Lake Life May 2016

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Celebrating Life at Diamond Lake and Sacheen Lake Volume 5, Issue 2

May 2016

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emorial Day is here – the official launch of the summer season.

Speaking of launching, in this issue of Lake Life, we meet retired Navy man Dan Rogers, a Diamond Lake resident who refurbishes old boats and launches them on lakes all across the country.

He gives boats that would otherwise be trashed new life.

The Sacheen Lake Water and Sewer District is back in court, this time the target of a lawsuit by one of the contractors that built the new sewer system.

Voters in Pend Oreille County approved a bond in April to build a new assisted living and memory care facility in Newport. While property values are the basis of your tax assessment, the amount property owners pay towards the bond can be deducted from their hospital bills.

And finally, Don Hill, president of the Sacheen Lake Association, takes us on a trip to his childhood on the lake, courtesy of SacheenSCOPE, where the story was originally published.

As always, we hope you take the time to sit back, relax and enjoy some Lake Life.

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Published: May 2016 Publisher: Michelle Nedved Writers & editors: Don Gronning and Sophia Aldous Design: Pandi Gruver and Brad Thew Advertising: Lindsay Guscott, Cindy Boober and Micki Brass LAKE LIFE is published monthly in May, May, June, July and August as a supplement to The Newport Miner and Gem State Miner, 421 S. Spokane, Newport WA 99156.

TELEPHONE: 509-447-2433 E-MAIL: minernews@povn.com, mineradvertising@povn.com FAX: 509-447-9222

Reproduction of articles & photographs is prohibited without permission of the Publisher.

See all issues at:

The Miner Online: www.pendoreillerivervalley.com.

If you want to receive Lake Life in your mail contact The Miner at 509-447-2433.

2 Lake Life | May 2016

Hospital bond passes LTC second major capital improvement for district

By Michelle Nedved Of The Miner

NEWPORT – Newport will get a new assisted living and memory care facility, thanks to voters approving a $10 million construction bond for Newport Hospital and Health Services in an April 26 special election.

The measure needed 60 percent to pass, and received 62.59 percent approval, 1,956 in favor and 1,169 opposed. Voter turnout was at 3,125.

“Of course we’re so grateful for the support from the community and the district voters,” hospital commissioner Tom Garrett said. “What that tells me personally, is that our community wants to have readily available in the community medical care for the next 40, 50, 60 years. That’s really what that affirmative vote told me.

Not just for the purpose of the residents but all of the medical care.”

Requests for proposals for design of the facility went out in

mid-May, according to district CEO Tom Wilbur. Proposals are due June 10, and the project will be ready to bid in nine to 10 months. Ground will break about this time in 2017 and the project will be done by Spring 2018.

“And we’d be really, really happy,” Wilbur said.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of hard work behind the scenes – the visible hard work has just started,” Garrett said.

The bond will cost between 53 cents and 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, meaning a homeowner with a $200,000 home would pay between $2,593 and $2,673 over the life of the bond, depending on if it lasts 20 or 25 years. That is equal to $107 to $130 per year.

The hospital district will offset any healthcare costs, such as co-pays and lab work, with the taxes a property owner pays toward the bond. For example, if a homeowner’s co-pay is $20

Miner photo|Don Gronning

This will be the site of the new assisted living and memory care facility, located at the corner of First Avenue and Spokane Street in Newport. The project is expected to be complete by spring of 2018.

per doctor visit, and he pays $107 per year in taxes on the bond, he can visit the doctor at least five times without having to pay that co-pay.

The bond will be used to build a facility next to the district’s River Mountain Village, an assisted living facility located on Second Street and Spokane Avenue. The facility would house the residents of the current Long Term Care, located next to Newport Hospital, at a higher level of care than River Mountain Village.

District officials say the current LTC facility is outdated.

Residents are housed four to a room, and restrooms are located in the hallway with a curtain for a door. A new facility will allow for one resident per room with their own restroom, similar to the current River Mountain Village.

The construction of the new assisted living, and the clinic that is being constructed west of the hospital will change the footprint of healthcare throughout Newport, according to Wilbur.

Currently, NHHS has two clinics – Family Medicine Newport and Family Health Center Newport. Family Medicine is located in a rented building on the corner of First Street and Scott Avenue, while Family Health is attached to the hospital. Both clinics will be combined into one new facility opening up a lot of real estate for office space.

Wilbur said the long-term goals of health care in Newport will consolidate all aspects of care in one location at the local, county and state level.

