TRACK, TENNIS TEAMS COMPETE
FREE SWIMMING IN MAY
AT DISTRICTS
At Camaray Motel pool, Oroville Monday - Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
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BLUES ON THE BORDER
Sabotage? nance, and the bolts had been loosened on the transfer case. “The garage said they’d never seen then back out on their own and we had only driven 100 miles on that ambulance BY BRENT BAKER since it had been checked. We also had BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM some suspension bolts that were loose. TONASKET - Tonasket’s ambulances I took the other two ambulances right keep turning up with mysterious issues, in and found problems with the other and EMS director Michael Greene hopes ones as well. “Something had to that making the pubhave been done by a lic aware of the situaperson.” tion will bring infor“It made no sense, He added that it was mation to light about fortunate a fortunate because we do a who is responsible. happenstance that he “Somebody has good job with prewill be taking a medical been sabotaging our leave at the end of this ventive maintenance ambulances,” Greene week; because of that said. “I’m not the par... Something had to he had the quarterly anoid type, but the have been done by a maintenance taken care things that have hapof early, before he is pened lately pretty person.” laid up. much eliminate any Michael Greene, Greene said that law other possibility.” Tonasket EMS Director enforcement has been Greene said that contacted and is invesduring the past sevtigating the incidents. eral months, most of “I’m very concerned,” Greene said. the damage has been discovered through his department’s preventive maintenance “Something is the matter here. I’ve talked procedures before something cata- to (Tonasket Police Chief) Rob Burks. I’ve talked to the EMS advisory board strophic could have happened. He said it started about six to eight about our security concerns, and our months ago when lug nuts on the wheels locks have been upgraded. “I have my suspicions as to who might of two ambulances were discovered to be responsible and I’ve passed those be loose. “It made no sense, because we do suspicions on to law enforcement. But if a good job with our maintenance,” he we hadn’t been doing preventive mainsaid. “Then last week we took one of the tenance the way we have we’d be in big ambulances in for its quarterly mainte- trouble.”
Greene questions damaged ambulances
Gary DeVon/staff photos
Voodoo Church. above, was just one of six blues bands that performed at the first annual Rally at the Border Blues Fest held at Oroville’s Deep Bay Park on Osoyoos Lake. Riders, left, from the Run for the Border enter Oroville. The event is a charity ride that raises money for good causes like the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Department’s Shop with a Cop Program, and had over 150 motorcyclists participate. The Columbia Harley Owners Group sponsors the 150 mile ride from Wenatchee to Oroville each Armed Services Day. “Live to Ride, Ride to Live,” below, is the motto of may who enjoy riding motorcycles.
TSD to consider 8th graders in high school athletics As 2B school, Tonasket would join others, including Oroville and Liberty Bell, with that policy BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
TONASKET - Eighth graders may soon be eligible to participate in some high school sports in the Tonasket School District as the school board is considering a proposal outlined by Athletic Director Kevin Terris at the board’s Monday, May 12, meeting. As Terris outlined, schools in the class 2B an 1B ranks as defined by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association may play eighth graders at the high school level in sports that are not offered at the middle school/junior high level, or to salvage high school programs that suffer from a lack of participation. Tonasket will be a 2B school for the next two-year cycle. The Tigers’ athletic teams have been Class 1A (playing the likes of Cashmere, Chelan, and other larger schools) but changes in the way the WIAA determines its classifications dropped Tonasket to a classification of smaller schools, despite not actually losing enrollment. Terris explained how this happen in response to a question from board member Catherine Stangland. “We’ve been a 2A school, a 1A school and now a 2B school,” he said. “We’ve gone from four to six classifications over the past several years... Two major reasons for the change this year: Schools at the bottom of the list that have limited programs... those students are not counted in the schools when they set up the divisions. The other piece is that alternative school students are no longer counted regardless of whether they participate in your program or not.” The change means that instead of competing in league and state competitions against schools with as many as 800 high school students (such as Quincy) in 1A, Tonasket will be one of the largest 2B schools in the state. Okanogan and Brewster are other area schools dropping down in classification this year.
