2018 Fall Voice

V

Fall 2018

oice

Of the Pend Oreille River Valley

INDUSTRY IN THE VALLEY Timber • Power • Paper • Zinc • Service

We have been SERVING THE LOCAL AREA AND BEYOND for 160 years

Now Hiring

Great Starting Wage, Benefits and 401k Day shift positions available Apply at www.stimsonlumber.com

Proud to Serve our Hometown Community with over 100 employees

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Fall Voice

Advertisers Index:

Aerocet....................................................23 Alta Forest Products................................22 B & C Mortensen........................................ 2 Denise Stewart, Attorney, Estate & Long Term Care Law Group................ 27 Hospice of Spokane................................. 17 Idaho Forest Group.................................. 10 Inland Imaging....................................... 11 Inland Power........................................... 26 Kalispel Tribe of Indians.........................28 Kaniksu Village Apartments.................... 5 Monarch Marble....................................... 6 Newport Hospital and Health Services... 13 Newport School District.......................... 21 Northern Lakes Dock & Barge................. 26 Northwest Steel.......................................20 Oxarc.......................................................12 Parker’s Glass............................................ 7 Passages..................................................12 Pend Oreille County Counseling............. 21 Pend Oreille County Solid Waste.............12 Pend Oreille PUD..................................... 16 Ponderay Newsprint.................................. 5 Priest River Glass.................................... 18 R & L Enterprises....................................... 9 Sandpoint Marine & Motorsports.............. 6 Selkirk Ace Hardware............................... 9 Sherman Campbell Funeral & Cremation Services............................. 21 Spokane Powersports.............................. 18 Spokane Rock Products........................... 26 Stimson..................................................... 2 Truss Tek.................................................23 Varno Construction................................ 11 Wes Olson Trucking.................................. 6 Wood’s Crushing & Hauling................... 24

Editor’s Note:

T

he Pend Oreille River Valley is the most beautiful country in the world, in our most humble of opinions. Most people who live here choose to because of the rural landscape, natural resources and miles and miles of untouched forestland.

While beautiful, it can be hard to make a living in such an area.

This issue of Voice, as well as every Fall issue of this publication from here on out, focuses on industry. While it can be hard to make a living, there is a lot going on in our neck of the woods, so to speak, and a lot of it is here because of that natural beauty we all choose to leave near.

Mining and timber have long been the backbone of the economy in northeastern Washington and northern Idaho. While both industries have had their ups and downs, a good chunk of our population is employed by the Pend Oreille Mine and a handful of lumber mills. While some may cringe at the thought of industry based on exploiting our natural resources, the conversations we had with those in charge at the mills and the mine prove they are careful stewards of the environment. They understand that without a healthy forest and sustainable exploration, their industries would cease to exist.

Another, more recent addition to the economy here is the Ponderay Newsprint Co. While it’s been here for decades, it’s still new enough that many who live here remember when it opened. Newsprint is rumored to be a declining industry – though we would argue that print is far from dead – but because of cost saving and resource saving measures taken by PNC, they hope to be here for a long time.

And where would PNC be without the PUD? Where would we all be without the PUD? The Pend Oreille Public Utility District, while a government agency, is one of the biggest employers in Pend Oreille County, and has its hand in more than just our electric bill. Pend Oreille County has some of the cheapest power in the country. We also have some of the fastest internet, clean drinking water and the ability to sell power produced at Box Canyon Dam, all thanks to the PUD. With all these industries balancing economic sustainability with natural resource sustainability, it’s good to have the Kalispel Tribe of Indians here as our environmental guides and contributors to the economy. The tribe has long been a good neighbor, but they’re about to give the service industry in the Pend Oreille River Valley a boost with the opening of Kalispel Park and Casino, not to mention all the vocational training and light industry they offer our workforce.

It can be easy to get bogged down in uncertainties in regards to our natural resource based economy here in the valley, but what this issue of Voice proves is, we have some long standing cornerstones that if handled correctly – and it appears they are – will still be here for the long haul.

-MCN

Voice: PUBLISHED: October 2018 PUBLISHER: Michelle Nedved DESIGNL Brad Thew WRITERS & EDITORS: Caneel Johnson, Sophia Aldous and Don Gronning ADVERTISING: Lindsay Guscott, Cindy Boober, Becky McDaniel and Micki Brass About the Cover: The paper machine at Ponderay Newsprint Co. in Usk.

VOICE is published quarterly 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 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

What’s Inside:

PUD POWER CORNERSTONE

KALISPEL TRIBE

TIMBER INDUSTRY’S DEEP ROOTS

PEND OREILLE MINE BIG PART OF COMMUNITY

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Page 8

Page 19

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PONDERAY NEWSPRINT PERSEVERES Page 12

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COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE PUD

A Pend Oreille PUD lineman works on a power pole.

PUD power cornerstone of Pend Oreille County Low cost power benefits customers, economy 4

The Pend Oreille Public Utility District isn’t just a power company.

While power rates in Pend Oreille County are some of the lowest in the country, the PUD is also responsible for some of the fastest internet in the country – especially for a rural county. It also owns and manages nine small water systems here.

The Community Network System provides wholesale broadband telecommunication utility services for the benefit of the county’s residents.

The PUD currently has 2,051 broadCONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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WE MAKE DECISIONS WITH TOMORROW IN MIND.

WE KNOW OUR LONG-TERM

PROFITABILITY DEPENDS ON PRESERVING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES

WE TAKE PRIDE IN BEING A RESPONSIBLE PARTNER IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE LIVE.

