Methow Valley News - April 26, 2023

Gravel pit excavation near Winthrop raises concerns

Operators working with state on new permit for site

BY MARCY STAMPER

Some valley residents are concerned by recent excavation at a gravel pit about 1 1/2 miles west of Winthrop where operators have been digging on a hillside that previously blocked the pit from view.

Some neighbors and people who travel Highway 20 from Mazama have raised their concerns with Okanogan County and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

At the rate the excavation is progressing, the steep shrub-steppe hill could be gone in a matter of days, an area resident told the Methow Valley News last week.

The pit has been mined for gravel for years, but the hill shielded the pit from view and muffled sound from heavy equipment, one person said. “The big difference is that they’ve pulled off the hillside that hides the pit from the highway,” he said. Lloyd Logging is moving the boundaries of the pit and expanding a little bit, Lloyd Logging Secretary/Treasurer Bob Lloyd told the Methow Valley News this week. The company is working with DNR to update its permit and will be meeting with agency representatives on

Wednesday (April 26), he said.

DNR is sending an inspector to map the area and meet with the company, DNR Communications Manager Joe Smillie said.

The work that’s sparked concern started about two weeks ago. In past years, there was little noticeable

It’s been sweet, but Cinnamon Twisp Bakery owner ready to sell

Katie Bristol reflects on 29 years of baking and community connections

BY JULIA BABKINA

Cinnamon Twisp Bakery, one of the defining businesses on Glover Street, is for sale. The bakery will celebrate 29 years of service on May 5, and Owner Katie Bristol says the time is right for her to pursue the next chapter of her life — even if her love of baking hasn’t changed.

“I’m a baker to the core,” she said. Bristol has made it a priority to support other businesses in the valley. She uses wholegrain flours grown and milled by Winthrop-based Bluebird Grain Farms. The honey, fruit, vegetables and coffee are all from local businesses. The bakery’s walls provide space for local artists to showcase their work. The bakery is so local, it doesn’t even have its own website. Instead of a computer mouse, it’s the door hinges that get a workout. But not

long before the last customer leaves for the day, the ovens take over. A prep baker comes in at 2 p.m. to bake cookies, pies, brownies, cupcakes and eclairs. There is a slight overlap when the bread baker walks in at 10 p.m., joined by the pastry baker at 3 a.m. The bread baker

Methow Valley Senior Center maintains bus trips to Wenatchee Board OKs funding for monthly rides

leaves just as the opening shift arrives at 6 a.m., followed by reinforcements at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. The ovens finally take a breather at 10 a.m., but it’s a 24/5 operation, one that suits Bristol’s talents. “I’m organized, I’m orderly, I’m systematic,” said Bristol. “I feel like that

provides consistency to my business and to my customers that indicates they can rely on me.”

Memorable moments

Between the rhythms of the day, there have been moments that stood out — a customer learning she was going to be a grandmother, a young couple requesting a giant cinnamon twisp pastry as their wedding cake, another couple ordering braided challah bread to share with 50 wedding guests. Recently, said Bristol, three generations of the same family stopped in separately in the span of an hour, a reminder of what her business has become.

Even when the bakery is closed, there is pressure on those door hinges. During the interview, a steady stream of people peeked through the glass doors, hoping to find the bakery open. Starting May 1, the bakery will be open on Mondays and seven days a week in the summer, when high schoolers and college students are off from school.

“Business at the bakery has never been better,” said Bristol. The bakery averages 15-22 employees, depending on the season, a third of which are full time. From the beginning, Bristol sets high standards.

“I’ve a strong work ethic. I have high standards for my products. I have high standards for myself and for my employees. I’m organized. I definitely put work first,” she said.

“Some of the kids I hire, it’s their first job. I’m their first job experience. It’s challenging, it’s rewarding. Sometimes, 10 years later, they come back and say, it was the best job they ever had.”

Making

of an icon

Cinnamon Twisp offers traditional, vegan and gluten-free pastries as well as soups, salads and sandwiches (from homemade bread, of course.) Over 29 years, Bristol and her team have developed over 200 unique recipes, but they are most known for their eponymous cinnamon twisps.

“The twisp has just become a regional icon of tastiness. It sort of represents what people think of when coming to the Methow Valley. Part of what’s on their list is to get a cinnamon twisp,” Bristol said.

Although the play on words is obvious, the business’ name had to beat out other contenders.

service discontinued the trips. Okanogan County Transportation and Nutrition (OCTN), the nonprofit that provides meals and bus service to seniors, notified the Methow Valley Senior Citizen Association at the beginning of April that they would no longer provide bus trips from Twisp to Wenatchee once a month.

The board felt strongly that that arrangement was not viable, Tonseth said. “It’s just unacceptable. We treasure and honor our seniors. To have that removed, it just was not acceptable,” she said.

The board was also concerned about safety, since people would have had to make connections in the dark during the winter, Tonseth said.

The association will pay for the bus, fuel, wear and tear, and driver John Jumper’s wages for the day. Tonseth estimated the bus trips will cost the association about $400 per month, but the board voted to charter the bus

Seniors would have had to take a TranGO bus to Okanogan and then transfer to an OCTN bus to Wenatchee, then do the same on the way home, association president Judy Tonseth said.

Trails Collaborative needs your boots on the ground Repair and improvement projects are plentiful

BY ANN MCCREARY

People who love to recreate on trails — whether on foot, horseback or bike — will have plenty of opportunities to pitch in on a variety of trail improvement projects around the Methow Valley in coming months.

The Methow Valley Trails Collaborative is helping coordinate several projects to maintain and repair trails, such as replacing bridges, restoring trails damaged in recent fires, and repairing erosion caused by heavy hiker traffic.

when people can work toward a goal of improving an area they enjoy recreating in,” he said.

A description of events and sign up forms are available on the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative website, trailscollaborative.org.

Upcoming opportunities

Jircik was hired as the Trail Collaborative’s first trails manager — and only employee — last year to help the organization with its broad goal of connecting community advocacy groups and land managers to collaborate on trail stewardship in the Methow Valley. Members of the various trail

Allen Jircik, trails manager for the Trails Collaborative, is working with the Methow Valley Ranger District and trail organizations that are part of the collaborative to plan and carry out a full schedule of projects from May through October.

groups that are part of the collaborative, such as back country horsemen and mountain bikers, donate labor and materials for trails projects. Grants and federal funding obtained by the Methow Trails Collaborative and member trail organizations will support of the work this year, Jircik said.

Anyone who wants to support trails is welcome to join in work parties, Jircik said. “It’s great

• May 6-7: The Trails Collaborative is coordinating with the Methow Valley Forest Fire Lookout Association to restore an eroded section of trail that accesses the North 20-Mile fire lookout. The lookout is having its centennial this year, and the goal of the weekend work party is to make it easier to access the lookout via horseback. Both work days will involve a moderately strenuous 4-mile round-trip hike.

• May 20: Save A Trail/Twisp River Trail. Save A Trail projects are chosen by the Trails Collaborative based on community input to restore high-use trails. The first day will focus

Photo by Julia Babkina Katie Bristol says the time is right for her to sell Cinnamon Twisp Bakery.

Photo by Steve Mitchell

The Methow Recycles Repair Cafe was a popular attraction, among many others including music, demonstrations and food, at the second annual Earth Day Celebration last weekend at the John Doran Ranch north of Twisp.

Photo courtesy of Ike Bancroft Trail repair crews worked on the Lightning Creek ramp. More trail work

Photo by Marcy Stamper

Area residents are concerned that after recent excavation of the hillside, this gravel pit on the scenic highway corridor west of Winthrop is now visible.

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activity at the pit, with gravel excavation each spring and a couple of dump trucks coming and going once a year, an area resident told the News. “It was more muffled and less noticeable, and you had to look to see it,” said another.

Lloyd Logging typically pushes up new material at the pit for a short period each year and spends the rest of the time crushing gravel. The gravel is used for concrete, roads and bedding, Lloyd said.

In addition to removing part of the hill, the operators dug a trench on the slope that appears to be intended to collect rocks so they don’t fall onto the highway, one person said.

The highway is part of the officially designated Cascade Loop Scenic Byway. The Mazama Advisory Committee is concerned about visual impacts of the new excavation on the scenic corridor, particularly because it is so difficult to revegetate shrub-steppe habitat, committee chair Jim Gregg told the News. Current mapping technology offers ways to plan excavation to avoid visual impacts, Gregg said. Gregg also raised his concerns with Lloyd Logging and Okanogan County Commissioner Andy Hover.

Permits for work Documents for the pit, including a reclamation permit, environmental checklist, and the county’s con-

STATE RECLAMATION LAW

A surface-mining reclamation permit governs where mining can take place and includes a plan for what the site will look like after all mining is done, state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Communications Manager Joe Smillie said Reclamation restores vegetation, soil stability and proper water conditions after mining Good reclamation allows for future uses and limits environmental impacts, and most operators restore portions of a mine while they continue to work in other areas, DNR said Retired mine sites are often converted into parks or forested areas that provide wildlife habitat

Mine inspections are supposed to be performed every year or two, according to DNR If a mine is out of compliance, DNR staff work with the miners to address the problem If the issue isn’t corrected, the agency gives formal notice and may take enforcement measures

Penalties can include stop-work orders and/or fines

Expansion, and challenges

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“We did a lot of brainstorming about names and Cinnamon Twisp won,” said Bristol. “Then we had to come up with the cinnamon twisp. We invented the cinnamon twisp based on adaptations of other recipes. Other bakeries were incredibly generous with recipes and information.”

“I put a lot of time and energy into presentation, how a product or pastry looks,” she added. “I like to create edible art. I like the visual as well as culinary aspect of baking.”

Bristol said she learned to bake from her mother. In college, she experimented with new recipes on her housemates, who were eager to oblige. Growing up in Connecticut, Bristol studied biology in Portland and moved to the valley in 1991 to do forestry work for the Wilderness Society.

“At that point, baking was just a hobby and it was something I enjoyed. I really imagined my work future was in biology or forestry,” she said.

That changed when she rented a kitchen in the senior center and baked goods for the Farmers Market in Twisp. Bristol recognized an opportunity based on the support she received.

“It was immensely fulfilling to nourish and provide members of the community with handcrafted goods,” she said. At the time, there was no other bakery in Twisp, just “bars and churches,” Bristol recalled. The closest bakery was the Duck Brand in Winthrop, now Jupiter.

Bristol and four business partners moved operations to a building adjacent to their current location in 1994. The space couldn’t accommodate both a kitchen and a dining room and only had space for two tables. The bakery moved to its current location in 2007, which doubled their square footage and has capacity for 35 diners. By 2016, Bristol bought out her last remaining business partner. Now, she says, is a good time for her to hand the reigns to someone else.

“I really want my successor to be successful. I’m at the top of my game and I’m ready to pass the baton, or pass the pizza peel to the next baker because I truly feel everything is in place for success,” she said.

There have been difficult times. In 2014, in the midst of losing a cabin in the Carlton Complex Fire, Bristol continued to operate her business. While the town was partially evacuated and without power for almost two weeks, the owners of the Methow Valley Inn allowed Cinnamon Twisp to use their kitchen with propane ovens. Head pastry chef Joanne Hamilton, who has been with the bakery 20 years, baked by headlamp and lantern.

“We set up a table in front of the bakery on Glover Street and provided coffee and pastries, by donation only, to community members, some of whom had just lost everything they owned,” said Bristol. “It was an honor to comfort them and offer connection and compassion.”

The donations were given to the head baker at the time, who had lost her family home in the fire. Bristol continues to

ditional-use permit, were obtained from DNR by a member of the public who provided copies to the Methow Valley News.

Lloyd Logging has a surface-mining reclamation permit from 1986 to mine 6.8 acres. The company can continue to mine under that permit, as long as the operators don’t expand beyond the 6.8 acres, Smillie said. Operational specifics would be addressed in a permit from Okanogan County, he said.

While Lloyd Logging has a mining permit, it is out of compliance, Smillie said. When Washington did a major update of the Surface Mining Act in 1993, DNR contacted all permittees to bring their permits into compliance, but many — including Lloyd Logging — haven’t completed the process. There are about a thousand such permits in the state, and DNR has not followed through on all of them, Smillie said.

The 1993 mining act says that operating permits issued between 1971 and 1993 would be considered reclamation permits.

