The Spokesman-Review from Spokane, Washington • 17

1 Earthquake rattled nerves but did little damageB3 The Region To contact the City Desk, dial (509) 459-540Q, Fax (509) 459-5482, E-mail newsspokesman com SECTION Car tabs Opposition beginning to form up against initiative to slash feesB2 Sunday, July 4, 1939 The Spokesman-Review Spokane, Wash Coeur dAlene, Idaho QpinionBS In one of the scattered clashes at Coeur dAlene City Park Saturday, a female supporter of the -Aryans, on top, beats a woman who was protesting the neo-Nazis. Below, anti-racism protesters confronted Aryan Nations supporters as they arrived at the park. A safe and sane Independence Day takes away the fun Doug Clark says. Firecrackers as American as apple pie The Spokesman-Review inos feel it whenever they step inside a saloon. Junkies feel it when the needles come out.

For Americas Fourthaholics, the rush begins with the sight of a familiar face: a smiling black cat on a fat pack of firecrackers. Yeah, Black Cats are still one of the favorites, says the man behind the counter. He sports a brown ball cap with the words Native Pride over the bill. People buy em just for the name. It is Friday afternoon, two days before my favorite holiday.

I am on reservation land outside Chewelah, 100 yards behind the Double Eagle Casino. I have come to remind myself of all the fun Spokane County is missing. Bottle rockets. M-70s. Roman candles.

Triple-break mortars. Artillery shells. Thanks to the sissies (you know who you are), the Fourth in Spokane remains a noiseless and virtually joyless affair. Oh sure, we can hang the flag. We can go down to Riverfront Park and watch the yearly sanitized fireworks extravaganza.

Wheeeeeee. But pity the patriot who wants to set off a cracker or torch a bottle rocket in the ol back yard. Get caught and you face a $250 fine. Thats the way its been since 1993, when the citys brain trust decided to put the fun. Even The way things are going, we might as well scrap the Star Spangled Banner and replace it with one of those impaired Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes.

vrmty, melody Colin MulvanyTtie Spokesman-Review After about an hour, as I would have liked, Scates said as the crowd confrontation dispersed. Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler, sur- over racial views was de- tries low-key presence. the volatile fused, while police kept a rounded by a vanguard of skinheads and blue-shirted bodyguards, was virtually drowned out by Coeur dAlene Police the shouting. Chief Dave Scates was the I can hardly hear myself, the 82-year-old officer who waded into the Butler said as skinheads did stiff-arm Heil Hitler salutes around him. of plainclothes officers also "We re just here to send a message to the white while uniformed police guarded race Butler said Neo-Nazi KllMorlin leader nearly i i U1UWUCU Tempers flared, triggering shoving matches and screaming crowd.

a few fistfights during the hour-long shouting OU.L Dy match between Aryan Nations members and i protesters. SnOUtS Ol The crowd of 300 to 400 was divided almost equally between racists, anti-racists and curious prOteSt onlookers. INSIDE Hooded message: The KuKluxKlan mainstream approach, Connections, A4 only uniformed But an assortment were in the crowd, a playground. An was on standby a It went better But members of a coalition of anti-Nazi groups said Butler and his followers are spreading a Continued: ConfrontationB4 Idaho State Police riot squad block away. than I thought, but not as good Emph asis on Glues examined in search i for missing Idaho student tinue the emphasis patrols People pulled over will either get a ticket or a warning, but they all get a card bearing Trevors smilrng face.

Trevor, born September 1982, was killed one month before, his fourth birthday. A drunken driver careened off the road and crashed into a cart the boy was riding died instantly. i Continued PatrolB3 DUI patrol dedicated to child By Carlos Acevedo Staff writer This weekend is for Trevor. In a multiagency emphasis patrol Saturday, 13 law enforcement officers focused on speeding, use of seat belts and child restraints and driving under the influence. Tonight, Spokane police will con on the undercarriage of the 1984 Pontiac William Wil Hendrick drove the night he disappeared six months ago.

University of Idaho scientists are analyzing the mud in hopes of pinpointing the source. Although there are no signs of foul Continued: VanishedB2 By Andrea Vogt Staff writer MOSCOW, Idaho Representatives from four law enforcement agencies are joining forces to crack the case of a missing University of Idaho drama student. Their hopes are now pinned on any clues that come from mud discovered Wil Hendrick SEARCH Four agencies meet monthly to solve Hendricks disappearance. ale and sane 1 amusements such as sparklers are taboo. Safe and sane.