The Washington Department of Social and Health Services is

located on First Avenue about nine blocks west of the hospital and Pend Oreille County Counseling Services is about eight blocks away from the hospital on Garden Avenue.

“Those (eight) blocks might

as well be 100 miles,” Wilbur said. Combining medical and mental services in one location could help address a myriad of community health issues such as mental illness and drug addiction.

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Looking at development around Diamond Lake

By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner

DIAMOND LAKE - During the research to determine the feasibility of creating a sub-area plan for Diamond Lake, Community Development Director Mike Lithgow came across an opportunity for some technical assistance.

A group of graduate students under the guidance of Professor Gregg Dohrn at Eastern Washington University (EWU) will be assisting on the project, starting in September.

A subarea plan is a type of long-range plan that is prepared for a limited geographic area within a community.

These can be focused on neighborhoods, corridors, downtowns or special districts. Subarea plans are generally consistent with

Miner photo|Sophia Aldous

Sun glints off the handrail of a dock on Diamond Lake. The Diamond Lake area will be the subject of a subarea planning project this fall.

a comprehensive plan, but typically provide a higher level of detail in the analysis

and recommendations.

The Urban and Regional Planning program at EWU

has a graduate student project opening this fall.

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“All of these projects have turned out incredibly well,” says Lithgow.

The students have a 20week block of time allocated to assist with this project.

To prepare for this project Community Development has engaged the Pend Oreille County GIS Department (mapping), Diamond Lake Improvement Association, Diamond Lake Water and Sewer (Ray King) and Diamond Lake resident Fred Willenbrock.

“These parties are supportive of this project and see the potential benefits,” Lithgow says. “ Over the summer the group will be prepping for the project, so that when the students are on board in September they can hit the ground running.

“Nothing has been decided See Development, 11

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By Don Gronning Of The Miner

SACHEEN LAKE – The Sacheen Lake Sewer and Water District is being sued in Pend Oreille County Superior Court by one of the contractors, Contractors Northwest, Inc., of Coeur d’Alene.

The lawsuit, filed May 3, involves change orders on the sewer project. Kevin Koesel of Sewell Engineering, the project engineer, said he didn’t approve approximately $1.3 million in change orders he didn’t think were justified.

“Contractors Northwest is one of two main contractors on the project. They were the main contractor for the lagoon system,” Koesel said.

CNI claims in its lawsuit that the change orders were justified. One of the change orders concerned rock excavation.

The contract called for removing 1,000 cubic yards of rock from the site. According to the lawsuit, Contractors Northwest needed to remove 7,000 cubic yards of rock.

“CNI would have planned an alternate route of excavation and it would have bid the rock excavation line item at a higher rate if it had reasonably believed it would need to excavate 7,000 cubic yards of rock,” the lawsuit states.

CNI claims that they notified the sewer district that the soil at the sewer lagoon site was unsuitable because of the composition and the existence of ground water. The sewer district directed CNI to proceed with the work.

“After several months of deliberation and eventually receiving a mandate from the Department of Ecology, the District chose to move

forward with the removal of the unsuitable material and to construct an under drain system.”

CNI says the sewer district didn’t define the duration for the work.

Instead, according to the lawsuit, the sewer district indicated the schedule impact would be addressed once the full impact of the delay could be measured.

The sewer district wouldn’t issue a schedule extension or adjustment to the contract price associated with the delay, the lawsuit claims.

CNI says the work took eight months longer than anticipated. The project was to be completed by March 2015.

CNI seeks an amount to be proven at trial, including interest on the unpaid portion of the contract and attorneys fees.

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6 Lake Life | May 2016

Memories of Eastshore Road

By Don Hill President, Sacheen Lake Association

My parents decided to embark on a grand adventure in 1956. They were tired of the “city life” in Spokane, and we moved to the little log cabin at Sacheen Lake to live full time.

They felt it was a back-to-basics lifestyle that would be good for all of us. I remember it being great fun, but a lot of work, too.

Our cabin, on Eastshore Road, had no plumbing (yet), so my brother and I were assigned to haul buckets of water from the lake to keep the drinking water stocked, and firewood to the porch for the fireplace, our only source of heat at first.

Only after the chores were done could we run around in the woods and play; cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, rollicking fir-cone fights, and then diving into the lake for a refreshing swim.

In the winter, though, it was a tough slog up through the secondary property to the highway to catch the school bus. In those days, the county didn’t plow Eastshore in the winter, so the trail up the hill meant a LOT of snow-shoveling for my brother and me.