The Lloyd Logging permit needs to be revised to address discrepancies and meet the current standards of the act, Smillie said. “We are working with them to correct that,” he said.

If inspectors find the operators are working outside the permitted zone, DNR can suspend the reclamation permit and issue a stop-work order, he said.

donate bread and pastries to Jamie’s Place, Room One and The Cove.

During COVID, Bristol didn’t lay anyone off and said she survived financially with a PPP loan.

“It was a principle, that my staff stands by me every day, that I was going to stand by them,” she said. “At a difficult time, there was no way I was going to make their lives harder.”

Plans to stay

As for the bakery’s succession, Bristol said, “I would love to find a local family, a local group of friends that would want to take it over with the same spirit of community. If it ends up being someone outside the community, not local, I’m fine with that … I’m committed to finding the right person, but I’m not exclusive.”

Bristol said she plans to stay in the valley and have more time and flexibility in her life for activities such as hiking, camping, gardening, and pottery. She also wants to rebuild her cabin. Looking back on her career, Bristol said she is proud of her business’ longevity.

“The fact that I made it 29 years, I’m very proud of that. That speaks to a level of dedication and a certain amount of grit,” she said. “I’m proud of my quality, my standards, my customer service. I’m very proud of my cinnamon twisp. It’s my trademark pastry. It’s beautiful, it’s delicious. It’s the original recipe. It’s where it all started. It’s what keeps us going. It’s what we’re known for.”

“Have I reached all of my goals? Never, but do I feel satisfied with what I have achieved? Yes. I’m very proud of the business. I still have goals to achieve.”

County permit

Several people have filed complaints with Okanogan County about work at the mine. “My phone has been blowing up all day,” county Planning Director Pete Palmer told the News last week. Palmer has been researching the situation to see what permits are in place for the current mining activity. In addition to the reclamation permit from DNR, there should be permits from the state Department of Ecology for dust abatement and stormwater drainage, Palmer said. Okanogan County issued a conditional-use permit (CUP) to Robert Mack Lloyd that was good for two years and has long since expired, Palmer said. The DNR surface mining permit from January 1986,

TRAILS

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on clearing trail in the lower part of the Twisp River drainage and wilderness boundary to improve the U.S. Forest Service’s ability to clear the trail this summer. The Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance has committed to supporting the work, which will include brushing and tread improvements, including work that children can help with.

• May 21: Save A Trail/Louis Lake bridge. The second Save A Trail project will enlist volunteers to help remove bark from trees, as part of site preparation to replace a decommissioned trail bridge on the Louis Lake trail No. 428. Participants will hike 1.9 miles (each way) on the South Creek trail to the bridge site. Removing the bark makes logs to be used in rebuilding the bridge more uniform and less prone to rotting. The Collaborative is working closely with the Forest Service on the project.

• June 3: Celebrate National Trails Day with a work party to improve Driveway Butte trail No. 481. The day will be a mixture of chainsaw logout for those who are certified, and tread repair on the steep switchbacks.

• June 26, July 5 and July

10: The Trails Collaborative has hired an Americorps crew to repair eroded sections of the heavily traveled Heather Maple Loop trail, located on Highway 20. The weekday volunteer days will support the Americorps crew in a switchback stabilization project. The work will involve heavy lifting to transport rocks that will be used to prevent further erosion of switchbacks on the Rainy Lake side of the trail.

• Aug. 12 and 19: This project will help preparations to replace two failing bridges on the popular Cutthroat Creek trail No. 438. The Trails Collaborative will work with Methow Trails, the Methow Chapter of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, the Methow Valley Back Country Horsemen and the Forest Service. Volunteers will remove bark from logs and move gravel to the site of new bridge abutments.

Mountain bikers and horsemen

The Trails Collaborative also helps publicize and support trail projects hosted by partner organizations. The Methow Valley chapter of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance has three weekend work parties planned: May 12-14

which was good for two years, states that the CUP was issued by Okanogan County in October 1985.

The CUP was apparently never enforced, since the pit has been allowed to operate all these years, Palmer said. She started work at the county a couple of years ago.

The CUP allowed Lloyd “to develop a gravel pit and stockpiling site to use materials for Highway 20 improvement from Mazama to the Weeman Bridge and future uses.” Lloyd would have to apply for a reissuance of the permit after it expired, it says.

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklist from September 1985 said the primary use for the mine was from October 1985 to October 1986, and as

at Chickadee trailhead at Sun Mountain; June 16-18 at Loup Loup summit; and Sept. 29-Oct. 1 on the Lightning Creek trail to repair fire damage. Details will be posted on the website, evergreenmtb.org/calendar/work-parties.

The Back Country Horsemen of Washington will coordinate several volunteer events in the Pasayten Wilderness as part of a multi-year project geared towards opening up and restoring The Pacific Northwest Trail, which is a 1,200-mile continuous non-motorized National Scenic Trail from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean. The Back Country Horsemen are working with the Forest Service, Pacific Crest Trail Association, Pacific Northwest Trail Association, Washington Trails Association and others to reopen the trail for all users.

Some of the work will take place deeper in the wilderness, and other work will be at trailheads and open to community members. The trailhead events include June 10, Robinson Creek trailhead; July 1 and 2, Thirty Mile trailhead; July 15 and 16, Billy Goat trailhead; July 29 and 30, Robinson Creek trailhead. Information on the projects is online at bchw.org/pasayten_wilderness_project.php.

Funding trail projects

The Trails Collaborative was awarded a $16,000 Legacy Trails Program grant to be used for the bridge projects on the Louis Lake and Cutthroat trails, Jircik said.

The Legacy Trails Program grants are funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress in 2021, and were awarded for the first time this year by American Trails and the Forest Service. The Legacy Trails grants are designated for projects on existing trails on national forest lands, with the goal of protecting aquatic habitats and improving infrastructure, Jircik said.

The Back Country Horsemen of Washington also received a Legacy Trails Program grant for the trail work they are coordinating in the Pacific Northwest Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness, he said.

Trail improvement projects will also be supported by a $50,000 allocation through the Great American Outdoors Act, passed by Congress in 2020.

The funding is a cost-share agreement between Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and Methow Trails. Methow Trails is administering the funds because

AT

EDGE OF

needed after that. Permit applications and the map are also from the fall of 1985.

When the work was completed, Lloyd would grade, slope and revegetate the site, according to the SEPA checklist.

The 1985 application for the reclamation plan submitted to DNR by Mack Lloyd says that adjacent property would be protected by “natural terrain screening” and that the site would be reclaimed after each operation.

If work is being done without the necessary permits, Okanogan County code gives people 20 days to correct a problem — after the county issues a notice of violation — before the county can issue a cease-and-desist order, Palmer said.

the Trails Collaborative had not completed incorporating as a nonprofit organization when the funding became available, and was not able to enter into federal contracts, Jircik said.

The Collaborative, in coordination with the Forest Service, will determine which projects will receive the Great American Outdoors Act funding, which is designated for deferred maintenance on trails along the Route 20 scenic highway corridor through the North Cascades.

Current plans include the work on Driveway Butte trail and Heather Maple Loop trail this summer, and East Creek trail in the fall, Jircik said.

Labor for several projects will be provided by crews of the Americorps Student Conservation Association and the Washington Conservation Corps, Jircik said.

Jircik’s position as the only paid staff member of the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative is funded primarily through three cost-sharing agreements with the Forest Service and administered by Methow Trails.

They include the Great American Outdoors Act, as well as funding tied to federal disaster relief law for fire-affected trails, and funding aimed at increasing the role of volunteers maintaining trails on national forests. The funding sources also support hiring Student Conservation Corps crews, Jircik said. He hopes to steer the Trails Collaborative toward more sustainable funding, and less reliance on grants and contracts.

The Collaborative will hire a student from Western Washington Sustainability Pathways Fellowship this summer. “It’s a part-time position from June through September that will add capacity to the organization during the busy field season,” Jircik said.

The Methow Valley Trails Collaborative was created seven years ago to bring together trail users with the common goal of improving and maintaining trails around the valley. Members and partners of the Trails Collaborative include the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, Methow Valley Snowmobile Association, Loup Loup Ski Education Foundation, Washington Trails Association, Northwest Motorcycle Association, Methow Conservancy, Winthrop Chamber of Commerce, Methow Trails, Methow Valley Back Country Horsemen and Rendezvous Huts, as well as Pearrygin Lake State Park, the U.S. Forest Service Methow Ranger District and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Methow Wildlife Area.

even before they knew the cost. Their mission is to support the seniors, and everyone felt the bus service is a key part of that, she said.

Jumper drives the door-to-door bus services for seniors in the Methow three times a week, taking people to lunch at the senior center and to do errands. He would have lost the income for the Wenatchee trips, Tonseth said.

Funds to support the bus service will come from sales at the senior center’s thrift store, Tonseth said.

Medical appointments, social outings

People were encouraged to schedule medical appointments for the third Tuesday of the month, the day the bus goes to Wenatchee, and those appointments often have to be booked months in advance. “We weren’t notified it might be changing till it changed — people were upset,” Tonseth said.

Half a dozen people typically take the bus to Wenatchee, which seats 12. They can request stops for shopping, appointments or a social activity, and be picked up a couple of hours later, Tonseth said.

The bus is a lifeline for many people. Karen Williams took the bus regularly this winter as a convenient, safe way to get out of the valley and combat cabin fever. She appreciated being able to take the trip without having to drive in winter conditions. She did shopping, went out to lunch and just enjoyed the change of scenery. “OCTN doesn’t think about people’s

mental health,” Williams said.

The bus is the only transportation some people have, Tonseth said. “We worked out a solution that benefits our seniors, and that’s part of our mission,” she said.

The association and some seniors met last week with OCTN and Aging and Adult Care of Central Washington, which provides services to help seniors remain independent and safe in their home. Representatives from Methow At Home, a local group that helps people live independently, also attended. OCTN said they would reassess the situation in the future, Tonseth said.

OCTN also provides lunch at the senior center and by delivery to people who are homebound on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Lunch and trans-

BOOK IN ADVANCE

The Wenatchee trips will still be on the third Tuesday of each month. Anyone 18 or over can book a seat on the bus. The fare will be $10 for seniors and $15 for people under 60. There is a minimum of four people per trip, or two with medical appointments.

People need to reserve a seat on the bus at least 24 hours in advance through the senior center (call 997-7722). The bus leaves from the Senior Center parking lot in Twisp at 8 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month and returns around 5:30 p.m.

portation within the Methow will continue.

OCTN receives grants from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to provide rural bus service throughout Okanogan County. The grants cover commuter routes as well as door-to-door transportation for seniors and people with special needs. For the four years through the end of this June, the department provided almost $1.9 million, plus $287,000 to replace four buses.

WSDOT is currently reviewing grant applications for upcoming years. Although details aren’t available during the grant-review process, OCTN has applied for similar funding, WSDOT Public Transportation Division Grants Supervisor Evan Olsen said.

OCTN also provides bus service for seniors in Brewster, Omak/Okanogan, Oroville and Tonasket. The organization is offering weekly trips from Okanogan to Wenatchee for a suggested donation of $8 for seniors and $16 for the general public.

OCTN’s executive director did not respond to calls or emails about the changes to bus service.

Winthrop’s RiverWalk plan revisions include ADA access

BY DON NELSON

Phase I of Winthrop’s River Walk recreational path will be somewhat scaled back from its original scope, but will still include the long-planned pedestrian underpass beneath the Chewuch River Bridge as well as American Disabilities Act (ADA) access to the path.

At last week’s Winthrop Town Council meeting, Town Planner Rocklynn Culp and Public Works Director Jeff Sarvis discussed revised plans for the underpass and adjacent trails on either side of the river. The revisions are necessary to meet ADA requirements and to keep the work within the total grant monies the town has available for the project, they said. And the work needs to be done soon.

“We need to move quickly to keep the funding,” Culp said.

“If we can get this completed, we get the [grant] dollars off the books before we lose them,” Sarvis said.

Sarvis said work on the project, which includes shoring up the riverbank under the bridge with rip rap, will require that one lane of the Chewuch River bridge be closed to traffic at times. The town is also planning to replace an aging water line under the Methow River bridge at the other end of downtown, which will require some traffic adjustments. Sarvis said that ideally the projects won’t be happening simultaneously.

