On the Front Lines

Officer Doug King with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police is ready for today’s “opener.”

Customers may expect it to be business as usual at Dick’s, which serves customers at a walk-up window, but general manager Jamie McBride said it has been a struggle to keep up with demand while understaffed.

Juliana Repp has spent her entire life helping the underdogs. And with nearly 1 million unemployment claims filed in recent weeks due to layoffs caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there is no shortage of underdogs these days.

The last thing a firefighter needs is to worry about arriving on scene safely. That’s where Wayne Tuttle comes in. As lead mechanic for the Spokane Valley Fire Department, he has spent the last 15 years making sure fire trucks are ready to get the job done.

Editor’s note: Our series On the Front Lines recognizes those in the community who are confronting the coronavirus pandemic head-on, while the rest of us do our part by stepping back. The Spokane Regional Health District announced the first cases of COVID-19 in Spokane County on March 14. The same day, four women in Cheney created the West Plains Emergency Response Volunteers group on Facebook to help quarantined people get essential items delivered to their doors.

For the past 33 years, David Lantz has delivered the mail – rain, shine or pandemic.

After Jennifir Scheele took care of her grandfather until his death, she decided helping people live at home as long as possible was her calling.

When Jaime Stacy founded Strong Women Achieving Greatness (SWAG), she hoped to equip and empower young women to not only believe in themselves but each other. Three years later, SWAG has become a bridge keeping middle and high school girls connected to school during the coronavirus pandemic.

The owner of Sixth Avenue Medical Pharmacy in Spokane, Erik Nelson, takes a holistic approach, encouraging lifestyle interventions and supplements, along with medication.