Robbery suspect arrested at motel

A 36-year-old woman who police think robbed another woman at knifepoint was arrested early Wednesday morning at a Spokane motel.

Brandi R. Soudelier was charged with first-degree robbery, Spokane police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee said.

The alleged victim, also 36, told police that Soudelier threatened her with a knife and robbed her of her purse after the two were involved in a property dispute in an alley near Eighth Avenue and Maple Street on April 18.

Spokane police found Soudelier at the Royal Scot Motel at Division and Houston shortly before midnight Tuesday, Lee said. Police also found three small bags of suspected methamphetamine in the woman’s purse.

Naturalization Day offers help, advice

Immigration attorneys, paralegals, interpreters and other volunteers will be on hand Saturday for Naturalization Day 2006, an event to assist residents seeking U.S. citizenship.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., volunteers will be at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1517 W. Dean Ave., to help people fill out naturalization applications. The fee is $20.

Naturalization Day 2006 is sponsored by the Washington chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in partnership with Lutheran Community Services Northwest, Northwest Justice Project, Columbia Legal Services and other organizations. Volunteers are expected to aid about 1,000 people throughout the state.

More than 537,000 immigrants became U.S. citizens in 2004, including 12,667 in Washington.

Rockford, Wash.

Fire, school levies approved by voters

A fire levy passed Tuesday in the town of Rockford with 69.7 percent support, while an operating levy for the Springdale-based Mary Walker School District in Stevens County passed with 62.7 percent support.

Both measures needed 60 percent support to pass. There were no other items on the ballot.

The vote was 76-33 for the one-year, $10,000 Rockford fire levy. In the Mary Walker School District, the vote was 392-233 in favor of a four-year, $150,000-a-year levy that will cost an estimated $1.39 per $1,000 of assessed value.