Looking for progress

Mayor Sally Ranzau welcomed the updated information on the RiverWalk project. “People are looking for progress and signs that we are committed” to the project, she said.

The signing of several property easements recently cleared the way to begin work on Phase I. An informal citizens’ group has been working with the town and property owners to reach easement agreements. RiverWalk is intended to eventually extend a pedestrian walkway from the Sa Teekh Wa bridge downstream to the Spring Creek Bridge, including an underpass beneath the north end of the Chewuch River Bridge at the fourway stop. Much of the trail would be on the back side of commercial buildings that front on Riverside Avenue.

Phase I of the project, which includes the underpass, required numerous local, state and federal regulatory permits, and is funded by a state Recreation

and Conservation Office (RCO) grant plus federal transportation monies. Phase II would be from the kiosk behind the Farmer’s Exchange Building to Spring Creek Bridge. Phase III would extend upstream on the Chewuch River from the back of the Emporium to Sa Teekh Wah bridge.

‘Paint Downtown’

In other business at last week’s meeting, the council decided that the Westernization Design Review Board (WDRB) will have the latitude to decide if some permitting fees can be waived as related to the “Let’s Paint Downtown” campaign.

“Let’s Paint Downtown” is a project to repaint downtown Winthrop’s business buildings and murals. The effort is spearheaded by Shotgun Nellies owner Nilsine Harris, with assistance from the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce and WDRB. The campaign’s goal is to fund repainting of downtown buildings between the two pedestrian bridges.

At last week’s meeting, Harris asked the council to consider waiving any fees associated with new or additional artwork that might be proposed as part of the project.

Ranzau noted that for most Westernization applications, there is no fee associated with permits. Harris said the “Let’s Paint Downtown” volunteers may suggest that some building owners restore their buildings and lettering to the original style, and paying permit fees would eat into the group’s resources.

Council member Ben Nelson said such decisions should be the purview of the WDRB, and other council members agreed.

Work on repainting the Tenderfoot store’s mural has begun, including replacing some of the siding with donated materials, Harris said.

Composting questions

During the public comments period, the council also heard from Andy McConkey and Mike Kutz, who raised concerns about how a new composting business on Horizon Flat Road would affect the neighborhood. B2G Compost has completed its infrastructure and is going through the final permitting process with Okanogan County and the state. B2G owner Kate Wynne expects to begin composting in May and have compost ready for sale in the valley this summer.

Wynne’s business is technically just outside the town limits

and in the county’s jurisdiction. In June of last year, the town council agreed to a request by Wynne to provide town water service, as she had been unsuccessful in drilling a workable well on the property. The town agreed to provide up to 8,000 gallons of water a month to the site.

When done properly, compost doesn’t smell, Wynne said in a recent Methow Valley News article. To ensure there are no herbicides in the compost, B2G will not accept hay or horse manure.

When all permitting is complete, B2G will continue to collect commercial food scraps and grains. B2G will also accept food waste and compostables from community members through a partnership with Methow Recycles, which will operate a central collection site.

B2G will need an air-quality permit from the state Department of Ecology, but Wynne said the business is currently exempt because the operation is still so small. It also requires a solid-waste permit from Okanogan County Public Health.

Okanogan County is conducting an environmental review of the B2G Compost application and has issued a threshold determination that the facility will not have a significant impact on the environment. The Okanogan County Planning Department approved the site plan last August.

People can comment on the proposal until April 27. If necessary, the county will add conditions to the environmental determination.

McConkey said the composting business could add traffic in a residential area. He and Kutz said they felt like they did not have adequate notification. Ranzau pointed out that the issue had been on two council meeting agendas and discussed publicly before the council took action in June 2022.

Kutz said the neighborhood would like assurance from the town that traffic won’t negatively affect the area. He said the prospect of large vehicles on the streets “is not a comfortable situation.”

Culp said she and Sarvis were preparing comments for the county’s SEPA review and would include suggestions about mitigating neighborhood impacts. Council member Bill McAdow said he would like to revisit the water service extension, and asked what the town’s options might be. Sarvis said that would be a legal question.

Ranzau said the issue will be put on an upcoming council meeting agenda for more discussion.

North Cascades Highway clearing heads into ‘home stretch’

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) east side clearing crew reached the summit of Washington Pass during its fourth week of readying the North Cascades Scenic Highway for traffic, and is “heading into the home stretch,” WSDOT reported. “Snow levels on the roadway are about 6 feet, just the right depth for the blower to make good time,” WSDOT said in a press release. “As the crew heads into Rainy Pass, there are about 14 miles and one more avalanche path near Whistler Mountain before they meet the west side clearing point at milepost 148.” “Once the road is cleared of snow, crews will repair damage to the guardrail, signage, and pavement caused by snow slides over the winter,” WSDOT said. “Without the roadway fully cleared, it’s still too soon to tell when the route will reopen for the spring. We expect a few more weeks of work still, but when dealing with Mother Nature and the potential for spring snow and rain, there are still too many variables to say exactly when the road will open.” WSDOT reminded motorists that even when the highway opens, most National Parks and U.S. Forest Service facilities are closed to the public until later in the spring. “There also may still be narrow roadway shoulders with snowpack, few pullouts or turn-arounds, and limited services,” WSDOT said. “The passes have been known to get snow and freezing rain late into spring, so you’ll need to be prepared for potential winter driving conditions and confirm that your destination is open and available to the public.” Clearing the highway began on March 27. Clearing the road for vehicles typically takes six to eight weeks to not only clear the road but also make necessary repairs and ensure that the avalanche chutes at Washington Pass are safe. The highway was closed to traffic for the season on Nov. 8, 2022, between milepost 134 and 178 (Ross Dam Trailhead to Early Winters gate). In 2022, highway clearing began March 28 and the road opened on May 10. The clearing crews will be working Monday through Thursday, and WSDOT asks that recreationists wait until the weekend to use the cleared portions of the highway.

Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Transportation Massive equipment is needed to clear the snow-clogged corridor that we know as the North Cascades Scenic Highway.

Photo by Marcy Stamper

The Methow Valley Senior Center board voted to pay to charter a bus to preserve monthly trips to Wenatchee. The bus provides a vital service for seniors for medical appointments, shopping and social activities.

The next annexation

Unlike some issues affecting a specific town or jurisdiction, the upcoming vote on whether to annex Twisp to Okanogan County Fire District 6 also affects most residents of the Methow Valley.

If all goes as expected, the annexation question will be on the Aug. 1 primary election ballot, where it will have the local spotlight ahead of a crowded general election field in November. It’s not just a matter of whether Twisp’s residents support the annexation, although a majority of voters in the town must approve it. In addition, people living in the fire district also get to weigh in — and they, too, must vote in favor of the proposal for it to take effect.

The last time District 6 residents faced a similar question was in February 2017, when annexation of the Town of Winthrop to the fire district was on the ballot. That measure passed by a wide margin in the town and the district, and the transition of services has gone smoothly since. Winthrop is now the home of District 6’s new fire hall, a long-awaited and necessary upgrade of vital facilities.

For many years, Twisp has contracted with District 6 provide fire protection services, which included use of the town-owned fire station to house equipment and personnel. Currently, the town is paying the district $60,000 a year for fire protection (that agreement will continue through 2023 if the annexation is approved).

Relations between the district and the town have been good in recent years, but that wasn’t always the case. There have in the past been contentious discussions between Twisp and District 6 about the cost of providing service, and other issues. There were suggestions that maybe the town would just have to go without fire protection — unimaginable, in retrospect, particularly considering that Twisp had no way to easily resurrect its own fire department.

District 6 is, annexation or not, the town’s only option. It is the largest fire district in the state, covering 300 square miles of rural terrain from Gold Creek to Lost River with four fire stations, thanks to a mostly volunteer force.

Annexation has been a logical discussion topic for some time, more so after Winthrop opted in. Negotiations between the district and Twisp to reach a pre-annexation agreement — which they did recently — went on for at least a year longer than originally anticipated. Possible election dates in 2022 came and went. But there were some complicated points to settle, such as what would happen to the existing fire station (the district will purchase it from the town if the annexation is approved).

Between now and August, the town and district will, per the pre-annexation agreement, coordinate an information campaign that should answer all of the voters’ questions. That will include public meetings that town and district representatives have committed to scheduling and attending.

Mail-in voting would begin July 14 for the August primary. That’s plenty of time to get acquainted with the details. For more information about the district, visit https://ocfd6.com.

If Twisp residents approve the annexation, property owners will in 2024 begin being assessed the district’s annual tax levy, which is 61 cents per $1,000 of property value this year. At the same time, the town won’t be paying the district the $60,000 for fire protection services.

How that trade-off will work for the town isn’t clear yet. What is clear is that annexation is logical, desirable and timely. Being part of the district — and Twisp remains the only part of the Methow Valley that is not — will assure long-term fire protection and eliminate annual negotiations, which will always have the potential for complications. With the danger from and awareness of wildfire threats increasing in recent years, town residents should enjoy the certainty of swift and effective fire protection.

Another advantage for Twisp residents is that, with annexation, they will be allowed to vote for District 6 board of commissioner candidates or levy proposals, and will themselves be able to run for commission positions. They can’t do any of those things now.

Not even the most sensible ballot proposals are a slam dunk, and voters throughout the valley should certainly do their homework between now and August. They will likely find plenty of justification for annexation, along with a few objections. In our view, the arguments will tilt heavily toward a “yes” vote in both jurisdictions. The Winthrop annexation vote six years ago showed the way for how an information campaign and election process can work. Let’s hope for a repeat this year.

HELLO?

From fistfights to gunfights

We’ve made a mess of our right to own guns.

Most American states — excluding ours — now allow residents to carry concealed weapons in public without a permit.

Thirty-eight states — including ours — also have “stand your ground” laws that no longer impose a legal “duty to retreat” from danger in public spaces.

This month our Legislature banned sales of assault weapons, the 10th to do so. Florida meanwhile became the 26th state to jettison licensing and training requirements for gun owners and allowed permitless, concealed public carry of weapons.

“Floridians across the state are going to be less safe because of this bill,” protested gun reform advocate Samantha Barrios. “Fistfights will now turn into gunfights.”

She’s on to something.

Most gun owners obviously are responsible, law-abiding citizens. Yet a growing minority escalate momentary emotion into murder. Disputes once settled by fisticuffs are so often adjudicated by gunfire that it’s become normalized. Reports of shooters shooting first — rather than as a last resort — while claiming they were frightened by their victims are commonplace. It’s become socially unsupportable. Intolerable.

But it’s what we do here. Sixyear-olds shoot their teachers, white 84-year-olds shoot black teens mistakenly knocking on the wrong door. Already in 2023 we’ve had 160 mass shootings (four or more victims).

Yet I’m guessing that Americans hop out of the womb no more innately murderous than any other human beings born on this planet. But something happens to Americans that turns

many more of us into killers than people living in other “civilized” societies. I think that’s because it’s so easy for us to become impulsedriven killers.

Most Americans — 190.5 million — live in states that still require permits for guns; 142.7 million live in states that do not, according to The Trace, which tracks federal firearms policy.

Paradoxically, the more Americans are shot to death, the more lenient our gun laws become. Eleven states or cities have relaxed gun ownership restrictions since 2021. We’re rapidly discarding sensible gun regulation.

Frightening

Why? The answer’s inescapable: Americans are frightened of one another. That’s clearly an unpromising foundation for self-rule. Why the world’s leading democracy produces so many frightened people is less clear.

The National Rifle Association and its allies claim that requiring gun permits means we’re being deprived of our constitutional rights to defend ourselves. The NRA holds such sway over Congress that it prevented the Centers for Disease Control from collecting, as a legitimate matter of public health and safety, shooting data that might support stronger gun regulation.

The NRA now has the ear of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Last year, in the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association vs. Bruen opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court discovered, heretofore hidden in the Second Amendment, a constitutional right to carry a weapon for self-defense in public — and thus to fire it if frightened

by someone while “standing your ground” in a public space, not just in your home.

The court in this murky ruling seems to be telling judges not to consider gun safety regulation goals when adjudicating permit requirement cases. If so, government efforts to reduce gun violence become legally irrelevant, trumped by a permitless right to own guns.

“We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officials some special need,” Thomas wrote in defense of this landmark ruling.

This is public good?

