Online note spurs Whitworth alert
An online threat that prompted Whitworth University officials to increase campus security Friday morning was determined to be a hoax that started in Uruguay, Spokane County sheriff’s deputies said.
Whitworth officials posted extra security at campus entrances after a death threat was discovered on YouTube overnight.
Investigators were concerned about an anonymous threat by someone to shoot the boyfriend of someone named Jane.
Greg Orwig, Whitworth’s director of communications, said security guards were checking drivers as they entered campus today.
Officials sent an e-mail alerting the campus of the threat. Students are on spring break until Monday.
Sgt. Dave Reagan, of the Sheriff’s Office, said an investigation discovered that the threat was linked to a hoax originating in Uruguay and previously investigated by federal authorities. The threat was posted as a comment to a European music video.
Clinics in county get federal funds
CHAS clinics in Spokane County are receiving $451,879 from the federal government to add more health care services for the region’s poor and uninsured.
The grant is among 26 awarded to Washington health centers totaling $10 million, according to figures supplied by Sen. Patty Murray’s office. The money is from the federal economic stimulus bill.
Dr. David Bare, medical director of the Community Health Association of Spokane, said there are about 20 programs the clinics could expand by using the funds.
Among them is physical therapy, which often is not covered by Medicaid but is a medical necessity for many people with physical injuries.
“That’s just an example of the kind of expanded services that we may offer,” Bare said. “We’ll put the money to good use.”
CHAS is a nonprofit system that operates five clinics in Spokane County. It is in the process of opening a new clinic in Lewiston, to serve low-income people in that city as well as Clarkston.
The clinics’ patients are charged on a sliding-fee scale based on ability to pay.
The largest grants were in excess of $1.3 million and were awarded to the Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic in Toppenish, and the SEA-MAR Community Health Center in Seattle.
Reward offered in tool, wire theft
Someone stole thousands of dollars worth of tools and copper wiring from a Spokane school construction site this week, and Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information that leads to a suspect.
Between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday, someone crawled through a window at the partially constructed Spokane Junior Academy at 1115 N. Government Way and stole the items, according to Crime Stoppers. The building is scheduled to open this fall.
Some of the property is engraved with “Aztech,” the name of the electrical subcontractor for the project. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (509) 327-5111.
PULLMAN
Building at WSU gets go-ahead
The Washington State University board of regents has approved drawings for a new School for Global Animal Health building on the Pullman campus.
The action at Friday’s meeting at the Tri-Cities campus means construction can begin when funding is secured. The Gates Foundation has given $25 million for the $35 million project.
From staff and wire reports