PONDERAY NEWSPRINT COMPANY

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE PUD

PUD Natural Resources Manager Scott Jungblom at the annual Frogs in the Pond Field Trip. PUD employees visit Campbell Pond with students from Selkirk Elementary to learn about common and unnoticed species in the area.

The PUD currently has 2,051 broadband end users and 106 wireless end users.

The Water System consists of nine individual water distribution systems combined into a single division for financial reporting purposes, the largest of which is the Metaline Falls Water System, which serves the Metaline Falls geographical area. In total, the PUD currently serves more than 550 water customers.

The PUD also manages a variety of other programs to help customers. The Energy Efficiency or “conservation” program includes rebates for Ductless Heat Pumps and clothes washers. Since the program started in 1992 the PUD has completed more than a dozen successful commercial energy conservation projects for different community members like PNC, Selkirk High School and the Washington State Department of Transportation.

“Besides saving money for our customers, each kilowatt we save extends the benefits of our renewable hydro resources,” said Mark Cauchy, retired PUD Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs. “Delivering cost effective energy efficiency improves customer choice of products and leads to more job creation in the long term.”

The Neighbors in Need Program provides emergency

energy assistance grants to households in the county who need help getting back on their feet following unexpected emergencies or hardships. This program is funded solely from donations. The donations come from community members, employees and different fundraisers.

“The PUD is actively engaged in a variety of local and industry groups who monitor the ever-changing landscape of the utility industry. The PUD strives to keep rates low and service reliable in order to attract and entice new economic development,” said Kenna Tornow, Communications and Public Contracts Manager for the PUD. It holds active local memberships with the Pend Oreille County Economic Development Council, Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce and the Metaline Falls Chamber of Commerce, Newport/Priest River Rotary Club, the Pend Oreille County Historic Society, and many others.

PUD employees are regular volunteers in local events like the Newport Rodeo and Pend Oreille County Fair and regularly coach in the various sporting leagues.

The PUD offers a summer student internship program, community truck wash fundraisers, and educational proCONTINUED ON PAGE 7

422767 Highway 20 • Usk, WA 99180

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109 E. 5th Ave., Metaline Falls, WA COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE PUD

Two PUD linemen, Brandon and Tanner, competed in the 43rd Annual State Pole Top Rescue Competition on Sept. 25. Teams of linemen from the electrical industry all got their shot at rescuing a victim from a utility pole in a mock industrial accident.

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(509) 446-4100 EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

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COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE PUD

Box Canyon Dam, owned and operated by the Pend Oreille PUD.

Equipment that works as hard as you do!

Implementing a vision of a better economy

In Priest River Development Park

Growing one business at a time. . .

• Aerocet • Carousel Action Wear/Skito Enterprises • Freeze Furniture Manufacturing • Lone Wolf Dist.

• Recycling Equipment Manufacturing, Inc. • Selkirk Timberwrights • Van Tech/SafetyLine • Julbert, Inc.

Sandpoint Marine & Motorsports 195 Triangle Drive Ponderay, ID 208-263-1535 Sandpointpolaris.com

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Our Mission The Mission of PRDC is to facilitate the diversification of employment opportunities in the Priest River area. Provide properly zoned commercial property at reasonable costs, to support new business, existing business retention and growth.

PO Box 400 Priest River, Idaho • 208-448-1312 • www.PriestRiverEDC.com

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HISTORY OF POWER

The PUD came into existence in 1936, pursuant to Title 54 of the Revised Code of Washington.

By law, the PUD’s primary purpose is to furnish certain utility services, on a non-profit basis, to its customers within Pend Oreille County.

As such, all costs incurred in the acquisition, maintenance, delivery and administration of furnishing said services must be, and can only be, recovered from the billings to its customers.

The PUD is governed by three locally elected commissioners who serve six-year staggered terms – currently Dan Peterson, Curt Knapp and Rick Larson. A General Manager is appointed to provide administrative direction to the PUD, currently Colin Willenbrock. The PUD’s headquarters is in Newport and it currently has 91 total employees.

The PUD’s operations consist of a Production System, Electric System, Community Network System and nine community water systems.

Each system maintains separate records and is financed separately.

BOX CANYON

The Box Canyon Production System produces hydroelectric power from the Box Canyon Project and the output is sold at cost to the Electric System. The PUD owns and operates the run-of-the-river dam (one that can operate only when there is sufficient water flow in the Pend Oreille River), which was built in 1950. The electricity produced by Box is an asset of the PUD. The Production system also includes the Sullivan Creek Project, the Calispell Powerhouse, Power Lake Dam, Calispell Pumping Station, and a series of pumps and gates along the railroad embankment.

“A regulatory affairs and natural resources department is responsible for all mitigation requirements of the respective projects including water quality, fish and wildlife, erosion, and stream restoration,” Tornow said.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the PUD started the process of obtaining a new license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for Box. The renewal process was complicated, protracted and contentious.

FERC issued the new 50-year license in 2005. However, as a condition of the new license, FERC imposed several obligations on the PUD that required the PUD to upgrade Box and make other changes to the hydroelectric project.

Specifically, the FERC license (and the Settlement Agreement) provided that the PUD would replace the four existing turbines with fish friendly turbines and make other upgrades to Box, including four fish passage facilities and other mitigation work.

The debt-financed cost of these upgrades has been passed on to Ponderay Newsprint Company (PNC) through the terms of the contracts, thereby making the power from Box

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more expensive than the current market.

The Electric System distributes electricity to residential, commercial and industrial consumers in the county. The PUD currently has 8,349 residential electric customers, 842 commercial electric customers and nine industrial electric customers. The PUD’s current residential rate of $0.0511 cents/kWh ranks among the lowest in the country.