I remember the long summer vacations, much of which we spent riding our bikes up and down Eastshore Road checking out the other cabins to see if anyone was ‘out from town.’

We were the only full-timers at the time, other than two or three other families elsewhere on the lake, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves most of the time.

I remember a little oneroom cabin at the north end of the road, owned by a mister Weaver, who we rarely saw.

A little further south was the Forsyth place, the quaint summer cabin of a wonderful ‘Grandma and Grandpa’

couple, who as years went by, often had one or more of their grandkids for a week or so during the summers. That was great, because for a change we had some other kids to play with. I spent countless summer hours catching turtles and frogs with their granddaughter Darcy. She and I typically had quite a washtub zoo every summer.

To the north of our house was the Singer place, and they also sometimes had kids come for a visit; their three tomboy nieces from Ketchikan, who were quite a culture shock to us boys.

South of our cabin at that time there was another small summer cabin, owned by Mister Green. He stayed all summer and spent pretty much every single day fishing from his rowboat. I remember being impressed that he carried a bucket of drinking water every day from a little spring-fed well up at the north end of the road.

He mostly kept to himself, but I remember once he came over where I was playing by the shore and sat down and told me about coming west as a child on a wagon train, with Indian skirmishes and everything. Pretty amazing stuff for this wanna-be cowboy to hear.

His grandson, Bob, now owns the house where Mr. Green’s cabin once stood.

In the early years one could follow a path from the north end of Eastshore Road along the lake to the Sacheen Lake Resort. My Dad worked there when we first moved to the lake. Ken and Anita Kohles owned the resort and much of the property that is now the park and Kohles Beach area. I rode the school bus with their daughter Penny. My brothers and I learned to ski at the Sacheen Lake Resort ski hill just across the highway. On special occasions, we could even have

a hot dog or hamburger at the little café. In the summers, when we weren’t doing chores or playing in the lake, I especially remember my brother and me pretending to be Wally and Beaver Cleaver as we rode our bikes up and down the road, interrupted by occasional rousing fir-cone wars.

In my teenage years there were more people around, including a family who rented a cabin up the road. Their son Bill and I became great friends and spent hours in my home lab, devoted mostly to rockets and similar exciting pyrotechnic pursuits. Also I was fortunate by then to have some year-round friends my age living at the lake, so water skiing and snow skiing both took on a whole new level of intensity.

As the years went by, there were more cabins and more people, but few year-rounders on Eastshore Road. When my wife and I now walk the road, we stroll past cabins that have remained with the same families for decades; the Shikany place, a log cabin almost the vintage of our old homestead, the Shinzel’s, Kress’s, and Bob White’s garage/cabin along the road, which is now Lori Storms’ actual garage. The Edwards cabin has been there for many years as well, and only last year changed hands. Some very nice new homes have been added, and even some yearround neighbors. So it’s more of a community in some ways now, as is the rest of the lake itself, compared to the woodsy playground where I grew up.

But I can honestly say that in balance that’s a very good thing – what a great place for my wife and I to be fortunate enough to retire to.

This is reprinted with permission from SacheenSCOPE, the publication of the Sacheen Lake Association.

Weather Babble Honest • Prompt Flooding & Fire Potential

By Bob Lutz Climatologist

SACHEEN LAKE – With the recent dry weather, our minds can’t help but wonder what the upcoming fire season will bring to us here around our neck of the woods, and if those woods are going to be scorched again. Well before we go there, we first need to talk about the potential for spring flooding this Lutz season.

Yes, June is the prime month when flooding presents its ugly wet head around the Pend Oreille basin. For those who live on the Pend Oreille River, you know all too well that we are not out of the woods for flooding until early July.

In recent years, our milder than normal winters have left most waterfront residents with little worry concerning flooding, but instead, it’s an onslaught of beavers that have been chewing on your patience.

Well, this year’s winter weather patterns were a bit different, (wetter) but even so flooding concerns at this time still look rather minimal.

While there was plenty of snowfall in the mountains, all of the mid-level elevations have already seen their snow pack change back over to its liquid form, and make a hasty retreat to our local lakes and rivers, courtesy of Mother Nature’s early round of hot flashes. The highest mountaintops still

have a fair amount of snow on the ground, but unless we get an unusual amount of prolonged heavy rainfall, the snow-melting process there should not pose much of a threat for significant lowland flooding. Will local rivers and lakes see elevated water levels into June? Absolutely! But again, major flooding looks very unlikely at this point.

