Customs agent fights for her job

About 10 supporters of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee demonstrated at the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and Nevada on Thursday while she fought for her job during a hearing at the Border Patrol’s Spokane station.

In August, a discipline review board informed Tracy Sturchio, 58, of Colbert, who has undergone gender-change surgery, of her impending dismissal from the federal agency after investigators reported that she had sent herself a fax containing derogatory language in order to prove discrimination.

Sturchio, a telecommunications specialist and former supervisor, is on paid administrative leave. In June 2005 she lost a discrimination lawsuit against the Border Patrol in U.S. District Court.

Sturchio said she appeared Thursday before Cynthia Walters, deputy director of technology operations for the department’s Office of Information Technology. Sturchio said she was not told when she might expect a final decision on her job status.

Parks building fire intentionally set

The blaze that destroyed the Minnehaha Parks and Recreation building on Nov. 8 was intentionally set, Spokane fire investigators say.

The fire started in a stolen car found at the scene and spread to the building, said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer. Investigators believe the blaze was ignited to hide fingerprints that may have been on the Honda Civic, which was stolen in West Spokane.

This same vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run accident near West Francis Avenue shortly after being stolen, Schaeffer said.

The storage building at North Havana Street and Euclid Avenue contained a majority – about 300 – of the parks department’s portable table and bench sets; garbage cans; play equipment parts; bleachers and fences; Riverfront Park light poles and the shell used for outdoor symphony concerts, officials said.

BELLEVUE, Wash

Construction crane collapses; 1 killed

One person was killed when a construction crane collapsed Thursday night in downtown Bellevue.

The dead person was in an apartment building struck by the crane as it fell, Bellevue Fire Department Lt. Bruce Kroon said.

The crane’s operator was also hurt but reportedly was going to be OK, police spokesman Greg Grannis said.

It wasn’t immediately known whether additional people were hurt. Officers were going to door to door to check on people, but hadn’t been able to get into one building because of damage, Koon said.

The accident occurred just before 8 p.m. The crane was working on 333 Bellevue Tower, which is an office building that has been vacant for a few years, Kroon said.

Latah County

Suspect a no-show in Latah court

Authorities are looking for a man who didn’t show in court in Latah County on Thursday, less than a day after he was accused of molesting a child in Post Falls.

Vincent Patrick Aschinger, 35, of Moscow, Idaho, was set to appear in court on charges of aggravated battery by strangulation, according to the Latah County Sheriff’s Office. Aschinger had been released from jail after posting $10,000 bond on Nov. 2 and reportedly went to Post Falls to visit his parents.

Post Falls police Lt. Greg McLean said his office received a complaint Wednesday that Aschinger had tried to put his hands down the pants of a 12-year-old Post Falls girl. McLean said Aschinger allegedly fled when the girl and her friend called the girl’s mother to report what had happened.

Aschinger was last seen in Post Falls around 2 p.m. Wednesday, driving a silver Chrysler Cirrus with Idaho license plate number K245512, McLean said. Aschinger may have been headed to Palouse, Wash., McLean said.

A $100,000 warrant has been issued for Aschinger’s arrest for his failure to appear in court.

Aschinger is 6 feet tall, weighs 250 pounds, has blue eyes and is either bald or has blond hair, according to the Latah County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call local authorities or the Sheriff’s Office at (208) 882-2216.

Kellogg

Resort opening snow-tubing park

Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg will open its new snow-tubing park on Saturday, but the resort doesn’t quite have enough snow yet for skiing or snowboarding.

The new Prospector Adventure Zone offers two two-hour tubing sessions, the first at noon and the second at 2 p.m. Cost is $17 for adults and $15 for youths, seniors and college students. An additional two-hour session costs $9 and $7, respectively. The price includes the gondola ride, tube rental and two-hour session.

“What’s great about snow tubing is that everybody is an expert because everybody can do it,” said Jeff Colburn, general manager, in a news release.

Tubing is a new trend within the ski industry, offering an option for family members who don’t ski or snowboard. Schweitzer Mountain opened a tubing park last year, complete with a conveyor lift that returns riders and their tubes to the top of the hill.

Silver Mountain also has a conveyor lift that returns riders to the top. The new “Sun Kid” conveyor lift is similar to the moving walkways at airports, the news release said.