School districts agree to split Albi costs
Two Spokane-area school districts agreed this week to pick up the tab to keep Joe Albi Stadium alive for future high school sporting events.
Spokane Public Schools board members approved an agreement with the city of Spokane on Wednesday night to pick up part of the nearly $1 million cost to replacing the stadium’s aging artificial turf, plus pay rent of $2,950 a day when the facility is used.
The Mead School District also agreed to pay for part of the deal on Monday. The Spokane City Council also approved the agreement on Monday.
School board member Rocky Treppiedi, who is the city attorney for Spokane, excused himself from the vote.
The stadium is mostly used for Greater Spokane League football games in the fall.
The districts will split the costs of the new turf. Based on their sizes, Spokane’s portion will be 71.5 percent of the cost, while Mead’s will be 28.5 percent.
Either the city or the schools can terminate the 10-year agreement at the five-year mark, but they must give a year’s advance notice.
– Sara Leaming
Whitman County
Small school district gets cleanup grant
A small Whitman County school district was awarded a $100,000 state grant to help clean up asbestos at its only school building.
The Lamont School District, home to 37 students in grades six through eight, was awarded a repair grant from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The district will use $30,000 to remove asbestos from the school’s boiler and steam pipes. The grant will also pay for insulation and to connect the school to Lamont’s city water system, said Janet Smith, district business manager.
“This is huge for us. We’re tiny,” Smith said.
The school was built in 1955.
“We did a window project a few years ago, and small amounts of asbestos were found around the windows then,” Smith said. She said the projects will begin this summer.
– Sara Leaming
Coeur d’Alene
Sonar may have located boater’s body
Searchers may have located the body of Spokane real estate broker Gary Fox, who fell off his boat into Lake Coeur d’Alene on Friday. But after about three hours of sweeping the lake bed on Wednesday, divers were unable to make a recovery.
Windy weather on the surface and poor visibility deep in the water made the search difficult, said Sgt. Matt Street of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Marine Division.
“The chances are pretty good as far as recovery,” Street said. “It’s just a matter of time.”
Fox, 57, who recently joined Century 21 Beutler and Associates, was on his 54-foot boat with his wife when the accident happened. It was the couple’s first voyage of the season.
Gene Ralston, an environmental consultant from Kuna, has volunteered his time, expertise and side scan sonar to help find Fox’s body.
The sonar, which looks like a 4-foot torpedo towed on a cable, sends sound waves sideways to get a clear horizontal picture of the bed of the lake. Shortly after the device was deployed Wednesday, searchers reported a possible location of the body.
A diving team will return to the lake this morning.
– Rasha Madkour