HORNET FOOTBALL NABS WIN;
FLU SHOTS OFFERED
VOLLEYBALL GOES PINK
Okanogan Co. Public Health, Thursday, Oct. 17, 7:30 am-4 pm Call (509) 422-7140 for info.
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Time to talk swimming pool
BRINGING IN THE APPLE CROP
Report details options for proposed Tonasket project; projected costs range from $1-2.5 million BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
Gary DeVon/staff photo
Another load of bins of Golden Delicious leaves an S&D leased orchard north of Oroville along Highway 97. The tractor driver will stack the bins and they will go by truck to Gold Digger Apples packing facility in Oroville. The apple harvest is expected to go on for about another 10 days..
HARVEST TIME
Short crop for Wenatchee District, especially so for north end of Okanogan Valley
SEE POOL | PG A3
Senator candidates speak at Oroville Chamber meeting
BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
While the rest of the apple producing states are having a bumper crop, the situations are reversed from last year for Gold Digger Apples and growers in Washington. Gold Digger’s general manager, Greg Moser, predicts with about 10 days of a harvest that started nearly two weeks early this year, the crop will be down between 20 and 30 percent overall for the growers’ cooperative. “The crop is picking short because we had so much frost damage in the spring. It appears our end of the valley got hit the worst,” said Moser, who adds that the crop is down statewide, but more so in the Wenatchee District that his cooperative is part of. Moser described the crop as a “shell crop,” where the trees didn’t look so bad because the outsides appeared normal, but the frost damage was much worse for the apples nearer the center of the trees. “We originally thought we were going to be down 10 to 20 percent, but it looks much more like the 20 to 30 percent number will apply by the time we’re all done,” he said. They’re predicting a statewide crop of 119 million tons, while last year that number was 126 to 129 million, according to Moser. While other growing states like Michigan and New York, as well as Canada, had crops that were severely down last year, these areas are predicting bumper crops this year. Moser thinks overall the market prices should still be strong though. He says that harvest started about 10 days earlier than normally this year, with picking beginning the third week of August with Galas. Gold Digger growers then harvested
TONASKET - The initial report is in. Now the real work begins. Late last summer the City of Tonasket contracted Pool World (Spokane) to evaluate the site of the current (and proposed future) city swimming pool and provide options, including features and costs, for building a new pool. Pool World’s book-length report, including four basic pool design options and hundreds of optional features, was recently delivered to the city. The Tonasket City Council discussed, in broad terms, the contents of the concept design and what the next step is in involving the community in the decision about how to move forward at its Tuesday, Oct. 8, meeting. “They provided us with four alternatives,” said city planner Kurt Danison of Highlands Associates. “The lowest cost is a little under $1 million. That’s to remodel the pool building and to replace the existing pool almost exactly the way it is today. There’s not a lot of amenities; there’s no zero entry (for handicapped swimmers), nothing like that. That was an option they threw in as an extra. “The other three alternatives include a new pool building and new pool, ranging from $1.5-1.6 million, to $2.5 million. “They give a rundown of what the basic thing is, and a bunch of costs for additions and options.” All of the options were for a seasonal outdoor pool, on various scales similar to the pool that Tonasket had before the current one was condemned.
“I know the answer to this question,” said council member Scott Olson. “But what do we tell people who want an indoor pool?” “We can’t pay for it,” Danison said. “It would cost, depending on the size, 10-15 times more on an annual basis than an outdoor pool. Even if someone walked in the door and gave us money to build it, we should say, ‘No.’ Because we couldn’t afford to take care of it. We cannot charge enough money (in pool entry fees or memberships). “Places like Federal Way and Eastmont are closing indoor pools. It would be a wonderful addition but it’s not Tonasket’s deal.” Danison and the council agreed to set up a public meeting at a neutral site, such as the school or the Community Cultural Center, to share information and get feedback from the public. “I’ll explain why we are where we are, how we got here, this is what we have, and see what kind of support we get,” Danison said. “We’ve reached the point where we need to make a decision whether or not to pursue a pool. I’m not sure we can get Linda Black to do 15 fundraisers like she did a couple of weeks ago.” Black has spent the past year raising money for the Tonasket Water Ranch spray park, which has been funded entirely with private money and will cost less than 10 percent of what it will cost to build a pool. The water ranch will also have negligible maintenance costs compared to the pool.
