In brief: CdA health clinic changing name again
Threats of a lawsuit have pushed a nonprofit health care provider in Coeur d’Alene to change its name for the second time this month.
Dirne Community Health Center, which has provided health services particularly to low-income and homeless patients for nearly 30 years, announced with fanfare Sept. 9 that it was changing its name to Legacy Health. But on Monday the name will change again, to Heritage Health.
“Almost immediately after the (Sept. 9) announcement, our organization was contacted by an attorney with Legacy Health Systems in Oregon,” CEO Mike Baker said in a statement released Friday. The Portland-based hospital group threatened to sue for trademark infringement.
Baker said his organization believes it could prevail in such a lawsuit, but it couldn’t pay for a legal battle with a company with billion-dollar revenues.
The Coeur d’Alene system’s board of directors decided to “capture the spirit of the former name” by changing the name to Heritage Health, Baker said.
“Our commitment to this community has not changed,” Baker said.
The clinic, incorporated in 1986 by Lidwina Dirne, had decided on its first rebranding in consultation with Dirne before her death in June, according to previous news reports.
Rainy, windy weather expected to persist
Saturday may have been rainy and windy, but it was the relative calm before the storm, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service has issued a hazardous weather warning for today and through the week, predicting rain and strong wind gusts throughout Eastern Washington.
Winds are expected to pick up this evening and into tomorrow, with sustained speeds of 30 to 35 mph and gusts as high as 55 mph. The storm will touch Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, the Palouse, the Columbia Basin and the Blue Mountains.
At the Gorge Amphitheatre in Central Washington, wind and rain resulted in the cancellation of a Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson concert Saturday evening as the storm moved inland across the state.
The weather service predicts a 50 percent chance of showers in Spokane today, but less than a tenth of an inch of rain is expected. The chance of showers is 40 percent Monday and 50 percent Tuesday.
Meeting set on allowing killing of wolves
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will discuss a proposal Friday to allow ranchers and rural residents to kill wolves attacking livestock and pets.
The proposal would apply to the eastern third of the state, making permanent an emergency rule that is already in place.
The list of animals that owners could receive state compensation for from wolf kills would grow to include goats, swine, donkeys, mules, llamas and alpacas. Currently, compensation is only allowed for cattle, sheep and horses. Owners could receive compensation for pets as well as animals raised for commercial purposes.
The proposed amendments would implement changes approved during the 2013 Legislature. Friday’s meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Natural Resources Building in Olympia.
The amendments are online at wdfw.wa.gov/about/regulations/development.html.
Valley man missing for month
A Spokane Valley man last seen a month ago remains missing after family said he went on a camping trip and never returned.
Donald Bucknell, 49, was last seen Aug. 28. Bucknell typically goes camping in the Colville National Forest area with friends but went alone on this trip, said his sister-in-law, Becca Bucknell. Family and friends don’t know where he was planning on traveling.
Donald Bucknell asked a neighbor to pick up his mail and said he’d return Sept. 3. The neighbor notified the family Sept. 8 that Bucknell had not returned.
Donald Bucknell, who goes by Don, is white, 6-foot-1 and about 275 pounds. He has short brown hair, a beard and wears glasses. He was last seen driving a white 1984 Toyota pickup truck, license plate number B00668L.
Anyone with information about Bucknell’s whereabouts is asked to call the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 625-4041.