5th Annual Kite Day
LOCAL SPORTS
Spring season underway
Oroville Royal Neighbors annual Kite Day is March 31 See page 3
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Oroville School Board debates Superintendent Quick’s spending on new reader board BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
OROVILLE – Although they said they support the new Oroville school reader board, at least two district board members questioned the superintendent’s spending on the district’s share of the sign and its installation. The issue came up during the superintendent’s update on the new remotelyprogrammable electronic reader board slated to replace the old school sign. The district received a $12,500 donation from the Oroville Booster Club and a $10,000 donation from Kinross Gold Company to put towards the new sign’s purchase. The total cost of the sign is estimated to be about $32,000, according to the Superintendent Steve Quick.
“The reader board has been ordered and the city’s permit administrator said the old permit for the sign will work because it is actually smaller. One thing he would like is a bigger footing; the old one is cracked,” said Supt. Quick. “The sign is scheduled for delivery April 23rd.” School Board Chairman Phil Barker said he had called the sign company about the costs involved and felt installation and updates to the electrical service would be more than the superintendent’s $10,000 estimate. He also questioned the superintendent’s right to obligate the district for the cost of the reader board above the donations, without coming to the board for approval. Director Rocky DeVon, who had earlier discussed his recent attendance at
No pot grows, shops in Oroville
a school board members training, said the superintendent was like the CEO of a company and had a board-approved budget that can be used without prior approval of the board.
“I don’t want him to come to us every time the district needs to buy toilet paper.” Rocky DeVon, Director
“The superintendent is not supposed to be micromanaged by the board,” he said. DeVon said that Barker had told him
that he told the sign company to cancel the order. “That’s not what I said. I didn’t cancel the order, I just asked them if they had the one check. They might not get one from the district too soon,” said Barker. Quick responded, “I guess for me as superintendent we have a budget and that’s what needs to be used. It is going to cost the district about $10,000. I sat down with (Booster Club president) Kevin Kinman before the purchase and we have a plan. “I guess to me as a project it is worth doing. We can’t really back out of a contract that we made with Jameson (Signs). We found a way to make our budget work, we received generous donations of more than two-thirds the project cost. We felt we had to jump on this.”
Oroville destination for 10th Run to the Border BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
OROVILLE – The state might say it’s legal, but as far as the feds are concerned marijuana, medical or otherwise, is still verboten. It was that concern and a wait-and-see attitude about how other Washington cities will handle the issue that led to Oroville’s moratorium on cooperative medical marijuana grows and dispensaries within the city limits. During a required public hearing on the issue at their Tuesday, March 20 meeting, the council reaffirmed the moratorium first invoked in January. Chris Branch, Director of Community Development, told the council the permitting of medical marijuana dispensa-
Clay Warnstaff, Oroville Police Chief
ries and cooperative grows within the city is a matter of zoning (under the land use statute about the establishment of businesses) and thus the city has the right to place a six-month moratorium. The moratorium can be extended indefinitely by the city as long as they have a public hearing within 60 days of a new extension, according to Branch. However, according to the planner, the courts frown on “rolling moratoriums” that get extended indefinitely. “Recent developments and findings by the Oroville Police and Planning departments and the recommendation of the
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SEE BOARD | PG. 3
STP grant for Cherry and Central paving
Migrant family meetings bearing fruit
Public hearing on moratorium draws very little public comment
“Recent developments and findings by the Oroville Police and Planning departments and the recommendation of the city attorney is to not allow because his stance is the federal government still finds marijuana illegal.”
Barker said the installation and changes to the electrical service could become a “money pit.” “Steve Quick is the executive officer of the board, we’re not going to micromanage him,” repeated DeVon. “The total cost of the budget should have been known by the board at the time we voted on the purchase,” said Director David Nutt. DeVon explained the board had not voted on the purchase of the sign, but had instead voted on acceptance of the two donations which were dedicated toward the sign’s purchase. “You guys approve the final payment, but very rarely do we come before the board for prior approval of items that are
Brent Baker/Staff photos
Tonasket Elementary School math coordinator Steve Robeck (far right) and three helpful volunteers demonstrate a game designed to teach multiplication skills at last Wednesday’s monthly PAC meeting for migrant/bilingual families. Parents of migrant/bilingual students gathered for a monthly meeting Wednesday, March 21, to allow them to communicate with district administrators and receive topical information useful in assisting their students in learning. This month’s meeting addressed mathematics.
OROVILLE – Oroville will receive over $400,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to improve Central and Cherry Streets. Rod Noel, superintendent of Public Works, told the council at their Tuesday, March 20 meeting that the city has been awarded a $437,413 federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) grant to do overlays of Central and Cherry streets. “These funds are to be used to improve streets that serve as minor collectors that lead to county roads,” Noel said. “It will be similar to the paving of Central and Cherry we did in 1995. “We should also work on an estimate to see if we can replace that part of the water line on Central at the same time the road is dug up. That older section of the water line has broken six or seven times, according to Noel. He said the city has been applying for
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Tonasket PAC working to integrate families BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
TONASKET - Children of migrant parents or others who speak very little English face daunting challenges when they start school for the first time in a district such as Tonasket. The Tonasket PAC (Parent Action Committee) has for years worked to garner resources for ESL (English as a Second Language) students and their families, and recent attendance at their monthly Spanish-language migrant family meetings has shown that those efforts are bearing fruit. Each month during the school year, migrant/bilingual families are invited to attend meetings at the elementary school. The meetings are designed to provide assistance to families to help their children fit into the district, provide tools in helping with their children’s education, and give parents a chance to express con-
OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 106 No. 13
cerns, ask questions and receive information with the help of translators. About 40 family members attended the Wednesday, March 21, meeting, which emphasized math and also featured a presentation and question/answer session by superintendent Paul Turner addressing the district’s hopes of extending the school day next year. “It’s a work in progress,” said bilingual paraprofessional Norma Gutierrez. “We started this about eight years ago to make all the families know they are part of the district. As interpreters here, we are like the bridge. Since all the Hispanic families meet together here, it makes it easier for us as the ‘middle guy’ to pass on information to the school district about what they want to learn and what their concerns are. “It used to be five or 10 parents coming, and now its between 30 and 60. It’s just so worth all the time and effort.” Gutierrez said that, with more than 125
bilingual kids in the elementary school alone, a team effort between the teachers, administrators and parents has been crucial to helping children who enter the district with little or no English-speaking ability to adapt to their new environment. “Parents want to be a part of it,” she said. “They just want to be sure they’re allowed to be. It’s taken years. It hasn’t been easy. The staff has been so welcoming to parents, little by little working to build their trust.” During Wednesday’s meeting, elementary school math coordinator Steve Robeck demonstrated a math game with three children designed to help them master multiplication schools, and explained through interpreter Martha Wisdom how family involvement in similar activities would help their children master those and other skills. “When parents and schools work together,” he said, “amazing things can
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happen with our children.” Middle school math teacher Joyce Fancher explained math assessment, student placement, evaluation, and remediation. “We’ve found that for a lot of kids who may not understand language or reading as much, math makes sense to them because they understand numbers,” Fancher said. Tyler Graves, Tonasket’s ESL teacher for grades K-8, is in his first year at the school but said he’s been impressed with the program. “Norma and Martha have told me how much it’s gaining ground,” he said. “The PAC itself meets during the month and have been very involved and energetic. “The big thing is getting our migrant families into the school, getting them to be part of the school, raising their aware-
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