BY GARY A. DEVON MANAGING EDITOR
Gary DeVon/staff photos
Guadalupe Reynoso and Leovijilda Rodriguez (above) are working the harvest at the S&D leased orchard. Reynoso’s father, Inocencio (below) picks Golden Delicious apples last Friday. their Honey Crisp, Golden and Red Delicious and will be finishing up with Grannies and Fujis. “Overall the quality is good, but like the pears, we have some heat damage. For pears we do pressure tests on three sides of the fruit and have found one of three will be lower... that’s the side that was facing the sun. The apple quality is good, but some show heat damage... it just depends on what orchard and which block,” he said. And even though it has been a short crop, for apples, the area is still experiencing a labor shortage, which the GM said would have been much worse this year if cherries, apples and pears were up to normal numbers. He said the company is going to try and secure even more H2A labor through the federal guest worker program next year.
OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 109 No. 42
What’s on the way Gold Digger Apples’ Growers have been harvesting Galas, Honey Crisps, Gold and Red Delicious, Granny Smith and Fuji Apples
Positive Outlook The small growers’ cooperative, the last left in Oroville, continues to expand, even north of the border, according to Moser. Gold Digger Apples Inc. had one grower from Canada that came on board last year. This year Gold Digger added three more Canadian growers and three more local growers, he said. Gold Digger members grow primarily apples, pears and cherries. The co-op is slowly phasing out its winery business. And on another positive note, Moser said next year will probably one of the cooperatives bigger crops. With more growers coming into the Gold Digger family and young acreage starting to produce, Moser sees even better days ahead for the cooperative and its grower members.
OROVILLE – The candidates for senator for the Seventh Legislative District spoke at the Thursday, Oct. 10 Oroville Chamber of Commerce meeting. Incumbent Senator John Smith and Brian Dansell, a Ferry County Commissioner, were each given 25 minutes to discuss why they should be elected to the senate seat which Smith has held since being appointed to replace the retiring Bob Morton. Smith, a Republican, said that it was a real honor to be appointed last January when Sen. Bob Morton retired after 22 years in the legislature. He said he went through a selection process and his appointment was unanimously approved by the county commissioners in all five counties encompassed in the Seventh District. He said that he was a part of a bipartisan coalition that united on the issues of jobs, education and sustainable budget. “It’s the first time there has been bipartisan agreement in a decade,” said Smith. “We all know the biggest issue in the Seventh District is the economy.” The incumbent said he came to Washington State from Idaho when he and his wife had the opportunity to work a cattle ranch in Colville. He also said he had worked for a firm in California where he was asked to come in and “fix stuff.” “If I could fix one of four projects it would pay for my time,” he said. Smith said that one piece of advice that Sen. Morton gave him was to not just look for ways to add laws, but also ways
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to get rid of some of them. He said he had worked closely with Okanogan County Auditor Scott Furman, as well as a pilot program to use biomass to heat schools. “In cases where schools have gone from propane to pellets, they’ve saved 60 percent,” he said. “They are highly efficient and sustainable, while saving education dollars.” Smith said using biomass can also create jobs in the forest and for wood product manufacturers. The senator told those at the chamber that he lived under the largest wolf pack in the state. “They weren’t there when I moved there 24 years ago,” said Smith, who added that the wolves make him worry about his and other families, pets and livestock. Smith said he reached out to the cattlemen of the five counties he represents and asked for their input and in attempting to get the wolf delisted by the federal government, like it has been in Montana and Idaho. “A rancher once told me, you’ll never see the wolf, just the results,” said Smith. “Our efforts here have altered the state conversation and as a result the Feds are considering delisting.” Smith wants to see a policy that includes removal, compensation for losses and the ability to take preventative protection. Dansel, Smith’s challenger for the senate seat, is also a Republican. He said he got into politics after he was unable to get a permit to do some building on property he owned in Ferry County because
Valley Life A2 Letters/Opinion A5 Community A6-7
Classifieds/Legals A8-9 Real Estate A9 Sports A10-11
Cops & Courts Obituaries
A12 A12