Pat Sciuchetti

1. Susan Pine has been the first and only woman Valley firefighter since 1987. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. When the big red fire engine pulls up to the scene of the fire, it might be Susan Pine at the wheel. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Spokane's counterfeit bill problem took a strange twist Saturday night at the DejaVu. A 26-year-old dancer at the night club on East Sprague called police to complain that someone had tipped her with two fake $1 bills. The woman, who had been entertaining a group of three or four men, tried to determine the culprit by playfully asking "Who gave me the cool money?"

Testimony filled more than 10 hours and spilled over to a second day at a public hearing on a proposed affordable-housing development in the Dishman-Mica area. More than 100 people turned out Friday for the hearing. About half returned for its completion Monday afternoon. Most who turned out opposed the zone change request, which would allow for much denser development in the neighborhood, including apartments, duplexes and triplexes.

A robber in a ski mask struck a Pizza Hut employee in the head with a gun early Sunday morning, then pointed the gun at the man's head while forcing a second employee to unlock the restaurant's safe. The robbery occurred at about 1:30 a.m. at the Pizza Hut at 323 N. Sullivan Road, sheriff's deputies said. The 21-year-old restaurant worker, who was in the process of closing up, told police he heard something unusual in the bushes behind the restaurant while taking trash to a Dumpster. When he went to investigate, he discovered the masked robber, armed with a semi-automatic handgun.

A would-be burglar got a surprise after kicking in a door at a Valley business late Friday night and finding three employees working inside. The door had been unlocked, sheriff's deputies said. Dressed all in black, the burglar kicked the unlocked door several times before breaking it down, an employee at BBC Upholstery and Cabinets told deputies. The attempted burglary at 5805 E. Sharp took place just before 11 p.m. Workers said the man looked surprised to see them. He ran through the business and out to the south parking lot, deputies said. The employees described the suspect as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5-foot-10 with a medium build. He was wearing a black leather coat, black pants, black gloves and a black cap. No arrests have been made. The owner estimated it will cost about $200 to fix the door.

Sheriff's deputies arrested two Spokane residents Sunday morning on charges of attempting to steal a pickup truck from a Valley repair shop. Deputies arrested Mark T. Trees, 38, of W902-1/2 Dalton, and Kandi L. Olsson, 32, of 1611 S. Perry, for taking a motor vehicle without the owner's permission.

1. Harry Green stands in front of Edgecliff in 1991, just before renovations began. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Rain earlier this month couldn't dampen Harry Green's enthusiasm for his Edgecliff dream. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Headstones rest on the side of 20th Avenue after being dug up by sewer construction crews. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. This stone marked "Georgie 1915-1921" is one of three dug up. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

Supporters of a new Valley senior center at Mirabeau Point got their first glimpse this week of what the facility might eventually look like. Architect Ron Tan incorporated a long wish list into a bubble layout drawing of the proposed facility, which will be more than twice as large as the current Valley Senior Center on Mission Avenue. The new senior center, expected to be completed four or five years from now, will measure about 21,000 square feet. Although the architectural drawings are expected to be tweaked and altered significantly before a final layout is set, they did show what the Mirabeau Senior Center Task Force is planning to include in the new center.

Maybe your basement floods each spring. Maybe it doesn't. If you own property in the Spokane Valley, or elsewhere in unincorporated Spokane County, it doesn't matter: Your wallet will get hit to help pay for a $63 million county stormwater system.

1. H.T. Higgins, owner of Players and Spectators, discusses his response after an employee was diagnosed with hepatitis A. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Rep. George Nethercutt enjoyed lunch with the Valley Chamber of Commerce at Players in February. File photo

Princess Di Beanie Babies will be auctioned off next week as a benefit. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

A purse snatcher pushed a 71-year-old Valley woman to the ground and took her purse outside the McDonald's restaurant at 10615 E. Sprague. The woman, who speaks only French, may have suffered a knee injury in the Sunday afternoon theft, sheriff's deputies said. She told police through an interpreter that a white man, 20 to 25 years old, pushed her down as she walked though an alley near McDonald's at about 3:30 p.m. The suspect had reddish blond hair, a long, clean-shaven face and broad shoulders, sheriff's deputies said. No arrests have been made.

