Methow Valley News May 26, 2021

Broncs, bulls return

Stepping down

The Methow Valley Rodeo is back this weekend

Leslie Hall retires as MV Nordic Team coach

Methow Valley News

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SPORTS Page B1

PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

TWISP, WASHINGTON

VOL. 118 NO. 4

WWW.METHOWVALLEYNEWS.COM

May 26, 2021

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County beefs up IT security after cyber assault No evidence that mysterious hacks used maliciously

BY MARCY STAMPER

After a devastating cyber attack that paralyzed the county government for several days in January and took three weeks to completely remediate, Okanogan County is running 24/7 defensive security protection that flags any unusual network activity.

The cyber attack temporarily corrupted files on all the county’s computers and servers. Through its risk insurer, the county worked with the cyber-security firm Arete, which undertook full-scale decryption to restore the system and files, Okanogan County Central Services Director Karen Beatty said.

The county paid nothing for the remediation and investigation into the attack, since it was completely covered by its risk insurance, Beatty said.

Arete used technology called SentinelOne to resolve the attack and scan for further problems. The county doesn’t know if Arete identified the “threat actors” who hacked into the system, nor if they learned where the attackers were based. The

insurance company didn’t pay any ransom to resolve the problems, Beatty said.

The county didn’t receive a formal written report of the investigation because the cyber firm worked with the risk-pool attorneys, meaning that much of the information fell under attorney/client privilege, Okanogan County Risk Manager Tanya Craig said. “They were adamant that they can’t discuss every detail,” she said.

Court cases opened

Beyond the corrupted files, the investigators detected that the attackers had opened some old District Court cases — going back as far as the 1990s — but not altered or compromised them in any way, Craig said. The county sent letters to the last-known address on the cases to notify people of the attack, but hasn’t heard from any of the individuals involved, Craig said.

In addition to the court cases, investigators found that some documents from the county’s Department of Public Works had been opened, including correspondence from the county commissioners directing Public Works to report on a road, Craig said.

Photo by Marcy Stamper

Beavers helped this area recover after it was severely burned in the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire.

Beavers reclaim, reshape the Methow landscape grab insects on the wing.

What may look untidy to the human eye is a thriving environment that today supports an intricate ecosystem, thanks to a dozen beavers that have reclaimed an area severely burned in the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire. The Methow Beaver Project relocated six beavers — in phases — to the site after the fire and the animals stayed and reproduced, said Kent Woodruff, who headed up the project during that period.

Phased restoration project targets burned areas

BY MARCY STAMPER

At first glance, the pond complex near Winthrop looks messy but tranquil, a tangle of sticks and mounded branches, some topped with fresh mud. Waterfowl glide across the surface while other birds

See SECURITY, A2

Alexa Whipple, the project’s current director, took a group this spring to see the pond complex and to explain how to interpret the effects of beavers. While it’s hard for the uninitiated to read the landscape, just about every flat field along a creek or river was once a wetland maintained by beaver engineering, Whipple said. “The Methow was a very watered landscape, as dry as it is,” she said.

As the climate gets drier, interest in restoring beavers to the

Methow Valley — and other parts of the West — has grown. Pools and wetlands built by beavers add complexity to an entire watershed.

And those wetlands are vast waterstorage areas, providing places for rivers to spread out and meander, keeping water from flowing quickly downstream. They also raise the water table, helping wells at risk of running dry.

The slower streams and pools

See BEAVERS, A2

Summer is garbage time in Winthrop

HIGH STRIDING

Visitors overload town, private dumpsters

BY DON NELSON

Where there are tourists, there will be garbage. And if they don’t take it home with them, it ends up somewhere.

Too often, “somewhere” is a private dumpster that may seem conve n ie nt on the way out of the valley, a local business owner told the Winthrop Town Council last week. Or it could be a town-owned garbage receptacle intended for light trash, not campers’ accumulated garbage.

Jacob Young, co-owner of the Old Schoolhouse Brew-

Photo by Steve Mitchell

If you’re running a long way, it might as well be in nice weather. Runners in last weekend’s Rainshadow Running Sun Mountain races ­— 50 miles, 50 kilometers and 25 kilometers — enjoyed clear days.

er y i n Wi nth rop told the council in a letter that the pub’s industrial-size dumpster has been increasingly used for garbage disposal by visitors. Other business owners have the same problem, Young said. He asked the town to consider providing more facilities to handle tourists’ waste.

Council members did not dismiss the problem, but said it is not the town’s responsibility to solve it.

“As the one who pays the bill for dumpster ser vices for t he Old School hou se Brewery, I see firsthand as the problem has gone from bad to horrible,” Young said.

“My example is simply one among many others I have heard from my fellow business owners.”

Young said that last summer the pub paid for three ext ra dumpster pick ups a week to handle the garbage over f low becau se people left trash and even building materials in the dumpster.

“W hen dumpsters overf low, it not only looks horrible and smells bad, but it at t racts animals and disease,” he said.

Padlocked now

Earlier this year, Young said, WasteWise, the valley’s waste and recycling collection service, provided upgraded dumpsters that can be secured with a padlock.

Old Schoolhouse Brewery’s du mpst e r is locke d now, Young said. If his and other

See GARBAGE, A6

State transitions from mass vaccination sites to mobile clinics Revised approach targets people with limited access

BY NATALIE JOHNSON

About four months into the state effort to distribute doses of the COVID-19 vaccines at state-r un mass vaccination events, the state Department of Health (DOH) announced last week plans to transition to mobile vaccination clinics.

This new phase of vaccine outreach will help the state

reach people who have experienced barriers in vaccine access and help dist r ibute life-saving shots more equitably and conveniently across the state of Washington, DOH said.

No r t h Va l le y Ho s pit a l , based in Tonasket, began its own mobile vaccination effort at the beginning of May, targeting remote communities in the hospital district including Loomis and Wauconda. The district used a small bus that it already owned, with a small refrigerator to transport the vaccine.

ADDRESS LABEL

John McReynolds, CEO of North Valley Hospital district, said the changes at the state level will not have a direct impact on local efforts.

“In Okanogan County we are struggling with the same issue, that the large mass vaccination events take a lot of time and labor to plan, organize, set up, and staff. When we have fewer people coming to the big events we cross a threshold where it stops making sense,” he said.

“As we move forward, vaccine deliver y in more t raditional venues (clinics and

pharmacies) and non-traditional (pop-up or mobile clinics) will likely replace the mass vacci nation events,” McReynolds said.

Locally, Aero Methow Rescue Service and the Methow Valley School District have hosted vaccination events, w it h help f rom prov ide r s including Family Health Center s, wh ile t he Ok a noga n County Fairgrounds has had large events in the central part of the county.

Fa m i ly He a lt h C e n t e r s (FHC) is still planning large events to vaccinate agricul-

tural workers, including events scheduled for May 28 and June 1. Over those two events, FHC plans to vaccinate just under 950 people.

“Since opening Jan. 26, our four state-led mass vaccination sites have administered nearly 300,000 doses of vaccine,” said Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah. “This rema rkable ach ievement could not have been attained if it wasn’t for the hard work of DOH staff, the Washington National Guard, our local and private sector partners, as well as our community mem-

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bers who visited these sites to get vaccinated. This transition isn’t closing a door to vaccine opportunity but opening several new ones that will allow for more equitable vaccine access in the future.”

T he st ate’s mobile vaccine units have already given 32,000 doses of vaccine. The DOH plans to ma ke more a n nou nce me nt s about t he mobile vaccine providers in coming weeks.

The state’s mass vaccination site in Spokane will stay

See VACCINE, A6

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

BEAVERS From Page A1 collect organic matter—leaves, bits of wood gnawed off trees by beavers, beaver droppings—that builds nutrients for macroinvertebrates fish eat. Quiet pools provide refuge for those fish. And the wetter environment reduces the risk of wildfire and keeps fires from spreading as far and fast, Whipple said.

Historically, the location of streams and rivers could vary from year to year as they moved throughout their channel-migration zones, Whipple said. Beavers even built stepped systems of pools on steep hillsides — they went anywhere they could and improved even marginal habitat, she said.

“Beaver are a keystone species, meaning that they have a disproportionately large effect on their environment relative to their abundance,” according to the Beaver Restoration Guidebook, a publication produced by federal agencies, universities and partners including Woodruff.

Before humans started tinkering with the waterways, there were thousands of beavers throughout the Methow. The current beaver population is about 10% of what Woodruff estimates was once at least 5,000.

In the Methow Valley, for the past two decades, biologists and the

SECURITY From Page A1 Arete said there was no reason to believe that any of the information in the opened files had been used in a malicious way, and nothing was extracted or taken, Craig said. There was no pattern to the documents that had been opened, and the security firm wasn’t able to determine a motive, she said.

While the county had been using regular virus protection, it wasn’t adequate to present-day threats, Craig said. They don’t know how the attackers breached the county’s system. “It was busy, busy, busy here in Central Services. It’s any IT Department’s nightmare,” Beatty said.

The county is now using SentinelOne’s protection on every computer and server to monitor all activity, on top of ordinary virus protection, Craig said. SentinelOne learns “normal” patterns and notifies the county about any activity that seems suspicious.

The county can exempt file formats that SentinelOne deems questionable but that are used regularly in county business.

The county signed a threeyear contract with SentinelOne for the security service for $56,000. The program also performs nightly back-ups that will

HONEY...

WE‛RE OUT OF CANNABIS.

beaver project have been relocating beavers to places where there were historic wetlands. Beavers live in colonies that may contain two to 12 individuals, usually the adult breeding pair, the kits of that year, and kits of the previous year.

Beavers are known for building dams but, in the right conditions, they live in burrows along river banks or in piles of logs near a river, since that’s easier than building a dam and lodge, Woodruff said.

While these beavers provide useful habitat for fish and add complexity to the river with the trees they fell, their benefit to the watershed is minuscule compared to beavers that construct elaborate complexes of dams and lodges, he said.

Beavers are the largest rodents in North America. Adults average 40 pounds and measure more than 3 feet in length, including the tail. They are extremely mobile and can easily travel 100 miles.

The beaver project has been able to track beavers that travel on the mainstem rivers through a PIT tag embedded in their tail using equipment that tracks fish. About 60 beavers have been picked up by tag readers, Woodruff said.

But when they’re successful—if beavers are happy in their new home and stay put—the beaver project has no way of tracking them, Woodruff said. “It would be great to have a satellite monitoring system to read all be stored on a system that’s separate from the county’s computer servers.

Training to spot attacks

The risk-pool insurer has also authorized training for county employees using KnowBe4, which sends fake, harmless phishing emails so employees learn to recognize suspicious activity. While the emails may appear to be from a trusted person, they could contain malicious attachments or links, and the training will give people techniques to determine if the sender may have been hacked or is otherwise not legitimate, Beatty said.

If someone clicks on a link or downloads an attachment in one of the training emails, KnowBe4 sends a note informing them that they have just “infected” the county’s computer system, and provides instructions about how to be more careful.

The KnowBe4 training hasn’t started yet because it may be combined with training for other counties covered by the risk pool, which could make it more economical, Beatty said.

“We were down about a week.

That’s a long time for government. We learned important lessons. It could have been a lot worse,” Craig said.

I SAW IN THE PAPER...

THERE IS A STORE IN TWISP.

the tags—if you had $100 million,” he said.

WDFW’s role

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) manages beavers in a variety of ways. The agency partners with the Methow Beaver Project, deals with conflicts with landowners, and oversees trapping and harvest, WDFW Okanogan District Wildlife Biologist Scott Fitkin said.

“WDFW places high value on the benefits that beavers and their activity provide for Washington’s natural systems,” WDFW Small Game, Furbearer, and Resident Game Bird Specialist Sarah Garrison said. “The agency believes in a holistic approach to beaver management.”

WDFW oversees a five-month trapping season from November through March, which allows people to trap fur-bearing mammals including beavers, skunks and coyotes. There’s no limit to the number of beavers someone with a license can trap. In the past five years, WDFW has sold an average of 582 trapping licenses per year, Garrison said.

The going rate for a beaver pelt is about $20, according to Whipple.

From 2016 to 2019, from 13 to 45 beavers a year were trapped in Okanogan County, and 676 to 810 statewide. That’s a sharp drop

from the state’s annual average in the 1990s of some 5,300 beavers, reduced by the passage of a voter initiative that banned the use of body-gripping traps.

Those numbers may include beavers trapped by licensed trappers on private property where there was a human-beaver conflict, Garrison said.

In many states, it’s illegal to move beavers. But a WDFW pilot program allows trained relocators to get a permit to trap beavers and relocate them to more suitable habitat, Whipple said. The biggest loss of beavers results from conflict with humans and their infrastructure, not trapping, she said.

A property owner or employee may trap or kill a beaver on that property if the beaver is threatening human safety or causing property damage, according to WDFW. Dams cannot be removed or modified without a permit from WDFW. Because it’s difficult to count beavers, WDFW doesn’t know how many beavers are in the Methow watershed, Fitkin said. In his 10 years with the beaver project, Woodruff said they released more than 400 beavers at 90 sites.

He estimates there were 600 in the watershed when he retired in 2017.

A draft assessment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services estimated there are 69,000 beavers in the state, Garrison said.

Methow Valley News WDFW is funding a research project with Washington State University to develop a method for monitoring beavers using detection through water samples via environmental DNA, she said.

‘Amazing work’

Whipple is impressed by how the area and ponds she visited are rebounding after the Carlton Complex Fire. “This has been my inspiration and illumination about what beavers can do on a landscape,” she said.

The fire killed trees and scoured hillsides, allowing debris to erode and wash into rivers. The river channels became deep and incised, with water rushing so fast that even beavers couldn’t get a foothold to do their work.

But nearby springs provided a low-flow source of water that was easy for the beavers to dam.

Eventually, their dams allow the streams to spread out and reconnect with their historic floodplains, Whipple said.

“The beavers are doing amazing work putting structure back in the creek,” replacing wood that farmers removed so they could use the streams for irrigation, Whipple said. There’s even the potential for the large, dry field near the beaver complex to become a wetland again as beavers restore the landscape, she said.

Problems remain

Although Whipple has been known to say, “Whatever the question, beavers are the answer,” in the wrong place, beavers can create problems. Their engineering projects can flood a house and other human infrastructure. Their drive to dam flowing water incites them to block culverts.

The beaver project and WDFW use several interventions to allow beavers and people to coexist. The agencies wrap trees, screen culverts, and even artificially adjust the level of a pond to keep it from flooding nearby infrastructure. They also add beaver-dam analogues — strategically placed human-made constructions of sticks that encourage beavers to colonize an area.

Although the Methow Beaver Project carefully selected the areas where it released the beavers, it wasn’t uncommon to take several tries before the animals stuck around, Woodruff said.

Today, many of those sites are flourishing. Woodruff recently visited several complexes where the beaver project helped the beavers get a start. “I was thrilled to see them fully occupied and really thriving, with fresh mud and frogs croaking like crazy,” he said.

“We need to do this all over the watershed, and allow beaver to establish where they used to be,” Woodruff said.

Electric co-op hires new general manager Replaces David Gottula in July

The Okanogan County Electric Cooperative announced last week that it has selected Greg Mendonca to be its new general manager, effective July 19.

Mendonca will replace Dave Gottula, who announced his retirement earlier this year, after 10 years leading the electric co-op.

The consumer-owned private power utility serves about 3,000 customers in the Methow Valley.

“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to take on the position of General Manager at Okanogan County Electric to

provide safe and reliable service to our members,” Mendonca said in a statement provided to the Methow Valley News. “Member service is at the heart of the mission of every electric cooperative and I am honored the board of directors has selected me to lead the team at OCEC to continue to work towards that mission.”

Mendonca was most recently the vice president of power supply for the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative in Oregon. In that position, he was responsible for power contract management, planning, load forecasting, rate modeling, electricity acquisition, energy efficiency and other duties.

He has a Bachelor of Science

degree in business administra- ing my family into such a beautition and a Masters of Business ful valley and meeting members Administration in the community.” f rom Oregon The OCEC State University. board worked with He lives with the National Rural wife, Jessica, and Electric Cooperachildren Cora and tive Association Miles. to find a candi“The indusdate for Gottula’s try landscape is replacement. rapidly changing When asked what and we must not the OCEC board is only rise to meet looking forward to the challenges under Mendonca’s facing us today, tenure, and what but we must also made him stand out plan for the chal- Greg Mendonca as a top applicant lenges we face to the board, board in the future,” Mendonca said. president Dale Sekijima declined “Finally, I look forward to mov- to comment.

Since our first clinic on January 27th, we have partnered with clinics and hospitals to vaccinate 1,100 people in the Methow Valley. We did this over the course of six large events and several smaller events. It would not have been possible without countless hours and support from the staff at several agencies and more than 1,000 volunteer hours from members of our community.

We extend a heartfelt thank you to all who reached out to help make our community safer.

Liberty Bell High School - Lead Vaccinator and School Liaison Adriana Vanbianchi, Chuck Meyers, Bud Hover, Georgia Darwood, Tom Venable, and Debbie Bair Kiwanis - Ken Malloch and his team of volunteers listed below Okanogan County Fire District 6 - Ken Malloch and team of volunteers listed below Methow Trails for the sandwich sign boards Sunflower Catering- Kathy Borgersen, for providing lunch for the volunteers Family Health Centers - Julie Wehmeyer, Elizabeth Tripp, Lisa Marshall, Amanda Davis, Mary Humling, Kat Werle, Victoria DeSalvo, Blue Bradley, and Aspen Ostlie Pritchard Three Rivers Hospital- Gretchen Aguilar, Eva Olea, and Isabel Rodriguez North Valley Hospital - John McReynolds Okanogan County Department of Emergency Management - Maurice Goodall Okanogan County Public Health- Lauri Jones, Dr. James Wallace, and Jessica Kuzma Confluence Health Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office - Laura Wright Lifeline Ambulance - Wayne Walker and Tyler Blakeny Aero Methow Rescue Service: Cindy Button, Justin Porter, Adriana Vanbianchi, Laura Stamp, Ian Ross, Ruth Payne, Kurt Oakley, Byron Braden, Nina Ravenstein, Becky Taylor, Theresa Remsberg, Jen Schumacher, Kathleen Calvin, Stephanie Rowatt, Bruce Hevly, Chuck Timchalk, Gail White, Meg Trebon, Joe Talbert, Lotty Ekblad, Craig Howard, Jay Gorham, Kevin Beshlian, Carolyn Groninger, Brian McAuliffe, Shane Swanson, Joel Reid, Bryson Williams, and Ellen MacNary Kiwanis, Okanogan Fire District #6, and Okanogan County Search and Rescue - Ken Malloch, Alisa Malloch, Alan Fahnestock, Rick Norby, Bryn Stevens, Bob Sutherland, Jim Archambeault, Ron Overbeck, Nadine Van Hees, Bill and Sue Ellen White, Shirlee Evans, Kate Wynne, Cindy Macklin, Bruce Carter, Mo Kelley-Akker, Rick Rottman, Michael Koerner, Max Jones, Jeff Jones, Kathy Busse, David Hooker, Peggy Sarjeant, Nancy Place, and Maryann Yakabi.

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Community Volunteers: Daniel McGill, Charlene Burns, Leslie Tregillus, Ann Diamond, Betsie Brennand, Jill Calvert, Ann McCreary, Peter Bauer, Denise Kittleson, Annie Coghlan, Jocelyn Murray, Elizabeth Weiss, Kimber Faulkner, Pat Gilmer, Joanne Leyva, Diane Gordon, Sharon Cupp, Michelle Jerome, Catherine Rogers, Karen Mulcahy, Joanne Hunold, David Bonn, Lisa Johnson, Dana Golden, Randy Johnson, Sophie Daudon, Maud Daudon, Marc Daudon, Patricia Leigh, Cherri Thomas, Polly Fabian, Richard Murray, Kari Anderson, George Schoenfeld, Liz Johnson, Katherine Williams, Tavish Fenbert, Jennifer Zbyszewski, Sarah Gilman, Catherine Chingren, Elizabeth Boyd, Dotti Wilson, Nelle Horsley, Lee Summerfield, Gloria Herron, Jeanne Johnson, KC Golden, Sharon Fisher, Megan Jepson, Kristi Skanderup, Maryann Marci, Mark Applebee, Kim Romain-Bondi, Erik Strand, Cathy Davis, Sharon Cohen, Vicky Douxmont, Julie Palm, Kevan Coffey, Jonathan Hawley, Frances Kaul, DJ Jones, Darlene Sallee, Ben Corwin, Frauke Rynd, Ina Clark, Raleigh Bowden, Maryann Timchalk, Sandra Bowen, Anne Johnson, John Box, Marian Osborne, Jen Fry, Leslie Mittendorf, Boo Turner, Beth DiDomenico, Madeleine Eckmann, Michael Pritchard, Josh Rubenstein, Martha Rothe, Jennifer Zajac, Hannah Viano, Joan Winsor, Sharmon Figenshaw, Linda Schomaker, Peter Arniel, and Bob Hoffman.

Methow Valley News

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Page A4

Opinion Wednesday, May 26, 2021

N O B A D DAYS

Leading the news

If you’ve been around here for a while — and I consider my nearly-10-years-in-the-valley “a while” — you know that the local news goes in cycles. Look back through the bound volumes of the Methow Valley News and you’ll see that valley institutions, organizations and personalities take their turns in the spotlight, then retreat into the background as other issues arise.

It could be the Town of Winthrop, the Methow Valley School District, county government, state and federal agencies, or Okanogan County Fire District 6: At some point, their actions generate more coverage and Don Nelson headlines because of the topics they are dealing with.

