S. Navy built the Velox Naval Supply Depot, named after a nearby train stop, near Sullivan Road and Trent Avenue. With many men away at war, women filled many of the 2,700 jobs at the Velox Naval Depot.

The name Velox came from Arthur Glendinning, a railroad clerk in charge of naming rail stops through the region. Knowing the need for a short, but unique, name for each stop, he chose the name of a famous racehorse, Harry Velox, that ran in Salt Lake City in the 1890s.

Opened in 1942, it took a few

years to get the large warehouses completed. Six warehouses, the largest covering three acres, were completed by February 1945.

With the end of the war, the depot laid off many workers in April 1946.

Activity continued to slow until the war in Korea prompted expansion a few years later.

The Velox Naval Depot was closed in 1958 and put up for sale.

After competing bids and protests, Spokane Industrial Park Inc., a consortium of Spokane and Seattle business partners, paid more than $2.5 million for the 530-acre property and took control in early 1960.

The park quickly filled up with tenants making wood posts, fiberglass boats, electronic devices and many other products. Washington Water Power, now Avista, invested heavily in the company in the early 1960s and eventually owned the park outright.

WWP sold the property, now called Spokane Business and Industrial Park, to Crown West Realty in 1996.

Why Velox?

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and President Roosevelt declared war the next day, all governmental agencies, including the Navy, assessed their losses and their readiness.

In order to meet the sudden and increased demands of a wartime fleet, an immediate need of the Navy was more storage depots, Boutwell writes in her Velox history book. Depot storage was especially needed inland. These would serve as supplemental bases should the coastal stations be attacked.

Submitted Photos Then and now of the entry to the Spokane Industrial Park.

File Photo It started as Velox Naval Supply Depot, 17 warehouses that would become the Navy's largest West Coast military storage facility. Today, more than 80 buildings, ranging from 1,200 to 270,000 square feet, populate the various components of the Spokane Industrial Park.

Mechanicsburg, Penn., was chosen for the East Coast, and Velox was chosen in the Spokane Valley.

“At the time, Velox was only a whistle stop east of Trentwood on the Northern Pacific Railroad. The depot site covered roughly one square mile and planted mostly in wheat and garden produce and was cultivated by small farmers who affectionately called the area ‘Sunshine Valley,’”

Boutwell wrote. “The roads were mere wheel tracks, with many Dead End and No Trespassing signs near the Spokane River.”

In the eyes of the Navy, Velox fulfilled its needs. It was inland — 300 miles from Seattle — and only 12 miles from downtown Spokane, the transportation hub of the Inland Northwest. The climate would allow outside storage, and the farmers were a potential untapped labor force.

COMMUNITY

12 • NOVEMBER 2019

The Current

Calendar of Events COMMUNITY EVENTS Nov. 1 | Veterans Family Fall Festival – 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., National Guard Armory, 5453 E. Seltice Way, Post Falls.

Fun activities, games, food, candy, bounce house, costume contest. Free for military and veteran families. For more, call 208-608-3816.

Nov. 2 | Into Africa Auction and Dinner – 5:30 p.m., Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N. Sullivan Road, Spokane Valley. Authentic African art and crafts will be auctioned as well as getaways, sports packages, athletic memorabilia, lavish baskets and more to support the work of Partnering for Progress in Kenya. African dishes and western food will be served. Tickets are $75 per person or $450 for a table of 8. For more, visit partneringforprogress.org or call 720-8408.

Nov. 5 and 13 | “Cryptozoology: Magic or Myth?” – 4 to 5 p.m. at Argonne Library (Nov. 5), 4322 N. Argonne Road, and Otis Orchards Library (Nov. 13), 22324 E. Wellesley Ave. Kelly Milner Halls presents mysteries to captivate the imagination of kids ages 8 and older. For more, visit scld.org/ engage or call 893-8200.

Nov. 9 | 16th Annual Heritage Program – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Spokane Valley Eagles, 16801 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley. Annual event supporting the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum will include a presentation this year on the history of Liberty Lake. Luncheon and silent auction will also be a part of the festivities, which cost $20 in advance or $25 at the door. For more, call 922-4570.

Nov. 9 | “Monte Carlo Night” HALO Gala – 6 to 10:30 p.m., Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center, 1100 N. Sullivan Road, Spokane Valley.

First annual event supports HALO Medical Travel Services, a Spokane Valley nonprofit assisting families with resources and expenses associated with being forced to travel for medical attention. Tickets or $100 include gourmet dinner, champagne reception and funny money for gambling. For more, visit halomedicaltravel.org or call 991-0744.

Nov. 9 | Prime Rib & Oyster Feed – 5 to 8 p.m., Fairfield Community Center, 304 E. Main St., Fairfield. Fundraiser event for Fairfield Flag Day and other service club projects. Cost is $25 for adults.

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. For more, search for “Act 2” at scc.spokane.edu.

Baha’i Fireside Conversation | 7 to 8 p.m., third Thursday 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. For more, call 599-2411.

Café Card Club | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesdays, On Sacred Grounds, 12212 E. Palouse Hwy., Valleyford.

Play pinochle, cribbage, or hearts.

For more, call 951-7039 or email onsacredgrounsrising@gmail.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-Singles-Mingle.

Free Last Sunday Lunch | Spokane

Valley United Methodist Church, 115 N. Raymond Road, Spokane Valley 12:30 p.m. on the final Sunday of every month in the church’s Fellowship Hall, Room 115 Grange Meeting and Dessert | 6:30 p.m., third Wednesday of the month, Tri-Community Grange, 25025 Heather St., Newman Lake. The public is welcome for this community-based service organization. For more, call 2262202.

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.

Rockford Crochet Class | 10 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, Harvest Moon, 20 S. First St., Rockford. Free classes. We have crocheters, knitters, embroidery, quilting and needlepoint. Come and share what you are doing. For more, call 291-3722.

Rockford Historical Society | 11:30 a.m. second Friday of the month (February to November), The Harvest Moon, 20 S. First St., Rockford. For more, call 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 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 Ave. 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 3:15 p.m., Thursday, 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. (reserved for age 60 and over and physically-handicapped people with limited mobility). Address verification required. To make an appointment, call 927-1153, ext. 10, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Spokane Valley Senior Citizens Association | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place.

Activities include bridge, billiards, book club, Red Hat Ladies, Mahjongg, ACT II classes, foot care, Medicare assistance, monthly excursions to Northern Quest Casino, Meals on Wheels location and more. Annual dues are $25/single or $45/couple. For more, call 926-1937 or visit spokanevalleyseniorcenter.org.

MUSIC & THE ARTS Nov. 1-3 | “A Place to Call Home: A Play about the Hutton Settlement” – Various times, Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard St., Spokane. In honor of its centennial celebration, this production brings to life the remarkable story of the Hutton Settlement, recalling Levi Hutton’s struggles and joys as he built and endowed the 100-yearold Hutton Settlement, beautifully situated in the Spokane Valley. For more or to purchase tickets, visit spokanecivictheatre.com.

Nov. 2 | Play in a Day – “Behind the Scenes” – Noon to 5 p.m., TAC at the

YOUR MONEY GOES FURTHER WITHOUT MAINTENANCE FEES. FREE CHECKING FOR EVERY MEMBER :ALYSSA L., MEMBER-OWNER

Federally insured by NCUA

The Current

COMMUNITY

Lake, 22910 E. Appleway Ave., Liberty Lake. Organized by the Teen Board of Directors, kids get a whirlwind taste of theater by spending an afternoon devising, directing and acting in a 15-minute play performed before family and friends. For more, visit tacatthelake.com.

