DONKEY BASKETBALL
LOCAL WILDLIFE
OWL Informational presentation Friday, March 23
Watch Donkey Basketball at the OHS Commons March 28 See page B3
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Tonasket council updates on projects
GLOWING PERFORMANCE
City’s engineers seek to clarify priorities regarding upcoming street improvement projects BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
TONASKET - The Tonasket City Council provided updates on a number of civic projects that are progressing through their planning stages at the Tuesday, March 13, council meeting. Tonasket city planner Kurt Danison said he met with three property owners affected by the need for an easement to complete the Mill Drive/Bonaparte Creek sewer project and said that they seemed to be willing to provide the easement access. “They’re willing to provide easement through their property so we can connect up the sewer through there,” Danison said. “They were under the impression that water was included in this... I don’t know how it came about... I don’t think we said we were going to put in a water system there. “I think they walked away with a better understanding.” The council planned an open house for March 20 for residents to interact with the engineers and councilmembers on the sewer project committee. The council also responded to a memo Varela and Associates seeking to clarify priorities on the upcoming street improvement projects that had been discussed at a previous council meeting. The project was facing a delay without such a prioritization as funding for the project may not be enough to complete the entire “wish list.” “We want the (hospital parking crossing) beacon as the base project,” said Mayor Patrick Plumb. “The rest we will have done as we have the funding to complete.”
The council authorized Councilwoman Jill Vugteveen and Danison to make a final decision to move forward, with a priority on creating a “straight shot” from one end of town to the other along at least one side of the road with ADAapproved curb access ramps. The airport runway seal project’s target schedule is for completion before the Father’s Day Fly-in. Meanwhile, the council granted public works director Bill Pilkinton a leave of absence of indefinite length and appointed Hugh Jensen as acting public services director.
BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
Fuller passes exam, video policy progress Police Chief Robert Burks said that he is working on a policy governing the department’s handling of data collected during video surveillance. Burks also announced that officer Audra Fuller passed her civil service exam and has been hired as a full-time officer. Burks said he is finalizing a “wish list” to be submitted for Stonegarden describing how potential grant money would be used. Stonegarden grants provide money for local law enforcement entities to use while assisting in U.S. Border Patrol operations, although any equipment purchased is not limited to those operations. “Oroville was able to get an SUV through Stonegarden grant money,” Burks said. “This is the initial part of the process that we do every year. We don’t
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Photo by Gary DeVon
Kaylee Clough performs “The Glow” at the Variety Show and Auction presented by Dollars for Scholars and the Oroville High School Music Department on Wednesday, March 14 in the high school commons. The eight-year-old has been taking ballet for five years and recently performed at the Seattle Dance Workshop Competition and took a silver medal. The annual talent show is used to raise funds for the Oroville Dollars for Scholars Continuing Education awards. For more from the event see page B2.
