Methow Valley News, Aug. 23, 2017 by Methow Valley News

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Methow Valley News

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PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

TWISP, WASHINGTON

VOL . 115 NO. 16

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AUGUST 23, 2017

Smokejumper base to stay in Methow Valley, for now Funding needed to guarantee that it remains here By Ann McCreary

Home to the first experimental firefighting jumps in 1939, the North Cascades Smokejumper Base (NCSB) will remain at the site it has occupied in the Methow Valley for the past 77 years — at least for the time being, and only if funding can be secured for needed upgrades. The future of the base has been up

in the air during the past year, after the U.S. Forest Service began a review to determine whether it would be better to move smokejumping operations to larger airports at Wenatchee or Yakima. Last week, the Forest Service announced that the current location at the Methow Valley Airport, a stateoperated airport on East County Road between Twisp and Winthrop, remains the best location for the base. But that determination, according to the report, “is predicated on obtaining an estimate $5.2 million in construction funds in the next two to three years.” The funding is needed to demolish three old buildings that are too close

to the runway, in violation of federal aviation regulations, and to construct a new building at the base, according to the Forest Service’s Preliminary Project Analysis (PPA). The analysis also provided lower cost construction options. If the funding can’t be obtained, the analysis recommends moving the base to Wenatchee “as the next viable alternative.” The analysis eliminated Yakima from consideration. The analysis found the Methow Valley location had a “slight advantage” over Wenatchee, “largely attributed to the socio-economic impact of moving

See BASE, A3

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service

The paraloft building at NCSB, where parachutes are sewed and stored, is one of the buildings within an obstruction free area by the airport runway. The arrow indicates the boundary of the obstruction free area.

Winthrop’s new marshal has deep roots in the Methow Valley

Setting the table

Ready for challenges of job in changing political times By Ann McCreary

Winthrop’s new marshal, decorated Washington State Patrol trooper Daniel Tindall, has owned property in the Methow Valley for more than two decades, and says he is now looking forward to making it his permanent home. “I love the valley,” Tindall said in an interview last Thursday (Aug. 17), his second day on the job. “I’m very excited for the challenges.” Those challenges will include providing some needed stability to the marshal’s position, which was empty for six months following the controversial firing of former Marshal Hal Henning, who had served just eight

months before losing the trust of then-Mayor Anne Acheson. Henning’s firing, which remains the subject of a legal challenge, came after the previous acting marshal and marshal served five and 14 months respectively. That makes Tindall the third marshal in Winthrop in just over two years, and one who takes the position at a time of significant turnover in town government. Every seat on the town council is on the November ballot, either because a term has expired or to fill an unexpired term. Only Ben Nelson and Joseph O’Driscoll, both appointed to vacant seats this year, are seeking to stay on the job. And Tindall was hired by Mayor Rick Northcott, a 12-year veteran of the council who was appointed mayor when Acheson resigned, who has said he will not seek election in November. Council member Bob DeHart and town resident Sally Ranzau are running for mayor. Ti nd a l l, who ha s b e en

Photo by Ann McCreary

Winthrop’s newest marshal, Dan Tindall

awarded the state patrol’s top commendation for service on duty, also takes on the marshal’s badge with an asterisk on his own record. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crimiSee MARSHAL, A2

Photo by Karen West

Kurt and Susan Snover, who live outside Winthrop, invited neighbors to join them after Kurt devised a lastminute way to project the eclipse using a white plastic patio table, binoculars mounted on a tripod, some cardboard and painter’s tape. The eclipse is near its local maximum when this photo was taken. The temperature had dropped several degrees and the birds were silent. A few minutes later the birds chirped again and the temperature rose. “We thought a lot about going to an area of totality,” said Kurt. “I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t.” For more on the eclipse, see page B1.

Democratic challenger to Congressman Newhouse seeks votes in the Methow a second term to the 4th district seat by a 15-point margin. Christine Brown, Democratic But Donald Trump’s presichallenger to the 4th Congres- dency has changed things, sional District’s incumbent according to Brown, who is the Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse, only Democrat so far to file outlined her prioriin the 4th District. ties in the Methow Tr ump is “quite Valley Community a worry to a lot Center Friday eveof people,” said ning (Aug. 18), and Brown, a 30-year acknowledged she veteran of Yakima is facing “an uphill and Tri-Cities telefight.” vision news broadIn a rare appearcasting. ance in the Methow I t ’s t i m e f o r of a ca ndidate people in Eastern seeking votes for Christine Brown Washington to be nat iona l of f ic e, offered more than Brown said she decided to run one view of issues and have only for Congress because “I’m fear- one party choice on the ballot, ful for our democracy...Trump Brown argued. In a turnaround has exceeded my expectations,” of previous party strategy, the she wryly told an audience of Democratic Party’s new state about 60 people. chair, Tina Podlodowski, recently The Democratic Party openly vowed to contest every race east has admitted that for years it of the Cascades. “ceded” Eastern Washington, The biggest applause of the Brown told the Methow Valley evening came when Brown, News. In 2016, Newhouse won who in an apparent jab at New-

By Solveig Torvik

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house, stressed her “independent” approach to evaluating issues. “I will not be taking my orders from the Democratic Party,” she said. At Friday’s town hall, Brown described her top three issues as health care for all, economic equity and immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship. Her website also lists a fourth, climate change. “I believe in science. Climate change is real and must be addressed,” it states. Asked about climate change at the meeting, she answered that she considers it the biggest threat facing the world. “I support all types of renewable energy,” she said. Immigration reform “is a humanitarian issue” as well as an economic one, Brown told the audience. She cited the dependence of the district’s agricultural and hospitality industry on undocumented residents, some of whom the Trump administration threatens to deport. “I believe we need these See BROWN, A3

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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service

Helicopter bucket drops in the Eightmile drainage.

Diamond Creek Fire progress slowed Crews work to strengthen lines south of fire By Ann McCreary

Fire crews continued to strengthen fire lines south of the Diamond Creek Fire this week in case the fire should make a run south. The fire’s southward progress down the Eightmile drainage has been halted for now, Peter

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D’Aquanni, an information officer with Southwest Areas Incident Management Team 5, said Tuesday (Aug. 22). The Diamond Creek Fire ignited just over a month ago, and as of Tuesday had consumed more than 30,000 acres, mostly in the Pasayten Wilderness about 12 miles north of Mazama. On the fire’s southeast perimeter the fire moved out of the wilderness early last week and burned down Eightmile Road past Billy Goat Trailhead. “We

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feel comfortable with that peninsula of fire” that extends down the drainage, D’Aquanni said. “The southern edge of the fire is in really good shape.” Crews have tied together old roads, skid roads, harvest units and prescribed burns to create a fire line extending almost all the way from Highway 20 to the Chewuch Road “that runs in a favorable direction in case the fire came out” of its current southern perimeter, D’Aquanni said.

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OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . WHAT’S HAPPENING . CL ASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HARTS PASS . . . . . . . . COMMUNIT Y . . . . . . . . VALLEY LIFE . . . . . . . .

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Methow Valley News

Wrangling over rebuilding or removing Enloe Dam continues By Marcy Stamper

Although the deadline to start construction that would allow power production on the Enloe Dam has passed, arguments over salmon habitat and a potential Congressional extension continue. The long-running battle over the fate of the disused dam is further complicated by additional calls for its complete removal. The deadline for the Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) to start construction on Enloe expired in July. But the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has urged the federal agency that licenses hydropower projects to consider the impact the dam would have on endangered steelhead.

FIRE

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A hotshot crew worked last weekend in the Pat Creek area in the southwest portion of the fire to build containment lines on the ridge above the drainage. Helicopters were dropping water to slow the fire’s progress down the drainage. Early this week the fire was also active in the Many Trails

BROWN

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people,” she said, adding that she opposes using religion as a reason to exclude immigrants. Her website states that she rejects a Muslim ban and registry. She proposed that undocumented residents be given one year to apply for “a status of doc-

MARSHAL

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nal charge in a case involving attempted arson charges against his teenage son.

Building relationships

In the interview last week, Tindall said he was looking forward to the challenges of becoming marshal, and is aware of the unique demands of his new job. Working as the police chief in a small town “is a lot about building relationships and finding out what issues the members of the community and the business owners see as priorities,” he said. Tindall received a round of applause from community members when he was introduced at the Winthrop Town Council meeting last Wednesday (Aug. 16). Dur ing the meeting, one resident told the council that she was concerned about motorists speeding on Castle Avenue. “So, I’ve driven through there a few times today,” Tindall said in the interview the next day. He said he plans to spend time walking through the town, talking with residents and visitors. It can be difficult to hire and retain officers on small police departments, Tindall said. That has certainly been true in Winthrop, a town of 400, which had

NMFS submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in early August saying that Chinook salmon have been seen jumping at the base of Enloe Dam in the Similkameen River, meaning the fish might be able to navigate Similkameen Falls. Because steelhead are better at leaping than Chinook, NMFS scientists argued that steelhead also would also be able to navigate the falls. Upper Columbia River steelhead are listed as a federally endangered species. Just before the PUD’s extension on a construction license expired, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation called for outright removal of Enloe Dam. The June resolution by the

Colville Business Council unanimously backed a position taken by the Lower Similkameen Indian Band of British Columbia. The Similkameen Band passed a resolution four years ago opposing the production of electricity at Enloe and urging the PUD to remove the dam. The Colville resolution favors “restoration of the Similkameen River to its historic and natural condition,” which includes opposition to artificial salmon passage and remediation of contaminated sediment behind the dam. There is a history of mining in the surrounding area, prompting worries about chemicals in the sediment. In June, the PUD asked the federal energy commission for

a two-year extension to its building license, saying that lawsuits opposing the dam had prevented the utility from moving ahead with the project. In July, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-4th District) that would allow FERC to grant up to three two-year extensions for the PUD to start construction on the 9-megawatt hydroelectric project. The Senate hasn’t taken up the bill yet. FERC has not been able to take any action for months because the agency did not have a quorum. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources approved two new commissioners in early August,

Peak area in the northwestern part of the fire. But in recent days the fire was burning prima r ily in unbur ned pockets within the perimeter, and advancing only 300-400 acres per day, D’Aquanni said. On its most active day, it burned more than 7,000 acres. The fire is quiet on its western and eastern perimeters, where it is moving into previously burned areas. “The beauty of this fire, if

there is a beauty to it, is that there are so many fire scars around this fire they have served as a natural barrier,” D’Aquanni said. Those include the 2003 Farewell Fire, the 2006 Van Peak Fire and the 2014 Upper Falls Creek Fire on the east, and the 2002 Middle Quartz Mountain Fire, the 2002 Quartz Mountain Fire and the 2014 Middle Mountain Fire on the northwest. The weather for the coming

umentation” that would trigger a verification process that could lead to citizenship. If undocumented residents fail to apply at that point, they would be subject to deportation. Brown warned of growing risks to consumers, like those faced during the the 2008 financial collapse, if Republicans undo the Dodd-Frank consumer protection legislation, which contracted with Twisp for police protection since May. Several people applied for the opening of marshal during this last round and two applicants underwent oral exams, according to the mayor’s office. The town’s Civil Service Commission recommended only Tindall for further consideration. Small town policing, Tindall said, “often is a training ground, or for a young officer it’s too slow.” But after a career of service at the state level, he said “I’m not looking to going anywhere else.” Tindall, a native of Idaho, was married at Sun Mountain in 1993 and two years later bought property near Mazama. He lived there from 1995 to 2002 when he was assigned as a state trooper to Okanogan County, and kept his property when he was posted to other parts of the state. Tindall’s 25 years with the state patrol included more than 12 years on the executive protection unit, where he provided security for the three most recent Washington governors — Gary Locke, Christine Gregoire and Jay Inslee. After retiring from the patrol in August 2015, Tindall worked for a private security firm that contracted uniformed, armed security officers to retail businesses. Tindall, 53, has a home in Steilacoom, near Tacoma, with his wife and three children, who

allowing FERC to resume its business. Meanwhile, a coalition of conservation groups is urging FERC to consider input from the public opposing the PUD’s request for another two year extension before construction has to begin. The group contends that the PUD didn’t file required engineering and finance plans for Enloe before the deadline.

Over the past several years, the PUD has looked for an entity to build and operate the dam or to remove it. The PUD has made assumption of liability a condition of dam removal, and has said none of the parties interested in removal have provided a

sufficient guarantee. Since getting the go-ahead from a state board in June to use an expedited design/build process, the PUD has been in negotiations with Yakima-based Mountain States. The PUD began the current license-application process with FERC a dozen years ago. The utility previously considered reenergizing Enloe Dam in the 1980s and 1990s, but rescinded those licenses because of economic conditions and uncertainty over fish passage. The PUD acquired Enloe Dam in 1945 but has not produced power there since 1959, when less-expensive power from the Bonneville Power Administration reached the area.

week calls for continued warm and dry days with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. The fire was staffed by 328 people early this week. Equipment included 10 engines, two helicopters and a variety of heavy equipment to build fire lines. The fire is estimated to have cost $6.6 million as of this week. The fire was reported July 23 by a hiker in the Pasayten Wilderness who hiked to a ridgetop

to call it in. It is determined to be human-caused, and an investigation is underway. The fire was considered 40 percent contained as of Tuesday, and is expected to continue burning until a wetting rain or snow occurs. A large fire area closure is in effect. Eightmile Creek Road (5130) is closed from West Chewuch Road (51) to Billy Goat Trailhead. The Ortell Road (5220) is closed from Cub Pass

at the intersection with Sweetgrass Butte Road (5220-100) to the Eightmile Road. Sweetgrass Butte Road is closed from Cub Pass at the intersection with Ortell Road to Sweetgrass Butte. The entire Falls Creek Road (5140) is closed. Information about the Diamond Creek Fire can be found at www.inciweb.nwcg.gov or on the Diamond Creek Fire Facebook page.

placed major regulations on the banking and finance industries. “I worry about greed,” she said. As for health care, she said the Affordable Care Act needs improvement, but not the Republican repeal effort that Newhouse supported. In response to a question from the audience, Brown said she supports single payer insurance coverage. The United

States should learn from other countries how to provide health care for all citizens, she added. Brown, 67, worked as a reporter, producer, anchor, news director and station manager. She was employed by the Yakima County Human Services Department for seven years before switching to journalism. After graduating from Central Washington University in 1975, she

spent three months in a workstudy program at the Purdy Treatment Center for women in Gig Harbor. According to her website, her experience reporting on issues affecting residents of the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin, the district’s two largest population centers, gives her a “knowledgeable and diverse perspective on critical concerns our communi-

ties face.” She pledges transparency if elected, promising to hold town halls and to disclose the number of calls, emails and letters — pro and con — received on issues: “I will be open to change my mind on an issue based on new information.” Brown is the mother of two grown children and has served as a guardian ad litem for children in the court system.

range in age from 17 to 20. His wife, who grew up near Brewster, is a flight attendant based out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and will commute from the Methow Valley to her work. Tindall said his two oldest children will continue to live in the Steilacoom area, and his youngest will move here. Since beginning work as marshal, Tindall is living at his property near Weeman Bridge between Winthrop and Mazama. His home there was badly damaged by a water leak last winter, and he has plans to rebuild.

ing his weapon. Tindall fired and wounded the man, who later died from his injuries. In the interview last week, Tindall discussed a widely reported 2015 case that involved his son and resulted in his own plea of guilty to a misdemeanor. The incident involved allegations that his son, then 18, attempted to set fire to a car by putting material in the opening of the gas tank and lighting it. The car belonged to the family of a girl who attended his son’s school, Tindall said. He said his son and a friend had “romantic ideas” about the girl which resulted in some conflict. The arson attempt was not successful, but a surveillance camera caught an image of a person wearing a ski mask putting something in the gas tank. Tindall said his son and the friend had similar physical builds and the video was poor quality, and the image could have been of either boy. Tindall said his son eventually claimed responsibility, but may have been trying to protect his friend. “I couldn’t tell if my son and his friend were being honest with me,” he said last week. Clothing at Tindall’s homes in the Methow Valley and Steilacoom was taken as part of the investigation. Tindall and his wife were subsequently charged with tampering with evidence and rendering criminal assistance.

