Issuu

FOOTBALL PRACTICE STARTS;

OROVILLE EMS CLASS

OTHER SPORTS TO FOLLOW

Informational meeting Thursday, Aug. 29. Call (509) 476-4320 for details.

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OKANOGAN VALLEY

SERVING WASHINGTON’S

SINCE 1905

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Oroville approves Verizon request, alley vacation Tire recycling program planned for October BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR

OROVILLE – Two public hearings were held at the Oroville City Council’s Tuesday, Aug. 19 meeting - a request for an alley vacation and a request for a conditional use permit to add a fourfoot dish to a Verizon cell tower. The alley vacation hearing was a continuation from the council’s Aug. 5 meeting and like the previous hearing was closed to public testimony. An opportunity for public testimony was given at a public hearing before the city’s planning commission. Questions from the mayor, council and staff were allowed, however. Those who petitioned the city for the right-of-way vacation in Block 25 are Victor and Heather Rodriguez, Justin and Jessica Helm and Mark Hancock, on behalf of Hancock Revocable Trust. All have property abutting the alley. At the previous meeting, concerns about access to the alley by the adjacent businesses – Mark Hancock Accounting, VIP Insurance and the old GazetteTribune building - were raised. Chris Branch, director of Community Development, said that even if the alley was vacated, each of the businesses would still retain access to at least one street and a portion of the alley. “What if the business was to build all the way back to the edge of the property?” asked City Clerk Kathy Jones. “That couldn’t be done because the properties border a residential property and they would have to maintain a 15 foot setback,” said Branch. Mayor Chuck Spieth asked Public Works Superintendent Rod Noel if he was satisfied with the easement in regard to utilities that run through the alley. Noel said he was as long as the

ordinance stated the measurements of the right-of-way to be retained by the city. “It would be 20 feet because it says the city retains an easement through the vacated 20-foot alley,” said Branch. “That’s the entire alley... what the petitioners get out of this is a driveway and it kept as a not a public through way.” “Basically that’s all it could use it for, they can’t build on it,” added Noel. The mayor called for a vote on Ordinance 828 and Councilman Tony Koepke made the motion to approve and it was seconded by Neysa Roley. Koepke, Roley and Councilman Jon Neal voted to approve the ordinance. Councilman Ed Naillon abstained because he is related to one of the petitioners and Councilman Walt Hart III voted against. After the meeting Hart was asked why he voted against and said, “I think it sets a bad precedent for the city. I have several properties where I would benefit from a vacation of city property, but in most cases I think we need to keep what we can within the city’s ownership.” The next hearing was on whether to approve a conditional use permit (CUP) to change the appearance of an 80-foot cell tower that Verizon had approved in 2009. At that time the company agreed that the tower would be a cylindrical pole with all cellular equipment within it and to not hang any antennas on the outside. However, the cell service provider was back before the council asking to place a four-foot dish at the 45-foot level of the tower. According to their request, the dish would allow Verizon to connect fiber optic in Oroville and then send it to a similar dish on Pickens Mountain located near Ellisforde. This would allow the Verizon to provide 4G Data speeds to that area, where it is not currently available. The planning commission held an extended hearing on the subject at an earlier date, so this hearing was also closed to public

SEE COUNCIL | PG 4

MORE THAN JUST GARLIC

Brent Baker/staff photo

Cool weather, a few drops of rain and one big thunder boomer didn’t dampen spirits at the 14th annual Okanogan Garlic Festival last weekend. A multitude of food and art vendors, as well as three full days of entertainers, ensured visitors had plenty to keep them busy. Above, Val Wells shows off her blend of canned foods.

