Community theater putting on play

StageWest Community Theatre will perform “A Bad Year for Tomatoes” at the City Hall Auditorium, 609 Second St., Cheney.

The comedy is about an aging movie actress who decides to retire to a small town in Vermont to grow tomatoes and write her memoirs.

There are two Friday night dinner performances Feb. 8 and 15, with a buffet at 7 p.m. Admission is $20.

There are also two Saturday afternoon performances with a lighter meal, at 1 p.m. Feb. 9 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 16. Admission for those is $15.

There are two Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Feb. 10 and 17. Admission is $10.

For more information, visit www.stagewestct.org or call 235-4575.

Spokane

Exchange program needs host families

The Ecuador Youth Leadership Exchange Program is looking for host families for students visiting Spokane March 27 through April 18.

Students need the host families to provide them with their own bed (no air mattresses), access to a restroom, transportation to and from scheduled events and three meals a day. There is no need for the host family to have foreign language skills.

The students will be in Spokane for the Ecuador Youth Leadership Program. The students will learn to think globally about their lives and communities, learn to break down stereotypes that divide people, build respect for cultural expression and more.

For more information about becoming a host family, contact Barry Moses or Sandra Lopez at Community-Minded Enterprises, 599-4789 or 209-2628.

Spokane County

Traffic up at airport, Felts Field

Spokane International Airport handled a record 3,472,901 passengers in 2007, up 7.71 percent from 2006 and breaking the previous record of 3,258,762 passengers set in 1996.

Aviation operations at Felts Field were up, too, in 2007 – 69,788 compared with 2006’s 68,832, a 1.39 percent increase, according to a monthly air traffic report. Operations last month, however, showed a 34.7 percent decline compared with the 3,681 operations at Felts in December 2006.

While more passengers used the international airport last year, the amount of cargo handled was down 7.65 percent – 52,587 tons in 2007 compared with 56,943 tons in 2006, the airport said. There was less freight handled at Felts, too – 71 tons in 2007, a 12.35 percent decrease from 2006’s 81 tons.

The international airport reported 148,258 passengers boarded planes during December 2007, a 4.94 percent increase from December of 2006’s 140,147 passengers. There was more freight and mail shipped last month, too – 5,002.7 tons compared with 4,916.3 tons in 2006; a 1.76 percent increase.

Felts Field reported a sharp drop in the amount of freight handled last month – 3.4 tons compared with 10.7 tons in December 2006, a 68.22 percent decrease.

Waste-to-energy tours on hold

All public tours of Spokane’s waste-to-energy facility have been canceled due to current weather conditions and a planned outage in early February. Tours will resume Feb. 20.

Residents wishing to schedule tours of the facility should call the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System at 625-6580.

Dinner benefits autism therapy

The ISAAC Foundation will hold a benefit dinner, “A Taste of Hope” Feb. 8 at the Mukogawa Fort Wright Commons.

The evening will include food, beverages, music and an auction to raise funds for therapy grants for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

The fundraiser is still accepting donations of items to go up on the auction block. To donate, contact Ashley Potter at 459-1646.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; auction begins at 7.

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Tables of eight can be purchased for $200 or tables of 10 for $250; both include a complementary bottle of wine.

For more information, call the ISAAC Foundation at 499-1679.

MOUNT SPOKANE

Dance teams to compete

The Mt. Spokane High School Dance Team will host an invitational dance team competition Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in its gym at 6015 E. Mt. Spokane Park Drive.

Dance teams from schools throughout the area will compete in different forms of dance such as pompom routines, hop-hop, drill and more.

The theme of the competition is “Dance Your Heart Out.”

Tickets are $3 for students with ID and $5 for adults.

For more information, call the school at 465-7200.

SPOKANE VALLEY

Rodeo competition is Saturday

The first Miss Spokane Interstate Rodeo queen competition presented by Big Al’s at Stateline is scheduled for Saturday.

Seven contestants will vie for this year’s title, and the winner will advance to the Miss Rodeo Washington contest in September. Miss Rodeo Washington travels to Las Vegas in December and competes for the Miss Rodeo America title held each year in conjunction with the PRCA National Finals Rodeo.

The Spokane Interstate Rodeo is held in September during the Interstate Fair. The winner will also be involved in the “Tough Enough To Wear Pink” campaign to bring awareness about breast cancer and the need for research.

The afternoon portion of the competition, which is open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. at the Quality Inn Valley Suites, just west of Argonne Road on Mission Avenue. The girls will compete in speech, rodeo knowledge and an impromptu question-and-answer section. There will be a western fashion show and silent auction. Coronation is at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $5 each. For more information, call 242-2511.

Scholarship honors drug-free students

The Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council is accepting applications for the 2008 Harry Kennedy Memorial Scholarship.

High school seniors who wish to apply should write an essay based on personal experience or research discussing why he or she had chosen to remain drug-free. The essay needs to be typed and no longer than two pages.

Submissions should contain the student’s name, address and phone number, the student’s school, and the name, address and phone number of the school the student plans to attend.

Submitting additional materials will disqualify the submission.

The winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship and an alternate will receive a $250 scholarship.

The deadline to apply is 4:30 p.m. March 21 at the Prevention Center, 8104 E. Sprague, Spokane Valley.

For more information, call GSSAC at 922-8383.

West Hills

Girl Scouts kicking off cookie sale

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho will present a kick-off rally for its annual cookie sale Saturday at Spokane Falls Community College in building 15, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Drive at 10 a.m.

The rally is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to get out and sell lots of cookies, and the girls will be able to sample this year’s two new flavors, Lemon Chalet Crème and sugar-free chocolate chip.

The theme of the sale this year is “Make it a Hit.”

Girl Scouts from throughout the area will be taking pre-orders for their cookies between Feb. 1 and 17.

For more information, call the Girl Scouts at 747-8091.