Nov. 8 | Movie Night – “Coraline” – 7 p.m., TAC at the Lake, 22910 E. Appleway Ave., Liberty Lake. Watch a free family movie at the theater.

Recommend arriving 30 minutes early.

For more, visit tacatthelake.com.

Nov. 8-24 | “The Cemetery Club,” by Ivan Menchell -- Various times. Ignite!

Community Theatre, 10814 E. Broadway Ave., Spokane Valley. Touching and funny story of three widows who meet monthly for tea and a visit to their husbands’ graves. For tickets and more info, visit igniteonbroadway.org.

Nov. 9-10 | Spokane Fall Folk Festival – Spokane Community College Lair, 1810 N. Greene St., Spokane. 24th annual festival presented by the Spokane Folklore Society featuring 100 groups, workshops, crafts and family activities.

For more, visit spokanefolkfestival.org or call 828-3683.

Dec. 8 | Holiday Craft Fair – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Spokane Valley Adventist School, 1603 S. Sullivan Road, Spokane Valley. Handmade items, holiday decor and more. Free admission. For more, email svascraftfair@gmail.com or visit tinyurl.svascraftfair2019.

RECURRING The Fire Brigade| 7 p.m., first Saturday of the month, Ignite! Community Theatre, 10814 E. Broadway Ave., Spokane Valley. Ignite!’s improv troupe fires up family-friendly comedy. For more, visit igniteonbroadway.org.

Pages of Harmony | 6:30 to 9 p.m., Wednesdays, Thornhill Valley Chapel, 1400 S. Pines Road. Four-part, a cappella harmony, men’s barbershop chorus. More at pagesofharmony.org.

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 218-4799.

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 Quilt Guild | Meetings at 6:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of February, April, June, August, October and December at Valley Assembly of God Church, 15618 E. Broadway Ave., Spokane Valley. Open to all interested in sharing ideas and skills of our quilting craft.

Participants can access a comprehensive library, engage experienced teachers and participate in community service projects.

More at svqgspokane.com.

NOVEMBER 2019 • 13

November 22-23-24, 2019 43rd Annual Christmas

HEALTH & RECREATION Nov. 6 | Medicare Open Enrollment Workshop – 1 to 3:30 p.m., Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Road, Spokane Valley. Providing help to determine the best Medicare plan for each individual situation, in partnership with Aging & Long Term Care of Eastern Washington and Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors. For more, call 458-2509.

Nov. 13 | “Surviving the Holidays” Grief Seminar – 6:15 to 8:15 p.m., ONE Church, 15601 E. 24th Ave., Spokane Valley.

Grieving the loss of a loved one or know someone who is? The holiday season can be especially painful, and this seminar focuses on topics such as how to deal with emotions, what to do about traditions, helpful tips for surviving social events and how to find hope for the future. For more, contact Sue at 294-1664 or iamsues@gmail. com Nov. 25 | T(w)een Self Defense Class – 6 to 7:15 p.m., Liberty Lake Municipal Library, 23123 E. Mission Ave., Liberty Lake. Taught by Master Corbin, class covers variety of topics for youth 11 and up. Register online for this free event through the library’s website, or call 2557622 for more information.

RECURRING Al-Anon Family Meetings | Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m., Opportunity Christian Church, 708 N. Pines, Spokane Valley.

Is there a problem of alcoholism with a relative or a friend? Al-Anon/Alateen family groups can help. For more, call 4562125.

Decreasing Anger Group | 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays, the Vet Center, 13109 E. Mirabeau Parkway, Spokane Valley.

Eligibility: combat veteran from all eras, military sexual trauma survivors. For more, call Steve at 893-4746 to make an intake appointment.

DivorceCare Recovery Support Group | Mondays 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Eastpoint Church, 15303 E. Sprague Ave. Learn how to heal from the deep hurt of divorce and

See CALENDAR, Page 14

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Come and Pray with Us! Services: Sunday @ 11am & Tuesday @ 7:30pm Prayer: Monday-Saturday 6am-9am www.spokanecornerstonechurch.org 21326 E Mission Ave, Liberty Lake WA

14 • NOVEMBER 2019

CALENDAR

Continued from page 13 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.

Family and Friends of Addicts| 6 p.m.

Wednesdays, The ONE Church, 15601 E. 24th Ave., Spokane Valley. Support group utilizing tools and principles to help navigate relationships with addicts and finding peace, strength and hope. For more, call 590-2422.

GriefShare Support Group (Mondays)| 6:15 to 8 p.m. Mondays, The ONE Church, east entrance, 15601 E. 24th Ave., Spokane Valley. Most recent program began Feb. 20, but join at any time. Designed to help cope with loss, whether recent or years ago. For more, call Sue at 294-1664 or Jere at 710-3354.

GriefShare Support Group (Thursdays) | 10 a.m. Thursdays, Spokane Valley Church of the Nazarene, 15515 E. 20th Ave. Most recent program began Jan. 17 and runs 13 weeks, but join at any time. If you have lost a loved one and are dealing with grief, stop by to share or just listen.

SPASH/CURRENT • 9.83x5.66 For more, call 926-1545.

HUB Sports Center | 19619 E. Cataldo Ave., Liberty Lake. Various activities and events occur throughout the week including:

The Current • Pickleball drop-in: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Thursday; 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday and Sunday. $3/seniors, $5/ non-seniors.

• Classes including Kenpo Karate, Taekwondo and Fit for YOUR Life. See hubsportscenter.org for cost and times.

Military Sobriety Support Group | 10 to 11:30 a.m., Spokane Vet Center, 13109 E. Mirabeau Parkway, Spokane Valley. For more, call Steve at 893-4746.

Mindful Music & Movement | 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. Wednesdays, Willow Song Music Therapy Center, 21101 E. Wellesley #102-103, Otis Orchards. All are welcome to this session specifically designed for adults living with chronic health issues.

Session addresses physical function, vocal wellness and strength, self-expression, breath work, movement, and increase of mood through music experiences, as facilitated by board-certified music therapist, Carla Carnegie. $10 per person.

For more, email carla.carnegie@gmail. com or call 592-7875.

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

Nov. 13 | After 5 Networking – 4:30 to 6 p.m., Revel Spokane, 16807 E. Mission Parkway, Spokane Valley. Business connection event organized by the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce. Free to members, $10 nonmembers. For more or to register, visit spokanevalleychamber.org.

Nov. 15 | Spokane Valley Chamber Annual Meeting – 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N. Sullivan Road, Spokane Valley, $45 to members, $55 nonmembers. For more or to register, visit spokanevalleychamber.org.

Wednesdays in November | SCORE Small Business Classes – Wednesday mornings, SBA Training Room, 801 W. Riverside Ave. 4th Floor, Spokane.

Cost is $25 if pre-registered. SCORE Spokane offers a variety of low-cost workshops designed to encourage the success of emerging and small business owners. Free business mentoring is also available. For more, visit spokane. score.org.

RECURRING Spokane Valley City Council | Regular meetings held 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.

Millwood City Council | Regular meetings at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Millwood City Hall, 9103 E. Frederick Ave. Spokane Flag Museum | Sponsored by the Sons of the American Revolution and the Fairmount Memorial Association, details the rich history of the American flag, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pines Cemetery, 1402 S. Pines Road, Spokane Valley. For more, call 9262753 or visit fairmountmemorial. com/south-pines-cemetery.