The largest industrial customer is PNC located in Usk. Pursuant to two Contracts, PNC consumes on average approximately 70 percent of the total energy furnished by the PUD, and correspondingly pays a proportional share of the PUD’s operating costs.

By their terms, the wholesale cost based contracts expire in 2027.

PNC’s cost-based melded rate resulted in payments of $23,769,699, $29,327,800, and $28,858,279 in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.

The PUD and PNC resolved a lawsuit between the two entities this past spring. In December 2015, the PUD claimed PNC was in breech of contract for power projections that indicated the mill would be shutting.

PNC sued, alleging they were not in breech.

The agreement also promotes future collaboration between PNC and the PUD by providing PNC with long-term energy cost incentives and the PUD with support for marketing its power resources to additional consumers.

“We are happy to have resolved the ligation on mutually agreeable terms and look forward to a stronger working relationship with the District,” PNC’s general manager Myron Johnson said.

“This conclusion helps keep the PUD’s largest customer operating in the County and allows the PUD to make decisions that will ensure the rest of the general service customers continue to receive power at the lowest possible cost,” Willenbrock said.

“I’m very pleased with the outcome,” said Dan Peterson, the PUD’s Board President. “This is a reasonable win-win for everyone.”

A power supply department actively manages the PUD’s complex power portfolio in real time and on a forward basis. In addition to Box generations, the PUD has a long-term assignment agreement to purchase power from Seattle City Light’s Boundary Dam essentially at the production cost, a price that is currently well below market rates.

The PUD also has a contract to purchase power from the Bonneville Power Administration, which is delivered on a contract rate established every two years.

The BPA contract expires in 2028.

The BPA contract is complex and is predicated on the PUD reporting its intended call for power and sticking to such, or facing substantial financial penalties.

In addition, when necessary due to exhaustion of Box, Boundary and BPA power, the PUD purchases power from the open market to balance its customers’ hourly needs.

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE PUD

A PUD customer service representative talks with a little girl at the Pend Oreille County Fair in August.

Wes Olson Trucking, Inc. LOG HAULING Proud to participate in the management of a renewable resource

(208) 263-2578 1640 Baldy Mt. Rd. • Sandpoint

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Timber industry’s deep roots entwined with community

BY SOPHIA ALDOUS Besides mining, it’s safe to say that timber is one of the longest economic drivers in the Pend Oreille River Valley, one that expansively crosses the state border between Washington and Idaho.

Timber has come a long way since the early days when loggers, also called “river pigs” plied their trade across state lines, using peavies to separate log jams in the Pend Oreille River and spiked boots to jump from one log to the other, riding a wooden rowboat amidst the jam. That came to an end in 1949, just before Albeni Falls Dam was built, halting the massive log drives from Priest Lake down Priest River.

It’s difficult to just address Pend Oreille or West Bonner counties when talkCOURTESY PHOTO|IDAHO FOREST GROUP

Filers working on a log bucking saw, inserting carbide-cutting teeth.

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COURTESY PHOTO|VAAGEN BROTHERS

An aerial view of the Vaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc. Usk mill site.

ing about communities and a trade that has connected so many people despite being in different states.

VAAGENS

In the middle of Pend Oreille County, Vaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc. has been a part of the community since it opened its doors in 2006. The company, originally founded by brothers Bert and Bud Vaagen about 15 to 20 miles east of Colville in 1952, purchased the mill from Pend Oreille Fibre for about $20 million. President Duane Vaagen had taken the reins of the business in 1980, after Vaagen had moved to their current Colville location, adjacent to Highway 395, in 1972.

According to Phil Bradeen, Marketing and Tech Director of Vaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc. the Usk mill employees 52 people and produces an annual average of 40 million board feet, though it has the capacity to produce 100 million. The mill also produces 4x4 blocks and railroad ties.

The company has a mill in Midway, British Columbia.

While many lumber mills have seemed to struggle over the years as economies and regulations change, Vaagen Brothers has kept a steady pace, weathering the recession of 2008. Bradeen attributes Duane Vaagen’s decision to log smaller timbers as opposed to larger, old growth trees that were traditionally the desired product.

“You can run them (old growth) through once and get a bunch of logs, but that’s not the best for the forest, which isn’t the best for the logger,” Bradeen said. “Duane Vaagen switched the company to a smaller log mentality. You’re leaving the mature, good trees and weeding the garden, so to speak.”

This approach led Vaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc. to become involved in the A to Z project, a 10-year contract on 54,000 acres in the Colville National Forest. Vaagen Brothers is working with the U.S. Forest Service to manage sections of the forest to reduce insect damage, wildfire and allow for responsible logging that is supposed to benefit local economies and the environment they depend on. All of the acreage is located in Stevens County.

“We’re hoping this is something that starts up across the country,” Bradeen

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said. “The Vaagen family’s love of the forest and taking care of our backyard is one of the reasons we think this project is beneficial to everyone.”

The project is collaboration between the Forest Service, Conservation Northwest, The Lands Council, and the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, the latter of which Vaagen Brothers is a member.

According to an article from Capital Press, the Forest Service didn’t have the capacity to do all the necessary work to sustain forest health. Typically, the Forest Service spends about $65 per thousand board feet for such a project. The article says that under the A to Z project, the cost is closer to $10$15 per thousand board feet.

Without the project, the forest would harvest an average of 45 million to 60 million board feet and treat 6,000 acres in a year on its own. With A to Z, it’s treating 16,000 acres and harvesting up to 150 million board feet per year. Bradeen said Vaagen Brothers has invested between $4 million and $5 million into the project.

