News Briefs

Medical Lake woman hurt in collision

A two-car collision Dec. 7 on State Route 902 involved two West Plains’ individuals and sent a Medical Lake woman and her passenger to the hospital.

According to a Washington State Patrol news release, just after 10 p.m., a 2010 Honda Civic driven by Darby M. Evans, 19, of Medical Lake was westbound on SR 902 approaching the Craig Road intersection. At the same time, a 2002 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Timothy Gricks, 49, of Cheney was southbound on Craig Road, also approaching the intersection.

According to the state patrol, Gricks failed to yield at the Craig Road stop sign and collided with Evans’ vehicle. Both Evans and her passenger, Jeffrey W. Gunn, 21, of Edwall were injured and transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Both vehicles were impounded and all three occupants were wearing seat restraints. Gricks was cited by the state patrol for failure to yield.

Airway Heights’ commission approves revised zone amendment

At its regular monthly meeting Dec. 9, the Airway Heights Planning Commission approved a revised resolution regarding a rezone of a one-acre parcel at the southeast corner of Russell Street and 10th Avenue.

The owners of the property, Denny and Judi Lee, originally requested the property be rezoned from Industrial to multi-family residential (R3). At a public hearing on Nov. 30, the commission voted to rezone the parcel to R-2 for duplexes instead.

The move was too late to amend the original ordinance, which went to the City Council and received a first reading Dec. 8, with Braaten explaining to them the commission had recently approved amending the rezone to R-2 duplex residential.

Braaten told the commission last Wednesday that he contacted the Lees to explain the decision, and was told they were OK with the R-2 designation and would not challenge the commission’s decision.

The revised ordinance incorporating language changing the parcel zoning from Industrial to R-2 will be sent to the council for a second reading and passage at their next meeting.

Council

establishes traffic school

The Cheney City Council passed an ordinance at its Dec. 8 meeting establishing a traffic school to be operated by the city’s Municipal Court. The school will be for defendants required to attend such training as part of an infraction deferral authorized by state law.

According to the ordinance, the traffic school will be taught by qualified instructors either employed or retained by the city who have knowledge and specialized training on the traffic school’s curriculum. Additionally, Cheney Police Department personnel may provide assistance in developing the curriculum for the school, including instruction on proper adherence to the rules of the road.

Municipal Court Administrator Terri Cooper told the council the court has been operating a traffic school for some time now, but that changes in state law required the city to adopt an ordinance to legally establish the school. All fees collected will go towards the operation of the school as well as supporting Cheney Youth Court education and activities.

Damaged Cheney fiber optic cable to be replaced

City of Cheney fiber optic cable temporarily installed after a fire in late summer damaged a communications vault near Eastern Washington University is scheduled to be replaced this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 18 – 19.

The fire on Aug. 31 briefly forced the rerouting of Police Department communications and knocked out phone and Internet to the rest of the city departments for several days. Work crews eventually installed a temporary repair by running several hundred feet of cable along existing power poles in the area.

Light Department Director Steve Boorman told the City Council on Dec. 8 the contractor would take down the temporary fix this weekend, and a permanent connection reinstalled. While the work schedule is designed to minimize impacts to residents, city officials said in a Dec. 15 press release there would be some interruptions to the city’s phone and email systems.

The work will also require the Police Department’s dispatch center to use its backup communication systems.