Spokane Valley Kiwanis | 6:45 a.m. Tuesdays, Valley Hospital Education Center, 12606 E. Mission Ave. More at spokanevalleykiwanis. net.

Greater Spokane Valley Rotary | Noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays, Darcy’s, 10502 E. Sprague Ave. More at svrotary.org.

Submit items for The Current Community Calendar by the 10th of the previous month by emailing editor@ valleycurrent.com. Priority is given to noncommercial local events open to the public.

Let’s Connect!

Join us to learn about innovative programs happening inside our schools and CVSD! All COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS EVENTS include breakfast: w November 7, 8-9:30am – Liberty Creek Elementary, 23909 E. Country Vista Dr.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Highlighting arts in education, enjoy a patriotic Veterans Day performance & experience Liberty Creek’s Meet the Masters art program, showcasing Andy Warhol this month.

w November 14, 7:30-9am – Central Valley High School, 821 S. Sullivan Rd.

Featuring ASB, DECA, Project Lead the Way, library innovation, community service, tech theater, cheerleading, orchestra and much more.

w November 21, 8-9:30am – Ponderosa Elementary, 10105 E. Cimmaron Dr.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Come see and hear unique extra-curricular opportunities offered to Ponderosa Wildcats. Won’t you be our guest?

w December 5, 7:30-9am – University High School, 12420 E. 32nd Ave.

Learn about U-High programs, including Army JROTC, AP Capstone, Career & Technical Education, computer science, choir, girls basketball and more.

w December 12, 7:30-9am – North Pines Middle School, 11900 E. Broadway Ave.

Is teaching positive character and social skills to middle school students possible?

Experience how Character Strong curriculum creates clear academic and behavioral expectations at North Pines.

Everyone is welcome – RSVP today!

Online: CVSD.org • Call: 509-558-5532 • E-mail: cbusch@cvsd.org

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The Current

The Current

NOVEMBER 2019 • 17

Open Gym For All Ages - Fridays 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Indoor Playground 12:00-1:00 during the regular school year

Instructional Classes offered

morning, afternoon, evening and weekends for all goals & abilities toddler through adult

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Bitty Bee Mondays & Wednesdays weekly from 9:30am – 12:30pm!

Movie Night- evening of fun, friends, gymnastics, popcorn and movies!

www.spokanegymnastics.com

18 • NOVEMBER 2019

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Student of the Month

Athlete of the Month

Citizen of the Month

The honor roll at West Valley High School is a familiar place for Chelsea Bressler.

The senior maintains a 4.0 grade point average with a schedule that includes advanced placement classes in subjects like government, literature, chemistry and physics. She is also part of National Honor Society. As a standout in varsity tennis last season, Bressler lost only one league match in singles and advanced to districts in doubles. She is a three-year letter winner. She participated in soccer her first year at West Valley. She has also played the piano since the sixth grade. Bressler will soon begin volunteering at Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS). As for her stellar academic achievements, Bressler said it’s a matter of prioritizing. “I just try to put aside time for my studies,” she said. She is leaning toward computer science in college.

Kolby Green has found his stride this autumn as the top runner for the West Valley boys’ cross country team. The senior placed first in three of four Great Northern League meets and set a personal best of 15 minutes, 27 seconds on the 3-mile course at the Richland Invitational last month. The four-year letter winner in cross country advanced to the 2A state meet last year, placing 32nd. He was named to the All GNL first team last season and second team as a sophomore.

In track, Green set a p.r. in the mile at 4 minutes, 27 seconds, qualifying for the regional meet. He ran a best of nine minutes, 56 seconds in the 2-mile. He was named to the All GNL second team in track last season. In the classroom, Green maintains a 3.8 grade point average.

Joan Kilian grew up in the Dishman area, learning the value of service from her mom who donated produce from the family garden to those in need. “We need to look out for each other,” Kilian says. Since 1982, Kilian has been contributing to an effort that began as Spokane Valley (now Greater Spokane County) Meals on Wheels. She has served as a substitute driver, volunteer driver, bookkeeper and more. “I’m part of the place, like the furniture,” Kilian says.

She is currently secretary of the board and part of the fundraising committee. “It’s heartwarming to take a meal to someone and know you’re helping them stay in their home,” she says. A longtime member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Kilian delivers communion and encouragement to homebound parishioners. She also volunteers with Shawl Ministry, knitting shawls for hospice patients.

Citizenship on display at your local library

By Dana Mannino PACE Columnist

For me, citizenship means taking seriously our responsibility to make our country the best place it can be. There are many ways to practice citizenship: Following the speed limit, keeping your sidewalk free of snow in winter, noticing problems in your community and working to fix them.

Perhaps the most iconic act of citizenship is voting. When we vote, we weigh in on potential laws or pick the lawmakers who will write them. It’s hard to make a law that is fair for everyone. Whether you are a lawmaker or a voting citizen, it takes a lot of information to make a good decision.

Enter the Library. In 1800, our founding fathers recognized the need for members of the legislature to access vast amounts

of information as they crafted laws. They founded the Library of Congress to fill that need. When the capitol burned down during the war of 1812, Thomas Jefferson sold his personal collection of over 6,000 volumes to Congress to help the library start over.

On a smaller scale, your county libraries continue this mission to get information into the hands of the decision makers – the voters. We collect books and other materials written from a variety of viewpoints so that voters can weigh different arguments and make informed decisions.

We also pay for databases and newspaper subscriptions you can access without getting stopped by a paywall. Paywalls are those annoying pop ups that say, “You’ve read your four free articles for the month. Subscribe to read more!” I hate those. Using the library’s digital collection will get you around the paywall. Your tax dollars at work.

If you ever need reassuring that citizenship is alive and well, stop by the library in the weeks leading up to an election. You will see people with their ballots spread out

in front of them as they use library computers to research issues before they vote.

Or visit us after the government releases an important document.

When the recent Mueller Report was released, many people (from both political parties) came in to read it. We kept a printed copy at the desk (all 448 pages!) and helped people navigate it online.

Visiting on National Voter Registration day could also warm your citizen heart. This September, 31 library volunteers gave their time to help people register to vote.

For that matter, every day is voter registration day at the library. We always have printed registration forms on hand and can answer questions about filling them out.

But my favorite way that the library fosters good citizenship is in our partnership with schools. We visit many school showing teachers, school librarians, and students how to use our digital resources. These resources are even more crucial now that many schools have been forced to cut or eliminate their library materials budgets.

Last year, I did a series of research workshops for Mica Peak

Come visit your Spokane Valley Neighborhood Financial Center located at 615 N Sullivan Road

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Thanks you for all you do in our community High. The students were engaged in project-based learning. They each had selected a problem in their community and were trying to solve it. I came to teach them how to research solutions. Those kids tackled everything from improving the safety of the intersection near their school to strengthening animal welfare regulations at pet stores. It was a joy to show them how to find information that would build the case for the changes they wanted to see and also how to research the processes they should use to make those changes.

So citizenship is alive and well in your community, folks! If you don’t believe it, well, come and see us at the library.

Dana Mannino is a Librarian with the Spokane County Library District.

Her work takes her from pre-school to retirement centers and everywhere in between. If you are looking for a great book on living a life of character, she recommends Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, which is readily available at your local library. She wrote this column to highlight “citizenship,” the Partners Advancing Character Education (PACE) trait of the month for November.