So now onto a hotter topic, and that’s the upcoming fire season. For those that read last month’s Weather Babble, you know that I’m expecting a cooler summer this year with a bit more moisture than what we saw last summer. Still though, we will certainly see wildfires this season but how widespread they become remains a bit of a mystery with local fire weather experts.

Our early spell of unusually warm, dry weather has left surface fuels already quite vulnerable. Add a few storms of thunder to the recipe, and you can plainly see the dilemma. Now the difference this year, I think, will be the lack of intense, long-term heat, which should help to ease the fire danger compared to the past two summers.

So in short, our season should see a normal amount of water and hopefully below normal wildfires, though I’m not so sure what normal is anymore!

In next month’s Weather Babble, I will share my thoughts on the potential of severe weather for the rest of the year and I’ll also tell you why tornadoes don’t like it much here in the Northwest, which by the way isn’t a bad thing.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Wednesday, May 27 Sacheen Ladies of the Lake: Noon - Various Locations, call President Maria Bullock at 509-9984221

Wednesday, June 3 Diamond Lake Water and Sewer: 10 a.m. - District Office, 172 South Shore Road Diamond Lake Improvement Association: 6:30 p.m. - Diamond Lake Fire Station, Highway 2

Sacheen Lake Sewer and Water District Board: 7 p.m. Sacheen Fire Station, Highway 211

Wednesday, June 10 Home and Community Educators Diamond Lake Club: Noon - Call Billie Goodno at 509447-3781 or Chris King at 208-4370971

Monday, June 15 Diamond Lake Book Club: 1 p.m. - Contact Val Urbat 509-2200200

Wednesday, June 17 Diamond Lake Water and Sewer District Board: 10 a.m.

- District Office

Thursday, June 18 South Pend Oreille Fire & Rescue: 7 p.m. - Station 31, 325272 Highway 2, Diamond Lake

Wednesday, June 24 Sacheen Ladies of the Lake: Noon - Various Locations, call President Maria Bullock at 509-9984221

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8 Lake Life | May 2016

Lakeside real estate market better than last year

By Don Gronning Of The Miner

NEWPORT – The warm weather this spring has brought out the buyers, or at least the lookers.

“I am excited for this year and have already sold several waterfront properties,” says Shannon Sheckler of Kelly Right Real Estate. “I have received numerous inquires from Southern California buyers wanting waterfront and homes on land with a good producing well, but most of them have a home to sell in California, first, so that can be a challenge. Other inquiries are from buyers from the west side, looking to retire over here.”

Sheckler says currently there are 64 primary waterfront properties for sale throughout Pend Oreille County listed on the Multiple Listing Service, including the Pend Oreille River. That compares to 57 waterfront properties sold, county-wide, in 2015.

Sheckler says last year 17 lakeside waterfront homes sold, with two on Davis Lake, three on Bead Lake, four on Sacheen Lake and eight on Diamond Lake. Average price for the four lakes was $277,062.

There are currently 13 lakeside homes for sale on Diamond Lake, ranging in price from $230,000 to $619,000.

On Sacheen Lake there are eight waterfront homes for sale, ranging from $167,000 to $399,000 in price.

Sheckler says there are also a number of secondary waterfront homes for sale.

Secondary waterfront homes are homes within a short distance of the lake but not on the lake. The secondary homes at Diamond Lake range from $112,000 to $395,000, Sheckler says. The Sacheen Lake secondary homes are priced from $45,000 0 $150,000.

“If someone wants to enjoy Diamond Lake, a great opportunity for them may be to purchase a secondary waterfront home with access to the lake, as they are pretty affordable and this would give them a chance to experience Diamond

Lake for a great price,” Sheckler says. She says she currently has a secondary waterfront site built home for $125,000 that is rented for one year at $750/month with Diamond Lake Beach Club access and a boat slip.

Sheckler says she has heard from waterfront buyers that they like the serenity and peacefulness of Sacheen Lake but love the clear clean water Diamond Lake offers.

“Some buyers have been a bit nervous about the new sewer assessment that is being placed on the Sacheen properties,” she says. Also, Diamond Lake’s proximity to Newport,

along with a restaurant and storage facilities at the lake, are an attraction for people who may not want to be too much off the beaten path, Sheckler says.

She finds most buyers are looking for a newer home or one that has been remodeled, a flat level lot, a sandy beach, a view, a garage and off road parking.

