Hornets host their annual track
INVASIVE SPECIES MEETING
invitational.
Threat to be discussed at Sonora Community Centre, Osoyoos, Thursday, April 4, 7-9 pm.
See Sports, Pages A10-11
SERVING WASHINGTON’S
OKANOGAN VALLEY
SINCE 1905
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CEO stands by decisions, board
EGGS, CHOCOLATE BUNNIES VANISH IN A FLASH
Michel lays out reasoning behind closures of A/L, clinics, defends integrity of commissioners
Clinics. An oft-suggested option was to have the district attempt to sell the Assisted Living to a private company. TONASKET - “Yikes.” It’s not that it wasn’t tried, Michel said. That, in a word, was the response of the only person who expressed any But there was little interest from buyers. “One gentleman ... said DSHS had interest in buying the financially strugasked him to call me,” gling North Valley Michel said. “He was Assisted Living facil“I thought my letter from Oregon and ity when he was preindicated (the need for an had other privatelysented with financial assisted living and bond informaimmediate solution), but owned facilities. They were tion to examine. that is not the perception all much bigger than Actually, that was He asked me to his entire response, of the Concerned Citizens ours. send financials and said NVH district information about group. So that was my CEO Linda Michel bond. Whatever in an interview on mistake for not spelling it the he asked me for, we Thursday, March 29, sent him. where she defended out better.” “The only response the recent deciLinda Michel, I got back from him sions of the Board North Valley Hospital District CEO was, ‘Yikes.’ And I of Commissioners, never heard from hospital administrahim again.” tors and herself. The closing of the Assisted Living has The hospital district recently won its day in court, at which an attempt to been controversial, to say the least, but halt the closure of the assisted living Michel said that every effort that stood facility was denied and a petition ask- any chance of success was considered by ing for the recall of the entire Board of her and a committee consisting of herCommissioners was rescinded before a self, four hospital senior leaders and two commissioners. final decision on it could be rendered. “We looked back at seven years of Michel reviewed the recent financial history of the hospital district, including financials to find a profitable year to the hospital’s indebtedness to Okanogan mimic,” she said. “We didn’t find one.” County and decisions to close the Tonasket and Oroville Family Medical SEE HOSPITAL | PG A4 BY BRENT BAKER
BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
Saturday’s sunny, warm weather was perfect for Easter egg hunts all over the area. Top, Amelia Costner nibbles the ears off a chocolate bunny in Chesaw; right, a Tonasket girl claims her treasure; bottom right, Tonasket kids are released to find their eggs; bottom left, there was plenty of excitement in Oroville, as well.
Tonasket passes ATV ordinance
Photos by (clockwise from top) Marianne Knight, Brent Baker, Kelly Denison and Charlene Helm.
BY BRENT BAKER
BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
TONASKET - It wasn’t a unanimous vote by any means, but proponents of an ordinance allowing ATVs on Tonasket city streets left the Tuesday, March 26, city council meeting with smiles on their faces as the council passed the longdiscussed ordinance by a 3-2 vote. Jean Ramsey, Lee Hale and Dennis Brown favored the ordinance, with Scott Olson and Jill Vugteveen opposing. “The council had raised some questions,” said Tonasket mayor Patrick Plumb. “There had been questions about taillights and headlights, but those were
already included in the ordinance. They asked if monetary penalties could exceed the applicable RCW, and the answer is ‘No.’ “RCWs regarding negligent driving can be enforced and are already included.” Also, dune buggies were removed from the definition of off-road vehicles, but trail bikes and golf carts are included. Snowmobiles also are not included in the definition. Much of the ordinance was based upon a similar ordinance drafted for Okanogan. “We stole it,” Plumb joked.
SEE COUNCIL | PG A2
County, Oroville come to understanding on sewer BY GARY DEVON
MANAGING EDITOR
OKANOGAN – Although it still needs to be redrafted, representatives from Oroville and the Okanogan County Commissioners came to an understanding on several points regarding the county’s Eastlake Sewer System. While Oroville operates the system, which utilizes the city’s wastewater treatment facility, the project was built by the county using a low interest state Public Works Trust Fund loan. The lions share of paying back the loan is still the responsibility of the county, except for about 27.2 percent which the city used to make improvements to its existing system in order to handle the increased capacity of the project, now and into the future. As the areas north of the city limits annex into the city, the responsibility for those parts of the system then become
Oroville’s and will be paid through connection fees, similar to what the county is doing now. The county and Oroville have been working on resolving some conflicts in a resolution the county was working on regarding the assumption of ownership of the system, according to Kathy Jones, Oroville City Clerk. Jones attended the meeting in the commissioners’ hearing room along with Mayor Chuck Spieth, Rod Noel, head of Public Works and Chris Branch, Director of Community Development. The county was represented by Commissioners Jim Detro, Ray Campbell and Sheila Kennedy, as well as Perry Huston, head of the Planning Department. “One of the first conflicts involved sewer connection policy. We wanted to make sure that we had some input if the county was thinking of granting a waiver to anyone who didn’t connect to the
OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 109 No. 14
sewer,” said Jones. “We have adopted a policy where if you get water (from the city’s water system), you get sewer. We want to be all on one page,” said Jones. She envisions a scenario where the county might grant a waiver based on a failing septic system on a property that could not get to the sewer system or where the property was miles from the nearest connection and it would be cost prohibitive. “We just want to be involved in those decisions,” she said. The second issue had to do with how the county and city differed in the way they divided up the system. The city uses a south, central, north division, starting from the Cherry Street Bridge. The county divided up the system going east and west depending on what side
SEE SEWER | PG A2
Gary DeVon/Staff Photo
Okanogan County Commissioners (seated above) Jim Detro, Ray Campbell and Sheila Kennedy, as well as County Planner Perry Huston (standing), met with Oroville Mayor Chuck Spieth, City Clerk Kathy Jones, Public Works Superintendent Rod Noel and Community Development Director Chris Branch to discuss issues with the Eastlake Sewer System. The meeting took place at the Commissioners’ Hearing Room and was very positive according to those in attendance.
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