Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune, December 04, 2014

Page 1

MOLSON BINGO

Community Coat, Food and Toy Drives

Molson Grange Hall Friday, Dec. 5, 7:00 p.m.

See Pages A2 and A7

SERVING WASHINGTON’S

OKANOGAN VALLEY

SINCE 1905

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Tonasket Schools approve $6.98 million bond Citizen bond committee reworked proposal, gains board approval BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM

TONASKET - A year ago, Tonasket School District voters rejected a $6 million, 10-year bond that would have helped alleviate overcrowding, built a new Alternative/Outreach school and upgrade athletic facilities that in some cases pose safety hazards to participants. The Tonasket School Board, on Monday, Nov. 24, approved a plan put

forth by superintendent Paul Turner, who coordinated the work of a citizens’ facilities committee to rework the expansion/upgrade plan in a way that they hope will address the concerns voters had about the initial attempt. The second attempt actually will cost more: $6.98 million over 12 years, or $1.58 per $1,000 of property valuation. After the failure of the initial bond vote, the board took a different tack in involving the community. The facilities committee - which included Aaron Alberts, Dan Vassar, Ernie Cerillo, Gene Jones, Janet Bretz, John Verbeck, Kevin Terris, Michael Greene, Rob Inlow, Shane Freese, Stacey Kester and Carol Lanigan - met nearly

Council agrees on COLA/bonus combination

weekly with Turner for the past several months to revamp the facilities plan; community Thoughtstream surveys have given the board and committee data to work with on the community’s priorities; and a citizens’ bond committee chaired by Greene, Patti Hill and Kirsten Williams will take on much of the task of providing information to voters leading up to the Feb. 10, 2015 election. “We used three main premises during our discussion,” Turner said. “One was ‘need versus want.’ Cost was the second; and student programming. If we diverged, we tried to come back to those ideas to bring ourselves back and stay on focus on where we were at.” While there were some complaints in

the community that the Thoughtstream survey was somewhat convoluted, the 500-plus responses did glean trends of opinions about the features of the bond that were incorporated into the committee’s planning. During the board meeting, Lea Schreck of Thoughstream summarized the results via teleconference. “Overall what we saw in the data was that the Alternative School students needed a separate identity (location), but there needed to be cost-effective ways to get that,” she said. “For many constituents, Elementary School overcrowding was a key concern... there were cost concerns around the type of Ag shop construction... there was positive feedback for Career Programming... And

there was positive feedback for the sports complex and gym space.” The project would affect nearly the entire campus, divided into six sections: sports complex upgrades, Elementary School expansion; new space for the Alternative/Outreach school; Agricultural Shop expansion; Middle School expansion (that would also free up some high school space); and campus wide safety and security upgrades. “We had citizens on the committee, and the architect was here and met with the committee,” Greene said as part of his bond committee presentation. “We did community surveys, and the superintendent went out to speak with com-

SEE BOND | PG A3

Ecology issues Stage 1 burn ban

DECK THE HALLS

Light at end of tunnel for Tonasket budget

Outdoor burning prohibited throughout North Central Washington

BY BRENT BAKER BBAKER@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM

TONASKET - The Tonasket City Council agreed on a plan to settle the salaries of city employees for 2015, voting unanimously on Tuesday, Nov. 25, to adopt Council Member Scott Olson’s compromise plan that adopted features of a pair of proposals sitting before the them. Olson and Council Member Jill Vugteveen, who comprise the finance committee, had proposed the city raise its employees’ salaries by 2 percent across the board, which they deemed a cost of living increase (COLA) as opposed to a “raise.” Mayor Patrick Plumb, who questioned the council’s definition of a COLA, proposed taking the aggregate of the employees’ salaries, raising that aggregate by 2 percent, then giving each employee an equal share of that increased amount, thereby helping the lower-paid employees “catch up” to their higher-paid coworkers. “My contention with the word... COLA as I understand it, is based on Social Security, what they determine,” Plumb said. “Everyone else calls a COLA something else. The cost of living adjustment is 1.7 percent. (The council’s proposal) ended up being 2 percent. You do what you want, but it’s a raise.” Olson explained where the two percent figure came from before floating his proposal. “The 2 percent from the COLA came from the Federal Register,” he said. “I got it in June or July when we first had this conversation. I know we have batted around 2 percent and I know we can do 2 percent.” Olson’s plan gives the employees a 1.7 COLA; the remaining 0.3 percent is figured from the aggregate salary of the 11 city employees and divided equally amongst them. “Everyone gets a 1.7 percent cost of living increase, same as Social Security,” Olson said. “We take the extra 0.3 percent and divide it evenly among the 11 employees who only got cost of living. That would be (an additional) $132 per employee.” The twelfth employee, Yvonne Kennedy, will get a separate raise after the council (following much discussion) determined that she had been hired in during this past year at a lower rate than other clerical employees’ entry rates.