If Thomas is right, it’s not the first time the Constitution has been proven tragically wrong about what constitutes a public good. (Slavery, lack of voting rights for blacks and women spring to mind.)

Proponents of permitless carry argue that the more people carry guns, the less crime there will be.

Surely this court is not asking us to believe that an unlicensed, armed populace enabled to indulge in impulse shooting in the public commons constitutes a public good? Hello?

RAND Corporation and Oxford University researchers (the latter publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association), decrying the lack of comprehensive data, concluded that “stand your ground” and permitless carry somewhat raised homicide rates and showed negligible correlation to decreased crime.

Congress showed it wasn’t

serious about preventing gun atrocities after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School bloodbath that killed 26, mostly small children. Demonstrably, Congress and the Supreme Court are more concerned with the welfare of the NRA and gun makers than that of the rest of the citizenry. We’ve raised a generation of schoolchildren required to endure active shooter drills. Every day, they’ve gone to school knowing that they might at any moment be murdered in their classrooms.

How this formative experience will manifest itself at the voting booth remains to be seen. Will they be content with a Congress and court that also forces their own children to endure it?

Some surely will be. Perhaps Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noam’s 2-year-old grand-daughter, for instance. Speaking this month at an NRA confab in Illinois, Noam said her grandchildren are well supplied with firearms.

“Now Addison, who — you know — soon will need them. I want to assure you, she already has a shotgun and she already has a rifle.”

Noam didn’t say whether that rifle is Wee Tactical manufacturers’ JR-15, an actual assault rifle downsized for kids. Wee Tactical markets its kiddie assault weapon as “tamper-resistant” — not tamper-proof. It’s offered under a banner trumpeting “AMERICAN FAMILY VALUES.”

Solveig Torvik lives near Winthrop.

WHAT’S YOUR WILDFIRE READY PLAN?

Prepare your property. Help your Okanogan County community. Prepara tu propiedad. Ayuda a tu comunidad de Okanogan.

At last, we’re

There’s no place like Twisp for classic production

BY ANN MCCREARY

The show must go on ... even if it takes three years and enduring a worldwide pandemic.

In March of 2020, the Methow Valley Theater was preparing to open its spring musical production, “The Wizard of Oz.” Costumes were made, sets were designed, and rehearsals were well underway. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.

But next week, in true theater tradition, the show will indeed go on when “The Wizard of Oz” takes the stage on Friday (April 28) in the Methow Community Center, three years after it was initially intended to open.

“We were headed for an April opening in 2020,” said Nadine Van Hees, the show’s director. “We were way into rehearsal. The only thing we hadn’t done was build out the stage” before public events came to a screeching halt in March due to the pandemic.

off to see ‘The Wizard’ at Methow Valley Theater

“It was pretty devastating for a lot of people. There were actual tears,” Van Hees said. Methow Valley Theater brought the production back to life this spring and even brought back some of the same actors from the 2020 cast. The lead role of Dorothy will be performed by Melody Langin, a Liberty Bell High School senior who was cast in the role three years ago and fortunately still fits in her costume, Van Hees said.

Many of the children who were going to perform in 2020 outgrew their costumes and roles, but some have come back in other roles. “Kids who were going to be flying monkeys are now townspeople,” she said.

For Van Hees, who has been involved in acting and directing theater in the Methow Valley for 35 years, this is her second production of “The Wizard of Oz.” The first time it was staged in 1995, she played the Wicked Witch. This year, 28 years later, the witch is played by Van Hees’s daughter. Brandy Woras.

Fitting themes

“The Wizard of Oz” with its themes of home, resilience and friendship, is a fitting production to finally bring to stage after

PLANTING SOME IDEAS

the trauma and challenges of the past three years. Van Hees said the play holds greater meaning for her now.

“The heart of my ‘there’s no place like home’ philosophy is deeper than ever. It is indeed where safety and simplicity is,” she said.

“We had our hiccups here in the valley, but nothing like those in the Emerald Cities of the world. I’m sure everyone can relate to this show somehow, and that’s why it’s remained such a classic,” Van Hees said. “Not just because the characters are so lovable, and the music so catchy, but because we all know, there really is no place like home.”

This is an important production for Van Hees for another reason. After directing plays since 1996, she plans to make “The Wizard of Oz” the last musical she directs for Methow Valley Theater.

“I love it. But there comes a time when you need to let somebody else do it, and help them,” Van Hees said.

Van Hees is co-directing “The Wizard of Oz” with Maggie Wicken. “She is a kindergarten teacher at public school, and an amazing actress. But this is her first foray into direction, and it is

a big one. I give her tons of kudos. Her first, my last,” Van Hees said. The production has live music by Lynette Westendorf on piano, George Schneider on flute, Sylvie Henry on bass, and Norma Schull on violin.

In the principal roles are Melody Langin as Dorothy, Brandy

ARTS BRIEFS

‘NATURALIST’S SKETCHBOOK’

Artist Perri Howard and naturalist David Lukas are offering “The Naturalist’s Sketchbook: A Springtime Adventure Series,” a series of three field excursions combined with studio time, on May 6, 13 and 27 from noon-5 p.m. each day. Cost is $95 per class; take one or all three. Each session will include a two-hour field trip in the Methow Valley, followed by two hours of studio time at Howard’s studio on the TwispWorks campus for writing, drawing, and reflection. Register through Eventbrite; by text or phone, (509) 557-2299; or by email at perri@vmgworks.com.

TRASHION SHOW TICKETS

General admission tickets are now available online for the June 3 Trashion Show presented by The Confluence: Art in Twisp. Tickets can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6002992.

Woras as the Wicked Witch, Ted Lafferty as The Lion, Lyndsay Frady as The Scarecrow, and Austin Lott as The Tinman. The cast includes 28 young actors, ages 4 to 18.

The play’s sets are the work of Mark Tesch, Seth Holbrook and Marti Darling, who Van

Visit www.confluencegallery. org/events/trashion-show for more information.

General admission ticket prices $20. Ages 21 and over only. The Trashion Show is returning after a three-year absence related to COVID. It will be at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp. Emceed by former executive director of The Merc Playhouse Missy Smith, the show opens for a VIP reception at 5 p.m., followed by a general admission opening at 6 p.m. The design showcase itself begins at 7 p.m.

‘MAMMA MIA!” IN MAY

The Liberty Bell Drama Company will present the musical “Mamma Mia!” at The Merc Playhouse in Twisp on May 12, May 18, May 19 and May 20 at 7 p.m., and May 21 at 2 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Tickets can be reserved online starting April 14 at http://mercplayhouse.org. Cost is $15 for adults and $5 for students. Limited tickets will be available at the door.

Methow Valley School District students and staff as well as families of the cast and crew can obtain free tickets at the door but will have to pay the ticket price to reserve in advance.

ART WALK IS COMING

The annual Twisp Spring Art Walk, this year sponsored by the Twisp Chamber of Commerce, will be on May 20 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Glover Street will be closed between Second and Third avenue. Email twispwashington@ gmail.com or visit https:// twispwa.com/events/ if you are interested in participating as a vendor or business.

R&B FESTIVAL TICKETS

Tickets are now on sale for the annual Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival, scheduled for July 21-23 at the Blues Ranch west of Winthrop. This year’s lineup is scheduled to include Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, North Mississippi Allstars, Ruthie Foster, Marc Broussard, Judith Hill, Eddie 9V, Rick Estrin & the

Hees called “behind-the-scenes heroes.” Shows are April 28, 29, 30 and May 4, 5, 6, and 7. Show times are at 6:30 p.m. except for Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on April 30 and May 7. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under.

Slim & the Taildraggers, Yates McKendree, Stephanie Anne Johnson, Tevis Hodge Jr. and the Methow Juke Joint Allstars, a collaboration to musicians. There will also be local food and craft booths, and on-site camping.

New this year: the Friday night kick-off show will be on the Main Stage with Too Slim & the Taildraggers and Jackie Venson, concluding with an AllStar show in the Big Top Beer Garden featuring Eddie 9V and the Methow Juke Joint Allstars. Visit https://winthropbluesfestival.com for complete information.

The information below was provided by Methow Music Monthly (MethowMusicMonthly@gmail.com) and other sources.

• Wednesdays, line dancing and more with Debbie Bair at Twisp River Tap House, 6-8:30 p.m. $10.

• Wednesdays, Zumba 101 with Tani at Winthrop Physical Therapy and Fitness, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Free to gym members; drop-in rates available. For information, email tanierickson@comcast.net.

• Thursdays, Zumba with Brandi at Methow Valley Community Center gym, 5:30-6:20 p.m. By donation. April through June, 50% of all donations will go to Friends of the Pool.

• Every other Friday (April 28), Ecstatic Dance at Methow Valley Community Center, Wellspring Room, $10.

• Fridays, open mic jam with Gregg Hardy at Twisp River Tap House, 6:30 p.m.-closing. No cover.

• Fridays, Soleil Kelley, Loren Boley and Isaac Shaw and friends, at Meza restaurant, Winthrop, 6-8 p.m. No cover.

• Friday, April 28, singer/ songwriter James Coates blends rock, soul, country and R&B, Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop, 6-9 p.m. No cover.

• Saturday, April 29, DJ dance party with DJ Bullfrog at Twisp River tap House, 8 p.m.close. no cover.

• Sunday April 30, classical

Photo courtesy of Methow Valley Theater

All the familiar characters will bring “The Wizard of Oz” to life in a Methow Valley Theater production that opens on Friday.

Photo by Don Nelson

Dwight Filer, chairman of the Twisp Tree Board, talked about the board’s work in keeping Twisp’s urban forest healthy at the annual Arbor Day celebration on April 15 in the Twisp Commons Park. Attendees were able to take home a variety of free trees.

Methow Valley News

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Sports & Recreation

Liberty Bell goes 3 for 4 in busy baseball week

BY RICK LEWIS

Liberty Bell High School baseball

coach David Aspholm had been lamenting two phases of his team’s development this year: offense and defense.

Last week the offense showed up. After scoring a total of four runs in a three-game series with state 2B No. 2-ranked Brewster a week earlier, the Mountain Lions posted wins of 17-12 on Tuesday (April 18) at Okanogan and 9-2 over the Bulldogs at home Saturday (April 22), inserting a 12-1 no-hitter win over Bridgeport on Thursday (April 20). The only scar on the week was a pitchers’ duel opening loss to Okanogan in Saturday’s double header, by 5-4.

Several Mountain Lion starters took the night off against Bridgeport, or played in different roles as Liberty Bell defeated the Mustangs, 12-1. Grady Thrasher, Jake Grady and Greyden Paz combined for a no-hitter against the Mustangs, Paz earning the win in relief as the pitcher of record. Bridgeport tagged starter Thrasher with their only unearned run in the first inning. After that, it was lights out for the Mustangs. Past the second inning, only one Mustang reached first, that on a full-count walk in the fourth inning.

Offensively, the Mountain Lions put up three runs in each of the first two innings. A six-spot in the third inning put the game out of reach, highlighted by a Lucien Paz inside-the-park home run, and Damon Alumbaugh’s ensuing triple.

In the double-header opener on Saturday, winning pitcher Carson Boesel threw six innings, scattering six Liberty Bell hits and striking out seven as the Bulldogs outlasted Liberty Bell, 5-4. Boesel also helped himself with a solo home run, a moon shot in the fourth inning that looked like it might land in the pasture of the Crown S Ranch, across Twin Lakes Road from the Liberty Bell campus.

Mountain Lion starter Lucien Paz had kept the Bulldog bats off balance, blending a nasty breaking pitch with a zippy fastball for the first three innings. Liberty Bell tagged Boesel with three runs in the third inning. Boesel led off the fourth with his blast to left field and the Bulldogs batted around the order. They sent 10 men to the plate, scoring four runs on five hits and one Mountain Lion error. Lucien Paz reached base on a single in the fifth inning, advanced to third on an error in the outfield, then scored on a single by Alumbaugh to close out the scoring.

Damon Alumbaugh picked up the win in the second game on Saturday, giving up several long fly balls but keeping them in the park as the speedy Mountain Lion outfield tracked down most everything hit their direction. The Liberty Bell sophomore limited Okanogan to only three hits in his five innings of work.

“Damon kept them off balance with a ton of breaking pitches, then would come home with a fastball up in the zone that they just couldn’t react to very well,” said volunteer coach Bret Alumbaugh. “He was on a pitch count because we need him to throw on Tuesday versus Tonasket,” coach Alumbaugh explained of his son’s exit in the fifth inning.