“The worst thing I did was drive my family to our home. Whether my son brought clothing here, I don’t know,” he said. “It’s my understanding that none of the clothing articles taken from either of my residences was tied in any way to a crime.” After almost a year of legal proceedings, Tindall pleaded guilty to a second degree misdemeanor charge of rendering criminal assistance. As part of the plea agreement, his son’s case was moved from Thurston County Superior Court to Mental Health Court. His son was sentenced to a two-year communitybased program of supervision and treatment in lieu of a felony conviction and incarceration. “My wife and I agreed to the plea deal on the advice of our attorneys…we were out of funds to take it to trial and we wanted to give our son a chance

to get counseling and not be a felon,” Tindall said. “I was tired of having this cloud hanging over us. It was a nightmare for our family.” Mayor Rick Northcott said he was aware of Tindall’s past legal issues. Northcott said he checked with many people in law enforcement and criminal justice who knew Tindall, and who said the former trooper was widely respected for his character and professionalism. Northcott also said he questioned Tindall in depth before offering him the marshal position, which pays $63,000 a year. “It’s been an intensive process,” Tindall said last week. As the new marshal, Tindall said one of his first priorities is to fill the deputy marshal position that is provided in the town budget. “Several people have contacted me about working for the department,” he said.

Award of Honor

Tindall is only one of 11 Washington troopers who have been awarded with Award of Honor, the state patrol’s highest recognition for an outstanding act of valor. In June 1993, when Tindall was assigned to patrol on Seattle area freeways, he responded to rush-hour call about a man who had shot at a state Department of Transportation worker on the Evergreen Point floating bridge. The armed man was standing on the highway bridge, threatening to shoot motorists. When Tindall arrived with lights and sirens, the man got into his van, which was parked nearby on the side of the bridge. Tindall ordered the man several times to drop his weapon and come out of the van. The man eventually came out, brandish-

Enloe’s long history

Final Farewell from

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Methow Valley News

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

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New wireless communication tower proposed for Loup Loup By Marcy Stamper

The Methow Valley Ranger District is considering issuing a permit for construction of a 195-foot-tall lattice communication tower on Little Buck Mountain, above the Loup Loup Ski Bowl. The tower would provide transmission for the cell-phone provider T-Mobile, but it could be expanded to include two

more wireless carriers, according to Meg Trebon, special uses administrator for the district. Plans also call for a propane-powered generator and for construction of a 30-by-30-foot equipment building and a 15-by-15-foot pad for propane storage, all enclosed by a 70-by-70-foot fence. As part of the project, installers would dig a trench to connect to existing under-

News briefs

BASE

Kellen Northcott resigns from Winthrop Council

Kellen Northcott resigned this month from the Winthrop Council, effective immediately, after serving 16 months. Northcott said he did not have adequate time for the council job, according to Rick Northcott, his uncle and mayor of Winthrop. Northcott was appointed in April 2016 to a vacant position on the council. The town will advertise for a replacement to fill the remainder of his term, which expires at the Kellen Northcott end of this year. Northcott’s departure means three of the five Winthrop Council members will be appointed this calendar year. They include Ben Nelson, Joseph O’Driscoll and Northcott’s replacement. Council member Bob DeHart was appointed in September last year, and is running for mayor in November. That makes Mike Strulic the only current council member who was elected to his seat. He joined the board in 2014, but does not intend to seek re-election, meaning all five council seats will be up for election in November. O’Driscoll and Nelson are seeking reelection. Council terms are four years.

Gate blocking Three Devils Road vandalized

A gate closing Three Devils Road to the public was vandalized a week after it was installed, after a court decision ended public access to the road. Jon Wyss, a member of the Gebbers Family, reported damage to the gate and theft of a sign to Okanogan County Sheriff’s Deputy Jodie Barcus on Aug. 11. Wyss said he had gated the road two days earlier. Wyss said the damage must have occurred Aug. 9 or 10. The Washington Supreme Court on Aug. 2 denied a request from a group of Chiliwist residents to hear their lawsuit over Three Devils Road, which left intact the Okanogan County commissioners’ 2015 decision to vacate the road. Gamble Land and Timber petitioned Okanogan County in 2015 to vacate three miles of the road to protect adjacent property from trespassing and vandalism. Gamble Land is run by members of the Gebbers family. Wyss showed Barcus postings on social media threatening damage to the gate, but acknowledged there was no way to determine who was responsible, according to Barcus’ incident report. Wyss said Gamble Land would put measures in place to try and determine who was responsible for this damage and any future damage. He also said larger gates would be installed, according to Barcus’ report. Property damage from the vandalism is estimated at $425. The lawsuit filed by the Chiliwist residents had argued that the road provided an important escape route and a way to reach public lands.

WHEELIN and Dealin

ground power. There would be no lights or guy wires, said Trebon. The steep access road would receive some maintenance to accommodate the new project. There is an existing, shorter tower on the mountain, which is leased to the Washington State Department of Transportation and used by other state agencies. That tower is too short to carry the wireless signals, according to the pro-

From Page A1

jobs from the smaller communities of Winthrop and Twisp.” The North Cascades base is the duty station for 30 smokejumpers. That equates to 1.5 jobs per smokejumper, or 45 jobs total, to account for family members employed in the community, according to the analysis. That makes it the fourth or fifth largest employer in the valley, the PPA said. Those 45 jobs have a far greater impact to the economy of to the Methow Valley, a community of only 1,600 residents, than they would for Wenatchee, with a population of 46,000, the analysis concluded. The base, known as the “the birthplace of smoke jumping,” offers public tours that draw about 5,000 visitors each year.

Welcome news

The news that the base will remain at its historic location for at least a couple of years was welcomed by local officials who have lobbied to keep it in the Methow Valley. But they also acknowledged the challenge of securing the funding to make the improvements outlined in the analysis. “We’re thrilled with the fact they’ve made that recommendation, but we also know that this does not conclusively mean the base will be improved as it needs to be and stay viable,” said Twisp Mayor Soo Ing-Moody. “We need to make sure that the base gets the funding it needs.” “I’m very satisfied with the results of the study,” agreed David Gottula, president of the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce. “Now the hard work begins.” Obtaining the necessary funding to secure the base for the long term will require support from government entities and representatives in Congress, Gottula said. “We just have to work the system,” he said. “We will work with the Forest Service to see what we can do to help them.” Okanogan County Commissioner Andy Hover said he was pleased with the Forest Service’s conclusion for now, but criticized the tone of the report.

posal. The project has been proposed by The Meridian Group, which works with wireless carriers. The ranger district is reviewing the application and doing surveys of the area under what’s called a categorical exclusion, which means an environmental analysis is not required. The U.S. Forest Service manages the

“I was extremely irritated,” Hover said. “The whole thing was negative toward the smokejumper base. Even though the recommendation was to keep it here, it was grudging.” He pointed to a conclusion in the analysis that stated: “Funding of a $5.2 million project is very unlikely given the severe shortage of construction funds nationally.” “The first thing that caught my eye was two to three years and $5.2 million,” Hover said. “The way it’s worded, it seems like they don’t feel we can raise the money.” Hover said he was also unhappy that not more smokejumpers who work at the base, who are Forest Service employees, were consulted as part of analysis. “They didn’t allow these guys to show their enthusiasm,” he said. “They’re the ones doing the maintenance there.”

Lower cost options

The analysis of the North Cascades base was prompted by the need to remove three buildings — an office, a parachute loft and a saw maintenance shack — that are within an “object free area” at the state airport. The buildings are allowed under a waiver but jeopardize future federal funding for the airport because they are in violation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards, according to study. Although the buildings are in violation, the state has not been asked by federal aviation authorities to remove them, said Paul Wolf, state airports manager. Wolf said the Methow Valley Airport is “considered the highest priority airport out of 16 airports managed by the state” because it is the most widely used for emergency management purposes. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which operates the state airports, will be working with the FAA on plans to remove identified obstructions on its property, Wolf said. As part of that planning, the FAA may require that three buildings at the smokejumper base be removed before approving future federal funds for the Methow Valley Airport, he said. In addition to demolishing the buildings, the analysis concluded

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site and would issue a special-use permit if approved, according to Mike Liu, the district ranger. Permit fees go to the U.S. Treasury and a percentage comes back to the county, but not to the local ranger district, he said. The public is invited to comment on the proposal through Sept. 15 to mtrebon@fs.fed.us. For more information, contact Trebon at 996-4032.

that a new building to replace those facilities would need to be built somewhere on the 19-acre site that is owned by the Forest Service. The $5.2 million construction estimate, based on a 2015 analysis done for the Forest Service, was for a building using conventional methods such as wood framing and concrete block construction. The new analysis recommended a “scaled down, phased approach” that calls for construction of a metal building at a cost of $2.8 million. A second option proposes building an addition to an existing warehouse at a total cost of $2.2 million. All three estimates include demolition costs for the buildings by the runway, and taxiway and ramp improvements. “Our budget staff is going to work through the various construction alternatives,” said Holly Krake, a spokesman for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. “There are a range of options to meet the recommendations to keep the base in Winthrop.”

Independent analysis

The PPA was completed by Northstar Technology Corporation, independent consultants hired by the Forest Service. The team conducted site visits and evaluated all three proposed base locations, considering fire occurrences and response times, socio-economic impacts to the community and employees, implementation time and costs, and time required to conduct smokejumper training. On the fire occurrence and response time criterion, the analysis evaluated the total number of fire starts over the past 20 years recorded within a circle of 127 nautical miles from each location. It found that the North Cascades base had 100 percent of fires where smokejumpers would be deployed within the response circle; Pangborn Memorial Airport at Wenatchee had 85 percent of fires where smokejumpers would be deployed, and McAllister Field at Yakima had 60 percent of fires where smokejumpers would be deployed. The analysis also found that the time involved in smokejumpers training was considerably less at the Methow Valley location — 35

minutes compared to 65 minutes in Wenatchee and 100 minutes in Yakima — because of proximity to appropriate terrain. Compared to the estimated $5.2 million needed to improve and maintain facilities at the Methow Valley Base over the next 20 years, the study estimated similar costs of $6.7 million at Wenatchee’s Pangborn Airport and $3.8 million at Yakima. The analysis also considered proximity to the Forest Service Rappel Base, although only Wenatchee, which houses the base, meets that criterion.

Upgrades needed at North Cascades base

Despite the positives of the Methow Valley location, the analysis found that many of old buildings at the North Cascades base are badly in need of upgrades, repairs or replacement. For example, the crew quarters, built in 1950, ”are deficient, unsafe and do not meet life/safety codes for sleeping quarters...and should be closed or replaced as soon as possible.” The Methow Valley base serves several other agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The consultants suggested that the Forest Service explore developing “a multiagency partnership” which may make funding easier to obtain. Consultants also said the 19-acre site owned by the Forest Service is larger than needed, and suggested that the Forest Service could consider selling or transferring ownership to help pay for needed improvements. “Any time we can show leverage partnerships and show collaborative efforts it is better received” when seeking funding, Krake said. While the future is not guaranteed, Twisp Mayor Ing-Moody said the completion of the analysis is a “critical first step” in keeping the base in the valley. “I think there are still a lot of moving parts in how this project moves forward,” she said. “The positive side is this is reassurance that this base has critical value not just to us in this community, but to the Forest Service and the state.”

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Okanogan County Fair and Rodeo

Opinion

Page A4

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

No Bad Days

Memories can’t be eclipsed

I totally missed this week’s total eclipse, while still recuperating in a Wenatchee hospital room with one narrow window facing the wrong direction. But from still-vivid memories I knew what was going on out there, and what an amazing and deeply affecting phenomenon an eclipse can be. Nearly four decades ago, I gazed (through protective glasses) at the mostrecent total eclipse that was visible in the Pacific Northwest. All these years later, I recall with absolute clarity those strange, wondrous and mystical few moments of totality. Don Nelson An eclipse is just an astronomical coincidence of the regular and predictable movements of our sun and moon. But it is also a reminder of the immutability and constancy of nature and the greater universe, which we minor beings on this wee planet have the privilege to experience. On an overcast morning — Monday, Feb. 26, 1979 — a total eclipse swept in a shallow arc over parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota. I was a young reporter for the Eugene, Oregon, Register-Guard, hunkered down smack in the middle of the path of totality. I was stationed near Goldendale, Washington, which was eclipse central for thousands of observers because of its location and its observatory. I volunteered for the assignment because it sounded like a great adventure, and it was a chance to get out of the office and go somewhere on a meager expense account. Newspapering involves a lot of routine — planning commission meetings and civic festivals — and ruthless deadlines. But on occasion, it provides a front-row seat to life’s grand moments. The night before the event, I joined several hundred other eclipse fans at a school gymnasium in Goldendale, where the community put on a free meal. It was a happy crowd, and people were eager to share stories about why they were there. Some had an elaborate plan, others showed up on pure whimsy. Early the next morning, I joined them to witness the blotting of the sun from the nearby Stonehenge replica built on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River. Afterwards, I found a pay phone off the freeway. From scribbled notes, I dictated my story to someone back at the Register-Guard. The story appeared in that afternoon’s paper. Here are a few excerpts from my account: “Like a curtain rising on an outdoor stage, the clouds over the Columbia River Gorge parted long enough today to allow a clear view of nature’s most spectacular show. “A total eclipse of the sun suddenly plunged the land into an early twilight at 8:15 this morning. “It was over in just two minutes. But for thousands of eclipse watchers who took a chance on February’s fickle weather, the gamble paid off. “At nearby Stonehenge, a replica of the ancient Druid monument in England, hundreds gathered around the pillars to witness what neo-pagan celebrants at the site called a ‘rebirth of light.’ “Shortly after 8 a.m. it began to grow noticeably darker as but a sliver of sun shone behind the face of the crossing moon. “Seconds before totality, shadows grew deeper and longer and the remaining light was strangely subdued. The temperature dropped. “At last the shadow of the moon passed over. ... The eastern and southern horizons turned dark. To the west and north, the sky was still light. A few stars were visible.” Maybe it was luck that day. Or maybe it was the aura of Stonehenge. But the skies above us provided an unobscured view, while much of the region lay under a stubborn mid-winter cloud cover that hindered or prevented viewing the eclipse. For many, the eclipse was a disappointment if not a total bust. The 1979 eclipse drew what, for the time, was a lot of media attention. I had written several stories for the newspaper leading up to the event, including one about safe viewing. But coverage then was nothing compared to the hype leading up to this week’s eclipse. In 1979, there was no Internet, no social media, no cell phones, no non-stop information stream, no memes or Twitter or instantaneous sharing. The eclipse was something of interest, an unusual adventure, not a monumental event that inspired a massive pilgrimage. With all the technological changes of the last half-century, I wonder if the eclipse has become more of a mob spectacle than a rare and profound moment of natural wonder. An Aug. 16 report in the Methow CORRECTION: Valley News on wildfire-driven changes in cost and availability of homeowner’s insurance mis-stated the year of the Carlton Complex wildfire. It was 2014, not 2015.

Methow Valley News PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

502 S. Glover Street • P.O. Box 97, Twisp, WA 98856 (509) 997-7011 • FAX (509) 997-3277 editor@methowvalleynews.com www.methowvalleynews.com Don Nelson, PUBLISHER/EDITOR Jacqui Banaszynski, EDITOR Marcy Stamper, REPORTER Ann McCreary, REPORTER Darla Hussey, PUBLICATION DESIGN Rebecca Vaughan, OFFICE MANAGER Sheila Ward, SALES ASSOCIATE Dana Sphar, AD DESIGN • PRODUCTION Mark Hutson, DISTRIBUTION

CONTRIBUTORS:

Solveig Torvik Karen West Erik Brooks Joanna Bastian Mandi Donohue Ashley Lodato Sarah Schrock Tania Gonzalez Ortega Rosalie Hutson Dave Ward

Display advertising deadline for this newspaper is on the Friday previous to publication at 5 p.m. Classified advertising deadline is Monday at noon. The deadline for news items is Monday at noon. THE METHOW VALLEY NEWS (USPS Publication No. 343480) is published weekly by MVN Publishing, LLC, 502 S. Glover St., Twisp, WA 98856. Subscription rates: $33 inside Okanogan County, $44 outside of Okanogan County and $55 outside of Washington state per year (in advance). Periodical class postage paid at Twisp, Washington, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE METHOW VALLEY NEWS, P.O. Box 97, Twisp, WA 98856. THE METHOW VALLEY NEWS does not refund subscription payments except to the extent that the newspaper might fail to meet its obligation to publish each week of the individual subscription period, in which case the prorated cost of those issues missed would be refunded. Member of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association

Front page banner photo by Marcy Stamper, taken at Pearrygin Lake.

