2023 August Splash

AUGUST

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LIBERTY LAKE

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FREE COMMUNITY NEWSMAGAZINE

Closing the Community Chasm

New Kramer Overpass narrows LL gap page 10

CO-FOUNDER OF LIBERTY LAKE FARMER’S MARKET PAGE 2

CVSD FINALIZES STRATEGIC PLAN PAGE 28

AWNINGS IN STOCK

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CORNHOLE SHOWDOWN AUGUST 19 PAGE 22

2 • AUGUST 2023

The Splash

DOCKSIDE it sounded good to was just her and my uncle working Kaiser Aluminum. Both sets of her Market Leader me“Ibutremember I had no idea how to start on the market,” said Holli. “She’s grandparents had immigrated to

– Parker cofounded LL community staple

By Craig Howard Splash Contributing Editor

When Susan Parker was preparing for the inaugural year of the Liberty Lake Farmers Market over two decades ago, there was plenty advice to be had.

One recommendation was to ring a bell to signal the opening of market sales; another suggestion was to forbid dogs from market grounds.

a farmers market,” Parker said.

“Our goal was to have people shop and connect with farmers and ask questions like, ‘Where did this tomato come from?’”

The venture has remained in the family since, with Susan’s daughter Holli taking over for her mom as manager several years into the market’s existence. Susan’s son, Michael, a graphic designer, has been integral to marketing efforts while Holli’s son, Brandon, is now market manager, representing three generations of oversight.

“My mom was absolutely pivotal in the beginning when it

been able to keep that initial vision alive moving forward and still has a very pivotal role, being on the board, helping with social media and being there every Saturday.

She’s so creative, it’s amazing.”

Growing up in North Spokane, Parker was surrounded by family gardens blooming with flowers, vegetables and fruit.

“I would cut flowers in my mom’s garden and put them in a vase,” Parker recalls. “I remember picking raspberries in our backyard.”

Parker was the youngest of four children and the only daughter. Her dad worked as a brick mason for

On a sun-soaked Saturday morning last month, Parker strolled past a collection of bustling booths that began on Meadowwood Lane and wound around Town Square Park. A large crowd had gathered well before the official opening of the market at 9 a.m. Unlike the New York Stock Exchange, no opening bell sounded. Dogs on leashes roamed the grounds as their owners clutched bags of produce, flowers and baked goods.

“There were lots of Italians in our neighborhood,” she said. “Italian was spoken around the house.”

On weekends, the Franks would drive east to the Valley and stop at a variety of produce stands that were a trademark of the agriculturally rich area. Other drives took the family to Manito Park and Lake Coeur d’Alene.

After graduating from North Central High School, Parker went to work at The Crescent department store in downtown Spokane. She later was employed at a greenhouse on the South Hill before latching on with Jones Wholesale Florists where she remained for 20 years, specializing in quality control.

Parker left Jones to learn the business side of the floral industry at Sunset Florist in northwest Spokane.

After two years, she embarked on her own, launching The Garden Gate in 2001 on Meadowwood Lane in Liberty Lake, the same street that would play host to the farmers market.

These days, Parker is on the board of the market and is a fixture every Saturday. She oversees social media efforts and takes special care in reviewing and approving each vendor on a list of close to 80. The average gathering of booths each week is around 50. The process of organizing the market begins in earnest each December.

As has been the case since 2002 when the site opened with eight vendors during a rainy spring, Parker has helped set the tone for what is arguably the region’s most popular farmers market where the farmers themselves are far from window dressing.

“When we started, we talked with farmers to see what they thought,” Parker said. “There’s always been that emphasis on locally grown produce.”

In late 2001, Parker’s brother, Jim Frank – founder of Greenstone Homes – first brought up the idea of a farmers market in Liberty Lake.

She and Jim worked to have the first showcase ready by the following May with Susan becoming the inaugural market manager.

America from Italy.

Being part of a unique community gathering place that celebrates local farmers and the area’s agricultural foundation is something Parker continues to cultivate season after season.

Photo by Craig Howard Susan Parker co-founded the Liberty Lake Farmers Market with her brother Jim Frank in 2002. The inaugural year featured eight vendors and has now grown to around 50 each Saturday from late May to mid-October. Parker ran her own florist business, The Garden Gate, in Liberty Lake from 2001 to 2012.

“That’s what you do on a Saturday, you do down the market and visit with friends,” she said.

Q: It sounds like you grew up around flower and vegetable See PARKER, Page 4

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4 • AUGUST 2023

PARKER

Continued from page 2 gardens. What kind of influence do you think this had on your career path that included many years in the florist business and later becoming co-founder of the Liberty Lake Farmers Market?

A: My childhood was filled with flowers and produce all around. My dad had a garden behind the garage.

In the summertime, one of my favorite things to do was pick fresh raspberries for breakfast. Always having fresh produce around was just the way we grew up. That had to of made an impression on us as kids. In my mid-20s, I started working at a greenhouse. We grew green plants and bedding plants.

From there, I moved down to a floral wholesale house. My job there was to make the hand-tied bouquets that were sold to the grocery stores.

At that time it was fairly new for grocery stores to be selling flowers and plants. During my time at the wholesale house, I attended lots of workshops and met a lot of amazing people who taught me so many things about the floral industry. So I have had a lot of years working and learning around plants and flowers in some form.

Q: What do you remember about the family expeditions to the Valley when you were a kid and particularly the abundance of produce and fruit stands that were a signature of the area during that time?

A: I was pretty little but I remember taking our Sunday drives and going through the Valley and stopping by fruit stands and picking out the different produce that dad couldn’t grow in his garden. It was fun to go pick the corn off the stocks ourselves and dad would teach me what to look for to find the best ones. It’s pretty fun to run around through the fields, just like kids do today.

Q: One of the priorities of the Liberty Lake Farmers Market has always been to educate people about the locally grown nature of food and the effort that farmers make to put fresh vegetables and fruit on tables. Do you think you

The Splash

appreciated that from an early age?

A: I think those Sunday drives to the farms and picking our own produce and talking to the farmers and watching dad in his own garden and my grandparents working in theirs. You could see that it was a lot of work. Dad would spend a lot of hours working in his garden. It did make me appreciate what went into bringing that produce to the table.

Q: What are some of your recollections of starting and running your own business, The Garden Gate?

A: I was pretty apprehensive at first. I had work for the same company over 20 years. So there was a comfort there. But I got a lot of encouragement from them and my family so I closed my eyes took a breath and jumped. I was pretty lucky to get corporate accounts in the beginning, which kept me busy.

Liberty Lake City Hall was down the hallway from the shop. I got to do a lot of fun things with the city as well, including the decorations for the holiday ball every year. It was fun to work with all the great volunteers and to help put on a great event for the city. In the early years of the shop, I was lucky to have my son and daughter helping out. My son Mike is a graphic designer, so he designed my logo and did all of my advertising for me and Holli came in and watched the store and helped with deliveries. I am lucky that I have a lot of nieces and nephews who would also come by and help during holiday times. They are rock stars! One of my most fun times of having the shop was being asked to do the flowers for the US Figure Skating Championship. My crew and I decorated the different rooms in the venue and also made the bouquets that were given to the skaters.

Q: Your brother Jim and later your nephew Joe have been integral to a good portion of the growth in Liberty Lake through Greenstone Homes. As a resident of this community since 2001, how do you view the impact of Greenstone on the place you call home?

