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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Treva Lind

Treva Lind

Current Position: features writer

Treva Lind joined The Spokesman-Review in 2016, after 12 years working as a correspondent. She is a reporter for the News Desk covering health, aging and family issues.

Email
treval@spokesman.com
Phone
(509) 459-5439

All Stories

News >  Family

‘She’s our early Christmas gift’: Dog abandoned in California orchard for weeks finds love in Spokane

Theresa Fall of Otis Orchards first saw the dog Liberty in an online post about how the pup was left abandoned in a California almond orchard for about a month until her rescue. Wings of Rescue, a flight nonprofit for rescue pets to go to shelters with room, was helping Liberty as its 75,000th animal, and she was on her way to Spokane. Now, Liberty is an "early Christmas gift" for Fall and her husband Ed.
News >  Washington

Spokane Syrian refugees celebrate al-Assad’s forced exit from their former country: ‘People were singing’

Syrian refugees in Spokane, who fled civil war that erupted in their country in 2012, have closely watched news unfolding since the Dec. 8 power shift in Syria by rebel forces. They're happy rebel fighters successfully advanced into capital, Damascus, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee and ending 54 years of tyranny under Bashar and his father beforehand.
News >  Health

From grief to gifts: Two women wrap support with handmade baby blankets sold at Bohemian

Danielle “Dani” Golay, The Bohemian co-owner, met Stacia Garmon at the dentist when they learned of something painfully in common, a baby's death. Garmon cherises a blanket gifted by the hospital for her son. Now, she keeps her mind busy sewing and is selling her own crafted baby blankets and related items at in the Bohemian, with proceeds to donate baby blankets for parents experience such a loss.
A&E >  Stage

Shotwell family steps in for annual Travolta Christmas show, still produced by Ellen Travolta

Jenny Shotwell first joined forces with Ellen Travolta in 2021 as a pianist. Now, it's an all-Shotwell family affair for "The Sound of Christmas" at the Coeur d'Alene Resort, with Travolta as producer. Shotwell has extensive musical experience, but her costars have stage merits, including husband Dalton and children Clark, 9 and Skye, 6. They'll do nostalgic songs and touch on Coeur d'Alene's holiday history.
News >  Health

Liberty Lake man’s Alzheimer’s disease stops progressing after drug trial

John Haldi, 84, had early-stage Alzheimer's disease when he began a local Aduhelm drug study in 2020 lasting three years. The drug wasn't approved but similar ones now are. By July with testing, a neurologist told Haldi he "no longer has amyloid plaques," to meet Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. He still struggles with short-term memory loss, but Haldi is traveling, finishing puzzles and playing his trombone.
News >  Health

‘He’s our therapy’: Kootenai sheriff’s dog Rocket gets nominated for national first-responder award

Rocket the therapy dog first pawed into his job in 2023, mainly to comfort first responders and residents affected by violent or tragic incidents. Part of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s K9 unit, the 2-year-old Brittany spaniel is nominated for: First Responder Paws Therapy Dog Award, with 19 therapy canines in the running nationwide, with votes for the top dog open Nov. 25 through Dec. 4.
News >  Health

‘A feeling of community’: Vets on the Farm cultivates mentors to grow in civilian life

Vets on the Farm, a Spokane Conservation District program, began nearly 10 years ago to give veterans a path to train in agriculture or ranching while also transitioning to civilian lives. They learn from veterans as mentors at the program's Red Poppy Farm, just south of Spokane, about how to grow from seeds, planting, maintaining, harvesting and selling of produce at an onsite farm stand and to outlets.
News >  Local business

Spokane economy next year likely to grow at slower pace, but these are still ‘uncertain times’

Regional economists expect positive economic growth for 2025, but at a slower pace than this year. That's offset by a few trouble spots in the region, primarily housing and insurance costs. Mortgage rates likely will hover at between 6% and 7%. In the big picture, the perception of the economy is good for some but bad for others, with many small businesses and households struggling.
News >  Health

Providence agrees to move home health and hospice to joint venture with private company