SEE COUNCIL | PG A2

THE GAZETTE-TRIBUNE

YAKIMA - A Stage 1 burn ban for Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Klickitat, Kittitas and Chelan, Okanogan counties was issued for on Monday, Dec. 1 by the Washington Department of Ecology. The ban will remain in place until further notice. Air is expected to remain cold and stagnant over the next few days. All outdoor burning – including residential, agricultural and forest burning – is prohibited. Under a Stage 1 ban the use of uncertified wood-burning devices – including fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts – is prohibited unless they are a home’s only adequate source of heat. Certified woodburning devices and pellet stoves are allowed. Ecology recommends burning hot fires using only clean, dry wood. By limiting burning and following restrictions when burn bans are called, residents can help improve air quality sooner. Ecology’s burn bans do not apply on tribal reservations, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has jurisdiction.

Above, Brad Calico and other members of the Oroville City Crew hung poinsettia Christmas ornaments up and down Main Street last Monday morning. Right, the lighted decorations are a sure sign of the season, with the Oroville Community Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony planned for this Saturday evening. To the south, Tonasket will be holding their annual Winterfest with the festivities starting Friday evening and spilling over into Saturday with bazaars and a benefit for Carlton Complex Fire victims and firefighters. Gary DeVon/staff photos

North County communities to kick off holiday season BY GARY A. DE VON & BRENT BAKER EDITOR@GAZETTE-TRIBUNE.COM

NORTH COUNTY – The weatherman is predicting warmer temperatures by this week’s end which promises better weather for the annual kick offs to the holiday season by the communities of Tonasket and Oroville. For Tonasket that means Winterfest, which starts on Friday, Dec. 5 and carries over to Saturday and for Oroville it is the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 6.

OKANOGAN VALLEY GAZETTE-TRIBUNE Volume 110 No. 49

WINTERFEST The centerpiece of Tonasket’s Winterfest is the variety of activities that will take place Friday evening. The kids will be waiting for Santa’s arrival to Founders Day Park (next to the visitors’ center downtown) on a fire truck at 6 p.m. but there is plenty to do beforehand and on Saturday. The Tonasket Library book sale, which actually begins on Thursday (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) also runs on Friday (9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) and will also include a story time and holiday craft. Winners of the coloring contest that will be announced at 5:45 p.m. Not to be confused with the library

book sale is the Tonasket Elementary Scholastic Book Sale, which will be in full swing Thursday (8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Friday (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). There will also be face painting in the foyer of the City Hall/Library building and a gift fair at the Visitors Center. At the park, Quill Hyde’s A Cavallo will light up the festivities and likely provide horse rides for anyone who want them (don’t know what A Cavallo is? You’ll have to see it to believe it.) There will be plenty of little “warming fires” available to help hold off the

SEE HOLIDAY | PG A2

Santa and Mrs. Claus hitch a ride on a lighted tractor in last year’s parade.

INSIDE THIS EDITION

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

Gary DeVon/file photo

Shop Oroville Sports Letters/Opinion

A4 A4 A5

Community Obituaries Winterfest

A6-7 A8 B1

Classifieds Real Estate Cops & Courts

B2-3 B3 B4


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