“And, if they are not year round, most buyers are looking for a home under $300,000,” she says.

Sheckler says many buyers are looking for a beach.

“A clean beach has been a real selling point,” she says. “I think waterfront buyers are looking for a place to make memories with their families and friends and imagine themselves on a sandy beach,” she says.

While most buyers would probably prefer a turnkey property that is move in ready, some do-it-yourself types are looking for a good buy that they can put some sweat equity into.

Along that line, Sheckler says a home with a modern kitchen and bathroom will sell faster than a home without an updated kitchen and bathroom, but if homeowners looking to sell don’t have a modern kitchen or bathroom, Sheckler says they may want to consider offering a reduced sales price, so buyers can add their own touches. An alternative that isn’t quite as expensive is adding a granite countertop or a new vanity and toilet. That is something that may help sell the home faster.

Sheckler says she isn’t a lender but what she has seen is people either paying cash or putting down a 20 percent down payment.

For less expensive properties, those priced $160,000 and less, people usually get an FHA or USDA loan. Down payments on these properties can range from nothing to about 3 percent, she says.

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Courtesy photo|Washington Department of Ecology

Amphibians, like this turtle, are among the beneficiaries of aquatic plants. They eat them and use them to hide from predators when they are young.

Native aquatic plants what are they good for?

By Jenifer Parsons, Washington Department of Ecology and Sharon Sorby, POC Weed Board

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Pend Oreille & Bonner County Waterfront Specialist 10 Lake Life | May 2016

Aquatic plants are an often misunderstood and undervalued part of lakes and rivers.

Though many people would rather not have them in their favorite swimming spot or fishing hole, native aquatic plants provide varied environmental benefits to many lakes.

Aquatic plants are a food source for many animals.

Ducks and geese eat the seeds, leafy parts and tubers of plants such as pondweed, watershield, arrowhead, water pepper and duckweed. Songbirds use fluff from cattails as nest material and eat the seeds of many emergent plants. Otter, beaver, muskrats, turtles, moose and even bear graze on a variety of aquatic plants.

Several kinds of invertebrates, especially aquatic insects, eat aquatic plants.

Aquatic plants provide important habitat structure for small animals like aquatic insects, snails and freshwater shrimp, which in turn supply

food for fish and waterfowl.

Studies have shown that vegetated areas support many times the number of these tiny creatures than non-vegetated areas do.

Young fish and amphibians use aquatic plants for cover from predatory fish and birds.

This, coupled with the abundant food supply they offer, makes aquatic plants important nurseries for young fish, frogs and salamanders, including our native trout. Sturdy emergent plants provide many birds and mammals with material for nests and dens.

Submersed and emergent plants protect shorelines from erosive wave action or currents. They also help keep sediment on the lake bottom, which increases water clarity.

Aquatic plants are a vital part of the complex system of chemicals cycling in a lake, and can influence oxygen supply in the water. Aquatic plants can also soak up pollutants from contaminated water.

Also, a diverse healthy native plant community is better able to repel invasion by opportu-

nistic exotic weeds.

So what’s the problem?

If aquatic plants are so wonderful, why are they sometimes perceived as a problem?

Most of the time, problems arise when dense plant growth impedes recreational activities like boating and swimming.

When growth becomes very thick, the density can also harm some fish by contributing to low dissolved oxygen levels at night, or by hampering the search for food or avoidance of predators.

This very dense native plant growth is usually caused by an overabundance of nutrients, often from sources like failing septic systems, fertilizer run-off and agricultural waste. These increased nutrients accelerate the natural process of lake aging (eutrophication), increasing plant and algal growth.

Once nutrients are in a lake, they can persist for decades before being flushed out, fueling plant and algae growth even after nutrient sources outside See Plants, 11

Lake Police Reports Editor’s note: The Lake Life police reports, taken from dispatch logs provided to The Miner by law enforcement agencies, are not intended to be an exact report, but rather a list of police calls around Sacheen and Diamond lakes. Certain police calls are generally omitted because of space constraints.

These include but aren’t limited to ambulance calls for illness, unfounded alarms, traffic stops, dogs at large, abandoned vehicles, 911 hang–ups and civil standbys. All dispositions for the police reports are assumed to be active, assist or transfer at press time.

Wednesday, April 27 POSSIBLE DUI: Hwy. 2, report of white older Chevy Suburban with green bumper sticker on back.

