In brief: Soccer association plans food drive
The Spokane Youth Sports Association will hold its Kickin’ Hunger Food Drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to benefit the House of Charity.
All the recreational soccer teams throughout Spokane will bring nonperishable food items to their games, and volunteers will collect it.
The team that brings in the most food will get a pizza party and prizes such as Spokane Spider tickets, soccer balls, a fold-out bench, a 5-gallon cooler, hats and OZ Fitness memberships.
The games will be held at Andrew Rypien Field, 3501 N. Regal; Farwell Field at Farwell and Crestline Roads in Mead; the Dwight Merkel Complex, 5901 N. Assembly St.; and the South Complex, 4824 S. Regal St.
For more information, call Ryan Spencer at 536-1800, ext. 104.
– Lisa Leinberger
Manito Park
Ducks doing well in new homes
Property owners who adopted ducks from Manito Park last winter sent Spokane parks officials a message last week telling them their new ducks are doing well.
Buzz and Melissa Howard of the H2H Bison Ranch near Worley, Idaho, took more than a dozen of about 40 ducks removed from the park in an effort to reduce waterfowl there and the environmental problems caused by too many ducks.
A white duck that Melissa Howard named President has been ruling the roost, she said in an e-mail to parks officials. “They are having no problems, whatsoever, with making this entire ranch their domain,” she said.
Parkgoers are being asked not to feed the ducks at the park duck pond because that encourages overpopulation.
– Mike Prager
Spokane Valley
Attorney named to ethics board
Spokane Valley City Attorney Mike Connelly has been appointed to the state Executive Ethics Board by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
The five-member board is charged with raising awareness and of the Ethics in Public Service Act and helping ensure compliance.
Connelly’s term began March 31 and ends Sept. 30, 2011.
He is a former Spokane city attorney, a former chairman of the state Public Disclosure Commission and an adjunct law professor at Gonzaga University.