From AAA of Washington and Idaho, if you slide off the road and no one is around to help, here are some things you can do and need in your vehicle, to get free:
Use traction mats or spread some sand, salt or any handy abrasive material in front of and in back of the drive wheels. When using devices under the wheels for additional traction, or when wheels are digging into dirt or gravel and you are receiving pushing assistance, do not let anyone stand directly ahead or behind the drive wheels as they may be injured by objects thrown by the spinning wheels.
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The following items are recommended to be carried in your vehicle and will be invaluable should an emergency develop:
•Bag of abrasive material (sand, salt or cat litter)
* Jumper cables to restart engine
* Cat litter or sand for tire traction on snow and ice
* Shovel to scrape snow away from tires
* Ice scraper to clear windshield
* Warm clothes gloves, a hat, sturdy boots, warm jacket and even a change of clothes
* Blankets to keep warm inside the vehicle
* Flashlights and extra batteries for increased visibility
* First aid kit also pack necessary medications incase you are stuck on the road
* Food pack items containing protein such as nuts and energy bars, also canned fruit and a portable can opener are good additions
* Water bring enough for each person in your car and any pets
* AM/FM radio to listen to traffic reports and emergency messages
Also consider…
* Bring a cell phone if you have one with a list of emergency numbers.
* Fill your gas tank
* Baby formula and diapers if you have a small child.
* If you find yourself stranded, be safe and stay in your car, put on your flashers, call for help and wait until it arrives.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a page with Emergency Preparedness and Response advice. Check Here.
I had the honor to do a really neat story yesterday about a military family receiving a special treat for the holidays. This is one of the many reasons I love living in the Inland Northwest.
Right now you can watch previous “Web Only” reports and “Behind the Scenes” videos from inside KXLY4 News on my YouTube page.
I’ve had that quote from Forrest Gump going through my head for the last 28 hours or so. It was then that we heard the Idaho Dept. of Transportation was going to tear down the Groene/McKenzie house at Wolf Lodge this morning. It reminded me of the powerful scene in Forrest Gump when Forrest and Jenny launch rock after rock at her childhood home; a place where she was abused by her father. After Jenny dies, Forrest has the house demolished - the only way to exorcise that demon. That’s what happened to that cinder block home on Frontage Road before dawn this morning.
I know I’m not the only one who has waited for this day. Like you, I couldn’t drive by that house without craning my neck to see what condition it was in, often imagining the horrors that happened there. I thought, too, about how I never noticed that house before the murders in May 2005, even though it sat right on Interstate 90. That house, for me and so many others, was a reminder of the evil people can inflict upon each other. For the families and neighbors of Brenda Groene and Mark McKenzie, it was hard to remember the good times that happened there after the horrific way Brenda and Mark’s lives ended. For the entire community, today’s demolition can serve as a catharsis. No, it does not undo what has been done. But, it’s one less physical reminder of the most horrific crime in Idaho history.
Today, our crews were able to tell the story of the demolition - of the local construction crew that volunteered its services to tear down the house, and the emotional reaction of family and neighbors. But, we were almost unable to bring you this story. The Idaho Department of Transportation only reluctantly told us the house was being torn down today. They said previously they would not tell anyone when the demolition was to take place; that we would just drive by one day and it would be gone. They specifically told us they didn’t want a media spectacle. I wish they would give us some credit. As members of this community, we were just as affected as everyone else in our region when these crimes took place. In fact, we spent many long days and nights just outside that home, praying with the rest of you that Shasta and Dylan would be found… that a killer would be found. We followed every development of the case along with you - always mindful and respectful of the family’s needs and the community’s right to know. Fortunately, IDT told us yesterday this was going to take place - but, that it would take place before the sun came up this morning. Our crew sat - RESPECTFULLY - outside the home so we could tell the story of what this demolition means to the people closest to that home. Still, our reporter who was there told me a Kootenai County Commissioner confronted them this morning, telling them they had no right to be there - that the community just wanted to forget. Again, the media is not immune to the effects of a crime like this - and, we had just as much right to be there for the end of this chapter than anyone else.