Box 97: Letters to the editor

Methow Valley News

By Tania Gonzalez Ortega

Top choice for smokejumper base

Dear Editor: For nearly 80 years, firefighters have utilized the North Cascades Smokejumper Base to serve eastern Washington and beyond. For the past several years, the U.S. Forest Service has been reviewing existing facilities issues including the “obstacle-free zone” and current safety standards. This summer, a dedicated group of engineering and smokejumper professionals completed a required Preliminary Project Analysis ahead of much needed, substantial facilities changes. The analysis explored a broad range of options at locations in Yakima, Wenatchee and Winthrop. The group analyzed and evaluated several factors including economic impacts, fire occurrence, cost and more. I am pleased to share, all factors considered, the existing base location in Winthrop is the top recommended alternative largely attributed to the significant economic impact of moving jobs from the smaller communities of Winthrop and Twisp. Wenatchee is a close second and could also provide effective wildfire support coverage to Eastern Washington. The Yakima location is a distant third and will not be considered further. Our engineering, facilities, and budget staff will continue to work through construction options and related funding needs outlined in the Analysis. We will continue to share information with our communities and stakeholders as work progresses on this issue. Thank you for your interest in and commitment to U.S. Forest Service wildland fire programs. Mike Williams Forest Supervisor, OkanoganWenatchee National Forest

Pool payoff

Dear Editor: We did it! The remodel of the Wagner Memorial Pool in Twisp is paid off thanks to all the wonderful people who understand how important the pool is to our valley. Friends of the Pool thanks every single person, organization and family for the contributions that paid for the pool remodeling. Hopefully we will get 10-plus years of pool time and in that time we can work towards a new pool, new recreation center, indoor pool — whatever dreams we have can come true. The Killer Whales swim team with their terrific leadership did it again. Number one! Water aerobics is going strong 7 – 8 a.m. five days and week. Lap swimmers are cutting through the water. The kids are having a great time. We are all the friends of the pool for car-

ing enough to make this all possible. It was with great pleasure we wrote the payoff check for the pool. Hurray for all of us, and a big thank you! Patty Yates And Carol Gaston Friends of the Pool

Ready to help

Dear Editor: Next month, on Sunday, Sept. 17, several Twisp churches will come together to serve the community. We have many teams of volunteers that will be available for free to members of the community who may need some help with various work projects. We are not professional contractors, just volunteers who want to be good neighbors and do our best to help people who need some strong hands to serve. Have a fence that needs to be painted, of a roof that’s got a leak? We can do that! Need something heavy moved out, or a junk car hauled off? We can do that! Just need some help with yard work to do the basic maintenance that you are no longer able to do? We can do that! No donations will be accepted, no fees will be charged. This is just our offer to serve the people of this great community, and to “give back” a little to those who have helped us so many times along the way. In order to sign up, please call 997-8312 or 997-5428 and leave a voice message. We can’t promise that we will get to every request, but we will do as many as we are physically able to do. God bless. The Methow Valley Ministerial Alliance

No safe place

Dear Editor: Many in my grandparents’ circle experienced Nazi Germany or lost relatives in concentration camps. They told us that Jews would never really be safe, even in America. Growing up white, Jewish and middle-class in New York City, I couldn’t believe that — until the recent violence in Charlottesville.

Sixteen million Americans, my father among them, fought in the war against Nazi Germany. The Nazis were the worst enemy the United States had ever faced. Enlisting to fight to protect Europe and America was considered a most patriotic act. Now in America there are people dressing up as Nazis. They shout Nazi slogans and even call themselves “patriots.” I call them traitors, to our past, to our veterans who died in World War II, and to everything America says it stands for. The existence of extreme right-wing, racist, and neo-Nazi groups is not new. But two recent events feel different. The first occurred in Charlottesville. This was actually just before the truck attack on peaceful demonstrators that made the biggest headlines. It was what happened around a synagogue that really touched me personally. Hundreds of people kept marching by a synagogue, screaming Nazi and anti-Semitic slogans. Neo-Nazi websites called for burning of that synagogue. And then heavily armed neo-Nazis paraded past the synagogue while people were inside attending religious services. What was shocking to me was the refusal of the Charlottesville police department to provide any protection at all to the synagogue. This police response was probably no surprise to African-Americans, who have seen many of their churches burned. But it was new to me. The second different event was when the president of the United States made it clear by his reaction and statements that he condones violence and terrorism when carried out by right-wing extremists or neo-Nazis. This should frighten all of us. In retrospect, my grandparents were right, though they probably would not have framed it this way. In a country where AfricanAmericans are not safe and often not protected by the police, Jews aren’t safe either. In fact, no one is safe. Randy Brook Twisp

Why I obsess about the names of plants and animals Naming things makes individuals out of a landscape of birds, trees and bumblebees By Pepper Trail Writers on the Range

I’m big into names. As a professional ornithologist and a lifelong naturalist, I’ve spent years learning the names of things. That drab little yellow-green bird skulking in the bushes? It’s an orange-crowned warbler, Oreothlypis celata. What about the bushes? They’re snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus. And that bee buzzing among their flowers? Why, it’s a yellow-faced bumblebee, Bombus vosnesenskii. My hiking buddies often grow impatient at this identifying habit of mine. Obsessing about names, they say, is a distraction from the pure appreciation of nature, preventing people from simply seeing. Not surprisingly, I disagree. The close attention to details needed to identify and name plants and animals deepens my appreciation, alerts me to the differences that reveal creatures’ adaptations to the world. I understand their point, though. Figuring out what something is, that’s only the beginning of understanding. If it becomes an end in itself — as for some bird-listers, I’m sorry to say — then naming is a dead end. The problem, I’ve come to believe, is not that we give things too many names, but that we don’t give enough. In Buddhism, the creatures we share the world with are termed sentient beings. In some Native American traditions, those beings are spoken of as people: Salmon are

the salmon people, bears are the bear people. These are both ways of signifying that we humans are just another part of the world, not above it. That’s not how most of us think. We look down on our fellow species. We don’t consider them our equals, with equal claims to the good things of life, or to life at all. And we certainly don’t give them attention as individuals. After all, who can tell one deer, one crow, from another? Well, they can. Meticulous field studies have proved beyond doubt that birds and mammals (at least) have amazing powers of individual recognition. Elephants remember each other even after years of separation. A seabird flying into a colony of thousands can unerringly locate her chick, even if it has wandered away from the nest. As a graduate student, I studied a color-banded population of birds, which allowed me to document their individual behaviors. In this species, called the cock-of-the-rock, the males spend all their time displaying to attract females. Some males, I found, were skillful lovers. Females definitely remembered those males, returning to them year after year, even if they changed their display sites. It is simply lazy to think of animals as part of a faceless horde. They are individuals, each with histories, strengths and weaknesses. Not like us, you might say, but just like us. All these thoughts went through my mind recently as I spent an afternoon surrounded by a stunning field of four-and-a-half-foottall flowering white beargrass. I admit it’s challenging to honor plants as fellow sentient beings, to greet them as a people, to see them as individuals. And yet, they are. If all members of a plant species were the same, they would quickly die out. Individual variation is the stuff of survival, the fuel for evolution.

But looking over a hillside of California poppies or a field of goldenrod, it’s easy to see only a colorful mass. That’s not the case with beargrass. In flower, these extraordinary lilies, Xerophyllum tenax, are undeniably individual. In the open conifer forest of the Siskiyou Mountains, where I spent my time with them, each stands a bit apart from its fellows, distinct. They have much in common, of course: Each has a dense basal cluster of tough, wiry leaves (prized for basketry), and each flowering head is a tall spike covered with delicate white blossoms. But some flowers are narrow wands, others bulbous as a blimp, others round as a cupcake. Some spikes are straight; others curve; and some bend beneath the weight of their heavy heads. Each one deserves its own name. I don’t know those names, of course; I don’t speak their language. But moving from flower to flower, taking photograph after photograph, I see how each one exhibits its own perfection. Each is the product of at least as long an evolutionary journey as my own; each has grace I will never attain. True, a beargrass plant can’t read, or write, or think abstract thoughts. Well, I can’t turn sunlight into food or re-sprout after wildfire. Let’s not quibble over who is the more miraculous. It was getting late. I said goodbye to the beargrass people and drove down from the mountains, naming names as I went. Good night, dark-eyed junco. Sleep well, leopard lily. See you tomorrow, oak people, raven people, deer people. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better. Pepper Trail is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News. He is an ornithologist, essayist and poet living in Ashland, Oregon.

WWW. METHOWVALLEYNEWS.COM

Methow Valley News

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Page A5

Sports & Recreation

Cross-country teams ready for strong run to match 2016 results By Rick Lewis

It’s hard to imagine improving upon the 2016 Liberty Bell High School cross-country season. Even with a state team championship and individual championship for the women, and a state runner-up finish for the men, that is exactly what is on the mind of the 2017 Mountain Lions. With only one loss to graduation on each side, a solid core of returning runners, and some fine-looking young talent at the junior high level, Liberty Bell looks to run well this year, and for several more to come. Changes at the top lead the story for 2017, with Craig Herlihy stepping aside as head coach, making room for the promotion of assistant coach Erik Brooks to the top spot. Herlihy and Sarah Brooks will occupy the assistant coach positions, although the staff is using more of a team concept, blending their experience and abilities to run a program together that has blossomed to an anticipated 45-50 participants this year. Their emphasis will be on improving team speed through group effort, and fostering a mutually cooperative environment. Led by 2016 state champion Novie McCabe, a sophomore, and third-place finisher Gretta Scholz, also a sophomore, the Liberty Bell women are mostly intact from last year and are poised for a run at their second straight state title. Occasional varsity runner Taya Delong has departed for college, and steady Ava Mott (a junior) will spend this year studying in China. Not to fear, though, as junior captain Icel Sukovaty is ready to lead a solid core including juniors Athena Milani and Lucy Cole,

Sports briefs Free day in state parks

To celebrate the National Park System’s 101st birthday, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is offering free entrance to state parks on Friday (Aug. 25). Day-use visitors will not need a Discover Pass to visit state parks. The free day applies only at state parks; the Discover Pass is still required on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Natural Resources lands.

Liberty Bell High School crosscountry 2017 fall preview

• Head coach: Erik Brooks • Assistant coaches: Craig Herlihy, Sarah Brooks • 2016 results: Girls took first place at state meet, with Novie McCabe taking first place and Gretta Scholz third place. Boys finished second at state meet. as well as sophomore Rivers Leeman. “This is a great group of girls and I’m excited,” said Sukovaty. The competition for the top seven varsity spots will be joined this year by freshmen Liv Aspholm, Keely Brooks, Lindsay Worrell and Eva Weymuller, among others. Notice that the term “senior” doesn’t appear in the women’s breakdown. There is a confident excitement in the women’s program that replaces the youthful exuberance from last year. Cole and Milani shared the unifying theme for 2017: “We want to get faster as a team”, said Milani. “I had a kind of sophomore slump last year,” she said as noting that her state time was a little slower than her 2015 fourth-place finish. Incoming freshmen Aspholm and Brooks are both “super excited” to be at the high school level and ready to push for a spot on varsity. If their efforts lead to others running faster, and lands them at the junior varsity level, they are OK with that. Whatever it takes to “make the team faster and better” is okay with them. They agreed, however, that it would be “super cool” to once again mount the podium as champions. In what many thought would be a

rebuilding year, the Mountain Lion men surprised everyone in Pasco last November with their fourth second-place finish at state. Liberty Bell placed second in 1999, 2000 and 2001 after their 1998 state title in the old 1A classification. Senior captain Eli Nielsen will lead the Lions as they run toward their eighth straight Central Washington B League championship, eighth straight trip to state and their seventh regional title since 2010. Running with Nielsen will be fellow senior Cade Quigley, junior regulars Emerson Worrell and Peter Aspholm and sophomore Walker Hall. Expect juniors Henry Jones, Simon Studen and Lazo Gitchos to compete for the varsity’s seven spots. Logan Hall, Zach Strong and Michael Mott, with arriving freshmen Bodie Paul, Travis Grialou, Dusty Patterson and Ian Delong, will be applying some pressure on the upperclassmen. Nielsen believes this team is stronger than last year’s second-place finish at state. The summer running program has been well attended and, like the women’s program, “we are dedicated to improving our times overall,” he said. There is recognition that there are a couple of teams in north central Washington that could challenge Liberty Bell, and they are ready for that challenge. In the junior varsity and junior high ranks, the lair is full of aspiring Mountain Lions, working to improve and advance. Look for eighth-grader Jori Grialou to make noise in the girls’ junior high ranks, while Zane Strome and David Kominak are the early front-runners in boys’ junior high competition. They will be joined by an anticipated tidal wave of seventh-graders that the

coaching team can’t wait to see on the course. Early numbers show as many as 50 students in the program this fall, according to Erik Brooks. Herlihy was all smiles at that projection the evening prior to opening fall practice. “I am just glad to see the numbers grow,” said Herlihy as he recalled that for years there were only one or two women in the program, and at one point just four junior

high boys back in 2007. “Erik and Sarah have been a key component in the recent growth,” Herlihy said. The Mountain Lions open the 2017 season on Saturday, Sept. 9, in Ellensburg. Meets within reasonable driving distance include Sept. 23 at Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee, Oct. 7 at Leavenworth, Oct. 13 at Oroville and the league championship meet at Liberty Bell on Oct. 21.

Cross-county schedule • Saturday, Sept. 9, Ellensburg Invitational • Saturday, Sept. 16, 39th Carl Westling South Whidbey Invitational • Saturday, Sept. 23, Wenatchee XC Invite • Saturday, Sept. 30, Nike 11th annual Twilight XC Invitational

• Saturday, Oct. 7, Leavenworth Invitational • Friday, Oct. 13, Oroville Invite • Saturday, Oct. 21, league championships • Saturday, Oct. 28, district championships • Saturday, Nov. 4, 1B/2B WIAA state crosscountry meet

Rivers and lakes still open for trout; steelhead outlook grim By Marcy Stamper

With cooler temperatures, much of the Methow River remains open for catch-andrelease trout fishing, and anglers can still fish for summer Chinook in the Columbia River near Brewster. “This is the first time in

years that the state has opened a season for natural-origin [nonhatchery] summer Chinook,” said Ryan Fortier, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW’s) district fisheries biologist for Okanogan County. Fishers can keep up to four summer Chinook a day, including two adults.

Liberty Bell Junior/High School athletes can now register online for sports. For families that do not have access to the online program, there will be access available at the high school during the Aug. 23 – 24 registration session between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Physicals for high school athletes

Family Health Centers in Twisp is offering free sports physicals for high school athletes until Sept. 15. Call (800) 660 – 2129 for an appointment.

Photo by Rick Lewis

The girls on this year’s cross country team are looking forward to having another successful season.

Photo courtesy of Aimee Budrow

Joey Hickman, left, joined Lane Budrow and his father Paul Budrow on a fishing trip to Patterson Lake where they caught several Kokanee.

On the Methow River from Winthrop to the Burma bridge near Methow, people can still fish for rainbow and cutthroat trout for another month or so. But the season on the Methow River above Winthrop, and on the Chewuch and Twisp rivers, has already closed to protect spring Chinook that are already returning to spawn, Fortier said. But anglers eager for a fall steelhead season are likely to be disappointed. “That’s definitely the big discussion among the angling community,” said Fortier, who said that, based on the current run, steelhead fishing this year is unlikely. “This return is one of the worst we’ve ever had across the Columbia in general,” he said. The steelhead run is lower than last year, for both hatchery and wild fish, Fortier said. Low numbers are attributed to two years of drought, which means migrating steelhead were smaller and weaker when they reached the ocean, decreasing their survival rate. Because steelhead begin their outmigration later in the season, they suffer even more from drought than other species. A phenomenon called “the blob,” which is a huge area of warm water that has persisted off the Pacific coast for the past few years, also has taken a toll.

“The blob is still there and has had a range of impacts to the ecosystem,” from fish to birds to sea lions, Fortier said. But biologists won’t have a complete picture of the number of returning fish until midOctober, he said. The last time fishing was open for steelhead was in 2015. It will also be fall before biologists also know enough about returning Chinook numbers to forecast a season for those fish, said Fortier.

Cooler temps help

Just a few weeks ago, anglers were concerned that extremely hot temperatures would force restrictions on fishing in the river. River water over 70 degrees put too much stress on the fish, said Leaf Seaburg, owner of Methow Fishing Adventures. But with overnight temperatures now dipping into the 40s, river conditions have improved, dropping back into the 50s and 60s. Seaburg still encourages people to restrict their fishing to the cooler morning and evening hours to avoid overtaxing the fish. “Don’t fish in the middle of the day for the next couple of weeks,” he said. “Besides, you get diminishing returns — it’s not worth the time.” Trout fishing on the Methow

from Gold Creek to the Burma bridge closes Sept. 15. From the Foghorn dam, just north of Winthrop, the season closes Sept. 30.