Thursday, April 28 ACCIDENT: Hwy. 2, vehicle collided with moose.

Friday, April 29

ANIMAL PROBLEM: Hwy. 2, report of cattle on the highway

ing with backpack she believes may have had a rifle sticking out of it.

Saturday, April 30

Veit Rd., complainant reports getting a call that two subjects were witnessed doing meth and now driving on Veit towards South Shore in a white Toyota four runner.

ANIMAL PROBLEM: Southshore Diamond Lake, report of on-going problem with the neighbor’s dogs on complainant’s property.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON: Hwy. 2, report of male riding bicycle in middle of highway, no shirt, carrying a backpack.

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES: Finnila Drive, complainant believes someone may be in attic of garage.

Sunday, May 1 ANIMAL PROBLEM: Southshore Diamond Lake, report of neighbor’s dogs on complainant’s property.

Tuesday, May 3 WEAPON OFFENSE: Hwy. 2, report that neighbor is shooting too close to complainant’s property.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON: Hwy. 2, report of cashier stating she didn’t feel safe with male on bicycle that kept going in and out of the gas station.

Thursday, May 5 SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES:

ANIMAL PROBLEM: Southshore Diamond Lake, report of ongoing problem with neighbors’ dog in complainant’s yard.

Tuesday, May 10 SUSPICIOUS PERSON: Hwy. 2, report of elderly male with long gray hair and beard wearing tan pants and a blue backpack hitchhiking in the area.

Wednesday, May 11 ANIMAL CRUELTY: Diamond Drive, report of dog at this location not being cared for, is matted, limping and looks in very poor health.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON: Hwy. 2, caller reports a male was hitchhik-

PLANTS | Proper ID can be tricky From Page 10

the lake have been addressed.

Learn your plants to keep lakes healthy What can individuals concerned about lakes do?

Preventing or eliminating pollution and curbing sources of excess nutrients are vital steps for maintaining lake health and recovering degraded lakes.

In addition, you can better monitor lake health year to year if you get familiar with aquatic plant species and typical seasonal changes in vegetation. Educated observers can often detect invasive nonnative plants at an early stage, when control or elimination is easier and cheaper.

However, proper identification of aquatic plants, particularly non-native species, can be tricky. Check out the aquatic plant field guide on Ecology’s website for help: www.ecy.

Wednesday, May 11

Friday, May 13 ATTEMPT TO LOCATE: Northshore Diamond Lake, report of possible wanted subject walking south toward Viet Road.

Saturday, May 14 JUVENILE PROBLEM: Northshore Diamond Lake

Monday, May 16 ANIMAL PROBLEM: Northshore Diamond Lake, report of dog in roadway

Tuesday, May 17 DRUG INFORMATION: Wakefield

Courtesy photo|Washington Department of Ecology

wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/ plantalgaeid.

If you are still unsure about what plant you have, send a photo to me (jenp461@ ecy.wa.gov) or your county noxious weed control experts

(noxweedinfo@pendoreille. org).

We will help you identify the plants and the steps that should be taken. Let’s work together to keep our lakes healthy.

ACCIDENT: Northshore Diamond Lake, report of vehicle vs. deer, nonblocking accident.

Wednesday, May 18 MALICIOUS MISCHIEF: Diamond Lake Beach, report of multiple incidences.

Thursday, May 19 THEFT: Spring Haven Drive, report that sometime during the day complainant had items taken from his truck while he did jobs in Diamond Lake area and Dalkena area.

ANIMAL CRUELTY: Diamond Drive, caller reports neighbor behind her was yelling at his dog and then heard dog scream really loud.

Friday, May 19 THEFT: Northshore Diamond Lake, report of theft of mail by known person.

DEVELOPMENT | No determination as to what the plan will look like From Page 4

Not all aquatic plants are welcome. Eurasian-watermilfoil has plagued Pend Oreille waters for decades.

Rd., sheriff’s office received an anonymous letter with drug information.

yet in terms of zoning, so it will be interesting to see what happens,” says Rich Clubine, President of the Diamond Lake Improvement Association.

“It’s (Diamond Lake) zoned rural, but it has a higher density area in terms of population. Public safety and beautification are some things we want to keep in mind through the process.

We’re more than willing to work with the county to achieve beneficial results for all parties involved.”

Clubine adds that the majority of people that live around Diamond Lake are retirees, with the average age of homeowners being around 50 to 60 years old.

He says about one-third of the homes on the lake are lived in full-time.