As someone who has invested much of her life in this case, I’m glad the house came down. I’m glad it’s one less place for teenagers to vandalize or to be a stop on a macabre sightseeing tour. But, I know it doesn’t change what’s happened. No amount of heavy equipment or dirt or time will change the outcome of this case. Sometimes, there’s just not enough rocks.
Festival Of One Acts, Tonight & Tomorrow (12/3 - 12/4) - Watch theater students direct and perform short plays. Begins at 7 p.m. Whitworth University, Cowles Auditorium, 300 W. Hawthorne Avenue, Spokane. Admission is free. (509) 777-3707.
Spokane River Workshop, Tonight from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - A public workshop to discuss current issues affecting the river. Sponsored by The Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Aquifer, Sierra Club’s Upper Columbia River Group, and the Center for Justice. Free admission and refreshments will be served. Post Falls Library, 821 N. Spokane Street, Post Falls, Idaho. (509) 209-2899.
Thanksgiving evening I anchored the 5 & 6 o’clock newscasts and then reported for the 11 o’clock news. Immediately after the 6 o’clock news, I was sent to Cocolalla, Idaho on a report of a 2 car accident that had closed down US 95. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to get there.
While my news photographer was shooting video of the scene, I took out my camera and starting shooting video too. I filed this “Exclusive Web Report” on my YouTube page.
Spokane Police are attempting to locate a 72 year old female, Elizabeth Huggins. Elizabeth recently arrived in Spokane from San Antonio Texas. She was to relocate here after selling her house. She arrived with her husband and they decided they did not like it here and were going back to San Antonio.
They left on 11-25-08, and before they reached I-90, her husband lost sight of her. He last heard from her on her cell phone and believed she was somewhere around Kellog Idaho.
Huggins is driving a gold Buick 4 door sedan with Texas tags. She had a half tank of gas and they did not believe she had any money with her.
Huggins has some mental health issuees; heart problems, without medication gets lost driving.
Huggins is 5 feet tall, 98 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone who might have seen her please call 242-TIPS.
When the temperaure drops, most of us just turn our heat up and put an extra blanket on the bed. But, for some that is far from reality. There are hundreds, if not thousands in our region who don’t have a bed or warm place to stay. The situation becomes even more dire as it gets colder outside. Today, we stopped by Fresh Start in Coeur d’Alene and chatted with a few homeless folks who sleep in the most unimaginable places. How would you like to curl up next to a gravestone in a cemetery? Well, that’s extactly where Star Haag sleeps almost every night. How about in a sleeping bag in the woods when it’s 20 degrees out? Welcome to Matt Pridge’s world. It was heartbreaking listening to their stories. Matt described how he can feel the frost coating his sleeping bag as the night wears on. He says it takes him a good six hours or so to “thaw” out from the night before. They all have their reasons for being homeless, regardless no one should have to sleep oustide in the bitter cold.
Fresh Start and St. Vincent De Paul have teamed up to make Matt and Star’s life a little easier. As soon as the temperature drops below 10 degrees, the two organizations will open a warming shelter- the first of its kind in North Idaho. The organizers w0uld like to open it sooner, but they can’t because of a lack of funding. Right now, there’s only enough money to be open 25 nights out of the entire winter. If you’d like to help go to their websit: http://www.freshstartinc.org/.
Today voters from all across the nation will make their mark in one of the most important elections in recent history.
To keep track of all of the issues and the latest headlines on the 2008 Election, you know you can count on the KXLY Broadcast Group to be your source for complete election coverage.
Starting at 4 p.m. ABC News and KXLY 4 HD News will begin their non-stop coverage, watching every state and the current trends throughout the night as polls close from Maine in the east to Hawaii in the west. From Seattle to SpokaneKXLY 4 HD News will have its news crews out with the candidates on Election Day to get their reactions as the race returns start coming in.
In Seattle, McKay Allen will be with Governor Christine Gregoire and the State Democratic Party while right across Lake Washington in Bellevue Sally Showman will be with the Republican Party and gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi.