Lake fishing

Fishing in lakes continues to be good, with opportunities in the valley and in high-mountain lakes for tasty and productive fishing. Pearrygin Lake is open for rainbow trout through the end of October, and Patterson Lake is open year-round for species including perch and crappie, all good for eating, said Fortier. Some lakes that have been catch-and-release all summer have fall openers, when anglers can keep up to five fish a day. Davis and Campbell lakes, well stocked with rainbow trout, open Sept. 1. “Lots of old-timers fish there year in and year out — they get pretty excited about it,” said Fortier. The lakes revert to catch-and-release in April. Fishing in mountain lakes gives anglers an opportunity to hook tasty fish while helping restore the balance of native populations, said Seaburg. For example, Tiffany Lake has an abundance of brook trout. “If you smoke those brookies and can them, it’s just amazing,” he said. “You can fish and help out at the same time.”

MAINTAIN A HEALTHY BUSINESS

Advertise in the Methow Valley Health & Wellness Guide Featuring informative & local health-related stories

Don’t delay - advertising deadline is Friday, September 1 (509) 997-7011 advertising@methowvalleynews.com

Monday & Wednesday 7am - 6pm Closed for Lunch 12pm - 1pm

What’s Happening Wednesday, August 23, 2017

WEDNESDAY AUG. 23

Meetings, etc.

BASICS OF MEDICARE: Learn about Medicare in seminar at Pateros Brewster Community Resource Center. Free. 670-1381. 6pm CRUISE-IN: Classic cars, trucks, motorcycles and more are welcome, hotdogs and pop available, at Twisp Airport. Free. 6-8pm

and other weekly things Wednesday 8/23 MV SCHOOL BOARD: Meeting in the school district office. See agenda: www. methow.org, click “District,” then “School Board.” 996-9205. 5:30pm AWANA: Games, songs and story time for 3-year-olds to 6th graders, at Cascade Bible Church, Twisp. 977-8312. 6:30-8pm MV EAGLES AERIE #2584: Meeting at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 7pm

THURSDAY AUG. 24

SPINNING: Bring your wheel and join other spinners at Twisted Knitters at 109 N. Glover St., Twisp. Free. 997-0233. 1-4pm MODEL STRUCTURES: Make a model structure with architect Margo Peterson-Aspholm at Winthrop library. Free. 996-2685. 3-5pm ULTIMATE FRISBEE: Play pick-up games of ultimate Frisbee at Twisp Town park. Free. 449-2346. 5:30pm BASICS OF HEALTH CARE: Seminar on health care options, at Pateros Brewster Community Resource Center. Free. 670-1381. 6pm SOULFUL AMERICANA: Bradford Loomis at Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop. Free. 9963183. 7pm DRUM CIRCLE: Drum circle around the fire pit at Methow Valley Ciderhouse, Winthrop. Free. 341-4354. 7:30pm

AUG. 25–27

MOUNTAINFILM ON TOUR: Three nights of select films from Mountainfilm, at Mazama Trailhead, near the Mazama Ranch House. $8-$35. northcascadesmountainhostel.com. 8pm

FRIDAY AUG. 25

PINE NEEDLE BASKETS: Learn the ancient art of pine needle basket weaving at MV Interpretive Center. $10. 997-0620. 12-4pm VALLEY TEEN CENTER NIGHT: Teens can drop by for games, socializing and a meal, at Valley Teen Center on TwispWorks campus. Free. 449-8041. 4-9pm BLUES REGGAE DANCE BAND: Yogoman at Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop. Free. 9963183. 7pm

SATURDAY AUG. 26

CUTTHROAT CLASSIC TRAIL RUN: 11mile trail run through the North Cascades. $75. 996-3287. 8am METHOW VALLEY FARMERS MARKET: Local produce, arts and crafts, food and music at MV Community Center, Twisp. Free. www. methowvalleyfarmersmarket.com. 9am-noon ANTI-BULLYING FAIR: at the Twisp Town Park. Includes free hot dogs, chili, snow cones plus a bouncy house and water slide. Free. 846-9508. 10am-3pm HALF-PRICE SKATING: Half-price off of roller skating admission and rentals for adults at Winthrop Rink. 996-4199. 4-8pm MUSIC: Rico Stover and Joe Marver at Twisp River Suites. Free. 997-0100. 5-7pm

SUNDAY AUG. 27

FREESTYLE DANCE: Drop-ins welcome, at the Twisp Movement Studio, $5. 996-2017. 9-10am WINTHROP MARKET: Food vendors, local arts and crafts and entertainment at Mack Lloyd Park, Winthrop. Free. www.winthropmarket.com. 10am-2pm NATIVE HISTORY: Dr. Karen Capuder presents “Unceded territories: A brief history of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation” at MV Interpretive Center. Free. 997-0620. 5-6:30pm LAST SUNDAY PRESENTATION: Topic and speaker to be announced, at MV Interpretive Center, Twisp. By donation. 997-0620. 5pm

Photo courtesy of mountainfilm.org

The height of entertainment

North Cascades Mountain Hostel brings Mountainfilm on Tour to the Mazama Trailhead this Friday through Sunday. READING PROGRAM PARTY: Summer reading program party at Winthrop library. Free. 996-2685. 2pm

THURSDAY AUG. 31

SPINNING: Bring your wheel and join other spinners at Twisted Knitters at 109 N. Glover St., Twisp. Free. 997-0233. 1-4pm ULTIMATE FRISBEE: Play pick-up games of ultimate Frisbee at Twisp Town park. Free. 449-2346. 5:30pm DRUM CIRCLE: Drum circle around the fire pit at Methow Valley Ciderhouse, Winthrop. Free. 341-4354. 7:30pm

FRIDAY SEPT. 1

VALLEY TEEN CENTER NIGHT: Teens can drop by for games, socializing and a meal, at Valley Teen Center on TwispWorks campus. Free. 449-8041. 4-9pm

SEPT. 2 – 3

METHOW VALLEY RODEO: At rodeo grounds on Twin Lakes Road between Twisp and Winthrop. $10. www.methowvalleyrodeo.com. 1pm

SATURDAY SEPT. 2

BOOK SALE: at MV Community Center Gym. $1 or less. 449-2594. 8:30am-12:30pm METHOW VALLEY FARMERS MARKET: Local produce, arts and crafts, food and music at MV Community Center, Twisp. Free. www. methowvalleyfarmersmarket.com. 9am-noon MUSIC: Rico Stover and Joe Marver at Twisp River Suites. Free. 997-0100. 5-7pm

SUNDAY SEPT. 3

FREESTYLE DANCE: Drop-ins welcome, at the Twisp Movement Studio, $5. 996-2017. 9-10am WINTHROP MARKET: Food vendors, local arts and crafts and entertainment at Mack Lloyd Park, Winthrop. Free. www.winthropmarket.com. 10am-2pm DINNER AT TWISPWORKS: Annual Fundraiser benefiting the TwispWorks Foundation and featuring a menu pairing local chefs with Methow Valley producers. $50/person. 997-3300. 4-8pm

TUESDAY SEPT. 5

STARGAZING: David Ward leads a stargazing session at Sun Mountain Lodge. Free. 996-4735. 9pm

ADVENTURE READING PROGRAM: For home-schooled kids ages 7-14 at Twisp library. Free. 997-4681. 11am BLUEBIRDS: Film and presentations about bluebird conservation at the Merc Playhouse. Free. 996-2870 or mary@methowconservancy.org. 7-8:30pm

TUESDAY AUG. 29

THURSDAY SEPT. 7

MONDAY AUG. 28

ADVENTURE READING PROGRAM: For home-schooled kids ages 7-14 at Twisp library. Free. 997-4681. 11am

MIRAGE THEATER

Now serving BULL BLASTERS! Movie Info Line: 509.826.0860 101 S Main St • 2 blocks from Omak Theater

Wonder Woman Action/Adventure/Fantasy-Gal Gadot, Chris

Pine, Robin Wright Fri: 6:30, 9:30 • Sat: *3:00, 6:00, 9:00 141 Min PG13 Sun: *3:00, 6:00 • Mon-Thurs: 7:00

Kidnap

SPINNING: Bring your wheel and join other spinners at Twisted Knitters at 109 N. Glover St., Twisp. Free. 997-0233. 1-4pm

FIX YOUR GEAR NIGHT: Get your outdoor gear fixed for free at eqpd on the TwispWorks campus. 997-2010. 4-7pm ULTIMATE FRISBEE: Play pick-up games of ultimate Frisbee at Twisp Town park. Free. 4492346. 5:30pm DRUM CIRCLE: Drum circle around the fire pit at Methow Valley Ciderhouse, Winthrop. Free. 3414354. 7:30pm

FRIDAY SEPT. 8

VALLEY TEEN CENTER NIGHT: Teens can drop by for games, socializing and a meal, at Valley Teen Center on TwispWorks campus. Free. 449-8041. 4-9pm

SATURDAY SEPT. 9

METHOW VALLEY FARMERS MARKET: Local produce, arts and crafts, food and music at MV Community Center, Twisp. Free. www. methowvalleyfarmersmarket.com. 9am-noon WINTHROP VINTAGE WHEELS SHOW: Showcasing vintage automobiles, motorcycles, tractors, travel trailers and bicycles in downtown Winthrop. Free. www.winthropwashington.com. 10am MUSIC: Rico Stover and Joe Marver at Twisp River Suites. Free. 997-0100. 5-7pm ARTIST TO ARTIST: Artists visit the studios of Joanne Marracci and Vern White (Vblast) at 541 Balky Hill Road, Twisp. Free, but BYOB and a snack to share. 997-2787. 5-7pm

SUNDAY SEPT. 10

FREESTYLE DANCE: Drop-ins welcome, at the Twisp Movement Studio, $5. 996-2017. 9-10am WINTHROP MARKET: Food vendors, local arts and crafts and entertainment at Mack Lloyd Park, Winthrop. Free. www.winthropmarket.com. 10am-2pm BOOK LAUNCH: Celebrate the release of local author Richard Hart’s new book, “Lost Homeland: the Methow Tribe and the Columbia Reservation,” at the Shafer Historical Museum in Winthrop. Free. 996-2712. 1pm

TUESDAY SEPT. 12

MV GARDEN CLUB: Exchange gardening ideas and info at the Twisp Valley Grange Hall. 997-0515. 1:30pm ADVENTURE READING PROGRAM: For home-schooled kids ages 7-14 at Twisp library. Free. 997-4681. 11am

SEPT. 13 – OCT. 16

EXHIBIT: “Land and Sky” at Winthrop Gallery. Free. 996-3925.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14

SPINNING: Bring your wheel and join other spinners at Twisted Knitters at 109 N. Glover St., Twisp. Free. 997-0233. 1-4pm

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Thriller-Halle Berry, Sage Correa, Chris Mcginn Fri: 7:00, 9:45 • Sat: *3:30, 6:30, 9:30 81 Min R Sun: *3:30, 6:30 • Mon-Thurs: 7:15

108 N. Main

BODYGUARD

Action/Comedy-Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman 118 Min Fri: 7:30 • Sat: *3:00, 5:45, 8:30 R Sun: *3:00, 5:45 • Mon-Thurs: 7:00 www.omaktheater.com Adult $9.00 • Child $6.50 • Matinee $6.50 * G rated-Children under age 4 admitted * R rated-Under 17 with own parent, photo ID required

Friday 8/25 BINGO: Play at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 6pm Monday 8/28 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, Okanogan County Admin. Bldg., 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. 422-7100. 9am-5pm SPEAK FRENCH: Revive or improve your French in Hank's deli. 997-0717. 4:30-5:30pm ELECTRIC CO-OP: Board meeting at the OCEC office, Winthrop. 996-2228. 3pm GAME NIGHT: Darts, cards and free pool at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 5:30pm Tuesday 8/29 WINTHROP KIWANIS: Meets at the Winthrop Barn. 997-1086 or 997-5666. 7am TOPS: Take Off Pounds Sensibly at MV United Methodist Church, between Twisp and Winthrop. 997-2242. 8:30-10am COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, Okanogan County Admin. Bldg., 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. 422-7100. 9am-5pm HOSPITAL BOARD: Three Rivers' Board of Commissioners in the McKinley Building Conference Room, 507 Hospital Way, Brewster. 689-2517. 11am Wednesday 8/30 WOMEN RECOVERING FROM ADDICTION: Support group at Room One. 997-2050. 9:30–11am CLOSET QUILTERS: Open studio, 309 Highway 20, Twisp. Free. 997-7020. Noon-5pm AWANA: Games, songs and story time for 3-year-olds to 6th graders, at Cascade Bible Church, Twisp. 977-8312. 6:30-8pm Thursday 8/31 GERMAN CONVERSATION: An informal group of conversational Germanspeakers at all levels. Rocking Horse Bakery, 265 Riverside Ave., Winthrop. 557-5769. 9-10am SPINNERS & WEAVERS: Meets at 137 Old Twisp Highway. 997-5666. 1pm FOOD BANK: “More than just food” at The Cove, 128 Glover St., Twisp. 997-0227. 1-4pm FIRE DISTRICT 6: Training and meetings at local fire halls. 997-2981. 6:30pm Friday 9/1 BINGO: Play at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 6pm Monday 9/4 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, Okanogan County Admin. Bldg., 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. 422-7100. 9am-5pm AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY: Unit 120 meets at Winthrop Barn.996-3522. Noon SPEAK FRENCH: Revive or improve your French in Hank's deli. 997-0717. 4:30-5:30pm GAME NIGHT: Darts, cards and free pool at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 5:30pm WINTHROP BARN: Board meeting. 996-2117. 6pm BEAVER CREEK CEMETERY: Board meeting at Cascade Center, 125 Hwy. 20, Rm. 2. 997-3569. 6pm Tuesday 9/5 WINTHROP KIWANIS: Meets at the Winthrop Barn. 997-1086 or 997-5666. 7am

Wednesday 9/6 WOMEN RECOVERING FROM ADDICTION: Support group at Room One. 997-2050. 9:30–11am CLOSET QUILTERS: Open studio, 309 Highway 20, Twisp. Free. 997-7020. Noon-5pm AWANA: Games, songs and story time for 3-year-olds to 6th graders, at Cascade Bible Church, Twisp. 977-8312. 6:30-8pm WINTHROP TOWN COUNCIL: At Winthrop Barn Hen House. 996-2320. 7pm EAGLES AUXILIARY: Meeting at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 322-3341. 7pm EASTERN STAR: Meets at Masonic Hall in Okanogan. 997-2071. 7:30pm Thursday 9/7 WOMEN, INFANTS & CHILDREN: WIC help with nutrition, health care and food. Room One, 315 S. Lincoln, Twisp. 997-2050. Call for hours GERMAN CONVERSATION: An informal group of conversational Germanspeakers at all levels. Rocking Horse Bakery, 265 Riverside Ave., Winthrop. 557-5769. 9-10am SPINNERS & WEAVERS: Meets at 137 Old Twisp Highway. 997-5666. 1pm FOOD BANK: “More than just food” at The Cove, 128 Glover St., Twisp. 997-0227. 1-4pm FIRE DISTRICT 6: Training and meetings at local fire halls. 997-2981. 6:30pm MV BACKCOUNTRY HORSEMEN: Meeting at MV Senior Center, Twisp. 997-4802. 7pm ATV CLUB: ATV recreation, trail & campsite maintenance, and roads discussed at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 996-2154. 7pm Friday 9/8 BINGO: Play at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 6pm Monday 9/11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, Okanogan County Admin. Bldg., 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. 422-7100. 9am-5pm METHOW VALLEY COMMUNICATIONS DISTRICT: Meets at Twisp City Hall. 996-2061. 1pm SPEAK FRENCH: Revive or improve your French in Hank's deli. 997-0717. 4:30-5:30pm GAME NIGHT: Darts, cards and free pool at Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 5:30pm TRANSIT: Okanogan County Transit Authority public board meeting in council chambers at Omak City Hall. 557-6177. 6pm MV IRRIGATION DISTRICT: Meeting at Riverbank building, Twisp. 997-2576. 7pm FIRE DISTRICT 6 COMMISSIONERS: Public meeting at Twisp Fire Hall, 434 W. 2nd Ave., Twisp. 997-2981. 7pm COMMUNITY CENTER BOARD: Room 4, MV Community Center, Twisp. 7pm Tuesday 9/12 WINTHROP KIWANIS: Meets at the Winthrop Barn. 997-1086 or 997-5666. 7am TOPS: Take Off Pounds Sensibly at MV United Methodist Church, between Twisp and Winthrop. 997-2242. 8:30-10am COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, Okanogan County Admin. Bldg., 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. 422-7100. 9am-5pm TWISP TOWN COUNCIL: Meets at Town Hall. 997-4081. 5:30pm Wednesday 9/13 WOMEN RECOVERING FROM ADDICTION: Support group at Room One. 997-2050. 9:30–11am CLOSET QUILTERS: Open studio, 309 Highway 20, Twisp. Free. 997-7020. Noon-5pm MV SCHOOL BOARD: Meeting in the school district office. See agenda: www. methow.org, click “District,” then “School Board.” 996-9205. 5:30pm TWISP VALLEY GRANGE: Potluck (5:30pm) and meeting (6:30pm) at the Grange Hall. 997-8050 or 997-4841. AWANA: Games, songs and story time for 3-year-olds to 6th graders, at Cascade Bible Church, Twisp. 977-8312. 6:30-8pm

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Thursday 8/24 GERMAN CONVERSATION: An informal group of conversational Germanspeakers at all levels. Rocking Horse Bakery, 265 Riverside Ave., Winthrop. 557-5769. 9-10am SPINNERS & WEAVERS: Meets at 137 Old Twisp Highway. 997-5666. 1pm FOOD BANK: “More than just food” at The Cove, 128 Glover St., Twisp. 997-0227. 1-4pm FIRE DISTRICT 6: Training and meetings at local fire halls. 997-2981. 6:30pm

TOPS: Take Off Pounds Sensibly at MV United Methodist Church, between Twisp and Winthrop. 997-2242. 8:30-10am COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, Okanogan County Admin. Bldg., 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. 422-7100. 9am-5pm

FOR A MORE EXTENDED CALENDAR, VISIT

ANNABELLE: CREATION

Horror/Mystery/Thriller-Stephanie Sigman, Miranda Otto, Lulu Wilson Fri: 6:45, 9:45 • Sat: *3:15, 6:15, 9:15 110 Min R Sun: *3:15, 6:15 • Mon-Thurs: 7:30

Methow Valley News

CIN

Page A6

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Open Daily 6-3 509.997.5030 • Downtown Twisp Free Wifi

Eclipse

Methow Valley News Wednesday, August 23, 2017

B Section

Photos of progression by Nicholas Saunders, taken in Warm Springs, Oregon, using a telescope with a solar filter.