AUGUST 2023 • 5

The Splash A: I remember coming out to Liberty Lake when there was only a gas station on the corner. So, the community really has changed a lot. I may be prejudiced but I think that Jim and Joe have done a wonderful job. Jim’s view, his vision for communities, is based on our neighborhood growing up. We had the little neighborhood store.

We had our school close by. We had a park within walking distance. We knew all our neighbors. We would have neighborhood barbecues together. I think that’s what they’ve built here.

Q: The farmers market has come a long way since the inaugural year of 2002. What do you remember about that first season in terms of both challenges and rewards?

A: The first season of the market, just getting it up and running trying to figure out rules and regulations. Would we even be able to find vendors? We tried to get some information from the Spokane Farmers Market and they helped out a little bit. They told us about some rules and regulations that we were supposed to go by, although there were some that we didn’t agree with, like not having dogs at the market or waiting to sell things until the bell rings. I think at the beginning, they were worried because we weren’t farmers and they wanted to know what was in it for us to start a market. We tried to tell him how we felt but I think they were skeptical. We only had about eight or so vendors that first opening day but they were all great!

Slowly but surely, our vendor list kept growing and every year we have a great group of vendors. It is pretty amazing to me to see that we now on any given Saturday have over 50. It’s also been fun to see some of our vendors being able to put their products in different stores and not just at farmers market. We even had one crafter get a contract with a cruise line for her product.

That was pretty cool. We had a gal come to us wanting to sell candles in the beginning. We didn’t know how that would fly selling candles in the summertime but in the end, we were glad that we did it.

Q: It seems like folks can find

a farmers market around most corners these days. What do you think sets the Liberty Lake Farmers Market apart?

A: When we started the market, the only other market in Spokane was the Spokane Farmers Market.

We actually did try to put one up on the South Hill. We worked at for a couple of years, but we only had five volunteers and it just got to be too much and we wanted to focus more on the Liberty Lake Market. I think what sets apart from other farmers market is our community. People coming, visiting with neighbors, sitting for a bite to eat, bringing their dogs, just enjoying the day.

Rain or shine. They don’t just do it once in a while they do it week after week. I get so excited when I come to the market and I look down the street and see all the people roaming around and I think to myself, ‘This is cool!’ The other thing is as a board we are pretty particular about who we let in the market. We don’t make those decisions lightly. There are some times when we have several great vendors but we only have one spot so it’s hard to say no to somebody that you know would be good. Expanding into the park was great for us, it gave us a lot more room which to us meant bringing in a lot more vendors. We follow the Washington State Farmers Market Association rules. Which means we have to have a certain percentage of farmers and that dictates how many crafters we can have. We are, after all, a farmers market.

Q: You are now a resident of the rapidly developing north side of Liberty Lake. What have you enjoyed about living in the Trutina neighborhood and this part of town in general?

A: I actually only have been in Trutina for about a year and a half but it’s been wonderful. It really is like the neighborhood I grew up in. Neighbors walking their dogs, driving around in their golf carts, waving to their neighbors. Lots of neighborhood get togethers. People caring about people. I think that’s what Liberty Lake is, people coming together, sharing dinners together, laughing together, helping others together.

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6 • AUGUST 2023

Strategic plan, community priorities impact 2024 city budget

By Craig Howard

Splash Contributing Editor

Landing in Liberty Lake after career stops in Texas hubs like Houston and Ft. Worth, Mark McAvoy was accustomed to municipal budgets with their share of debt obligations.

Not so in Liberty Lake.

“It’s been a refreshing change,” said Liberty Lake’s city administrator.

“Usually, you’re serving debt before you start to serve the public.”

Last year at this time, McAvoy had just arrived on the job. He hit the ground running, joining a team effort at City Hall to prepare a preliminary budget for 2023 that would be presented by Mayor Cris Kaminskas to City Council that fall.

This time around, McAvoy is part of a shift to something called “priority-based budgeting” that he says is still in the early stages but will represent “a transition in the way we philosophically look at budgeting.”

Driving the new approach is the city’s revamping of the strategic plan. A community survey on the plan drew around 650 responses and echoed many of the priorities identified by council such as public safety, preservation of roads and other infrastructure, parks and new amenities at existing municipal greenspace.

“The same pattern held true with the survey results, generally speaking with the things City Council put at the top,” McAvoy said.

A focus group met twice in July to review survey results and prepare a summary for council. McAvoy said the governing board will comb through the report and emerge with an updated strategic plan before the end of the year.

From the formation of the Community Engagement Commission to the strategic plan

NEWS

survey and other efforts to gather feedback from residents, McAvoy said council “has made it a point to shift the way it uses public input in this (budget) process.”

There will be as many as four public hearings on the budget before it is presented for council approval.

The city’s new communication software, ZenCity – which interacts will all social media channels – will also figure into the gathering of citizen feedback on the budget.

As for Liberty Lake’s relative freedom from debt, McAvoy points to the “vision and commitment of the city” and the fact that services like fire protection and water/ sewer utilities are operated outside municipal purview. Incurring recent debt to cover the renovation costs of the Trailhead clubhouse, parking lot and pro shop, McAvoy said, was made possible because of the city’s overall fiscal health.

Kaminskas said her budget should be ready for council by the first or second meeting in October.

While department heads have begun preparing requests based on revenue forecasts and looking at line-by-line aspects of their respective budgets, including professional services, equipment, staffing, capital projects and more, the mayor said she is focused on “the big picture.”

“I’m asking ‘How do we make this organization more efficient?’”

Kaminskas said. “What will this organization look like in the years moving forward and how do we get there?”

Considering possibilities like creating a separate Public Works

department instead of having it under the umbrella of the existing Operations and Maintenance department is one example of pursuing increased efficiencies, Kaminskas said. The O-and-R team is currently the city’s largest department, consisting of 27 full-time employees, one part-time worker and 10 seasonal staff.

Finding a balance with the right amount of employees in a growing city is an ongoing challenge, the mayor added.

“As we look ahead to buildout, we don’t want to hire too soon and have to lay off people,” Kaminskas said.

Liberty Lake’s current population is just over 13,000. The city is expected to have just under 21,000 residents at buildout.

For the mayor, priority-based budgeting boils down to a simple approach.

“The budget should really reflect the priorities of the strategic plan,” she said.

Finance Director Kyle Dixon said there is “a game of catch-up” when it comes to providing services to a resident base that has been increasing each year, particularly on the burgeoning north side.

“It’s a question of how we accommodate all the new demand for services without burning out our employees,” he said.

Dixon said the transition to priority-based budgeting “will be a shift in how we’re doing things.” The days of 8,000 different line items will likely be gone.

The Splash Kaminskas has moved up the internal deadlines for the preliminary budget “so we won’t be under so much pressure.” Dixon can relate.

“There’s a crunch right before the mayor’s budget comes out,” he said. “Getting that last-minute information can potentially have a cascading effect in other areas.”

Preparing 200-page binders with the first draft of the budget for each council member is a rewarding part of the process, Dixon said. The budget books will be presented in September.

“Putting those binders together signifies all the work we’ve put into the budget even though we’re going to be working on it for the next three months,” he said.

Council Member Annie Kurtz, who will be part of her fourth budget process, says the mayor, city administrator, finance director and department heads “do the bulk of the work” on the budget.

“As far as council goes, different people have different questions about the budget,” she said. “It’s nice going through it as a group.”

Kurtz was instrumental in the formation of the Community Engagement Commission and said the city’s efforts to involve the public in their own government through this and other approaches represent “a good start.” Discussions related to the budget, she said, should follow suit.