The Current

LIBRARY

NOVEMBER 2019 • 19

Hanford Nuclear Site focus of exhibit, literature, ecology programs partners. The photos and materials

By Gwendolyn Haley, Librarian Spokane County Library District

September 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Hanford Nuclear Site.

Spokane County Library District is offering a closer look at the history and effects of Hanford on our region.

You can see an exhibit of historical photos and wartime propaganda from the Hanford Site at North Spokane Library throughout November. There will also be library programs about the ecology of Hanford and its influence on writers and activists.

I sat down to chat with Librarian Corinne Wilson, coordinator and curator of the exhibit and programs, to learn more and discuss what you can expect.

Gwendolyn Haley: What drew you to the subject of Hanford as a potential exhibit?

Corinne Wilson: Several factors came together at once—a colleague was discussing Hanford quite a bit, it has been in the news over the last year or so, and I learned that the 75th anniversary is this year.

I also thought about how geographically close Hanford is to Spokane, how much impact it has had

on those living in the state, and how it continues to affect things like the national debt, politics, health, and the environment. That said, many people don’t know very much about the Hanford Site—that it has the largest amount of high-risk nuclear waste in the nation, for example.

GH: What do you hope people will learn from the exhibit?

CW: I hope people come away knowing about life in Hanford during that era. Like the fact that Richland was a government town. The architect had 90 days to plan a town for 16,000 people that included commercial buildings, utilities, and a variety of family homes, and he had to do it all very quietly.

I think people will also get a glimpse of the different faces of the World War II era than those we typically see. And then, there are the long term effects that Hanford has had on our region, including the residents—both people and wildlife—and the environment.

GH: Where did you find the photos and other materials that will be on display for the exhibit?

CW: First, I did extensive reading and research in preparation. I was lucky to find, and work with, great

were provided by The Reach Museum, The B Reactor Museum Association, The Hanford History Project, Columbia Basin Historical Society, and Franklin County Historical Society. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Tribes, Richland Public Library, and Hanford itself provided additional research as well. It has been a collaborative effort.

GH: Who should come to view the exhibit and attend the library programs?

CW: Everyone! People interested in history. People interested in the science. Students could learn quite a bit about our regional history from the exhibit and programs. The speaker’s series provides multiple perspectives as well, including those of a novelist, a poet, an investigative journalist, and an environmentalist.

GH: If a group was interested in a guided tour of the exhibit, is that a possibility?

CW: Yes! They could use our Booka-Librarian service to request a tour at www.scld.org/book-a-librarian.

Anyone wanting more information about the Hanford Site exhibit and programs can visit www.scld.org/ hanford-site.

Shop local, support your community on Small Businessduring Saturday the recession, to spotlight event runs from 10am to 5pm on

By Stacey Goddard, Librarian Spokane County Library District

Every year it seems retailers want us to start our holiday shopping earlier and earlier. Picked over back-to-school displays are already sharing shelf space with holiday wrapping paper and twinkle lights. But it can be hard to think about decorations, gifts, and recipes when December is still weeks away.

One benefit of the cooler weather and unexpectedly early snow we’ve gotten is that, all of a sudden, it feels like the holidays aren’t too far off after all. And while I may not love the early snow, I’m excited about the upcoming shopping opportunities. In fact, my favorite shopping event of the year is coming up soon: Small Business Saturday on November 30.

American Express launched Small Business Saturday ten years ago,

and support the locally owned and operated shops that are the backbones of our communities.

You can show small businesses in our community some love by shopping local after you’ve shopped (or avoided!) the Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales.

Spokane County Library District is proud to be a Neighborhood Champion for the fourth year in a row.

We’re working with local businesses in Millwood (Argonne Library), as well as Cheney, Deer Park, and Medical Lake to help community members discover fantastic local stores in each community.

You can take part in Small Business Saturday activities with the library and win a gift card from a local business (while supplies last). At Argonne Library and the other libraries, the

November 30.

All you need to do is visit the welcome station at the library and pick up our bingo challenge activity sheet.

Complete the bingo challenge as you shop at participating local stores, and then return your completed bingo card back to the library’s welcome station.

Prizes have been provided by the Friends of the Libraries and American Express.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the small businesses of Millwood before, you’ll find that holiday shopping is great way to explore the town’s sights and experience Millwood’s small town feel. Plus, you never know what you may find (perhaps that perfect gift) at these vibrant, local shops!

For more information about Small Business Saturday, visit www.scld.org.

HACKING DEMOCRACY: What Social Media is Doing to US Politics Political scientist Travis Ridout explores the pros and cons of social media in political campaigns.

Learn how politicians—and foreign spies—are using social media and personal data to their advantage.

NORTH SPOKANE Wednesday, Nov 20, 6:30–7:30pm SPOKANE VALLEY Thursday, Nov 21, 7–8pm

www.scld.org

20 • NOVEMBER 2019

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About and for Valley seniors

Event helps attendees prepare for the worst

By Nina Culver Current Contributor

The Trutina neighborhood in Liberty Lake, which bills itself as a resort-style neighborhood for those age 55 and over, held a recent disaster preparedness resource fair to help people deal with natural disasters and emergencies.

The resource fair was organized

by Trutina residents Sharon and Michael Witton, who previously organized three similar events when they lived in California. Sharon Witton said she was inspired to do something similar here by a power outage early this year.

“The eye opener was the night the transformer went out, and it was bitterly cold,” she said. “They evacuated the apartments, but they had nowhere to go. We were not prepared at all for that. We have a lot of elderly people here and a lot of single ladies.”

The couple moved to Liberty Lake a little over two years ago.

They’d lived in California for years, where Sharon Witton was a middle school teacher in the same

Sacramento school district for 32 years, and her husband worked as a truck driver.

Sharon and her husband are community minded. They’re known for patrolling the neighborhood every night in their red golf cart, looking for open garage doors and anything else amiss.

“He’s the mayor, and I’m the sheriff,” she joked.

She said she believes having a Neighborhood Watch is important.

“When we got here, there was no Neighborhood Watch, so we started one,” she said. “I don’t care where you are, you need to look out for your neighbors even if you live in a safe community.”

Sharon Witton wants her neighbors to be prepared for anything, whether it’s a fall inside their home or something more major.

“It’s not just a natural disaster,” she said. “It’s not just if an oil train falls off the tracks. We want all kinds of disaster preparedness.”

She noted that there is only

Photo by Nina Culver Spokane Valley Fire paramedic R.W. Pegau shows Diane Isaacson how to put a tourniquet on his arm at a disaster preparedness fair last month in Liberty Lake.

one access road leading to the community, which could complicate matters in an emergency.

“There’s only one way out,” she said.

The resource fair featured representatives from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Greater Spokane Emergency Management, the Spokane Valley Fire Department, the Liberty Lake Police Department and Neighborhood Watch.

SVFD paramedic R.W. Pegau attracted a small crowd as he showed people how to use a t-shirt to pack a wound to stop the bleeding. He said sometimes people need immediate help and can’t wait the few minutes it will take for paramedics to arrive.

“There’s not enough time,” he said. “You can bleed to death in five minutes. You need to be the immediate responder.”

Pegau let Trutina resident Diane Isaacson practice putting a tourniquet on his arm, showing her how to strap it on and twist a small handle to pull it tight. Isaacson said she took first aid classes during her 30-year career as a school bus driver but appreciated what Pegau taught her.

