The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901
Wednesday, DECEMBER 6, 2017
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 115, Number 45 | 2 Sections, 24 Pages $1.00
Smelter opponents grill HiTest officials By Don Gronning Of The Miner
NEWPORT – Opponents of the proposed HiTest silicon smelter turned out to ask questions of smelter officials during a well attended public meeting held Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Newport High School. The meeting, originally scheduled for the middle school was moved to the high school. The high school gym’s capacity is 1,200 and it was nearly full. The questions came after a presentation by HiTest, in which company officials attempted give an overview and to address some concerns they have heard about the smelter. State officials from the Department of Ecology, the Department of Health and the Department of Commerce also gave presentations. One of the more powerful questions came from Josephine M. Maesner, who said she was deathly allergic to many things, See hitest, 2A
Miner photo|Don Gronning
Bill Ellis of the Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter asks a question at Wednesday night’s meeting at Newport High School. Ellis asked how HiTest could claim to reduce greenhouse gasses. HiTest answered that it was reduced over the life of the product.
Newport council to hire interim police chief By Don Gronning Of The Miner
NEWPORT – The city of Newport is advertising for an interim police chief, Mayor Shirley Sands said during the regular council meeting Monday night. “We had talked to the (Kalispel) Tribe and that looked promising,” Sands said. But after meeting with tribal officials, they learned that the tribe’s own police department was understaffed and
they wouldn’t be able to contract with Newport. Newport had rejected Pend Oreille County Sheriff Alan Botzheim’s nearly doubling of what he would charge them for law enforcement service. They are looking for another entity to contract with. Sands said she and council members Mark Zorica and Keith Campbell met and decided to advertise for an interim police chief. At Monday’s meeting,
city council members voted unanimously to place an ad seeking a police chief. The position would be for a year and would pay between $59,316 and $72,264 annually, depending on experience. The city is seeking someone with a minimum five years experience as a sworn officer and three years supervisory/administrative experience. The job listing says there currently See police, 12A
Burglaries have Sacheen community on edge
Miner photo|Rosemary Daniel
Santa comes to town
By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner
SACHEEN LAKE – A string of burglaries in the Sacheen Lake and Diamond Lake communities have residents keeping a wary eye out for anything suspicious. According to the Pend Oreille County
Santa was eagerly greeted by scores of local children on Friday evening, Dec. 1, as Deck the Falls festival kicked off with a Redneck Christmas Lights parade up the main street of Metaline Falls and ended at the town’s Busta Park. See more photos on page 11A.
Sheriff’s Office, 18 burglaries were reported in the month of November for Sacheen and Diamond Lakes. Several are thought to have occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. “That’s high,” said Pend Oreille County See burglaries, 12A
B r i e f ly Fire district hosts annual holiday open house PRIEST RIVER – West Pend Oreille Fire District will be hosting its annual holiday open house Saturday, Dec. 9, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Station 1 near the Priest River Airport. There will be free cookies, coffee and hot cocoa. People can get their pictures taken with Santa on the fire engine. For more information, call 541-206-2373.
Santa Claus coming to Blanchard BLANCHARD – Santa Claus will parade through classifieds Follow Life us
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Blanchard on a fire truck Sunday, Dec. 17, 4-4:30 p.m. He will stop at the Blanchard Grange for hot chocolate, cookies, and pictures. There will also be crafts for kids.
Hometown Christmas this Saturday NEWPORT – Hometown Christmas is going on this Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Newport Library. Santa Claus will be there to visit with kids and take pictures from noon to 3 p.m. Soroptimist International of Newport will serve hot cocoa and cookies. A kids’ crafts table ran by Create Art Center will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will also be a
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Christmas card craft center from noon to 2 p.m. and face painting from noon to 3 p.m. Local rodeo royalty will also attend the event to meet families and help with festivities. The Pend Oreille Friends of the Library will have a display outside the library’s front entrance. Books, CDs and videos on the display are free for the taking. The Newport High School National Honor Society will be hosting games, crafts and cookie decorating in TJ Kelly Park from noon to 3 p.m. Hot dogs and cocoa provided by the Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce and the Maws and Paws Booster Club. There will be caroling by the Newport High School choir on Washington Avenue, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
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Your winter guide to the Pend Oreille River Valley See inside