Lately, it seems to be the Town of Twisp that’s getting more attention. That’s not surprising. The town has been dealing with some pressing issues of intense public interest.

Let’s start with the town-owned Wagner Memorial Pool. There are few valley-wide attractions that are as popular and widely valued by people who live here. The pool needs to be replaced, and the town currently doesn’t have the resources to do that. Local nonprofit Friends of the Pool is spearheading plans to replace the pool, and to find ways to pay for it. The town’s involvement has been to keep the pool operating on a year-to-year basis, but that may change once the clatter dies down around the new civic building and regional emergency communications center.

That much-needed facility is finally breaking ground after nearly a decade of planning, public process and financing challenges. Last week, we posted some video footage and photographs of the old Town Hall being mercifully demolished on our Facebook site. That generated some contentious comments and a mish-mash of emoticons.

If you’ve paid any attention to this space, you know that I dislike the online commenting feature for a variety of reasons — mostly, I think it’s destructive rather than constructive, and a waste of everyone’s time. I’ve never allowed it on our website, and newspapers across the country have dropped the commenting option because it’s typically a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, conspiracy theory cesspool of rage and ignorance. So, do you have an idea how I really feel about it?

That said, we allow but monitor commenting on our Facebook page, where the comments seem to be generally less toxic, vicious and deliberately misleading than in other arenas. But not always.

Despite the temptation, there is nothing more pointless than getting into an argument with someone in the comments thread. Many of the commenters cannot be reasoned with or swayed by things like, let’s say, truth and rationality.

Yet, because I can, let me say a few things about the civic building comment stream.

The old Town Hall was not a treasured historic site but rather a crumbling wreck that had been dangerous and barely functional for years. If you were watching, you had to notice that it didn’t take much to knock it down. So, get over your misplaced nostalgia for a dilapidated building that desperately needed replacing. And, the new building is being financed almost entirely with state capital budget funds — not local property taxes.

There was also some suggestion that “real” Twisp residents do not approve of the new building, as opposed to the newer interlopers from the west side who, as one person put it, want to turn Twisp into Bellevue.

Puh-leeze. No one who has cruised both Bellevue and Twisp would ever confuse them. What’s more, the “real people” of Twisp, whoever they are, voted 70% in support of the mayor and incumbent town council members in the last municipal election. Hardly an angry uprising.

And now, bathrooms.

Really long story, very short: the town needs to provide public restrooms and has few options. The Town Council recently decided to re-open public access to the restrooms in The Merc Playhouse building. That’s when a simmering dispute boiled over in public.

Full disclosure: I’ve acted in and directed productions at The Merc and am a member of the Programming Committee that recommends plays to the board of directors. I also have covered the Twisp Town Council for several years. For a small-town publisher/editor, that’s not an uncommon mix of connections.

When I wrote about the council’s decision to re-open the Merc bathrooms, as a reporter it was incumbent on me to ask the Merc people what they thought about that. They were not happy, and said so.

There are no “bad guys” here. Honorable, responsible, likeable people who ordinarily get along well are currently sideways with each other on a tough issue with no easy solution. I think they’ll work it out, but expect more headlines while that happens. Then it will be someone else’s turn.

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 Natalie Johnson, MANAGING EDITOR Marcy Stamper, REPORTER Rick Lewis, SPORTS Ryan Edwards, DESIGN Sheila Ward, SALES ASSOCIATE Tera Evans, OFFICE MANAGER Paige Wolfe, DISTRIBUTION

CONTRIBUTORS: Joanna Bastian Erik Brooks Shelley Smith Jones Len Baublitz Ashley Lodato Rosalie Hutson Sarah Schrock Solveig Torvik Ann McCreary Dave Ward

Display advertising deadline for this newspaper is on the Thursday 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: $39 inside Okanogan County, $50 outside of Okanogan County and $65 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 Ashley Lodato

Methow Valley News

Box 97: Letters to the editor Stronger together

Dear Editor: As we reach this milestone in the pandemic, I would like to thank my fellow Methow Valley Long Term Recovery Board Members and the incredible community partners who have joined us for regular coordination over the past 15 months as we’ve sought to bring strength, creativity and resilience to our community in the face of COVID-19 through a myriad of new programs, partnerships and collaborative actions.

Their tireless participation has been made possible by “can do” organizations including Room One, The Cove, TwispWorks, Carlton Complex Assistance Network, Aero Methow Rescue Service, Methow Housing Trust, Methow Valley School District, Little Star Montessori School, Winthrop and Twisp chambers of commerce, MethowReady, Okanogan County Electrical Cooperative, Okanogan County Long Term Recovery and the Methow Conservancy. Thank you to each and every donor and volunteer of these organizations, and to the teachers, public safety officials and other front-line workers who have served our community so bravely. You know who you are.

Sincere thanks is also due to our trio of committed mayors from Winthrop, Twisp and Pateros, the Governor’s Office, the offices of Sen. Hawkins, Rep. Steele and Rep. Goehner, who personally joined dozens of our coordination calls. A nod as well to Sen. Murray’s Spokane office for their assistance navigating it all. We are grateful for the leadership and access you all provide us.

Each challenging event in our valley highlights the work we have yet to do, but I am proud of the ways this community has come together to support one another and fill gaps with meaningful solutions and collaborations since COVID came into our lives. Onward to a stronger and more resilient Methow through working together!

Jason Paulsen, Chair Methow Valley Long Term Recovery

Time for change

Dear Editor: Homestream Park in Winthrop and the Methow Valley Interpretive Center have done beautiful work over the years to educate us newcomers and make sincere efforts to honor the ancestral occupants of this beautiful place. They have worked with sensitivity and integrity toward reconciliation with the descendants of those ancestors for the acts of displacement and genocide committed by our government and military during the 1800s.

For the native inhabitants of the Methow Valley, life as they knew it changed dramatically long before the mid-1800s, but as we know, many were still here in 1849. All of this has been well documented by local authors, native and non-native, and it is part of the history of the Methow Valley.

Because of the positive, healing and thoughtful efforts made by so many in recent years, and through the lens of all that has led our country to 2021, I was stunned and disappointed to see a Native American “chief” portrayed by a white man in Winthrop’s recent ’49er Days event. I don’t for a moment think that any unkindness or disrespect was intended by this, but oh my goodness, in 2021 we must strive to do better than this.

I am sensitive to the amount of effort it takes to put on this event, especially in the time of COVID, and hope that the organizers were well pleased by the results. My sincere hope is that before ’49er Days 2022, effort be made to extend the authenticity of much of the event to more of it. Surviving members of the Methow Band have routinely and generously shared so much of their culture with us. Organizers from the interpretive center and Homestream also have wisdom to share. The time for use of native imagery or names in sport mascots is over, and the time for white men dressed up as Indians must be also.

We are better than this.

Betsy Cushman Winthrop

Harts Pass

By Len Baublitz

Endangered children

Dear Editor: It just takes seconds for a child to be put in danger by a stranger. Do the mayor and Town Council of Twisp want to be responsible for the unthinkable to occur to our most vulnerable and cherished ones in our community?

I read with dismay the situation about the public restrooms at The Merc in the Methow Valley News. The digging in from the city and insistence that the restrooms be open again; the blind eye to the past history of cleaning and maintenance where they failed on their commitments to our community and The Merc; the audacity of not owning up to their responsibility of the citizens of our valley to protect our children. Our Town Council and mayor are absolutely not focused on the health and welfare of our citizens and are not serving the public interest of the Methow Valley community by refusing to use another solution. That solution is simple: Put out porta-potties for visitors to Twisp and maintenance them two times a week, Friday morning and Monday morning, for the 12 weeks of summer season.

The cost of this is nominal compared to the welfare of our communities’ children using The Merc Theater for summer camps, that could put them in danger, and at minimum cause the camp staff to have to supervise all trips to the restrooms with an adult to keep our kids safe from the “unthinkable” happening.

It’s appalling that the mayor and Town Council care so little about our own resident community that they would put our children at risk. I urge all of us to reach out and write to the mayor and Town Council about this issue. They are absolutely not owning up the past situation, and not serving the public with their choice in this matter. It’s atrocious behavior on their part.

Laura Chedalawada Winthrop

Thanks to school district

Dear Editor: I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the Methow Valley School District (MVSD) for the extraordinary planning, flexibility, communication and patience demonstrated by it leadership, staff and volunteers throughout this pandemic.

Our kids have been extremely fortunate to have an in-person hybrid program offered all year, excellent after school camps and Wednesday outdoor school, a safe and healthy environment, rigorous COVID protocols and now opportunities for vaccination. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson in part, “. . . to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition. . .- this is to have succeeded.” MVSD, you are a success on all counts and there can never be enough thanks.

Heidi Appel Twisp

An epic event

Dear Editor: This Memorial Day will be the 20th anniversary of an amazing event in the North Cascades: Two men kayaked over Cedar Creek Falls!

The hike to the falls at that time of year was a long-standing tradition for me, my wife, and her sister. When we reached the falls, there were two kayaks at the lookout point. Were the two young men hovering there about to kayak down Cedar Creek? No, they said, they were going over the falls themselves.

We watched as they scouted the drop from the top of the falls. They talked, they swung their arms in imaginary strokes as if they

were going over. Then they began.

One of them, Tao Berman (age 22), had spent some of his growing-up years in north central Washington. His father, Birch Berman, operated Backcountry Burro Treks in Winthrop.

Tao already held the world record for extreme waterfall kayaking — a 98-footer in Canada.

Cedar Creek Falls was just another day at the office, according to one of their camera people.

We watched spellbound as Tao moved out into the current and smoothly over the 40-foot first falls. The landing there is tight, with dangerous rocks and logs to avoid. It was over in a second with a beautiful landing.

Then he set up for the 55-foot second falls.

It was supposedly the easier one because of a much bigger landing area. Tao hit the water very hard. For 30 seconds he did not appear to surface. The camera operator thought Tao had been pinned underwater and drowned.

Then Tao emerged from behind the waterfall. His water entry was so hard that it had snapped his paddle. He had surfaced behind the waterfall. With a broken paddle, he had trouble paddling out. He was unhurt.

We left them at the falls. At their car, we left a note of thanks for the great show, and three Cinnamon Twisps we had purchased that morning at the bakery.

Tao Berman went on to set records surf kayaking waves almost as big as upper Cedar Falls.

Randy Brook Twisp

Not feeling the empathy

Dear Editor: We appreciate your attempt to cover the story of the opening of the public restrooms in Twisp in a balanced way. From comments, it is not clear that most readers read to the end of your article. The Merc board members would like to set the record straight. The town has been an irresponsible partner in this contractual relationship and is opening the restrooms after a superficial clean-up, without consulting The Merc. Safety and sanitation standards in the restrooms (town’s responsibility!) have been ignored for years, despite The Merc’s frequent communications about cleaning and safety monitoring. Before 2018, numerous urgent requests, including 911 calls, were made to the town regarding drug and lewd behavior in the restrooms while children were in The Merc’s facility. In 2018, The Merc and the Town of Twisp agreed to close the restrooms to the public because of these concerns.

The parties also agreed that they should find a way to turn the restrooms over to The Merc.

Lawyers from both the town and The Merc began discussing a possible solution. Inexplicably, as these talks are still ongoing, the town has backed away from its former position, placed unreasonable roadblocks in the way of an agreement and is now opening the restrooms without communicating with The Merc at all. Based on past history, we have no reason to believe that anything regarding the town’s responsibility or accountability will change in the future. We, as board members of a small, art nonprofit, are becoming increasingly apprehensive about our legal and financial liability implications, not to mention the safety of our staff, actors and patrons.

This all makes us wonder if the town really values a vibrant community theater in the heart of a future “art center?” The town motto may be “Be Empathetic to Everyone,” but those of us associated with The Merc are not feeling like that “empathy” extends to us.

The Merc Board of Directors Twisp

By Erik Brooks

Methow Valley News

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Page A5

Candidates complete filing for local positions

BY DON NELSON

Candidate filings produced a mixed bag for local positions that are up for election this year.

Filing closed Friday (May 21). Most incumbents will seek re-election, but a few will not. Most candidates face no opposition.

Okanogan County Prosecuting Attorney Melanie Bailey, who was appointed to the position earlier this year after the resignation of Arian Noma, must run for the office to fill out the remaining year in the term. She filed for re-election, and will not be challenged on the ballot.

Okanogan County Fire District No. 6 Commissioner Les

Stokes did not file for re-election. Miles Milliken of Twisp was the only candidate to file for the opening. Longtime Methow Valley School District Board member Gary Marchbank will seek re-election, and will be challenged by Michelle Randolph of Mazama.

None of the three incumbents who are seeking reelection to the Winthrop Town Council will be opposed. In Twisp, Town Council incumbent Hannah Cordes did not file for re-election. Katrina Aubur n will be unopposed on the ballot. Town Council incumbent Aaron Studen will seek re-election, and will be challenged by Dara Perez.

All the offices are nonpartisan except for County Pros-

ecutor. Bailey is a Republican.

Nonpartisan offices for which more than two candidates filed will appear on the Aug. 3 Primary Election ballot. All partisan Offices will appear on the Primary Election Ballot.

Filings roundup: Twisp

• To w n C o u n c i l P o s i tion No. 1, 4 years. Incumbent Hannah Cordes did not file for re-election. Katrina Auburn was the only candidate to file for the position.

• Town Council Position No. 2, 4 years. Incumbent Aaron Studen filed for re-election.

He will be opposed by Dara Perez, who also filed for the position.

Winthrop

• Town Council Position No. 1, 4 years. Incumbent Kirsten Vanderhalf filed for re-election.

• Town Council Position No. 2, 4 years. Incumbent Joseph O’Driscoll filed for re-election.

• Mayor, 4 years. Incumbent Sally Ranzau filed for re-election.

Methow Valley School District

• Director, Dist r ict 2, 4 years. Incumbent Dana Stromberger filed for re-election.

• Director, District 4 at large, 4 years. Incumbent Gary L. Marchbank filed for re-election. He will be opposed by Michelle Randolph of Mazama, who also filed for the position.

Okanogan County Fire District 6

• Commissioner, Position 1, 6 years. Incumbent Les V. Stokes did not file for re-election. Miles Milliken of Twisp was the only candidate to file for the position.

Okanogan-Douglas Hospital District 1 (Three Rivers Hospital)

• Commissioner Position No. 1 at large, 2 years. Incumbent David Garcia filed for re-election.

• Commissioner Position No. 2 at large, 6 years. Incumbent Leslie McNamara filed for reelection.

Cemetery District 1

• Commissioner, Position 2,

4 years. Incumbent Jennifer Northcott did not file for reelection. Timothy Anderson of Winthrop was the only candidate to file for the position.

• Commissioner, Position, 6 years. Incumbent Teresa Mathis filed for re-election.

Cemetery District 2

• Commissioner, Position 1, 6 years. Incumbent Carol J. Gaston filed for re-election.

She will be challenged by Larry D. Smith of Twisp.

Okanogan County

• Prosecuting Attorney, 1 year (unexpired term). Incumbent Melanie Bailey filed for elect ion to the of f ice. No other candidates filed for the position.

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

Wildlife-killing contests only produce losers

BY TED WILLIAMS

Wou ld you l i ke to ea r n money and pr izes by killing coyotes, foxes, cougars, bobcats, wolves, raccoons, squirrels, crows, rattlesnakes, rabbits, prairie dogs, woodchucks or skunks?

If so, you can enter any of the thousands of wildlifekilling contests permitted and sometimes promoted by 44 state game and fish agencies.

Such contests are legal in all Western states save California, Washington, Arizona and Colorado.

These events have names like “Song Dog Smackdown,” “Good Ol Boy’s Fall Predator Tournament” and “Predator Palooza.”

Names of competing teams are no less evocative. Placing high in a Lone Star Predator Calling Classic were “Beer Belly Varmint Hunters” and “Team Anthrax.”

Standard equipment i ncludes recli n i ng chai r s, electronic predator calls, tripods and other g u n rests, spotting scopes, spotlights, night-vision goggles, other thermal-imaging equipment a nd h ig h- capacit y a ssau lt r if les equipped with telescopic sights. Prizes include cash — $50,000 if you win the West Texas Big Bobcat

in more, not fewer, coyotes.

What’s more, Crabtree has fou nd t hat i nd iscr i m i nate killing of predators increases livestock loss. Because coyote “control” (which, again, d o e s n’ t a p p r o a c h 7 0 % ) reduces the number of adults able to feed you ng, packs tend to abandon their normal small-mammal diet mammal diet and turn instead to larger prey, like livestock.

Carter Niemeyer, a retired predator-control agent, tells the story of the rancher who phoned him after one aerial operation. “Carter,” declared t h e r a n ch e r, “d o c oyot e s revenge kill? We haven’t had trouble with coyotes all winter. We saw your helicopter the other morning and heard lots of shooting. Now we’ve got coyotes k illing sheep.

What the hell’s going on?”

He re’s t he expla n at ion: Random shooting of predators creates chaos by removing “desirables.” Other predators fill the void including “undesirables” that do kill livestock.

Not how it works

Canceling Liz Cheney

It doesn’t work this way.

Predators do kill game and livestock, but no game spe-

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Public disdain

Contest — and such para- cies in the United States is phernalia as camo clothing suppressed by predation, and and AK-47s. overpopulated species like elk M a ny c o nt e s t s and deer lack the h a v e c h i l d r e n’s predators needed divisions. Sponsors to maint ain their include gun comhealth and that of panies, spor ti ngnative ecosystems. goods stores, f ire Rober t Crabdepar tments, 4-H tree, who did the clubs and chambers sem i nal work on of commerce. coyotes i n cenBody counts are t r a l Wa s h i n g t o n i m p r e s sive. O n e a nd Yel lows t o ne of the 717 teams Ted Williams National Park, in last year’s Big reports that to Bobcat Contest turned in 94 reduce a coyote population, at foxes. Carcasses are piled, least 70% of the animals need photographed and invariably to be eliminated — something discarded. he says “rarely, if ever, hap“Event coordi nators a re pens.” being hassled,” lament direcHe found that where coytors of a killing-contest sup- otes aren’t persecuted, averp or t g roup cal le d Coyot e age litter size at birth is five Contest. “Help us promote or six, but because of compethose who still understand tition for prey an average of and value the services that one to two pups survive their predator hunters provide!” first year. When coyotes are Commentators on the group’s shot, trapped or poisoned, pup website explain these “ser- sur vival increases because vices:” “Save a fawn; kill a competition is reduced. coyote,” “Wa nted dead or So coyote “control” results alive for the crimes of stealing fawns, turkeys, & livestock,” “Saving livestock one bullet at a time!”

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HELLO?

The public wearies of wildlife-killing contests. Three years ago they were legal in every state save California.

Now they’re also banned in Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Massachuset t s a nd Maryland. New Mexico and Vermont have banned coyotekilling contests.

Competing to kill wildlife outrages the fair-chase hunting communit y. “We don’t li ke any thing that smacks of com mercialization with money or prizes,” remarks Eric Nuse, a hunter educator who serves on the boards of O r io n —T h e Hu nt e r s’ Institute and the New England Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. “Anything that doesn’t honor the animals grates on us.”

Wildlife-killing contests can erode “the public’s view of ethical hunting,” reports the Wildlife Society, comprised of 11,000 biologists and managers.

No trained wildlife profes-

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney is living proof credentials mattered. Her intolerable that even stopped clocks are right twice offense was that, unlike most of her a day.

Republican colleagues, she gagged on Though she’s in er ror about many the unswallowable, poisonous fiction things, about Donald Trump’s that Trump had won. And she danger to democracy Cheney dared to publicly call Trump actually is correct 24 hours a on his lies, surely knowing day. Give her the thanks she she risked her leadership job deserves. and being voted out of office.

Cheney’s the only RepubliTr ump won Wyoming by can leader — now fired — in nearly 70% in 2020, the highCongress with the testicular est percentage anywhere, and fortitude to publicly insist that Wyoming’s GOP called for Republicans stop endorsing Cheney’s resig nation af ter Trump’s blatant falsehood that she voted to impeach Trump he won the election. She also Solveig Torvik for fomenting the seditious wants a public accounting of attempt to prevent Congressiowho did what on Jan. 6. nal certification of Joe Biden’s election.

Republicans don’t come much more Before she was fired, Cheney told her dedicated to conservatism than this hard- mostly male colleagues: “If you want nosed 54-year-old woman from Wyo- leaders who will enable and spread his ming. Nor do apples fall much closer to (Trump’s) destructive lies, I’m not your the tree. person.”

She’s the daughter of Dick Cheney, So they threw her out. Now “she looks who once occupied her seat in the House like Churchill and they look like little of Representatives and, like Liz, was men with umbrellas,” as Peggy Noonan, chair of the House Republican Confer- President Ronald Reagan’s speech writer, ence. Her father was secretary of defense aptly put it in the Wall Street Journal. “It for Bush I. As vice-president carrying makes the party look stupid and weak, as the national security portfolio for Bush if it can’t tolerate dissent.”

II, he made regrettable news of his own The little men with umbrellas put the by missing warnings of the 9/11 attack, Republican Party on the side of a lie championing torture and accidentally to appease Trump and thereby cling to shooting a hunting companion. office. “They think the way out is to be His daughter shares her father’s enthu- quiet and hope the fever passes. Here is siasm for waterboarding and the Repub- the fact of our current political life: the lican trifecta: low taxes on the rich, weak fever never passes. It has to be treated. government and a strong military. She By not pushing back they create more dislikes Obamacare, environmental reg- crazy,” Noonan admonished. ulation, gun control, abortion, “socialCheney warns that placating Trump ism” and gay marriage — though when only paves his way back to power. “He’s her sister wed a woman, Liz congratu- unfit,” she reminds. lated them privately while publicly conCheney gets Trump’s treasonous role demning such marriages. on Jan. 6 exactly right: “There has never She’s been a good soldier. She’s voted been a greater betrayal by a president of more faithfully for Trump’s agenda than the United States of his office and his the woman picked to replace her, Elise oath to the Constitution.”