“It never hurts to get the information in your head,” she said.

She said she’s never used a tourniquet before.

“He had me crank it,” she said of Pegau. “If somebody was bleeding, I probably wouldn’t mind doing that.”

Gerry Bozarth of Greater Spokane Emergency Management said his organization helps with all phases of emergency response, including preparedness, response and recovery. His goal was to help people attending the resource fair be better prepared.

“The more citizens are prepared, the better our recovery is,” he said.

People should plan to be selfreliant for two weeks in the event of an emergency and should build a disaster kit and a plan, he said. A person needs about a gallon of water per day, and there should be plenty of non-perishable food on hand.

The recommended items for a

Photo by Nina Culver Liberty Lake residents Michael and Sharon Witton pose at the disaster preparedness resource fair they organized in October.

disaster kit includes everything from a first aid kit to a flashlight to prescription medications. People should also prepare extra batteries, simple tools, a change of clothes and a manual can opener. Pet owners also need to have food and water for their animals and parents of young children should pack games and activities to keep them occupied.

Bozarth said he also recommends that people have a battery-operated radio, a fire extinguisher and a charger for their cell phone as well as sleeping bags, matches and bleach for disinfecting purposes. Paper cups and plates are also handy, along with plastic utensils. Moist towelettes can be added to help with cleaning hands.

Families should also prepare evacuation plans and select a spot outside their neighborhood where they can meet if an evacuation is ordered.

It’s all about the preparation, Bozarth said.

“Who knows what could happen?” he said.

Sharon Witton said she was pleased that quite a few of her neighbors attended the event on a busy fall Saturday.

“I didn’t think we’d have so many because it’s the first one,” she said. “I have to hand it to all these vendors coming in on a Saturday.”

NOVEMBER 2019 • 21

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Tight-knit U-Hi enjoying volleyball success

By Steve Christilaw Current Contributor

Joliana Poplawski hurried off the volleyball court after her University Titans finished sweeping away Shadle Park in three games.

Poplawski had a strong night, serving up 29 assists and four aces. But something else was more important. The senior went in search of her warm-up for the night -- a multicolored flannel shirt -- and after pulling it on she dove into the homecourt crowd to mingle with family, friends and fans.

Not satisfied with that, she then organized a group photo session with the flannel-clad team and its flannel-wearing supporters.

“This group wanted to do something for their fans; they call them their Super Fans,” coach Tony Collins said. “So they started doing theme nights. Tonight was Cowboy Night. They’ve had all kinds of different themes. Hawaiian Night.

We have a match on Halloween, so I can just imagine what that’s going to be like.

“More importantly, they’ve done a great job of getting their fans to travel with us on the road.”

As the Titans headed into the final weeks of the regular season, it’s plain that this particular group was going to wring every special moment out of their final time together.

“I have nine seniors on this team, and most of them have been together all four years,” Collins said.

Poplawski corrected him.

“There are players on this team that I’ve been playing with since I was 12 years old,” the senior setter said.

That kind of time together can make for a strong bond, and the

Photo by Steve Christilaw University’s Krista Tiffany serves in the second game of the Titans’ three-game sweep of Shadle Park Oct. 15 at U-Hi.

program is that much better for it.

Of the Titans first seven Greater Spokane League wins, six were three-game sweeps. Gonzaga Prep pushed its match to four. U-Hi lost its showdown with a very tough Mt. Spokane squad in a nonleague match and dropped a five-set battle with Lake City.

Poplawski sets a tone as a versatile, 5-foot-11 setter who is equally effective on the block. With an athletic group around her, she is equally comfortably setting across

court or making a backset down the line.

“After all this time, we know each other so well and know where everyone is on the floor,” she said. “I like that my teammates trust me to make a play. They’re like ‘Oh, she’s got it,’ and they don’t even go for it.

They just know I’m going to get it done.”

That trust goes both ways.

At 5-11, Lauren Fleury is a consistent hitter who regularly leads the team in kills, putting down 11 against Shadle. Krista Tiffany does the same on digs, including 10 against the Highlanders. Avery Carbajal and Brooklyn Worsham are strong, versatile hitters.

“We have a good deal of talent,” Collins said. “We’ve been working on going with more of a set lineup and not doing a lot of substituting.

Mostly because we can.

“What’s good is that we have a strong group and they all push each other hard every day in practice, forcing us to get better.”

Good programs seek out better competition to test themselves, and U-Hi has done that.

“You have to,” Poplawski said.

“That’s what I liked about playing in the Crossover Classic and in the tournament we went to in Yakima.

We played against state-caliber teams in both.

“We have to keep working hard every day in practice if we want to keep playing. We have to make the most out of each practice.”

Like most teams, staying consistently focused and communicating with one another is a priority – even when much of that communication can remain unspoken.

Against Shadle Park, the Titans got off to a slow start, then rolled to an easy Game 1 win. In Game 2 they hit a rough patch and fell behind, 16-14.

“It was good for us to be pushed like that, and I like how we respond when we fall behind,” Collins said.

That inspiration sparked another run that continued for the rest of the match.

“Falling behind really forces us to get more focused, and we always fight back,” Poplawski said. “I like the way this team fights back.”

Photo by Steve Christilaw The University girls volleyball team celebrates a win over Shadle Park with its most devoted “Super Fans” on Cowboy Night.

NOVEMBER 2019 • 23

The Current

WV football’s streak ended

by Clarkston

By Steve Christilaw From the Sidelines

The problem with streaks – and this holds true for both the good ones and the bad ones – is that, sooner or later, they come to an end.

West Valley had its run of 11 straight Great Northern League football games snapped when quarterback Kaeden Frazier scored on a two-point conversion attempt in overtime at Ward Mauer Field, pulling out a 50-49 victory.

The win was Clarkston’s first over the Eagles since the 2015 season. The last GNL team to knock off West Valley was Pullman.

Going into the season, the defense was considered a strength for the Eagles, but the loss to Clarkston was the team’s second straight defeat. West Valley was shut out by Eastmont in a nonleague game, 58-0.

In two losses, the Eagles surrendered 108 total points.

West Valley bounced back to knock off Lakeland, 41-40, and headed into the final three GNL games of the regular season, including a

Pay to play is a mistake

By Mike Vlahovich The Final Point

“Be true to your school Just like you would to your girl or guy Be true to your school now And let your colors fly Be true to your school” By today’s standards, that Beach Boys ditty is as naïve and outdated as the 1963 song. Instead of root, root, rooting for the home team, you could be rooting for the free agent nearest you.

I understand colleges are profiting from their athletes, and the argument is that the players deserve a cut of revenue beyond scholarships and perhaps getting an education. But it’s a slippery slope.

Turning athletes into billboards in a cart-before-the-horse money grab as proposed by a California law recently passed called the Fair Pay to Play Act

showdown with longtime rival East Valley Nov. 1.

••• The Great Northern League boys cross country battle will come down to some strong individual performances.

As the regular season winds down, West Valley senior Kolby Green figures to battle for a top three spot while the Eagles’ top four runners all own top 11 times, according to Athletics.net, the website that tracks top times in both cross country and track and field.

Brothers Liam and Lain Hyde ran 17:04 and 17:12, respectively.

Brendan Haight ran 17:17.

East Valley’s Zack Severin has a top 10 time after running 16:54, 23 seconds behind Green in the East Valley-West Valley head-to-head battle. Teammate Jack Weidman is just outside the league’s Top 10 times.