Terris said he surveyed other area 2B schools and found that most allow eighth grade participation at some level. Oroville and Liberty Bell have allowed participation in both team and individual sports for at least the past couple years; Okanogan intends to allow it as they drop down as well; Lake Roosevelt and Manson allow participation in individual sports. Kettle Falls, which has bumped between 2B and 1A in recent WIAA cycles, has not allowed eighth grade participation and Brewster didn’t respond to Terris’s queries. Terris proposed that the district allow full eighth grade participation in both individual and team sports that do not offer middle programs. “If we do have a feeder program and salvaging a team impacts a middle school program, my recommendation is to not allow that,” he said. “I do not want to destroy middle school programs to save a JV program.” Programs likely affected would include boys and girls soccer, tennis, baseball and softball. Cross country, football, volleyball, basketball, wrestling and track all have established middle school programs that wouldn’t be altered. “Nearly every school we will be competing against is allowing it,” Terris noted, “and I’m for balanced competition.” The board decided to consider Terris’s recommendation, citing the need to get some community feedback, especially if there were community (non-school) sponsored programs that would be affected by the change. The decision would need to be made at the next school board meeting to allow for fall sports sign-ups to proceed before school gets out in a few weeks.
STRATEGIC PLANNING The second round of Thoughtstream surveys have been released, and the board reviewed the progress of the first round of the district’s internet-based attempt to gather the community’s thoughts on the district’s direction. The original survey was sent out to the district’s database of approximately 500 emails; they received 144 responses. Respondents are able to forward the survey to friends or post the link to social media sites, which the district is
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OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 110 No. 21
Mayor, council spar over comments BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM
TONASKET - Should city resident’s comments count for more than those of non-residents that frequently use city facilities? Tonasket Mayor Patrick Plumb and council member Jill Vugteveen differed sharply on that issue during the Tuesday, May 13, city council meeting as they verbally crossed swords over Plumb’s solicitation of Facebook comments regarding the possibility of Tonasket joining a county-wide mosquito district. Plumb attempted to share some of the comments he received, but Vugteveen, and to a lesser extent Scott Olson, didn’t think Plumb’s approach was appropriate. Plumb said he felt that while city residents’ comments needed to take priority, others needed to be considered as well, both because they use the city parks and because of the likelihood that efforts to rebuild the city swimming pool will depend on the ability to get the outlying communities to financially contribute to its construction and upkeep. “The parks are not just for city resi-
dents,” Plumb said. “I’m depending on getting their money, their support for our pool. These are the types of comments (about mosquitos at the park) that I get. My Facebook is available for anyone to publicly peruse. MRSC says nothing that a mayor can’t do what I’ve done.” “The pool is irrelevant,” Vugteveen said. “It has nothing to do with the mosquito district. You are bringing other issues in to prove a point and it’s wrong.” “I guess I just value everyone’s opinion that interacts with the city,” Plumb said. “Then value it, but don’t bring it to this forum where we have to make an educated decision for the taxpayers we represent,” Vugteveen said. “I’m not saying I don’t care about the opinions of the outlying area. I care about the people in the city limits that elected me to make a decision. (These comments) are irrelevant because they won’t pay if it’s voted in.” “I understand why you’re doing it,” Olson said. “But I really am torn on the idea. Yes, the parks are a city service to the greater community. But we are proposing that the city residents keep those parks up and pay more to keep
CITY PLANNER ITEMS City planner Kurt Danison reported on a number of items: • Danison submitted a grant application on behalf of the city to for approximately $70,000, requiring a $10,000 match by the city, that would deal with the city’s persistent problems with ADA access ramps downtown. “The project would start late 2015 and be completed in 2016 (if it’s granted),” Danison said. “It would build ramps at Third, Fourth and Fifth on the west side of 97, and may replace one of the ramps that DOT put in without letting us know.” He added that other ramps in the area were being replaced at the federal government’s expense, such as in Oroville and Okanogan, because federal dollars were previously used on road projects there.
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them mosquito free for the larger community. There is a point where we need to say, we’re running them, thanks for the idea, but how about chipping in some money?”
Valley Life A2 Border Blues A3-4 Letters/Opinion A5
Community A6-7 Classifieds/Legals A8-9 Real Estate A9
Sports A10-11 Obituary A12 Cops & Courts A12