Stefanik, 36, a former moderate RepubHer warnings to her party are spot on: lican from New York who seized a pro- “We really can’t become the party of a motion by embracing Trump. This earned cult of personality. It’s a really scary Stefanik unf lattering epithets, “shape- phenomenon we haven’t seen in this shifter” and “moral acrobat” among them. country before. Our oath and our loyalty is to the Constitution, not to an individCalling out the lies ual — particularly after what happened None of Liz Cheney’s conservative on Jan. 6.”

sional believes that killing contests accomplish anything wor thwhile. This from the Pennsylvania Game Commission: “The agency (has) finally accepted the reality that predator control does not work.”

Yet the Commission still sanctions 27 major wildlife-killing contests that attract thousands of participants.

Why do 44 state game and f ish age ncies cont i nue to allow these contests? Money.

Employees are fed and clothed largely by huntinglicense revenue; and wildlifekilling contestants must buy hunting licenses even though they’re not “hunters.”

More accu rately, people who compete to kill wildlife are described by their critics as “assassins.”

Ted Williams is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is a nationally recognized writer on wildlife issues.

“We ca n not become t he pa r t y of QAnon,” she argues. “We cannot become the party of Holocaust denial. We cannot become the party of white supremacy.”

Best of luck with all that.

Mansplainers abound

A lot of “mansplaining” occurred as Cheney’s fate was being decided. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina complained to Cheney that what bothered him “is your attitude. You’ve got a defiant attitude.”

Hello? A Cheney with “attitude”? Oh, surely not.

Rep. John Rutherford of Florida told her she was not “a team player.” Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania informed her that she has “a low E.Q.” — emotional quotient. Perhaps because, as one unnamed attendee described it, Cheney “stood implacably” throughout her dismissal ordeal, “as emotional as algebra.”

Try for a moment, Dear Reader, to imagine these men saying such things to Cheney were she male.

On his way out the door, the New York Times reported, one congressman remarked: “I just got to spend four hours listening to a bunch of men complaining to a woman that she doesn’t take their emotions into account.”

“Liz Cheney was canceled today for speaking her mind,” admitted Ken Buck of Colorado.

Of course, this nasty business isn’t really about Liz Cheney’s career, though some habitual cynics understandably suspect that Cheney political ambitions are in play here. It’s actually about whether Republicans can win elections if all citizens are allowed to vote and whether Americans will accept election outcomes as valid.

Some Republicans who claimed the presidency was stolen from Trump now pretend they never said any such thing.

Is it dawning on them that destroying voter conf idence in the last election destroys confidence in any future election that Republicans themselves might win — after they finish gerrymandering and erecting discriminatory barriers to voting?

Solveig Torvik lives near Winthrop.

Page A6

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Methow Valley News

Businesses adapt to changing mask-wearing guidelines

BY MARCY STAMPER

Some people arou nd the Met how Valley have shed their masks, celebrating the an nou ncement earlier this month by the Washington and federal health depar tments that fully vaccinated people are safe from contracting or spreading COVID and no longer need face coverings.

But many are more comfor t able w it h t he added protection, and some local businesses are still requiring masks for their customers and staff.

With the guidelines being cla r if ied eve r y few d ays, businesses are revamping their policies to comply.

“There’ve been three changes in the last week,” Hank’s Harvest Foods General Manager Carlan Nielsen said on Monday (May 24).

In a proclamation issued on Friday (May 21), Gov. Jay Inslee clarif ied that vacci-

GARBAGE From Page A1 private dumpsters in town are locked, Young said, tourists will still look for a place to leave their refuse.

“I implore the city to do the right thing and pay for the basic ability for campers and those who recreate to dispose of waste in a responsible manner,” Young said in the letter. “It is safe to say they will dispose of it one way or another, and it would be far better to take control and offer this basic service …”

Yo u n g s u g g e s t e d t h a t the tow n consider moving dumpsters at the Winthrop Barn outside their currently gated enclosure, and perhaps replacing them with larger units, as a drop-off point for visitors’ garbage.

In response, Winthrop Public Works Superintendent Jeff Sarvis said in a memo to the mayor and Town Council that it’s not quite that simple — and that town already has a substantial investment in garbage collection.

The town has more than 18 50 -gallon garbage cans around town, Sarvis said, and they are emptied at least once daily. T he tow n’s cost for disposing of that garbage is about $11,000 a year, Sarvis said, exclusive of labor and other costs. The town pays rental fees for the dumpsters to WasteWise, he said.

“If a dumpster were placed for visitors’ use, how would you determine illegal vs. legal dumping?” Sarvis said in the memo. Sarvis also said he’s aware that some local residents, including people living outside the town, use the town’s garbage receptacles for to dispose of their personal trash.

The town’s dumpsters at the Barn had been put in an enclosure because of problems with unauthor ized

nated employees don’t have to wear a mask. But employers are required to verify workers’ vaccination status, either by checking a vaccine card or obtaining a signed statement from the worker. Businesses don’t keep a copy of a vaccine card, since it could contain confidential information, but do have to maintain a log.

“We need to have proof for L&I [the state Department of Labor & Industries],” Nielsen said.

Some employees are vaccinated but still wearing masks, while others feel safe and are ready to move on, Nielsen said. “It’s nice to be able to give them a choice,” she said.

The Methow Valley Thriftway in Winthrop is following g uidelines f rom their corporate off ice, which mandate masks for all employees until the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides more explicit d i r e c t ion , M a n a ge r M i ke

Turner said. “We’re just keeping the employees safe,” he said.

Some Thriftway employees, even those who are vaccinated, are still wearing a mask, including Tur ner. “I don’t k now whe re p e ople have been. I’m happy with my mask — why change?” he said, noting that he welcomes the added protection.

“Because there are so many stores, we’re doi ng it all together until we hear from corporate. All employees are required to wear a mask for their safety right now,” Turner said.

Customers are required to wear face coverings unless

f ully vacci nated or otherwise exempt, according to an order by the state Secretary of Health. Inslee’s proclamation allows businesses to rely on the honor system for customers. Hank’s and Thriftway are both assuming that customers who come in without a mask have been vaccinated.

Some shops around the valley — particularly those with smaller spaces — a re st ill requiring customers to wear masks.

Masks are still required in some places, regardless of vaccination status. Those include health care settings such as doctor’s offices and hospitals, schools, childcare facilities,

and public transportation.

Washington is one of 15 states that still require unvaccinated people to wear masks i ndoors. Most st ates have d r o p p e d a l l r e s t r ic t io n s .

Massachuset ts, Califor n ia and New Jersey still require eve r yone t o we a r a m a sk indoors.

COVID stats

Okanogan County recorded 41 new COVID cases in the week ending May 17, onethird of the cases from the previous week. That number is in line with infections recorded earlier in the month, but still above weekly counts in April. There were no new

cases recorded in the Methow Val ley, alt houg h lo cat ion information was incomplete for the week, according to Ok a nog a n C ou nt y P u bl ic Health.

The county has recorded 99 infections in the past 14 days, a rate of 230 per 100,000 population. The week’s cases bring the total in the county to 2,596, with 37 deaths from COVID. Case counts were declining statewide and in all age groups as of May 6, according to the state Department of Health.

Only a few counties were continuing to see increasing case counts, including Lewis and Whatcom.

BIG BITES

dumping in the past.

Sarvis noted that the town s p e nd s t hou sa nd s of dollars each year to provide and maintain public restrooms at four sites.

Young acknowledged that the town provides garbage receptacles, but said that a 50-gallon can doesn’t accommodate much garbage compa re d t o what p e ople a re dumping in town — particularly people who are doing “open camping” in the valley.

Forest Service problem?

Cou ncil member Bill McAdow suggested that the town approach the U.S. Forest Service about how to provide bet ter ga rbage collect ion.

“It’s their dispersed campers,” he said. Providing public dumpsters for campers’ garbage would “turn [the town] into the Winthrop transfer station,” McAdow said.

Council member Ben Nelson agreed that town should talk to the Forest Service as “it seems to be their responsibility.”

Nelson said that a coalition of local nonprof its — including the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative that he chairs — has provided a garbage collection system in the Mazama area. Nelson said he would put the garbage collection question on the collaborative’s next meeting agenda.

Mayor Sally Ranzau pointed out that the Forest Service has had its own problems with overflow garbage at trailheads and campgrounds, especially last summer when campers swar med into the valley. She said she would contact local Forest Service representatives.

T h e m a y o r, c i t i n g t h e “le ave no t r a ce” et h ic of backpackers, had another suggestion for tourists’ garbage: “Why don’t they just take it home?”

Photo by Natalie Johnson

Demolition of the old Twisp Town Hall continued this week, making way for a new civic building and emergency communications center that will be constructed on the same site.

VACCINE From Page A1 open, sites in Ridgefield and Kennewick will close and a Wenatchee site will transfer management to the ChelanDouglas Health District.

By the numbers

More than 6.5 million doses of vaccine have been given across the state, according to the DOH, and more than 59% of people 16 and over have had at least one dose.

“For the first time, we are getting a look at how many 12- to 15-year-olds are being vaccinated in Washington since eligibility expanded to the younger age group May 13,” the DOH reported in a news release.

T he DOH repor ted that between May 13 and May 15, 27,934 people age 12 to 15 years old received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Washington

— 7.4% of that population and more than double the national average vaccination rate of 3.6% for 12 to 15-year-olds.

“DOH is proud thousands of families are choosing to get their children vaccinated to protect them and help us stop the virus from spreading,” the new release stated.

O n T hu rsd ay ( May 20) Pfizer updated its guidance on the vaccine, allowing providers to store it in a normal ref rigerator for up to one month after it is thawed, said Julie Wehmeyer, employee health and infection control manager at Family Health Center s. Becau se of t hat change, FHC’s Twisp Clinic will have a limited number of Pfizer vaccines starting this week for children 12 and up.

“If anyone is interested in their child receiving this vaccine, please call the Twisp FHC clinic,” she said.

T he DOH is encou r aging families to catch up on

Call 800 660-2129 for information on FHC Dental hours and closings

STILL NEED A SHOT? For more information on how to get vaccinated in Okanogan County, or to sign up for a vaccination through the county’s portal, go to https:// okanogancountycovid19. org/covid-19-vaccine.

All locations of Family Health Centers are giving the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines by appointment, Confluence Health in Omak gives the vaccine every Wednesday by appointment, and each Friday, vaccines are available on a walk-in basis from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Okanogan Fairgrounds, with both Pfizer and Moderna available.

Patients age 12 to 17 must have a parent or guardian present.

Dr. Hsu is triple board certified and is excited to collaborate with the Three Rivers Hospital community.

She is the only adult diabetic specialty service offered from Spokane to Wenatchee.

Twisp Medical Monday-Friday 8am-5pm

other vaccinations students might have missed during the COV I D -19 pandemic, and reported that the CDC advises people can get other vaccines at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine.

The DOH also announced this week the creation of its “vaccine marketplace,” wh ich w i l l f u nct ion l i ke Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for vaccine providers. Providers can report on the program, attached to the state’s Immunization Information System, when they have extra doses.

“Before placing weekly vaccine orders, we strongly encourage providers to check the IIS marketplace to see if there is vaccine already available near them,” the DOH reported. “The program will help with vaccine transfers and reduce vaccine waste.

This week, Washing ton was scheduled to be allocated 380,000 doses of vaccine from the federal government.

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Methow Valley News

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Page A7

Page A8

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Methow Valley News

Four fisher ‘kits’ born in North Cascades Good sign for endangered species

BY ANN MCCREARY

A trail camera in the forests of the North Cascades recently captured a scene that warmed the hearts of wildlife biologists — a female fisher with four babies.

The fisher babies, called kits, are the first wild fishers to be born in the North Cascades in more than half a century, biologists believe. The trail camera took pictures last month of the mother carrying the kits in her mouth near her den in western Chelan County.

The mother — known as F105 or “Luna” — was released near Darrington in December 2018 as part of a program to restore fishers to the North Cascades, where they once thrived.

“Seeing her and her kits is a wonderful first indication that the North Cascades Ecosystem can support a reproductive population of fishers, and it’s a great sign for fisher recovery in Washington,” said Jeff Lewis, a biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

Fishers are about the size of a house cat and are members of the weasel family, related to minks, otters and wolverines.

They are native to the forest of Washington, but were eliminated by the mid-1900s as a result of trapping and habitat loss. They have been listed as an endangered species in Washington State since 1998.

In 2018 a collaborative program was launched to restore fishers in the North Cascades National Park Service Complex and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. WDFW, the

Man accused of threats over roadkill pleads guilty

National Park Service, Conservation Northwest and the Calgary Zoo worked together to release 89 fishers in the North Cascades between 2018 and 2020, including the female recently photographed with her four kits.

Jan Bagge sentenced to 14 months in prison

‘Phenomenal’ event

“Seeing one fisher kit born in the wild North Cascades is a wonder; photos showing a group of wild kits is phenomenal,” said Dave Werntz, science and conservation director of Conservation Northwest. “This new family is an auspicious sign that these reintroduced fishers are finding a good home in the North Cascades.”

Since reintroduction, fishers have been detected within and around the North Cascades National Park Service Complex, throughout the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, in parts of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and on private lands as far east as Winthrop.

Sixty private landowners have established voluntary fisher conservation agreements on 3,318,283 acres of their lands in Washington, to help protect fishers wherever they find a place to live.

“Seeing these fishers find their place and thrive brings so much hope to this ecosystem,” said Jason Ransom, a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service. “It is a product of the kind of collaborate conservation we need to steward a healthy ecosystem, across boundaries.”

Reintroduction of fishers by releasing them into wild areas of Washington first began in 2008 in Olympic National Park and nearby areas, where 90 fishers were released between 2008 and 2010. The collaborative reintroduction effort also released 81 fishers in the

Photo courtesy of National Park Service

In 2018, the National Park Service launched a collaborative effort to reintroduce fishers into the North Cascades Complex and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. southern Cascades in Mount Rainer National Park and Gifford Pinchot National Forest from 2015-2020.

The species is now established and successfully reproducing in the Olympics and Southern Cascades. More than 250 fishers have been released in Washington as part of the partnership to re-establish the species.

The fishers released in 2018 in the North Cascades were captured in Alberta, Canada. They underwent veterinary checkups at the Calgary Zoo and were equipped with radio transmitters to track their movements. Monitoring the fishers is supported by Conservation Northwest, which provides volunteers and remote cameras as part of its Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project.

“Bringing a species back to where they had once disappeared is an ongoing and challenging journey, so we’re elated to see fishers from Canada contribute to this important milestone,” said Jose Luis Postigo, Calgary Zoo population ecologist.

“As a conservation organization, we’re proud to have

contributed our animal care, veterinary and scientific expertise to this initiative and we celebrate the unwavering support and dedication of all the communities and partners that made this happen,” Postigo said.

Recovery plan

Fishers prey on small mammals — including mountain beavers, squirrels and snowshoe hares — and are among the few predators of porcupines. They thrive in older forests, like those on the Olympic Peninsula and west slopes of the Cascades, said Chase Gunnell of Conservation Northwest.

The best release sites provide continuous old forest habitat. Most fishers that have been released stay within 10-15 miles of their release site, Gunnell said, but others have ranged more widely — like the fishers that apparently traveled over the Cascade crest and have been detected in the Methow Valley.

Planning for fisher restoration began in 2002 when Conservation Northwest partnered with WDFW, the National Park

Service and other federal, tribal and Canadian entities to consider strategies to bring fishers back to Washington. A state recovery plan was written in 2006 that included trapping wild fishers in British Columbia and Alberta for release in Washington.

The almost 20-year publicprivate partnership to restore fishers is a good example of a successful collaborative approach to wildlife conservation, Gunnell said.

Re-establishing viable populations of fishers in the Olympic and Cascade Mountains are steps toward removing fishers from the state’s endangered species list. The recovery plan for fisher reintroduction is on the WDFW website.

Funding for fisher reint roduction comes f rom the National Park Service, WDFW, Conservation Northwest, Calgary Zoo, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington’s National Park Fund, Northwest Trek, state wildlife grants, and Washington state personalized license plates.

A Winthrop man arrested in March after allegedly threatening two men harvesting roadkill pleaded guilty and was sentenced last week to spend more than a year in prison.

Jan Bagge, 54, pleaded guilty to one count each of f i rst- deg ree robb e r y a nd second-degree Jan Bagge assault with a deadly weapon. His sentence, effective May 18, is 14 months in prison followed by 18 months of supervision by the state Department of Corrections.

According to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a report of a robbery at 2:56 p.m. Sunday, March 7, off Bear Creek Road in Winthrop near Pearrygin Lake State Park.

One of the two victims identified by the Sheriff’s Office, Ryan Bell, reported that he was working on a project about harvesting roadkill, which is legal in Washington, and was taking pictures of another area resident, Kenneth Bevis, harvesting meat from a roadkill deer.

Bell and Bevis were reportedly in the process of doing this when a silver Dodge truck drove up and its driver, holding a knife, walked toward Bell and Bevis, saying, “You must think this is really funny,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Bagge allegedly threatened the men with a knife and demanded Bell give him the camera, which Bell had used to take a picture of the suspect.

Later that day, officers from the Winthrop Marshal’s office, the Twisp police department and the sheriff’s office went to Bagge’s residence and arrested him.

Graduation Day 2021: parade returns, with outdoor ceremony The community will celebrate the 52 graduates in the class of 2021 on Friday, June 4, with a festive parade from Twisp to the school campus, plus an outdoor commencement ceremony for family and friends of each grad, who will be provided a limited number of tickets.

The ceremony will also be livestreamed online so that the enti re com mu n it y can watch.

Grads and their families will gather at Hank’s Harvest Foods in Twisp to prepare for the parade, which will include loops in Twisp and Winthrop and along Twin Lakes Road before arriving at the school campus.

The parade, conceived last year to conform with COVID protocols, was so popular, w it h ca r s fe st o one d w it h streamers, f lags and personalized decorations and the

chance for community members to hail the grads, that the school district is repeating the tradition.

COV I D rest r ict ion s a re still in place for the main ceremony. Each graduate will get six tickets, which will be good for seating on the Liberty Bell High School athletic f ield.

Seating zones will be grouped by family and assigned by lottery. Graduates can provide

2021 COMMENCEMENT: FRIDAY, JUNE 4 Parade: Staging at 2:30 p.m. at Hank’s Harvest Foods parking lot in Twisp. Parade leaves at 3 p.m.

Parade will wind through Twisp and Winthrop (see map).

Commencement ceremony: Liberty Bell High School athletic field, 6 p.m.; tickets required.

Six chairs will be provided per grad.

Seating in the athletic field won’t be covered, so people are advised to come prepared for the weather and to bring extra chairs as needed.

Ceremony will be livestreamed on Facebook.

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extra tickets to other families, but the general public should watch the ceremony online. A link will be available on the school’s Facebook page.

Enough time has been budgeted between the end of the parade and the beginning of the ceremony for families to park cars and find designated seating zones while graduates gather and stage for the ceremony.

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Methow Valley News

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Page A9

Watershed Trash talk: Liberty Bell students inventory school’s waste Project focused on Council discusses improved recycling water banking

BY ASHLEY LODATO

State dedicates $2M to valley

BY NATALIE JOHNSON

The Methow Watershed Council met for the first time Thursday (May 20) since learning the state capital budget would set aside $2 million over the next two years to develop water banks in the Methow River Basin.

“This is going to be the first conversation we’re having but certainly not the last,” said Soo Ing-Moody, Twisp mayor and chair of the council said at Thursday’s meeting.

The state capital budget appropriated $14 million total — $2 million of which is dedicated to the Methow Basin — to the Department of Ecology for a pilot program to create region-specific water banks. The banks, administered by Ecology, would keep water rights within their basin of origin, and keep them from expiring for lack of use, Ecology staff told the Methow Valley News.

Applicants must be a public entity or an organization such as a nonprofit in partnership with a public entity. Any county or watershed that has a headwater of a major river can apply.

The Methow basin was singled out in the bill because of concerns from community members over demand for water rights from corporations seeking to move those rights downstream, Ecology staff said.

Water rights can be transferred from property to property with review from the state as long as other water rights holders are not harmed. According to Ecology, it’s often easier to move a water right downstream, but difficult to move it back upstream.

Ing-Moody noted that several groups were advocating for funding for water rights issues in the Methow Valley. While it initially looked like there could be money for just agricultural water rights, this program could bank rights for any kind of water usage. In addition, one-third of any water right banked using the $2 million in funding would need to be set aside for in-stream flow, IngMoody noted Thursday.

General discussion

The Methow Valley Watershed Council was created in 1999 and was responsible for drafting the Methow Watershed Plan in 2005.

The board has nine members representing Twisp, Winthrop and Okanogan County and geographical areas in the Methow, in addition to at large positions.

Thursday’s discussion of the available funding and water banks in the Methow was general, but Ing-Moody said she plans to have speakers from Ecology at the June meeting so council members could have a more in-depth discussion about how starting a water bank would work and get answers for some of their more technical questions.

Water rights allow their owners to use surface water from a river or lake for a variety of purposes, and are typically attached to a piece of land. A water right that isn’t used can expire.