“When the budget comes up, we talk a lot about the council’s priorities but we need to talk about the community’s priorities,” Kurtz said.

AUGUST 2023 • 7

The Splash

The Lookout Shakespeare and Symphony coming to Pavillion Park

Two of the biggest annual summer events on Liberty Lake’s public performing arts calendar are about to make their 2023 appearances at Pavillion Park.

On Sunday, Aug. 20, the Montana Shakespeare in the Parks troupe returns to Pavillion Park for a free performance of

August 2023

“The Three Musketeers” starting at 5 p.m. This is the first season during the 51-year history of the Montana State University’s program that it has presented the swashbuckling classic.

Then for Labor Day weekend, the Spokane Symphony Orchestra takes to the Pavillion Park stage with the 22nd Annual Lud Kramer Memorial Concert, happening on Saturday, Sept. 2. The musicians with conductor James Lowe will perform from 6 to 8 p.m. in a concert ranging from classics to movie themes for the free event.

https://www.facebook.com/libertylakewa • www.libertylakewa.gov

ns (Traffic/Criminal/Non-Criminal)

25

Driving Under Influence) Introducing the

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8 • AUGUST 2023

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Safety Awareness Channel

/ Vehicle Prowls / Vehicle Theft / ries

26

ous Mischief

2Office for Assault 1, Hit and Run with

Police Report June 2023 ment- / Assault DV / Simple Assault / Splash news sources

TotalWeapon incidents generated by t w/a Officers and emergency calls for service last month 594 Traffic Collisions/Hit & Runs / Injury Collisions 7 Citations (Traffic/Criminal/NonCriminal) 25 DUI (Driving Under Influence) 3 Thefts / Vehicle Prowls / Vehicle Theft / Burglaries 26 Malicious Mischief 2 Argument / Assault DV / Simple Assault / Assault w/a Weapon 9 Parking Violations 2 Suspicious Vehicles 38 Significant Cases

g Violations

ious Vehicles

Sex Crime, 06/06/2023: On 06/06/2023, the School Resource Officer took a report regarding Possession/Distribution of Intimate Images at one of the area schools. Investigation revealed that

intimate images had been shared between two juveniles voluntarily and those images were then shown to and distributed to other students. Charges were sent to the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office for possible charges on several juveniles for Possession of Child Pornography and Distribution of Child Pornography.

Hit & Run/Assault, 06/16/2023: Officers responded to a hit and run vehicle accident in the area of E Country Vista Drive and E Eaglebend Lane. Officers determined that truck had passed a motorcyclist recklessly as the lanes merged into one. The truck then “brake checked” the motorcycle causing it to collide with the bumper of the truck. The driver of the truck pulled forward and then reversed at a high rate of speed into the motorcycle, knocking the motorcycle over and causing injury to the motorcycle rider.

The driver of the truck fled the scene but was located and interviewed by officers the following day. Charges were forwarded to the Prosecutor’s

Injury and Making a False Statement to a Public Servant.

Fatality Accident, 06/16/2023: Officers responded to a vehicle vs

9pedestrian collision in the area of E

Appleway Avenue and N Eagle Lane.

Officers determined two pedestrians were attempting to cross Appleway and were struck by a vehicle traveling eastbound.

One pedestrian had significant injuries and succumbed to his injuries at the scene. Officers and detectives are conducting further follow-up and it is still considered an open, active investigation.

2

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2023-88003286 Death, 06/18/2023: Officers responded to a death investigation in the 25000 block of E Hawkstone Loop. Officers located a subject, who had possibly ingested an unknown substance and had passed away. Detectives are conducting follow-up, waiting for toxicology reports and charges may follow if they determine a crime was committed.

Custodial Interference, 06/19/2023: Officers responded to a report of a female carrying a child while being followed by a car in the area of E Country Vista Drive and N Kramer Road. Officers spoke with the individuals involved and determined the female (a relative of the child) had taken the child from the parents earlier in the day and was attempting to go to Idaho. The child was reunited with the parents and the adult female was arrested for Custodial Interference.

Please call 911 immediately for emergency assistance when needed and call Crime Check if you see something you feel may need our attention. If you don’t hear back from Crime-Check in a timely manner, please call, and request officer assistance. The Liberty Lake Police Department would like to remind everyone to remain out of the construction areas until those projects are completed and the roadways are opened.

Stay well and be safe!

AUGUST 2023 • 9

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10 • AUGUST 2023

Kramer span continues momentum to narrow LL divide

By Craig Howard

Splash Contributing Editor

Tracy Mertens was talking with a few friends at Fieldhouse Pizza in Liberty Lake earlier this summer when the north side of town came up.

For nearly 20 years, Mertens called the south side of Liberty Lake home, not far from the Meadowwood Golf Course. In 2020, he made the transition across Interstate-90 to the Trutina neighborhood and became a north-sider. To his pals, that section of the community is akin to a foreign country.

“One of my friends who lives in Spokane, didn’t know there was such a thing as the north side of Liberty Lake,” Mertens said.

“Another friend who has lived in Liberty Lake a long time thought Liberty Lake is just on the south side. I told them, ‘There’s a whole new development on the north side.’”

Mertens is part of a migration

COVER STORY to a burgeoning area known as the River District that has been expanding for nearly two decades.

Destination sites like Orchard Park, events like Winter Glow and a burgeoning commercial presence have complemented the residential presence that established the foundation of the community under the direction of Greenstone Homes.

Despite the growth, residents like Mertens see Liberty Lake as segmented.

“There’s a disconnect for sure,” he said. “I see Liberty Lake as three communities – you have the people around the lake, the south side and the north side.”

The disjointed nature of Spokane County’s easternmost city will soon receive a boost of cohesiveness with the opening of the Kramer Parkway Overpass, an ambitious span that is scheduled to be operational by late August. The bridge will carry not only motorists but pedestrians, cyclists and golf carts safely over the freeway.

“I-90 has really divided our community,” said Liberty Lake Planning and Engineering Manager Lisa Key who has overseen the Kramer bridge project for the city.

“Just from a community-design standpoint, this bridge will create much better connectivity and access.

I can’t think of another project that could be more impactful from that

standpoint.”

Key points to the “resilience factor” that will be generated by the city’s newest infrastructure addition.

“If you have a backup on I-90 or Harvard, this is going to make a difference,” she said. “Whether it’s increased access for commercial service or emergency service providers or the community at large, everyone will benefit.”

Liberty Lake Mayor Cris Kaminskas moved to the community 17 years ago and recalls the reluctance of residents to venture across the freeway.

“It was weird,” she said. “No one went across the freeway to do anything.”

Kaminskas said the addition of Orchard Park in the River District has made a difference. The site hosts Winter Glow, a holiday light celebration, every year and has become a popular destination point in the spring and summer.

“I think the River District was feeling left out not having a park over there,” Kaminskas said.

The mayor said the new bridge will mean improved traffic flow, particularly with the proximity to Ridgeline High School on Country Vista Drive, a campus that opened two years ago.

“This will take a lot of pressure

The Splash off what I call the ‘Walgreen’s light,” Kaminskas said, referring to the intersection of Appleway and Liberty Lake Road.

Crossover Commerce Versalia Pizza will celebrate its second anniversary in January at a cozy corner near Orchard Park that features generous outdoor seating. General Manager Dominic Welch says he notices an increase in customers during the warm weather months when people flock to the north side greenspace. With the new bridge about to open, Welch is anticipating even more people in line for pizza.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s definitely going to make it easier for people to get across.”