Naked Eye

Astronomy on the road

Naked Eye columnist Dave Ward took his passion for astronony, his grandchildren and approved eclipse glasses to Culver, Oregon, to witness the total eclipse of the sun. This is his in-the-moment account. Photo courtesy of Christine Hoffer

From left: Elliot, Robert, and Mike Baerveldt of Winthrop watched the eclipse in Haines, Oregon.

Photo courtesy of April Stephens

Photo by Darla Hussey

Though glasses were in short supply, eclipse watchers at TwispWorks gathered together and shared protective eyewear.

Enjoyed catching some eclipse shadows this morning along with the actual eclipse. Thanks to Trail’s End Bookstore and Bear Fight Institute for the viewing glasses and pinhole camera box.

Photo by Marcy Stamper

Carol and David James and Jill Psachos, left to right, and Jesse the dog came from Maple Valley, Washington, to see the eclipse.

CULVER, OREGON — We arrived at our spot in the totality zone early in the morning the day before the eclipse. We had rented a small turf of lush green grass behind a preschool in the town of Culver, Oregon. All day we watched the crowds pour in to see the big event the next day. By sunset the sky was filled with lots of high clouds and plumes of smoke drifting this way and that. After we went to bed we realized we were camped only 200 feet from a railroad track. The trains thundered through our dreams and seemingly through our tents all night long. Waking up before dawn, I watched the planet Venus rise in the east. It was a good sign. The sun rose in a clear sky with just a few smoke tendrils lazily creeping eastward from the forest fires west of us. At just after 9:00 a.m. we saw a first tiny bite taken out of the sun. My grandkids, ages 5 and 9, were fascinated. We let them look, through eclipse glasses of course, once every five minutes so they could get a sense of the progression slowly taking place. It was hard to grasp that it was the moon blocking the sun. It looked more like a curved scimitar cutting the light out of the sun. When there was just the thinnest cres-

David Ward cent left of the sun, it suddenly got cold enough for us to put on our jackets. We could see the Cascade mountains west of us grow dark with the approaching shadow of the moon. Everything around us was bathed in weird twilight. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light, right on the limb of the moon, and then darkness. We ripped off our glasses and looked directly at the sun as never before. Screams of joy and wonder erupted from other eclipse viewers nearby. Venus shone brightly to the west in the darkened sky. Mars was barely visible closer to the sun. The main attraction was the corona, the dazzling, ever-changing glow enveloping the totally black moon sitting squarely in front of the sun. All too soon it was over. With another blinding flash, the sun started to free itself from the grasp of the moon and a thin sliver appeared on the other side. We did not wait to witness the final phases but dashed out onto Highway 97 in an attempt to beat the traffic home.

Photo courtesy of Peggy Sarjeant

The shadow of the eclipse, as viewed through a colander and ‘projected’ onto a patio on Chewuch Heights Road. Eclipse glasses being all sold out for weeks, I had to figure out something else! Not the greatest focus, but an interesting effect, all the same.

Photo courtesy of Patricia Selby

Two Twisp residents — Kate Posey and Posey Hannigan — waiting patiently in “the zone” near Baker, Oregon for totality. The experience awed both of them, and young Hannigan even thought it was worth the drudgery of the long drive!

Photo by Marcy Stamper

A group of motorcyclists were at Sun Mountain Lodge to take in the eclipse.

Reflections on the eclipse No totality but less traffic … A group of motorcyclists who take an annual trip scheduled a stop at Sun Mountain to coincide with the eclipse. “I don’t know about you, but we could actually feel it getting cooler,” said Martin Snoey, one of the bikers. “We are glad we’re not fighting the millions of people in Madras, Oregon.” Snoey pointed out the pattern of crescentshaped shadows cast on the pavement by trees near the lodge.

A large crowd gathered at Willamette University to watch the eclipse.

Photo by Matt Taylor

A total eclipse for the start Matt Taylor was a summer intern at The Methow Valley News. His last official story was an overview of the total solar eclipse, published in last week’s edition. As soon as he finished deadline, he climbed in his car and drove to Salem, Oregon, for the start of his sophomore year at Willamette University — and in time to catch the eclipse. He sent this account.

By Matt Taylor

SALEM, OREGON — The crowds gathered on the lawns at Willamette University on the morning of “The Great American Eclipse” — as it had been coined by scientists and the media — were in high spirits as they waited, some 2,000 strong, for the promised spectacle. The university’s home city, Salem, Oregon, had been

buzzing for days in advance. Tens of thousands of eclipsetrackers had flocked to the city, one of the largest in the path of totality that arced from the Oregon to South Carolina coasts. Visitors and residents packed the city’s parks and green spaces. Weather was ideal. Skies were completely clear of clouds, and morning temperatures sat around 70 degrees. Just after 9 a.m. Monday, a man announced over the loudspeakers scattered across campus that the moon had begun to inch its way in front of the sun. People in the the crowd snugged on their eclipse glasses and looked skyward as one. Slowly, a dark shadow began to appear on the upper right hand corner of the sun. Over the next hour, the moon continued to creep across the sun. At the half-hour mark, the daylight dimmed and the air

felt noticeably cooler. Fifteen minutes after that, the speckled light cast by the shadows of trees started to take on lacy, crescent shapes. Roughly 10 minutes before totality, the light grew strange — unlike any usual sunrise or sunset — and the entire landscape began to look almost alien. As the sun’s last rays disappeared behind the moon, the city descended into darkness, accompanied by the cheers of the crowds. Stars and planes were suddenly visible overhead, along with the beautiful white wisps of the sun’s corona, extending far beyond the moon’s shadow. Two short minutes later, the sun peeked out again on the opposite side of the moon, returning daylight to the world below. Just as quickly as the event had begun, it was finished.

Baby comes first … Chris and Katie Hawkins were visiting Winthrop from Truckee, California. Although they bought eclipse T-shirts in Oregon, they elected to dodge the crowds and head for Winthrop, where they were also taking their newborn to see the grandparents. Because once was not enough… Winthrop resident Katie Overbeck was on the coast for the eclipse and, at the apex, called her son Colton Overbeck, who was in eastern Oregon with friend Nicholas Fitzmaurice. As the path of totality made its way to Colton

and Nicholas, they got what Katie was so stoked about. In turn, Nicholas called his mom Shannon Skibeness near St. Louis, because he wanted to experience the eclipse a third time by hearing her freak out when she saw it. He was not disappointed. Sharing the view … “This is pretty neat, really special. It’s the perfect place,” said David James, who was watching the eclipse outside Sun Mountain Lodge. James and his family, who came to the Methow Valley from Maple Valley, Washington, lucked out when they met someone in Winthrop over the weekend who had leftover eclipse glasses from a 10-pack. “It’s weird, how the sun is looking like the moon,” said Jill Psachos, who was watching the eclipse with the James family.

Eclipse watching for the McMillans was a multigenerational family affair. Above, L to R: James McMillan (7) of Twisp, cousins Iris (3) and Pearl (11) Stanton of Maple Valley and Kara McMillan (8) and 4 month old Ruby McMillan, Twisp. Left, grandfather Chris Har-

wood showing the kids how how the projector he made works. Right: Coldest temp recorded at property in Twisp. Photos by Alisha McMillan

Page B2

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Methow Valley News

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Directory

FOR SALE .......................................10 YARD SALE................................14 AUCTIONS .................................16 REAL ESTATE.................................20 MOBILE/MFD. HOMES ..............22 FOR RENT..................................24 WANTED TO RENT ....................25 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ........30 EMPLOYMENT................................31 WORK WANTED ........................32 SERVICES ..................................34 CARS & TRUCKS ...........................40 RVS.............................................42 ANIMALS-PETS, HORSES, LIVESTOCK................................... 50 MISCELLANEOUS ..........................70 WANTED .........................................75 THANK YOU ....................................80 COMMUNITY EVENTS...................83 PERSONALS...................................85 FREE ...............................................90 LOST & FOUND ..............................95

20 ................... REAL ESTATE, Cont.

Miller & Associates Realty

Lee G. Miller, Broker

509-996-3148 leemiller996@gmail.com Member NWMLS

10 ....................................FOR SALE

AKC GOLDEN RETRIEVEROnly 1 male left. Born 6/11/17 has first shots and dewormed. Also getting crate and house trained. $300.00. Call 509-923-2030. 16 2004 HYUNDAI SANTA FE 147,000 miles, front wheel drive, sun roof, $3000. Call 509-9232030. 16 HUGE LABOR DAY SALE at Cascades Outdoor Store. September 1-4. Need to upgrade your gear? Now’s the time! 509-9963480. 17 8’ HEAVY RUBBER boots $150. Posturepedic deluxe king mattress $100. Black faux antique 4’ sideboard $75. 16” power planer $300. Welding table $90. 75lb Anvil $50. Call Joel at 509-4296698. 16 NORDIC TRACK A2050 treadmill- excellent condition $250. Baldwin PKO-1000 electric console keyboard and bench $75. Set of twin beds with head boards and bedding $300. Call evenings 509996-2674. 17 WEAR A SMILE; drive in STYLE. 1990 Mazda Miata, less than 90,000mi. Still gets 30mi/gal. Perfect running order- new battery. Wants cosmetic overhaul. $2,300. carolanne@centurylink.net. 19 14 ................................. YARD SALE

LOTS OF NEW items in store for your purchasing pleasure! Glassware, camping gear, tools, dresser, and so much more. 972 Twisp River Road, Saturday only. 8 - 2 p.m. Bring your truck! 17 20 .............................. REAL ESTATE PUBLISHER'S NOTICE: All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

NEW LOWER PRICE! No more camping next to strangers. Tall pines, open fields, cool breezes overlooking the Twisp. 15 minutes to Black Pine Lake. Short 4-wheel to Sawtooth Chelan Wilderness. Share the views with family and friends from this 3.6 acre private retreat. Better call Val! (206) 3101036, licensed WA Broker, Blue Sky Real Estate. 18 NEW, MODERN CONSTRUCTION in Mazama! $369,000. Visit: www.tiny.cc/31 for open house info. By appointment only: laurie@ hiltonconstruction.com or cell/text: 509-341-4561. 18

30 ......... BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

BUSINESS FOR SALE in downtown Winthrop: The Iron Horse. Strong business with a loyal customer base. Very popular store in a great retail location. Serious inquiries only. 509-996-3674. 21 31 ............................ EMPLOYMENT

DISHWASHER NEEDED; TAPPI in Twisp. Weekend nights. Minimum wage to start. Call John 509-997-3345. 17 SERVERS NEEDED AT Tappi in Twisp. Weekend nights. Fine dining in a casual setting. Call John 509-997-3345. 17 THE TOWN OF Twisp is seeking to fill ONE of the following positions: Public Works Operator 2- Candidates should have one or both: WWTPO 2, WDM 2 and experience with water distribution and wastewater treatment operations, State regulations and preparing required reports, road maintenance, as well as written, verbal and skills. $22.94 per hour. Public Works Operator 1- Candidates should have one or both; WWTPO 1, WDM 1 and experience with: water distribution and wastewater treatment operations, State regulations and preparing required reports, road maintenance, and written, verbal and computer skills. Pay $20.57hr. Public Works Operator in Training- Familiarity with: General maintenance, operation and repair of public works facilities. Operation of equipment: mowers, loaders and power tools. Perform heavy manual labor under adverse climatic conditions. Experience in written, verbal and computer skills. Pay scale is $17.48hr. An application packet and job description can be obtained by visiting Town Hall, 118 S. Glover St., Twisp, online www.townoftwisp.com, email: clerktreasurer@townoftwisp. com. Open until filled. 18 METHOW VALLEY SCHOOL District is accepting applications for substitute teachers, substitute paraprofessionals, food service and bus drivers. For complete job descriptions and online application go to http://methow. org/district/employment/ (509) 996-9205. Applications due August 25, 2017. 16 RIVER’S EDGE RESORT is hiring for a Front Desk Agent. We are looking for an individual who is reliable, enjoys providing excellent and professional customer service, can problem solve, prioritize daily tasks, perform light maintenance and be a team player. 36 hrs/week, $20/hr, permanent position, must be flexible with scheduling which will include some holidays and weekends. Send resume to heidi@riversedgewinthrop.com or stop by resort office with your resume to meet Heidi or Jim. No phone calls please. 18

OFFICE ASSISTANT METHOW VALLEY NEWS is looking for a full-time office assistant while the current office manager is on maternity leave. The position will transition into a parttime, job sharing opportunity once the office manager returns from maternity leave in February 2018. Training for the position will begin September 13, 2017. Requirements: Attention to detail, ability to work under strict deadlines, multi-tasking, familar with Quickbooks, bookkeeping and accounting, courteous and professional customer service, proofreading skills, Microsoft Word and Excel, excellent computer skills, and other duties as assigned. Applicant must be reliable. Previous accounting/bookkeeping experience preferred, but will train the right person. To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume and references either by email, mail or fax. Email: frontdesk@ methowvalleynews.com. Mail: PO Box 97, Twisp, Wa 98856. Fax: 509-997-3277 34 ....................................SERVICES