In Spokane, Erik Loney will join Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and other Republicans as they watch the returns at the Davenport Hotel while across the Spokane River at the Inn at the Park Tania Dall will be with the Democratic Party as they cheer on their candidates.
Annie Bishop will be out on the streets talking with local voters about the election while Tori Brunetti will be watching the returns come in at the Elections Center in downtown Spokane. Back at the KXLY4 studio Melissa Luck will be following local races and ballot measures.
Online, KXLY4 HD News will have continuous coverage on KXLY.com where our Internet news team will be hosting a live video webcast and a live interactive blog starting late Tuesday afternoon and running until late in the evening.
If you’re traveling you can also tune into our coverage on the radio at KXLY 920 AM, where KXLY 920’s Mike Fitzsimmons will have news and analysis from 3 p.m. well into the evening.
Back at the KXLY studios in downtown Spokane Robyn Nance and Dave Erickson will bring all the resources of KXLY together to help bring you the most concise, accurate and timely news on election night.
Remember that the one place you can go to for complete election coverage on television, on radio and online will be the stations and sites of the KXLY Broadcast Group.
Some shocking news coming out of my home state of Montana this morning: polls show McCain’s lead there is down to one percent. CNN is now reporting the Treasure State is a “toss-up” in Tuesday’s election. To me, that’s as surprising as if they were to say Idaho was in play - or Washington was trending Republican. It just goes to show how much this election season has changed things. It will be very interesting to see which way things in Montana trend on election night.
If you haven’t stopped at this spot on the Old Spiral Highway between Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington, it is worth the trip. When I was growing up in Idaho Falls, I used to travel this road on the way to drop-off or pick-up my brothers and sister at the University of Idaho in Moscow. It was my favorite part of that long trip. Wendall Dennis’ fantastic picture takes me back. Wendall, from Culdesac, Idaho, writes: “the time is mid-October: the scene is Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, WA, at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers: the perspective is from the Lewiston Grade, and the Old Spiral Highway.” Thanks for the photo Wendall!
Ricky Barnett is supposed to turn 29 next month. And, maybe he will but no one knows for sure if Ricky ever made it past his third birthday. You see, Ricky disappeared 26 years ago as he was visiting his grandparents at a ranch in Grangeville, ID. Ricky literally disappeared into thin air. No one has seen or heard from him since.
There is something about Ricky’s story, his precious face, his smile that has captured my heart since I first stumbled across his missing person poster a few months ago. I just couldn’t and still can’t understand how someone can go missing so long ago and still have no answers. His case is still open, and it has been since August 31st, 1982. Why after all this time has no one come forward? Why after all this time do we not know what happened to little Ricky:? I’ve gone over these questions dozens of times in my head- it was then I knew someone had to tell his story.
A delivery of 13, 000 chickens had just arrived at the ranch the morning Ricky disappeared. The owner of the ranch says Ricky was wandering between the barns and coops as more than 30 workers scrambled to unload the chickens. Ricky was last seen sitting on a wagon outisde a barn- 15 minutes later he was gone. No one knows what happened in those 15 minutes. Hundreds of neighbors searched the farm- from the pig pits to the hay stacks,l ooking for any sign of Ricky. After four days the search was called off- no Ricky, nothing. While the official search ended, there are a few people who have never stopped looking including his mother, Judy and Detective Joan Renshaw with the Idaho County Sheriff’s Department.
So, why keep searching? You’ll have to watch the entire story tomorrow on KXLY 4 HD News @ 6:30 PM.
We’re working on a story today about how the restaurant industry is being affected by the dismal economy. Not only are restaurants seeing fewer customers, tips are dwindling for the wait staff. As a former waitress, I can imagine how those men and women who bring you your food are feeling about that.