Welch is familiar with some of the same stigmas that Mertens has heard when it comes to the north side being a community without an affiliation.

“We’ve been at the Coeur d’Alene (Farmers) Market and told people we are on the north side of Liberty Lake and they don’t think that’s really part of Liberty Lake,” he said.

“They think it’s Otis Orchards.”

Not far to the east from Versalia, more commercial ventures can be found among the blossoming residential blocks. From men’s haircuts to coffee to tacos and a dental office, the NoLL (North

Photo by Craig Howard With a fresh layer of asphalt the Kramer Overpass is nearing completion and hopes to alliviate congestion while providing a key route to bring the community together across the freeway.

The Splash Liberty Lake) District sits at the corner of Indiana and Harvard and exemplifies the multi-use, urban feel Greenstone Homes has established in the Kendall Yards neighborhood just outside downtown Spokane.

Greenstone President and CEO Joe Frank said NoLL is being built with accessibility – by foot – at the forefront. The nearby Centennial Trail and Spokane River provide a unique setting for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Everything we do around the River District and NoLL is with that walkable component in mind,” Frank said.

For Greenstone, the ideal mix consists of two-thirds residential and one-third commercial, Frank says. He noted the River District is approximately at 50 percent of buildout to this point.

Frank remembers moving the Rocky Hill neighborhood on the south side with his family in 2005 when the terrain to the north consisted of little more than a collection of homes.

“I’d go over there for work and that was about it,” he said.

As for the impact of the Kramer Overpass on the area, Frank said it’s part of paradigm shift.

“I think for the longest time, there’s been this ‘over there’ mentality,” he said. “With the increase in amenities, that’s changing.”

Kaminskas said she appreciates the distinctive nature of the commercial development on the north side.

“I like the fact that you don’t see the national brands,” she said.

“These are unique businesses. We need to draw people to Liberty Lake and have people say, ‘We can only go to Liberty Lake to get this.’ More importantly, we need to keep our residents here.”

River District Roots When the idea for an expansive development on the north side of Liberty Lake was first announced, Greenstone founder Jim Frank called it “a key component that will affect the growth of Liberty Lake… and set the tone for the economy and quality of life in Liberty Lake and the entire region.”

By 2006, the first phase of

AUGUST 2023 • 11

COVER STORY

construction was well underway, boosted by the annexation of 644 acres added to the Liberty Lake municipal boundaries with the go-ahead from the Spokane County Boundary Review Board.

Greenstone went to work, building 495 homes and 45 townhouses.

At the time, Frank talked about “heavy emphasis on urban character that will give us the ability to make this a real part of Liberty Lake.” Three years before the groundbreaking of a pedestrian bridge over I-90 near the Harvard Road overpass that would give residents on the south said safe access to the Centennial Trail and pave the way for north-siders to reach sites like Pavilion Park, the Liberty Lake Farmers Market and a trio of golf courses, Frank spoke in tones of community unification.

“The goal of the River District is that it will become an integrated part of Liberty Lake where the residents are integrated with the rest of the community,” he said.

Looking back on those early years, Frank said Greenstone “is happy with what’s on the ground now” considering hurdles like two national recessions, a pandemic, escalating construction costs and supply chain issues.

“We have parks, open space, trails and a diversity of housing products,” he said.

As for NoLL, Frank said friendly retail environments like those found in Spokane neighborhoods like Garland and the South Perry District serve as patterns.

“It’s like a small-town main street,” Frank said.

Tale of Two Cities Hugh and Jolene Severs moved from Spokane Valley to the River District 14 years ago when the area was just sprouting up and the north side was, in Hugh’s words, “a bunch of nothing at the time.”

The Severs have raised their two sons in a neighborhood that has grown as quickly as their children.

The divide between the wellestablished south side of town and the River District, however, has presented challenges over the years.

“We have a lot of friends in Rocky Hill and Legacy Ridge,” Hugh said. “We certainly miss out on some things living on the north

Photo by Craig Howard Greenstone continues to develop additional homes expanding the River District into North Liberty Lake. side. Anytime after 5 p.m., we don’t really go over to the south side.

With the traffic, we’re probably not going to get a table.”

Like many in the River District, the Severs are looking forward to the opening of the Kramer Overpass. With one son at Ridgeline High School and another at Selkirk Middle School, any break in congestion is welcome.

“I think more than anything, it will add better circulation,” Hugh said. “I just think it’s going to pull more people toward the center of town.”

Jolene said she has been impressed with the NoLL District development, describing it as “a mini-Kendall Yards.”

Since NoLL cropped up, longtime Liberty Lake resident Dave Himebaugh has been venturing over to meet clients at The Design Center by Greenstone in his role as a financial advisor. He and his wife Debbie moved to Liberty Lake in 1990 and have seen layer-upon-

layer of change.

“There was the interstate and Appleway and that was about it when we first moved here,” Himebaugh said.

A member of the city’s Parks and Arts Commission, Himebaugh has been part of an effort to bring projects to the north side such as the Daughters of the American Revolution memorial at Orchard Park and a new Story Walk feature, similar to the one in Rocky Hill Park, that will make its premiere in Orchard Park this month.

“It’s an area that’s drawing a lot of people,” Himebaugh said.

“They’re not really building on the south side.”

Water Works Regardless of which direction Liberty Lake grows, the supply of sewer and water services is essential. No one knows that better than BiJay Adams, general manager of the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water See KRAMER, Page 13

12 • AUGUST 2023

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F R I E N D S of the L I B E R T Y L A K E L I B R A R Y

THANK YOU! The Friends of the Library are most appreciative of the Liberty Lake Community and these wonderful organizations and businesses for their generous support throughout the year.

LucidRoots

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Randy Schwaegler, Emcee

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The Mat

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Sharon Sell

Desserts by Sarah

Spokane Chiefs

Lola Douthitt

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Mexico Lindo Mica Moon Zip Tours

Spokane Valley Summer Theatre

Escape Room Spokane

Mirabeau Park Hotel & Convention Center

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3ninjas Curbside and Catering

Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre

Anne’s Nails

Bakery by the Lake Beauty Cove The Bike Hub Birdie’s Pie Shop The Blissful Whisk BocoPOP Bill Bozly, Musician Bruttles Gourmet Candy Shoppe

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Kalispel Tribe and Northern Quest Resort & Casino Kiwanis Club Liberty Lake Liberty Lake Juice Company Liberty Lake Wine Cellars

L IBERTY L AKE W INE C ELLARS

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Thai Bamboo Timberline Adventures Tire-Rama Liberty Lake Trailbreaker Cider Trailhead Golf Course Triple Play True Legends Grill Versalia Pizza Victory Media Wake Up Call Waste Management Yoke’s Fresh Market

The Friends of the Liberty Lake Municipal Library gratefully acknowledge the support, commitment and dedication of Mark and Sarah Lathrop, owners of the Liberty Lake Wine Cellars, for hosting and sponsoring the Summer Soirée event each and every year.

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KRAMER

Continued from page 11 District (LLSWD).

Back in 2006, just when the River District was beginning to sprout, the district put blueprints in place to accommodate the community at full buildout.

“It would come up in board meetings that we needed to start looking ahead,” Adams said.

“We’ve been around since 1973, so we’re always upgrading facilities.”

