Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune, July 24, 2014

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OKANOGAN VALLEY

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CLOSE CALL FOR TONASKET AREA; SOUTH COUNTY HIT HARD BY FIRE

Emerging from warrants

NVH takes big step in return return to financial health BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM

TONASKET - When North Valley Hospital District officially emerged out of debt from Okanogan County for a day to kick off July, it was a landmark moment, but also only the beginning of the next stage of the hospital’s return to financial health. “We’ll probably go in and out of warrants a little for the next year,” said NVH Administrator Linda Michel. “That’s just the nature of the beast while you’re trying to get some cash in the bank.” Indeed, the hospital has been in and out of warrants several times since. “Last week we were able to pay over $65,000 of bills with our own money,” Michel said. “(At the start Monday, July 21) we were $53,000 in the hole.” By Tuesday morning, payments had come in that brought NVH $262 into the black. Warrants are intended to be short-term loans from the county, but which have been a long-term lifeline for all three of Okanogan County’s hospitals. The hospital’s debt to Okanogan County was at $2.955 million in late August, 2012, and was still at about $2 million last July. “At this point we’re determined to stay out,” Michel said. “You have to build up that cash in the bank, so it doesn’t happen all at once. We’re looking at every process we have - not to work harder, but smarter, trying to do some lean implementation.” Michel said she wouldn’t be against using warrants for their originally intended purpose - as a short term loan, as opposed to a line of credit. “We need to pay for our daily operations by ourselves,” she said. “Warrants should be used for big things where you have a plan to pay them down, not day to day operations.” Parts of the facility are aging and are in need of upgrades before they reach crisis stage. In the past year the call system in the nursing home failed, and one of the boilers had to be replaced after more than 50 years of service. “I won’t say we’ll never borrow,” Michel said. “Our facility is old. We have to go forward with the rest of the boilers, and the windows on the nursing home. We have a lot of stuff facing us.”

After watching a week of frightening images and stories of a destructive firestorm emerge from Pateros, Malott and the Methow Valley, Tonasket-area residents received a scare of their own Monday when a fire erupted on Bugg Road in the North Siwash Creek area, 10 miles east of town. Significant air support included a DC-10 Air Tanker out of British Columbia (above, dropping fire retardant), several smaller planes and a host of helicopters that had the 1,000-plus acre blaze mostly under control by sunset on Monday. Right, Pateros wasn’t so lucky after fire wiped out a significant section of its residential area on Thursday, as the Carlton Complex fire exploded to more than 240,000 acres by week’s end. That is now the largest fire in recorded state history, surpassing the Tripod Complex fire that burned in Okanogan County nearly a decade ago. The nation’s top priority wildfire, it was still being fought across the county on Tuesday morning. Stories of that fire’s local impact are on pages A2-3.

Oroville approves dock extension Council updated on Tumbleweed Film Festival BY GARY A. DE VON MANAGING EDITOR

OROVILLE – The Oroville City Council approved a request from Sandalia Beach Resort to extend their dock at the council’s Tuesday, July 15 meeting following the conclusion of a public hearing on the matter. The request was for a 224’ dock with 24 slips, each with a groundbased boat lift, as well as an extension of the shoreline permit. The public hearing was a continuance from the previous council meeting two weeks prior. The proponents from the resort added no additional information at the hearing. A rebuttal statement from Christian Johnson, Oroville’s Permit Administrator, was read by Chris Branch, director of Community Development. The rebuttal mostly addressed concerns raised by members of the Lake Osoyoos Association at the part of the public hearing held two weeks earlier. One Johnson comments disputed the LOA’s contention that the expanded dock would restrict the flow of navigable water. He

