In brief: Carol Evans named Spokane Tribe chair
The Spokane Tribe has its first woman tribal chair, Carol Evans, selected by the business council in a recent election.
The former vice chair of the council, Evans said in a news release she intends to continue the tribe’s development in hospitality and recreation, and further explore renewable energy. The tribe has proposed a casino, hotel and retail shopping area on land it owns on the West Plains near Fairchild Air Force Base, which has received approval from the U.S. Department of Interior. But the gambling facility must still receive a green light from Gov. Jay Inslee.
She also wants to address high unemployment and drug addiction in the tribe, emphasize health care, housing and environmental protection, particularly salmon restoration, which is culturally important for the tribe.
Evans joined the five-person business council, which is the tribe’s governing body, in 2013.
The council selects the chair and vice chair every year. This is the first time it selected a woman to the top spot.
“When you look at our history, the chiefs were men, but women were movers even without the title,” she said. “They were a vital part of the community, but not to a point of being a chieftess.”
Man killed in confrontation with police
A man was shot and killed in Sandpoint on Tuesday afternoon during a confrontation with Sandpoint police and Bonner County deputies.
The shooting occurred in the 1000 block of Ruth Avenue in Sandpoint about 3 p.m. The name of the man has not been released.
The incident will be investigated by the Region-One Critical Incident Response Team, led by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.
The man’s identity will be released after an autopsy has been completed, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Stu Miller. Investigators were waiting for a search warrant Tuesday evening and additional information was not available, Miller said.
Stevens County gets grant for new well
The Washington Department of Ecology has approved $47,000 in emergency drought-relief funding for a project in Stevens County.
The grant to the Stevens County Public Utility District will pay for half the cost of drilling a new well to replace the failing main production well of the Riverside Water System, the department announced in a news release.
The new well will help provide reliable drinking water to 385 residents.
Declining groundwater levels have been reducing production from the existing well since October 2014.
Man accused of ramming car into SUV
A 40-year-old man faces two charges of assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly ramming his Kia sedan into a Dodge SUV as many as six times in a north Spokane neighborhood.
Francis J. Crowley is being held in the Spokane County Jail for the Sunday night incident for which he also faces a malicious mischief charge. Crowley is accused of speeding and slowing down erratically, following the Dodge Durango and repeatedly plowing into it with his Kia Spectra.
The first responding police officer was dispatched around 8:35 p.m. to the area near East Everett Avenue and North Stone Street, according to court records.
Crowley later was found trying to get back into his parked Kia about a mile and a half away, near the intersection of North Perry Street and East Empire Avenue, an officer reported.
Officers took statements from the two occupants of the Durango as well as the driver of a third car who watched the scene unfold.
Crowley’s bond was set at $25,000.
Lake Chelan wildfire increases in size
LAKE CHELAN – Fires burning near Lake Chelan remain active and continue to grow, threatening Holden Village, a historic Lutheran retreat center.
The Wolverine fire has grown to about 34,500 acres – up about 6,000 acres from the last infrared flight – and was about a half-mile from Holden Village on Tuesday.
A thunderstorm whipped up the western front of the fire around 8 p.m. Monday, causing extensive growth and more intense burning in areas that were lightly scorched during burnout operations over the last several days.
“We’re a bit saddened by the fact that so much of the low-intensity burn was burned over a second time,” fire spokesman Wayne Patterson said.
The burning sent up a large column of smoke Monday.
The fire has not grown north toward Stehekin or south toward Chelan for several days.
UI gets funds to improve logging safety
The University of Idaho has received an $825,000 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve logging safety.
Researchers will use the money to install GPS technology on heavy equipment, allowing operators to track the locations of other workers, UI announced in a news release.