I look back with pride at my three years or so of waitressing experience. It started when I was 18 or so, working at a place called the City Bar in Great Falls, Montana. At the time, minimum wage was about $4.75/hour. I earned an hourly wage of $6.50 an hour - which was fantastic, considering I also brought home a good deal of money in tips. I learned then, though, that service with a smile doesn’t always equal a good tip. It’s amazing the range of tips you get - especially because that bar was also a casino (which, in Montana, means rows and rows of video poker and keno machines). Some people would drink and win $800 on a machine and tip me five bucks. Others would come in for two drinks at Christmas and tip me $10-15. I went home with an average of $75/night or so in tips - and, had a decent paycheck on top of it.
I got a rude awakening, though, when I moved to Wisconsin for college. I don’tknow what minimum wage was then - and, I didn’t need to know. I wasn’t getting it. In Wisconsin, they could pay you less than minimum wage if you also made tips (I believe Idaho is the same way). I worked at a bar called McGillycuddy’s and earned a whopping $2.33/hour. Fortunately, I brought in a decent haul of tips each night. Still, those paltry paychecks were tough to look at!
It has been years since I waited tables, but I still feel comraderie with waiters and, especially, waitresses. My husband is also a former waiter and he feels the same connection to the waiters and waitresses we encounter. We generally tip about 20% for good service and rarely - RARELY - fall below 15%. Now, we’re hearing people are tipping closer to 10% because of the economy. I’m wondering: do you tip less when times are tough? Or, do you stilll tip that 15-20%?
Lunes empieza la selección del Jurado para enjuiciar a un hombre de Spokane sospechoso de abusar y matar a su hija. Jonathan Lytle es acusado de Homicidio por abuso provocando la muerte de la niña Summer Phelps de cuatro años de edad. Lytle argumenta que ha estado muy enfermo mentalmente por lo cual no podía parar las palizas.
Lunes espera el inicio del juicio del actor de películas pornográficas para adultos acusado de violar el año pasado a una estudiante de a Universidad del Estado de Washington. El Fiscal acusador dice que Christopher Reid sigilosamente se introdujo en las instalaciones de la hermandad-femenina de estudiantes el pasado Septiembre, y abuso sexualmente de una de las estudiantes.
Los precios de la gasolina siguen bajando tanto local como a nivel nacional. El precio promedio del galón de gasolina ahora es de $.2.95. En el Estado de Washington el promedio es de $.3.16 el galón, mientras que en Spokane es de $.3.12 el galón. En el Norte de Idaho el precio promedio es de $.2.88 el galón.
Un fuego en Graham, WA mató a tres pequeñas hermanas el Domingo. Las niñas estaban visitando a su padre cuando comenzó el fuego. El padre de las pequeñas trató de rescatarlas utilizando una escalera de mano para poder entrar por una ventana del segundo piso.
El niño de Las Vegas que fuera secuestrado a punta de pistola, ha regresado a casa sano y salvo. Cole Puffinburger de seis años de edad fue encontrado el pasado Sábado por un funcionario del transito. Familiares y amigos del pequeño celebran su retorno.
Scene from the BIG SNOW last winter in the Inland Northwest.
It won’t be long until the snow flies in the Inland Northwest. We’ve already had a few flurries here and there. While we probably won’t be in for another winter like last year (it was the second snowiest on record), even a typical winter in Eastern Washington and North Idaho can be brutal. This is WinterWeather Safety and Awareness Week in the Pacific Northwest, and our friends at the Spokane National Weather Service want to help you to prepare. CLICK HERE for tips and more information to help keep you safe during winterweather.
I’ve paid a lot of attention lately to people’s names, as my husband and I zero in on a name for our son (we’re not quite there yet, but we’re close). Now, I believe I’ve seen it all.
This may be the newest name someone has just “thought up” - but, it’s not the strangest. One man in Illinois changed his name to “In God We Trust.” A senate candidate in Idaho changed her name to “Pro-Life” and that’s how it appeared on the ballot. And, my favorite: Bengals receiver Chad Johnson legally changing his last name to “Ocho Cinco.”
It puts a little less pressure on soon-to-be parents like me who are trying to find good names for their kids. If we screw it up, they can always change it.
I’ve paid a lot of attention lately to people’s names, as my husband and I zero in on a name for our son (we’re not quite there yet, but we’re close). Now, I believe I’ve seen it all.