A water bank can simplify transfers of water rights between users in the Methow Valley while keeping unused rights from expiring, Dave Christensen, program development and operations support section manager for Ecology’s water resource program, explained to the Methow Valley News earlier this month.

“It’s a mechanism that facilitates the transfer of water rights between willing buyers and sellers,” Christensen said. “It basically holds that water in a way that buyers can over time access that water and the seller isn’t at risk to losing that water through relinquishment.”

Local organizations told the Methow Valley News earlier this month that spending the $2 million as wisely as possible to preserve local water rights would require the cooperation of a number of local entities.

With the right infrastructure, the Liberty Bell Junior/ Senior High School community could be recycling more, a one-day “waste audit” conducted by the Liberty Bell Youth Climate Action group recently concluded.

The waste audit, held on May 5, was performed by seven members of the group: freshmen Leki Albright and Gabby Studen, juniors Wyatt Albright, Amelia Bondi, Stella Gitchos and Elke Wathen, and senior Lena Nelson. The students inventoried the contents of the 105 pounds of trash generated by the school community on May 4, which the custodial staff saved for the group instead of throwing it in dumpsters at the end of the cleaning shift.

Emptying each trash bag onto a tarp, gloved-and-masked students sorted through the garbage and separated it into piles, with categories like “food waste,” “compost packaging,” “mixed paper,” and “aluminum.”

After the sorting, the group weighed the contents of each category and, with the help of junior Dominic Priest in the Statistics class, crunched numbers to come up with data about the study.

The results were unsurprising. Less than a quarter of the things thrown in the trash on May 4 were bona fide land fill items — things that couldn’t be recycled or composted. Had composting systems been in place, nearly half of the trash could have been composted: food scraps and compostable food containers.

The waste audit was spearheaded by Gitchos, who is completing an internship with the Methow Valley Citizens Council. “The elementary school did a broad waste audit a while ago,” Gitchos said, “so I was thinking about how to make Liberty Bell more climate-friendly and sustainable. And I was brainstorming about implementing different systems when I realized that we didn’t really know what needed to change. The waste audit was the first step.”

Not that simple

Gitchos said that composting would be one clear way to reduce the school’s amount of

Photos courtesy of Cymone Van Marter

Junior Amelia Bondi, left, freshman Leki Albright and junior Stella Gitchos worked on the trash audit. trash, but it’s not as simple as it may sound. Composting has been related to senior projects, and as students graduate and move on, the systems aren’t always maintained.

Additionally, some of the “compostable” packaging from off-site takeout food and drinks that appeared in the waste audit trash is not appropriate for school or backyard composting; it requires an industrial composter.

Similarly, while numerous garbage cans are located throughout the school, recycling bins are fewer in number, causing school community members to make decisions each time they hold an empty pop can, a used piece of paper, or a glass bottle in their hands: throw away now, or walk around and find a place to recycle.

Gitchos said that the group’s intention is to present its findings to the school and implement more convenient and effective recycling and compost-

ing systems.

Right: The trash audit looked at food waste, paper, compostable goods, plastic and more.

Far right: Junior Wyatt Albright participated in the trash audit.

Legislative actions promise progress on environmental fronts Support for Methow Valley climate goals

BY ANN MCCREARY

The recently concluded state legislative session in Olympia produced “bold and historic environmental progress” that will have lasting impacts on Washington and the Methow Valley, said Jasmine Minbashian of the Methow Valley Citizens Council (MVCC).

The 2021 Washington Legislature passed legislation addressing an array of environmental and climate issues, including greenhouse gas emissions, fuel standards, environmental justice, forest health and water banking.

MVCC advocated for environmental legislation through its lobbying arm, the MVCC Action Fund, said Minbashian, who is executive director for both organizations.

“Several pieces of new legislation will greatly further the goals identified in the draft Methow Valley Climate Action Plan to create a resilient, carbonneutral Methow and help our community adapt to the changes in our climate now and into the future,” Minbashian said. The Methow Valley Climate Action Plan is being developed by Resilient Methow, a collaborative effort led by more than 40 Methow-based nonprofit organizations, businesses, local agencies and community leaders.

While there were major gains in many areas of environmental

and climate legislation, there is still a “dire need to prioritize a transportation package” to address the largest source of climate pollution in the state, Minbashian said. Achieving legislation to address environmental impacts and accessibility of transportation is a goal of the Environmental Priorities Coalition, a network of environmental groups in Washington, Minbashian said.

While a transportation package was not achieved in the last legislative session, advocacy resulted in “historic proposals” for clean transportation, Minbashian said. “There is more to do but a new bar has been set” for potential future legislation, she said.

MVCC Action Fund, with assistance from the Environmental Priorities Coalition, provided a summary of successful environmental outcomes from the 2021 legislation session and impacts on the Methow Valley: • Climate Commitment Act: The act targets greenhouse emissions from the “largest emitting industries” by allowing the state to sell “greenhouse gas emission allowances.” The money from those sales is then spent on green transportation, clean energy and other climate solutions. This is the first climate legislation in the country to lead the way to net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050.

As the Methow continues to grow, this bill will help the community create a low-carbon, efficient, livable, resilient and affordable built environment.

Minbashian said MVCC Action Fund is “deeply disappointed,”

however, by Gov. Jay Inslee’s recent veto of provisions in the bill requiring consultation with tribes and providing protections for Native American sacred sites and burial grounds.

• Clean Fuel Standard: Requires the state to cut carbon emissions from transportation by 20 percent by transitioning to electric vehicles or cleaner fuels and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector – the Methow’s number one source of direct carbon emissions. After wildland fires, transportation from passenger vehicles is the leading source of human-caused carbon emissions, as identified in a Methow emissions report commissioned

by Resilient Methow.

• The Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act: Uses recommendations from the Environmental Justice Task Force to keep vulnerable populations from bearing the brunt of the damage caused by climate change by directing agencies to integrate environmental justice into its processes, policy implementation, and funding processes. This will ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable populations are not left behind, and supports the Methow Valley Climate Action Plan’s goal of affordable access to climate solutions, housing, and infrastructure needs such as broadband.

• Working Families Tax Credit: Studies have shown that Washington state has one of the most regressive tax structures in the country, and this policy is an important step to address the disproportionate tax burden on low-income and middle-income

earners. This bill will directly benefit Methow residents who are struggling to make ends meet by providing a credit for a portion of sales taxes paid by eligible taxpayers. Starting in 2023, Washington residents will be able to claim the credit in the form of a remittance/refund. To qualify for this credit, citizens must have filed a tax return in Washington and have qualified for the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit. The credit amount ranges from $300 to $1,200 depending on the number of qualifying children.

• Long-Term Forest Health: This bill directs investments in wildfire resilience, including forest health, community preparedness and wildfire emergency response, as well as substantial funding to implement it. This will provide important necessary funding to help advance the Methow Valley as a fire adapted community and provide funding to increase the pace and scale of forest health restoration treatments, such as prescribed burning and thinning.

• Payments in Lieu of Taxes to Counties from WDFW: This bill improves the method the state uses to pay counties for payments in lieu of taxes for lands owned by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Counties distribute these payments to local taxing districts in the same manner they distribute property taxes supporting things like schools, emergency services and noxious weed control. This bill will increase the amount of money that Okanogan County is eligible to receive through this program – over $500,000 annually.

• Capital and Operating Budgets: The budget includes earmarks to support managing the Methow Valley’s finite water resources to meet the needs of the Methow Valley’s growing community, including $2 million to start a local water banking program to keep water in the basin. The $2 million for the Methow Valley is part of a $12 million statewide program advocated for by Trout Unlimited as well as government and tribal representatives. This supports one of the major goals identified in the Methow Valley Climate Action Plan – to retain local water rights.

The capital budget package also secured $448 million for projects statewide including: • $16.3 million for Community Forest grants that provide clean drinking water, protect working forest jobs, and keep economic gains local.

• $75 million in stormwater grants for green infrastructure projects from Spokane to Walla Walla to Bellingham.

• $81 million for clean energy projects like weatherization for low-income households, retrofits of public buildings, and grid modernizations.

“One of the biggest investments seen throughout the budget is evolving environmental programs and funding processes to center racial equity and environmental justice,” Minbashian said. “This will improve transparency and accessibility as the state makes decisions, will utilize and enhance data systems on health disparities, and ensure that the state is better serving the needs of frontline communities.”

Page A10

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Methow Valley News

Artifact Research Project connects past, present Preserving knowledge before it’s gone

BY JOANNA BASTIAN

T he Methow A r tifact Research Project is a Methow Valley Inter pretive Center (MVIC) program that creates and maintains a record of locally significant artifacts.

T h e p r og r a m e n h a n c e s understanding of pre-contact history in the traditional territory of the Methow People, which encompassed the Okanogan River south to the crest of Sawtooth Ridge, and from the North Cascades east to the Columbia River, as documented in E. Richard Hart’s book, “Lost Homeland: The Methow Tribe and the Columbia Reservation.”

Private collectors who allow specialized study and recording of artifacts can help preserve valuable history of the Methow Valley through the program.

Rich Davis, archaeology adviser to the Methow Field I n st it ut e a nd hea d of t he Methow A r tifact Research Project, recently completed an album compiling photos, resea rch and a rchaeological studies completed in the Methow Valley and the North Central Columbia Plateau. The album is available for public viewing at the MVIC on the TwispWorks campus.

Goals, guidelines

T he M V IC col labor at es with the Colville Confederated Tribes to ensure research and curating practices comply with stewardship standards, cultural sensitivities and ethical guidelines. The carefully c u r at e d a nd t hou g ht f u l ly researched exhibits at MVIC connect an ancient past with recent memories and current lives of Methow People.

A key goal of M V IC is

to engage local valley residents who have information and artifacts that can expand documentation and records of past inhabitants and lifestyles in the Methow Valley.

The sharing of this knowledge con nects people both past and present. By honoring the evidence of Methow ancestors, residents in the valley today can suppor t a deep respect for the connection the Methow People have to this place and reconcile the loss of homeland.

There are three ways people can choose to participate: • The owner may allow the artifacts program to photograph, measure and quickly analyze each ar tifact. The owner retains possession of item.

• The owner may loan the artifact to MVIC for study and temporary display in current exhibits.

• The owner may donate the artifact to the MVIC for study, display and curation.

The project’s donated artifacts are included in exhibits of precontact and current natural history.

Research finds

To date, the artifact research project has documented and recorded more than 120 artifacts found in the Methow Valley. Many items are on exhibit at the Interpretive Center, while others are too valuable to display but can be seen in featured photographs.

A fine collection of various fishing weights and tools are on display at the MVIC. “These examples all came f rom ou r valley a nd were photographed due to the generosity of people responding to our request for photos of ar tifacts,” Davis said. The fishing weights vary in size and styles and are exhibited to showcase different fishing techniques.

A cache of imported toolstone found near Wolf Creek is

an incredible find filled with valuable information. “ Most mat e r ial u se d t o make projectile points had to be imported due to the lack of required lithic materials” in the Methow Valley, Davis said.

Imported tools and lithic mater ials reveal extensive trade routes through in the Met how Valley. A r t ifa ct s can be sent to a lab for nondestructive analytical x-ray f luorescence to discover the ele me nt al comp osit ion of materials. Lab testing revealed obsidian tools found in the Methow Valley to originate from southern Oregon. “ T h i s i n fo r m a t i o n a n d the fact that similar sourced obsidian has been located along the ancient North Cascades trail route and in the Upper Skagit Valley, more than h i nt at ancient t rade routes leading through our valley to t he coa st ,” said Davis.

Track i ng the sou rces of impor ted materials reveals clues into trade routes over ancient t rails th roug h the Methow Valley to the coast of western Washington. Groundstone pestles and slate knives from coastal areas have also been found in the Methow Valley.

Irreplaceable loss

When artifacts are removed from the Methow Valley and stored in private collections without a record or documentation, the knowledge is lost to the familial descendants and to people who live where t he a r t ifact was fou nd. A sense of place and history is lost for everyone.

A vast amount of knowledge has already been de st roye d i n t he Met how Valley. For good or ill, new construction and excavations alter the landscape.

Growth and preser vation can exist simultaneously if people work together to record

Photo by Joanna Bastian

Rich Davis, archaeology adviser to the Methow Field Institute and head of the Methow Artifact Research Project, recently completed an album featuring archaeological finds in the Methow Valley and the North Central Columbia Plateau. The album is available for public viewing at the Methow Valley Interpretive Center in Twisp. found items. If there is no record of unearthed artifacts, valuable knowledge about the valley and past inhabitants are lost forever.

“We appreciate all information and access to the recording of artifacts where donors retain any level of anonymity they desire,” Davis said. He described a tool cache found near Wolf Creek: “A generous resident allowed us to photograph and record this cache. This kind of information is exactly the purpose of the Methow Valley Interpretive Center sponsored project to reintegrate the prehistoric

lifeways of the Methow People through public education.”

T he Methow A r tifact R e s e a r c h P r o j e c t a l l ow s access to k nowledge about local artifacts in an educational context.

“As new knowledge, artifacts and resea rch results become available, the album will be updated,” Davis said.

“Most important to the ongoing success of the project is the cooperation of the public in contacting us with information and artifacts from the area.”

MVIC guarantees privacy to donors. “Our only goal is to

preserve a record of the past that is being lost at a frightening pace,” Davis said.

The purpose of the artifact project is not to collect donations of artifacts, although items can be curated if the owner wishes to donate. “Our focus lies in continuing to study, document, record, photograph and research ar tifacts,” Davis said.

To contribute information, contact Davis at davisrich@ hotmail.com, or call 9972284, or u se t he cont a ct information listed at www. methowvalleyinterpretivecenter. com.

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Methow Valley News Wednesday, May 26, 2021

As good as gold Leslie Hall’s coaching career put MV Nordic Ski Team on fast track

BY RICK LEWIS

Leslie Hall’s lifelong devotion to Nordic skiing was ignited by a bit of hero worship. Growing up in Stowe, Vermont, with a father who skied competitively for the University of Vermont, she was motivated when Brattleboro native Bill Koch won a silver medal in Nordic skiing at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck.

“Koch’s medal had my dad so excited I told him, at the age of 13, ‘I’m gonna win a gold medal,’” Hall recounted. “Well, it didn’t exactly turn out that way.”

That said, how it did turn out was pretty good.

Before Hall found her way to the Methow Valley in 1996 with her husband, Alex, she skied for Dartmouth, where she was a three-time All-American; won 11 national championships; competed at the World Championships in 1987, 1993 and 1995; and competed at the 1983, 1985 and 1987 World Winter University Games.

Most notably, she represented the United States as part of the Winter Olympics Nordic skiing team in 1988, 1992 and 1994, which makes Hall entitled to a bit of hero worship herself – if she cared about that sort of thing.

The focus of Hall’s care has, for the past nine years, been coaching Methow Valley kids to excellence in cross country skiing, as director of the Methow Valley Nordic Team’s juniors program for kids ages 8-18. Before 2012, she was a longtime volunteer coach for the program.

During Hall’s tenure as director, the program has continued growing and now includes biathlon, which combines Nordic skiing and target shooting. This year, about 130 local youths participated.

Now Hall is stepping down from her leadership role, leaving a legacy that can hardly be measured.

Doing what’s necessary

On a Saturday in late January, the parking lot at Liberty Bell High School was packed with cars belonging to parents of young Nordic skiers from throughout the Northwest, there to compete in the Race of the Methow on the Sean McCabe Nordic Race Course.

If you were looking for the Methow Valley Nordic Team’s head coach that day, you would

have found her in the waxing tent, peeling and rewaxing skis to match the changing snow conditions and give her athletes the best possible combination for gliding along the track that day.

Hall’s willingness to do what’s necessary for the kids’ success and self-esteem typifies her coaching style.

“Leslie has been such an organized, amazing force for our team — her attention to detail, never skipping a beat,” said coaching partner, neighbor and longtime friend Laura McCabe, herself a two-time Winter Olympian for the U.S. Ski Team. McCabe also cited “[Hall’s] weekly emails, keeping communication lines open, laying out the weekly plan so as coaches we can provide the kids what they need on a daily basis … Her willingness to think creatively and help make opportunities happen for the skiers even though at times it is logistically difficult.”

Travis Grialou, a Liberty Bell High School senior and member of the Nordic team, said Hall “coached in a way that prioritized enjoyment and development, and at every practice and race she would make sure that no one was miserable and that we were all going to gain something from the workout. She was also really supportive outside of skiing and always very caring to everyone.”

Grialou said Hall’s coaching method was based on kindness, passion and improvement. “The positivity and support Leslie gave to everyone was super helpful in keeping me caring about skiing, and that was really important for improving as a competitive skier,” he said.

“Leslie Hall is the reason my sons chose to ski race competitively,” said Jill Sheley, whose twin sons Carter and Graham are Nordic team members. “Her dedication to the team and to the individual skiers created a program that challenged my sons athletically and motivated them to improve. We are so grateful that Leslie is part of the village that raises up our children.”

Hall and her husband, Alex, owner of Hall Construction, same to the “village” 25 years ago. They raised two children, Ella and Walker, both of whom graduated from Liberty Bell High School and were active in the Nordic program.

The Halls had met just the year before. Hall (whose maiden name is Thompson) and U.S. Ski Team mate Suzanne Hall were rock climbing in central Oregon with Hall’s brother Alex. Leslie and Alex were married in relatively short order, and moved the Methow on the advice of Laura

Sports

B Section

& Recreation

File photo by Steve Mitchell

Laura McCabe, left, Leslie Hall and Kikkan Randall, all Winter Olympics Nordic skiing competitors, at the 2020 Ski to the Sun Marathon.

McCabe.

Building a program

For her high school years, Hall relocated to Stratton Mountain Boarding School, where she attended classes for half of the day and trained for Nordic skiing the other half. From there is was on to Dartmouth followed by more years of high-level competition before her retirement from competitive skiing in 1995. She made three trips to the Olympics, traveling to Calgary, Alberta in 1988, Albertville, France in 1992 and Lillehammer, Norway in 1994, where she and McCabe skied together as U.S. teammates.

Hall turned her attention to passing along her passion and knowledge by volunteering to help the Methow Valley Nordic team as a volunteer. She became the junior program director in 2012, following David Lawrence and Annie Budeselich, inheriting a program on the upswing with the ascendance of siblings Erik and Sadie Bjornsen, who each went on to stellar competitive careers on the national and international level and were themselves Olympians.

Other local success stories followed: Kelsey Dickinson earned a spot on the 2021 U.S. Biathlon team, and 2020 Liberty Bell graduate Novie McCabe (Laura’s older daughter) is attending he University of Utah and already a veteran of the European competitive circuit.

“I feel real joy in being around the kids and sharing in the joy of their successes,” Hall said.

She attributes the program’s success in large part to the support of coaching volunteers.

Indeed, parents are required to volunteer for events, workouts, fundraising and other means of supporting the program outside of paying participation fees. Even with the compulsory volunteer time, many of those volunteers

Leslie Hall waxed a pair of skis at the Race of the Methow in January. go beyond what is expected, and those efforts are not unnoticed by the head coach.

“We get great support from our parents, and so many of our former athletes come back to help,” Hall said, among them Sam Naney and Chad Gregg as well as others.

The Halls have also fostered a cooperative relationship between the Nordic program and the Methow Valley School District. Offering support for winter-related after school activities at the elementary school, and working with coaches in developing training programs that compliment and build upon each other at the high school, has been beneficial for the program and district. In turn, the school district has accommodated the Nordic program’s use of school property for equipment storage and events.

Hall hasn’t lost her competitive spirit. She regularly competes in local Nordic events.

Shared experiences

Asked about the most memo-

rable moments of her coaching career, Hall noted that “working with Laura (McCabe) would have to be up there.”

“Leslie has been a true gift in my life,” McCabe said. “We raised our children together, we built the ski team together.

The least on the list is competing with each other. We have endured the hardships of life together and I am always thankful that Leslie and Alex moved into the valley a four-minute walk from house to house.”

Ha l l a nd Mc Cab e f i r st encountered each about 30 years ago, and it wasn’t exactly a warm embrace.

“My very first impression of Leslie was quite interesting and it makes me laugh to this day,” McCabe recalled. She was skiing on trails of West Yellowstone with a friend and former teammate.

“We were skating away, talking on a long over distance workout,” McCabe said.

“I heard someone coming up behind me off to my left and all of a sudden, out pops the

Photo by Rick Lewis

words, ‘Don’t skate on the classic tracks.’ And then this skier wizzes by. The tip of my left ski had been migrating into the classic track here and there as I was chatting away and wow, I learned a lesson. I said to Ingrid, ‘Who was that’ and she replied, ‘oh that’s just Leslie Thompson, she hates it when people ski on the classic tracks.’”

Time and shared experiences brought Hall and McCabe t oget he r. T hey c omp et e d together in the 1994 Winter Olympics before reuniting in the Methow. “Our own adventures in the mountains, with our children, with the kids on the team — we have always pushed each other to be better athletes, coaches and even moms,” McCabe said.

“Leslie will be truly missed,” McCabe concluded. “I will say with my whole heart that I am forever grateful to her for all the love, time and energy she has poured into all the young people and adults who are part of the Methow Valley ski team.”

SPORTS AND REC BRIEFS RODEO RETURNS THIS WEEKEND

The Methow Valley Rodeo returns this weekend with two days of action, including “junior rodeo” events for kids, at the rodeo grounds between Winthrop and Twisp.

The rodeo will be staged on Saturday and Sunday (May 29-30). Events start at 1 p.m. each day. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids ages 7-12, and free for kids 6 and younger. The rodeo grounds are on Brengman Road off of Twin Lakes Road, between Winthrop and Twisp.