••• West Valley senior Annika Esvelt has the fastest time in the GNL by a wide margin as the season begins to wind down. Esvelt, who placed 15th overall at last year’s state Class 2A meet in Pasco while leading the Eagles to the state championship, ran 19:10 against East Valley. The league’s second-fastest time was Nicole Jones of Pullman, who ran

the Inland Empire Challenge meet in 19:41. Overall, Esvelt sits just outside the top 10 in state Class 2A with the 11th fastest time.

Allie Andrews, Mikayla Davis and Kaitlyn Adamson all own times in the GNL top 10.

East Valley’s Gracie Montoya, Mackenzie Allen and Ciara Mielke each have times in the top 20.

••• Central Valley’s boys cross country program was hit hard by graduation following its secondplace state Class 4A finish a year ago. In all, 20 runners from the 2018 season were lost.

The Bears knew they needed to hit the ground running, so to speak, in 2019.

Judging by the results of the Tracy Walters Invitational, CV has made up a lot of ground.

Central Valley placed second in the Division II race, just three points behind first-place Rocky Mountain, and posted the best finish by a Greater Spokane League school.

Senior Tyler Hunter turned in a personal best time of 15:32.3 in a double dual meet with Mead and North Central. Juniors Caleb Kartchner and Alex Wright have run 16:31.5 and 16:32.6.

University’s Jacob Easton’s personal best time of 15:23.9 is just five seconds off the top time by Lewis and Clark’s Wil Smith.

••• CV sophomore Kylee Shakespeare ran a personal best time of 18 minutes, 48.9 seconds at the Nike “Battle for the 509” meet, a mark that sets the standard for the 4A GSL. Teammates Sarah Pecha and Jenni Bissell ran 19:55.7 and 19:56.2, respectively. In all, eight CV runners own times among the Top 20 in the GSL. Lewis and Clark has six runners in that field, but three of them rank among the Top 6.

University senior Aayiana Fuller ran a personal best 19:53 at the Mountain West Classic.

••• Sept. 11 stands out for the CV girls slow-pitch softball season.

It was the Bears 2019 nonleague season opener and the only time the team has been shutout, losing 2-0 to Mt. Spokane.

Since that loss, CV rolled off 12 straight wins and headed into the final week of the season undefeated in league, the first 11 of them scoring in double digits before pulling out a 7-6 win over Lewis and Clark behind a 3-for-3 day at the plate by Arianna Roos.

allows players to make endorsement money off their name, image and likeness (NIL) while retaining college eligibility.

It was bound to happen, because cash is more important than merely getting a degree. And I suppose it’s only fair because colleges already are profiting on the backs of their athletes.

As if a scholarship, education, campus experience and friendships aren’t enough. Fill the stadium, bring the money.

In two The Spokesman-Review Gonzaga University stories last month, beat writer Jim Meehan talked to both Athletic Director Mike Roth and Coach Mark Few about the proposal, and both indicated it’s a good deal ... if. Roth has “strong reservations.”

“I do feel student-athletes deserve more than what is presently allowed, but once we go down this path of NIL (name, image and likeness), I fear we’re professionalizing it,” Roth was quoted.

It seems to me also that it opens

a can of transfer worms with players seeking a better endorsement deal at another school. In a Yahoo Sports column, the author reasoned that it wouldn’t be a problem because the best recruits will still go, as they do now, to the same few powerhouse schools and conferences where money flows.

It’s bad enough that pro sports have picked fans’ pockets with ridiculous ticket and concession prices (which everyman seems willing to pay while lamenting their plight). Once it permeates college, who knows what chicanery can happen?

An athlete signs with one school, is bribed by another with the promise of more lucrative endorsements. The precious few will reach the pros, but more likely, the best will fade into obscurity after making a bit of lucre.

Will coaches sell their souls to bring in a basketball player that can lead them to the promised land (which is already happening and that won’t change)? How will teams mesh when one guy gets endorsement

money hanging out his pockets and teammates do without for doing the same job? Will it breed jealousy instead of cohesiveness?

More to the point, aren’t athletes’ scholarships ostensibly there to get an education and a degree? Aren’t they – like the majority of students -- finding friends, their personalities blossoming and reveling in the college experience?

It’s a sign of the times. Count this aging body as one who blossomed in and relished college life. I sat in the stands and rooted on peer classmate athletes without regard to possible pro contracts. It was less about wins and losses, but about the experience.

I’m probably one of the few who thinks this latest money grab is a mistake. Count me in with the Beach Boys, whose song was back when I was just beginning college.

Be true to your school, not the almighty dollar.

Mike Vlahovich is a longtime Spokane Valley sportswriter and member of the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame Scroll of Honor.

24 • NOVEMBER 2019

The Current

News Droplets

The Western Regional Premier of

The Woman in Black a ghost play

City to study economic potential of trail

The City of Spokane Valley was awarded $25,000 by the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) to complete an economic development study for the Appleway Trail project.

The 5.1-mile trail, which has its

last section expected to be completed in the spring of 2020, could be used as a catalyst to spur new businesses and job growth along the Sprague Avenue corridor. These CERB funds are matched by $8,333 in local resources.

Phone and Internet Discounts Available to CenturyLink Customers The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission designated CenturyLink as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier within its service area for universal service purposes.

CenturyLink’s basic local service rates for residential voice lines are $25.50 per month and business services are $37.00 per month. Specific rates will be provided upon request.

CenturyLink participates in a government benefit program (Lifeline) to make residential telephone or broadband service more affordable to eligible low-income individuals and families. Eligible customers are those that meet eligibility standards as defined by the FCC and state commissions.

Residents who live on federally recognized Tribal Lands may qualify for additional Tribal benefits if they participate in certain additional federal eligibility programs. The Lifeline discount is available for only one telephone or broadband service per household, which can be on either wireline or wireless service. Broadband speeds must be 18 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload or faster to qualify.

A household is defined for the purposes of the Lifeline program as any individual or group of individuals who live together at the same address and share income and expenses. Lifeline service is not transferable, and only eligible consumers may enroll in the program. Consumers who willfully make false statements in order to obtain Lifeline telephone or broadband service can be punished by fine or imprisonment and can be barred from the program.

October 30, 31 November 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 CVHS Bear Boosters

If you live in a CenturyLink service area, please call 1-800244-1111 or visit centurylink.com/lifeline with questions or to request an application for the Lifeline program.

The Current

HISTORY

NOVEMBER 2019 • 25

SVHM Memory of the Month

Photo courtesy of the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum Farmers harvest pumpkins in Opportunity in this circa 1908 photo. Pumpkins were one of the many crops raised in Spokane Valley in those years, when the Valley was known for its abundant agriculture.

News Droplets SCLD seeking trustee

Spokane County Commissioners are now accepting applications for a Spokane County Library District Board of Trustees position, which will be available starting Jan. 1, 2020.

Applications are being accepted until the position is filled.

The position replaces outgoing Trustee Sonja Carlson, whose term expires on Dec. 31.

To learn more about the duties and responsibilities of the Spokane County Library District Board of Trustees, visit www.spokanecounty. org/1255/Spokane-CountyLibrary-Board-of-Trustees. To learn more about applying for the position, contact Ginna Vasquez at 477-2265 or gvasquez@spokanecounty.org

CVSD to open Family Engagement Center

With a target of promoting afterschool activities, wellness programs and an array of social services, the Central Valley School District announced in October the addition of a Family Engagement Center, slated to open in fall 2020 at 612 S. McDonald Road.