In 2016, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, based in Montana, argued unsuccessfully for a preliminary injunction to stop A to Z. They appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and lost last summer. Now both sides are awaiting a federal court decision.

“They (Alliance for the Wild Rockies) have been invited to the table to ask questions and give their input, but they have never participated in the project,” Bradeen said.

Last month, Vaagen Bros. met with conservation groups, area businesses, the Department of Natural Resources, the Forest Service and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to discuss a second A-to-Z project in the Chewelah area, called Chewelah A-to-Z that would encompass roughly 20,000 acres.

The project hasn’t been finalized yet, Bradeen said, but if it comes together it should be implemented in the next two to three years.

IDAHO FOREST GROUP

In neighboring Idaho, the Idaho Forest Group, Tri-Pro Forest Products and Stimson Lumber continue the tradition and economic drive of the timber industry in west Bonner County.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

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COURTESY PHOTO|VAAGEN BROTHERS

The Vaagens’ crane is a well-known industrial symbol in the area.

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Fall Voice

The Laclede Mill was the start of what would become Idaho Forest Group (IGF). The current owner, Marc Brinkmeyer, bought the Laclede mill from Brand S in 1981 and called it Riley Creek. Riley Creek acquired three mill sites from Louisiana Pacific in 2003 including Moyie Springs, Chilco and Sandpoint. In 2008 Bennett Forest Products merged with Riley Creek adding the Grangeville mill to become Idaho Forest Group. In 2011, IFG bought the Lewiston Mill from Clearwater Paper. In 2017 IFG acquired the St. Regis facility and earlier this year they added on the Finger Joint mill in Athol.

The business currently has seven lumber mills and a corporate office that is located in Coeur d’Alene. The seven mills are located in Laclede, Moyie Springs, Chilco, Athol, Lewiston, Grangeville and St. Regis, Mont.

IFG currently produces well over a billion board feet of lumber a year, employing about 1,100 people companywide and work with more than 2,000 logging and hauling contractors, according to Erin Mader of Idaho Forest Group Community Outreach.

There are currently 179 people employed at the Laclede mill.

“We are always looking for employees for the mills, the corporate office, and there is a dire need for loggers and truckers,” Mader said. “Workforce is currently our limiting factor on growth. We offer training, apprenticeship programs, internships and more.”

The Laclede mill specializes in high quality Douglas fir for export around the world, along with Idaho White Pine boards and premium grade Inland Cedar products.

Laclede has the capacity to produce about 240 million board feet a year and this year Mader said the company is predicting about 180 million board feet of lumber produced.

TRI-PRO

In Oldtown, Tri-Pro Forest Products has been under the ownership of company president Steve Linton since it was originally founded in Dover, Idaho in 1987. At that time the mill was leasing the facility from Pack River Lumber Company. Tri-Pro moved to its Oldtown location in 1996.

Around that time, the business made a “big change” Linton said. He sold all inventory to what is now Idaho Forest Group, shut down the mill in Orofino, Idaho, and turned Tri-Pro into a custom milling operation. According to the venture’s website, Tri-Pro manufactures, “specialty Western Red Cedar, Ponderosa Pine, Douglas Fir, White Fir and Larch products at our plants in Orofino and Oldtown, Idaho. We provide consistently high quality specialty products to large and small commercial customers.”

The business sells products across the United States as well as Canada and Mexico. The mill in Oldtown produces about 2.5 to 3 million board feet per month and sells to wholesale distribution companies.

“It is way less stressful when running into log supply problems,” said Linton, who is a third generation Priest River resident on both sides of his family. “It’s changed our whole way of doing business.”

Linton has worked in the timber industry his whole life, starting in his father’s logging and trucking company. He says that when he graduated from Priest River High School on a Saturday, at the age of 17, he was back to work driving a truck the following Monday.

“It’s something that I know and an industry that has been good to me on the whole,” Linton said.

Currently, Tri-Pro employs 50 people and is fully staffed. Linton figures there is about a five-person turnover per year, but on the job training is provided for those with no experience.

Linton is also the president of the Priest Community Forest Connection, a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit established in 2005. The group is comprised of local businesses and environmental groups working to generate economic opportunity for the area while sustaining the beauty and health of the outdoors.

In November of 2017, the Pend Oreille River Passage Trail broke ground in Oldtown and ran east through Tri-Pro’s property. The trail will ultimately extend 26 miles from Oldtown to Dover, Idaho, and will be open to walkers and bicyclists. In 2013, the project received a non-cash grant from the National Park Service for technical assistance with the trail.

The grant provided help in areas such as community participation, trail design, and identifying project financing.

“Right now we’re working on further grants and constantly looking for a partner to help fund this,” Linton said.

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

VOICE PHOTO|SOPHIA ALDOUS

Brian Carey works the re-saw No. 1 station at Tri-Pro Forest Products.

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STIMSON

Farther up the road in Priest River, Stimson Lumber operates where river pigs once shepherded logs through the waters of the Pend Oreille River. According to the business’s website, the Priest River site is a stud mill, “surrounded by Stimson Lumber Company timber holdings as well as other industrial and private timberland owners.”

The website goes on to say that the mill processes a wide range of log diameters and species making premium studs for retail markets. Species include Douglas fir, Western Larch, White fir, Lodgepole pine and Cedar.

“The Priest River mill is served by the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad connecting to the Union Pacific Railroad or the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad and offers center beam car loadings across the U.S. We also offer loading for maxi trucks, flatbed trucks, and van loadings to fit your customers ever changing needs,” according to the website.

A representative from Stimson Lumber was not able to comment on this article before deadline.