Both the Memorial Day and Labor Day Methow Valley Rodeos were canceled last year because of COVID protocols.

Last year’s rodeo royalty – Queen Jadyn Mitchell and Princess Elizabeth Clark, both juniors at Liberty Bell High School – were not able to take

part in or promote the events. But both will be back this year. For profiles of Mitchell and Clark, and an update on local rodeo star Aaron Hammer, see the rodeo insert inside of the B section.

For more information, visit www. methowvalleyrodeo.com.

METHOW AT HOME EVENTS

Methow At Home is sponsoring several upcoming outdoors events. All are free and open to the public. Register at methowathome.org. Coming up: • June 1, 4-mile hike at Pearrygin Lake, 9 a.m.-noon, starting at the Lake Creek Trailhead off of Bear Creek Road. Discover Pass required; must be vaccinated. Limited to six participants.

• June 14, bike ride to Twisp and back with Ted Young starting at Winthrop Town Trailhead, 10 a.m.-noon.

Limited to six participants.

FOREST SERVICE OPENS REC SITES

The majority of campgrounds and recreation sites in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest opened for the season as of Memorial Day Weekend, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

“This is the time of year our employees are busy doing maintenance and getting sites ready to open for the summer season,” said Recreation Program Manager Suzanne Cable. “Not all sites become accessible at the same time. … Although some trails have started to melt out, please be patient and prepared for patches of snow and down trees blocking trails during the early part of the season until late summer for higher elevation areas.”

To check the status of a recreation site, contact your local ranger district or go to www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/ okawen/recreation.

FOREST SERVICE PROJECTS REVIEWED

The Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will meet virtually on two dates in June to discuss potential funding for projects that benefit watersheds and forest-related resources on national forest lands in Okanogan, Chelan, Kittitas and Yakima Counties.

Thirty-eight projects will be reviewed by the committee.

Chelan County and Kittitas County projects will be reviewed on June 1, and Okanogan and Yakima Counties projects on June 16. The meetings will be held virtually from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or until all committee work has been completed.

All committee meetings are open to the public; a block of time has been reserved for members of the public to comment on proposed

projects. Contact Resource Advisory Committee Coordinator Robin DeMario at (509) 664-9292 or robin. demario@usda.gov by Thursday (May 27) to register for a public comment opportunity. Written comments will also be accepted.

FREE STATE PARKS DAYS

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission announced it has added Juneteenth (June 19) to its list of free days in state Parks during June. A Discover Pass will not be required for daytime activities at all state parks or on recreation lands managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Other free days are June 5 in recognition of National Trails Day, June 12 in recognition of National Get Outdoors Day, and June 13 for a free fishing weekend.

Page B2

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Methow Valley News

CLASSIFIEDS Is seeking qualified employees for immediate placement in multiple positions:

CLASSIFIED SPECIAL: BUY 3 WEEKS, GET 4TH WEEK FREE.

Kitchen: Prep Cooks, Line Cooks, Dishwashers Restaurant: Host/Hostess, Servers, Bussers Bar: Bar Tenders, Servers, Bussers Banquets: Shift leads & Servers Spa: Massage Therapists & Estheticians Maintenance: Full-time, year-round, with benefits Gift Shop: Clerk/Barista, must be 18 to apply, part-time, evenings & weekends Patterson Lake Supervisor: Full-time, year-round, with benefits. Guest services, boat rentals, grounds work, light maintenance

No refunds or changes. Prepayment required to qualify.

Classified display ads: $10.00 per column inch.

DEADLINE FOR CLASSIFIED DISPLAYS & LEGAL NOTICES: MONDAY AT NOON FOR SALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 YARD SALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 AUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 REAL ESTATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 FOR RENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 WANTED TO RENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . 30 EMPLOYMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 WORK WANTED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 SERVICES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 VEHICLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 ANIMALS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 MISCELLANEOUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 WANTED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 THANK YOU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 COMMUNITY EVENTS. . . . . . . . . . . 83 PERSONALS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 FREE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 LOST & FOUND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

14 . . . . . . . . . . . . YARD SALE GARAGE SALE MAY 28, 29, 30.

8am-3pm. 618 June Street, Twisp.

TVs, futon, clothes, kitchen stuff, tread climber, windows, doghouse, lots more.

YARD SALE - SAT-Sun 5/29-30, 10-4pm, 720B Hwy 20, Twisp.

Household goods, games, milk glass, beaded jewelry/trinkets, craft/scrapbook items. No early birds please.

WESTERN STATUES AND artwork, house plants- aloe vera and cactus, ’98 Springer Harley Davidson Chopper/Bobber, snowblower, raft, knickknacks, jewelry, motorcycle magazine collection, books, Fender electric guitar, Silver Dobro guitar. 1860 Hwy 153. Second left after Gold Creek. Fri-Sun, 28th -30th, 9-4.

20. . . . . . . . . . REAL ESTATE

Applications available online at https://www.sunmountainlodge.com/about-us/ employment/ or in person at the Front Desk.

Call or email Cyndi Thomson, Hiring Manager, for more information or an appointment, 509-996-4767 or Cyndi@sunmountainlodge.com

Join a Great Team!

Looking to fill positions in the following areas: Housekeeping, Jack’s Hut, Server, Busser, Dishwasher, Front Desk, Pool Monitor, Bartender We have a great insurance package Medical, Dental, Vision and 401K Benefits package. Employee Housing may be available.

Free employee shift meals. $250 hiring bonus after 60 days Please call Patty at 509-996-3906 or e-mail info@freestoneinn.com

FHC is a great place to work and we are looking for you to join our team!

• • TWISP • •

Medical Assistant – Certified 5 days per week Medical Assistant – Registered 4 days per week See www.myfamilyhealth.org for job descriptions and to apply online. Submit cover letter, resume and application to FHC, c/o Human Resources, PO Box 1340, Okanogan, WA 98840 or email: HR@fhc.us.

Open until filled. FHC is an EE0 Employer.

7-Year Extended Warranty* A $695 Value!

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Special Financing Available

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509-996-4400

ksdevin@gmail.com 2 BED, 1 bath, 1400 sq ft, wood and electric heat, well insulated and remodeled. 9.5 acres, 2 wells, 6.5 acres alfalfa w/ wheel line, 2 car garage w/ work bench and several out buildings. Tractor, 7.5kw generator, midar saw, air compressor, arc welder, fruit trees and fenced garden. Contact duaneckikendall@centurytel.net 509-449-1279.

24. . . . . . . . . . . . . FOR RENT CLEAN AND QUIET 2 BD, 1 BA home with living room, family room, laundry. $1,200/month, $1,000 deposit, $100 cleaning fee.

Kim 509-387-3112

30. . . . . . . . BUSINESS OPS WORK SMARTER - NEW co-work opportunities Available at the Mtn.Annex, Work Smarter Utilizing the Valley’s Fastest Internet Connection! Visit Our Website For More Information: https://www. mtnannex.com.

31 . . . . . . . . . EMPLOYMENT

Chef Tyler is seeking:

Two day shift (7am to 3pm) Line Cooks And two pm shift (2pm to 10pm) Line Cooks Wages from $17 - $21 per hour, depending on experience and expertise.

Dishwashers also needed.

Applications are available online at:

https://www.sunmountainlodge.com/ about-us/employment/ or in-person at the Front Desk.

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YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE*

509-341-4109

*To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions.

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34. . . . . . . . . . . . . SERVICES

“D

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 1-800-9279275.

31 . . . . . . . . . EMPLOYMENT

LEUSCHEN CONSTRUCTION IS looking to hire a Lead Carpenter for the upcoming season and beyond.

We work 10-12 months a year, on all projects large and small, from remodels to custom homes. Pay DOE. Please call 509-429-5626 or email leuschenconstruction@ gmail.com.

THE METHOW VALLEY News is seeking a part-time graphic designer for its publications (a weekly newspaper and several annual magazines). Substantial experience with designing editorial and advertising content for print publications including newspapers and magazines is required, as is fluency in Adobe’s print production suite.

Anticipate up to 20 hours a week of work; it’s possible that some work can be done remotely although residency in the Methow Valley is preferred. Send a resume, cover letter and/or portfolio examples to editor@methowvalleynews.com.

No calls, please. The position is open immediately.

CASCADE CONCRETE IS looking to hire a mechanic and CDL drivers.

Full time, benefits, pay DOE, Call 996-2435 for info.

METHOW VALLEY SCHOOL District is accepting applications for a Special Education Teacher.

Visit the district website at http:// methow.org/district/employment/ to view full job descriptions, and to submit an online application. Positions are open until filled. EOE THE BUSH SCHOOL seeks a parttime Methow Campus Program Manager. For complete job description, requirements, and application process, please visit https://www. bush.edu and search ‘employment’.

31 . . . . . . . . . EMPLOYMENT

METHOW VALLEY SCHOOL District is accepting applications for a School Bus Driver. Visit the district website for a full job description, and to submit an online application. (509)996-9205. http:// methow.org/district/employment/.

Position is open until filled. EOE SERVERS WANTED: TAPPI is looking for experienced waitstaff for dinner service. Hourly wage plus tips. Our small crew is like family. Call John 997-3345 LINE COOK WANTED: Tappi is looking for a seasoned line cook for dinner service. Hourly wage depends on experience. Our small crew is like family. Call John 997-3345 LITTLE STAR SCHOOL is hiring enthusiastic individuals who love young children for summer programming at the Winthrop campus. Commitments of 2 to 6 weeks are available between July 5 and August 13. Work with great kids and earn a little extra money this summer! $14-$18/hr DOE. To apply, email geva@littlestarschool.org with your resume and cover letter.

THE SULLIVAN CEMETERY is accepting applications for Cemetery Grounds Caretaker. Must be able to work weekends. Submit cover letter and resume with work experience

by June 10th to Sullivan Cemetery, PO Box 3026, Winthrop, WA 98856 PART TIME HELP wanted. Gardening, light landscaping, and painting during the summer months. Wolf Creek area. Hourly wage negotiable.

Call Laurie 206-890-2262.

PART TIME CLUBHOUSE position available. Please call Bear Creek Golf Course t 509-996-2284 TWISPASTA IS LOOKING for persons to support the availability of fresh, delicious food! Email mike@ twispasta.com for more details.

”

Weekly: $6.75 for 15 words or less. $8.75 with email or web address.

20 cents for each additional word.

31 . . . . . . . . . EMPLOYMENT

WE’RE HIRING! CARLOS1800 Mexican Grill & Cantina located at Winthrop, WA is looking for Line Cook, Prep Cook, Dishwasher, Assistant Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Manager, Hostess, Server, Bartender, Busser; the right team who will be inspired by great Mexican food and is enthusiastic about providing outstanding services beyond expectation for our customers. Experience preferred but if you are a quick learner, we will be training you to a quick reaction; characteristic needed for our environment! We are preparing to be open year-round. Send your resume to info@carlos1800.com.

LARIAT COFFEE ROASTERS is now hiring! Looking to fill permanent positions in both our retail store and our roasting facility. Seeking dependable, motivated team players with good attention to detail. Must be able to multitask and willing to work weekends as needed. Email your resume to info@lariatcoffee.com or stop by our retail store in downtown Winthrop to pick up an application.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!!

RIVER’S EDGE RESORT is hiring for a FT Front Desk person. Come join our established team, yearround, end of season bonus $1K (Oct), Start $18/Hour. Stop by to meet us & complete an application.

Send resume/questions to heidi@ riversedgewinthrop.com.

TRANGO IS LOOKING for four (4) transit drivers; one full-time (36 – 40 hours per week) and one part-time (10+ hours per week) position based in Okanogan, and two full-time in Twisp, WA. These positions are hourly non-exempt.

Compensation is $19.06-$20.62 per hour. Benefits include health, dental, vision and life insurance, retirement, sick leave, vacation for full-time. Must have a minimum Class B CDL with Passenger Endorsement. Please visit www. okanogantransit.com for required qualifications, application, and job description. A complete application including a resume and cover letter must be submitted in order to be considered for the position.

E-mail your completed application to clerk@okanogantransit.com Application Deadline: Application review will continue until the positions are filled. Okanogan County Transit Authority is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

rt

E-MAIL frontdesk@methowvalleynews.com DEADLINE: MONDAY, NOON • ALL CLASSIFIEDS MUST BE PREPAID

31 . . . . . . . . . EMPLOYMENT

WANTED - NANNY FOR one toddler in Winthrop - We are looking for a confident, active, engaged, and kind person to be our nanny.

We are a family of 3: two working adults and one 20-month-old boy who is very silly, happy, and active. The hours are flexible, and we can work around the right person’s schedule, but we will need 10-20 hours per week on a set schedule once one is established. We are looking for a longer-term commitment. $20/hr. Call 503-309-3932 or email melbrumer@gmail.com for more info.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY. IF you love animals and their people, we’d like to talk to you. Veterinary technician opening. Experience preferred, but will train the right person. Submit resume to valley veterinar yclinictwisp@ gmail.com or PO Box 485, Twisp, WA 98856.

CREATIVE GARDENS WEST is seeking 1 fulltime worker and 1 summer worker for this season, with return incentives. The work involves patio installation and lawn maintenance, up to 40 hours a week, must be able to lift up to 50 lbs. Pay starts at $20/hr. with a review for pay increase after 6 weeks. Experience is a plus, but we are more than willing to train.

Accepting applicants 16 and older with driver’s license. Positions available immediately. Email Phil Quevillon, creativegardenswest@ gmail.com, or call 509-429-7652.

METHOW VALLEY SCHOOL District is accepting applications for Spanish Teacher. Visit the district website for a full job description, and to submit an online application. (509) 996-9205. http:// methow.org/district/employment/.

Position is open until filled. EOE METHOW VALLEY SCHOOL District is accepting applications for a Transitional Bilingual Instructor Visit the district website for a full job description, and to submit an online application. (509) 9969205. http://methow.org/district/ employment/. Position is open until filled. EOE BEAR CREEK LUMBER is looking for a Laborer/landscaper. Some heavy lifting required. Please contact Sy at (509) 997 - 3002 or email to syb@bearcreeklumber. com.

Di

31 . . . . . . . . . EMPLOYMENT

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TO THE FIRST 50 CALLERS!**

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*For those who qualify. One coupon per household. No obligation estimate valid for 1 year. **Offer valid at time of estimate only 2The leading consumer reporting agency conducted a 16 month outdoor test of gutter guards in 2010 and recognized LeafFilter as the “#1 rated professionally installed gutter guard system in America.” Manufactured in Plainwell, Michigan and processed at LMT Mercer Group in Ohio. See Representative for full warranty details. CSLB# 1035795 DOPL #10783658-5501 License# 7656 License# 50145 License# 41354 License# 99338 License# 128344 License# 218294 WA UBI# 603 233 977 License# 2102212986 License# 2106212946 License# 2705132153A License# LEAFFNW822JZ License# WV056912 License# WC-29998-H17 Nassau HIC License# H01067000 Registration# 176447 Registration# HIC.0649905 Registration# C127229 Registration# C127230 Registration# 366920918 Registration# PC6475 Registration# IR731804 Registration# 13VH09953900 Registration# PA069383 Suffolk HIC License# 52229-H License# 2705169445 License# 262000022 License# 262000403 License# 0086990 Registration# H-19114

TwispWorks is hiring our next Executive Director!

Help guide the conversation in the Methow as we face the future and strive toward our mission: 'to increase the economic and cultural vitality in the Methow Valley.'

River Plaza, Brewster

Methow Valley Clinic 1116 WA-20 Winthrop, WA 98862

Open: M - F: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

509.996.8180

• Mental Health • Substance Use Disorders • Developmental Disabilities • Psychiatric Services • Therapeutic Housing

Phone number & 24-hour crisis line:

509-826-6191 Toll free: 866-826-6191 www.okbhc.org

AA MEETINGS For the most up to date information please go to https:// area92aa.org/meetings/

Monday, Wednesday (Men’s and Women’s meetings) and Thursday meetings now meet on Zoom.

Check website for other meetings if meeting in person or on hold.

TWISP

Twisp Group (O)(H):

Sun. 9:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. at Mas. Ldg Twisp Group (O)(H):

Mon. 6:30 p.m. at Masonic Lodge

Twisp Group (Big Book)(O)(H):

Details:

Tues. 6:30 p.m. at Masonic Lodge

twispworks.org/jobs/

Twisp Men’s Group (C)(M)(H):

Wed. 5:30 p.m. at Masonic Lodge Women on Wednesdays (O)

NORTH CASCADES LAW GROUP

Wed. 5:30 p.m. at Methodist Church Candlelight Group (C):

CONVENIENT WHOLE PERSON HEALTH

Wed. 7 p.m. at Calvary Chapel

WINTHROP

Methow Valley Group (O):

Thur. 7 p.m. at Friendship Church What’s Normal Group (C):

Silvan Schuttner, Attorney RENTAL WANTED - 3 or 4 bedroom house within the Liberty Bell School District. New to the Methow Valley, Attorney Silvan Schuttner, recently joined the North Cascades Law Group as an associate. He and his family are looking to move to the Twisp or Winthrop area. Before graduating from UW Law, Silvan worked as a carpenter in Alaska and has owned his own home, so he understands house maintenance and upkeep. This is an opportunity to rent to a young professional family who is getting settled in the Valley and looking for a quality house to rent for the foreseeable future. For more information, please contact sschuttner@crandall-law.com or 509-223-3200.

Fri. 7 p.m. at Friendship Church O=Open, H=Handicap, C=Closed, M=Men

Team Based Care for YOU Physical - Emotional - Social

800.660.2129

For more info, call 509-429-1683 or 206-734-7107

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS

ALATEEN

Fridays, 7 p.m. The Cove II, Twisp For more info, call 509-341-4737

Aero Methow Rescue Office: 997-4013

AL-ANON

Fridays, 8:30 a.m. Conference Call 602-580-9460 Pin#8760429 For more info, call 509-997-0356 Alateen is not meeting at this time For more info, leave a message at 509-429-2065

EMERGENCY

EST.

1971

49th Memorial Day Weekend Rodeo

w

Saturday & Sunday, May 29 & 30 1 p.m. Showtime

Bulls • Ranch Saddle Bronc • Barrels Junior Events • Poles and Barrels Admission: Adults $10 7-12 yrs. $ 5 6 & under Free Info: (509) 996-2439 or (509) 322-2651 before 3 p.m.

www.methowvalleyrodeo.com

Hank’s Market • Winthrop Ace Hardware • The Odom Corporation • Methow Valley Thriftway • Pardner’s Mini-Market • Mazama Ranch House • Les Schwab Tire Center • Moccasin Lake Ranch • Penn Cove Shellfish • Winthrop Self Storage •Twisp Self Storage • Blue Star Coffee Roasters • C&C Rodeo • Pine Near RV Park & Campground

SPONSORS

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Page 4

REIGNS From Page 3

Still learning Elizabeth’s familiarity with the rodeo has increased since she moved to the Methow Valley and she continues to learn about rough stock events (the ones that include bucking horses and cows), but her background as a rider provided her with a foundation essential to any equestrian competitions, such as learning to take care of horses, riding in crowds, and presenting oneself in public.

The upcoming Methow Valley Rodeo is an opportunity for riders, royalty and audience members alike to reconnect, mingle and learn.

Riders back in the saddle; a community ready to watch

them. It is, in so many ways, just like normal.

The girls note that although the coronations and other rodeo-related indoor events they’re participating in have looked different due to COVID, it has felt very comfortable to be out and about representing the Methow Valley Rodeo.

“People are doing everything in their power to be COVID-conscious and make opportunities for everyone who wants to participate in rodeo,” Elizabeth said.

“Be safe, be aware, be conscious of what is going on around you,” Jadyn advises those who attend the upcoming rodeo. “It’s all outside, so that makes it more comfortable. It’s fun to watch rodeo, meet new people, and enjoy the community.”

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Mitchell

The ‘49er Days Parade was just one event that rodeo royalty participated in.

1971

Bronc riding is a thrilling activity, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. Nor is Hammer’s other event: bull riding, which he began at 13. But

Hammer said he never really had any fear. “It was always about the challenge for me,” he said. “I never feared death.”

File photo by Mike Maltais

See HAMMER, pg. 2

Natural cowboy Hammer is, as his mother said, “a God-made natural

Aaron Hammer was a regular competitor at the Methow Valley Rodeo for many years.

EST.

Cowboy

genes

and participated in his first Methow Valley Rodeo at the age of 7. After that, said his father, Hammer never missed a local rodeo unless he was injured, and even then he’d come to watch.

“As a kid, I liked the excitement of it,” Hammer said. “As I got older, it became more and more of an adrenaline rush.”

Adrenaline rush, indeed.

Some call rodeo “the world’s most dangerous sport.” One of Hammer’s events — saddle bronc — evolved from breaking and training horses to work on cattle ranches and involves a rider trying to stay on the back of a bucking horse while hanging onto a rein with a single hand.

Rodeo star Aaron Hammer was born to ride

By Ashley Lodato

If there’s a name that has become synonymous with the Methow Valley Rodeo, it’s Aaron Hammer. Local boy, saddle bronc star, rodeo media darling and movie stunt rider, Aaron Hammer has spent much of his life on horseback, smiling through wild rides that make other mortals queasy.

Hammer, son of Anna and Roger Hammer, is the fourth of five children. (“Technically I’m number four,” he said, “because I was born a few minutes ahead of my twin brother Benjamin.”)