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1996 DODGE DAKOTA, NEED someone to put linkage back on. Please call 509-341-4992. 17 STATEWIDE ADS EVENTS-FESTIVALS PROMOTE YOUR REGIONAL EVENT for only pennies. Reach 2.7 million readers in newspapers statewide for $275 classified or $1,350 display ad. Call this newspaper or 360-344-2938 for details. ANNOUNCEMENTS WA S H I N G T O N D I V O R C E S E PA R AT I O N , $ 1 5 5 . $ 1 7 5 w i t h c h i l d r e n . N O C O U RT APPEARANCES. Includes property, bills, custody, support. Complete preparation of documents. Legal Alternatives, 503-772-5295. www. paralegalalternatives.com LIFE ALERT, 24/7. One press of a button sends help FAST! Medical, fire, burglar. Even if you can’t reach a phone! FREE brochure. Call 866691-1479. STOP OVERPAYING for your prescriptions! SAVE! Call our licensed Canadian & International pharmacy, compare prices & get $25 OFF your first prescription! CALL 1-855-543-2095, Promo Code CDC201725. A PLACE FOR MOM. The nation’s largest senior living referral service. Contact our trusted, local experts today! Our service is FREE/no obligation. CALL 1-866-916-7507. GOT AN OLDER CAR, BOAT OR RV? Do the humane thing. Donate it to the Humane Society. Call 1-855706-7910. LEGAL ADS PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Board of Okanogan County Commissioners that a Public Hearing is set for 11:30 AM on Monday, September 11, 2017 to consider a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $46,675 within the Current Expense budgets of Juvenile and Central Services. Funds are from Block Grant Revenue and Unreserved Beginning Fund Balance and will be used for Salary and Benefits, Supplies, Travel, and Communications. The hearing will be held in the County Commissioners’ Hearing Room located at 123 5th Avenue North, Okanogan, Washington. Persons wishing to comment may attend the hearing or submit their comments in writing to the Commissioners’ Offi ce at 123 5th Avenue North, Rm 150, Okanogan, Washington 98840. Published in the Methow Valley News on August 23, 30 2017; Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune on August 24, 31, 2017. OVG#773558 PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Board of Okanogan County Commissioners that a Public Hearing is set for 11:40 AM on Monday, September 11, 2017 to consider a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $2,225 within the Fair Budget Fund 112 from Other Non-Revenue and will be used for Small Tools and Operating Supplies. The hearing will be held in the County Commissioners’ Hearing Room located at 123 5th Avenue North, Okanogan, Washington. Persons wishing to comment may attend the hearing or submit their comments in writing to the Commissioners’ Office at 123 5th Avenue North, Rm 150, Okanogan, Washington 98840. Published in the Methow Valley News on August 23, 30 2017; Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune on August 24, 31, 2017. OVG#773566 OKANOGAN COUNTY NOTICE OF FINAL DECISION Project: Hulme Water Availability Appeal of Administrative decision by Yakama Nation Decision: The Hearing Examiner upheld the Director of Planning’s decision to approve legal and physical water availability for single domestic use for Mark & Jean Hulme. Publication Date: August 24, 2017 Appeal Deadline: September 13, 2017 The Okanogan County Hearing Examiner upheld the Director of Planning’s decision to approve the water availability for Mark & Jean Hulme. Within 21 calendar days of the publication date; parties with standing may appeal this decision pursuant to RCW36.70C. Published in the Methow Valley News on August 23, 2017 and Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune on August 24, 2017. OVG#773621 BUCKINGHAM LPA 2017-1 APPLICATION & THRESHOLD SEPA DETERMINATION An application has been submitted by Wescott and Associates in order to remove the “Agricultural Use Only” restriction from Lot 2 of the Wescott and Associates

Long Plat Alteration LPA 20041. Proposed Lot 1 has an existing residence. Proposed Lot 2 will be served by a water system backed by water right claim 274058372. The project is located at 98 North Star Road, approximately 2 miles northeasterly of the Town of Brewster, WA on tax parcels 7860000200, & 7860000100, Township 31 N., Range 25 E.W.M., S 31. Project comments must be submitted in writing no later than 5:00 p.m., September 29, 2017. Project comments and SEPA comments will be reviewed separately. SEPA Comments must be submitted in writing no later than 5:00 p.m., September 8, 2017. According to Environmental Policy regulations, Okanogan County issued a threshold determination of non-signifi cance (DNS). Failure to comment by this date denies a party standing to appeal the final SEPA determination. In accordance with OCC 16.24.060(B), you may request a public hearing no later than September 8, 2017. Hearing requests must be received in writing and must state the purpose of the hearing request. Direct questions and comments to: Charlene Schumacher, Senior Planner, Okanogan County Office of Planning & Development, 123 5th Ave. N, Suite 130, Okanogan, WA 98840, (509) 422-7113. Published in the Methow Valley News on August 23, 2017 and Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune on August 24, 2017. OVG#773622 NOTICE OF APPLICATION AND THRESHOLD SEPA DETERMINATION CUP 2017-7 Tapia Auto Service Notice is hereby given that an application has been submitted by Hector Maldonado on behalf of Margarito Tapia, in accordance with Okanogan County Code 17A220.010 to permit an auto service and repair shop. The CUP, if approved, would allow a 3,000 square foot fenced area with an existing 24’ x 24’ shop and 24’ x 33’ carport and the addition of a 40’ x 60’ shop, 24’ x 33’ carport and a 10’ x 12’ office to do auto repair and diagnosis. There will also be one acre used as an auto sale lot for up to 30 vehicles. Hours of operation will be Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturdays 8am to 1pm. The site is located at 28 Highway 7, near Tonasket WA on tax parcel numbers 3627070032. According to Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) regulations, the office of Okanogan County Planning and Development issued a threshold environmental determination of non-signifi cance (DNS) for this proposal. The public hearing for this project has not yet been set. The public is welcome to comment on this project. Project comments may be submitted in writing up to the hearing or be presented at the hearing. SEPA comments must be submitted in writing by 5:00 pm September 7, 2017 to afford the commenter standing. Direct questions and comments to: Okanogan County Office of Planning & Development, Pam Wyllson, 123 5th Ave. N, Suite 130, Okanogan, WA 98840, (509) 422-7122 pwyllson@ co.okanogan.wa.us Published in the Methow Valley News on August 23, 2017 and Okanogan Valley GazetteTribune on August 24, 2017. OVG#773625 OKANOGAN COUNTY NOTICE OF FINAL DECISION Project: Boundary Line Adjustment: (parcels 3421130089, 3421240080, 3421240081 and 3421240053) Proponent: Nancy & Dale Sekijima Decision: Approved Appeal Deadline: September 12, 2017 The Okanogan County Offi ce of Planning and Development approved the above-noted project. Within 20 days of decision, parties with standing may appeal this decision to the Okanogan County Hearing Examiner at 123 5th Ave. N. Suite 130, Okanogan, WA 98840, pursuant to OCC 2.67.010. An appeal must include the $300.00 appeal fee. Published in the Methow Valley News on August 23, 2017 and Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune on August 24, 2017. OVG#773659

Methow Valley News Advertising Deadlines Display Ads: Friday @ 5pm Classified Display Ads Friday @ 5pm Classified Listings Monday @ Noon Service & Health Directories: Friday @ 5pm Questions? Call 997-7011 or e-mail advertising@methowvalleynews.com

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METHOW VALLEY RIDING Unlimited is seeking a highly organized, great communicator to be our administrative assistant. To learn more about the position, please visit: http://www.mvriding. org/staff. Apply by sending cover letter and resume, with references, to info@mvriding.org by Sep. 8th. 17 FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS -Your Family, Your Health, Your Choice. Are you looking for a great place to work? We are looking for YOU to join our team! We are dedicated to our employees’ job satisfaction and take pride in providing a place to work that encourages growth, teamwork, communication and positive employee/ supervisor relationships. We offer a generous benefits package, including employer paid Health & Life Insurance and vacation/ sick leave to full-time employees. Pro-rated benefits are available to part time employees (over 20 hrs. per wk.). You may also choose to participate in our 401K, Dental and Short Term Disability programs. Okanogan: Accounts Payable Specialist- full time. Omak: Lead RNfull time, Pharmacy Assistant- full time- Bilingual English/Spanish required, MA-R/Phlebotomistfull time, Facilities Assistant- full time. Brewster/Bridgeport: Behavioral Health Specialist- full time. Bridgeport: Dental Patient Registration Rep- full time, Bilingual English/Spanish required, Lead RN- full time. Brewster Indian Ave: Promotor(a)- full time- Bilingual English/Spanish required, MA-C- full time. Dental Clinics: Must be available Saturdays. Dental Assistants- 8 Full time & per diem (as needed basis)- Bilingual English/Spanish required. All locations. See www. myfamilyhealth.org for job descriptions. Submit cover letter and resume or application to FHC, c/o Human Resources, PO Box 1340, Okanogan, WA 98840 or email: HR@myfamilyhealth.org. Open until filled. FHC is an EOE. 17

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WENATCHEE VALLEY COLLEGE in Omak is looking for a SCIENCE LAB TECHNICIAN (Instruction and Classroom Support Technician 2). Half-time, ninemonth, cyclic position starting at $1761 per month plus benefits. See application materials, qualifications and description at www.wvc.edu/ jobs. AA/EOE. 18 WENATCHEE VALLEY COLLEGE in Omak is looking for a parttime biology instructor. Masters required. Send resume and cover letter to Dr. Lori Keller at lkoblenz@ wvc.edu. AA/EOE. 18 CUSTOMER SERVICE/TELLERNORTH Cascades Bank has an opening for a teller in our Twisp branch. You will fill a key customer service role and be an integral part of our daily operations. Experience is preferred but we will train the right applicant.Bilingual skills are helpful in this position. If you are an energetic, highly detailed individual who is committed to providing exceptional customer service and are looking for a company with the same qualities, please apply at www. ncnbank.com/careers.php. Click on Employment Opportunities and search for open jobs by “city”. Equal Employment Opportunity. 16 OLD SCHOOLHOUSE BREWERY is hiring for Line Cooks, Prep Cooks and Dishwashers. Must be available weekends through Labor Day. Pay is DOE. Please pick up an application at 155 Riverside Ave., Winthrop. Or online at www.oldschoolhousebrewery.com/employment. 16 SUN MOUNTAIN LODGE has a position available for Houseman/ Laundry Attendant. Come by the front desk for an employment application, or to find a printable employment application see our website at www.sunmountainlodge.com on our employment page. Call Leslie for more information or an appointment. 509-9964720. 16 METHOW HOUSING TRUST is hiring!. The Outreach & Communications Coordinator is a 20/hr per week position with the valley’s newly established Community Land Trust. Applications due August 25th. See full job description at methowhousingtrust.org 509-996-5943. 17 ROCKING HORSE BAKERY is looking for energetic, reliable, friendly individuals to join our team of rockin’ baristas. Morning and afternoon shifts available, 4-5 days per week. These are permanent, year-round positions. Stop by the bakery to complete an application or email us at.rockinghorsebakery@gmail.com. No phone calls, please. 16 RIVER RUN INN is seeking a self motivated person for housekeeping, who can work independently and with a team. Must be available to work Sundays. Year-round position. Fun place to work. Please pick up an application at the office. Or email your resume to rooms@riverrun-inn.com. 16 RIVER’S EDGE RESORT is hiring for part-time housekeeper to join our team. Must be teamspirited and enjoy housekeeping. $13/hr. Send resume to heidi@ riversedgewinthrop.com or stop by the resort office to complete an application. 16 LINE COOKS, DISHWASHERS needed at Sun Mountain Lodge, immediately. To apply, look online at www.sunmountainlodge. com for a printable employment application on our employment page, pick up a form at the front desk, or call Leslie for more information or an appointment. 509-996-4720. 16 BROTHERS FIRE LLC continued their work this spring thinning and building burn piles at the ski area on both sides of Bulldog. We need to cover the piles with paper beginning in mid August working into October. The Forest Service will burn the piles built last summer and this summer in the fall allowing us to open these areas this coming season for some tremendous glade skiing. You can earn a full season pass by working 40 hours or earn credit toward part of a pass. For every 4 hours worked, you will earn a 10% share of a pass. Please email manager@ skitheloup.com if you would like to help us so we can open more terrain for this next season. 16 WENATCHEE VALLEY COLLEGE at Omak is looking for part-time INSTRUCTORS in history, philosophy and political science. Masters required (BA plus 24 graduate credit hours may be accepted). Send resume and cover letter to Dr. Lori Keller at lkoblenz@wvc.edu. AA/EOE. 19

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Methow Valley News

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Page B3

Arts & Culture

Local grad blends strings, hip-hop and dance on national stage By Marcy Stamper

Although John Sinclair occupies an increasingly bright limelight — he’s toured with the hip-hop artist Macklemore and appeared with him on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” — he hasn’t strayed from his low-key roots growing up on an orchard near Twisp. Being on late-night TV was “crazy — it was super-cool,” said Sinclair, age 21. “I live under such a rock — I didn’t know Fallon was such a big deal. The culture at large kind of missed me, which I don’t think was a terrible thing.” Today Sinclair has become part of that larger culture. Known by his stage name, Saint Claire, he has been composing and performing his own music — and arranging string parts for everything from hip-hop to dance music — since he moved to Seattle four years ago. Sinclair ended up on “The Tonight Show” after touring with the hip-hop artist Raz Simone as the opening act for Macklemore. After Macklemore saw Saint

John Sinclair, who performs as Saint Claire, will play Friday, Sept. 22, at 8:45 p.m. at The Rendezvous music festival at the Patterson Lake Cabins at Sun Mountain Lodge. Tickets are $120 for a two-day pass (Sept. 22 and 23), $60 for Friday only, and $70 for Saturday only. Tickets are available at www.therendezvousfest.com and at the door. Claire play, he commissioned him to write the string parts for his band and they played together on “The Tonight Show.” He’ll be back in the Methow Valley as a headliner at The Rendezvous music festival Sept. 22. Locals may remember a really young Sinclair playing a Bach double-violin concerto with the Pipestone Orchestra, or conducting the orchestra in his own compositions a few years later, when he was just 14. And while violin remains Sinclair’s main instrument, he’s taken it in a distinctly different direction. Sinclair said his music was predominantly acoustic until he recently teamed up with Jake Crocker, whom he calls “an insanely talented producer.” They blend Sinclair’s acoustic violin and piano with electronic

drums and keyboards. “It’s got a super-heavy synthetic bass line, and electronic drums hit really hard. I take all my favorite sounds from every kind of music and blend them together,” said Sinclair. Sinclair still writes all the music and does his own production, and Crocker crafts it for the desired effect. This new sound is featured on Saint Claire’s new EP entitled “LO,” which he released a couple of months ago. Putting out a four-track EP is actually a departure for him, since Saint Claire typically releases one single at a time to get attention in a market that rarely sits still long enough for an album, he said. “A single can spike, and you can release another one two weeks later. You keep the snowball rolling,

instead of trying to throw one huge snowball, and maybe it hits, but maybe it doesn’t.” Sinclair is disciplined about his music. He quit his job at a sushi restaurant about six months ago, but he has been devoting at least six hours a day to his music for years. Some days that could mean spending two hours writing lyrics for just one really good line, he said. “I’m not much of a burst-ofinspiration guy,” said Sinclair, although he gets lots of ideas — he estimates he has recorded six or seven hundred voicememos on his phone. He’ll work on about 15 of them and ultimately scrap all but one. As one of the few violinists in Seattle willing to do “weird stuff” like writing for hip-hop and dance music, Sinclair has been sought out by other musicians to arrange parts for strings. Although like most violinists Sinclair comes from a classical background, he prefers pop music. “I’m not a big fan of boundaries. There’s a lot of crazy genre-bending,” he said. Sinclair performs as often as

Photo courtesy of John Sinclair Saint Claire played at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle this summer, one of his biggest gigs to date.

he can in the Seattle club scene and on occasional tours. He and Crocker played at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle in July, which Sinclair called his first big show. Because it’s in an open area with several stages, the block party provides instant feedback, said Sinclair. “People mill around. If it’s sounds good, it’s

like a magnetic, exponential pull.” From the time they did their sound check, they watched the space in front of their stage grow from 75 people to 300 and then 1,500, he said. Over Labor Day weekend, Saint Claire is one of the more than 150 bands playing at Bumbershoot, Seattle’s long-running music and arts festival.

Arts briefs Experiential portraiture

Join Confluence Gallery artist-in-residence Tess Jenkins on Sept. 6, from 6–8 p.m., for a class in experiential portraiture. The class costs $15 per student. Register at 997-2787. Workshop will be held at Confluence Gallery.

Artist to Artist

Join fellow artists for a free and casual Artist to Artist gathering at the home studios of Joanne Marracci and VBlast in Twisp on Sept. 9, 5 – 7pm. Joanne is a silversmith and VBlast is a multimedia artist working in sculpture and paint-

ing. The studios are located at 451 Balky Hill Road, Twisp. The gathering is free, but bring your own beverage and a snack to share. Artist to Artist gatherings are presented by Confluence Gallery for artists to visit the working studio of other Okanogan

County artists.

Hart’s newest book

Local author and historian Richard Hart invites the community to celebrate the release of his new book, “Lost Homeland: the Methow Tribe and the Columbia Reservation,” on

Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. at the Shafer Historical Museum in Winthrop. The book was published by the museum. For more information, call 996-2712.

Methow at Home benefit

Hank Cramer will perform

at the Twisp Valley Grange on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 6:30 p.m. Admission is by donation and all funds raised will benefit Methow at Home. The event is BYOB plus some finger food to share. Contact methowathome@gmail.com for more information.