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FREE recycling of: COMPUTERS MONITORS LAPTOPS TELEVISIONS PEND OREILLE COUNTY SOLID WASTE E-CYCLE Drop off E-cycle at any Transfer Station

509-447-4513 12

COURTESY PHOTO|IDAHO FOREST GROUP

An Idaho Forest Group employee operates the de-barker and log merchandizing system at the Laclede site.

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VOICE PHOTO|SOPHIA ALDOUS

Tri-Pro Forest Products employee Russ Butler works in breakdown at the Oldtown mill. Breakdown process involves turning logs into boards, cants and timbers.

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Mill manager Myron Johnson points out the jumbo roll, which is the big roll that the paper gets put on after it is dried and before it is cut to fit orders.

Ponderay Newsprint pers

BY CANEEL JOHNSON Ponderay Newsprint Company is one of only three mills left in North America that solely makes newsprint. As newsprint companies have transitioned from paper copies to digital content the demand for newsprint has declined. The declining market has made staying competitive a priority. When the mill was first built, it catered to the west coast market only, but as the market declined PNC has expanded its market into Central America, the east coast, Latin America and South East Asia.

“It has been challenging to keep enough orders to keep the mill full, and prices to make it profitable,” said Myron Johnson, the general manager for the mill.

Since 2000 the demand has gone from

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14 million tons to 3.5 millions tons, Johnson said.

The market is still in decline with more news companies choosing to go online, but Johnson believes at some point it will hit bottom.

“If we manage to control production cost we should survive,” Johnson said. “We are one of the most competitive mills in North America.” Johnson does not see the mill expanding to manufacture other types of paper in the near future, as the company is 60 percent owned by newspaper publishers.

“It would take a significant capital infusion to remodel the mill to fit other production,” Johnson said.

Johnson has been at the mill since 1988, when the only thing standing was a warehouse that was primarily used to store materials needed in the construction. By the time the construction had finished, it cost nearly $400 million to build.

Johnson has worked in the industry since he graduated high school in 1980. In his 38 years he has been exposed to every aspect of the business.

PNC is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and employs 145 people and another 475 indirectly. The average salary is close to $80,000. Payroll is $16.9 million overall including benefits. Total cost to run the mill is $96.2 million, according to a newsletter by Resolute Forest Products, the

other owner of the mill.

Mill workers work 12 hour shifts; ministration workers and maintena personnel work 10 hour shifts.

Employee relations, as with all big panies, are not always smooth. Acc to an article in The Miner, PNC sett $1 million class action lawsuit in 20 workers not having uninterrupted b The lawsuit was settled to the emplo satisfaction and PNC changed its po lunch breaks.

Workers are often required to wor overtime during maintenance shutd regardless of whether it is their sche day off or not, said Liz Coon, a retire ployee of PNC.

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VOICE PHOTO|CANEEL JOHNSON

Jeff Cunningham, the TMP operator, oversees the entire mill on monitors at Ponderay Newsprint Company Wednesday, Sept. 19.

VOICE PHOTO|CANEEL JOHNSON

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g comcording led a 016 for breaks. oyees’ olicy on

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“The work needs to be done, and someone has to do it,” Coon said.

If no one volunteers, the people with the least amount of overtime are required to come in, but that is rare, Coon said.

It is a point of pride and dedication to the mill to work overtime, and promotions are partially based on how much overtime a person does.

“You won’t hear me say anything bad about the mill,” Coon said. “It was mentally and physically demanding, but it allowed me to retire at 55.”

Because the mill runs 365 days a year, it is hard on families, especially around VOICE PHOTO|CANEEL JOHNSON

CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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Sprayers cool off the water in the background of the water treatment section of the Ponderay Newsprint mill.

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VOICE PHOTO|CANEEL JOHNSON

Ponderay operations technicians Chris Coon and Jared Dean monitor the paper machine to make sure it is functioning correctly after a part was replaced.

Celebrating Public Power All Year Long Did you know Pend Oreille PUD is one of the nation’s more than 2,000 community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities?

Public power means reliable, affordable, environmentally responsible electricity that helps build strong communities like ours.

PEND OREILLE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT 447-3137 • 242-3137 • 446-3137 • www.popud.org

QUALITY SERVICE AT LOW COST

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Fall Voice

holidays, Coon said.

Being single it was easier on her, she could come home and only had to worry about walking her dogs and taking a shower, then she could go right to bed, she said. Those that have families have those responsibilities too.

“My advise to those thinking about working at the mill is, think long and hard. Once you start making that kind of money it is hard to let it go,” Coon said. “The biggest difference now is that I have friends. When they call and ask if I want to do something, I can, and I get to rest when I need it.”

More than half of the operation technicians voted to unionize the mill in 2010, but the first union contract was not signed until 2012. There were two strikes in 2011 in regards to working conditions. There was no conflict in wages. The workers were just concerned about safety and proper working conditions.

In the first half of 2017 the market price for newsprint was too low to yield a profit. By the end of the year the price had corrected itself enough to become profitable, and PNC should see a profit for 2018.

In 2016, the Pend Oreille Public Utility District accused PNC of being in breach of contract, because their projection of power use was so low it seemed like a sign they were closing, according to an article in The Miner.

The PUD asked for $200 million in liquidated damages.

PNC responded with a lawsuit that claimed they were not in breach of contract or considering closing the mill.

The suit was settled in January of 2018. PNC was awarded $557,000 for part of their legal fees, but were ordered to pay the PUD a one-time payment of $150,000 to help market power. The PUD was ordered to give PNC a $50,000 a month credit indefinitely as an incentive to stay in business.

PNC produces on average 620 metric tons of newsprint a day and is capable of producing in excess of 700 metric tons. Annually it produces 226,000 metric tons.

