Temp Workers Got Day Off

About 50 temporary workers in Spokane were out of luck Wednesday as businesses without power shut down for the day.

“I’ve had a ton of jobs canceled,” said Jim Bassett, branch manager for Labor Ready, which supplies businesses with temporary help.

Many of those jobs were in the Spokane Industrial Park, where a tile company, metal fabrication company and cabinet company all canceled work orders.

Bassett, who still must pay his workers for showing up, said he got hit twice by the cancellations. “Not only do I lose the business, but I paid them money. It kind of wipes you out,” he said.

Hanging out their shingle

Getting a roofer Wednesday morning was just slightly easier than winning the lottery. Of more than two dozen roofers contacted in the Inland Northwest, only two people answered in person.

Marilyn Davis’ telephone started ringing at 7 a.m. with frazzled homeowners eager to get an estimate on the damage from fallen trees and limbs. She takes calls for husband Wynn Davis’ Grizzly Roofing and Remodeling in Coeur d’Alene.

“We’ve gotten about 10 calls already,” she said. “It’s going to be pretty good for us, at least for the next two or three weeks.”

The same held true for Janet Mulvaney, who takes calls for her husband, Jim, owner of Spokane’s Mulvaney Roofing. “People seemed a little more frantic than usual on the phone,” she said.

A place to work and clean up

John and Valerie Sullivan’s only usable shower is at their Washington One Hour Photo shop at Northpointe Plaza in north Spokane.

The power went out Tuesday at the Sullivans’ Reardan, Wash., home, rendering the water pump useless. So the couple and their five children can’t use the shower - or toilet.

A hand-held shower attached to a sink at the shop served as a shower Wednesday morning. “My husband is threatening to stand in it,” Valerie Sullivan said. “He’s a desperate man.”

The Sullivans were planning Wednesday afternoon to go home, get their children and bring them in to wash up.

“We’re going to go home, load ‘em up, bring ‘em in and hose ‘em off,” Valerie Sullivan said.

The Sullivans have been told their power will be out for almost a week.

Escaping the eye of the storm

Despite icy roads, surrounding counties escaped serious problems from the storm.

State Highway 291 was closed for several hours at Big Sandy Hill near Suncrest in southern Stevens County while state road crews cleared fallen trees and limbs. But most of Stevens County got snow instead of freezing rain.

In Pend Oreille County, the only serious accident occurred when a semi-truck slid into Davis Creek on state Highway 211, about 12 miles west of Newport. Authorities said no one was injured but about 20 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the creek. Crews from Pend Oreille County Fire District 4 contained the spill without assistance from the state Ecology Department.

The Palouse, which is largely treeless, also escaped most damage. There were only a handful of downed power lines and trees reported.

Popcorn, movie and a little refuge

Movie fans searching for refuge from Tuesday’s ice storm were largely out of luck. Most area theaters either closed early or never opened.

The Garland Theater, which runs a daily noon matinee along with its evening schedule, canceled a 5 p.m. showing of “Jack” following two short power disruptions.

“The equipment had surges of a half second, or a full second, of going down and then back on,” said Paul Quam, theater manager. “They’re so hard on the equipment that we elected not to take those chances.”

The downtown Magic Lantern Cinemas, though, remained open for all scheduled shows.

“People need us,” said Magic Lantern co-owner Kathryn Graham. “Some of the people in here didn’t have power in their homes.”

Both theaters were open for business Wednesday.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: Changed from the Idaho edition

“After the Storm” special section

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = From staff reports Staff writers Dan Webster, Eric Torbenson, Alison Boggs, Grayden Jones, John Craig and Rich Roesler contributed to this report.