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Page B4

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Methow Valley News

Holistic vet blends traditional and unconventional methods history interpreter and computer programmer — to earn a degree from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. In taking a holistic approach, Easton considers multiple factors when treating an animal. “I look at what’s obviously wrong with the animal,” says Easton, “but I also look at the beliefs of the owner and the personality of the animal.” Because Easton and other vets can’t speak directly with their patients, they rely on information provided by the pets’ owners and non-verbal cues from the animals. She takes a lot of time with each patient; the initial evaluation alone often takes 90 minutes. Easton employs several different treatments in addition to basic examinations: acupuncture, lowlevel laser therapy, massage, traditional Chinese medicine, Western herbs and nutrition counseling. Easton doesn’t see holistic vet-

By Ashley Lodato

How does a geologist-computer geek-park ranger decide to become a holistic veterinarian? In Dr. LaShelle Easton’s case, the inspiration was a beloved pet. When Cat Mandu fell ill with a chronic disease that didn’t respond to conventional veterinary medicine, Easton started exploring alternative treatments. “My kitty was going to need a monthly shot for the rest of her life,” Easton says. “I just couldn’t really envision doing that.” Easton was introduced to nonWestern medical approaches in childhood by her Chinese mother. Then, after her cat became ill, she learned more about veterinary treatments like acupuncture and laser therapy. She eventually became intrigued enough to leave a 12-year career at Rocky Mountain National Park — as a natural

erinary medicine as a replacement for more conventional services. “We treat chronic problems,” says Easton. “We aren’t necessarily the vets to visit when you have animal emergencies.” She suggests taking animals to one of the Methow Valley’s three traditional vets for emergencies, vaccines, blood work and other lab testing, while she focuses on longer-term issues and general animal well-being. But if she is only vet available, she said, she is qualified to provide emergency care. “I’m trained in both conventional Western medicine and alternative therapies,” she says. “I see how the two work together and complement each other.” When Easton and her husband, artist Mark Easton, moved to the Methow Valley in the spring of 2016, she says she met a number of residents who were taking their

pets to the closest holistic vet, in Ellensburg. Many now come to Easton’s airy office across from the post office in Twisp. The Eastons first learned of the Methow Valley when Mark Easton did a stand-up comedy show at the Twisp River Pub. “The next day Mark walked around, stopped at the bakery, poked in shops and liked what he saw,” says Easton. “We wanted to live in a small town with a strong community feel, with a good arts scene and which had political diversity.” Easton and her husband are both involved in community theater, and just wrapped up a run of the Merc’s summer play. They also spend time gardening, reading and working on the fixerupper house they purchased. Most of Easton’s patients are pets and small animals but she will work with pigs, horses and cattle if needed.

Photo by Ashley Lodato

Dr. Easton performs accupuncture on a four-legged patient. She tries to establish a rapport with each patient during initial visits (“There are lots of treats involved,” she says.) and build trust by walking the animal through an unfamiliar experience,

such as acupuncture. “I use permission points,” she says, “and it’s calming to the animal. It says ‘This is what I’m doing to you.’ You’d be surprised at how willing the animals are to come in again.”

New teacher at Community School has background in outdoor ed, whole child

education, integrating the arts and inspiring a child’s own curiosity to The Methow Valley Commu- instill an enthusiasm for learning. The Community School will nity School is starting its 18th year with new staff and a focus continue to build on its tradion home and community as its tion of experiential education and project-based theme for expedilea r ning, wh ich tionary learning. emphasizes outM ichaela P redoor lessons and court, who has a inquiry. Each year, background in outthe school develdoor education and ops the entire curinstruction of the riculum around a whole child, has theme, blending been hired to teach practical education grades one through and academics. four. She also will T he theme of also lead music, art home and comand outdoor activi- Michaela Precourt munity will start ties for all students. Precourt taught most recently with the school and branch out in Bend, Oregon, but has spent to encompass the history of the the past several summers at Methow Valley and its people. the Northwest Outward Bound Students will also learn about School in Mazama. She has also the natural environment, includled outdoor education for Out- ing soil and plant science, Preward Bound in Alaska, China, court said. Precourt will teach music and Australia and New Zealand. Precourt has a master’s degree art, including sewing, crocheting, in elementary education and a cer- felting, rhythm and movement. tification in Waldorf Education, Students will have instruction in which takes a holistic approach to yoga and mindfulness, said execBy Marcy Stamper

utive director Allison Ciancibelli, who said she is “very optimistic” about the coming year. The Locavore farm-to-table program will continue, with students planting, weeding and harvesting at Red Shed Produce. In the spring, the school will participate in the Down to Earth expedition Precourt developed to teach children about climate change. Precourt and a group of

specialists from various disciplines will travel to Greenland and lead classes via video for schools around the country. Seeing what life is like for children and people in arctic zones helps make climate science more vivid, said Precourt. Students will have pen pals at schools in Greenland. “We want to instill wonder and curiosity and teach about climate science

blue

sky

real

in a beautiful way, not a scared way,” she said. The Community School is currently enrolling students and has scholarships available. Fifth and sixth graders will work with the teaching staff to design

independent projects. A second teacher may be hired if enrollment supports it, said Ciancibelli. School starts on Sept. 5. To enroll or for more information, visit www.mvcommunityschool. org or call 997-4447.

Harts Pass

By Erik Brooks

Real Estate

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE: All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise "any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination." Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

A film about the Down to Earth project, entitled “Down to Earth – Chapter I: Hope,” will have its premiere at the Mountainfilm Festival in Mazama on August 26.

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Back on the field

Another ‘first day’

Mountain Lions drop home opener to Brewster

MV Community School classes start this week

509-996-2121

Methow Valley News

SPORTS Page B1

STORY Page B4

PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

TWISP, WASHINGTON

VOL. 114 NO. 18

WWW.METHOWVALLEYNEWS.COM

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

MV Citizens Council celebrates 40 years of activism Fight against ski resort launched broader agenda By Ann McCreary

But lessons learned during that conﬂict still guide the Methow Valley Citizens Council (MVCC), created four decades ago to lead the ﬁght against the proposed Early Winters ski area. “Forty years is a long time,” said Maggie Coon, who helped found MVCC in 1976, and has been involved in the organization for 15 of its 40 years, including her current position as chairman of the MVCC board of directors. “MVCC has had significant influ-

ence on the way the Methow Valley has grown and developed over the last 40 years. We’ve helped … instill a culture of advocacy, which is very much alive and well in the Methow Valley today,” Coon said. One of those early environmental advocates was Isabelle Spohn, who learned about plans for a destination ski hill at Sandy Butte soon after moving to Mazama in 1978. Spohn became involved in the new grassroots

group ﬁghting the resort, and remained actively involved for 35 years. “It seemed to me that many people [in the valley] hadn’t seen that kind of [development] happen before, and didn’t understand how quickly something like that could happen,” Spohn said. “It had the possibility of having an enormous impact on the valley. It was so out of scale for the valley,” she said. Even before MVCC was officially incorporated in 1976, some local citi-

zens were raising alarms about rumors that Aspen Ski Corp. was making plans for a destination ski resort called Early Winters that could accommodate as many as 10,000 skiers a day — at a time when the entire population of the valley was only about 3,500 year-round residents. Bev and Jeff Zwar had recently moved to McFarland Creek when they

Tell our advertisers you saw them here!

For many Methow Valley residents, the battle fought over a downhill ski resort in Mazama is a distant memory, or was over before they moved here.

See MVCC, A1

THESE BIG PIGS WENT TO M ARKET Bear Fight scientist discovers evidence of water on Ceres Vital information transmitted by Dawn mission spacecraft By Ann McCreary

Photo by Marcy Stamper Emily Paul put her pig, Darwin, on a diet to be sure it qualifies for the market auction. A high school junior, Paul said raising pigs for the fair has made a big difference in her college fund. In addition to the pig, she plans to exhibit homemade caramels.

Local 4-H swine raisers look forward to county fair, auction

A refreshing approach to real estate services www.MethowBlueSky.com (509) 996-8084 Anne Eckmann & Heather Marrone, Owners Kathy Goldberg, Valerie Kardonsky, Sherry Malotte

By Marcy Stamper

Cody Wottlin wrapped his shoelaces in duct tape because his pig Schnizel ﬁnds them so irresistible. But nibbling on the shoelaces is just for entertainment, said Wottlin, since Schnizel (formally known as Frederick Esquire III) is hardly lacking for nourishment. In fact, this year several of the pigs being raised by the Methow Valley Cascaders 4-H Club are on diets because they’re already nearing the maximum weight to be auctioned at the Okanogan County Fair. (Pigs need to be between 230 and 290 pounds to qualify for the market auction at the fair.) McKenna Ott is dealing with the opposite problem — she’s raising a pig from a late litter and it may not weigh enough for the auction. “You never know till you show up — as soon as you cross the scales,

there’s no turning back,” said Erin White, the 4-H swine leader. Every year there are a few pigs that don’t qualify for the weight class. “Kids are devastated, but the parents are a lot more devastated,” said White. “It’s hard to watch the kid put in all that work.” If a pig is over or underweight, the child can still compete in ﬁtting and showing, but will have to sell the animal privately, which rarely brings as much money as the auction at the fair. “It was a cake-walk with these pigs — you could go right up to them from two months,” said Wottlin, an eighth-grader who speculated that the pigs he and his brother raised this year were so calm because they’d been handled from birth. “They’re pretty goodlooking, too,” he said.

Learning experience

Methow Valley kids expect to bring some 6,000 pounds of pork to the county fair this year — 22 kids have spent the past six months raising pigs. “Kids tell their friends how fun it was, so lots join,” said White. It is not uncommon for kids to sell a

Friday night light

pig at auction for $4 or $5 per pound, and some have scored as much as $7 per pound, earning more than $1,000 to put toward a college fund or a car. The fair guarantees a price of 60 cents per pound, but that doesn’t come close to covering the typical $500 investment in the pig, food and supplies. Emily and Bodie Paul like pigs for their generally equable disposition and the ability to earn money for college. Their older brother raised steers, but steers demand a longer commitment and a bigger investment. They also tend to have less predictable personalities, said Emily, a junior in high school. She remembered one steer that was so gentle that her brother could read a book while lying on its back, but other steers would attack everything in sight, including the fence. 4-H exposes kids to a lot more than raising an animal. “It’s part of life — they learn that even if they feed the animals every day and do everything they’re supposed to do,” sometimes it just doesn’t work out, said See FAIR, A3

ADDRESS LABEL

A surprise

Finding the water ice on the surface was surprising, Combe said. The water ice was detected using a Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer (VIR) carried aboard the Dawn spacecraft, which began orbiting Ceres in March 2015. The VIR measures the sunlight scattered on the surface of Ceres in a range of wavelengths from the near ultraviolet to the near infrared. Data obtained through VIR reveals mineral and molecular composition, and in this case revealed the presence of water. The water ice was observed in a 10-kilometer-wide crater named Oxo. See CERES, A3

Photo courtesy of Bear Fight Institute Jean-Philippe Combe of the Bear Fight Institute near Winthrop has identified the presence of water ice on the dwarf planet, Ceres.

At 100, Enid Shaw reflects on a Methow Valley life well-lived By Marcy Stamper

Photo by Don Nelson A brilliant sunset provided a colorful backdrop at Friday’s Liberty Bell football game.

A scientist at the Bear Fight Institute near Winthrop has described the first and only confirmed detection of water-rich material at the surface of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Jean-Philippe Combe authored a research article published Friday (Sept. 2) in the journal Science, detailing the discovery of water ice on Ceres. Information leading to Combe’s discovery was transmitted by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, which is orbiting Ceres. The detection of water ice on Ceres is inherently intriguing, Combe said in an interview last week. “Anything that involves water is very interesting and exciting. Water is an essential substance in the general evolution of any planet, and also for the creation of life, the type of life that we know anyway,” Combe said. “Water in our solar system is potentially related to creation of life. You have to start with detection of H20 to go further,” he said.

That’s not to imply that Ceres provides any indication of supporting life, Combe said. Of interest, though, is the presence of the water ice on the surface of Ceres, Combe said. Planetary scientists have long suspected that the interior of Ceres is composed of large amounts of water or ice, Combe said. “We knew that from the measurements of density of Ceres there has to be some ice in the bulk of Ceres. It is not dense enough to be made entirely of rocks. The obvious component was ice,” he said.

“I don’t know if people are making a fuss, although I have seen more people than in a long time,” said Enid Shaw, just over a week shy of her 100th birthday. “It’s a lot of attention — that’s all I can tell you.” Enid Pauline Gobat was born in Pateros on Sept. 16, 1916, and grew up there, literally among horses and buggies. This week, she was visiting with her granddaughter Amber at her home in Carlton, sharing memories about a century of change. Shaw moved to the Methow Valley

THURS. Sept. 8

75° 46° A Few Clouds

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SAT.

when she was in her early 20s, after studying typing and commercial subjects in Spokane. She married Roy Richard Shaw (known as “Dick”) in 1937. They raised their five children in a rudimentary two-room cottage that had once served as a teacher’s residence at the old Beaver Creek schoolhouse. They used to carry water up from the creek in 10-gallon cream cans. “It was a hill to climb, but not bad,” said Shaw. Dick also hauled water from town when he went to work. When she was growing up, Enid’s See SHAW, A3

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Sept. 11

Sept. 12

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Somewhat Sunny

Sunny for the Most Part

Showers Possible

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WE ATHER DATA BASED ON ACCUWE ATHER .COM FOREC AST FOR T WISP

82° 42°

Enid Shaw

Photo by Marcy Stamper

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Methow Valley News

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Page B5

Communit y briefs Anti-bullying resource fair

dadsM.O.V.E. hosts an anti-bullying resource fair Saturday (Aug. 26) at the Twisp Town Park. Various agencies will be there to share information and attendees can enjoy free hot dogs, chili and snow cones as well as playing in a bouncy house and on a water slide. There will also be face painting and balloon twisting. The fair runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call (509) 8469508 for more information.

Info on Medicare, health care options

Pateros Brewster Community Resource Center will host several free seminars on “Learning the Basics of Health Options” at the resource center in the Pateros Mall. The sessions are on Aug. 24, Sept. 21 and Oct. 12. They start at 6 p.m. The center will also host free presentations on “Understanding Medicare” on Aug. 23, Sept. 20 and Oct. 11, also at 6 p.m. For information, call Grace Larsen at (509) 670-1381.

Free pressure gauge checks

In Twisp, you can get your pressure gauge checked on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 9 a.m. to noon at Hank’s Market. In Okanogan, gauges can be checked Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Okanogan County Extension Office at the courthouse. For information, call the WSU Okanogan County Extension office at 422-7245.

tion online at www.okfair.org or call (509) 422-1624. The Okanogan County Fair runs Sept. 7–10 at 175 Rodeo Trail Road, Okanogan.

purchase. For information contact 9962870 or mary@methowconservancy.org.

Twisp Library Book Sale

Okanogan County Child Development Association (OCCDA) and the Methow Valley School District are currently accepting applications for enrollment in their full-day preschool program for the 2017-2018 school year. OCCDA also offers Early Head Start, a home-based program for prenatal women, infants, and toddlers in the Methow Valley. For more information on services and to apply for the full-day or Early Head Start programs, please call (509) 8262466.

The Twisp Library will hold a used book sale on Saturday, Sept. 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Methow Valley Community Center Gym. There will be thousands of great books costing $1 or less. If you would like to help set up, please call Sharon at (509) 449-2594. To donate gently used books, please bring them to the Methow Valley Community Center from Aug. 28 — Sept. 1 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Annual ‘Dinner at TwispWorks’

The second annual “Dinner at TwispWorks: A Cultivated Evening” will be on Sept. 3, featuring food prepared by local chefs and caterers, and performances by local musicians. The event is a fundraiser supporting TwispWorks’ programs and services. Tickets are $50 and are on sale now. For more information, call 997-3300. Campus tours and happy hour will run from 4 to 6 p.m., with dinner immediately following. The event is for people 21 and older, but childcare will be provided on campus.

Native history at interpretive center

Dr. Karen Capuder will present “Unceded Territories: A Brief History of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation”, as part of Methow Valley Interpretive Center’s Last Sunday series on Aug. 27 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Dr. Capuder is an Archaeologist with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation History/ Archaeology Program where she conducts ethnohistorical and ethnographic research. The interpretive center is located at 210 Fifth Street in Twisp. There is no cost for admission. Call 997-0620 for more information.

Okanogan County Fair entry deadlines

The deadline to register entries for the Okanogan County Fair is Sept. 1 for writein entries and Sept. 4 for online entries. Registration is free. Find more informa-

Photo courtesy of Gregg Thompson

Mountain bluebirds will be the focus of a Sept. 5 presentation at the Merc Playhouse.