There is very little that goes to waste at the mill.

“In general one of the most efficient in the country,” Johnson said.

The paper is made from residual chips from waste and byproducts from making lumber. They also use the tops of trees and other wood that would otherwise be unusable. The chips are procured from regional and local companies, primarily Idaho Forest Group and Potlatch Corporation Wood Products Group, but they sometimes use Vaagen Brothers, Stimson and other local companies.

Production happens in several stages.

First the chips are washed to remove contaminates like metal, sand and pitch. Then they are softened using steam produced from an onsite boiler, and made into slurry.

The slurry is screened to remove fibers that are too coarse. Those fibers are then reworked into a useable consistency.

Next the pulp is made into paper. The

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paper is still 85 percent water at this point so it is dried using metal rollers heated by steam.

The paper is put onto jumbo rolls, cut to fit orders, packaged then loaded onto trailers or train cars.

The mill has a small chipper at the facility that is ca-

pable of producing 150,000 tons. PNC buys logs and stores them for use.

Any log that is unusable in the process is sold as firewood.

There are three boilers, one of which cleans steam to be used in the drying process. It burns the biomass from the water treatment and that it cleans from the steam. There is one that burns sawdust from the chipper, and a back up that burns propane in case there is a failure on the other two.

PNC was one of the first facilities to use water to cool machinery. Then it is converted into steam to heat up the rollers used in drying the paper and finally it is transferred to one of the boilers before being treated and put back in the Pend Oreille River.

“We do a good job of reducing our environmental footprint,” Johnson said.

“The rules are stringent and rightly so to protect people and the environment.”

Water treatment happens in three stages. First, most of the particulates are removed from the water. Then bacteria and single cell bugs dissolve any pitch that could be poisonous to the fish and sugars that could reduce oxygen in the water.

Then the water is cooled to 86 degrees, which is two degrees cooler than the required 88 mandated by the state, before reentering the river.

“The water is tested quarterly too for contaminant,” Johnson said. “We test it before it is diluted like it is before being discharged into the river. It is usually 10 percent lower than allowed by regulations.”

The water is also tested for fish reproduction.

“We usually have 100 percent survival,” Johnson said.

Ponderay received the Association of Washington Business award for Environmental Excellence in innovation and Recycling.

According to a newsletter by Resolute Forest Products the mill has reduced its gashouse emissions 82 percent and its indirect emissions from purchased electricity by 77 percent since 2000.

VOICE PHOTO|CANEEL JOHNSON

Two employees move rolls cut to order to be packaged before shipping.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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Even environmentally conscious companies have mishaps sometimes. The Department of Ecology fined PNC $24,000 in 2016 for operating a diesel engine for more than a year without a permit.

“We take pride in avoiding exceeding the limitations of environmental permits,” Johnson said. “We have shut down the mill on more than one occasion to avoid it.”

Despite Ponderay’s proven responsibility in environmental protection there was much the same controversy over its environmental impact when it was first proposed as there is for the proposed silicon smelter now.

People were concerned about the impact it would have on the air, water and recreation in the area.

In November of 1979, 100 people met to discuss the proposed mill. The Miner reported that in the meeting citizens were worried that the need for wood chips would cause a “bare valley.”

The Miner reported Dec. 6, 1979, that residents were also concerned with the reputation of Toypack, the company that built the mill, just the way people today are concerned with the track record of PacWest. They expressed concerns about the 13 railroad cars and 45 trucks that would be going to and from the mill everyday and the impact they would have on the roads.

Similar concerns about the number of truck and railcars that would travel through the county were discussed at the meeting to discuss the scope of the Environmental Impact Study for the proposed smelter.

More than 200 people attended the town meeting Dec. 13, 1979, to discuss the proposed mill. They believed that there was a lack of proof that the mill would be a non-polluting industry, and felt that the burden of proof was the responsibility of Toypack.

One person commented, “If it is such a good deal, why were you run out of Boundary County?”

In March of 1980, The Miner reported that the Citizens for Clean Air and Water tried to have an interim policy instated to curtail the immediate decision to allow heavy discharging industries to locate here. The commissioners accused the group of trying to pres-

sure them into a decision.

At a city council meeting on July 2, 2018, Dallas Johnson, the Pend Oreille County Democratic Chairman, asked the council for a resolution to prevent the city from selling PacWest water.

The council refused, as it is illegal for such an action.

“The council is not allowed to have an opinion either way before all arguments have been proposed; otherwise either side could sue us,” council member Ken Smith said in an interview.

The fears of pollution and the loss recreation that may have come from the mill turned out to be unfounded, but at the time they were real concerns.

The smelter may not prove to be as diligent in their pursuit of environmental protection, but that remains to be seen.

The fears of the citizens of Pend Oreille County should be taken into consideration, but as history has shown, so too should the results of the investigation into what impact the smelter will have.

The Environmental Protection Agency handled the permitting and restrictions to the mill in 1980.

Like the smelter they had not filed any permits yet.

The community can only hope that if the smelter does come to Pend Oreille County that it too upholds its promises to the community the way that Ponderay Newsprint has.

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Fall Voice

FILE PHOTO|CANEEL JOHNSON

Iris StrangeOwl, production technician and former student, shows off the sturgeon nosed canoe that she manufactured. The canoe is special to the Kalispel tribe and will be one of the pieces for the fountain on display at the new courtyard at Northern Quest Resort and Casino.

Kalispel Tribe expands economic footprint in Pend Oreille County When it comes to doing business, the Kalispel Tribe believes in doing so in a way where everyone benefits, and that philosophy is about to hit home with the opening of Kalispel Park and Casino this winter.