George Chavez-Hernandez

jans at Liberty Bell. Like the first game, the verdict wasn’t settled in the regulation 80 playing minutes.

They have one more home appearance on Tuesday (May 2), a non-league double-header with the Cle Elum Warriors. First pitch for game one will be at 3 p.m.

Redemption for soccer

Last week’s edition was all about how close the Mountain Lion lads have been playing with some solid league competition lately. What a difference a week makes. Liberty Bell is riding a stretch in which they have won three out of four matches, the one loss in a game with Okanogan that was, essentially, dominated by the hungry Lions.

“We’ve learned how to play with the teams that have been beating us,” said coach Mark Crum. “The boys are gaining confidence and now know that they can compete with anybody.”

They seem to have turned the tide with solid wins against Pateros, 5-1, and Oroville, 6-1, and returning the favor at Manson on Saturday, earning a hardfought 2-1 victory over the Trojans.

“We got hit with two handball calls late in the game Saturday with Okanogan,” said Crum. Because those calls came on players inside the goal box, they resulted in close-up penalty kicks, the Bulldogs scoring both late-game goals to come from behind to win the match at Mountain Lion stadium.

“We’ve been so close, but now it’s kinda turning for us,” said Crum in a sideline conversation late in the Oroville game as his charges led in the final two minutes 6-1, the eventual final score.

Bradyn Schmekel and Finn Simmons provided all the scoring punch for the resurgent Mountain Lions as they dominated the Pateros Billygoats last Tuesday (April 18) at Mountain Lion Stadium. Schmekel hit for two goals and Simmons earned the hat trick of three goals in the match. The Mountain Lions were able to provide some good game experience time for younger players. Crum singled out Oliver Peplow-Shaw and Ely Talbert for solid play and getting some good quality shots off at the Billygoat net.

Crum described the victory at Manson as a “redemption win,” the Mountain Lions bouncing back from a disappointing loss in the second overtime period two weeks ago to the Tro -

With the double-header split, the Mountain Lions took two of three in the season series with Okanogan and moved a game ahead into 4th place in the CW2B League standings headed into the last week of the regular season. They played Tonasket Tuesday afternoon (April 25) in the first of a threegame series that will take them north for a double-header with the Tigers on Saturday. Winning that series could prove instrumental in vaulting the Lions over the Tigers into 3rd place headed into districts in two weeks.

With the game tied at 1-1 when the game clock ran out, the two teams battled through two scoreless five-minute overtimes forcing the contest into a shootout. Each team gets five shots, one offensive player against the opposing goaltender. Each of the Mountain Lion attackers, Finn Simmons, Brodi Barber, Baker Smith and Jayden Hammer scored in the shootout, including freshman Aidan Sands with the game winner. Liberty Bell freshman net-minder Alex Ramsey-George stopped one Manson attempt to seal the victory. Hammer scored the one goal in regulation for the Mountain Lions.

It was way back, it seems, on March 23 when the Mountain Lions traveled to Okanogan to face the powerful Bulldogs, a game they lost by a score of 7-0. They had very few shots on goal as Okanogan peppered the Liberty Bell net with shots aplenty. Now that game serves as a measure of just how far the local boys have come.

Last Saturday at Liberty Bell, that measuring stick was reduced significantly as the Mountain Lions controlled the ball and the game for about 75 of the 80 minutes of game time. Riding a single goal by forward Finn Simmons, and shutout defense by goaltender Alex Ramsey-George, the Liberty Bell lads appeared headed for the upset win over the Bulldogs and an easily defined turning point for this young team.

While youth can be invigorating and energetic, it can also be a source of mistakes that come from hustle and inexperienced overachievement, which may have been the case on Saturday. Into the last couple of minutes, Okanogan turned up the heat on the Mountain Lion defense and Ramsey-George, pressing forward into the Lion zone, looking to get the ball into the net. Okanogan couldn’t make it happen during live action, but instead benefited from two hand ball calls from inside the goal box, setting up two successful penalty kicks from very short range, and clinching the late comeback win, 2-1.

“Yeah, that was definitely disappointing to not come away with that win. But it was a very valuable experience,” said Crum, “and it will help us in the playoffs, for sure.”

There are three more chances to catch Mountain Lion soccer at home this season as they close out the regular schedule with matches this Thursday (April 27) at 4:30 p.m. versus Tonasket in a huge game with district implications.

Currently, the Mountain Lions sit in 6th place, one game behind Tonasket and only two games out of 4th-place Manson. On Saturday they take on 1st-place Brewster at 11 a.m. and close it out with Senior Day on Tuesday, May 2, when 2nd-place Bridgeport comes to Liberty Bell, kickoff at 4:30 p.m.

Edwards goes long in javelin

Liberty Bell junior javelin hurler Fischer Edwards headlined the North Central Washington Small School Invite at Cascade High School with a throw of 161 feet, 8 inches to claim 1st place in the meet and grab the top spot in the state 2B rankings, according to Athletic.net.

Other notable performances at that meet included personal records (PR) set by Holden Riggs in the 100-meter dash,

Mitchell and Tristan Hover in the 800M, and Damien Spears in the discus. Holden Riggs and Omar Ortega also set PRs in the javelin at Cascade. Dexter Delaney (1st in the 1,600M, 3rd in the 800M) and Will Halpin (1st in the 3,200M) also sparkled. Isaiah Stoothoff also set a PR in the javelin, placing 3rd at the meet, about 20 feet behind his teammate Edwards.

On the girls’ side of the ledger, freshman Audrey Roman set a PR in the 100M, placing 7th overall. Nella Belcher, Kady Hammer and Nina Kominak also gave personal best performances in the 100M. Sandra Hernandez claimed the top spot in the 400M with a PR (1:05.5); Marit Nelson (PR 5:49.95) and Leki Albright ran 1-2, respectively in the 1,600M. Savannah Bird, Kassie Bird and Valeria Huiton all set marks in the shot put; Hammer and Lilly Belcher just missed the shot put top 10 at 11th and 12th places, respectively. Lucy Riggs placed 9th in the discus, setting a personal best of 56 feet, 9 inches. Rio Lott and Sandra Hernandez placed 4th and 5th in the javelin. Liberty Bell took 2nd place in both the 4x200M and 4x400M relays for girls to close out the meet for the Mountain Lions.

A rather cold and breezy Saturday greeted the Mountain Lions as they disembarked the bus at Quincy High School on Saturday for the CLA Quincy Invitational Track and Field Meet. After an early season of personal marks for many Mountain Lion athletes, Saturday was a day to plan, adjust and survive the elements, compete and not necessarily go after records.

Twenty-six schools from the 1B, 2B, 1A and 2A Classes participated, all from Central Washington and the Columbia Basin, providing a peek into where athletes stand at the approximate midpoint of the 2023 season.

Top-10 Mountain Lion finishers on the girls’ side included Sandra Hernandez with 9th in the 400M, Marit Nelson 6th in the 800M and 4th in the 1,600M, and Leki Albright 2nd in the 3,200M.

Will Halpin won the 1,600M and Dexter Delaney was top runner in the 3,200M to lead the boys in Quincy. Aksel Thomson placed 10th in the 800M and Edwards, fighting the wind and nursing a bit of a muscle pull, was 5th in the javelin.

The Liberty Bell Invitational was held Tuesday afternoon at Liberty Bell High School. Look for results and full coverage in next week’s paper.

Lions outlast Oroville

Liberty Bell entertained Oroville on Tuesday (April 18) for a resched-

SPORTS BRIEFS

uled tennis match with the Hornets, postponed earlier because of adverse weather. The results were good for the Mountain Lion netters, taking three of five boys’ matches and winning all five girls’ varsity matches. Boys’ No. 1 pair Connor Herlihy and Gannett Fisher remained undefeated as they won a proset match, 8-2. Levin Lott and Gavin Blank also won their match in a more traditional set format, 6-1, 6-0. In singles, No. 3 Mountain Lion Sunny Rickabaugh defeated Michael Fullmer while EZ Kirk and Angel Arellano both lost tough three-setters. Arrellano lost 7-6, 2-6, 3-6 to Jasper Burwell in the No. 1 match; Kirk lost to David Johnson 2-6, 6-3, 6-7.

On the girls’ courts, Amelia Evans won the No. 1 singles match over Kayla Clark, 7-5, 6-4. Claudia Gomez and Kara McMillan recorded forfeited wins and Oroville had no doubles teams.

Entiat was in town on Monday afternoon (April 24) to take on the Mountain Lions with a full slate of matches. The headline match featuring Entiat’s No. 1 pair taking on undefeated Herlihy and Fisher saw the Tiger pair come out on top, 6-4, 6-3. Other results from Monday were not available by press deadline.

With four matches yet to play before the start of the post season, Liberty Bell makes a trip to Soap Lake on Friday (April 28), then travels to Omak on Monday (May 1). They close out the season with two home matches, facing Pateros on Wednesday, May 3, then Tonasket comes in on Thursday, May 4, for Senior Recognition Day. The three home matches open at 4 p.m. with varsity singles and doubles, followed by the JV matches.

League win for softball

Liberty Bell entertained the Bridgeport Fillies on Thursday, earning their second league win of 2023 with a 22-21 football-like score. Saturday was a travel day to Okanogan to take on the state 2B No. 1 ranked Bulldogs in a doubleheader. Okanogan bested the Liberty Bell girls by scores of 16-1 and 11-1.

With two weeks to go, the Mountain Lions find themselves knotted with Tonasket for the 6th and final spot into districts, with three of their last four league games against the Tigers. They played game one on Tuesday at Liberty Bell. Wednesday (April 26) they travel to Oroville and on Saturday (April 29) to Tonasket for a critical double-header with the Tigers. Liberty Bell closes the regular season next Tuesday (May 2) with a nonleague doubleheader versus the Cle Elum

WINTHROP TRAILHEAD PARKRUN

The Winthrop Trail parkrun — a free, weekly, timed 5-kilometer run/jog/ walk — takes place at 9 a.m. on Saturdays starting from the Methow Trails parking on Horizon Flat Road. Open to all ages and all abilities. Leashed dogs welcome. Register at http://parkrun.us/register and bring along your personal barcode. For information, email winthroptrailhead@parkrun.com or visit http:// parkrun.us/winthroptrailhead.

PASAYTEN TRAIL WORK PROJECT

Back Country Horsemen of Washington (BCHW) has scheduled its Pasayten Wilderness Project kick-off event for June 10, from 1-5 p.m. at the Robinson Creek Trailhead.

Anyone who loves the Pasayten Wilderness or would like to learn more about it, and is willing to do some trail work, is invited.

Dinner will be at 3 p.m. BCHW will supply the main dish (brisket, hamburgers and hotdogs) and beverages, please feel free to bring sides or dessert.

Visit www.bchw.org/pasayten_wilderness_project.php for information. RSVP by April 30.

in the 400M, Aksel Thomson, Kyler

Warriors, first pitch at 3 p.m.

Photo by Josh Thomson Liberty Bell’s Arlen Crum advanced the ball against Okanogan last Saturday in the Mountain Lions’ 2-1 loss.

Photo by Rick Lewis Liberty Bell’s Claudia Gomez readied a forehand return in Tuesday’s home match against Entiat.

Photo by Erik Brooks Tristan Hover competed in the 1,600-meter run for the Mountain Lions at the CLA Quincy Invitational last weekend.

you to take on additional tasks as needed. (The Editor needs a vacation.) You need to demonstrate applicable experience through clippings or links to your work. You could be a recent college grad with potential, or a veteran who wants to keep doing great work at a newspaper where it’s appreciated. You can start quickly and accelerate. As good as you are, we can help you get better. We are a small paper with big ambitions and accomplishments to match, including regional and national awards. Competitive salary, and a health care subsidy is available. Hiring bonus if you make it through a probationary period and it looks like you’re committed. Speaking of that, you will need to live here. If that sounds like a good situation for you and us, please be in touch. Check us out at https:// www.methowvalleynews.com and our Facebook page. Make a case for yourself by emailing editor@methowvalleynews. com with a cover letter, resume and work samples. References would be helpful. No calls, please.