“This Center will host many health services that are desperately needed by our students and community,” said Debra Long, CVSD School Board member.

The Center will also include dedicated spaces for CVSD social workers, the district homeless liaison, and foster care advocate services.

“This facility will provide our Central Valley families a much

needed opportunity to access essential services year round,” Superintendent Ben Small said.

“Our community partnerships are what truly make a vision like this a reality.”

With plans to serve over 200 students, the Center will feature Boys and Girls Club of Spokane County as the anchor tenant, providing services to students after school, during holiday breaks and throughout the summer.

“It’s just what this area of our community needs,” said Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Terrie VanderWegen, who stewarded this partnership. “In particular, this Center will help reach young people living in challenging family circumstances.

We’ve experienced a great need for these types of services over the years, and I’m thrilled that our district is able to work with Boys and Girls Club to help make it happen.”

The Boys and Girls Club has a shared vision for the Family

Engagement Center.

“We first started conversations with Central Valley leadership in 2016 about wanting to have a presence there,” Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Dick Hanlin said. “We’ve greatly enjoyed and appreciated the initiative, foresight and energy by so many CVSD folks toward making the dream of a Club in the Valley come true.”

A lease agreement was signed in October for the partnership to move forward. The Center will be located in the former Keystone Elementary, which originally opened in 1970, serving students off and on throughout the years until just recently after temporarily housing students during CVSD’s school construction.

“The neighborhood surrounding the Family Engagement Center and Club is a terrific place for a Club—a location that can impact the lives of kids and teens for years and years to come,” added Hanlin.

26 • NOVEMBER 2019

The Current

I-976 will attack transportation in our state on all fronts. If you care about transportation progress and safety in Spokane County you should Vote No on I-976.

The regional transportation coalition opposes I-976

“As our region grows we are feeling the impact and pressure on our existing infrastructure. The need for strategic growth and continued preservation and maintenance of our system isn’t just nice, it is a necessity. This is why we strongly oppose I-976,” Lance Beck, President and CEO of the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Regional Projects at Risk

-$811 Million

North/South Freeway Project in Spokane

-$23.6 Million I-90/Barker to Harvard Interchanges

-$18.5 Million

Transit for Regional People with Disabilities, I-90/Medical Lake Bus Service Veterans, and Senior Citizens and Geiger Interchanges

PAID FOR BY GREATER SPOKANE VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 1421 N MEADOWWOOD LN STE 10, LIBERTY LAKE, WA 99019

The Current

About the Fall Folk Festival

The 24th Fall Folk Festival hosted by the Spokane Folklore Society will kick off two days of music at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St. This year, the festival has expanded to eight stages, said volunteer Donna Burt.

“Some are small rooms,” she said.

One of the main venues on the SCC campus is the Lair Auditorium, where there will be a live broadcast of a KPBX 91.1 radio show from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 9. The musicians scheduled to perform during the weekend range from up and comers to wellknown local bands.

“We try to feature new groups that are coming in each year,” Burt said.

Music from nearly every corner of the world will be showcased, including South Africa, Ukraine, Spain, Hawaii, the Middle East, Japan and Scandinavia. Quite a few dance groups are also on the schedule, offering everything from clogging to contra dancing.

Audience members will be encouraged to participate in some of the dancing performances.

There will be entertainment for children as well, including performances by magician Dick Frost.

“We have a craft room kids love,” Burt said.

The festival also features several workshops, some of which are open to children. The topics include Native American flute, songwriting ideas, singing sea shanties, an introduction to Contra dance and how to build and play the washtub bass.

The music will run from 11 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10. A full schedule of events is available at www.spokanefolkfestival.org.

The festival is free and open to the public, and parking is also free. Donations will be accepted at the door, and festival organizers will also be selling baked goods, T-shirts and buttons onsite to raise money to help pay for the event.

COMMUNITY

NOVEMBER 2019 • 27

Banjo the pick of self-taught musician

By Nina Culver Current Contributor

Musicians and music lovers will descend on Spokane Community College Nov. 9 and 10 for the 24th annual Fall Folk Festival. Musician and music teacher Caleb Dion, a Spokane Valley high school student, will be among them.

Dion started learning how to play the piano in 2013, but after his father showed him an online video of the bluegrass band Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, he was hooked on the banjo.

“I’d never heard of the banjo before,” he said. “I knew that was what I wanted to do. It’s really cool.”

It’s the instrument’s uniqueness that Dion likes.

“I like the sound,” he said. “It’s a very happy instrument. I love the bright tone of it.”

Dion took banjo lessons for a few months, but is largely self-taught. He watched a lot of YouTube videos and instructional videos on a website.

Dion said he just has to listen to a song a few times before he can replicate it without the need for sheet music.

“I found it a little easier because I could move at my own pace,” he said of his decision to learn on his own.

He also learned how to play the mandolin and the guitar, but the banjo is still his favorite. He said he likes playing a variety of instruments because each has a different sound.

“Mostly because they’re available to me,” he said. “Each one has their own unique style of playing it.”

Dion, 16, is a high school junior but takes Running Start classes at Spokane Community College. He said he used to play in a band with his family called Deadpan Dan and the Expressionless Pickers, but now that he and his brother are both in college, they rarely have time to play together.

Though Dion and his two siblings all play musical instruments, Dion said he didn’t grow up playing music when he was younger. His father played the saxophone in high school, and his mother had played the piano when she was younger. Dion said they have both been supportive of his music and his desire to be a luthier, which is someone who builds and

repairs stringed instruments by hand.

He said he plans to get a bachelor’s degree in business first before devoting his attention to his career.

Dion has also been teaching banjo classes at Ludiker Music, where he has several students, most of them much older than he is.

He performed at the Fall Folk Festival last year as well. Dion said his favorite part is the impromptu jam sessions that spring up in the halls.

“I’ll learn new songs pretty quickly that way,” he said. “It’s just helped me to become a better musician.”

He said he likes the opportunity to hear and learn something new at the festival.

“I like that there’s a wide variety of music there, and there’s lots of different types of musicians,” he said.

Dion will perform on stage at the festival with Kevin Pace and the Early Edition, a bluegrass and gospel band he’s been playing with since 2017.

They will perform on the Bistro Stage from 4:45 to 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Photo by Nina Culver Spokane Valley’s Caleb Dion, 16, will perform with his banjo as part of bluegrass group Kevin Pace and the Early Edition at the Fall Folk Festival Nov. 9.

28 • NOVEMBER 2019

West Valley Voters encouraged to vote yes!

Among the numerous advisory votes, statewide initiatives and city council races is an important request by the West Valley School District for a Supplemental Enrichment School Programs and Operations Levy. It is a two-year $1 per $1,000 assessed value levy which will help the district maintain current levels of staffing, including teachers and custodians; support existing programs and services for students; and continue the extracurricular activities such as sports, band, robotics, drama, art and much more.

While the $1 increase may sound large compared to the current enrichment levy of $1.50, in 2018 the state of Washington made significant changes to the structures

OPINION

of local school district levies, which reduced West Valley levy’s rate from a 10-year average of $4.67 to the $1.50 where it currently sits.

