Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune, May 08, 2014

Page 1

SPECIAL

FOOD BANK FUNDRAISER

MAY FESTIVAL SECTION

Help raise money for purchase of Tonasket Food Bank building Saturday, May 10, 6 pm at CCC

See Page A8-9

SERVING WASHINGTON’S

OKANOGAN VALLEY

SINCE 1905

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Take a ‘Walk on the Wild Side’

‘Clear off base’ Commissioners

A ROYAL INVITATION

May Festival celebrating 80 Years BY GARY A. DE VON MANAGING EDITOR

OROVILLE – “Walk on the Wild Side” is the theme for this year’s Oroville May Festival which marks the 80th Anniversary of the Oroville’s premier annual event. The festivities start with the coronation which takes place on Friday at 7 p.m. at Oroville High School. This year’s royalty are Queen Kylee Davis and Princess Bethany Roley. Following the coronation there will be a lighted mini-parade through town. Queen Kylee and Princess Bethany invite everyone to come and enjoy the weekend which has a wide range of activities so most will find something they can enjoy. The girls are scheduled to be on Open Line on KOMW Radio this Thursday at 8 a.m., according to the May Festival Committee’s Michelle Smith, now in her fifth year as president. “There’s not a whole lot new this year; of course the Border Patrol Explorers have added a dunk tank, which should be fun. There were a couple last minute additions that weren’t on the schedule -- Daralyn Hollenbeck (with Blue Star Mothers) is going to have a Veterans display and the International Choir will be performing ‘Nifty Fifties’ at the Free Methodist Church for no charge at 2 p.m. Also, although we don’t have an official car show this year, we are inviting those who drove their classic cars in the parade to park in the lot south of Prince’s Warehouse,” said Smith. Saturday’s activities start with a bass tournament at 6 a.m. at Oroville’s Deep Bay Park on Lake Osoyoos. There’s a pancake breakfast at the American Legion Hall beginning at 7 p.m. and that’s when the Fun Run starts from Appleway Street. The 3 on 3 Basketball Tourney gets underway at 8 a.m. and goes to 5 p.m. Then the center piece of the May Festival, the Grand Parade, begins making it’s way down Main Street until it turns west on Central. Following the parade there is a lawn ceremony in front of the high school where the various awards are announced and the traditional May Pole Dance is carried out by local fourth grade students. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Okanogan Borderlands Historical Society welcomes people to come see their latest exhibit “The Salmon Peoples – Stories Tell the Past” a one-of-kind display relating to the area’s first peoples, the Okanogan Tribe. Starting at 11:30 a.m. the Oroville Chamber of Commerce will be holding their annual barbecue. The Aurora Masons will be putting on the Kids Games at Ben Prince Field behind the high school starting at noon. Also starting at noon will be a dunk tank sponsored by the Border Patrol Explorers who promise local celebrities will be featured. A Meet and Greet with present and past staff of the school district is also planned between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. at the high school. Throughout the day local wineries – Okanogan Estate and Vineyards, Copper Mountain and Esther Bricques will also be holding tastings of their fine vintages. For a full schedule see pages A8 and A9.

deny hospital consolidation is their goal BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM

Teresa Hawkins/submitted photo

Oroville May Festival Queen Kylee Davis and Princess Bethany Roley invite everyone to this year’s May Festival starting with the Queen’s Coronation on Friday at 7 p.m. at Oroville High School. The majority of the festival’s activities will be Saturday, including the Grand Parade which starts at 10 a.m.

Teacher talks ‘Flipping the Classroom’ at OHS He’s using method to teach his Running Start students

Gary DeVon/staff photo

Tonasket School District Superintendent Paul Turner, left, and Tonasket EMS Director Michael Greene consult during last week’s emergency drill built around a school bus accident scenario. Turner and Greene’s assessment of the drill, as well as more photos, can be found on page A2.