CASCADE CONCRETE IS searching for a Shop Foreman to manage our fleet of heavy equipment Diesel mechanic and experience with welding/fabrication preferred Pay DOE, includes health/ vision/dental insurance after 90 days and simple IRA match Call 509-996-2435 for more information!

CONCRETE IS hiring! Join our team, we currently have equipment operator and CDL driver positions open Call us for

information

depending on experience. The catch is that you have to come with actual experience cooking in a restaurant kitchen, you have lots of grace under pressure (coz

METHOW CYCLE & SPORT is seeking to add new team members. Requires a love for cycling, skiing and/or SUPing along with a motivation to learn new information and skills. Both positions require great customer service and ability to work as a team in a fast-paced environment. PT and/or FT, benefits included.

Position #1 Sales and Admin: experience preferred; Position #2 Service Technician: 2 yrs experience required. Email cover letter and resume to juliem@methowcyclesport. com. No phone calls please.

METHOW VALLEY LUMBER has immediate openings for the following Positions – SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE, full time, and CUSTOMER SERVICE YARD ATTENDANT/FORKLIFT OPERATOR, full time Must have valid driver’s license Please stop by for an application

METHOW VALLEY SCHOOL

District is accepting applications for the following positions: Custodian, Paraeducator Visit the district website at http://methow org/ district/employment/ to view full job descriptions and to submit an online application Positions are open until filled

ARE YOU LOOKING for work? Do you want to be able to listen to YOUR music all day with ear pods on and not get in trouble? Like free food? Like rockin’ in soap and water? Come work at Three Fingered Jack’s and be the ultimate hero as a DISHWASHER washing dishes and sh*t. We’ve got healthcare, bonuses, full-on weirdos to work with, and a couple of sketchy (but nice) bosses. Part-time, $1618/hour (and tips) depending on experience. Come in to talk with us and fill out an application.

6 POINT SALOON

We are in need of an experienced cook Pay up to $25 per hour for the right person We are also hiring servers/bartenders If you are interested please call Mark @ 206-409-0299

PREP COOKS! OR wanna be Prep Cooks!! WE OFFER: training, benefits, air conditioning in the kitchen, laughs, and $17-19/hour (+ tips) depending on experience. YOU OFFER: smarts, dependability, sense of humor, and no whining. Three Fingered Jack’s is ready to talk with you, but you’ve gotta come by for an application.

TWISPWORKS IS SEARCHING

for a Communications Officer to tell the story of our campus, programs, and impact to a broad audience through a variety of channels to inspire and deepen interest, understanding, and support of TwispWorks’ mission The Communications Officer will be an excellent writer and will have strong graphic and strategic communications skills Interested? Read the full job description and learn how to apply at https://www twispworks org/ about/jobs/

JOIN OUR TEAM for the summer at Room One as our Food Access Ambassador Check out more details about the position at www roomone org under “About/ Employment ” This is a contracted position, 5-6 hrs a week and we offer $23/hour Applications accepted through May 1st with anticipated start date mid-May for training Position will be for Saturdays at the Methow Valley Farmers Market Questions or curiosity? Contact: Lori Valentine lori@roomone org or Stephanie Foster stephanie@ roomone org

TWISP RIVER TAP

House- Now hiring kitchen food service execution & prep positions

Competitive pay based on experience & hiring bonus Please see full details & application https://twisprivertaphouse com/employment

IF MAKING DRINKS is what you wanna do, we need you to do your BARTENDER thang at Three Fingered Jack’s Saloon! Do you need to know there are different types of whiskey? Helpful, but not a showstopper. You MUST have Experience behind the bar and DEALING with crowds of thirsty customers. We have full or part time gigs so come tell us what you can do for $15.74/hour PLUS TIPS! We’ll ask you for a demo of your skills and you’ll dazzle us with your superpowers. Call to make an appointment – 996-2411.

NORTH VALLEY LUMBER is hiring! We’re looking for a career-minded individual to join our team as a Yard Assistant We’re hoping for someone to join our team to aid in helping out with customer service in the yard, helping to create customer orders for delivery, and, potentially, going out on deliveries

One can expect:

• Fun, professional environment that values your development and skills

• Consistent year-round employment w/ health and retirement benefits package

• On-the-job training for those wanting/needing to gain skills and experience

• Weekdays only and negotiable hours

Please reach out to Justin Mealey: justin@northvalleylumber com or 509-996-2264 Or stop by to inquire in store: 58 Horizon Flats Road in Winthrop COME JOIN OUR Team! Looking for an individual that enjoys working as a team to ensure guest cabins are clean and comfortable Stop by River’s Edge Resort or email heidi@riversedgewinthrop com Look forward to meeting you Flexible scheduling, part-time, Start $18/hour + tips

ARE YOU PASSIONATE about arts in the rural west? Do you have deep nonprofit experience? At Methow Arts Alliance, we believe the arts play an essential role in building healthy and vibrant communities in North Central Washington. That’s why we’re excited to announce we are hiring for an Executive Director to lead our organization into its fourth decade of operation. Our dream candidate understands that a well-run nonprofit organization makes it possible for Methow Arts to meet our mission: “Enriching the lives of people in Okanogan County by making the arts an integral and dynamic part of public school education, economic vitality, and community.” The ideal person for this job has a great personality for managing people, can write the wheels off of a grant application and newsletter alike, pays keen attention to administrative processes and fund development, is determined to collaborate across all sorts of boundaries, and is adamant that art education be in our schools. They also must have experience designing and operating non-profit systems and bring an ethos that embodies transparency and collaboration. Oh yeah, we also want someone who relishes in creative flair, which can be fun, funky, and sometimes even edgy… because the arts are meant to push boundaries and challenge perceptions. This position is perfectly poised to design and build the sound platform from which our artistic programs will flourish. Does this sound like you and the opportunity you are looking for? Then we’d love to meet you. For full position description and application instructions please email hiring.methowarts@gmail.com.

RECYCLE

Help reduce waste and preserve our natual resources

LITTLE STAR SCHOOL is hiring for the 2023-24 school year! We are looking for joyful, nurturing, and collaborative candidates to join our team for Lead Infant Teacher & Lead Toddler Teacher (full time), and a Lead Early Childhood

Afternoon Teacher and assistant teachers at all levels (part time) $16-$21/hour DOE with retirement match, paid time off, health stipend, flexible daytime hours, and 50% tuition discount for childcare at Little Star Visit https://www littlestarschool org/job-opportunities for detailed job descriptions Join us and help make a difference in the lives of children!

MCHUGH’S EXCAVATING INC is hiring a laborer Pay starts at $20$22 an hour Experience running equipment a plus but not required Paid holidays (during the working season), winters off, simple IRA employer match available Email info@ McHughsExcavatingInc com or call (509) 997-6394 for more information and/or to set up an interview

License # MCHUGHEIO36KL FACILITIES MAINTENANCE/CUSTODIAN – Full Time Organization: Okanogan County Transit Authority (TranGO) TranGO IS HIRING A FACILITIES MAINTENANCE/CUSTODIAN; Fulltime (36+ hours per week), schedule may

to talk (9962411), then come in to check us out.

Tex Prewitt embarks on once-in-a-lifetime Honor Flight to D.C.

Twisp resident joined by other veterans in visit

BY MARCY STAMPER

It was genuinely the honor of a lifetime when Tex Prewitt joined about 100 other veterans and a dozen volunteers on an Honor Flight Network trip to visit memorials and monuments in Washington, D.C., this month.

Prewitt, a lifetime resident of Twisp who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam as a helicopter door gunner in 1967 and ’68, was captivated by the depth of history he experienced, and thrilled by the gracious treatment all the vets received.

The visit was both exciting and moving. On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Prewitt found the names of people he’d known in Twisp and Okanogan County more than half a century ago.

Nationwide group

The Honor Flight Network is a national nonprofit with hubs around the country. Its trips give veterans the opportunity to share with comrades, remember the fallen, and trade stories and experiences with other veterans. The veterans always travel free of charge, covered by donations.

Prewitt was born and raised in Twisp, and he never left. “I was too broke to leave,” he said. Today, he lives with his sister, Ina Marie Remsberg. His brother Robert also lives in the valley, and his older brother Del lives in western Washington. Veterans on the trip had served in World War II, the Korean War and in Vietnam. In D.C., they visited memorials to the nation’s conflicts, the Washington and Lincoln monuments, the White House, and Arlington Cemetery. The emphasis was on history, Prewitt said. “We never talked much about war. We were more enthused about the memorials and history,” he said.

Veterans sign up for the Honor Flight and may have to wait a few years before a spot opens up.

Prewitt’s son joined the trip as a volunteer, assisting several vets from the area. They traveled through Inland Northwest Honor Flight, which is based in Spokane.

On their return to the Spokane airport, the group was welcomed by hundreds of people and a marching band, Prewitt said.

The trip included a hotel stay, meals, and transportation in Washington, D.C. Prewitt’s group spent just one night in D.C., but some groups stay for two nights.

Prewitt said he was lucky that his deployment in Vietnam ended when it did, because the arsenal and attacks became much more destructive after that.

It was Prewitt’s first trip to the other Washington. Prewitt, who’s used to the population and low-key rhythm of the valley, said he’d never been attracted to visiting a huge city, but he had nothing but enthusiasm for the

Woodcutting permits available May 1 for national forest

Starting May 1, woodcutters will be able to obtain a free permit to cut firewood on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service said in a press release. Firewood can be used for cutting, manufacturing, or other processing, but not for resale.

“This is the second year we have participated in this free permit program which benefits people who rely on firewood as their primary heat source. It not only benefits local woodcutters, but also allows us to dispose of material that otherwise would have a cost to burn or remove,” said Forest Supervisor Kristin Bail. Woodcutters need to obtain a free permit, firewood tags, map, and also have a copy of the regulations on hand when cutting and transporting firewood, according to release. Permits and tags will be available at Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Ranger District offices. Permits will also be available at local vendors in the Methow Valley; vendors will charge a $2 administrative fee per permit. The permits are valid through Dec. 31.

permits.

WOODCUTTING PERMIT VENDORS

• Hank’s Harvest Foods, Twisp

• Hanks Mini Market, Twisp

• Pardner’s Mini Market, Winthrop

All will charge a $2 administrative fee for the permits.

People will need to provide their driver’s license to obtain a permit and the permit holder must be present during firewood gathering. Free personal use firewood collection is allowed in all designated areas authorized for firewood collection on the forest which are marked on the woodcutting map, which will be provided when firewood tags are distributed. Generally, woodcutters may cut wood lying on the forest floor and standing dead trees, except wildlife habitat trees. Western larch, also known as tamarack, drops its needles and may look dead, but isn’t. No woodcutting is allowed in Congressionally designated Wilderness areas.

OCEC BOARD ELECTIONS

Two incumbent Okanogan Electric Cooperative (OCEC) board members were re-elected, and new member elected, at the co-op’s 84th annual meeting on April 17 in the Winthrop Barn. Running unopposed for re-election to the seven-member board were incumbents Dale Sekijima and Travis Thornton, and Alaina Burtenshaw, who was nominated by the board to fill the seat being vacated by Sara Carlberg, who will not seek re-election. OCEC General Manager Greg Mendonca said the vote by co-op members was a follows: Sekijima, 485 votes; Thornton, 483 votes; Burtenshaw, 474 votes; write-in candidates, 6 votes.

CANDIDATE AND CAMPAIGN TRAINING

MV Ranger District planning prescribed burns near Mazama

The Methow Valley Ranger District planned to conduct planned burns near Mazama for several days this week (starting Tuesday, April 25, through Thursday, April 28) in what is called the Goat Creek Underburn unit, which includes about 850 acres. Burning will depend on weather conditions, according to a press release from the U.S. Forest Service. Crews will use a variety of methods including helicopters and hand lighting. See this link to locate the unit on an online interactive map: https://usfs.maps.arcgis. com/apps/webappviewer/index. html?id=021ff3371f584a54beb-

15cd481a8fbb5. The ranger district will have signboard and public information officer at the Mazama Store to answer questions. The release said that the following temporary closures would be in affect during the burning: the Matrix Trail; the Goat Creek Sno-Park; Goat Creek Road (Forest Road 52); West Creek Fawn Road (Forest Road 100). The Goat Creek Underburn unit lies on National Forest land between West Fawn Creek and Goat Creek. There are 844 acres remaining out of a project total of 1,078 acres, the Forest Service said.