Acquiring water rights and converting them to municipal use is critical to LLSWD’s foresighted approach. As part of the Kramer Overpass project, the district put in a reclaimed water main that runs under the freeway parallel to the bridge. LLSWD has two borings that go under I-90.

“Crossing the freeway is the biggest challenge,” Adams said.

“It’s really expensive.”

One issue that has emerged with the wave of north side development and neighborhoods like Trutina

NEWS

is the proximity to a wastewater reclamation plant not known for smelling like roses. Adams said he is aware of the concern related to odor but says, “we are operating our plant in the best way possible to mitigate that.”

“It’s a question of fairness,” Adams said. “There are air scrubbers out there but those improvements are going to run $10 million to $16 million. Should all the customers in the district pay for that or should only the customers who benefit pay for that?”

The district has managed to keep up with growth despite the quandary of serving a community where the median income is too high and rates too low to qualify for state or federal funding.

“We’ve invested a lot of dollars in getting our infrastructure in place where it will be needed and used,” Adams said.

Banking a Bridge The namesake of the Kramer Overpass – Lud Kramer – would have been proud of the ingenuity that went into building the bridge

that bears his name. Kramer served as Washington’s 11th Secretary of State before moving to Liberty Lake in 1994. Along with being one of the catalysts for Liberty Lake incorporation, Kramer contributed to a long list of civic efforts like the library, Friends of Pavillion Park and the trail system before passing in 2004.

As a former member of the Seattle City Council, Kramer knew a thing or two about lobbying Olympia for state funding. His friend, Steve Peterson, was a frequent visitor to the state capitol during his time as mayor of Liberty Lake. Large-scale infrastructure upgrades, like the Kramer Overpass, and the widening of the Harvard Bridge, became Peterson’s rallying cry as mayor.

“Steve was over in Olympia a lot,” said State Sen. Mike Padden who represents Liberty Lake as part of the 4th Legislative District. “He knew people on both sides of the aisle and was able to convince them of the need.”

Jim Frank also points to Peterson as the driver of the Kramer project

AUGUST 2023 • 13

after the campaign for a second freeway interchange campaign failed to take hold.

“The bridge was not originally part of our master plan but early we realized the value of it,” Frank said.

The city contributed $6 million to the project which has an overall price tag of $14 million. Key and Kaminskas both gave Sen. Padden credit for going to bat for a consortium that included the city, Central Valley School District and Spokane Valley Fire Department.

“He really became our advocate,” Key said.

The state funds are tied to the Connecting Washington program, a $16 billion investment passed by the legislature in 2015 to enhance the statewide transportation system and maintain critical infrastructure.

An 11.9-cent gas tax increase implemented in 2016 fuels the program.

“It’s a great project,” Padden said. “The construction has gone very well. This is going to help with congestion in Liberty Lake and open up more development.”

14 • AUGUST 2023

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About and for Liberty Lake seniors

Vet Center Heroes Garden

By Nina Culver

Splash contributor

The Heroes Garden at the Spokane Vet Center, designed to be a place of respite for veterans and Gold Star families, is getting a new addition in August as several local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution come together to sponsor a Never Forget flower bed.

The large garden sits behind carved metal gates behind the Vet Center on Mirabeau Parkway across from Mirabeau Point Park. More than a dozen raised beds are filled with everything from vegetables to flowers and raspberry bushes line the edges. An Eagle Scout built a fountain that sits on one side. Pear, apple and cherry trees grow next to a gazebo and there are plenty of benches placed throughout the garden to provide a place to sit and chat or be reflective.

part of a group of volunteers who come and maintain the garden every Tuesday and finds working in the garden therapeutic. She also finds joy in seeing the peace and comfort it brings others.

“For most of us, Tuesdays are our favorite day of the week,” she said. “Honestly the best part is just watching other people enjoy the space. That’s why we do it.

That’s why we come out and pull weeds every week and plant pretty flowers.”

The garden was put in shortly after the Vet Center opened a dozen years ago, but after a few years it fell into disrepair. Lyons said the Washington State Fallen Heroes Project was asked to take over the maintenance of the garden around the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

At the time, veterans who received counseling at the center were having to meet with their counselors over Zoom.

“We came in and got the garden back under control and gave them a

place to meet face to face safely,” she said. “This place has gone through quite the evolution. The weeds were about chest level all the way through.”

While holding counseling sessions outside is no longer a requirement, some veterans still choose to have their sessions in the calmness of the garden, Lyons said. “We encourage people to come out here,” she said.

“A lot of people still meet out here.”

Charlene Hawley began attending grief counseling at the Vet Center soon after her son Daniel, a recruiter in the Army National Guard, committed suicide in 2011. Though she doesn’t attend counseling sessions anymore, she still comes to visit the garden. “Anytime you have someplace you can come and relax and just be yourself it’s worth it,” she said. “We get together and sometimes there’s lots of crying, but no one tells us to stop crying.”

Patches Cox, a Department of Defense contractor with Survivor Outreach Services, is one of the

“Sometimes people come in and just need a little space,” said Keirsten Lyons of the Washington State Fallen Heroes Project, which maintains the garden.

The new Never Forget flower bed includes an engraved stone, a plaque and Never Forget rose bushes that were created just for the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Spokane Garry, Jonas Babcock, Esther Reed and May Hutton chapters of the DAR are sponsoring the garden bed along with the Society of the Honor Guard Tome of the Unknown Soldiers and the Washington State Fallen Heroes Project.

The peace and calm offered by the garden isn’t only for those served by the Vet Center, it helps the volunteers as well. “It’s just a wonderful place,” Lyons said. “There’s something very therapeutic about getting your hands in the dirt.”

Having something to do in the garden can also make it easier to have conversations. “There’s a lot of hard stories here,” Lyons said.

“It’s hard to sit down and talk about stuff, but when you’re pulling weeds together and planting seeds together it’s easier.”

Veterans and Gold Star family members can adopt one of the raised beds in the garden at the beginning of the year. They can choose to plant whatever they want and are in charge of weeding, watering and harvesting. If a bed isn’t adopted, it’s planted as a community bed, Lyons said. Usually those are planted with tomatoes, zucchini and other vegetables and maintained by the volunteers. After the vegetables are harvested, they’re brought inside for veterans who have appointments at the Vet Center to take home with them.

The Heroes Garden is always looking for volunteers to help maintain the garden, Lyons said. “It really is a community endeavor,” she said. “We will never turn away weed pullers.”

Volunteers work in the garden every Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m.

Anyone interested in becoming involved can email Lyons at honoringheroes@wafhp.org.

The Never Forget flower bed will be unveiled during a public ceremony at 11 a.m. on Aug. 5.

Lyons, in addition to running the garden, is also a Gold Star mother.

Her son Jake died in Afghanistan nine years ago while he was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. She is

volunteers who helps maintain the garden. She said that she likes that it provides a place for veterans that is more calming and welcoming than an office. Sitting down on a bench or at the picnic table while surrounded by a garden is just easier, she said.

“It’s just a nice setting where you can just chat,” she said. “It’s therapeutic.

No stress.”

Photo by Nina Culver Spokane Valley Heroes Garden to dedicate the Never Forget flower bed during a public ceremony on Aug 5th.

Working in the garden is something that Lyons highly recommends. “It just takes you away from real life for a few hours every week,” she said. “It’s just a nice respite.”