Mandates could tighten elementary space even more BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM

TONASKET - Early projections for 2014-15 enrollment still look solid, said Superintendent Paul Turner at the Monday, April 28, Tonasket School District Board meeting. And while that is good news for staying the course for next year’s budget, it continues to highlight the district’s facilities needs. “We’re excited about how our year has gone (with steady enrollment),” Turner said. “We’re averaging 1,078, and in April we were at 1,066 FTEs. Also remember that we’re expecting that

1066 to be right at 1,050 for next year. But we’ve had a very good kindergarten enrollment we’re excited about.” The district budgeted for 1,030 students this year and 1,050 next year, with the higher estimated number intended to compensate for the fact that the increased staffing is being paid for by dollars from the new levy that won’t start coming to the district until the middle of the next school year. The number of students the district serves, however, has been the topic of some discussion

SEE ENROLLMENT | PG A4

OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 110 No. 19

except through email. “I’ve been flipping my classroom. Instead of me standing up there for 15 minutes and lecturing, instead they watch videos, look at Powerpoints... then when they BY GARY A. DE VON come to class they ask me questions,” he said. MANAGING EDITOR School Board Chairman Rocky OROVILLE – Tam Hutchinson DeVon asked the teacher if that was was asked to speak to the Oroville working well. “I think it is... it is something new School Board about the Running for me,” Hutchinson Start students under his said. care at the board’s Monday, The teacher showed April 28 meeting. the board a website on Running Start is a proEuropean Imperialism gram that allows students “The Scramble for to take college level classes Africa” as one of the while still in high school, sites his class had been giving them college credusing. The site has its that can be used when video clips and audio they move on to a tradi- Tam Hutchinson excerpts – each student tional two or four year is expected to look at college. Hutchinson, a history teacher, teaches Western the material and write notes. “That’s the part they don’t like... Civilization and U.S. History to they have to write a lot,” he said. these students. The notes are then emailed to “Not having been in college myself for a few years, I was sur- the teacher at the end of the lesson. “When you talk to students prised to find pretty much everything online,” said Hutchinson, whose teachers were using the trawho created two websites with sep- ditional method of teaching you arate email accounts for his classes. hear that when they are lecturing He said that students send and you can’t stop and rewind... with a receive assignments via email – flipped classroom you are able to something that is becoming more watch and listen until you undercommon in colleges. Before com- stand the material,” said School ing to Oroville he taught comput- Director DeVon. Hutchinson also showed the ers, but that was some time ago, he said. Hutchinson said he had been board that there is an eight video working with two mentors and that one did not take any assignment SEE FLIPPING | PG A4

SEE HEALTH | PG A4

INSIDE THIS EDITION

CONTACT US Newsroom and Advertising (509) 476-3602 gdevon@gazette-tribune.com

OKANOGAN - Okanogan County Commissioners are not angling to consolidate the county’s three hospitals, they assured a North County-heavy audience at a session called by Commissioner Sheilah Kennedy on Wednesday, April 30. The two hour meeting covered a wide range of county-related health care topics, most of which trickle down from changing state and federal mandates. But what drew about two-thirds of the audience - including a healthy contingent of administrative staff from North Valley Hospital were reports last month that there Rep. Shelly Short was enough momentum building toward a consolidation of the three county hospitals that plans had actually been drawn up for a new facility in Omak. Though many were in attendance to hear about such possible consolidation efforts, that topic wasn’t discussed at length until Tonasket Mayor Patrick Plumb (also an NVH employee) more or less forced the issue to the forefront. Plumb said he was concerned about the potential impact of Tonasket losing 240 jobs if the hospital were to close as part of a consolidation effort. “I hear at least two of you today saying that’s not the direction you want to go,” Plumb said. “I appreciate Mr. Campbell talking about (the impact of a hospital closure in Deer Park, referenced briefly earlier in the meeting) and that is exactly what we don’t want to see in Tonasket. “I’m just making sure there isn’t a different path we’re trying to take here. If you consolidate all these hospitals ...we’d lose the Critical Access program entirely. Consolidating services is always a great idea until you lose your funding structure.” “To make it clear, we as Okanogan County Commissioners have no say in our public hospitals,” Kennedy said. “It’s the elected officials ... The fact is all three hospitals are on registered warrants. That is an impact to the county. The community (is) asking how come we don’t combine the hospitals. That is a question this committee might finally be able to address one way or the other: (either) yes it makes sense, no it doesn’t make sense, and here are the reasons why.... “Bottom line is, we’re going to define through all of our work what the people want, and what we’re going to keep, and what we’re going to provide.” “Are we planning on keeping all three of these hospitals viable?”

Letters/Opinion A5 Community A6-7 May Festival A8-9

Cops & Courts Sports Schools

A10 B1-2 B3

Classifieds/Legals B4-5 Real Estate B5 Obituaries B6


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