“While we aim for burning with good ventilation conditions, we expect some smoke to settle in the evenings with normal night-time cooling patterns, and then to start lifting and clearing out the next morning as the day warms up,” the Forest Service said in the press release. “Following ignition, fire-weakened trees may fall on trails and roads. Regular patrols are scheduled (after ignition) to ensure the burn is contained and to keep roads clear of fallen debris.”

For more information, call the Methow Valley Ranger Station at (509) 996-4000.

911 blotter

Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office

• On April 16 at 10:38 a.m., a civil dispute was reported at a location on South Fork Gold Creek Road, Carlton.

• On April 16 at 9:19 p.m., a noise complaint was called in from a location on South Fork Gold Creek Road, Carlton.

• On April 17 at 10:37 a.m., a civil dispute was reported at a location on South Fork Gold Creek Road, Carlton, over the removal of an abandoned vehicle from the caller’s property.

• On April 17 at 12:50 p.m., caller at a location on Rader Road, Winthrop, reported that they were being harassed by a couple of people who were not supposed to be on the property.

• On April 17 at 6:26 p.m., a burglary was reported at a location on Old Twisp Highway.

Twisp Police Department

• On April 17 at 1:49 p.m., a wildland fire was reported at Ainsworth Avenue and North Methow Valley Highway.

METHOW HOUSE WATCH ACCREDITATION

• On April 17 at 11:18 a.m., caller on Twisp Road reported seeing a suspicious looking person hold an infant and acting strangely.

• On April 17 at 3:49 p.m., caller on Surface Lane reported that unwanted person invited themselves into the residence.

For more information, email elana@ ruralpeoplesvoices.org.

Methow House Watch has earned accreditation from the National Home Watch Association for the seventh year. President and CEO Derek Van Marter has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington and a BS in public affairs from Indiana University. He spent nearly 20 years as an impartial facilitator of environmental conflict resolution, successfully negotiating agreements in national, regional, state and local issues.

Methow House Watch was established in 1995. Van Marter bought the Methow Valley Home Watch business in 2016 from the founders. Over the last six years he has than doubled its capacity. For more information, visit www.methowhousewatch.com.

Rural People’s Voice, a Winthrop-based nonprofit that works to advance policies, candidates and local actions that “champion working people’s issues” by identifying and assisting potential political leaders, is offering its first rural candidate and campaign team training on May 6 in Omak and on May 7 in Wenatchee, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. each day. The sessions are free and are intended for people planning to run this year or are interested in running sometime in the future. as well as for campaign volunteers.

experience. He urged other veterans to sign up with Honor Flight. Information about the organization is at www.honorflight. org or info@honorflight.org. The local hub, Inland Northwest Honor Flight, has a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ INWHF.

Photo courtesy of Vanette Leighty Twisp resident Tex Prewitt and other veterans were welcomed back at the Spokane airport on their return from an Honor Flight Network trip to Washington, D.C.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service Forest Service lands will be open to free, personal use firewood cutting

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

CHIPPING AND VEGETATION DRIVE

The Okanogan Conservation District, Clean Air Methow, Resilient Methow, Town of Twisp, Fire Adapted Methow Valley, and Okanogan Solid Waste are sponsoring a free chipping and vegetation drive for all valley residents on Friday (April 28), from 10 a.m-3 p.m. at the Twisp Transfer Station. The drive will again be offered on Wednesday, May 3, and Friday, May 5, also from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each day.

Allowed are all natural vegetation; branches and woody debris up to 4 inches in diameter and 3 feet in length; pine needles and cones, weeds, leaves and grass clippings, and plant trimmings. Not allowed are garbage of any kind, lumber or treated wood, homegrown fruit, construction debris or plastics. For information, email annam@mvcitizens.org.

CURBSIDE CHIPPING IN TWISP

The Town of Twisp will again offer free curbside chipping next Monday and Tuesday (May 1 and 2), for town residents only.

Woody materials only, including branches no shorter than 2 feet and no larger than 6 inches in diameter. More than one pile is OK. No weeds, sod, roots, pine needles, leaves, waste, paper, garbage, plastic, metal, lumber or treated wood, please. Cut ends should be in the same direction, facing the street. Free chips will be available at Twisp Town Park after 2 p.m. on Monday. For information, call (509) 997-1311.

PLANTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The Methow Conservancy’s First Tuesday (May 2) presentation next month will be “How Plants are Coping with Climate Change,” starting at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Plant ecologist Dr. Nathalie Chardon will talk about the results of her recent field work in the North Cascades and the effort to understand how plant communities might respond to climate change. Zoom registration is available at https://methowconservancy.org/news/category/events.

For information about all events, email bridger@methowconservancy.org.

NATIVE PLANTS TALK

Methow At Home offers a free discussion by Methow Natives owner Rob Crandall, “Let’s Talk About Native Plants and Their Implications,” on Tuesday, May 2, from 4-5 p.m. at the

SENIOR NEWS

The Thrift Store hours will be changing in May. Beginning Monday, May 1, our hours will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Also, we will be open on Saturdays beginning May 6. Saturday hours will be 9 a.m.-noon.

Mark your calendars! Our first Western Sale will be held on Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m.-noon. We will have boots, hats and lots of clothing for the family. The second sale will be held on May 27. The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program will be available again this year. The application process is similar to previous years and requires filling out an application that confirms eligibility requirements. There will be a flyer with information in the dining room. More

Methow Valley Interpretive Center in Twisp. Register at methowathome.org.

SWING DANCE LESSONS

Methow At Home hosts a four-session series of swing dance lessons, with Jeff and Tracie Powney, starting Friday, May 5, and continuing on May 12, 19 and 26. The lessons will be at the Twisp Valley Grange from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Cost for members is $20 for all the classes; $40 for nonmembers. Register at methowathome.org.

BOOKKEEPING CLASS

TwispWorks hosts a free small business workshop, “Bookkeeping 101,” on Thursday, May 4, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the YourSpace building, with Talitha Parsons of Gingersnap Bookkeeping. Register at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6002280. To submit a question, email plaw@twispworks.org.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

TwispWorks sponsors a social event for women business owners, entrepreneurs, and any women interested in starting a business on Sunday, May 7, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Meza restaurant in Winthrop. There will be a panel presentation about hiring, human resources, and employer best practices, after which there will be additional time for questions and further networking. RSVP for the free event at plaw@twispworks.org.

BE TRIVIAL

• Test your trivia memory on Thursdays with Ryan D at Twisp River Tap House, from 6-9 p.m. Entry fee is $5, come solo or join a team.

• Methow At Home hosts pub-style team trivia at the Winthrop home of Nancy Aadland, on Wednesday, May 3, from 3-5 p.m. Register at methowathome.org.

HEALING AND SPIRIT TALK

Peruvian healer Enzo M. Trosso Toranzo will give a spirit talk on curing diseases through natural herbs and spiritual awareness on May 9 at Wellspring, Room 7 in the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp, starting at 6 p.m. Suggested donation is $10. Toranzo has 29 years of herbal practice and offers a variety of consultations. For information, contact Randy S. Levine at (509) 997-7171.

detailed information to follow.

Colleen Ramiskey

LUNCH MENU

FRIDAY, APRIL 28: Tuna noodle casserole, peas, garden salad, Oregon berries, angel food cake.

MONDAY, MAY 1: Salmon with dill sauce, basil and garlic pasta, Venetian blend vegetables, spinach salad, citrus salad, dessert.

THURSDAY, MAY 4: Orange-glazed chicken, steamed rice, Asian vegetables, coleslaw, chilled pineapple, egg roll, dessert.

FRIDAY, MAY 5: Beef taco pie, Southwest salad, pears, dessert. Call (509) 997-7722 to reserve meals 24 hours in advance. Suggested donation is $5 for persons over age 60; charge for $10 for persons under 60.

Obituaries

Regina Labanauskas

Regina Labanauskas (Rauckinas) of Twisp, passed away April 16, 2023, surrounded by her loving family. Regina was born on June 19, 1946, in Schwandorf, Germany, in a displaced persons camp hospital after her parents Stasys and Natalija Rauckinas, and brother Alfonsas, fled Lithuania during World War II. The family immigrated to America in 1949 and settled in Chicago, Illinois. While growing up, she was very active in the Lithuanian-American community in Chicago. This included Lithuanian Saturday school, summer camp, and as a teen, folk dancing in Lithuanian national costume. She forged lifelong friendships with six other girls during this time and they called themselves the “Lugan Chicks.” In 1966, she married Min Labanauskas and shortly after they welcomed their first two sons, Saulius and Kris. The family then loaded up their green VW van and headed out West. While traveling, they happened upon the Methow Valley and were immediately taken with the landscape and the loving community on the Second-Mile Ranch in Twisp. They settled on the Second-Mile Ranch in 1972 and built a beautiful, stone homestead with Lithuanian motifs. Once established, they completed the family with their two youngest boys, Vitas and Stasys, and they built a larger, log home on the property, which the Labanauskas family still occupies.

She was active in the community and rarely missed a sporting event that her kids and grandkids were participating in. She enjoyed reading and was an original member of Bill Hottell’s winter history class. She looked forward to attending each year. She loved sewing, and many of her beautiful quilts can be seen in loved ones’ homes. In earlier years, Regina was afraid of flying, but with her usual intrepidness, she overcame that fear and enjoyed traveling to Spain, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Mexico, and in 2017, she traveled back to Lithuania. She loved to make memories traveling with those she loved. Most of her days in recent years were spent tending to her magnificent gardens. Her home was surrounded by beautiful flowers and bountiful rows of vegetables which she enjoyed taking care of with her family. Her great-granddaughters, Hattie and Poppie, were lucky enough to spend endless hours reading, canning vegetables, crafting, and gardening with “Nana” the last six years of her life.

Min and Regina operated several businesses in the Valley with their great friends, Tucker and Melody Barksdale: The Work Force Reforestation in 1977 and Methow Valley Lumber in 1978, as well as others. Regina did the bookkeeping for all of their business ventures while raising the four boys. The well-known catchphrase with her close friends was “Regina will do it” — because she could do it all, with such grace! Whether raising children or helping friends, Regina was always busy. When the boys were grown, she spent nearly 20 years working at the Winthrop KOA until retiring in 2019.

She was an exceptional daughter, sister, mother, grandmother and friend. She will be missed every day, in every way. Her children were her greatest accomplishment and proudest achievement. They include four sons: Saul (Traci) Labanauskas, Kris (Tricia) Labanauskas, Vitas (Crystal) Labanauskas and Stasys Labanauskas. Her hope for the future lies in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom she loved unconditionally: Ryleigh Ferrill, Nicole Labanauskas, Zachary (Taylor, Hattie, Poppie) Ferrill, and Katie Labanauskas. She is also survived by her brother, Alfonsas (Vanda and family), many family members in Chicago, the Meyers and Barksdale families, and the whole Second Mile Ranch gang — who were without question, family.

A celebration of Regina’s life will be held in the Methow and announced at a later date. The family will continue to celebrate her each year during the traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve dinner, Kucios, which was one of Regina’s most cherished annual traditions.

“Meilei nera galo” — There is no end to love!

Michael Robert McCauley (Mick)

Michael Robert McCauley {Mick} was born at Twisp, Washington, on Oct. 20, 1936, to James and Jacquelyn (Stokes) McCauley. He was the fourth of eight children. He passed away on Jan. 3, 2023, at Cashmere, Washington, with family by his side.

family relocated to Leavenworth, Washington, and later moved to Cashmere. Mick continued with his construction business in the Wenatchee Valley area and was also very active in his church.