About bluebirds

“Bluebird Man,” a 30-minute film about bluebird conservation will be shown at the Merc Playhouse. Following the film, local biologist Ken Bevis and birdbox-maker Patrick Hannigan of Nice Nests will speak about cavity-nesting birds and the role that nest boxes can play here in the Methow. Presentation will be on Sept. 5 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Merc Playhouse. Admission is free; refreshments will be available for

Methow Valley Senior Center

Labor Day weekend we are going to have a sidewalk sale, weather permitting. If not, it will be in the dining room. There will be Western wear, hats, shirts, boots and pants, also light fall jackets, vests and sweaters. You’ll also find designer purses. This has been a long month but it has gone by quickly. It’s time to do your school shopping. Fall is in the air already. The Senior Center is located next to

the Methow Valley Community Center on Highway 20 in Twisp. Lunch is served at noon by the Okanogan County Transportation and Nutrition Program on Monday, Thursday and Friday. The suggested donation for lunch is $3.50 for seniors over age 60; the cost is $8 for those under 60. Annual membership dues are $1.25. Transportation is available locally for the senior lunch program, and

Methow Valley Head Start Currently Enrolling

Take a survey, win a prize

The Twisp Chamber of Commerce, Town of Twisp and TwispWorks are work i ng toget her to en ha nce t he town’s commercial areas and overall economy. Readers who take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ GJ8WGYJ will be entered to win a $20 gift card to Hank’s Harvest Foods. Results of the survey will be shared at the Sept. 19 luncheon sponsored by Twispworks.

Consultant to advise on growing businesses

Twisp business and downtown property owners are invited to meet with Michele Reeves, a consultant who specializes in commercial development and community revitalization, on Sept. 19. at the Methow Valley Community Center from noon to 1:30 p.m. Interested businesses and property owners should contact Hannah McIntosh at 997-3300 or cmcintosh@twispworks.org. Attendees should bring lunch or order one for $15. The event is being hosted by TwispWorks.

Workshop for nonprofit board members

The Nonprofit Practices Institute is hosting “Boards in Gear,” a workshop for nonprofit board members and staff to help strengthen the practice of board leadership. The “Boards in Gear” workshop will be held Sept. 27 at Aero Methow in Twisp, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Deadline to register (cfncw.org/npiworkshops) is Sept. 15; registration is $15 and includes lunch.

for monthly trips to Omak/Okanogan the second Tuesday of the month and to Wenatchee the third Tuesday of the month. Call 1-800635-4391 for details. Rosalie Hutson

Lunch Menu THURSDAY, AUG. 24: Pork roast, stuffing & gravy, corn, green salad, applesauce, roll, dessert FRIDAY, AUG. 25: Hot dogs, baked

beans, carrots, cucumber and tomato salad, mixed berries, dessert MONDAY, AUG. 28: Stuffed peppers, garden salad, peaches, bread or roll, dessert THURSDAY, AUG. 31: Salisbury steak, potatoes and gravy, broccoli, salad, fruit cocktail, bread, dessert FRIDAY, SEPT. 1: Chili mac, mixed vegetables, salad, pears, roll, dessert

Obituaries

Linda Luanne (Hooper) Wilson Linda Luanne (Hooper) Wil- her grandchildren, and had a speson passed away peacefully cial relationship with her nieces on Aug. 4, 2017, at age 78 in Lisa and Kristen Allison. She Wenatchee. She will be rememwas born in Okanbered as one of the ogan, Washington, truly good people as the oldest of five in life, a devoted children to Arthur Christian and famLynn and Mary ily woman, always Louise Hooper on there with a smile June 1, 1939. She and ready to help was a 1957 graduher family and anyate of Okanogan one in need. Her High School, and big heart and lovit was during this ing presence will time she met and be greatly missed fell in love with by all who knew Lee Franklin Wilher. Linda Luanne (Hooper) son. They were Linda is surWilson married Sept. 27, vived by her daugh1957, in Okanogan, where they ter and son-in-law Julie and Matt had two children, Jubal Lee and Organ; daughter-in-law Stacy Julie Lyn. Wilson; sisters Mary Alexander, In 1969 they moved to Twisp, Debbie Allison (Bob); brothwhere Lee began his career with ers Arthur J. Hooper (Carolyn), the U.S. Forest Service, which David Hooper (Jody); grandalso took them to Hayden Lake, children Andy Wilson, Alex Idaho, Port Orchard, Washing- Wilson, Tanner Wilson, Nathan ton, and Corvallis, Oregon. Linda Burgher (Stephanie), Evan Buralways considered the Methow gher (Kara), and Thomas Organ Valley her home and while there (Tiffany); great-grandchildren she was a homemaker, school Hayden John, Emerson Burgher, bus driver, and grocery clerk. Peyton Organ, Cash Organ; and Linda enjoyed the bible stud- numerous nieces, nephews and ies and fellowship of the Calvary cousins. Baptist Church, attending high She is preceded in death school basketball games, skiing by her parents Lynn and Louat the Loup and being mom to her ise Hooper; her husband, Lee kids who rode her bus. In later Wilson; and her son Jubal Wilyears, Linda and her sister Mary son. A service for Linda will lived together, most recently in be announced at a later date. East Wenatchee. Their close rela- Arrangements are by Telford’s tionship was an important part of Chapel of the Valley, East their lives. Linda was devoted to Wenatchee, Washington.

Ray D. Webb Ray D. Webb passed away on Eagles Club and Destruction July 17, 2017. Derby. He enjoyed hunting, fishHe was born on May 26, 1930, ing and camping. to Walt and Hazel I n 1984 t hey (Liebel) Webb. moved to Moses R ay m a r r i e d Lake, and enjoyed Beverly J. Burck on his final years back April 29, 1950, in on the farm. Wenatchee. They He is preceded l ive d i n Twisp in death by his until 1951, when wife, Beverly; his they moved to Kitparents; and his sap County. Ray brother and sister worked as an auto in-law. Surviving body mechanic, are his five childrove school bus dren, Pam (Russ) for the South KitHamburg, Donna Ray D. Webb sap School District, (Jim) McCary, Pat and later had his (Blayne) Rollman, own body and fender shop in Steve (Loretta) Webb, and Dean Port Orchard. (Kim) Webb; 13 grandchildren He was an active member and 26 great-grandchildren. in the Kitsap Sheriff’s Posse, We will miss him dearly.

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Valley Life

Page B6

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Mandi Donohue

Mazama When I lived in Chicago earlier this decade, I visited Shedd Aquarium. During the Aquatic Show, train-

ers interacted with dolphins, seals and other sea creatures, rewarding each star performer with fish. I’ve never had the opportunity to swim with the dolphins in the Bahamas like some lucky youngsters (our Griswald-esque family ventured to Maine and spent a month there one week), so I thought the show was kind of fun. The children seated next to me, however, were bored and unimpressed. This week Lliam and I watched Meryl Streep in “Florence Foster Jenkins.” Truthfully, it wasn’t the world’s greatest movie (though Meryl always reigns supreme), but it was really eye-opening to go back to an era where people were enthralled by a simple night of theater. In the early ’40s there weren’t iPhones to bring us the entire world without ever

needing to leave home. Televisions were just starting to make their way into the home market, so we weren’t yet glued to our sofas. We were still impressed by a musician playing American classics on piano and by an actor performing a shoddy monologue. That is why I am so grateful this week that folks really got into the solar eclipse. Something that easily could be thrown off with “Yeah, yeah, I’ll watch it on YouTube later,” instead held a lot of this country enthralled. When I went to purchase proper eclipse glasses at The Mazama Store, owner Missy LeDuc said she put them out not expecting to sell any and, lo and behold, “They were gone in 10 minutes!” Yay! I’m not sure why this feels like a victory but it does.

Methow Valley News

From a hippy dippy, woo-woo perspective, the solar eclipse is supposed to be a time to honor massive change and reset. Through mental awareness or writing a list, know what in your life needs to be reset. The Power Path, a shamanistic website, offers this advice: “Acknowledge the absence of the sun and solar energy as it is eclipsed from the Earth for those few moments as symbolizing the absence of what has been feeding old patterns and beliefs for you these past years and maybe your whole lifetime. As the eclipse recesses and the sun comes back, imagine that it is feeding and nourishing and energizing a new you, one that has been reset to a new vibration, a new consciousness, a new frequency.”

I know, I know… groovy, man. But in our culture, it seems to me, we very often make little time to take a look within. Why not a moment — a ‘whiff’ of time, even — to ref lect after a super-cool space show that won’t happen again until 2024? And then the path of totality will be confined to the southeastern United States, so we’ll miss the big drama up here in the Northwest. Finally, I’d also like to give a shout out to Mazama’s very own Coventry Jankowski who is featured in the latest issue of Wenatchee Valley College Discover Magazine. Her transition from graphic designer to nurse is a fascinating one. Read about her. Or, if you run into her around town, ask to hear her story in person. Congrats, Cov!

while the adults walked to a rock outcrop in the fading light. We sat on a ledge, shoulder-to-shoulder and hip-tohip for warmth, and watched individual stars and then whole constellations emerge. Conversation wandered from the trifling to the weighty as we appreciated the immensity of the sky and our own good fortune to be in that particular place at that particular moment in time. Once you’ve shared a trip into the mountains with friends, you develop a closeness that is hard to cultivate back

at home. We are, I think, most like our true selves when we are in the mountains. Removed from the distractions of daily life in places that invite such con-

fidences, we slowly reveal bits of ourselves, and in doing so we come to know even better the people who are already special to us.

Adopt-A-Highway sign near her home. She had never seen any volunteers cleaning up the roadside, and did not recognize the name of the business noted on the sign. When she started her nursery and farm store, Zen’s Gardens, she decided her business would be responsible for keeping that section of highway clean, and contacted Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to get started. Zen started cleaning up her section of highway, but then the Carlton Complex Fires roared through the valley, and putting up a sign alongside the road for Zen’s Gardens sat on the back burner for WSDOT while the agency addressed other pertinent issues. By the time WSDOT was ready to put up a sign, Zen had to put aside the nursery business, but was committed to keep-

ing her section of highway clean. As a result, the signs were shortened to “Zen.” As she spent time cleaning the highway, Zen noticed that it really only needed to be done twice a year and, for the most part, stayed clean. “You can really tell a difference between an area that hasn’t been cleaned in five years, and one that gets picked up even just once a year,” she said. “You’d be amazed at what you find. Once I found a splitting maul — you’d think someone would notice losing a splitting maul!” The Adopt-A-Highway program provides volunteer opportunities and offers recognition for businesses, groups, families or the memory of a loved one. WSDOT provides orange vests, safety cones and trash bags. Volunteers tidy up 2 miles of highway at least twice a year,

and file activity reports with WSDOT. The activity reports are simple and allow WSDOT to maintain insurance coverage for volunteers, while keeping track of how often a section of highway is cleaned. The activity report also notifies WSDOT when and where to pick up full bags of litter. To participate, contact the Okanogan County coordinator, Shellee Ludeman, by phone at (509) 667-2800, or by email at ludemas@wsdot.wa.gov. More information about the program can be found at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/ adoptahwy. The website offers information and safety tips for volunteers. For drivers, please be mindful of volunteers alongside the road working to keep our valley beautiful. Slow down, and give them safe space.

Ashley Lodato

Winthrop With clear skies forecast and eclipse pandemonium looming, many Methow Valley residents took to the mountains for the weekend. I got back late from my trip Sunday night and didn’t get permission to write about anyone else’s trips, but I know that a group went to Oval Lakes, another party did a significant run around McAlester Mountain, and others went into the Silent Lakes. Meanwhile, my family joined two other families for a backpacking trip into Wing Lake, with a side hike up Black Peak. Those of us who go into the mountains go for many different reasons. Perhaps we, like Thoreau, wish to live deliberately and to front only the essential facts of life. But there’s more to it than that. Mostly, I think, we go because we feel fed by the mountains and the lifestyle they afford us, however brief. We go to the mountains to experience awe — that intake of breath as you crest a pass and gaze out at a vast expanse of peaks, valleys, forests and glaciers. Rock and snow juxtaposed with blue sky; puffs of clouds reflected in alpine lakes. Every-

Joanna Bastian

Lower Valley You can find Zen in the lower valley.

Naked Eye

thing seems to come into sharper focus in the backcountry. We go to the mountains because we feel both significant and irrelevant in the midst of their grandeur. These places — a glacier-fed lake, flowerstrewn meadow, a rocky peak black with lichen — fill us up. We soak up all they have to offer and go away feeling not just rejuvenated, but once again complete. One of the things I love most about backpacking with other people is the way the experience breaks down barriers and nurtures intimacy. Our trip had six kids with a wide range of ages, and yet they mingled and fused as a unit seemingly effortlessly, with a comfort and camaraderie that was almost familial. As the western sky turned purple, the kids went into the tent to play cards It’s true — driving through the “MetLow”, there are two Adopt-A-Highway signs marked, “Zen.” These signs don’t refer to the gentle swell of ripening fruit upon branches, or the clean spring water rushing from their alpine sources down steep-walled canyons to unite with the Methow River, or the rolling hills bathed in sunshine. “Zen” would be an accurate description of all of the peaceful crevices found in the lower valley. “Zen” — in this case — is a lower valley resident: a whirlwind of energetic charm, hard-working, tough-as-nails woman. I always learn something new and useful whenever I run into Zen. She’s like a cup of black coffee: strong and invigorating. Zen Brandon runs a small farm and nursery in the lower valley along Highway 153. For years, she noticed the

Photo by Ashley Lodato

Above: Trekking through the mountains yields a familial closeness that’s hard to replicate back in “civilization.” Right: One of the rewards for the hard work of backpacking is the wild creatures one encounters on the trail.

The news about neutrinos

The universe sounds like a pretty scary place. Galaxies are colliding, stars are exploding and black holes are sucking up stars and planets like giant cosmic vacuum cleaners. All that stuff is far, far away, light years away, right? Here on Earth you are safe. The cosmos cannot touch you here. All David Ward that scary stuff is fun to read about, but you do not have One hundred trillion. Sounds to worry about the cosmos like a big number, doesn’t it? bothering you and your life here You bet it is. One hundred trilon our little planet. lion dollars would be a stack of But have you ever heard of thousand-dollar bills over 6,000 neutrinos? There are 100 trillion miles high! of them passing through your Most of these elusive parbody every second right now. ticles come from our sun.

Valley Life Contacts

Twisp: Sarah Schrock sjschrock@yahoo.com

They are a by-product of nuclear fusion, the powerful process deep within stars that causes them to shine. Some come from distant stars and have been traveling for hundreds, thousands, millions and even billions of years on their voyage across the universe on their way to eternity. Maybe you think that because most come from the sun that you get a break when the sun sets at night. Not a chance. These ghost-like particles can merrily fly right through the Earth at the speed of light and not hit a thing. Scientists estimate that about once

a week one might graze an atom in your body as they pass through you. Are they harmful? Probably not. I do not think anyone who knows what they are talking about would think neutrinos are bad for us even though vast swarms are flying through us constantly. If you dig deep enough online, you might find some conspiracy theorist who believes it is a sinister government plot to turn our minds to mush. Neutrinos are not the only thing the universe is throwing at us and there are lots of other things zipping through us. Some of these are harmful, especially if you fly in airplanes a lot or live in a city like Denver. More

Winthrop: Ashley Lodato, 996-3363 or ashleylodato@alumni.stanford.edu

on that later. Saturn and Milky Way The long reign of the planet Jupiter in the evening sky is just about over. You might catch a glimpse of it low in the west just after it gets dark. Saturn is the only planet out there that can be seen without staying up late. Look for it in the southwest shining with a steady yellowish glow. If you are up before dawn, Venus is blazing brightly in the eastern sky. If you missed the Milky Way because of all the recent wildfire smoke, September is a great time to see it. Look for a dim glow stretching from north to south across the sky slightly in the west.

Lower Valley: Joanna Bastian, MethowJoanna@gmail.com

The total eclipse was awesome, perhaps the grandest sight nature has to offer. (See related stories on page B1.) Everything on our little planet depends on the star that we orbit, but we almost never get a chance to really look at it. Two minutes was not nearly enough time, but the experience will live in my memory for a lifetime. I hope everyone got to see it either as a partial eclipse or total. There is another one coming up in three years, so if you are hooked, start thinking about going. The path of totality then won’t cross North America, but 2024 will see another total eclipse arcing across the southeastern United States.

Mazama: Mandi Donohue mandi0459@yahoo.com