Under the guidance of his older brother, Garrett, Hammer learned to ride as a tot

A supplement to the Methow Valley News, May 26, 2021

From Page 1

cowboy.” But it is his fearlessness that seems to have been his secret superpower in his success at rodeo competitions — a promising career that was cut short in 2019 when his horse threw him and then stepped on him at the Sumas Bull-a-Rama, just a week after he finished first in ranch saddle bronc riding and second in bull riding at the Methow Valley Rodeo.

The accident landed Hammer in intensive care, followed by months of hospitalization and treatment, but he pulled through thanks to grit, faith and family support. Soon after returning home, Hammer was back in the saddle, riding and training colts. “I was always going to get back on a horse,” he said. “That shocked a lot of people.”

But having kids — his son Pistol is 5 and his daughter Rhyder is 2— changed Hammer’s perspective on risk. “If I didn’t have kids and if I were younger,” said the 31-year-old Hammer, “I’d go right back to rodeo.”

Hammer’s post-accident lifestyle at his home in the Moses Lake area includes lots of time in the saddle with his kids. “It’s fun to watch them learning to ride,” he said. “If they head to rodeo, that will be their choice. I won’t push them into it, but I’ll support them if they want to go in that direction.”

Hammer’s memories of the Methow Valley Rodeo as a kid influence his perspective on his own children participating in rodeo events. “I like seeing old friends and meeting new people,” he said. “The [Methow Valley] rodeo was always good for that. It was

HAMMER

Page 2

– Aaron Hammer

“It was always about the challenge for me. I never feared death.”

z

Aaron Hammer specialized in saddle bronc and bull riding.

a time to learn by watching, and a time to have fun. It’s a time that the valley comes out and mixes.”

Career choices The rodeo memories also influenced Hammer’s decision not to pursue a career

z

as a stunt rider after his lone experience wrangling horses on the set of the film “John Carter of Mars,” which he got involved in when he traveled with Claude Miller’s horses that were leased to the project. “I could have gone in that direction,” Hammer said, “but it would have slowed down my rodeo career. I don’t regret it. The memories I have from rodeo are way better for me, and it made a better life for my kids.”

Now when he’s not training horses, Hammer is working leather, making custom saddles and horse tack for his business, Aaron Hammer’s Custom Leather. He’s selftaught, inspired at a young age to learn leatherworking because he needed to repair

his own gear.

“I found out how expensive it was to have other people do it, so I got some guidance from a few saddle makers and learned the art of it,” he said.

You won’t see Hammer riding in the 2021 Methow Valley Rodeo, but he’s often back in the valley. Most recently, he rode with the Ride to Rendezvous, along with his older brother, Garrett.

Hammer’s connection to his childhood home remains strong and he’s still close with family and friends.

He has fond feelings for his rodeo days, but no regrets about having moved into a different phase of life. He said, “It’s a lifestyle choice and I’m very happy with it.”

49th Annual Methow Valley

When then-sophomores Jadyn Mitchell and Elizabeth Clark auditioned for spots on the Methow Valley Rodeo royalty in the fall of 2019, they had no way of knowing that it would evolve into a two-year commitment.

Jadyn and Elizabeth had been selected as Rodeo Queen and Rodeo Princess, respectively, and had been crowned, when the global pandemic shut everything down in March 2020, before they could attend any rodeorelated events, official or otherwise.

“At first it was all on hold,” Jadyn said, “and we thought maybe we’d at least be able to hold the Labor Day Rodeo, if not the Memorial Day Rodeo, but then we realized that a return to normal events wasn’t going to happen in the near future.”

Now, with Washington state reopening to events like parades and rodeos and with vaccination rates on the rise, the Liberty Bell High School juniors are prepared to dedicate themselves to the rodeo circuit.

So far this spring they have attended auctions and coronations for rodeo royalty in other communities, as well as participating in the Tonasket Junior Rodeo, the Winthrop ’49er Days parade, Ride to Rendezvous, and the Arden

By Ashley Lodato

Full immersion Elizabeth grew up in Fall City, near Seattle, and moved to the Methow Valley in 2017 when her family purchased the Bear Creek Equestrian Facility in Winthrop. This full immersion into horse country and an equestrian lifestyle was her father’s dream, Elizabeth said.

“My dad grew up in urban Seattle and he always wanted horses. He got my two older brothers into horses, and then I came along and he got me into it too,” she said. “We all did 4-H and learned to ride. When my brothers became teenagers they phased into other sports, but I kept with it.”

“Riding has always been my primary activity,” said Elizabeth, who participates in “Three-Day Eventing” — a type of equestrian triathlon based on an English model of dressage (performing a series of movements), cross-country (speed, endurance and jumping), and show jumping (jumping obstacles).

Jadyn was born and raised in the Methow Valley and has been riding since she was 5 years old. At age 12 she served as Methow Valley Rodeo princess — one of the youngest in the event’s nearly 50-year history. That year, 2017, Jadyn spoke of the close bond she had formed her primary horse, Sandy. But

Old Timers Rodeo. “Our weekends are pretty packed,” Elizabeth said.

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Mitchell

Page 3

Sandy is 16 years old now — the same age as her owner — so Jadyn saves her for special occasions, alternating rides between her barrel horse Newt or her other horse Lucky.

Jadyn has been involved in rodeo life since she was 4 years old, so she knew what to expect when she became rodeo royalty. As a teen Jadyn’s mother, Stephanie, competed in barrel racing

See REIGNS, pg 4

(“as well as something called ‘Mule Days,’” Jadyn said with a laugh); her grandmother, Marva Mountjoy, has been a timer for the local rodeo.

Methow Valley Rodeo Queen Jadyn Mitchell, left, and Princess Elizabeth Clark are both experienced horsewomen.

Extended reigns COVID put rodeo royalty Jadyn Mitchell and Elizabeth Clark on hold for a year

Memorial Day Rodeo 2021

Methow Valley News

NAKED EYE

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

How the universe will use itself up

How will it all end? In fire or ice? With a bang or a whimper?

For our little world that we l ive on , the answer is fire, definitely f ire. As our sun continues it s i n e v it a ble progression towards the red giant pha se of a David Ward st a r, it w ill become hotter. The earth will eventually be charred into a lifeless cinder and spiral into our fiery sun and into oblivion.

But what about the whole shebang, the universe itself, will it too end someday? Physicists and cosmologists are of the opinion that it will.

Things with a beginning have an end. Eschatologists, those who study

the end of things, have come up with some interesting ideas about how it all comes to a close.

P r ob a bly, those who think about such things tell us, the u n iverse w il l e nd i n a scenario known as heat death.

Think of it as t he deat h of heat, not death by heat. Stars eventually run out of gas, literally, hydrogen gas. With nothing left to power them they inevitably go dark.

The amount of gas in the universe is finite and that supply too will be exhausted someday. If we were around to see it, which we won’t, the sky would go dark. Galaxies, once lit by the brilliance of hundreds of billions of stars, will be reduced to

911 Blotter Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office

• At 6: 2 4 p. m . o n May 17, a suspicious p e r s on wa s r e p or t e d on D u ra ngo D r ive i n Winthrop. The person repor tedly pulled into someone else’s driveway and appeared to be under the inf luence of drugs.

• At 9:26 p.m. on May 20, a t respa sser wa s re por ted on Ba r naby Road in Winthrop.

• At 1:20 p.m. on May 21, a t re spa sse r wa s reported in Winthrop.

• At 8 a.m. on May 22, a domestic dispute was reported on Highway 20 in Winthrop.

• At 10:01 p.m. on May 24, a domestic dispute was repor ted on Lost River Road.

Twisp Police Department

• At 8:47 p.m. on May

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17, an intoxicated person was reported on East Second Avenue in Twisp, banging on a door and refusing to leave.

• At 3:48 p.m. on May 22, a two-vehicle collision was reported on East Methow Valley Highway in Twisp.

• At 11:56 a.m. on M ay 2 4 , a c ol l i s io n was repor ted on East Methow Valley Highway in Twisp. A person repor ted they stopped for construction and got rear-ended.

• At 1:03 p.m. on May 24, a hit-and-r un was reported on East Second Avenue in Twisp.

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• At 4:46 p.m. on May 20, a theft was reported on Highway 20 in Winthrop.

• At 8 a.m. on May 22, a domestic dispute was reported on Highway 20 in Winthrop.

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LEGAL NOTICES

OKANOGAN COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: The Okanogan County Central Landfill, Ellisforde Transfer Station, Bridgeport Transfer Station & Twisp Transfer Station will be closed on Saturday May 29, 2021 in observance of the Memorial Holiday.

All locations will be open Tuesday, June 1st, 2021.

Summer Hours also go into effect Tuesday, June 1st, 2021.

Published in the Methow Valley News May 19, 26, 2021; Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune May 20, 27, 2021. OVG927664 LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of Twisp will hold a public hearing to discuss the 2022-2027 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan on Tuesday, June 8th, 2021 at 5:30 pm remotely through the Twisp Council Meeting via GoTo Meeting.

Instructions to join the meeting will be posted on the Town’s website in advance of the meeting at townoftwisp. com. Copies of the draft plan can be requested via phone or email through the Town Clerk’s office. If you have any questions, or would like to submit a comment in advance, please contact Randy Kilmer, Clerk/Treasurer – 509-997-4081.

Published in the Methow Valley News May 26, 2021

dim ghostly skeletons of their former selves.

Heat death, the ultimate whimper, is probably not something you have to worry about when you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. We are talking about the distant future, trillions of years from now. Neither of our two political par ties will include it on their platforms to run on for the next election.

About that vacuum

But what if there was something lurking out of sight just around the corner? Something that could catch up with us at any time? Even before you finished reading this newspaper. What if our universe has an inherent fatal instability, a planned obsolescence so to speak?

Physicists have thought up just such an end, unlikely to be sure, but they cannot rule it out altogether either.

Imagine that our universe is like a

delicate vase precariously balanced on the edge of a table, and just the slightest nudge could send it crashing down shattering into a thousand pieces.

Scientists have given it an ominous sounding name, vacuum decay, and it is much worse than it sounds. Suddenly all the forces of physics, which we never think about but on which our very existence depends, would forever disappear. Stars would explode and atoms would instantly disintegrate.

How would this affect us? Our bodies are made of atoms, well, you get the idea. Nothing, absolutely nothing that we are familiar with would survive this total and irrevocable annihilation.

Even worse, this wave of death would spread through the universe at the speed of light. It could have already started somewhere and is headed for us at this very moment ready to engulf us at any time.

Not to worry

Is there anything we can do about

vacuum decay? No, not a thing.

Would we have any warning? Not even a nanosecond. Would it hurt?

Not a bit. Would it even matter?

There would not be anyone else around to miss us when we are gone, so maybe it does not matter. For these reasons eschatologists tell us not to worry about it, but I will let you decide that for yourself.

Closer to home, Venus is crawling higher into the western twilight sky and is easier to spot. Look for her shining brightly just above where the sun went down about 30 or 40 minutes after sunset before it gets completely dark. Saturn and Jupiter can be seen in the southeast late at night. First, dimmer Saturn makes an appearance followed by muchbrighter Jupiter.

If this whole decay business is not scary enough to keep you awake in the middle of the night, don’t worry.

I will come up with something even scarier another time.

VISITOR INFORMATION INFORMATION CENTERS

TWISP: 997-2926; 201 Methow Valley Highway (Methow Valley Community Center); https://twispwa.com WINTHROP: 996-2125, 888463-8469; 202 Riverside Ave.; https://winthropwashington.com

NEED A PLACE TO STAY?

METHOW RESERVATIONS: 996-2148 or (800) 422-3048; www. methowreservations.net; info@methowreservations.net

OPEN LATE

HANK’S MINI MARKET: 410 E. Methow Valley Highway, Twisp; 997-4332; until 10 p.m. every day; 24-hour fueling MAZAMA STORE: 50 Lost River Road, Mazama; 996-2855; 24-hour fueling PARDNERS MINI MARKET: 900 Highway 20, Winthrop; 996-2005; until midnight every day; 24-hour fueling TWISP CHEVRON: 126 N. Methow Valley Highway; 997-3181; until 10 p.m. weekdays and Sunday, 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; 24-hour fueling

AIRPORTS

TWISP MUNICIPAL AIRPORT: 40 Wagner Road, Twisp; 997-2311.

METHOW VALLEY STATE AIRPORT: TwispWinthrop Eastside Road; (360) 618-2477

NEED A TOW?

CLASSIC TOWING, TWISP: 997-2333

POST OFFICES

CARLTON: 997-6091; 2274 Highway 153 METHOW: (509) 923-2759; 34 Main St. TWISP: 997-3777; 205 Glover St. WINTHROP: 996-2282; 1110 Highway 20

PET PROBLEMS?

METHOW VALLEY VETERINARY HOSPITAL: 910 Highway 20, Winthrop; 996-3231 VALLEY VETERINARY CLINIC: 20335 Highway 20, Twisp; 997-8452 WINTHROP VETERINARY SERVICES: 19100 Highway 20; 996-2793

NEED TO CHARGE YOUR ELECTRIC VEHICLE? TWISPWORKS: 502 S. Glover St., Twisp, 997-3300, twispworks.org PINE NEAR RV PARK: 316 Castle Ave., Winthrop; (509) 341-4062, www. pinenearpark.com MAZAMA COUNTRY INN: 15 Country Road, Mazama; 996-2681; www. mazamacountryinn.com SUN MOUNTAIN LODGE, WINTHROP: 9962211; www.sunmountainlodge. com TWISP RIVER SUITES: 140 W. Twisp Ave., Twisp, 997-

0100, www. twispriversuites. com.

CAB & SHUTTLE

METHOW MOTION SHUTTLE SERVICES: 9962894; www.methowmotion20. com; reservations@ methowmotion20.com

POLICE/EMERGENCY

EMERGENCY: 911 TWISP POLICE DEPARTMENT: 997-6112; 110 East Second Ave.; townoftwisp. com/index.php/departments/ police-department/ WINTHROP MARSHAL’S OFFICE: 996-2160; 206 Riverside Ave.; www. winthropmarshals.com OKANOGAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE: (509) 422-7232; www.okanogansheriff.org WASHINGTON STATE PATROL: (509) 422-3800 OKANOGAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT 6: 997-2981 AERO METHOW RESCUE SERVICE: 997-4013; www.aeromethow.org

LIBRARIES

TWISP: 997-4681; 201 Methow Valley Highway (Methow Valley Community Center); wireless hot spot; www.ncwlibraries.org/locations/twisp-public-library WINTHROP: 996-2685; 49 Highway 20; wireless hot spot; www.ncwlibraries.org/ locations/winthrop-publiclibrary

NEED TO CLEAN UP?

LAUNDROMAT, SHOWERS AND FREE WI-FI AT WASHWORKS: 325 E. Highway 20, Twisp; 997-0336; www. hwy20washworks.com

RECREATION INFORMATION

U.S. FOREST SERVICE: 996-4000; 24 West Chewuch Rd., Winthrop METHOW TRAILS: 996-2387; 309 Riverside Ave., Winthrop; www. methowtrails.com; info@ methowtrails.com WINTHROP RINK: 9964199, www. winthropicerink. com WAGNER MEMORIAL POOL, TWISP: 997-5441 PEARRYGIN LAKE STATE PARK, WINTHROP: 996-2370; www.parks.wa.gov/563/ Pearrygin-Lake CASCADE LOOP SCENIC HIGHWAY: www. cascadeloop.com NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK: Newhalem visitor center, (206) 386-4495 ext.11; www. nps.gov/noca/index.htm WASHINGTON DEPT. OF FISH & WILDLIFE: (360) 902-2200; www.wdfw.wa.gov

CAR WASH

CASCADE KING’S: 1421 Methow Valley Hwy S. Twisp; 997-2513; www. kingstire.biz

BANKS

NORTH CASCADES

BANK: 101 Methow Valley Highway N., Twisp; 997-2411; www.northcascadesbank.com FARMERS STATE BANK: 159 Riverside Ave., Winthrop; 996-2244; www. farmersstatebankwa.com

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

TWISP: 997-2020; https:// twispwa.com WINTHROP: 996-2125; https://winthropwashington. com OMAK: (509) 826-1880 or (800) 225-6625; www. omakchamber.com OKANOGAN: (509) 4224034; www. okanogachamber. com BREWSTER: (509) 689-3464; www.brewsterchamber.org PATEROS: (509) 923-9636; www.pateros.com

RECYCLING

METHOW RECYCLES: 997-0520; 12 Twisp Airport Road; www.methowrecycles. org

GOVERNMENT

CITY OF PATEROS: (509) 923-2571; www.pateros.com TOWN OF TWISP: 9974081; 110 East Second Ave.; www.townoftwisp.com TOWN OF WINTHROP: 996-2320, 206 Riverside Ave., www.townofwinthrop.com

HEALTH CARE

THREE RIVERS HOSPITAL, BREWSTER: (509) 689-2086; www. threerivershospital.net MID-VALLEY HOSPITAL, OMAK: (509) 8261760; www.mvhealth.org CONFLUENCE HEALTH METHOW VALLEY CLINIC, WINTHROP: 996-8180 FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS MEDICAL CLINIC, TWISP: 997-2011 BREWSTER CLINIC: (509) 826-1800 STEVEN C. HARROP DDS, WINTHROP: 996-2164 SAWTOOTH DENTAL CARE, TWISP: 997-7533 ULRICH’S PHARMACY, TWISP: 997-2191

HIGHWAY INFORMATION

WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: Dial 511 for pass and road information; www.wsdot.wa.gov

INFORMATION & MEDIA METHOW VALLEY NEWS: 997-7011; 502 S. Glover St., Twisp; www. methowvalleynews. com; frontdesk@ methowvalleynews.com WWW.METHOWNET. COM WWW.METHOW.COM KTRT, 97.5 FM KCSY, 106.3FM KOZI, 93.5FM KTWP (PUBLIC RADIO), 91.1FM KOMW, 95.1 All 996 and 997 prefixes are in the 509 area code.

County takes comments on Critical Areas Ordinance

BY MARCY STAMPER

Okanogan County should requ i re consu lt at ion w it h experts from state agencies on water, wildlife and geology to ensure protections for the public and the county’s critical areas, urged the two members of the public who testified at the planning commission’s hearing on the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) on Monday (May 24).

Twisp resident Isabelle Spohn and Methow Valley Citizens Council Program Director Lorah Super both voiced concern that the requirement to consult with experts had been made optional in the current CAO draft.

The state requires counties to follow best available science in managing their critical areas, which include wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat, and geologically hazardous areas.

The county is still covered by a CAO from 1994, Okanogan County Natural Resource Planner Angie Hubbard said. The county worked on an update from 2009 through 2013, but the commissioners set it aside to focus on the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance, and the new CAO was never adopted, Planning Director Pete Palmer said.

The county commissioners are eager to adopt a CAO because it has a direct impact on grant opportunities, Palmer said.

Before circulating the draft CAO for public comments, the county submitted it for review to the state departments of Fish and Wildlife, Ecology and Commerce. The county incorporated some of the agency input in the draft released to the public, Hubbard said.

Many CAO commenters also urged the county to regulate clearing and grading and to set standards for land-disturbing activities. Requirements would take into account the stability of foundations, slope, drainage and the potential for erosion or flooding. The commissioners support having a clearing and grading ordinance and plan to take that up after they’ve completed the other planning documents, Hubbard said.

While the commissioners heard verbal testimony from only two people, they received many written comments on the CAO. The CAO comment period is now closed. The planning commissioners will digest all the comments and take up the CAO at their meeting on Monday, June 28.

Comp plan under review

T he comp plan and the accompanying environmental impact statement are currently undergoing legal review, Palmer said. Once that review is complete, it will go to the county commissioners for their review and a public hearing. There is currently no timeline for that step, she said.

Page B4

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Methow Valley News

Returning home: The long journey to Attu Aleutian island’s descendants seek reconnection

BY JOANNA BASTIAN

Extreme forces created the Aleutian Islands, a chain of volcanoes carved by turbulent seas and gale-force winds. The windswept islands’ steep gorges and coastal cliffs were home to the Unangax People — native Aleutians — for over 10,000 years.

In the summer of 1942, Japanese soldiers invaded the westernmost island of Attu and took all the residents hostage. The Attuans were imprisoned in Otaru, Japan, for three years before the United States learned of their capture. But when the Attuans were rescued by U.S. military, they were not allowed to return home.

Today, their living descendants, Helena Schmitz and Theresa Deal, are working to create a sustainable program for Attuans to accompany researchers on annual visits to Attu. They recently formed a nonprofit, Restoring Attuans’ Freedom, to support that effort, and to return human remains now held at the Smithsonian Institute to Attu.

Attu People

Mike Hodikoff, grandfather of Schmitz and Deal, was chief of the Attuans when WWII started.

There were only 45 people living on the island at the time, 43 Attuans and two white Americans: radio operator Charles Jones and his wife, Etta, the school teacher. In her letters, Etta Jones described the beautiful Attuan homes and the residents as progressive, intelligent and friendly.

Archaeological sites on Attu suggest an estimated precontact population of 2,000 to 5,000 people. The women were renowned masters of weaving, using native grasses and plants only found on the island of Attu. Attuans were also known for their skilled construction of boats used for transportation and hunting. The Unangax people traveled the perilous seas to trade, hunt, and socialize with other islands in the Aleutian chain.

Ships from Russia, Japan and the United States came ashore occasionally for trade with the Attuans, but never stayed long in the inhospitable environment.

Russia sold the islands, along with the rest of Alaska, to the United States in 1867. Alaska Natives claimed they still had title to the territory as original inhabitants who had never lost the land in war or ceded it to any country.