Michael Robert McCauley (Mick)

He attended school at Twisp and during his high school years excelled in sports. After graduation he worked on the family ranch until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1959. He served in the Army at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, during the Cuban missile crisis. He married Patricia (Patty) Dykes on May 26, 1961. After Mick’s discharge from the Army the couple lived in Okanogan, Washington, where Mick worked at a television repair store in Omak, and they developed a mini golf course across from the park in east Omak. Mick and Patty had two daughters, Kim Laurel and Karen Rose. With their young family, Mick and Patty moved to Curlew, Washington, to manage a ranch operation. Patty died on Jan. 10, 1969, while being treated at the Tonasket hospital for the Hong Kong flu. Mick and his daughters moved back to Okanogan where Patty’s mother, Mary Dykes, helped with the girls. He worked as a carpenter for many years in the Okanogan Valley. On June 27, 1970, he married Bettijane Rosenoff. When Bettijane’s employment transferred her to Wenatchee, Washington, the

Mick and Bettijane divorced and he was later married to Cheryl Delorme. Their son Shane Joseph was born June 4, 1989. The three lived together in Winthrop, Washington, until Mick suffered a stroke in June 2006 and a second stroke in the fall of 2007. The strokes paralyzed his left side and affected his speech and sight. He moved to an adult family home in Wenatchee and later moved to Cashmere Care Center where he resided until his death. Mick was a favorite of caregivers because of his teasing ways and ready smile. Mick’s family wishes to thank all of the staff for their loving care of Mick. Mick is survived by his daughter Karen and granddaughter Patricia, his son Shane and his wife Sami Jo and their children Stella and Michael, his siblings Anna M. Cotner, James H. McCauley, Mary M. Short, Bernard (Pat) McCauley, Judith L. McCauley, Bertram Jay McCauley and numerous nieces and nephews. Mick was preceded in death by Patty McCauley, Kim McCauley, his parents and brother John Joseph McCauley.

A funeral mass will be held on May 4, 2023, at 10 a.m. at St. Genevieve Catholic Church in Twisp, with burial at 11:30 a.m. in the Sullivan Cemetery in Winthrop.

Marriage licenses

Melissa Viola Holt, 40, Twisp, and John Porter Stevie, 57, Twisp

Celebrations of life

Regina Labanauskas

Riparian areas contain elements of water and land ecosystems. The interaction between the two systems creates a healthy environment that is critical for the survival and existence of living things, both plant and animal, that depend upon it. Riparian areas in Washington state include several in the Methow Valley.

Mazama residents Lincoln and Janet Loehr view a robust riparian area from their expansive windows. Remember when we used to call a big window a “picture window?” They indeed have a picture window with a bird’s-eye view of the many varieties of wildlife that meander through the grasses, brush, and trees that surround six beaver ponds, making their way to the Methow River. Lincoln, an accomplished photographer, has captured the wildlife in pictures that line one wall of their house.

He has a wealth of knowledge –—Loehr lore — about the critters and how he captured the photos.

One such story was about a merganser that he had been watching with her ducklings — six trailing behind her on the pond and one on her back. One day he saw her sans ducklings and acting very agitated. A closer look revealed a bald eagle flying aggressively over her. She flapped and circled until Lincoln shooed the eagle away. She flew low to the protected place where she had hidden her family. At that moment, Lincoln captured her in flight.

Other wildlife that he has captured in photo include mama bear with cubs, bobcat, moose, deer with fawn, coyote and otter. Bird varieties include barn owl, pileated woodpecker, hawk and eagle. A walk down Loehrs’ Dirt Road Trail to Methow Community Trail gives an up-close and personal sense of the value of the riparian area just as it is coming to life. Pussy willows sporting their soft, silky catkins are prolific in the moist soil surrounding the ponds. Soon the grasses will green, and the critters will return after the long winter. Loehrs’ trail meets the Methow Community Trail a short distance from the Tawlks-Foster Suspension Bridge.

tion, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms That Sustain Life,” by Johan Eklöf. Eklöf is a Swedish scientist who studies bats. He quickly discovered the extent of light pollution that affected bats and the ecosystems they depend upon for survival.

Our basic human desire is to light the world. The first thing we do when we enter a room is flip a light switch. We install nightlights in our children’s bedrooms, we strategically place lamps about our homes. We say things like, “you light up my life,” and, “the light at the end of the tunnel.” We sleep when it’s dark, we are active in the daylight. Our own circadian rhythm is attuned to light.

Since the beginning of time, light has been the only constant on Earth. Continents shift, species evolve and die out, rivers move, oceans come and go, civilizations rise and fall. Sunset and sun-

Adding Chinese to her quiver of languages

it is something she has ended up using throughout her life so far.

When Eveline entered Leiden University in the Netherlands in 1987, she knew she wanted to learn a new language, as well as studying business.

In addition to her native Dutch, Eveline already had Greek, Latin, German, and English under her belt from her high school’s regular curriculum and Chinese seemed like a good complement to her interest in business. “I was intrigued by China and it was an up-and-coming country in the business world,” Eveline said.

Eveline got a scholarship to study in China, but the Tiananmen Square demonstrations — during which thousands of protesters were killed by the Chinese army — caused the Dutch government to cancel all scholarships to

their homes or work to respond to these incidents. Accidents happen and that’s why we have a fire department. Let’s be grateful for their work and that these fires were quickly controlled before major property damage or danger ensued. As spring marches forward, can more fire be avoided? You bet.

The fire pyramid calls for three ingredients for combustion: oxygen, heat and fuel. If you eliminate one element, fire can’t happen. The weather forecast calls for temperatures to climb this week, drying out dead vegetation even more.

Thanks to a cooperative yard debris chipping and collection program, we can eliminate unwanted vegetation and debris that serves as fuel. Sponsored by a group of local organizations including the Town of Twisp, Clean Air Methow, Okanogan County Conservation District, Resilient Methow,

rise are the only constant. No wonder humans desire to keep a light through the darkest hours, a reminder that daybreak will come again. Mary Oliver once said, “Is there anything more loyal than the sun?”

Like everything else in life, moderation is key. We don’t always realize the damage of excess until we can see the damage ourselves … when it “comes to light.”

Eklöf’s goal with “The Darkness Manifesto” is to, ahem, “shine a light” on the other world that we depend upon, but do not always see. We have been blinded by the light, as it were.

Eklöf notes, “A third of all vertebrates and almost two thirds of all invertebrates are nocturnal, and so much of nature’s activity occurs after we humans fall asleep at night.” Artificial light introduces chaos and disrupts these rhythms, resulting in fewer pollinators and fewer food production.

China. She found her way there eventually, though, and ended up working in Taiwan for more than a decade. Eveline began teaching Chinese at Liberty Bell in 2010. As the school’s only Chinese teacher, she teaches 7th-12th graders who choose Chinese as their world language.

In 2012, Eveline decided it was time to take Chinese language learning out of the classroom and into the country, and led a 10-day trip for high school students. Since then, she has done the trip every year with the exception of two COVID years.

Although most of the trips in the early years took place in mainland China, lately Eveline has been working Taiwan into the repertoire, with the eventual goal of alternating between mainland China and Taiwan

Okanogan County, Fire Adapted Methow and Department of Ecology, yard debris burning can be avoided all together, lowering the risk of wildfire in our community.

Twisp Town residents, mark your calendars for curbside pickup and chipping on May 1 and 2. Woody twigs and branches can be placed perpendicular to the street with the cut ends out, and town crews will come by and load them up, haul them away, and chip them. Wow, how convenient! Chips can later be collected for free at Twisp Town Park afterwards. All other residents outside town limits can dispose of their natural fuels from yard waste at the county transfer station on April 28, May 3 and May 5 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The transfer station will take leaves, pine needles, cones as well as twigs. It’s free, it doesn’t create

Lincoln explains that his wife Janet’s parents were the “Tawlks” in the name of the bridge since access to the bridge on the south side was on their property.

Lincoln told how the original aging wooden towers of the bridge built in 1995 threatened closure of the bridge.

In 2013, through an incredible effort by locals, from engineering, inspections, to removal and replacement of the legs, the towers were replaced with high-grade, long-lasting steel. Work took about a month and the bridge was given new life to service the thousands of users from skiers, hikers, horseback riders and bicyclists all year long.

We complain about the cost of groceries and electricity, but do nothing on a large scale to address the roots of a problem. We can integrate easy changes in our own homes: turn off exterior decorative lighting, install downward facing light shades to eliminate horizontal and upward glare, use automatic motion sensors and timers, and pull down shades or turn off interior lights. But our home lights are a small flicker in comparison to community spaces and businesses. We’ve been planning “well-lit” communities for so long, that planning from a “dark” perspective can seem foreign to business owners and town planners. There are model businesses and towns — primarily across Colorado and Texas — who successfully integrated dark sky friendly lighting and preserved both the safety and the beauty of the community. I will admit, when I lived on a

every year. This year’s trip, the first one since COVID, took place in northern Taiwan.

Instead of working with a professional tour guide or scheduling the itinerary herself, Eveline leads the students through trip planning. Each kid plans a day, including transportation, food, activities, lodging, and budget. “The kids think of things that I wouldn’t,” Eveline says. “They know what they like best. I fill in with little 5-minute tidbits about history and culture, but mostly they learn by just immersing themselves in the place and doing the activities in each area.”

This year some of the highlights were attending the night markets in each city, doing the river tracing activity, and e-biking around Sun Moon Lake. “The kids were very adventure-

smoke, and you don’t have to worry about tending a fire. Don’t get me wrong, I like burning too, it’s a very useful tool. It can be meditative, calling on a primitive drive in the human psyche. After all, it’s fire that set humanity on a course of progress and evolution. Without it, we would never have evolved large brains, and instead we would be spending precious calories and time digesting fibrous material in our gut. Fire made cooking possible, enabling our bodies able to divert energy to our brains and the trajectory of human evolution took off. We would not have developed written language, agriculture, or forged metal were it not for fire.

Sometimes I still use fire on a limited basis, but this program offers a free and easy alternative, so why not use it?

Thank you to all the partners in this pro-

The underground stream that flows into the river just west

river-

It is no mystery why a walk, bike or ride to the suspension bridge is recommended on multiple travel sites as a “must do.” Next time you make the trek, remember all the teaming wildlife and plant life that depend upon this precious riparian area.

mountainside above Salt Lake City, I looked forward to turning out all the lights at night to admire the city lights like sparkling jewels on a velvet surface. (Side note, that neighborhood recently slipped away in a landslide.) Away from the city lights, you could still enjoy the night sky. At a barbeque with co-workers from a large metropolitan area, people stood for hours that night, necks craned, stargazing with awe. “You can’t see the stars back home,” they told me. One person’s reasoning was not the light pollution, but the elevation. “Home is at sea level. Here, we’re on a mountain. We’re closer to the stars here.” The stories people tell themselves to stay in the dark over light pollution. Ironic, isn’t it?

Eklöf’s book is available at Trail’s End Bookstore. If it is not on the shelf, you can order it on their website, www.trailsendbookstore.com.

some,” Eveline says. “Even right when we got off the plane in Taipei and they were all jet-lagged, some of them wanted to go out for a run on their own.” According to Eveline, Taipei is the third-safest city in the world; she let them go.

Eveline says the best part of these trips is seeing the kids put together their classroom learning and their in-country experiences. “Even on the first day they recognized the language and the food that we’ve cooked in class,” she says. “They were leading the way in the subway and in restaurants.”

Many of the students had never been abroad and a couple had never been on an airplane. “But these Methow kids are just so bold and inquisitive,” Eveline says. “They really put themselves out there.”

gram to lessen our fire risk, keep our air clean, and manage our landscape cooperatively. Besides, the smell of smoldering yard waste makes me nauseous after the relentless years of wildfire smoke; I appreciate this program immensely. Spring chores can leave one in need of some relaxation. Coming up May 13, Cascadia Music will present a special performance, “Music of the Americas.” Featuring Cascadia musicians, the Pipestone Youth Orchestra, and the choir, the music features jazz, folk, spiritual and blues numbers from disparate cultures reaching from North America to South America. A prelude to the performance will open with the Hottell Ragtime Band at 6:30 p.m., followed by an opportunity to meet performers prior to the concert at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp.

Joanna Bastian

Sarah Schrock

Shelley Smith Jones

Ashley Lodato

Mazama: Shelley Smith Jones

of the bridge was named Suspension Creek after the bridge. Several log structures were created in the river last year by the Yakama Nation Fisheries to improve salmon and steelhead habitat as well as help protect the suspension bridge pillars from

bank erosion.

Photo by Shelley Smith Jones

Lincoln Loehr’s photo wall at his Mazama home.

Photo by Lincoln Loehr Mazama resident and photographer Lincoln Loehr captured a merganser in flight.

Each night, when darkness falls, I switch on a light and crack open a book. I am currently reading “The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollu-

wasn’t “a very well-thought-out plan,” Liberty Bell High School Chinese teacher Eveline Wathen says, but

In the past week there have been two wildfires set loose by burn piles that ignited adjacent fuels. One of them was in the town limits. We have a volunteer fire department that must leave