READ LETTERS TO SANTA ON PAGES 7-12! SEE COLORING CONTEST WINNERS ON PAGE 18!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas!
The
INDEPENDENT Serving Chewelah and Stevens County since 1903
Vol. 114, No. 38
December 19, 2013
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
75 cents
Killer of Northport woman pleads guilty
SANTA RUN 2013
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. INBC Blood Drive, Jenkins High School 6 p.m. Chewelah School Dist. Board Meeting
By Jamie Henneman The Independent Staff
TUESDAY, DEC. 24 Christmas Eve WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25 Christmas THURSDAY, DEC. 26 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. INBC Blood Drive, Chewelah Civic Center
NEWS BRIEFS City offices to close City of Chewelah offices will be closing at noon on Tuesday, December 24 and will be closed Wednesday, December 25 and January 1 in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays.
Marijuana hearing scheduled The Chewelah City Council will hold a public hearing on recreational marijuana at their regular meeting, Thursday, January 2, 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. The council imposed a six month moratorium on recreational marijuana at its Nov. 20 meeting and will hold the hearing in order to receive public testimony and evidence regarding the moratorium, as required by state law. The council approved the moratorium to allow time to study and to develop appropriate zoning and business regulations related to recreational marijuana.
Library Board vacancies One vacancy exists on the Board of Trustees of the Stevens County Rural Library District and interested persons are encouraged to apply. The Stevens County Rural Library District is a special purpose municipal corporation established in 1996 by a vote of the residents in the unincorporated county. Applications and additional information may be obtained from the Board of County Commissioners; 230 East Birch (old Avista bldg); Colville, WA or by telephoning (509) 684-3751 or online at www.co.stevens. wa.us “Press Release” page.
SPREADING CHRISTMAS CHEER: Escorted by Chewelah Fire Department volunteer firefighters, Santa Claus made his way around town greeting kids and adults and handing out candy canes over the four-night annual event. The firefighters collected food donations for the Chewelah Food Bank. They finished their run last Friday night, Dec. 13. Jared Arnold photo
GIVING BLOOD
A CHALLENGE: The Inland Northwest Blood Center (INBC) will be at Chewelah’s Civic Center on Thursday, Dec. 26, 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., for a blood drive. Pictured above is Chewelah Chamber of Commerce President Debbie Akers donating blood at the October event where over 40 donors gave blood, due in large part to the push by enthusiastic Chamber members. Akers has challenged all community groups to come out in support of INBC at next week’s event. Donors can enter to win a “Stay-Cation” for four people at a local ski and waterpark resort. Make appointments at www.inbcsaves.org and use sponsor code ChewelahCommunity or just show up on the day of the event. Jared Arnold photo
A 35-year-old Stevens County man, Jeremy Wade Bryant, pled guilty on Dec. 2 for the murder of Northport resident Narleen Campton. Campton, 62, was found murdered in her home at 4158-A Old Northport Highway on Nov. 26, 2011. Court records said she died of “homicidal violence” and had been beaten, strangled, stabbed and shocked with a stun-gun instrument. Court records also noted that a “considerable amount” of hydrocodone had been stolen from her residence. Campton’s body was found after a neighbor stopped by the home during the 2011 Thanksgiving weekend. The probable cause document in Bryant’s case said that an acquaintance of See MURDER Page 6
Oh Silent Light of the Capitol Christmas Tree By Robert Hudson Westover, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service A crown jewel of American Christmas trees lit the night sky Dec. 3 as thousands of lights burst around the 88-foot-tall 2013 Capitol Christmas Tree. A momentary hush of silent awe overcame the crowd gathered on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol to witness the ceremony that has origins dating back to 1964. An eight-point star shimmered at the top of the 79-year-old Englemann spruce harvested from the Colville National Forest in Washington State. Decorating the tree are hundreds of ornaments made by people The 2013 Capitol Christmas Tree is an 88-foot tall See CAPITOL TREE Page 18 Engelman spruce from Colville National Forest. Caleb Smith photo
Apply now for Arts Guild mini-grant funding The application period for the Chewelah Arts Guild Rainbow Fund MiniGrants ends Jan. 31. Get
an application for an ARTS Event, Program or Project in need of funding by calling Kay Lupton at 935-6198
Independent office closed The office of The Independent will close at noon on Tuesday, December 24 and will be closed on Wednesday, December 25 and Wednesday, January 1 for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Advertising and article submission deadlines will be as follows: Friday, December 20, 5 p.m., for the December 26 edition; Friday, December 27, 5 p.m., for the January 2 Moments before lighting the tree, Speaker John Boehner and U.S. Capitol Police edition. Chief Kim Dime names Colville six-year-old Giovanni Gaynor a junior Capitol Police Officer for a day. Caleb Smith photo
INDEX: Obituaries - Page 4 Letters to Santa - Pages 7-12 Classifieds - Pages 14-16 Service Directory - Page 17 Coloring Contest - Page 18
Chewelah Weather Report
Date Dec 9 Dec 10 Dec 11
High M M M
Low 2 M M
Dec 12 25 M Dec 13 35 17 Dec 14 31 21 Dec 15 38 24 *Precipitation is not recorded weekends/holidays. Data Robin Hegney/City of Chewelah.
Precip. 0 M M
0.01 0.03 M M submitted by