Former Oroville Principal killed Teen may be charged for second degree murder BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
SPOKANE – Former Oroville High School Principal Frank Motta died from injuries sustained while trying to help a neighbor whose Spokane area home had been overrun by a teenage party. Apparently Motta was asked to keep an eye on the house by his neighbor and on Saturday, March 10 when he saw there was a party going on he called the neighbor who was out of town. She gave him the security code to the garage door and called 911. Motta then went to try and break up the party. Spokane County Sheriff ’s Deputies responded to an assault call in North Spokane County. When deputies arrived on scene they found a male subject in the residence had been assaulted, according to Craig Chamberlain, a spokesman with the Spokane County Sheriff ’s office. “There were over 100 people at the residence where there had been a large party throughout the evening. Oroville High School Annual Deputies immediately requested medics when they located the victim. Frank Motta in his first job as a principal at Oroville High School. The victim was transported to a several witnesses at the party. local medical facility where he is listed The Spokane Violent Crime Gang Enforcement in critical condition,” said a Spokane Sheriff ’s office Team was requested to assist locating Lewis and press release. Investigators identified the suspect as Treven located him at his residence. They arrested him and transported to the Spokane Lewis, an 18-year-old who is accused of knocking County Jail where he was interviewed by Major Motta to the ground and beating him in front of
OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 106 No. 12
Concern expressed over coaches resignation
Crimes Detectives. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail on the charge of felony assault. Motta, who was in critical condition at Sacred Heart Hospital, died of his injuries on March 15. Information Officer Chamberlain speculated that the charges against Lewis would be upgraded to second degree murder by the Spokane County Prosecutor’s office, but as of Monday they were still listed as first degree assault. When Motta came to Oroville in 1981 to take his first principal’s job he was just 34-years-old and stayed here for four years, according to his good friend Don DeVon, who served under Motta as a high school councilor in Oroville, as well as in Palm Desert, Calif. DeVon described Motta as a “highly innovative” educator who always had an open door policy to students, staff, parents and the community in general. “When Frank first came to Oroville to take his first principal’s job he hit the ground running. His enthusiasm was a positive motivators for students and staff,” DeVon said. Motta went on to be the youngest president of the Washington State Principal’s Association, according to his friend, who added that he had also been a well-respected football coach in several high schools in Washington State before becoming a principal. “He played college football at the University of California at Irvine,” said DeVon, “and he was a highly decorated combat veteran who won the bronze star.” After retiring as a teacher and principal for schools in Washington and California, Motta settled in Spokane with his wife and family. He was working as a volunteer at the Spokane Veterans Administration Hospital. The 65-year-old was a combat Air Force Veteran who served in Vietnam. He had recently been hired as a patient advocate at the VA Hospital.
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TONASKET - Teresa Hawkins expressed her concern over the resignation of varsity basketball coach Glenn Braman during the public comment portion of the Tonasket School Board meeting on Monday, March 12. Hawkins, wife of longtime varsity football coach Jay Hawkins, said she was concerned that the direction of the school district concerning its coaches was taking an ugly turn. “I’m concerned with the resignation of coach Braman,” she said. “I’m concerned because my husband is also a coach. I’m not comfortable with how that came about.” Hawkins said she had heard secondhand remarks attributed to a school board member that fed into her concern. “I’m hoping the school board acts as a board, and not on individual agendas,” she said. “I hope we’ve learned from the process that went down. “I think it’s sad if we let a group of parents who are upset or who have a vengeance with a coach from a long time ago to come in and rally people up to make a decision to not reinstate a coach. I think it would be really sad if we have to go around the community to bring in support to show that a coach has just as many people, and more, (supporting him) as those who complained about him.” Citing her experience as a coach’s wife and as a mother of an athlete coached by others, Hawkins said that athletics teaches kids to deal with adversity, but that parents encourage that growth. “We want the situation to be perfect for our kids,” she said. “But what do we teach them when we run to every need they have? “(Coaches) love the game, they’re competitors, and they want to teach kids to work together, to go out in life and be successful. Kids can’t be successful if their parents don’t let them grow as individuals. That’s a part of athletics. Nothing is going to be perfect.” Hawkins said she was concerned that situations that contributed to Braman’s resignation, as well as rumors about her husband’s position, could damage the reputation of the district. “People want to come to this district,” she said. “It’s because of you guys (the school board) up here. You have done a great job of keeping this school district as one of the elite. “Don’t ruin that. Don’t let that happen, you guys.” In other business, superintendent Paul Turner read a proclamation from Governor Christine Gregoire honoring classified school employees. Board member Catherine Stangland read off the list of all TSD classified employees’ names. Principals from each of the schools presented their mid-year student data to the board The board also reviewed information about switching over to a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system as presented by Jive Communications, which answered questions via a video conference call. They later approved switching to a VOIP system at a meeting last Thursday. Jive is currently serving the education market in 23 states, offered lifetime pricing and, significantly, qualified, for e-rate discounting that is calculated through the district’s free and reduced meal rate. The board requested a few days to think about the information presented, and at a special meeting on Thursday, March 15. The school board next meets on Monday, March 26.
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