Poppy Days
Tigers and Hornets headed to State Track Meet
May 25-26 and June 1-2 American Legion will be offering poppies for donation
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GAZETTE-TRIBUNE WWW.GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM | THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012 | 75 CENTS NEWSSTAND PRICE
Salmon Recovery at Oroville Council
School board hears garden proposal
Harley Heaven
BY BRENT BAKER
Money for airports getting tight
BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
OROVILLE - Don McIvor and Ken Bevis appeared before the Oroville City Council at their Tuesday, May 15 meeting to discuss salmon recovery efforts in the Upper Columbia. McIvor is the Natural Resources Coordinator of the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board (UCSRB) and Bevis is with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. McIver told the council that the Upper Columbia steelhead were listed as “endangered” in 1997 under the Endangered Species Act and spring chinook salmon were listed in 1999. The two men presented a slide show and discussed the 4Hs - habitat, hatcheries, harvest and hydropower, which they say need to be addressed in order to restore the runs of wild fish. Much of their presentation was the same as they presented to the Tonasket City Council the week before (see article, May 17 edition). They also discussed the economic benefits of opening up special fishing seasons for the hatchery-raised fish, pointing out that one Brewster gas station and store has seen a $300,000 increase in revenue from the fishing season annually. “The fact that the wild population is doing so well has allowed us to have a sports fishery... without that we couldn’t afford to have it because of the incidental takes of wild fish,” said McIvor. McIvor and Bevis also talked about the efforts being made by the Colville
Photos by Gary DeVon
It looked like Harley-Davidson heaven in Oroville last Saturday afternoon as more than 240 motorcycle riders came to town for the 10th Annual Run for the Border charity ride. Nearly 250 riders parked their machines along the east side of Main Street from Appleway to Central and along 14th and on Golden by the Eagles. Riders and spectators alike strolled along the street to get a look at the various rolling works of art, ranging from classics to modern reinterpretations of classics. In addition to the Harley’s there were a few Kawasakis, Suzukis, Hondas, Triumphs and BMWs represented as well. The money raised by the ride, sponsored by the Columbia River Harley Owners Group (HOG), goes to help support veterans and armed service members and their families in North Central Washington. Ernie Terrill of Tonasket (left) was one of the riders at last Saturday’s event. He rides a non-HD custom motorcycle in yellow with orange flames sporting an S&S V-twin engine.
“The biggest limiting factor in the Okanogan River is water temperature.” Don McIvor
Confederated Tribes to restore fish runs in the Okanogan River, including what’s been done to acclimate juvenile populations to the warmer waters of Lake Osoyoos, something tribal representatives spoke with the council about last year. Rod Noel, Public Works superintendent, asked if the diversion at the confluence of the Okanogan and Similkameen rivers, just south of Oroville, was working as intended. McIvor said the project, near the channel at the north end of Driscoll Island, had raised the water about a foot in an effort to keep warm water out of the Okanogan for about 1.5 miles. “The biggest limiting factor in the Okanogan River is water temperature,” he said, adding that the project seems to be working as planned. “There’s been some pretty substantial progress,” he said, asking the council and mayor to write a letter of support for the continued efforts of the UCSRB. Councilman Walt Hart III made a motion that a letter of support be written and Councilman Tony Koepke seconded it and it passed unanimously. “This has been very good gentlemen... very interesting and very informative,” said Mayor Chuck Spieth. “The (Colville Confederated) Tribe has been here two times to discuss restoration since I’ve been here.” When talking about the members of the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board, Arnie Marchand, a member of the CCT, said, “The Yakamas don’t belong up
SEE COUNCIL | PG A3
TONASKET - A diverse group of community members, including Tonasket School District teachers, approached the Tonasket School Board at its Monday, May 14, board meeting with a proposal to plant and maintain a school garden. The group’s proposal is modeled after a similar garden that the Methow Valley School District has working on its property. Bob Ashmore, the school district’s GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), coordinated the presentation, which included statements from Sandy Brightbill, Peter James, Danica Johnson, Rose Corso, Scotty Kimball and Tyler Graves. “Gardening connects students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math,” Ashmore said, citing a host of studies by Cornell University. “This is something that would be worked into the entire curriculum, not just an add-on.” A film detailing the workings of the Methow garden showed how students of all ages and developmental skill levels were able to work in age-appropriate fashion on various aspects of the garden. “The Methow garden has been eight years in the making,” Corso said. “The kids split into groups, move into the gardens and work on different things as appropriate. They are able to work things into the curriculum that are adjusted to the levels of the learners.” Outgoing elementary principal Jeff Cravy recently wrote a grant that was approved, naming Green Okanogan’s Peter James as a partner to help with the school’s recycling efforts. James said that since the garden could utilize composting, that grant monies could be dedicated to it. As to what to plant, Corso said that the Methow garden works closely with the school’s cafeteria. “We would like to at least have the kids to have (vegetables) on the salad bar that they can choose from,” she said. “The kitchen staff knows the regulations and what to do as far as washing.” Ashmore said that financially, the goal was to sustain the garden through grants and donations and not create a financial burden on the district. Johnson had coordinated the completion of community surveys, many of them at school events, and had 147 of them completed by parents, staff, high school and junior high students.
SEE BOARD | PG. A3
Lunch with our local legislators Kretz and Short say legislative sessions ‘too long’ BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
OROVILLE - Local legislators Joel Kretz and Shelly Short said this year’s legislative sessions were “too long,” yet not enough was accomplished in the way of budget cuts. Over lunch at Hometown Pizza and Pasta in Oroville last Friday, the two Seventh District Representatives said they had been in Olympia trying to hammer out a leaner budget since last December. “It was really clear in November what we had to do... make cuts. We cut $400
OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 108 No. 21
million in December that were ‘no-brainers’ of the $2 billion we needed to cut,” said Rep. Kretz. “There was a push to get the whole supplemental done and do some job creation.” Rep. Shelly Short Kretz said the regular session ended in March and a week or two before it ended they could see there wasn’t going to be enough time. “It was a failure to plan... it turned into two more sessions, mostly dealing with social issues,” he said. Rep. Short said things like Critical Access Hospitals and Levy Equalization were put on the back burner to these social issues. “Hospitals and schools had no way of planning budgets. They couldn’t
plan hiring or even sign contracts. Even local fair funding was proposed to be cut at first,” said Short. Kretz and Short both believe the Democraticallycontrolled House and Rep. Joel Kretz Senate, as well as the governor’s mansion, were using the threat of deep cuts to funding for rural health care and education as a hammer to avoid making needed cuts to government bloat and waste in Olympia. “All the really nasty stuff was pointed at rural Washington,” Kretz said. “To take it even further, they carved out all the west side Democrat Districts for funding,” said Short. “That’s what really got me pissed off.” Short said things like Critical Access
SEE LEGISLATORS | PG. A3
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Hospitals are serving populations with a high need for medical care, like those hospitals in Tonasket, Republic and Lincoln County. “I’m one of those they served... without the hospital in Tonasket I’d be walking around on one leg,” said Kretz. Short and Kretz said at first the Democrats were only suggesting small cuts in the funding of services vital to rural Washington. “Before they were just biting around the edges, then they were pitting education against social services,” said Short. “Then they were pitting it against everything like the fair... yeah, we can keep that if we get rid of Levy Equalization they’d say,” said Kretz. Both agreed that it was hard to keep their constituents informed of what they
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