AUGUST 2023 • 15

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Student of the Month

Athlete of the Month

Citizen of the Month

As a Falcon or Bear, Birdie Bachman excels. The incoming senior at Central Valley High School maintains a 3.85 grade point average and part of the National Honor Society executive council. Bachman spent her sophomore year at Ridgeline High School, where she contributed to Link Crew, mentoring freshmen students.

The Liberty Lake resident is a volunteer with Cancer Kids First, a nonprofit that provides support for pediatric cancer patients. Bachman makes cards and gift bags that are delivered to kids and points to her grandmother, a cancer survivor, as an inspiration. At CV, she is part of Diversity Club and a member of Junior Statesmen of America. She also participates in Youth Leadership Spokane, a training program based on principles of servant leadership.

Bachman has played violin since the fifth grade and is a member of the CV orchestra.

The state track meet is becoming a tradition for Preslie Young. The incoming senior at Ridgeline High School placed fifth in the 200 meters and was part of a Falcons’ 4 x 200 meters squad that took sixth among state 3A qualifiers this spring. Last season, she qualified for state in four events, finishing fifth in both the 200 and the 4 x 400 relay. The Liberty Lake resident earned second-team All Greater Spokane League honors in the 200, the 4 x 100 relay and the 4 x 200 relay. In soccer, Young was named to the All-State first team as a junior after leading Washington in goals with 22. She was also an All GSL honoree, helping Ridgeline reach the first round of state. She maintains a 3.9 grade point average and is a member of National Honor Society.

Pat Dockrey has been a pillar of civic involvement in Liberty Lake since moving to the area in 1976. He and his wife Linda are founding members of Liberty Lake Kiwanis where Pat has served as president twice. He served on the board of Spokane Valley Partners Community Center and Food Bank for seven years and is the founder of Food 4 Thought, a program that provides weekend nutrition for kids in need. Dockrey earned his degree in physics from the University of Idaho and worked as a mechanical engineer for 35 years. Dockrey served in the U.S. Navy for six years. He has been a ham radio operator since 2003, contributing to regional emergency communication efforts. Pat and Linda have been married for 52 years and are proud parents of two sons, Matthew and Christopher.

They have one grandson.

THE

LIBERTY LAKE

COMMUNITY NEWSMAGAZINE

&

Thanks you for all you do in our community

AUGUST 2023 • 21

The Splash

News and Notes – August 2023

By Craig Howard

Splash Contributing Editor

• Liberty Lake Police Chief Damon Simmons introduced Officer Kyle Fritz, the newest addition to the force at the July 11 council meeting.

Fritz came from the Post Falls Police Department where he worked as a senior patrol officer. Prior to that, Fritz worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

• Council Member Dan Dunne gave a brief report on a roundtable discussion on solutions to regional homelessness that he and fellow Council Member Tom Sahlberg attended. “It was an excellent opportunity to understand a regional and distributive approach to an important set of services that our jurisdiction does not have a footprint in,” Dunne said.

• Sahlberg saluted staff for their diligence in raising awareness related to the closure on Mission Avenue for construction. The project was completed two days ahead of schedule last month.

• A Fire Danger Burn Restriction continues in effect as announced by fire marshals with the Spokane Valley Fire Department and Spokane County. Unauthorized open burning and unauthorized recreational fires are restricted until the order is lifted or otherwise permitted by law enforcement or authorized agencies. All recreational fires (including backyard fire pits or campfires) and all open burning are not allowed. Manufactured portable outdoor devices, such as fireplaces, barbeques and patio warmers, are allowed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Designated campfires in parks and campgrounds may be allowed as approved and determined by agencies with jurisdiction.

• Mayor Cris Kaminskas, City Administrator Mark McAvoy and Council Members Dunne, Jed Spencer and Annie Kurtz attended the Association of Washington Cities annual conference June 2023 in Spokane. The mayor said she focused on sessions related to grants and procuring federal funding as well as refresher courses in parliamentary procedures.

• Volunteers took part in a special project at the Liberty Lake Library on July 28, making “Friendship Frogs” for seniors at local retirement centers.

• The library is hosting a free educational program titled “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” (PTC) through Aug. 22. PTC helps caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence, balance lives, improve communication and locate helpful resources. The class meets every Tuesday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, call 509-4587450, option 2.

• McAvoy told council that 652 responses were received from residents on the city’s strategic plan. The data will be reviewed by a focus group comprised of chairs of municipal boards and commissions as well as graduates of the inaugural City Academy. The group will present their findings to council on Aug. 22. “All things considered, I think it was a great response,” said McAvoy who noted that 95 percent of survey respondents either live or work in the city.

• Bill Genoway, a commissioner with the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District, said the district office on Mission Avenue is being renovated but customers can still pay their utility bills or ask questions in person by accessing a side entrance.

• A request for more baseball field space was addressed during a workshop on July 11. The city manages four fields at The Diamonds, two of which are owned

by the Central Valley School District.

There is one baseball diamond at Pavillion Park. Local Little Leaguer Hudson Cargill spoke up in public comments, asking the city to consider adding fields to Rocky Hill Park and Pavillion Park. Operations and Maintenance Manager Jen Camp gave an overview of greenspaces across the community, noting that many would involve “extensive renovations” to convert into baseball diamonds. Liberty Lake Spokane Valley Little League consisted of 500 participants this spring, a 15-percent increase in participation from last year and 50-percent uptick since 2018 with 40 percent of players residing in Liberty Lake. With limited field space, only 50 percent of games are played in Liberty Lake. Options were raised to build more fields at Liberty Lake Elementary and Liberty Creek Elementary. Funding has come forward to build a field for players with special needs who compete the Challenger Division. “The only empty space the city owns is the four acres around Town Square Park,” said Kaminskas, who brought up the HUB Sports Center and other privately owned properties as possibilities for baseball venues.

• Rick Romero of the Spokane Regional Collaborative gave a report on July 18 on recommendations for the formation of a regional authority on homelessness, housing, health and safety. Romero said the dialogue in these areas had become “divisive and politicized in a way that wasn’t leading to any pragmatic solutions.” Discussions began with

representatives from Spokane County, the city of Spokane and the city of Spokane Valley that engaged in a 90-day due diligence period that resulted in the recommendation to form a Public Development Authority or PDA. Cheney, Medical Lake and Airway Heights were added to the conversation later.

The PDA board would include a blend of representatives from government, local nonprofits and private entities who would address the core issues of housing, enforcement and behavioral health and pursue local, state and federal funding. “I’m firmly a believer in a regional approach to the objectives,” said Dunne. Romero said the hope is to have the PDA established by Jan. 1, 2024. “This particular proposal I think has a lot of merit,” said Sahlberg. Council approved staff to move ahead with a resolution to approve an interlocal agreement with the program that will be read at the next meeting.

• The mayor told council that just over $1.6 million has been secured from the Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC) for a pavement overlay project on Mission Avenue that will take place next year. The road upgrade will go from Country Vista to the roundabout with the SRTC funds covering 75 percent of the overall cost. Kaminskas serves on the SRTC board and administrative committee.

• The city’s new podcast “The Liberty Lake Deep Dive.” has broadcast nine episodes since premiering in April and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify. “This is really Liberty Lake’s only opportunity to have our own radio talk-show,” said Communications Specialist David Goehner.

• Nancy Hill with the Parks and Arts Commission told council that the mural at the Pavillion Park basketball courts began July 17 with resurfacing and is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Hill added that a similar project at the skate park will come before council this month.

• Council confirmed the mayor’s appointments of Joe Mann, Brittany Webster and Maria Hatcher to the Civil Service Commission.