According to Lithgow, there’s no determination yet as to what the subarea plan will look like, but it could allow for development of existing structures without property owners or homeowners having to apply for secondary permits.

“For example, if someone had a private launch point on the lake and they wanted to develop it into a bait shop, the subarea plan could allow for them to do that without cutting through more red tape, so to speak,” Lithgow says. “It’s possible ways to cultivate the space that is here while still retaining the attraction that draws people to the lake in the first place.”

May 2016 | Lake Life 11

WHO TO CONTACT Diamond Lake Water & Sewer Dist.

509-447-4660 Fax: 509-447-0180 172 South Shore Diamond Lake Road, Newport, WA 99156-9300 Operates water and sewer systems around Diamond Lake.

Commissioners (six-year term): chairman Bob Graham (2017), Secretary Richard Swan (2021), Ray King (2019) Commissioner stipend: $70 per meeting. Board meets on the first and third Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the district office.

Office open 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Maintenance hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Sunday. In addition, they can be reached by telephone after hours for emergencies.

Sacheen Lake Sewer & Water Dist.

509-447-4641 Mail: 8272 Fertile Valley Rd., Sacheen Lake, WA 99156 Located at Sacheen Lake in southern Pend Oreille County, the Sacheen Lake Sewer & Water District is finishing construction of a sewer collection and treatment system that will serve the majority of the lakefront properties. The district also continues to work on lake water quality and lake level issues as well as milfoil control.

The district also owns and maintains the Myers/Harter Sanctuary, located near the corner of Highway 211 and Fertile Valley Road.

Commissioners: position 1 Perry Pearman (2017), position 2 Vacant, position 3 Peggy Johnsen (2019) Commissioner stipend: 0 District manager: Sheila Pearman Commissioners meet at Sacheen Lake Fire Station, Highway 211, on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m.

12 Lake Life | May 2016

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The old-fashioned mess hall for Boy Scouts is not currently in use but stands as a historical building in the Diamond Lake area.

414 W. 3RD ST. • NEWPORT WA • (509) 447-3242

Scouting out the lake DIAMOND LAKE – Cowles Scout Reservation began as Camp Cowles in the early 1920s with a purchase of 80 acres of prime waterfront on Diamond Lake.

Named for William H. Cowles, Sr., an early Spokane pioneer and supporter of Scouting, it has grown to four camps: Camp Cowles, Camp Fosseen, Camp Ponderosa and

Camp Sunrise, covering more than 900 acres and more than a mile of waterfront.

According to the camp’s website, www.nwscouts. org, about 1,100 boys come to Camp Cowles during the summer.

Carbon Lodge is the mess hall where scouts eat and 21 campsites serve as home for a week to troops.

Miner photo|Sophia Aldous

A relic totem pole stands watch at Camp Cowles near a camp counselor’s cabin May 2016 | Lake Life 13

Miner photo|Don Gronning

Dan Rogers on land with “The Elizabeth,” one of his restored boats. Rogers tows his restored boats to lakes throughout the country.

Retired Navy man builds boats for fun

By Don Gronning Of The Miner

DIAMOND LAKE – Dan Rogers is calling on his cell phone, waiting to go to the boat yard to get a propeller.

He had been up at Priest Lake testing his boat in rough water.

“If you’re the only one out on the lake, you know why,” he says. He ended up having the propeller fall off, scuttling another planned messabout.

A messabout, he explained, is a gathering of boat aficionados who get together to mess about with their boats. The term comes from the children’s book “The Wind in the Willows,” by Kenneth Grahame.

14 Lake Life | May 2016

In the story, Mole and Rat are rowing up a canal when Rat says “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats …”

That pretty well captures Rogers’ affection for boats. The 69-year-old retired Navy man acquires old boats and restores them, writing about it for the Duckworks magazine website (www.duckworksmagazine.com).

Rogers has an engaging writing style. He wrote about rebuilding a little tug boat that he took to Priest Lake.

His readers needed a little history lesson, he figured, about what it was like back in the day.

“Back when the girls in the Glen-L catalog were not yet grandmothers.

Back when a kid could build a canoe or kayak or small sailboat from plans ordered with a small coupon clipped from the back pages of Boys’ Life. Back when Popular Mechanics’ monthly offering almost always featured a build-in-your-backyard hydroplane article side by side with stories on the latest advances in flying automobiles. Back then, when Eisenhower was still president, and Nixon wasn’t yet a crook. Sure, he looked like one. Back then, there was a revolution going on.”