In the last few years, we have had the pleasure of highlighting and sharing numerous stories about the students and programs at West Valley, such as the FIRST Robotics Program (cover story in March 2018), where West Valley teams have routinely demonstrated their skills and the school district has demonstrated its commitment by stepping up as the host school for the regional competition for multiple years in a row. Also spotlighted were the three West Valley School District students who won Chase Youth Commission Awards this last June and the successful West Valley girls softball team, whose first-year coach was recognized as the Great Northern Leagues Coach of the Year (June 2019).

The West Valley School District has extended its dollars as far as they can go to provide great

The Current

Dear Editor

opportunities, programs and experiences for kids within the district. With the changes imposed at the state level, WVSD needs our help. They need our vote to maintain, support and sustain. Therefore, we at The Current encourage all West Valley voters to show their support by voting YES on Nov. 5!

I don't live in Spokane Valley, but I did grow up and taught there, and currently have family there, so I feel compelled by the right given to me to encourage security and growth in a direction I see needed.

Consider this my doorbelling before voting as I am not in a healthy state to travel around neighborhoods. Imagine me ringing or knocking on your door before you read further. Imagine my smile and genteel greeting that reflect my excitement and passion to speak to you today....

I have known Brandi Peetz since high school days when she played softball for me. She was a young person of drive, commitment, loyalty, and respect. She strove to be better so she could help those around her. A couple years after graduating high school, I ran into her at Starbucks where she worked.

She asked to help coach and give back to the team that gave her so much. Around that same time, she began volunteering with Blessings Under the Bridge. It was here that I saw her compassion and desire to serve our community.

So it makes total sense that Brandi is on the Spokane Valley City Council and seeks re-election.

Being that I have known her since a mere teenager, it was so impressive to see her knowledge of political challenges and vision for her community.

Brandi, I am proud of your journey and believe in the gifts you bring to the table in this election.

Keep it up!

Coach Kiki Kelly

RETURN YOUR BALLOT BY NOVEMBER 5 MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT!

NOVEMBER 2019 • 29

The Current GREATER SPOKANE VALLEY

A VALLEY-WIDE COMMUNITY NEWSMAGAZINE

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CIRCULATION Larry Passmore circulation@libertylakesplash.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Steve Christilaw, Nina Culver, Keith Erickson, Bill Gothmann, Micki Harnois, Craig Howard, Josh Johnson, 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 of each month. It is distributed free of charge to every business and home in the greater Spokane Valley area.

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Continued from page 9 legislative agenda, items it wishes the Washington State Legislature to consider. These include Bridging the Valley, Pines Road/BNSF Grade Separation Projects, making sure that any Harvard Road Project cost overruns are not paid by the city, installing the Sullivan Park water line, paving the recently purchased one acre plot south of the Police Precinct, economic development tools such as provisions for border cities, defending local control, protecting and restoring local state-shared revenues, protecting businesses by reforming the state regulatory burden, and supporting the Association of Washington Cities’ legislative agenda for items that serve the best interest of Spokane Valley.

Council briefs • Mayor Rod Higgins proposed the adoption of an ordinance to prohibit a city income tax. The city attorney said he would study the issue and report back to the Council.

• City Manager Mark Calhoun announced the city can accept property tax payments.

The Current is committed to serving the Greater Spokane Valley area through excellent community journalism. We can’t do it at all without you, our readers, and we can’t do it for long without support from our advertisers. Please thank our business partners and look to them when offering your patronage.

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No on 976

26

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The Current

EVSD working to fill board vacancies

By Nina Culver Current Contributor

The East Valley School District has been working to fill two vacant school board seats and received no applications for the vacant seat in District 1, which is located in the far southwestern corner of the district in the area surrounding Trent Elementary.

Board member Mike Novakovich, who was serving in District 5, moved out of the school district in September and had to resign his position, said superintendent Kelly Shea. The district received three applications for his seat, and the board plans to interview all three and make a selection by the Nov. 12 board meeting, Shea said.

The District 1 seat has been held

by Todd Weger since 2014. He also moved, but since he moved out of District 1 but is still within the school district boundaries, he was allowed to keep his seat until the next election. It’s been known for months that Weger would not be able to run for re-election, but no one living in District 1 put their name on the ballot during the candidate filing in May or during a special candidate filing in August.

Someone did try to fill the blank space on the ballot, however. “We did have someone try to submit his name during the special filing, but he didn’t live within the district,” Shea said.

The district asked for applications so someone could be appointed to fill the seat but got no response, Shea said. Weger’s seat will officially be vacant as of Nov. 5.

“We have 90 days from when the seat is vacated to fill it,” Shea said.

Shea said he’s been the superintendent in East Valley for five years and before that was superintendent in Sequim, Wash., for three years, and this is the first time he’s ever seen two board vacancies at the same time.

“The good news for us is our vacancies aren’t because of a controversy or conflict,” he said.

The East Valley School Board

ON THAT NOTE typically has five members, and three are needed for a quorum.

“Nobody can be gone,” Shea said. “Our calendar is to get District 5 filled before the November board meeting.”

Shea has been trying to recruit people to put in an application for the vacant District 1 seat.

“We’ve reached out and we’ve talked to various people, and we don’t have any takers yet,” he said.

School board chairman Justin Volker also isn’t sitting back and waiting for applicants.

“I recruited the previous person for District 1, Todd,” he said. “I have a phone call into one.”

Since no one applied for the seat in October, the district will again open an application period after the

East Valley School Board District Map

November election, Shea said. He said he plans to do what he can to get the word out.

“I’m sure there are people in the district that aren’t even aware,” he said.

Volker said people don’t need special skills to serve on the board.

“The main thing is to have an interest in the education and wellbeing of children,” he said.

He said he is a board member in order to be of service to his community.

“That’s why I ran in 2013, and I feel like I’ve had an impact in my time on the board,” Volker said.

The time needed to serve on the board is flexible, Shea said. People must commit to attending two board meetings a month and spend

NOVEMBER 2019 • 31

time reading their agenda packet to prepare before each meeting. Board members are also asked to attend at least two school district events each month, such as a sports game or a concert, in order to be visible in the community. Some do more than that, he said.

“The time commitment is whatever people want to put into it,” he said. “We’re looking for people who will be visible at different district events, whether they have kids in that school or not.”

Volker has a son in middle school football and a daughter on the high school soccer team, so he spends a lot of time attending their games.

But he said he also makes it a point to attend events at schools his children do not attend.

“It’s a commitment,” he said.

“It’s being there and being present.

It’s not just going to things where my kids are.”

School board members also have the option to join the School Directors Association and do legislative work if that interests them, Shea said.

“If you want to do more, there’s a lot more board members can do if they’re interested.”

Shea said he thinks the election process might be scaring some people away, but he hopes people will find the application process easier.

“Putting your name in the hat and going through the election process can be intimidating,” he said.

The fact that the area around Trent Elementary is lower income than much of the rest of the school district may also be a factor, Shea said. Trent Elementary has a high mobility rate, which may make it difficult for parents to commit to a four-year term on the board, Shea said.

If the district cannot fill the vacant seat within the 90-day time limit, the responsibility then shifts to ESD 101, Shea said. The organization can appoint someone to fill the seat or an ESD 101 board member can fill the seat themselves, he said.

But Shea is optimistic that it won’t happen that way, though getting the seat filled will require more effort than usual.

“I know this is going to work out,” he said. “We’re going to find somebody. But we’re doing to have to do more than we’ve done in the past.”

32 • NOVEMBER 2019

The Current

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