Over the last decade, the tribe, under the oversight of the Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority (KTEA), expanded its enterprises to include Northern Quest Resort & Casino, two Fatburger franchise restaurants, two Chevron fuel stations and convenience stores, the Kalispel Golf and Country Club, Crossroads Restaurant, the Camas Center for Community Wellness, and Kalispel Linen Services, a commercial laundry facility.

The tribe and its various entities directly provide close to 2,000 living-wage jobs in Spokane and Pend Oreille counties, and that’s about to grow substan-

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tially with the opening of Kalispel Park and Casino in Pend Oreille County. The tribe was already a top employer in Pend Oreille County and is in the top five employers for Spokane County.

The tribe provides a payroll of approximately $4.2 million per month ($50 million annually), and approximately 80 percent of their employees are non-tribal.

The tribe and its various entities spend roughly $4.4 million per month ($52.7 million annually) on the purchase of goods and services. A large portion of these purchases are made through local or locally affiliated businesses.

Since 2000, the tribe has donated more than $15 million to more than 300 non-profits in Spokane and Pend Oreille counties in the areas of education, healthcare, arts and culture, social services, and

environmental conservation.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Historically, Pend Oreille County has had above average unemployment rates, hovering between 11.5 percent and 13.9 percent. Recognizing the need to prepare well-trained, educated people to the local workforce, the Kalispel Tribe and community partners collaborated to develop strategies to help youth and adults obtain vocational training needed to acquire living wage jobs in the community.

The tribe invests roughly $2.2 million annually in education and workforce development.

The tribe is a partner in the Pend Oreille Skills CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

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COURTESY GRAPHIC|KALISPEL TRIBE OF INDIANS

The Kalispel Tribe’s latest venture is the Kalispel Park and Casino near Cusick in Pend Oreille County.

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Center in Newport, which provides training for high school students in the field of automotive technology.

The Tribe operates the Kalispel Career Training Center in Usk, which provides career and technical education for youth and adults.

The training center offers a carpentry pre-apprenticeship program. Kalispel Tribal Members that qualify for education funding can enroll under the Tribe’s Education program. Community members can apply annually for one of seven paid on-the-job training positions.

There are currently 11 students in the 12-month program.

The Kalispel Career Training Center is a partner program with Kalispel Metal Products, which fabricates Kalispel Case Line gun cases as well as fixtures for construction, art pieces and custom steel and aluminum products, training steel and metal workers.

The program is funded primarily through the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, with help from Seattle City Light and the Pend Oreille Economic Development Council. Products sold through Kalispel Metal Products or Kalispel Career Training Center are used to help support the program.

A NEW VENTURE

The Kalispel Tribe unveiled plans for a new $10.5 million casino and comprehensive economic development project, Kalispel Park, in May of this year. The 60-acre Kalispel Park, located on original reservation land in Cusick, includes a new casino, fuel station and fresh market, RV resort with tiny homes and storage unit rental.

“The Kalispel people have long envisioned expanding their economic footprint in the Pend Oreille Valley,” said Curt Holmes, Tribal Council Member and Executive Director of Public and Governmental Affairs. “Since the early 1970s, our tribal elders identified this land, now named Kalispel Park, as a location for future economic growth and commerce.”

Kalispel Market, Kalispel RV Resort, and Kalispel Storage will open this winter, and Kalispel Casino open after that. The tribe broke ground on the project late last summer, and construction has continued since.

The tribe first opened Kalispel Metal Products and Kalispel Case Line in the mid-70s, followed by the addition of the Kalispel Career Training Center in 2011, Kalispel Rest Area in 2014 and Kalispel Auto Sales in 2017.

“Bringing new economic development to our backyard offers business and employment opportunities not only to our tribal members but also to the entire community,” Holmes said.

Development of Kalispel Park has brought about 50 construction jobs and will add more than 75 full- and part-time positions when complete.

Once one of the poorest Native American tribes in America, with a population of just 100 in 1911, the Kalispel Tribe has persevered through many decades-old challenges.

Through its multi-generational vision and long-term commitment to self-sufficiency, the Tribe gained traction with

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its opening of Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights, Wash., in 2000.

Through 18 years of careful business planning and strategic growth, the Tribe is now in the position to undertake the development and construction of new businesses in Cusick.

Kalispel Casino will bring gaming entertainment to the Pend Oreille Valley, beginning with approximately 125 slot machines. While table games are not included in the initial layout, the tribe will measure demand and potentially add them later. Kalispel Casino will offer a loyalty club and will continue exploring opportunities for crossover with the program at Northern Quest Resort & Casino.

The casino will feature a restaurant with seating for 70 guests and a banquet room that provides seating for up to 150 guests.

Kalispel Market features plenty of natural lighting, an open floor plan for shopping, and a mezzanine for fast, casual dining. The market is designed at the cutting edge of food retailing, a blend of grocery, convenience store and corner shop. The design is based on award winning fuel stations and convenience stores already owned by the Kalispel Tribe in Airway Heights.

Guests will notice the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, deli, meats and other staples needed for cooking healthy family meals. Outdoor space has been reserved for vendors, which will drive additional market activity and expand entrepreneurial opportunities for tribal members.

The market will include restroom and shower facilities and a card-operated laundry. Its fueling station will feature seven pumps, including diesel, off-road diesel, and non-ethanol regular, distributing Chevron branded fuel.

“This community lives in a food desert, lacking market access to nutritious fresh fruits, vegetables, and non-processed meats,” Holmes said. “For decades, tribal and community members have had to travel long distances to obtain affordable food and fuel. Providing the people of the Pend Oreille Valley with market access to fresh food is at the heart of our goal for Kalispel Market.”