The revolution was boat building in the late 50s and early 60s. There were a lot of boats.

“Some had fins like a ‘57 Dodge.

Some had windshields and cabin tops borrowed from ‘59 Chevys and ‘63 Caddys. And on, and on. How do I know this stuff?

“I collected and agonized over the brochures, clipped magazine pictures, and especially studied (memorized, actually) the annual Buyers’ Guides. Sure, if I’d put that kind of effort into memorizing my times tables, I coulda’ been a math genius like my friend Sam. But, you pays your dime and you takes your ride.”

Sill he learned a lot about boats.

These days he rebuilds boats from that era, turning them into usable vessels.

Rebuilds, might not be the right

Boat Safety Class

Free

May 28th & 29th

Get Y Boat S our afe Card ty

Each day a complete course Held at Diamond Lake Fire Station on Hwy 2 Sign In: 8-8:30am Bring Sack Lunch Br ring S ack L unch Call Charlie Schaefer to sign up.

509-447-2279, 208-610-4248

Pend Oreille County

Public Utility District

Courtesy photo|Dan Rogers

Little “Shenanigan” is shown here on a beach camping trip to Priest Lake. She was converted from a 1957 Glaspar Lido hull the fall of 2012, and has traveled to small boat events as far away as Oklahoma.

word.

“I don’t know what it looks like until it’s done,” he says. “I figure it out as I go. Some are more successful than others.”

Landfills are full of boats, he says. “No one fixes boats.”

Rogers was born in Spokane but moved to southern California when he was young.

“I was raised in Spokane but call myself a Californian,” Rogers said. He was drafted, so he joined the Navy. He retired from the Navy and was towing one of his boats around the country when he had a wheel come off in Montana on the Fourth of July weekend.

He found his way to Diamond Lake and decided to buy a house.

“I used to sail everyday,” he says. Now he spends part of the year sailing his snow plow.

Not counting his Navy career, Rogers figures he’s sailed more than 50,000 miles, much of it in boats that he’s restored. The smallest has been an 8 footer and the largest a 22 footer.

He has probably restored six or eight boats in the last four or five years. It takes him

about two to four months to get one ready. He says being a type A personality helps. “It would probably take someone else a couple years.”

He’s given away some of his boats.

“I’m trying not to do that anymore,” he says.

While he gets boats nobody else wants, he is quick to point

out there is no such thing as a cheap boat. They cost the time and materials he puts into them and as any boat owner knows, the cost doesn’t stop.

Boats need upkeep.

But he doesn’t do it for the money. He does it because he likes boats.

“I’m the only one doing this that I know about,” he says.

“Quality Service at Low Cost”

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The Urgent Care Clinic is available to everyone.

All insurance types are accepted as well as those without medical insurance on a cash basis. Our Urgent Care provides quality care without the high cost of Emergency Room billing.

Courtesy photo|Dan Rogers

“Lil Toot” is shown here at the Diamond Lake launch ramp. She could carry one adult, but was more suitable to a couple small kids.

Open Daily 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. www.dpurgentcare.com • 702 South Park, Deer Park

509-262-9000

May 2016 | Lake Life 15

Take the home water test.

Y

N

Rusty-Red stains on sinks, lavatories, etc.

Blue-Green stains on sinks, lavatories, etc.

Soap crud ring on bathtubs, showers Rotten egg odor Soaps lose suds quickly Chrome fittings etched or being eaten away Rusty stains on clothing, linens, etc.

Excessive spotting of dishes and silverware Black stains on silverware Tastes and/or odors in drinking water

If you answered “YES” to one or more of these questions, call “The Water Professionals” at Fogle Pump & Supply!

We’re the water problem solvers!

Boat safety class May 28, 29 DIAMOND LAKE – There will be a free boat safety class offered Saturday and Sunday, May 28-29. The class will be held at the Diamond Lake Fire Station on Highway 2.

Registration will be from 8-8:30 a.m. each day.

Each day is a complete course and people will be able to get their boat safety card.

Call Charlie Schaefer at 509-447-2279 or 208-6104248 for information or to register.

DLIA meets first Tuesday of the month DIAMOND LAKE – The Diamond Lake Improvement Association meets the first Tuesday of each calendar month at the Diamond Lake Fire Station on Highway 2.

Meetings are from 6-7 p.m.

The association is planning its annual Fourth of July fireworks show.

July 4 is a Monday this year.

16 Lake Life | May 2016