🌱 Patch AM: How Spokane’s Christmas Bureau smashed its biggest fundraising goal yet

Good morning to you Spokane! Catch up on our news and events right here. Keep reading to stay in the know. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• How Spokane’s Christmas Bureau smashed its biggest fundraising goal yet
• How a Spokane teen’s guilty plea shaped this tragic sentencing
• What Spokane movie fans need to know about new caption rules

Also on today's calendar: KIDZ BOP LIVE: The Concert Movie - Spokane and 4 more events.

Today's riddle: Playing golf is bad for your brain. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Thursday: A couple of afternoon showers, with a high of 36 and low of 33 degrees.
• Friday: Occasional rain and drizzle, temps: high: 39, low: 35.
• Saturday: m/cloudy, with a high of 48 and low of 37 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. ‘Just incredibly generous': Christmas Bureau meets goal for the first time since raising it to $600,000 (spokesman.com) — Spokane-area residents helped the Christmas Bureau not only meet but surpass its $600,000 goal for 2025, ensuring vouchers, toys, books, and pajamas for thousands of local families. With more than $639,000 raised and record pajama donations, organizers say the generosity of Spokane and greater Coeur d’Alene will cushion rising costs and strengthen the Bureau’s 80th anniversary effort next year.
   

2. Spokane teen pleads guilty in death of community leader Sarah Doxey (khq.com) — A Spokane teenager has pleaded guilty to all charges in the death of community leader and CHAS Health executive Sarah Doxey, who was struck while jogging near Manito Country Club. The juvenile was sentenced to state detention under Washington’s rehabilitation-focused system, with the exact confinement length to be set by state youth authorities after emotional statements from Doxey’s family and friends.
   

3. Movie theaters required to offer more open captioning screenings (kxly.com) — Starting tomorrow, Spokane moviegoers will see more open-captioned showings as a new law requires large theaters to offer at least one captioned screening during peak hours, with smaller venues responding by request. Garland Theater says it’s ready to adapt so more residents, especially those who rely on captions, can fully share the big-screen experience with friends and family.
   

4. Inland Power scholarship deadline approaching for local students (kxly.com) — Students in the Spokane area who are Inland Power members or dependents have until January 15, 2026 to apply for one of fifteen $1,000 Excellence Award scholarships. The program supports high school seniors, college students, and future line workers, with selections based on transcripts, personal profiles, essays, and recommendation letters reviewed by a volunteer member committee.
   

5. Multiple families displaced following mobile home park fire in Spokane Valley (krem.com) — Several Spokane Valley families are without homes after a Tuesday afternoon fire at Kings Court Mobile Home Park on East 1st Avenue, where flames spread from a shed used as living space to three nearby homes. Everyone escaped safely, two animals were rescued, and investigators say a propane space heater in the shed is the likely cause, leaving 10 residents displaced.
   

📸 Around Spokane

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Spokane

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

Friday January 2

• KIDZ BOP LIVE: The Concert Movie - Spokane
  AMC River Park Square 20 , 808 W Main Ave , Spokane
  12:00 pm
• Friday Cooking Class: Hand-Formed Pasta
  Commellini Estate , 14715 N Dartford Dr , Spokane
  6:30 pm

Saturday January 3

• Get Unburied and Moving Forward - a clutter class
  Virtual class
  6:00 pm

Sunday January 4

• Clutter class - learn how to Let Go for a Less Stressful Life
  Virtual Event
  7:00 pm

Friday January 9

• 52 Weeks of Organizing TIps - FREE
  Virtual Event
  7:00 pm

Saturday January 10

• Candlelight: The Best of Joe Hisaishi
  Riverside Place , 1110 W Riverside Ave , Spokane
  6:30 pm
• Candlelight: The Best of Hans Zimmer
  Riverside Place , 1110 W Riverside Ave , Spokane
  8:30 pm

📣 Spokane Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Friday January 2

• Girls Varsity Basketball @ Waterville-Mansfield High School
  Waterville-Mansfield High School , 200 E Birch St. , Waterville
  4:00 pm
• Boys Varsity Basketball @ Waterville-Mansfield High School
  Waterville-Mansfield High School , 200 E Birch St. , Waterville
  5:30 pm

Tuesday January 6

• Genealogy Drop-In Session
  Spokane Valley Library , 22 N Herald Rd. , Spokane Valley
  10:00 am
• Boys JV Basketball @ Jenkins Junior/Senior High School - JV
  Jenkins Junior/Senior High School , E. 702 Lincoln Street , Chewelah
  4:30 pm
• Girls Varsity Basketball @ Jenkins Junior/Senior High School
  Jenkins Junior/Senior High School , E. 702 Lincoln Street , Chewelah
  6:00 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Spokane PatchAM possible:

• Mindsee.it — (646) 663-8317
  Teach your kids they can achieve the impossible!

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• The new year is almost upon us.
  I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. Like with many of us those resolutions are rarely kept up. What I do like to do is reflect on the past year. Could… (Nextdoor Hillyard)
• Hi everyone.
  Our foster dog, Panda, slipped free of his harness about 45 min ago east of division/lincoln. He is very skiddish and timid. He is white with… (Nextdoor Colton/Standard)

• Bruckner Truck posted a job opening for Porter - Spokane Valley, WA in Spokane. Apply here.
• Schwan's Company posted a job opening for Part-Time Merchandiser in Spokane. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Spokane here.

Ok Spokane! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I just heard a golfer say he had four strokes on the first hole!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

👉 Help make Patch AM better

• Help us grow by suggesting local news sources.
• Shape this newsletter with your feedback.
• List items for sale or services offered

We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what’s happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

Share to NextDoor     Share to Facebook