• The annual Summer Soiree raised over $7,000 for the Liberty Lake Municipal Library.

22 • AUGUST 2023

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Sponsored By:

www.hubsportscenter.org for any bag that passes period — instead of rocks.

Throw down only.“Our biggest division is going “cornhole”) through the hole. Cancellation The game’s development in to be our social division,” HUB scoring is used, with points of one America is also speculative, with your cornhole Program Director Ryan Barbieri player canceling out points of their several sources indicating Native opponent in each round. adding the tournament Americans played a version of skills at Aug. said, typically registers 80 – 100 teams.

The game itself has been around the game tossing around animal The competition will follow game for decades, and likely centuries; bladders filled with dried beans.

19 youth rules established by the American played under other names such as Other sources credit farmers in the Cornhole Organization (ACG). The “bean bag toss,” “lawn toss” and Midwest with developing a version fundraiser cornhole boards, slightly elevated “tailgate toss” (for you football of the game for family entertainment

By John McCallum

Splash Correspondent

If you’ve never heard of or played cornhole, or are a seasoned veteran competing in some of the many leagues created for the game in the region, Saturday, Aug. 19, is your chance to either observe, learn or improve your skills — and earn bragging rights over other players and neighbors — in the sport.

The fourth annual Liberty Lake Throw Down Community Cornhole Tournament is taking place from 1 – 8 p.m. on the tennis courts at Orchard Park, intersection of Indiana and Harvest Parkway north of Interstate 90 in Liberty Lake. The tournament is for cornhole players from skilled to beginners of all ages, with proceeds supporting the HUB Sports Center, a Liberty Lake 501c3 nonprofit “with a purpose to provide events that have a positive impact on youth and the community.”

pieces of wood built to specific dimensions with a hole at the upper end, are placed 27 feet apart, with two-person teams and both players playing one board at a time in designated lanes.

Each player has four bags to pitch underhanded at the board.

Play continues until all players have pitched their bags, alternating between players, and then walking to the end of their lane to the other board, taking score and resuming pitching back to the other board.

Games are played to 21 points.

Scoring is one point (a “woody”) for each bag that remains on the cornhole board, and three points (a

fans) to name a few. The origins of cornhole are a bit murkier than their known incarnations, with one origin story placing its beginnings in 14th-century Germany with a cabinet maker named Matthias Kuepermann, according to the website Cornhole Worldwide.

purposes.

Kuepermann noticed a group of young boys playing a game of pitching rocks into a groundhog’s hole. Concerned for the children’s safety (and maybe the groundhog’s), Kuepermann used his carpentry skills to create a game board instead of an animal hole, and use small bags of corn — the vegetable often served as a weight during this time

De Windt sold his rights to the game to a toy manufacturer, which developed the modern version of the game over time. A story in the September 1974 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine on how to build your own cornhole board helped spread the game further into backyards, barbecues and tailgate parties, with ESPN fanning the popularity flames further by covering the ACG national championships, first on ESPN3 online in July 2016 and then by broadcasting on ESPN2 in 2017.

Locally, the Liberty Lake Thrown Down tournament began in 2020.

Barbieri said an individual who loved playing the game proposed the idea, with the HUB picking up organizing the tournament in 2021. The tournament also features activities outside of competition for spectators and players alike, such as a beer garden for adults provided by Trailbreaker Cider.

The tournament will not only raise funds for the HUB, but, thanks to a number of local sponsors such as title sponsor Justus Bag Company and others including Avista, Banner Bank, Baker Construction, Liberty Lake Lashes and Oxford Suites – Spokane Valley, is offering cash prizes to winners of three different divisions. The Sand Bagger Division is an open, competitive division with a $1,000 grand prize for the winning team.

There are also two “social divisions,” with the Social Bagger Division offering a $300 grand prize to the winning team while the Mini Bagger Social Division for players 13 years old and younger provides $50 to the winning team. All entries include a Throw Down T-shirt, with players allowed to play on one team

It is known that in 1883, a patent (US Patent 285,396) was granted to Heyliger Adams De Windt for a game strongly resembling today’s version of cornhole. The game was called “Parlor Quoits,” but used a square hole instead of a round one.

Registration is provided online at the HUB’s website, and ends Aug. 8.

Fees are $30 for mini-bagger teams, $50 for social bagger and $75 for sand bagger teams. Funds raised support the HUB’s after school programs and police activities leagues, to name a few of the nonprofits many opportunities for area youth.

Photo by John McCallum Orchard Park in Liberty Lake north of Interstate 90 is the site of the fourthannual Liberty Lake Throw Down Community Cornhole Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 19.

“We’ve got quite a few teams signed up now,” Barbieri said. “But we’re still looking for more teams to play.”

AUGUST 2023 • 23

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SVFD Report – June 2023

people not wearing life jackets out on area rivers and lakes.

Media Release June 30, 2023: Fire Danger Burn Restriction

Splash news sources

Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) crews responded to a total of 130 emergency incidents for June 2023.

Emergency Medical Services 109 Fire Suppression

11

Tech Rescue (includes Motor Vehicle Collisions) 5 Other 4

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Wildland Fire Percentage Breakdown Incident Category

1 of

Of note in Liberty Lake: • Emergency Medical Services accounted for 83.85% of all SVFD incidents.

• Fire Suppression (fire and Building Alarms) was 8.46% of all SVFD incidents.

Safety Message • Burn Restrictions went into effect June 30.

“In regard to this year’s fire season, the SVFD asks our community to remain vigilant in their fire safe practices,” said Spokane Valley Fire Department Deputy Fire Marshal, Brett Anderson. “Although our spring was a wet one, we still need to have a heightened awareness of wildland fires. We had a wildland fire occur the morning of June 27th, which spread rapidly. Just because some grasses are green does not mean that other fuels are not dry and readably ignitable. Fuels like pine needles, brush, and pants have been drying out for weeks now and will catch fire easily. “ • We continue to emphasize Driving Safely. Schools will soon be out, and more children will be in parks and on roads.

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• Be careful with yard equipment and anything that can spark a fire. As we move into those warmer temperatures be aware of anything that can potentially start a fire.

• Wear your life jacket (PFD) while recreating near or on rivers and lakes. Every year SVFD rescues

Although we have seen unseasonably lower temperatures and more rain, the Spokane Metro Area is still at risk for fire this summer.

Unauthorized open burning and unauthorized recreational fires are restricted until this order is lifted or unless otherwise permitted by law enforcement or authorized agencies. If you have any questions, before lighting any fire, call your local agency first.

With increasing temperatures and our native fuels drying out, please burn carefully.

A few guidelines to follow: • Only burn in approved devices.

• Have a fire extinguisher and/or a hose accessible.

• Be kind to your neighbors and only burn clean dry wood.

And, finally, remember to watch for burn restrictions related to our smoke particulate index and air quality. Vulnerable population include younger, and elderly generations, and those with heart and respiratory conditions.

While the burn restriction is in place, any person found with a recreational fire or conducting open burning who fails to take immediate action to extinguish or otherwise discontinue such burning when ordered or notified to do so shall be charged with a misdemeanor. (IFC 109; SCC 3.02) Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency may further restrict outdoor wood-fueled fires based on air quality. Always check current restrictions at https:// spokanecleanair.org/burning/ burn-restrictions/ or the Burn Info Hotline at (509) 477-4710.