Oroville School Board meets new staff BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR

OROVILLE – After fulfilling duties serving ice cream at the district’s open house, the Oroville School Board held a later-thanusual board meeting in which they met several incoming staff members and toured the bus garage. The board and members of the public at the meeting Monday, Aug. 26 were introduced to Jay Thacker (the new boys basketball coach), Steven Gunderson, Jan Ottman and Ryan Frazier. Each told the board a little bit about themselves. Thacker, who is a Physical Education teacher, grew up in Walla Walla and went to Gonzaga University. Gunderson, the new High School Counselor, is

originally from Bellingham, then did his undergraduate work at Western Washington University, before participating in a special Masters program at Gonzaga for counselors. Ottman, who will teach 7-12 math, taught 17 years at Tonasket and was born and raised in Tillamook, Ore. Frazier, who will be teaching 7-12 social studies and history, grew up in Oroville and went to school here. He said his background was in alternative schools. “I’m very excited about our new staff,” said Oroville High School Principal Kristin Sarmiento. Julie Tyus, a kindergarten teacher at Oroville, played a short video of her class last year. She talked about “whole brain teaching” or “power teaching.” She said the strategy helped to focus her

students on the task at hand and to pay attention to the teacher. The program will be introduced to additional grades in the coming years. “It’s a nice way to speed up the transition and a great way to make it through the day,” Tyus said. Board Chairman Rocky DeVon said his son benefited from the strategy last year in Tyus’ class. “He had a task to do and gave him something to focus on. I’m glad the first grade is going to start that... I’m excited to see it integrated and how it works with all the grade school.” In his Superintendent’s Report, Steve Quick said the board had met in a retreat at the Pastime Bar & Grill and talked a lot about student assessments. “This gave them a general idea

on who we’re doing compared to the rest of the state... there are some good results, but there are some gaps,” Quick said. The superintendent also reported that the main part of the elementary roof is finished with only a few items remaining. “We also opened the bids for the elementary gym roof and the lowest bid was for $108,000,” said Quick, who added the original bid was for between $155,000 and $156,000 and that was why it was separated out. “It seems it was well worth it to put out the gym bid separately,” said Quick. Work is continuing on installation of the new HVAC system at the high school where they are

SEE SCHOOL | PG A3

More food and fun at the Okanogan County Fair Line up contains new entertainment, vendors BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR

OKANOGAN – While much is the same at the Okanogan County Fair for 2013, there are some new and expanded entertainment offerings this year, according to Gwendolyn Whitley, a member of the Fair Board for some 30 years. The county fair runs Thursday, Sept. 5 through Sunday, Sept. 8, with the gates open to the public on Thursday and Friday at 9 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. “We will continue to have one main entrance on the south side which is the pay gate, however people can also pay at the south gate near the racetrack. This is because it is so close to the track and people like to pay there as they are driv-

ing in to park,” said Whitley. “We feel this system, which was started last year, is a good one.” Once a person has paid they are then able to leave and reenter the fair with their pass at any of the gates, according to Whitley. She added that people showing exhibits can still do so for free and will be able to enter for free on the day they set up, but would have to pay to re-enter if they left the fairgrounds. “We have more food vendors this year and there are still a lot of local favorites that are back,” said Whitely. Okanogan County PUD has also moved their exhibit to a new location, which is closer to the racetrack. They have a demonstration planned for 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and 11 a.m. on Friday. In addition, there is some new entertainment lined up this year, according to Whitley. On Thursday, some of the entertainment includes Rowdy Refs at 10:30 a.m.

OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 109 No. 35

and Paul Isaak at 2 p.m. on the Main Stage. They’re back on stage at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively. After the Royalty Pageant the Project 3:16 Band from the Oroville area will preform on the Main Stage. On Friday, it’s the Rowdy Refs at 10 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., Stoddard and Cole at 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on the Main Stage, followed by a possible appearance by Olivia de la Cruz at 7 p.m., Scott Krippayne finishes the night out at 8 p.m. New for this year will be the Dancing Horses, featuring Guillermo Hernandez from Rock Island, at 5:30 p.m. in the large arena. Also, there is a truck and tractor pull scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Grandstands. On Saturday, it’s Paul Isaak is on the Main Stage at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. and Stoddard and Cole at 11:15 a.m., 2:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The Dancing

SEE FAIR | PG 4

Jennie Wilson/submitted photo

Heidi Wilson shows off her chicken, Rosie, which was originally named Joe. Find out more about Heidi, Rosie and a number of other area kids who will be at the Okanogan County Fair next week in our special county fair section.

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Valley Life A2-3 Letters/Opinion A5 Community A6-7

Calendar A7 Obituaries A7 Classifieds/Legals A8

Real Estate A9 Cops & Courts A9-10