Residents of Attu did not believe the war would affect their small island thousands of miles from the mainland. But in May of 1942, the U.S. believed conflict with Japanese troops was a high possibility, and began evacuating the Aleutian Islands. But U.S. Forces were turned away by high winds and rough seas when they

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

In August 2017, Attuans visited Attu via a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service research vessel. tried to approach Attu.

The invasion

On June 3, 1942, the Japanese military bombed Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, 850 miles from Attu. Radio operator Charles Jones relayed the information to Hodikoff, who feared for the safety of his people on Attu. On June 6, children reported seeing a Japanese ship off the shore of Attu. Jones believed the ship to be American and chose not report the sighting.

In the early morning hours of June 7, 1942, Japanese warships landed on Attu with 2,500 troops.

Jones was slain immediately. Soldiers rounded up villagers and took command of the administrative building that held the radio equipment. Attuans were unable to communicate with the outside world.

For three months, thousands of Japanese troops occupied Attu, keeping villagers under house arrest, limiting their movement to gather food or firewood. To heat their homes, Attuans were forced to rip boards from their houses to use as fuel. No one outside of Attu was aware of the nightmare unfolding on the island.

Attuans resisted as much as possible. They repeatedly stole the Japanese flag. They misled soldiers — directing them to store supplies on a beach knowing that an impending storm would carry the cache out to sea.

In September of 1942, Japanese military chose to remove the remaining 43 residents to a prison camp in Japan. The reasons were clear: Attuans were a source of intelligence to the Americans and would most certainly engage in guerilla activities.

As Japanese soldiers loaded Attuans onto a dirty coal ship, the children fought back. Sol-

Miller makes an impression with Little Star students Mark Miller, a Methow descendant, recently met with more than 30 Little Star Montessori School students at Homestream Park in Winthrop to talk about the importance of learning from our ancestors.

“A long time ago when people were brand new to the world the salmon agreed to give up their lives so people could live, but the people must honor the salmon for their sacrifice. This park is about honoring salmon,” Miller told the students. “You are the ones who will take care of this place for years and years and years. My family has taken care of this place for 12,000 years … Your job is to take care of these plants these animals this earth.“ Symbolic footprint impressions were made in an arrowshaped concrete form by Miller and a young student.

“The large footprint represents our ancestors,” Miller said. “They walked these lands for thousands of years, they learned to co-exist with the land, water, air, plants and animals. We welcome them back.

The smaller footprint represents our future steps. May we apply the teachings of our ancestors as we continue on this path into the future.”

The footprint art piece was installed in the park, pointing to the eastern horizon: the direction of the future Photo courtesy of Ashley Ahearn

Methow descendant Mark Miller compared feet with a Little Star Montessori School student at Homestream Park.

Participants left symbolic footprints in the park.

diers threw them below decks, kicking and screaming. Onshore, the beautiful homes of Attu were destroyed.

Two weeks later, the survivors arrived in Otaru, Japan. At the prison camp, everyone was assigned hard labor in the mines, or shoveling snow while barefoot.

They were given a small amount of rice to eat each day. Half of the Attuans died from starvation, including their chief. Upon Hodikoff’s death, Mike Lokanin became chief.

The Japanese military communicated nothing to U.S. authorities about the invasion of Attu or the prisoners. It was if the Attuans had fallen off the face of the earth.

No going home

Three years after the Attuans were imprisoned, in early September of 1945, Alaskan Indian Service officials learned that the village of Attu was destroyed.

Later that month, officials were notified for the first time of surviving Attuans. When U.S. soldiers arrived at the POW camp to liberate the Attuans, Lokanin took the liberty of punching a Japanese guard.

Surviving Attuans requested to return home, but officials at the Department of the Interior concluded that there were insufficient numbers of Attu people to justify the expense.

Fifteen Attuans were placed on the island of Atka with the Atkans, five remained in Seattle hospitals, and four moved to Unalaska. Five children – orphaned through the ordeal — were sent to the Indian service school in Eklutna, Alaska.

I nd ia n Bu r e a u G e ne r a l Superintendent Don C. Foster declared, “set tling the Attu people at Atka has saved the government an enormous

Photo courtesy of Brad Schmitz

Attuan Helena Schmitz with her children. Schmitz founded Restoring Attuans’ Freedom to facilitate return trips to Attu for Attuans. amount.” Construction of six homes for Attuans in Atka was completed by salvaging army materials, “at no cost to our Department.”

The U.S. military took control of Attu island and prevented Attuans from returning to trap and harvest. The federal government gave the Attuans freedom and took it away at the same time.

The following year, in 1946, Ethel Ross Oliver was assigned as a schoolteacher to Atka. She worked with surviving Attuans to document their experiences, their stories and their cultural traditions. In her book, “Journal of an Aleutian Year,” she described the challenges facing “four little Attuans” in her classroom.

The children spoke Russian in church, Attuan at home, and were forced to learn and speak Japanese during the war years.

In school, classes were taught in English or Atkan, a different dialect than Attu. The teacher tried to learn Aleutian, the common language, to help the little ones learn English.

Despite the overwhelming odds, some Attuans survived.

But family connections and stories were lost with the parents. It has been a struggle to document their own history.

“We aren’t considered as prisoners of war by the government technically and that is why museums here in the U.S. cannot recognize that,” Helena Schmitz said, “We are always the nonexistent group.”

More than 75 years after the native people of Attu were taken captive, their surviving relatives are working on a way to return home.

Return to Attu

In 2012, Rachel Mason, senior anthropologist for the National Park Ser vice, ar ranged an Attuan reunion in Anchorage, Alaska. Many Attuans had never met each other, as they were scattered after the war. For Theresa Deal, it was eye-opening to be in room full of people with faces similar to hers, and meeting long-lost relatives.

In August of 2017, Attuans were invited to board the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service vessel Tiglax for a routine research visit to Attu. Deal describes the experience as a trip of a lifetime.

“We spent f ive hours on the island,” she said. “There was blue sky, it is rare to have such good weather. I got to see where my mom spent her younger years. We were on the ship a whole week to get to the island, getting to know long lost relatives.”

The children and grandchildren of the Attu gathered traditional plants for weaving and conducted a service of remembrance.

The following year, at an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Attu, Schmitz asked the director of Fish and Wildlife for access to the island, putting into motion the formalities of creating a government program to support trips to Attu for surviving Attuans.

Schmitz spent her high school summers working in Alaska with her aunt Loretta Riley at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Her college studies focused on creating a path to further help her people. Schmitz’s great uncle Steve Hodikoff was the last living Attuan to speak the language. “I have a crazy dream to try and learn it,” she said.

Schmitz said her mission is clear. “My ancestors speak through me and to me,” she said. “They speak through the ocean waves, the grains of sand from the ocean, the driftwood, the mountains and clouds above. I am a healer. I need to heal my ancestors, my grandparents, my relatives, and my family, so that my children will experience peace.”

To learn more about Attu and current efforts to preserve knowledge while honoring the past, follow Restoring Attuans’ Freedom on Facebook, or email attuanjustice@gmail.com.

Writer’s note I first heard of Attu through my high school physics teacher, Marilee Hayashi. Recently, Hayashi invited me to a Facebook group, Restoring Attuans’ Freedom. A frequent poster in the group was a former classmate of mine, Brad Schmitz. He took Japanese language courses from Hayashi in high school, and kept in contact with her when he formed Alaska English Adventures to offer language immersion tours. I sent Brad a message asking for more information about the Restoring Attuans’ Freedom group, and he introduced me to his wife, Helena Schmitz. She is the granddaughter of Mike Hodikoff, who was chief of the Attuans when the village of Attu was captured by the Japanese in 1942. Schmitz has dedicated her life to preserving the cultural traditions and knowledge of Attuans, and recently formed the nonprofit group, Restoring Attuans’ Freedom, to support annual trips to Attu for Attuans.

Methow Valley News

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Page B5

Hiking the Lost River Gorge: A hidden gem in the Pasayten Wilderness

BY DAVID GOTTULA

Editor’s note: this article is based on a 2019 trip down the Lost River Gorge. It has been updated by the author.

If I am interested in a certain hike, I usually first look for information on the internet. Having been intrigued by the idea of hiking the remote, nearly inaccessible Lost River Gorge for years, I launched an online search to see what I could find out.

The only mention I found about the Lost River Gorge was a story about some extreme kayakers who took on the gorge during the spring runoff. The main thrusts of the article were that you should expect to get holes punched in your kayak just getting to the gorge; expect to portage a lot; and understand that the trip demands careful preparation and commitment by a strong group, as in many places the sheer gorge walls are impossible to climb out of.

For information closer to home, I asked Methow locals about their experiences. I found out that many Methow adventurists have hiked the gorge, some multiple times.

All recommended hiking as late in the season as possible. A few said it was awesome, but they will never do it again.

It was with this base of knowledge (or lack of it) that George Wooten and I took off on a threeday, two-night hike of the Lost River Gorge in September 2019.

There are no trails in the Lost River Gorge. Look at a map of the Pasayten and you see a huge blank area devoid of any trails in that area. We encountered scarce wildlife, which indicates that even animals avoid the gorge.

Photos by George Wooten

A dry waterfall along the Lost River Gorge was likely filled with water earlier in the year.

Bushwhacking

The Lost River Gorge is roughly 12 miles long, with a 5.5mile approach from Billy Goat Trailhead and a 4-mile exit along Monument Trail to Monument Creek Trailhead near Mazama.

After we were dropped off at Billy Goat Trailhead, we hiked 4 miles by trail to Drake Creek.

From there the map showed an unmaintained, 1.5-mile trail along Drake Creek to the gorge. The Diamond Creek Fire had recently burned the area and we had a hard time finding this trail. Our maps didn’t even agree which side of Drake Creek the trail started.

So, we bushwhacked down Drake Creek and eventually found the trail about halfway down, once we passed the burn area. Finding the trail did not make the going any easier. I was impressed that the kayakers managed to get their craft through this terrain.

We finally got to Lost River as evening settled, and started looking for a camping place. We decided to hike a little ways down the canyon first. We discovered why it is called “Lost” River as the river goes underground and disappears, leaving a dry riverbed.

We hiked back up to where the river goes underground and camped on a rocky beach. I had to move a lot of rocks to make space for my tent. As I am a “leave no trace” hiker, I did move some of them back the next morning.

Lunch at the lake

The next day, under a perfect September blue sky, we took off down the gorge walking along the dry riverbed. We stopped for lunch at the “lake.” This is a place where the winter and spring runoff creates a small body of water.

But as the river is underground here and the lakebed was dry in September, we had a beautiful, green meadow to lounge in. The lakebed was covered with solid horsetail, but in the past, it has been known as the mint fields.

The wall of rocks that formed the dam for lake was the first real obstacle we had to contend with.

It would not be hard to imagine that during spring runoff, a huge cascade of water would be tumbling over it. It was a challenge for us to get down the dam with the riverbed dry but ropes were not required, just some rock scrambling. I was glad we did not have to get kayaks down this rock dam.

Next up, Aubu r n Creek noisily entered the Gorge and promptly disappeared into the underground river. Also, at this location, we found some cottonwoods that had been burned by the McLeod Fire in 2018. It is easy to see how the fire that was

Photos by George Wooten

Above: Lost River in full force. Below: “The lake” was a great place to stop for lunch.

Photo by George Wooten

It was often difficult to avoid hiking in the river. burning on the ridge far above us could fall thousands of feet to reach these cottonwoods.

We kept hiking down the dry riverbed, marveling at the experience. The closest the two cliff sides came together was about 10 feet.

I started to think that this was going to be an easy hike when the river began to re-emerge. Someone had told us to expect hiking in 5-foot deep pools of water. The first water we came to was exactly that. We decided to cut up the bank and climb around it and not get wet. Little did I know that soon I would be very wet, notwithstanding our attempts to stay dry.

The river periodically reemerged at various locations and flowed fast. It was really fascinating to see the river appear out of rock formations.

Back in the water

The gorge was still relatively easy to hike in until we got to the confluence of the Lost River and Monument Creek. Maybe the recent rains and snow that fell in the area added to the water flow, but now Lost River was a raging torrent through the canyon. Our fearless kayakers would have had a field day at this section of the river with the rocks and waterfalls, but it was above my personal kayaking skill level. I did wish that I had a raft, though, as that would have made the traveling the next 4 miles a little easier.

But we were on foot and the gorge was still narrow, so there was not much bank to hike on.

What riverbank area existed contained a lot of vegetation or talus. And with each bend of the river, sheer cliffs would dominate alternate sides of the river, which required us to cross the raging river multiple times. Difficult deci-

sions became routine: should we climb over a huge boulder or swim through a 5-foot pool of water?

Going back upstream to a safer crossing also became routine.

Now, just hiking 100 feet seemed like a major accomplishment. And we had 3 miles left.

We found a campsite, put on dry clothes, and built a fire to get warm.

Based on our progress, we calculated the time we would get out as around 3 p.m. (3 river miles in five hours), and relayed this by satellite communicator to my wife, who was going to pick us up. I really suggest having an “InReach” type communicator on this trip. We encountered many ways of either becoming seriously injured or worse on this hike, and communication with the outside world could be advantageous in some situations.

Things to know

Some other recommendations we have are: • Take someone along. Do not do this hike by yourself.

• Have an easily accessible whistle on you. It is very easy to get separated from your hiking buddies. People can be 30 feet apart and with the noise of the river and the intense vegetation, not be able to find each other. We were only separated twice the whole hike, and each time we had worked out our rendezvous beforehand.

• Go with people who can form a coherent team. This trip requires that the hikers work together.

• The river crossings can be dangerous. Take two hiking poles to help make it over the crossings without being swept downstream. If you are swept away, have an escape plan of how you

will get out of the rapids worked out beforehand.

• There is a good chance that one or both of your hiking poles will break in the rocks. This will require picking up a wooden stick to use.

• In many places it is easier to walk in the river than to walk on the river bank. Expect to get wet and have everything in your backpack packed in such a way that it is able to be submerged and stay dry.

• Go in late August when it is still hot. Do not go when it is going to be cool or cold out. Pack dry clothes.

• Two-thirds of the hike (8 miles) was through dry river bed. During my research, someone mentioned that if you hike too early, the riverbed rocks will be slick with algae. This would greatly increase the difficulty of this section.

George observed the fauna of the gorge on the hike. It was eyeopening for me, as I have never been exposed to this science before. Some of his observations

were: • Two plants that are only common west of the Methow were fairly common here — licorice fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza), which grows in cliff cracks; and goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus).

• There were only a few weeds – white campion (Lychnis alba) and a single plant of diffuse knapweed (Centaurea diffusa).

• Surprisingly, no dandelion or Dutch clover was found, even though these have reached into other parts of the Pasayten Wilderness.

• Some ancient cedar groves grow along the river in several places starting near Monument Creek.

Out at last

On the third day we finally made it down to Monument Creek Trail, which actually ends at Eureka Creek and follows the Lost River to the trailhead. From here it is an easy 4-mile hike on a trail well above the river bank to reach the Monument Creek Trailhead. Walking on a real trail after

doing the Lost River Gorge was a welcome change.

I was already planning a fourday, three-night trip of the Gorge for the following August. With the extra day, the person I am going with and I hope to check out the fishing. Needless to say, very few people fish this area.

George though, is not going to go again, at least not via that route. He says, “It was awesome but there is a lot more of the Pasayten yet to see.”

Author’s postscript: The hike described in this article took place in September 2019. In September 2020, I hiked the same section of Lost River Gorge with retired Methow District Ranger Mike Liu. The river was about a foot lower. With a lower river level, the hike was much easier than the 2019 trek. I ended up being able to hike in the river through most of the gorge, something I couldn’t do in 2019. The upshot is that, as with any wilderness journey, be prepared for any extreme conditions you may encounter.

Page B6

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Methow Valley News

Generosity that speaks volumes Far-away donor boosts Winthrop library collection

BY DON NELSON

David Gibson spent hours of his boyhood days scouring the local library for new books to read. At age 86, that experience has stayed with him. These days, his avocation is to give something back in appreciation.

That was the motivation for Gibson, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, to recently donate a box of about two dozen books to the Winthrop library – one of several small-town libraries around the country that have benefitted from his generosity.

How he came to be aware of Winthrop, Washington, involved a bit of serendipity.

While doing some online research, Gibson came across a May 2020 online discussion hosted by Friends of the Winthrop library, the nonprofit that is building a new library for the town. That program included FOWL President Shannon Polson virtually chatting with wellknown author Ann Patchett.

“I enjoyed the interview, especially when Shannon started talking about small town libraries,” Gibson said in note to the Winthrop library. “That is a subject very dear to my heart.”

Gibson said he had mailed a box of books to the Winthrop library including some picture books for small children and some recently published novels,” Gibson said in the note. “ While I hope that many of these books are candidates for your bookshelves … if you can’t use them, share them with other libraries or put them on your sale table. They are yours to do with as you see fit. Please tell

Photo by Ree West

The collection that David Gibson donated to the Winthrop library included novels and kids’ books.

Ms. Polson that her interview last year resulted in some books for the Winthrop Library from an 86-year-old man who buys books at Parnassus Books, Ann Patchett’s bookstore.”

Love for reading

In an accompanying background article that Gibson pass along, Gibson said he had been coordinating gifts to small libraries around the country since the 1980s, including places such as Frankfort, Kansas; Eureka, Nevada; Silverton, Colorado; Kadoka, South Dakota; Cable, Wisconsin; Hinton, West Virginia; Cranberry Lake, New York; and Tenants Harbor,

Maine – most of them with populations under 1,000.

“Growing up in a small Mississippi town in the 1940s before television, meant that the little local library was about the only place I could experience new people and new places,” Gibson said in the article. “So, that library did for me exactly what it was intended to do. It gave me a life-long interest in reading, a love for books and an appreciation of libraries, especially small-town libraries.”

“In the late 1980s I began going to book sales held by city libraries or other organizations to buy books to send to small, isolated libraries,” Gibson con-

USED BOOK SALE

12TH DISTRICT TOWN HALL

The 12th Legislative District’s two state representatives, Keith Goehner (R-Dryden) and Mike Steele (R-Chelan), will host a vir tual town hall meeting starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday ( M ay 27 ). T h e law ma ker s w ill provide a review of the 2021 legislative session and answer questions Rep. Keith Goehner f rom constit u(R-Dryden) ents. The meeting will be conducted using the Zoom platfor m. Those who would li ke to take part in the hou r-long event must pre-register, at https://tinyurl. c o m /6 n 6 d 3557, https://mikesteele. houserepublicans. wa.gov, or https:// Rep. Mike Steele keit hgo eh ne r.

(R-Chelan) houserepublicans. wa.gov. Constituents can submit questions in advance. The conference can accommodate up to5 00 attendees.

KIWANIS AUCTION OPENS JUNE 4

Winthrop Kiwanis, which again had to forego its annual fundraising event the Bite of the Methow as it did in 2020, will instead hold an online auction beginning June 4 and continuing through June 13.

Auction items will be available for pick-up during the “Bite is Back” picnic in Mack Lloyd Park in Winthrop on Saturday, June 19, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., just in time for Father’s Day on June 20. Kiwanis will also offer pulled pork sandwiches in the park. Purchase food tickets at the online auction site. There will also be music. The event is open to all.

The auction site is at http://winthropkiwanis. com. View auction items and register there. Register to bid by May 31 for a chance to win a $50 Amazon card.

All proceeds from the auction and Saturday food event will go directly to Kiwanis’ efforts help kids, seniors and the community of the Methow Valley.

GRAB-AND-GO MEALS FOR KIDS

The Methow Valley School District’s Summer Meals Program launches June 21, offering a free grab-and-go style sack breakfast/lunch, with

tinued. “In recent years, I have asked friends to give me books from their shelves that they know they will likely never read again. … I tell my friends that I want their never-to-read-againbooks if they have a good dust jacket that’s not torn and if they

are not religious, not political and not textbooks. Books that are like new. Now some are beginning to understand the pleasure of sharing their books, like ones from their book clubs.”

“It was astonishing to open the box [from Gibson] and see

so many brand-new books, most of which were published in the last two years,” Winthrop librarian Ree West said. She said she would incorporate the books into the Winthrop library collection and set aside any duplicates for a future book sale.

ARTS BRIEFS

COMMUNITY BRIEFS Friends of the Twisp Library will host a used book sale from 8:30 a.m-12:30 p.m. on Saturday (May 29) at the Methow Valley Community Center gym. Books will be sorted by subject. Please wear a mask; no scanning devices allowed. For information, call 997-4681.

Photo courtesy of Cynthia Grimson

Lifetime book lover David Gibson, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, recently reached out with a gift of books to the Winthrop library.

milk, each weekday for children 18 years old and younger.

The lunches will be available Monday through Friday from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. through Aug. 13 at three locations: The Twisp Town Park (across from the Wagner Pool); the Winthrop Barn; and the Carlton General Store. The meals will not be available on Monday, July 5.

For more information, call 996-9205.

MASKS REQUIRED AT LIBRARIES

NCW Libraries, including the Twisp and Winthrop branches, are still requiring all visitors to wear a mask, including those fully vaccinated. for the time being.

“Our libraries serve a lot of families with young children and other vulnerable folks who can’t yet be vaccinated,” said Deputy Director Kim Neher.

“Continuing to mask up ensures that libraries can be a safe, welcoming, and accessible place for every community member.”

NCW Libraries said it would await further state and federal guidance before easing the mask requirement. For information, visit http://ncwlibraries.org.

STUDENT NEWS

Novie McCabe of Mazama was named to University of Utah’s spring 2021 dean’s list. To qualify, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

BROOKS PRESENTS VIOLIN RECITAL

Liberty Bell High School senior Keeley Brooks offers a free violin recital from 3-5 p.m. at the TwispWorks Pavilion on Saturday (May 29).