Thats just another way to say weenie and weenier. Wake up, people! The Fourth of July should be about hissing fuses and sonic booms and mothers screaming at their kids. Thats just the way our forefathers planned it back when George C. Scott penned those immortal words of our national anthem: Through the rockets red glare, The bombs bursting in air, Something, something Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. Hey, theres bound to be a missing finger or two.

Maybe a fire now and then. OK, maybe a couple hundred fires now and then. But what price do we put on our freedom to celebrate? The way things are going, we might as well scrap the Star Spangled Banner and replace it with one of those fruity, melody-impaired Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes. What a waste of a grand day. As my dealer friend at the Bargain Bros, fireworks stand showed me, Spokane is missing out on some ear-splitting technological advancements.

Oh, man, we have rockets thatll shoot 450 feet into the air, he says, pointing to a 48-shot artillery launcher. A bargain at $70. For 50 bucks the careful holiday shopper takes home a Thunder Down Under device that shoots 19 exploding balls into the air. Firecrackers are a penny apiece here. The dealer recommends the Mighty Mites for noise value.

No wonder people drive here from Montana and Oregon to load their car trunks with fiery fun. Mostly, though, it is Fourthaholics from Spokane who come here like booze hounds fleeing a dry county. if. Meet the 45-year-old man in the Eddie Bauer sweat shirt who brought his young son. No names today too risky.

We moved to Spokane from Montana two years ago, he tells me. The Fourth is just antiseptic in Spokane. Theres no flavor. I appreciate the safety aspect, but come on. One of best things about buying fireworks is the garish artwork on the packages.

The lurid names of the products ooze danger. There are items like Viper Strike and Prairie Thunder and Wild as the Devil. A mortar device called Just Shoot Me is a popular item. And lets not forget bottle rockets. At 144 for $2, what Independence Day would be complete without them? I shoot em out of my house year-round, says a barrel-chested man in a Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt.

The middle-aged man leans against the fireworks stand and takes a long drag on a cigarette. My neighbors love me. Anytime they hear a bottle rocket go off, they know its me. I miss the Fourth. Joy not dampened pngs 4 "A I jv.

mLJj, rriifr3, 'hh The Olivers and other campers endured temperatures that- dipped to 40 degrees early Saturday, the lowest ever 1 recorded on July 3, said National Weather Service -meteorologist Ron Miller. The Weather Service has been -keeping records since 1881, the year President ames Garfield was shot. Miller said the average low for the day is 53 degrees at Spokane International Airport; the high, 80 degrees. Temperatures barely reached 64 degrees Saturday. Strange but true it was actually warmer during Memorial Day weekend, Miller said.

Weather today will be similar to Saturday, though a few -2 degrees warmer, Miller predicted. Clouds will cool off the Inland Northwest, but no rain is forecast for Fourth of Jufy 1 evening fireworks. By midweek, when many people have returned to work, temperatures will reach the 80s. Riverside Park Ranger Denis Felton said campers were so sparse he had time to make repairs on his patrol cars. Only 60 out of 100 campsites were in use Saturday.

Its kind of dead, he said. We could use more The more the merrier. Hall, a Coeur dAlene resident, said she and others were Despite record low temperatures spirits warm on the Fourth of July By Grayden Jones Staff writer verworked parents Lynette and Geary Oliver were glad for the rest, even if it meant shivering in the woods under a tent. Mother-of-the-bride Valerie Hall was thrilled, despite the threatening rain clouds, to see her daughter wed in an outdoor garden ceremony. And 14-year-old rocker James Rode said he could tolerate some orchestra music for a chance to spend a chilly evening with his dad in Riverfront Park.

It may have been the coldest July 3 on record, but unseasonable temperatures Saturday failed to deter plans that many people had for launching their three-day Independence Day celebration. We moved our chairs from the fire to the tent and back to the fire when it rained, said Lynette Oliver of Grand Coulee, who camped with her family at Riverside State Park. It was our exercise for the evening. ni fc. 4 1 -y Shawn JacobsonThe Spokesman-Review Dale Breitkreutz and his children Allison, 3, and Eric, 2 take a spin on the ferris wheel at Riverfront Park during a sun break Saturday afternoon.

Continued Doug Clark can be reached at (509) 459-5432 or by e-mail at dougcJspokesman.com..