050819NewportMiner

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The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

Volume 117, Number 15 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages $1.00

Candidate filing period opens May 13 NEWPORT – The candidate filing period for Pend Oreille County elections opens Monday, May 13 and will continue through Friday, May 17, with 65 positions up for election. Candidates can register online or at the Auditor’s office in Newport. Candidates need to be a registered voter in the area they are running for. There is no filing fee to run for most of the offices, as the stipend paid is small. Positions on city and town councils, school boards, the port district, fire districts, hospital districts, cemetery districts and water and sewer boards are up. Town council and school district members are elected for four-year terms. Commissioners for the Port, fire districts, water and sewer districts and the hospital district are elected to six year terms. All positions are non-partisan.

Courtesy photo|Don Hatcher

A house fire on South Washington Avenue in Newport destroyed the top floor. The cause is under investigation.

Multiple agencies respond to house fire

By Michelle Nedved Of The Miner

NEWPORT – The cause of a fire that gutted the upstairs of a Newport home late Wednesday night, May 1, is still under investigation, according to Pend Oreille Fire District No. 4 Chief Nick Knaack. All the residents of the South Washington Avenue home were able to safely get out. Knaack said at least one room on the main floor was also a total loss. There was a

lot of smoke and water damage. Knaack said this fire is a perfect example of why firefighters suggest closing interior doors while residents are sleeping. A door in this case stopped the fire long enough for a resident to get out. Several pets that also lived at the home have been accounted for. Knaack was first on scene, as he lives in Oldtown. He was accompanied by his district, Pend Oreille County No. 4, South Pend Oreille

Fire and Rescue, West Pend Oreille Fire District in Bonner County, and Newport Fire Department. Knaack pointed out fire departments here are mostly volunteer. He said if Newport had a full-time paid fire department, the fire would have been knocked down with little damage. He sat with the fire into Thursday, and had to call out firefighters at about 11:30 a.m. to knock down a flare up.

Town councils All five of the county’s towns have positions up for election. In Cusick, seats currently held by council members Bonnetta Sheffler, Bernice Smith, Mike Charco and Linda Monfort will be on the ballot. Cusick will also elect a mayor, a position currently held by Chris Evers. In Newport, seats currently held by Ken Smith, See Candidates, 10A

Tribe starting Indian Relay team Will hold Meet and Greet May 16, first race in Wyoming By Don Gronning Of The Miner

USK – The Kalispel Tribe is starting a horseback riding program, with an Indian Relay team set to hit the race trail. “I remember when I was growing up, there were horses on the reservation,” tribal

elder Stan Bluff says. He would like to make horses commonplace again, with the Tribe’s help. “I want to get kids involved, it teaches them to be responsible for the horses,” he says. He’s hopeful horses might also help young people avoid alcoholism and drug addition. Bluff says horses are “kind of sacred” to Indian people and were important for transportation back in the early days. The Kalispel Tribe bought three registered thoroughbreds to race in the Indian Relay, a popular horse race in which a rider changes horses three times in the course of a race.

In addition to the rider, there is a mugger, a holder and a back holder. The mugger catches the horse as the rider comes in and dismounts, the holder holds the horse that the rider will mount and the back holder holds the next horse. Races are started with the riders on the ground. They mount and race bareback about a half-mile or so before changing horses. The mugger catches the horse as the rider dismounts. The rider gets on a fresh horse held by the holder and takes off again. There are variations

Miner photo|Don Gronning

Thomas Corona takes off for a practice lap aboard Strider, a registered thoroughbred horse the Kalispel Tribe bought to be used in the Indian Relay Race.

See relay team, 2A

B r i e f ly Expect delays on Leclerc Road North this summer

Several Gray Road fires Tuesday

NEWPORT – A Pend Oreille County road re-paving project for Leclerc Road North, mile post 8.1 to mile post 11.6 will begin June 10 and go through midAugust. Motorists should expect moderate delays during work hours. This route is a portion of U.S. bicycle route 10, and cyclists should be prepared for delays during their ride. Information can be found online at crp841.org or call Pend Oreille County Public Works at 509-447-4513.

NEWPORT – Fire crews were responding to multiple fires Tuesday afternoon, May 7. According to the Pend Oreille Sheriff’s Office, at about 4 p.m. Gray Road at Highway 2 and Deer Valley Road was closed while crews fight several fires along Gray Road.

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PUD electric use record set March 4 NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Public Utility District 7B-8B

had the highest peak usage on March 4, when customers used 161 megawatts of power. General service customers accounted for 79,083 kW of that. “That’s the highest March we’ve seen,” said April Owen, the PUD’s finance director. She said Ponderay Newsprint shut down for a couple days to sell power to take advantage of the price spike, which saw prices rise to as much as $800 a MWh on March 3 and 4. The price returned to an average of $25 MWh by the end of the month, a normal price for early spring The peak usage record was set in January 2017 with a total peak of 166 MW.

Opinion

4a

Record

6B

sports

1B-3B

Life

5B

Police Reports

6B

Obituaries

6B

Public Notices

9B-10B

Booster

4B

Celebrate Mom

Mother’s Day This weekend Find gift, eats ideas inside


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