Brooks, 17, has been playing the violin for 11 1/2 years, and studied with local teacher Pam Hunt. In 2013, she was the first winner of the Christine Cherrington Merit Award Competition, and in 2018 was a silver medalist in a strings division of the Spokane MusicFest Northwest Competition. In 2018, she won the Wenatchee Symphony’s Angela Schuster Svendsen Memorial Young Musician Competition and made her concerto debut.

Please wear a mask, bring your own chair or blanket, and observe social distancing.

MERC SUMMER THEATER CAMP

The Merc Playhouse will offer a summer theater camp this June with the theme “Reimagined Tales as Old as Time.”

The camp will take place from June 28 to July 2 in three groups — students entering grades nine through 12 will practice from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., students entering grades five through eight will practice from 9 a.m. to noon and students entering grades second through fourth will practice from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Final performances will take place on Saturday, July 3, at the TwispWorks Pavilion.

Most camp activities will take place outdoors and students are asked to wear comfortable clothing and shoes, and wear a mask. Students should also bring water and a snack.

Information on registering is available at mercplayhouse.org.

Tuition costs $150 with a $50 deposit at registration. Some scholarships are available.

EVENTS AT TWISPWORKS

TwispWorks will offer a series of “Saturday After the Market” presentations at the TwispWorks Pavilion later this summer: • The Marcus Duke and George Schneider Duo, from noon-2 p.m. on Aug. 7.

• “Improv at the Pavilion,” presented by local comedy troupe the Careless Twispers, from noon-2 p.m. on Aug. 14.

• “Photography at the Pavilion,” with Wil Chandler, from noon-2 p.m. on Aug. 21.

• “Native Storytelling,” an afternoon with Arnie Marchand, at noon on Aug. 28.

The free events are supported by a donation from the Vogt Family Foundation.

For information, visit www.

TwispWorks.org.

METHOW AT HOME EVENTS

Methow At Home is sponsoring several upcoming events. All are free and open to the public. Register at methowathome.org.

• June 2, Advance Care Planning conversation about being a health care decision-maker, online from 4-5 p.m.

• June 3, tour of Master Gardner Dana Visalli’s farm, 293 E. County Road, 9-10 a.m. Limited to 12 participants.

• June 10, “Resources When Our Health Goes Sideways,” with Justin Porter and Jeanne DeBord, online from 4-5 p.m.

BLOOD DRIVE AT MID-VALLEY

Mid-Valley Hospital & Clinic in Omak will host a blood drive on June 5 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., in the clinic parking lot, 529 Jasmine St. The drive will take place in a Vitalant mobile unit. Donors can make an appointment at mvhealth.org/blood-drive, by emailing marketing@mvhealth.org, or by calling (509) 861-2500. Social distancing will be observed.

REPAIR CAFÉS

Methow Recycles is offering a Repair Café from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on June 5, focused on tool sharpening and wood fixes. The free event is at 12 Airport Road in Twisp. There is no cost, but donations are welcome. Dropins are welcome, but those with reservations will be prioritized. Reservations will only be honored for the time slot you reserved.

Email miles@methowrecycles.org to make a reservation. Other Repair Cafés: June 12, sewing/mending; June 19, electrical/mechanical fixes. Visit http://methowrecycles.org for more information.

Wedding — Duguay-Smith Jennifer and Bill Duguay (Carlton) and Betsy and Skip Smith (Winthrop) are very pleased to announce the marriage of their children, Johnnie Kay DuguaySmith and Casey Gooding Smith.

They were married in a beautiful ceremony on May 1 by the Methow River. All of their living grandparents were there: Wayne and Linda Mendro of Twisp, Doug Devin (Margie Griffin) of Mazama, and Kay Duguay of Tacoma. We missed Grampie Dick Duguay, Grace Devin, and Bill and Jean Smith.

Casey and Johnnie were both born and raised in the Methow Valley and attended Little Star Montessori School and Methow Valley Elementary School. Casey (Montana State University) graduated from Liberty Bell High School in 2010 and Johnnie (Gonzaga University) graduated from Liberty Bell in 2013. The newlyweds enjoy skiing, hiking, biking, horseback riding and many other outdoor activities. Johnnie works at the Methow Conservancy and Casey runs his family business, BCS Livestock.

The wedding was very small,

Photo courtesy of Johnnie Duguay and Casey Smith

Johnnie Kay Duguay-Smith and Casey Gooding Smith were married May 1. with just immediate family and grandparents. Grandparents and parents provided readings and music. Jacqueline O’Keefe was the officiant, photography was

by Mihayla Phillips and Willy Duguay did the flowers, which he gathered from the hills. There was delicious food from Kathy’s Kitchen, pies from the Mazama

Store and heirloom china from all sides of the family. The dancing was to a varied playlist, including ragtime music, country and rock and roll. Only one dog was allowed to attend.

The couple had a lovely honeymoon in Manson and came back just in time for lambing. There will be a bigger celebration in October.

Methow Valley News

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Service Directory Deadline is Thursday at 5 p.m. for the next week’s paper.

Directory ads are $8 per column inch. To have your service listed please call 997-7011.

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SENIOR NEWS

This Saturday (May 29) we are having another big Western Sidewalk Sale from 9 a.m.-noon.

There will be lots of other things, besides Western articles, that we have been saving up.

There are always surprises.

Now that things are starting to open up, let’s

hope we can get back to normal pretty soon.

We still have restrictions to follow: Only six in the shop at a time, and we are asking you to wear masks, as the volunteers will be. Let’s all stay healthy.

Rosalie Hutson

Timber!

Duffy and Susan Dufresne, Hillary Dufresne and Parker, Tanner and Cooper Meyer, all of Winthrop, would like to proudly announce the birth of Timber Rose Pierce. Timber was born April 28, 2021. Timber is the daughter of Eric and Rebecca (Dufresne) Pierce. She is also welcomed by her brother, Hunter; great-grandmother Elinore Drake of Winthrop; grandparents Bill Pierce and Linda (Ron) Newton; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

C

Photo courtesy of family

N TWISP BAK AMO E N IN

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Edvin (ED) Schachtschneider of Twisp passed away on May 18, 2021. A full obituary will be in next week’s paper.

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Joseph Michael Sprauer took his first earthly They lived in the shed and treehouse that he breath the day after winter solstice, Dec. 22, 1964. built. In 2003 Joe and Tracy’s daughter Chloe was He was embraced in love by his mother, Mary, born during the Needle Creek Fire, and she added his father Gil and his two older sisher bright spark and humor to the ters Michele and Kat. The family family. Joe brought his love, sense of rounded out with Joe’s brother Todd, responsibility and PE teacher nature who was born three years later. to his role as father for his girls, who Joe’s giant blue eyes and bright brought him joy, challenges and smile charmed everyone who met pride daily. him from the start. He grew up on In 2007 Joe’s Polycystic Kidney homegrown tomatoes, corn on the Disease progressed to the end stage cob and fresh milk from the neighand he experienced the outrageous bor in St. Paul, Oregon, home of the generosity of the Methow Valley Willamette Valley’s biggest rodeo. community that year. His beloved (He had some good stories about friend and neighbor, Zach Huff, the clowns.) selflessly donated one of his perJoe’s paternal grandfather, Carl, fect kidneys to Joe. With the supinspired the love of gardening down port of family and community, Joe Joseph Michael through the generations. Carl came fully recovered from the pain and Sprauer by ship to the United States dressed suffering of his kidney disease. In as a woman with his other brothers to escape Ger- the last 14 years, after his new lease on life, he many before World War I began. Joe’s father, Gil, spent precious time with his family and friends grew up as one of 12 children eating the farm- having fun on the rocks and in the mountains. fresh food his father grew for the Mount Angel He spent his year of recovering from his kidney Abbey. Joe’s huge extended German family on transplant building a new family home in Carlboth sides loved laughter, hard work and the ton. He continued to build and started his final Oktoberfest, with over 100 cousins living mainly company, Mountain Goat Construction. in the Willamette Valley.

He brought his diligence and integrity to a mulJoe loved the G-force of speed. He earned his titude of beautiful buildings here in the valley. He first dirt bike by moving pipe and driving com- experienced epic mountain adventures on his dirt bine on the neighboring farms for over 1,000 bike, on foot, on his snowboard and on belay. He hours the summer of his 12th year. Joe went on to took his kids out of school and his family expeskateboard his home-made half pipe, many pools rienced two extraordinary two-month road trips. in abandoned houses, the streets of San Francisco, He also loved to take Chloe and Ari on solo snowand he loved the Burnside SkatePark in Portland. boarding road trips. He spent untold hours studyIn the ocean, he spent untold hours surfing hid- ing permaculture, chi gong, all things dirt bike, den and hard core breaks up and down the coast. astrology and spiritual growth.

He loved learning to consistently ride barrels in He also believed in the mission and work of Costa Rica. But some of his favorite memories Classroom in Bloom and helped to organize and were surfing the heavy days out on the second build the greenhouse and office. He loved his point in Seaside, Oregon. He also raced his snow- annual trail-clearing in the Sawtooths with the board in the early days of the sport.

Coulee Riders. In his last year, he grew and transIn the early 1990s, a longtime builder/crafts- formed through the pain of divorce, spent quality man on the Oregon coast, Johnny Lang, saw in time with his daughters and reconnected with his Joe a keen mind and attention to detail, and he love, Stacy Wagner. taught him to build homes that could stand the Although there is a huge hole in our hearts test of time. Joe also came from a family of heal- where his absence lives, we take deep comfort in ers and was a licensed massage therapist when his life well-lived, the lessons he taught us along he met his future spouse, Tracy, in 1996. They the way and the knowing that he is reunited spent four years in Cannon Beach working, hik- in spirit with his sister Michele, mother Mary ing, studying Buddhism and having their first and dog Zoey. Ari, Chloe, Tracy, Stacy, father child, Ariana. During this period Joe and Tracy Gil, step-mom Nancy, brother Todd, sister Kat, stumbled into the Methow on a climbing trip and nieces Bryce, Carly and Emily and everyone in less than 18 hours bought a lot in Lost River. who loved Joe will strive to live their best lives He and Tracy took a leap of faith and moved to and make Joe proud. Thank you, Joe, for being a Lost River with their 10-week-old, Ari, in 2000. truly wonderful person.

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A family memorial for Jeanette A. Cadwallader will be held on Saturday, June 26, at 1 p.m., with internment at Beaver Creek Cemetery.

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Valley Life

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Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Shelley Smith Jones

Mazama Every time I wrestle with packaging in order to open a bottle or jar, I blame the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders. It was a shocking event when seven people died, each after taking a Tylenol gel capsule that had been evilly laced with potassium cyanide. No one was ever charged or convicted of the poisonings. The incidents certainly led to changes in packaging and to federal anti-tampering laws. That’s all good.

However, am I the only one who needs the patience of Job to extract a #2032 battery out of its removable-proof casing? You know, it’s the little nickel shaped lithium battery that powers bicycle computers, bathroom scales and the like. As if it isn’t frustrating enough to figure out how to get the dead battery out of the device, insult to injury, one must be a mechanical engineer to bust

Ashley Lodato

Winthrop I attended the Liberty Bell Drama Company’s production of “The Laramie Project” on opening night last Wednesday.

Performed at the TwispWorks outdoor pavilion, the play tells the true story of the residents of Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the brutal 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, which endures as one of our nation’s most heinous anti-gay hate crimes.

A cold rainstorm preceded the show and with the sky an unsettled shade of gray, we headed to TwispWorks laden with hats and down parkas and blankets. Park-

Sarah Schrock

Twisp According to Centers for Disease Control, the pandemic is officially in decline in the United States, thanks to the swift administration of the vaccines to over 60% of the adult population. As a result, fewer deaths are occurring, which is also positive. Liberty Bell High School will be vaccinating the newly approved age group 12-15 year-olds, beginning Wednesday (May 26), further reducing the susceptibility of spread in our community. If you have a family member in the 12-15 age group, you can register online via the school district website under their COVID information link.

The winding down of the pandemic aligns beautifully with the new businesses that seem to be springing up all over around town this season, bringing a refreshing and positive tone to a new start. For

through the packaging to retrieve a healthy battery. Then, don’t forget to remove the little sticker on the charging side of the battery before attempting to fit it into its new home.

I planned to go on a rant about the worst of the tamper-proof packaging (e.g., the wrap around a DVD or CD case!), but then I attended a meditation and teaching with Buddhist monk Tan Nisabho and realized my frustration with a salad dressing lid might be somewhat trivial.

After graduating from college followed by a clear self-realization, Tan Nisabho left Washington state in 2012 to go forth as a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Tradition. He received full ordination the next spring before spending the following years training in forest monasteries throughout Thailand, Australia and the United States He returned to Washington last year with a vision to create a monastic home and center of Buddhist practice in the Seattle area.

Tan Nisabho’s parents are currently establishing a center, the Cascade Hermitage, in the Methow, and he is here temporarily staying with them. The hermitage will offer retreat time for monastics of all Buddhist traditions. Many of the visiting monastics will give teachings during their stay, just as Tan Nisabho is doing now.

Among Tan Nisabho’s vows are commitments to not handle money, to only eat once a day before noon, and to not prepare his own food. To ing our lawn chairs on the grass, we settled in, adding warm layers as the night progressed, coveting the sleeping bag that one cozy soul in the front row had had the foresight to bring. I was warm enough, but barely, and I certainly lacked the panache of the kid who went home at intermission and returned wearing a one-piece pajama-style fleece dinosaur suit. The cold was tolerable, but only because the play was compelling.

And then about halfway through the performance something unexpected happened. The outdoor setting transformed from a COVID-compliant necessity to an element that contributed to and even enhanced the performance. The Laramie landscape features large in the narrative, and experiencing the play with the Methow Valley landscape as a full-surround backdrop elevated that sense of place.

It seemed that the cold heightened our empathy for Matthew Shepard and the 18 hours he spent tied to a fence in the Wyoming high desert rangeland. We watched the sky grow dusky and then dark, the passing of months, well years really, people have been asking me, “what is going on with the old Twisp River Pub? I keep seeing things going on there.”

Despite my role as the Twisp columnist, I’m surprised to say, I often do not know what is going on. So, I stopped in last week to find out the scoop.

The former pub will be opening as the new Twisp River Tap House once it’s ready. New owners Amy and Stuart O’Farrell intend to have a rotating selection of West Coast beers on tap and offer meals from TwisPasta. TwisPasta has been operating out of the old kitchen space in the pub building since March, producing meals in a dinner club style and will serve food once the new Twisp River Tap House opens.

One question friends have been asking me is, “ what is going to happen with the personalized pub mugs?”

I can now affirmatively answer this great ponderance.

Many pub dwellers may remember, during the heyday of the Twisp River Pub, patrons had the option of purchasing a personalized handmade mug. The mugs were made by John and Agnes Almquist of Almquist’s Pottery in Winthrop — family members of the former pub owners Aaron and Becky Studen. The mugs were adorned with the signature black raven logo along with the patron’s painted name on it. The mugs were shelved next to the bar for easy grabbing as you entered the pub, and often

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that end, he has introduced himself to the community by “walking for alms” at the Twisp Farmers’ Market.

Recognizable in his colorful robes with alms basket in hand, Tan Nisabho depends upon the generosity of others to sustain himself.

“When we go walking for alms, it’s an act of faith — we only eat what we receive,” Tan Nisabho explains. “It’s a beautiful way to remind ourselves of the preciousness of the connection and of our vulnerability.”

The arrival of a Buddhist monastic in the valley adds another dimension to the diversity of the Methow.

Tan Nisabho is looking forward to meeting folks in the community and welcomes questions about his path and beliefs. He will join all interested persons for a weekly Sunday morning meditation, teaching and potluck from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Methow Valley Wellness Center. He will lead these sessions in person for the next four weeks and after that at the end of every month. He plans to walk for alms every Saturday at the market from 10-11 am. Find information at www.cascadehermitage.org and www.clearmountainmonastery.org.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hahn, whose teachings on mindfulness, global ethics and peace Tan Nisabho has studied, is an international spiritual leader, author, poet and peace activist. Thousands of his quotes provide daily advice from the heart.

I promise to remember this one

Methow Valley News

Photo by Shelley Smith Jones

Buddhist monk Tan Nisabho with his alms basket at the Methow Valley Farmers Market. His parents are currently establishing a teaching and meditation center, the Cascade Hermitage, in the Methow. next time I need a new #2032 battery: “Don’t do any task in order to

get it over with. Resolve to do each job in a relaxed way, with all your

Photo by Ashley Lodato

Opening night for the Liberty Bell Drama Company’s production of “The Laramie Project” required some bundling up — which ultimately enhanced the experience. time noted in the earth’s eternal rhythms.

The illuminated cross on the

hill above the outdoor stage was echoed on the set’s pulpit, its message filtered through the eyes

filled by Patrick Hannigan. After the fire destroyed the pub in 2016, miraculously the mugs remained unscathed.

For the past two years, as Amy and Stuart made headway on developing a business plan and refurbishing the building and furnishings, the question of the mugs lingered. They took the care to wash them, organize them alphabetically, and catalog them for their records based on the name on the mug.

They have heard through the grapevine that some of the mug owners have moved away or passed on, and pondered about if and how they’d incorporate these mugs into their business operations. The couple finally decided to return the mugs to their owners at will. As they finish up final touches to the building and prepare for opening, mug owners are welcome to stop in and pick up their Twisp River Pub mug and take it home.

Amy and Stuart like the idea of the personalized mug, and once things get rolling they may invite patrons to bring their mugs back in to get filled once the taps are flowing, or implement their own locals mug club program. But with a new business, brand and logo, they wanted a fresh start without complications. For now, the mugs remain on the shelves. If you have mug waiting to be filled, your best bet is to stop in when the lights are on, greet Amy and Stuart briefly (because they are busy readying to open), grab your mug, take it home and crack open a frothy one as you wait for more news on their plans.

Mazama: Shelley Smith Jones smithjonesshelley@gmail.com

Winthrop: Ashley Lodato 509-341-4848 or ashleylodato@alumni.stanford.edu

of the various clergy represented in the story, whose perspectives implied that doctrine is a bright

Joanna Bastian

Lower Valley

Hannah Cordes, owner of Aspen Grove in Winthrop, loves to share her passion for cooking. During the COVID shutdown the store had to close for three months, but when Hannah opened the business back up, she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the support shown by the community.

People were cooking more at home, and Hannah had the store that scratched an itch for creativity in the kitchen and travel through food. “People have been coming in, wanting to start new things,” she said, and Hannah is happy to oblige.

If she doesn’t have an item in stock, she is happy to find it Twisp: Sarah Schrock sjschrock@yahoo.com

and bring it to the store. “People are cooking more at home, they come in looking for a new piece of equipment,” she said. Hannah savors the new connections made with people finding comfort in something tangible, like cooking at home and experimenting with new techniques.

Aspen Grove is filled with a wide selection of specialty equipment, high-end staples, and basic necessities like excellent knives, barbecue equipment, pastry tools, table décor and linens. Tasteful displays feature items created by celebrated local artisans: pottery, glassware and woodenware. A fine selection of local wines and ciders, honey and hand-crafted soaps represent the makers of Methow Valley.

With her ever-increasing selection of cookbooks filled with storied histories of food, people can travel via their tastebuds to the countrysides of France and Italy, the bustling spice markets of the Middle East, and seaside retreats of Japan. In addition to hot-off-thepress new cookbooks, Hannah keeps the classic favorites in stock, such as “Joy of Cooking”

by Irma S. Rombauer, “Master the art of French Cooking”

by Julia Child, and “The Silver Palate” by Sheila Lukins and Julie Russo. Hannah noted that these classics are timely gifts

attention. Enjoy and be one with your work.” white light that enlightens some and blinds others.

When junior Holly Hooper delivered the courtroom speech of Matthew Shepard’s father (a monologue I challenge you to listen to without tearing up) she spoke Dennis Shepard’s words from the real courtroom transcript, referencing “the night sky,” “the stars and moon,” “the wind,” and “the scent of pine trees.” We looked up to see the night sky and clouds parting to reveal emerging stars and moon, a cold breeze blowing the scent of Ponderosas across the TwispWorks campus.

The blustery spring evening made watching outdoor theater physically challenging, which later seemed perfectly appropriate, given the play’s subject matter. The audience was chilly, the actors were most likely borderline hypothermic. Our physical discomfort segued into the emotional discomfort the play evokes. Matthew Shepard’s murder was undeniably cold-blooded.

Just as chilling is the fact that it happened in a community where people said “that’s not us, that’s not who we are.” for graduations and wedding. “I keep returning to these recipes that take me back to that time of life,” she said.

Hannah, a chef and author of cooking blog, “Blue Kale Road,” offered recommendations for some of her favorite cookbooks: • “EAST: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Beijing,” by Meera Sodha. “It scratches that itch for travel and new dishes. The great thing is we can get all of the ingredients locally at the Glover Street Market and Hank’s.”

• “Simply Julia: 110 Easy Recipes for Healthy Comfort Food,” by Julia Turshen. “Her cookbook feels like somebody you just want to sink into, like a conversation with an old friend.”

• “The Love and Lemons Cookbook: An Apple to Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking,” by Jeanine Donofrio.

“Categorized by vegetable, this is a great summer cookbook—perfect with the farmers markets.”

• “The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science,” by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. “It is fun to know the science — the art — of cooking good food.”

Aspen Grove is a lovely place to spend an afternoon, savoring all the delicious items that every cook salivates to have in the kitchen.

Lower Valley: Joanna Bastian MethowJoanna@gmail.com