Jim and Vera Shaw helped their grandkids get a feel for farm life with this model. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

Opponents of a proposed archery range in Greenacres have accused its owner of providing false testimony to the Spokane County hearing examiner and swaying his opinion with fraudulently obtained petition signatures. Floyd Schmedding and Curt Berklund are asking hearing examiner Mike Dempsey to reconsider his decision to grant their neighbor, Mark Jones, a conditional use permit for his proposed 28-acre indoor/outdoor archery facility. Last week, their attorneys filed a motion for reconsideration with Dempsey's office.

Opponents of a proposed 11-acre affordable housing development in the Dishman-Mica area promise to come out in force for next week's public hearing, and to bring along the consultant who helped defeat the North Side Wal-Mart proposal last month. The Chester Hills Community Group has hired land-use consultant Scott Brown to help it fight the zone change needed to create the proposed development south of 16th Avenue and east of Dishman-Mica Road. The nonprofit Northwest Regional Facilitators (NRF), with help from developer Jim Frank, is hoping to create "The Village in the Valley" on the currently undeveloped parcel.

Thieves have been playing postman in the West Valley area, picking up outgoing mail and stealing the checks inside. Sheriff's detective Chuck Ellis is warning residents and business owners to give their red flags a rest. To avoid theft, Ellis said, any mail containing checks, or anything else you really care about, should be taken to a post office. Reordered blank checks should be picked up at your bank or credit union. Stationed in the SCOPE-West Valley station at 9411 E. Trent, Ellis investigates property crimes north of Sprague Avenue between Park and Pines roads.

Some burglars are just too romantic. One, who broke into Ichabod's East at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, stopped long enough to call his girlfriend from a pay phone inside the tavern. The woman returned the call about an hour later, using *69 because she didn't know where he was.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Ruben Valdez on Friday on charges of first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault. The 24-year-old Valley man lives in an apartment at 216 S. Whipple.

An 18-year-old Spokane Valley woman was robbed and hit in the head with brass knuckles after she stopped for a man who jumped in front of her car. The victim told police she had seen her attacker minutes earlier in the passenger seat of a pickup truck parked at a convenience store near Pines and 32nd Avenue. She had stopped at the store just after midnight Thursday to buy cigarettes on her way home, sheriff's deputies said. A few blocks from the store, the man jumped in front of her car, forcing her to slow down, sheriff's deputies said. When she rolled down her window to speak to him, he reached in and put her car in park.

Sheriff's deputies arrested a 16-year-old West Valley High School student for burglary of an unoccupied mobile home after the teen's laundry, clothes, books and student ID card were found inside. The owner of the mobile home also found beer cans and bedding inside the structure, indicating the suspect might have been living there, sheriff's deputies said. The teen apparently opened the mobile home's door and was about to step inside, police said, while the owner was inside checking on the property. The mobile home is located in the 400 block of N. Ella.

1. The name on a weathered headstone is traced by the hand of Solvejg Anderson. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review 2. At left, Josie Zeller, Anderson and Wendie Kiourkas confer as they try to trace the history of Englewood cemetery at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Thierman Street. 3. Solvejg Anderson, left, Josie Zeller, center and Wendie Kiourkas have teamed up to renovate the old Englewood Cemetery. Photo by Steve Thompson/The Spokesman-Review

With another legal hurdle cleared, Mark Jones now says his public archery range in Greenacres could be open for business within weeks. Jones, who owns the Outdoor Sportsman sports shop in Spokane, stirred up controversy late last year with his proposal to build a 28-acre indoor/outdoor archery facility along Linke Road south of Barker Road and 32nd Avenue. Neighbors fought his attempt to get the necessary conditional use permit from the county. After the permit was granted, neighbors Floyd Schmedding and Curt Berklund appealed the decision in Superior Court.

A burglar broke into the Radio Shack electronics store at 13516 E. Sprague Friday morning, dropping in through a hole cut in the roof, sheriff's deputies said. The building recently had roof repairs done, said the store manager, who got a call from the business' alarm company around 1:30 a.m.