Local authors tell their tales See Horizon Inside
The Newport Miner
Churches celebrate Easter See Church Directory 1B
THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901
BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The latest group to form a bargaining unit at Newport Hospital and Health Services is no longer represented by the Service Employees International Union. SIEU notified the district administration Feb. 22 they were no longer interested in representing the unit. District CEO Tom Wilbur said
Property owners complain about lack of county help BY FRED WILLENBROCK OF THE MINER
two petitions to decertify the union had circulated through the employees and he believes a majority of employees signed it. “I think the union respected the wishes of our staff and opted to rescind their petition,” he said. The bargaining unit formed in June 2010, comprised of emergency room technicians, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), medical assistants and certified nursing assistants (NACs). Negotiations began then, and a contract had
The CNS staff from the Pend Oreille Public Utility District will be showing property owners the location of the fiber and box as well as getting them to sign consent forms at an open house event Wednesday, April 10 from 4-7 p.m. at the CNS showroom, located behind Safeway. The hookup is free and does not commit the property owner to any service; the retail service providers will work with each customer if they want their service. The CNS contractor will begin hooking up houses and businesses April 16 and continue the work
DIAMOND LAKE – For the second year, unusually high lake levels are causing damage to some lake property and property owners took their fight from the sandbagging to the Pend Oreille County commissioners Monday, April 2. They voiced their complaints that the commissioners aren’t helping to solve the problem and threatened legal action. But they also said they hired their own engineer to find a solution. Diamond Lake Improvement Association president Geri Guinn and some members of the non-profit association that W H AT ’S N E X T: represents a THE DIAMOND LAKE portion of the Improvement Asproperty owners sociation will meet questioned why Wednesday, April 4 the commisat 6:30 p.m. at the sioners had not Diamond Lake Fire worked on the Station. problem during the summer and winter. Guinn said legal action might be taken, pointing out state laws that gave the county authority in emergencies to take action to protect life and property. Diamond Lake resident Bob Tully said they understand the county is short on funds but they expect them to at least take the leadership in finding a solution to a problem that could cause property damage. He also believes that unless the lake’s outlet is cleared, it will continue to happen each year. Last year after lake residents complained, the commissioners directed public works director Sam Castro to give them a report. His short report stated there were no blocked culverts and the most likely cause was over-saturated soil at the outlet. Recently, the association hired James
SEE FIBER, 2A
SEE LEVEL, 2A
SEE UNION, 2A
Property owners asked to signup for fiber CNS meeting to explain location of fiber and equipment for each property BY FRED WILLENBROCK OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – With the main fiber optic lines pushing toward completion in south Pend Oreille County, the Community Network System is ready to start stringing the wire and attach boxes to homes and businesses. This is the final step for the public utility before opening up the pipe to retail service providers that will offer services from television and Internet to security.
Volume 109, Number 9 | 3 Sections, 20 Pages
Diamond Lake level rises
Union backs out of hospital Newest bargaining unit disbands
75¢
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
MINER PHOTO|FRED WILLENBROCK
Diamond Lake property owner Bob Tulley struggles to place sandbags on top of a block wall for the second year to protect his Elu Beach Road property from unusually high water.
Ione Bridge work starts Monday Overnight closures expected once a week BY JANELLE ATYEO OF THE MINER
IONE – The second phase of work to upgrade the Ione Bridge is set to begin Monday, April 9. Crews will be preparing to paint the bridge. Work will continue
through most of the summer with completion expected in mid-September. About once a week, the bridge will be closed overnight and traffic will be routed along the same detour route up to Sullivan Lake and back to Highway 31 that was in place last year. Reader boards at either end of the bridge will warn motorists
about the coming closures. Kurt Johnson of the West Company, who is the main contractor for the job, said they will try to schedule closures on Wednesday nights, but the day of the week will likely vary. West Company is subcontracting the painting work to Dunkin SEE BRIDGE, 2A
Mill Pond Dam removal approved BY JANELLE ATYEO OF THE MINER
MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING
Easter is here Ashleigh Benham of Newport was at the Newport Public Library Thursday, March 29 with her children Myleigh, 3, and Zoey, 8 months, for story time. After story time, they joined several other kids and parents and grandparents in dying Easter eggs.
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B R I E F LY
Power outage blacks out Newport for two hours NEWPORT – A power outage left downtown Newport without power for about 2 hours Tuesday afternoon, April 3. About 12:15 p.m., a tree branch fell onto a threephase power line near the intersection of Cass Avenue and Fourth Street, causing the electrical conductor to burn in two. The high amperage fault current, which was a result of the tree branch lying across the lines, caused a jumper near First and Union to burn off, with a large blue arc and loud boom. PUD linemen isolated the lines on Fourth Street in order to make repairs to the line on Union and restore power to the majority of affected customers just after 2 p.m. They then returned to Fourth Street and replaced the damaged section of line. Final repairs were made
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and power was restored to all customers by about 3:30 p.m.
Priest River to draft chicken amendment PRIEST RIVER – The Priest River City Council is still considering allowing chickens in the city limits, something that would require an ordinance change and public hearing. A citizen made the request to keep chickens as pets at a council meeting in March. The council directed the city attorney and police chief to write a draft ordinance. Once the council reviews that, a public hearing will be scheduled. Mayor Jim Martin said a handful of people attending Monday night’s meeting in favor of chickens. Both Newport and Spokane allow chickens.
SPORTS 2B-3B - RECORD 5B - POLICE 5B - OPINION 4A - CLASSIFIEDS 2C-5C - PUBLIC NOTICES 4C - DOWN RIVER 7A - LIFE 1C - OBITUARIES 5B
METALINE FALLS – It won’t happen for another three to five years, but plans to demolish Mill Pond Dam were given the go ahead last week from the state Department of Ecology. Mill Pond Dam is part of the Sullivan Creek Hydroelectric
Project, located on Sullivan Lake, Sullivan Creek and Outlet Creek within the Colville National Forest in northern Pend Oreille County. The project is managed by the Pend Oreille Public Utility District No. 1 (PUD). The PUD is in the process of surrendering the federal license for the project, and part of the
mitigation work for the license surrender involves removing the dam at Mill Pond and installing a pipe that will draw cold water from Sullivan Lake into the creek. Last week, Ecology issued a 401 certification, named after section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act. The permit certi-
Easter Egg Hunt SSat., t April A il 7th h•1 10:00 0 00 am Newport City Park kids up to age 12 Special area for pre-schoolers PICTURES WITH THE EASTER BUNNY 10:00 -2:00 • $5 Donation Sponsored by:
City of Newport
Safeway Hope Hikers
Newport Soroptimist
Owen’s Grocery
SEE DAM, 2A