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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

2 teens charged with mischief at work site

The Spokesman-Review

Two Mead High School students were arrested after construction workers watched them pull up survey stakes and push a big pipe off an embankment.

The workers took the keys out of a Buick Riviera driven by one of the teens so they couldn’t escape before deputies arrived, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said. The pipe damaged an erosion control fence along construction at Highway 395 and Wandermere.

The boys, ages 15 and 16, were booked into Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of second-degree malicious mischief and second-degree trespass, Reagan said.

Other suspects, who were also seen pulling up survey stakes and throwing them over the embankment, fled in a Jeep.

Deputies responded to the construction zone about 11:20 a.m. Tuesday where work was being done on the new north-south freeway, which will eventually connect Interstate 90 and Highway 395, Reagan said. The zone is posted “no trespassing,” and deputies have made previous arrests at the site for trespassing, malicious mischief and theft.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner

Spokane

Best of Broadway announces lineup

“Hairspray” and the Elton John version of “Aida” are among the touring shows booked for the Best of Broadway 2006-07 season at the Spokane Opera House.

The five-show subscription lineup includes:

“”Chicago,” Sept. 19-24

“”Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Nov. 30-Dec. 3

“”Hairspray,” Jan. 2-7

“”Annie,” Feb. 15-18

“”Aida,” March 29-April 1

Three non-subscription “extra” shows were also announced: The Capitol Steps, Nov. 19; “Little Shop of Horrors,” March 13-14; and “Cats,” April 24-26, 2007.

Orders for both current and new subscribers will begin at 9 a.m. Sunday through TicketsWest outlets (325-SEAT, (800) 325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).

– Jim Kershner

Only two officers used Tasers against Zehm

The Spokane Police Department for the first time Wednesday said that only two of seven responding police officers used their Tasers against 36-year-old Otto Zehm during a March 18 scuffle.

Police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee provided the new details out of concern that an April 4 article in The Spokesman-Review gave the impression that all of the officers had been involved in the use of force to subdue Zehm, an unarmed mentally-ill janitor who died two days later.

Officers Karl Thompson and Steve Braun Jr., the first two on the scene, both used their Tasers, and Thompson also used a police baton in their efforts to restrain Zehm, Lee said.

The circumstances surrounding Zehm’s death remain under investigation.

– Thomas Clouse