If you have questions regarding burn restrictions, here are some resources: Spokane Clean Air - https:// spokanecleanair.org/burning/ Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) - https:// www.spokanevalleyfire.com/

AUGUST 2023 • 27

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Media Release June 12, 2023 Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) has received an $18,000.00 grant from State Farm that will now go toward our Enhanced Home Safety Visit Program.

The goal of the program is to: • Reduce the rate of fire fatalities.

• Increase the number of atrisk homes with working smoke and CO alarms.

• Improve the fire safety of residents and firefighters.

• Reduce the rate of falls in our older adult and disabled populations.

“One objective is to address atrisk homes in our jurisdiction by installing smoke and CO alarms,” said SVFD Deputy Fire Marshal, Brett Anderson. “We will install battery-operated alarms as well as enhance our existing home fire safety program by including hardwired alarms, where needed.”

At-risk homes will be identified

by SVFD firefighters during 9-11 calls and during bi-annual smoke alarm "blitzes" where at risk neighborhoods are evaluated for age of home, number of incidents occurring within the area, age of residents living within a community and other fire and life safety factors.

Another objective is to address the increasing number of “falls” calls SVFD responds to.

“Our number one 9-1-1 call for the past three years has been for falling,” said Community Risk Reduction Specialist, Caroline Kusher. “Older adult falls are preventable and there are several strategies to help reduce the risks associated with falls, one of which is to modify the home environment.”

ADA grab bars are a way to reduce falls in our community.

These grab bars can be installed in the homes of disabled residents as well as older adults living within the SVFD Fire District. At-risk residents will be identified during 9-1-1 calls, referrals through C.A.R.E.S. (Fire Community Assistance Response Team), and residents who register via phone

or online at spokanevalleyfire. com. Grab bars will be installed

by Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners (SNAP), who currently provide over 30 community programs, including housing improvements.

Residents can register for an Enhanced Home Fire Safety visit appointment via phone or online registration.

Media Release June 14, 2023 The Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) proudly unveiled Engine 5, the newest addition to our fleet, in a traditional push in ceremony at Station 5, 15510 E. Marietta Ave on June 15th.

Engine 5 joined our Water Rescue Team at our recently renovated Station 5, serving citizens and businesses in the Sullivan neighborhood and industrial area.

The new Engine 5 will replace the previous Engine 5 (a workhorse of our fleet for 16 years), a 2007 Seagraves that had close to 164,000 miles on it.

The new addition helps SVFD better respond to the growing number of incidents while increasing safety in our community.

SVFD is committed to placing the right resources in the areas they’re needed most.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) serves a population of 142,000+ over 75-square miles, including the cities of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, and Millwood, as well as surrounding unincorporated areas. In 2021, our cross-trained Firefighter/EMTs and Firefighter/ Paramedics responded to more than 23,235 emergency calls.

Established in 1940, SVFD is committed to pursuing excellence and is distinguished as an accredited agency by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), and by SVFD’s Class 2 fire insurance rating from the Washington Survey and Rating Bureau Connect with SVFD at: spokanevalleyfire.com. For department news, safety information, and timely updates, find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

28 • AUGUST 2023

The Splash including local businesses and the CV Adopts Greater Spokane Valley Chamber were also consulted. new Strategic ofTheCommerce, question posed to everyone was simple: what do students need Plan to feel prepared for their future and to thrive academically, socially and emotionally?

By Nina Culver

Splash contributor

After more than a year of open houses, meetings and discussions, the Central Valley School District board of directors have approved a new five-year strategic plan to provide a roadmap for everything from computer systems to student learning.

In addition to staff and administrators, the district also sought input from students and parents. “We wanted to have representation, solid representation, from our students,” said Superintendent John Parker.

“We wanted to have a voice from parents and parent groups. People are very vested in their children’s education.”

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“We kept it pretty broad,” he said. “Based on that, ideas flowed.”

After data and community input was gathered, a 27-person core planning team was assembled to determine the bones of the strategic plan. The team included students, parents, alumni, teachers, administrators and community members in addition to representatives from local businesses and colleges. The basics of the plan identified by the planning team was then further refined by an executive team that included principals, administrators and two school board members.

The new strategic plans identifies four key directions for the district: pursuing a culture

AUGUST 2023 • 29

The Splash of belonging and equitable opportunities for all, reimagining systems and structures, prioritizing district-wide support for the whole child and launching infinite possibilities. The district’s mission and vision statements were also updated.

“We really feel these are 21st century statements that say who we are,” Parker said of the vision statements.

The key to any school and any school district is to make children feel like they belong, Parker said.

Research shows that if children feel like they belong, that they are welcomed, their learning will improve and they’ll succeed academically.

Another key tenant is to make sure that students in all parts of the 80-square mile district get the same educational opportunities no matter which school they attend.

With that goal in mind, the district is being broken into three smaller community-oriented areas called the Western, Central and Eastern Learning Communities.

Each learning community is centered around the elementary and middle schools that feed into the district’s three comprehensive high schools.

The district has launched a new CVSD Link newsletter and plans to host Community Link events in each of the three Learning Communities this fall. It’s not like we’re trying to create three smaller school districts within the school district,” Parker said. “It’s almost like creating three houses. We’re giving identity to that.”

As part of the new emphasis on building community, the district will change how it offers preschool classes for children ages 3-5. Previously, all classes have been held in the district’s Early

Learning Center on East Sprague, but preschool classes will also be offered in one elementary school in each of the three Learning Communities.

Parker said he wants to expand the work the Early Learning Center has been doing to include students with diagnoses such as autism and ADHD into the classroom.

“We are doing preventative and inclusionary work,” he said.

“When they hit kindergarten, they already have skills above and beyond other students to selfadvocate.”

Changes have also been made at the administrative level. The district no longer has a director of elementary education and a director of secondary education.

Instead, there are new academic officer positions for each of the three Learning Communities.

“They are going to be leading the charge in the big picture,” Parker said.

The new strategic plan touches nearly all areas. It calls for recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff, equitable resource distribution, auditing attendance trends, increasing district level support for students and expanding educational opportunities for gifted students and those interested in a Career and Technical Education path.

Some goals that seem simple on their face, such as analyzing grading practices, will actually take months if not years to study and then enact any changes, Parker said. Other goals, such as increasing career pathways for middle and high school students through CTE classes, have become more important in recent years. It’s important to work on eliminating the stigma that some have toward not getting a college education,

Parker said. Trade schools and apprenticeships offer pathways to well paying jobs without requiring a college education.

“We want to open doors,” he said.

The goal is to help determine what option is the best for each student, Parker said, whether that is college, community college, enlisting in the military or learning a trade.

Another goal of the strategic plan is to explore a more balanced school year calendar and whether or not to revise bell schedules to maximize learning. The current school year calendar crams 180 days of instruction between Labor Day and mid-June, Parker said.

The district is interested in seeing if it would be beneficial to start school a few days earlier and/or end a few days later in order to add in more multi-day breaks for students and staff, he said.

“We’re not looking at adding school days, but can we redistribute them,” Parker said.

Parker said he wants to determine if the current schedule is what works best for students and teachers and if changing it would improve people’s mental health. “We know there’s some interest out there in this,” he said.

However, no changes would be made until the issue is studied thoroughly and input is received from parents and students, Parker said. In making its decision the district would also have to consider issues such as daycare and transportation, he said.

Though working through the strategic plan will take years, Parker said it will be worth the effort. “I would much rather think big over a longer term than think small,” he said.

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Highlights from the 2023 Boat Parade

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