Tonasket Community Theater
Lk. Osoyoos Meeting
readies Western musical
Association’s public meeting Tuesday, June 18, 6 p.m. at the Pastime Bar & Grill, Oroville
See Page A12
SERVING WASHINGTON’S
OKANOGAN VALLEY
SINCE 1905
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City sets Critical Areas Workshop
THE SMILES SAY IT ALL
Potential operator for food concession stand at Oroville’s Veterans Memorial Park BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
Kelly Denison/submitted photo
Saturday was a happy day for Tonasket High School seniors, who walked the graduation aisle on Saturday, June 8. Alicia Edwards (left) and Sierra Hughes reflect the mood of the long-awaited afternoon. For more photos and scholarship winners, see page A4.
Hiram ‘Okanogan’ Smith’s gravesite a mystery no more CONTRIBUTED BY MIKE SIBLEY OKANOGAN BORDERLANDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SEATTLE - Two years after his death and burial, Hiram “Okanogan” Smith’s mortal remains were disinterred, moved, and lost, until recently. Oroville researcher Dorothy Petry, working with Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery’s Julie Lundquist, believes Smith’s burial plot has been found. Hiram Francis Smith, born 1829, is credited as the father of Washington State’s apple industry. Settling on the eastern banks of Lake Osoyoos, Smith planted his first apples in the ‘Okanogan’ Smith late 1850s. He later served as a legislator for Washington territory and state. Smith died in Seattle’s Diller Hotel on Sept. 9, 1893, after a prolonged illness terminating in pneumonia. Three State Senators and three State Representatives served as pall bearers at his Sept. 12 funeral. According to Smith’s funeral home record, his body was interred in section 130 of Lake View. Close by are the graves of the Yesler family, the Ranke family, Chief Seattle’s granddaughter Angeline, and other notables. In 1895, someone, for unknown reason or reasons, had the remains removed from their original burial space. Lake View records indicate it cost seven dollars to have Smith’s casket moved. No one knew the body’s new location until recently. Petry took up the mission of finding Smith’s burial site a number of years ago. This was long after Okanogan Judge William Compton Brown searched for it in the mid-1950s. Historian Bruce Wilson failed to find the plot in a 1983 search.
OROVILLE – There were still no public comments on the updates to Oroville’s Critical Areas/ Comprehensive Plan Amendments so the council decided to set up a one-hour workshop prior to their June 18 meeting to answer questions and take testimony. While the public didn’t give any input at the city council’s June 4 meeting, several council members and staff did ask questions of Chris Branch, director of community development. City Clerk Kathy Jones asked about the limitations on Chris Branch “Frequently Flooded Areas” and the fact no new lots could be created. Councilman Ed Naillon said he had concerns regarding long time local developers versus new developers and wanted to make sure the rules applied equally to both. Branch said that the forms used are standard and apply to all developers. “The biggest changes are in the wetlands section,” said Branch after the meeting. “Mostly in the hundred year floodplain and in the floodway... areas we regulate now. But the new piece does not allow new subdivisions.” Branch said no new lots will be able to be created that don’t have legally buildable spaces outside the floodplain. He said wetland areas are based on a scoring system for habitat value. “Ecology provides a Small City’s Guidance Manual which has added more flexibility to the
SEE CRITICAL | PG A2
Special filing period Left, Dorothy Petry of the Okanogan Borderlands Historical Society and Julie Lundquist with Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery. Smith was one of Oroville’s earliest pioneers, as well as the father of the state’s apple industry. He also served in the territorial and state legislatures. Above, a spade and ribbon mark Hiram the location of “Okanogan” Smith’s grave in Seattle’s Lake View Cemetery. The exact location of Smith’s final resting place had been a mystery for more than a century. OBHS/submitted photos
When Petry connected with Lake View’s Customer Service Coordinator Lundquist she also sent her copies of articles relating to Smith, his life, death, and his missing remains. Lundquist reported the cemetery had no record of what had become of Smith. Petry kept searching for details and contacted Lundquist again seeking more
OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 109 No. 24
information. Recently Lundquist was successful in the search for Smith’s burial site. Hiram Smith was reburied in Lake View’s lot 873 under the name “Smith Okanogan.” Whether the missing comma was a clerical error or a secret plot remains a mystery. The resulting name reversal has kept Smith’s burial
site a secret since 1895. He was there all the time. The Okanogan Borderlands Historical Society has presented Lindquist with a commemorative photo of an original Smith apple tree in bloom with his likeness inset at the side, as well as dried apples from the tree itself.
BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
OROVILLE – There will be a special three-day filing period for offices for which no candidate filed during the regular filing period. The Special Filing Period is from June 26 to June 28 and starts on Wednesday at 9 a.m. and ends on Friday at 4 p.m. Candidates can come into the Okanogan County Auditors Office to file or file online by going to vote.wa.gov/okanogan, according to Mila Jury, an election official with the county auditor’s office. There are still several vacancies in local government offices, including in Oroville, Position 2 on the Oroville School Board. This is a fouryear position vacated by David Nutt. Fire Commissioners are needed in Districts 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11 and there are positions open on the Lake Osoyoos Water District as well. All candidates who take advantage of the special filing period will go on the General Election Ballot. Those with questions may call the auditor’s office at (509) 422-7240.
INSIDE THIS EDITION
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Three days to file to get on the ballot for vacant offices
Graduation Letters/Opinion Valley Life
A4 A5 A6
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A10-11 A12