also talked about the resort’s miti- that the LAO perceived was most gation, which included a public detrimental. walking trail and a wetlands buf“I think they were worried fer, as well as shoreline plantings. about size and navigation,” said Councilman Ed Naillon asked Councilman Jon Neal. if Sandalia maintained “no div“After a week of having to coning” signs and he was assured that sider this issue I don’t set aside the resort did so. the concerns of the opponents, “I did go out there to look at but they don’t outweigh the facts the dock and measured in 16 as provided by our staff and the locations,” said Naillon, adding needs of summer residents are that under each not outweighed current slip the by those that sand had been live here year “...I don’t set aside the washed away around,” said and was about Councilwoman concerns of the oppoa foot deeper Neysa Roley. nents, but they don’t from prop Roley made wash. a motion outweigh the facts as He felt that to approve provided by our staff S a n d a l i a ’ s moving the dock further request with all and the needs of the out, as prothe conditions posed by the summer residents are laid out by resort would the staff at the not outweighed by improve this previous part issue. of the hearing. those who live here “I was surCouncilman year around.” prised when I Tony Koepke Councilwoman Neysa Roley think of a 164 seconded the foot dock (curmotion and rent size) this it was passed seemed huge… when you get out with all council members vottheir on the lake and look at it ing approval, except Councilman didn’t seem so big to me,” said Walt Hart who abstained. Naillon. “What I did see was that Tumbleweed Film Festival prop wash shows you do need Sandy Lorentzen and Vicki some additional depth.” Hinze appeared before the counNaillon asked what the impact cil to discuss the upcoming

OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 110 No. 30

Tumbleweed Film Festival and of how difficult it was to start the ask for its support. Lorentzen is a Ashland Shakespeare Festival in volunteer for the event and Hinze Oregon. Today it attracts over owns the Pastime Bar and Grill, 300,000 people and generates one of the event’s sponsors. $168 million... that’s quite a posiThey said the film tive economic impact festival, now in its fifth for businesses in the year will be held over area.” four days July 30 to Aug. She went on to say 2 with a total of about these types of events 60 short independent are generally run by films being shown. non-profits like the “The first year it was Tumbleweed, which in two locations, this was founded by Geoff year it is in five dif- Neysa Roley Klein and Mo Fine ferent locations,” said from Seattle because of Lorentzen. their love of the Oroville area. The festival starts off with “The Chamber endorses the an event on Wednesday at the festival and we’ve been grateful Pastime Bar and Grill with a to get Chris’ (Branch) advice. change for this year. Rather than Right now it is a labor of love. I showing the movies this year at believe supporting and helping the Pastime, ticket holders will the film festival to grow is good follow a special meal by going for Oroville and hope you’ll all to Vicki’s Back Door Club for attend,” said Lorentzen. the movies. On Thursday, there will be a family night at the high CONCESSION STAND school commons. On Friday Rosa Snyder updated the counit will be a 21-and-older event cil on the concessions stand at at one of the founding venues, Oroville’s Osoyoos Lake Veterans Alpine Brewing and on Saturday Memorial Park which she rents it will be at the other founding from the city. venue, Esther Bricques Winery “We’re doing fairly well I think. south of town. The Fourth of July was busy, we “Some of the most successful had to have three people working festival specialized... not everyone all the time to keep up. Breakfast likes chamber music, but there is is also going well on the weeka whole festival dedicated to it,” end,” she said, adding that they said Lorentzen. “And just think are trying to keep prices low in

INSIDE THIS EDITION

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

order that everyone can afford something. Other than some problems with the electrical circuit breakers, the only issue she finds is that the stand is “complaint central” and many people bring their gripes, real and imagined, about park issues to her and those that work at the stand. “I can not say enough good about Rod (Noel) and his crew,” Snyder said, referring to the parks department head and those that work for the city at the lakeside park and campground. Snyder said in addition to the campers, families and kids, the park gets many agriculture workers in the afternoons. She also said they’ve gone through 60 gallons of ice cream since opening. “One thing we’ve done is start a program where parents give us $10 and then the kids are allowed to bring a code word to make purchases, rather than carrying money themselves,” she said, adding that when the money is depleted the parents can replenish the account. The concession stand is rented on a percentage basis and the previous month $506 was paid to the city, according to city clerk Kathy Jones. The business’ hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday through Monday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday.

Fire Coverage A2-3 Letters/Opinion A5 Community A6-7

Classifieds/Legals A8-9 Real Estate A9 Tractor Pulls A10

Obituaries Cops & Courts

A11 A12


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