Providence Health has agreed to spin off its home health services, hospice and palliative care programs to a joint venture with for-profit company Compassus, a Tennessee-based company that provides home-based care services in 30 states. After a regulatory review, Compassus is expected to begin managing operations, locally in early 2025 for Providence Visiting Nurses Association Home Health and 2027 for Providence Hospice Spokane.
News >  Health

Rural dentist education to grow in Spokane under Legislature funding and new space

Education to train dentists will expand in Spokane, with the University of Washington School of Dentistry's lease for a new oral health training center in the UW-Gonzaga University Health Partnership’s building. The move is for the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education program, partnering with Eastern Washington University, that got a recent $2.5 million from the Legislature to expand education for future dentists to work in rural and underserved areas, now doubling the student numbers and creating space for a second year in Spokane.
News >  Family

Draft stoppers to LED bulbs get stuffed into energy-saving kits for residents to grab Thursday

McKinstry employee Sara Hofstee gave the go-ahead Wednesday, starting a whirlwind line-up of 65 volunteers walking by stations to stuff energy-saving devices into 600 bright orange bags. They filled a fifth-floor common space in the Catalyst Building, a project partnering with SNAP and Avista to help Spokane residents save on energy costs and keep homes warmer this winter, and in less than 40 minutes, the bags were ready to give away free to families from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, in a drive-thru at 601 E. Riverside Ave.
News >  Health

Aging agency has free advisers to go over Medicare open enrollment

A local agency offers free sessions for people who have questions about Medicare insurance choices or changes during the open enrollment period that runs through Dec. 7. Through Aging & Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program includes both one-on-one counseling and group education sessions in upcoming weeks.
A&E >  Northwest Passages

Northwest Passages: ‘Fabric of Character’ author set to visit Bing Crosby Theater

Anne Snyder is editor-in-chief of Comment Magazine and author of the 2019 book, "The Fabric of Character: A Wise Giver's Guide to Renewing Our Social and Moral Landscape." Snyder plans to bring such perspectives to a Whitworth University's election year series talk, "Social Architecture: Creating a Scaffold of Social Life for the Common Good," 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Bing Crosby Theater. Northwest Passages is co-hosting the event.
News >  Health

Spokane elder refugee program helps them bust through language barriers, isolation

A group of elderly refugees – originally from Congo and Afghanistan – recently learned healthy habits together in a downtown class arranged by the nonprofit Refugee and Immigrant Connections Spokane. Among services, the nonprofit's Refugee Elders program has over 40 people who are 65 and older, attending in small groups for activities and education to connect, learn and feel less isolated.
News >  Health

Nurse who runs in MultiCare’s benefit 5k sees need for mental health services in daily work

Aidan McCrum plans to run a fourth MultiCare's benefit 5k, but this Saturday morning's fundraiser focus to support mental health strikes him as more relevant than ever. He works as a Spokane Public Schools nurse and is an on-call psychiatric nurse for the Tamarack Center, a local adolescent residential behavioral health site. Daily, he sees a need for more youth mental health services in Spokane.
News >  Health

From hospitals and beyond: High schoolers tour medical facilities for glimpse of health careers

Working in a mock abdomen cavity, high school freshman Dakota Unterberg moved a laparoscopic grasper as she watched a screen showing where she placed the tool. Twelve Ferris High School students toured Providence Holy Family Hospital on Tuesday, among 100 total high school students also from Rogers and North Central going to different Providence hospitals for a career day to see medical fields.
News >  Health

Expert to speak at GU on cancer vaccines that could be standard in next decade

Cancer vaccines are closer to reality as shots delivered to trigger a body's immune response to fight a tumor, said Dr. Nora Disis, a Seattle oncologist and researcher. Director of the University of Washington Medicine Cancer Vaccine Institute, Disis will speak in Spokane 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gonzaga University on, "How Close Are We to a Breast Cancer Vaccine?"
News >  Health

ParaSport Spokane finds new home at former Mountain View Middle School

ParaSport Spokane has a new home: the former Mountain View Middle School in Newman Lake. The group's seven-year lease at Valley Christian School ended this fall, requiring the nonprofit to move its sports programs for 200 youth and adults with disabilities. The Sheriff’s Office Training Center previously was at Mountain View until fall 2023, when a newly-built training facility opened in Airway Heights.