Kalispel RV Resort will feature 33 full hook-up sites that include power, water, sewer, and internet, an RV dump station, and eight tiny homes for rent. Each tiny home is named for a mountain peak in the Selkirk Mountain Range that surrounds the Pend Oreille Valley. Custom photographs of the peaks and local scenery will be included in the décor, offering guests a special sense of place.

The RV Resort will appeal to a full range of travelers who are sightseeing along the International Selkirk Loop and recreate in the nearby mountains, lakes, and river.

Also in Pend Oreille County, the Kalispels opened an auto sales dealership in July 2017, located next to the rest stop on Highway 20. The tribe recognized a demand for quality and affordable auto sales in the Cusick area.

Since opening, Kalispel Auto Sales has sold dozens of cars to residents across Northeast Washington.

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COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE MINE

This is an aerial view of the mine.

Pend Oreille Mine big part of community Mine goes back to early 1900s

BY DON GRONNING The Pend Oreille Mine has had several names in its nearly 100-year history. Pend Oreille Mines and Metals, Teck Cominco and Pend Oreille Mine are just three.

But the mine has produced zinc and lead for decades. Almost as importantly, it has been a source

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of support for the northern Pend Oreille County community.

“The most positive thing about the mine is their sense of community,” says Metaline Falls Mayor Tara Leininger. “They see themselves as part of the community.”

When commodity prices fell in the Great Recession, zinc fell as well and it was no longer viable to keep the mine open. Among its many uses, zinc is

used in rust proofing automobiles and when the recession hit, auto sales fell, sending zinc prices through the floor. When prices fell from about $1 a pound to 50 cents in about six months, the mine went into a temporary closure in February 2009.

The mine kept people on staff during the closure so it could be reopened when market conditions alCONTINUED ON PAGE 23

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COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE MINE

Miners working underground at the Pend Oreille Mine. Miners work up to 3,000 feet below the surface mining zinc.

lowed.

The community made plans when it heard the mine was reopening in 2014.

The effect on schools and law enforcement were considered.

But when the mine reopened in December 2014, most of the miners came here by themselves, without families.

“A lot of miners keep their families in a stable area,” Leininger says.

When the mine was reopened, company officials said there was enough zinc to stay open at least five years.

Mark Brown, mine manger, says the company is rigorously exploring for more zinc as they mine what is there.

He says the mine will be open through 2019. The future will depend on a number of factors, including what the exploration uncovers and commodity prices.

Brown oversees a staff of 278. He

says miners make a good living wage, between $35 and $40 an hour. The mine is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“The mine has absolutely phenomenal community support,” Brown says.

Brown says he doesn’t get involved in service groups but has been on the board of the Pend Oreille County Economic Development Council. His wife, Susan Vermeulen, coaches track for Selkirk High School. They have four grown children who all graduated from Selkirk.

Pend Oreille County has a rich history of mining, particularly in the north part of the county.

Historian Faith Sheila McClenny writes in her 2015 book “Pend Oreille County,” that the Pend Oreille Mine was discovered by C.W. Clark and sold

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FILE PHOTO|DON GRONNING

Pend Oreille Mine manger Mark Brown speaks with U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers at the Camas Center for Community Wellness in Usk last August. Brown wants McMorris Rodgers to know that President Trump’s tariffs have had the effect of introducing uncertainty into the commodities market.

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The wins.

The losses.

The stats.

The people.

The politics.

The economy.

The births.

The deaths.

The arrests.

People depend on newspapers.

The schools.

The roads.

The truth.

Our towns.

Our lives.

Our news.

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COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The mine provided work when the rest of the country was in the midst of the Great Depression. This photo of Pend Oreille Mine workers was taken in 1931.

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to Lewis Larsen in 1906.

McClenny writes that lead and zinc mining really began to take off in Pend Oreille County in the 1920s when Larsen combined several mines and formed the Pend Oreille Mines and Metal Co. At the time, McClenny writes, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines considered the Pend Oreille mines the most promising in the country.

From 1928 until the early 1950s, the Pend Oreille Mining District was the state’s major producer of lead and zinc, according to Laura Arksey, writing for Histrylink.org. During World War II, the Army sent soldiers to mine the metals for the war effort.

The mine has stopped and started over the years. It closed in 1977 until it reopened in 2004. It was operated from 2004 until it closed again in 2009.

Brown is talking to elected officials to deal with the latest stress on commodity prices – tariffs. Brown told U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, that the uncertainty the U.S. tariffs generated has depressed commodity prices. Zinc currently is

trading around $1.10 a pound. Brown said it was as high as $1.60 a pound as recently as February.

The mine is located about two miles north of Metaline Falls, on the east side of the Pend Oreille River. Miners work as far as 3,000 feet below the surface. The mine extends below the Pend Oreille River.

According to company documents, in 2017 the Pend Oreille Mine had a gross profit of $19 million on gross revenues of $105 million. It produced 33,000 tons of refined zinc, which is shipped by truck to the smelter in Trail B.C., about 50 miles away. The Pend Oreille Mine operation consists of the underground mining and concentrate processing facility on the surface.

It cost the mine’s owners, Teck American, Inc., about $42 million to reopen the mine in 2014. That was below the $45 million they budgeted for the reopening.

Ore at the Pend Oreille Mine occurs in a carbonate rock (limestone/dolomite) called the Metaline Formation, which formed around 500 million years ago in shallow ocean waters, according to writer Vince Scartozzi.

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COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE MINE

Another aerial of the mine.

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COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE MINE

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