Kevin Blocker

Just because two teams are guaranteed a trip to the state playoffs doesn’t mean that emotions won’t run high – especially among the fans. That was the case when the Shadle Park Highlanders faced the Kamiakin Braves Saturday at University High in the 3A regional softball tournament. The undefeated Braves won the game 8-2 to get the No. 1 seed to state. The Highlanders get the second seed.

Valley Christian guard Kolby Blew finally listened to his coach Chad Kimberley. He shot the ball more, and more and more. In heeding Kimberley’s advice, Blew lit up the scoreboard for a career-high 31 points Saturday, leading the Panthers past the Cascade Christian Academy Wolverines 69-47 at Shadle Park High.

The door to a berth in the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament for Eastern Washington isn’t shut, but with Thursday night’s 60-56 loss to Montana State the port of entry has become a little thinner. The Bobcats broke a tie in the conference standings with Eastern and moved a game up with a 6-8 record (12-16 overall). The Eagles fell to 8-19, 5-9.

It felt like trouble for Whitworth. The Pirates trailed Pacific University 8-3 with 17:58 left in the first half. That’s dire straits by Pirates standards these days. The slow start forced head coach Jim Hayford to call a timeout, and that wasn’t even a full one.

The double-digit lead the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team held for most of the second half Thursday never felt entirely secure. But despite making just 64 percent of their free-throw attempts for the game, the Eagles sank their last 10 attempts from the line and snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating Northern Arizona University 72-59.

If you’re looking for a nail-biting, suspenseful basketball experience, it may not be found at the Whitworth Pirates Fieldhouse anytime soon. However, if you want to see a nationally ranked team utterly dominate its opponent, shoot the ball well, play smothering defense and have the opposing coach pounding the scoring table screaming at referees as if they have some semblance of control over the outcome of the contest, then feel free to watch the No. 4-ranked Pirates leave their opponents behind.

Spokane attorney Steve Eugster said he will file a petition with the state Supreme Court claiming a Spokane Superior Court judge is not following the state's public disclosure act. On Thursday, a member of Eugster's staff attempted to present the petitions to several of the 12 Superior Court judges notifying them of his intent to serve one of their peers. Presiding judge Linda Tompkins said she was not served with a petition.

The wife of a former high-ranking Washington State Patrol official pleaded guilty Thursday to nine counts of theft and was sentenced to three months of home confinement. Sally D. Dubee, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree theft and eight counts of second-degree theft before Spokane Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins.

A Spokane woman and her daughter remained hospitalized Wednesday after being hit by an unidentified driver in her 80s who told police that she never saw the family when she drove through a crosswalk Tuesday morning on the South Hill. Hanna Franchino was still listed in satisfactory condition Wednesday at Deaconess Medical Center, while Maria Franchino, 7, was in serious condition at the hospital, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

Though a funeral ad pledged a "personal promise to honor your loved one and help create a healing experience for your family," Morris Coyle and Pam Deleon say they experienced the opposite when their mother died last August. In a lawsuit against Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home & Crematory and Holy Cross Cemetery, the siblings say they often have trouble sleeping and have experienced anxiety. The two are seeking undisclosed damages for emotional distress after a cemetery employee buried the wrong casket – containing the wrong body – in a plot reserved for their mother in August.

Attorney Steve Eugster has been encouraging other attorneys to challenge all 12 Spokane Superior Court judges, each of whom is up for re-election in September. One of those attorneys is Superior Court Commissioner Joseph Valente, who has decided to run against the same judge Eugster is challenging, Sam Cozza. Valente formally filed paperwork with the Public Disclosure Commission announcing he would seek Cozza's seat.

The state Court of Appeals has reinstated a termination claim filed by a man who has since returned to the company he says fired him. Spokesman-Review employee Donald D. Reichert claims the company fired him. The lawsuit was originally dismissed by a judge. However, the appellate court concluded Reichert did not have an opportunity to properly defend himself when the company requested the case be dismissed.

The family of a girl who was molested by a former Jehovah's Witnesses church elder has filed a civil lawsuit against the former leader and the church. Last October, Edward N. Davis, 40, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for molesting Aimey M. Vigue, 19. The abuse began when Vigue was 10, according to Superior Court records. Davis was an elder at the Jehovah's Witness Opportunity Kingdom Hall when the abuse occurred. Vigue's parents were close friends with Davis, according to the lawsuit.

A 3-month-old infant who police say suffered a fractured skull at the hands of his father has died. Cayden S. Adams died at Deaconess Medical Center at 3 a.m. Thursday, according to a hospital spokesman. Court papers released Wednesday incorrectly spelled Cayden's name, and the misspelling was included in a story in Thursday's Spokesman-Review.

A Spokane man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for the July 2003 stabbing death of a woman. Originally charged with first-degree murder, Steven M. Sigur pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for his role in the stabbing of Teisha McIntyre. A first-degree murder conviction carries a minimum sentencing range of 20 to 26 years. Third-degree assault has a sentencing range of 26 to 29 months.

Virginia Kurtzhall explains to her husband Herb that her new mailbox will be a block away; too far for her to go because of her need for supplemental oxygen. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review