The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 115, Number 1 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages $1.00
HiTest smelter going to Addy Company opts for Stevens over Pend Oreille County Operating Officer Jim May, before the House Technology and Economic Development Committee Wednesday, Jan. 25. May thanked Rep. Shelly Short, R-Addy, for her “strong support of our project,” saying she’s been instrumental in get-
By Michelle Nedved and Don Gronning Of The Miner
OLYMPIA – HiTest Sand will not be building a $300 million smelter in Pend Oreille County, according to testimony by Chief
ting to this point. Pend Oreille County commissioners released a statement Tuesday, expressing their disappointment, stating there is a need for more job opportunities here. “Existing industries like
Vaagen Brothers and Ponderay Newsprint provide the economic foundation for our county, and we need to attract additional investment in order to maintain our high quality of life in Pend Oreille County,” Commissioner Mike Manus said.
The Washington Department of Commerce made an announcement in August that the project was receiving $300,000 to do initial planning. Pend Oreille County itself received See HiTest, 9A
Immersed
Salish language school teaches in native language By Don Gronning Of The Miner
Miner photo|Don Gronning
Todd Ellingburg, lead teacher for the Salish Language Survival School, works with Mylind Whitford Renaud and Nathan Whitford. They are working on measuring and counting in Salish.
Short will replace Dansel in state senate
By Don Gronning Of The Miner
NEWPORT – Shelly Short, the five term GOP state Representative from Addy, has been selected to replace Brian Dansel in the state Senate. Dansel resigned last week to take a job with the Trump administration as special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Short said she was going to be sworn in Wednesday, Feb. 1. She will resign her House seat before that. “I certainly didn’t expect this when I started the session,” she said. Even after hearing Dansel was resigning last Tuesday, she was reluctant to seek the position. By Thursday that had changed.
Dansel’s abrupt resignation took most by surprise, leaving the Senate in a 24-24 tie, causing the state Republican Party to quickly convene a meeting of 60 Republican Precinct Committee Officers from Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Spokane counties. That meeting was held Sunday in Chewelah with the object of selecting three names to advance to the county commissioners from the five counties. The county commissioners made their vote Monday in Colville, electing Short. The PCOs nominated nine people for the position at the Chewelah meeting. Each had to be nominated in person and have a PCO second the nomination, said Caleb Heimlich,
executive director for the state Republican Party. Short received a majority on the first ballot. The PCOs then voted again with Jacquelin Maycumber and Larry Stickney rounding out the three names to go to commissioners. Maycumber is Short’s legislative assistant and Stickney is a conservative activist best known for a campaign to roll back domestic partnership benefits for gay people in 2009. After selecting the three nominees for the Senate, PCOs moved on to select three people to be considered to fill Short’s position in the House in case she was selected by the county See Short, 10A
CUSICK – It’s after lunch at the Salish Language Survival School across the street from the Cusick Schools. Seventeen children in grades kindergarten through second grade are in a doublewide trailer listening as their teacher speaks to them in Salish, the native language of the Kalispel people. The students are divided into two groups, with the nine older children sitting at desks going over some measuring and mathematics with their teacher, Todd Ellingburg, who mostly teaches in Salish but will go into English as needed. The eight kindergarteners are learning the letters and associated sounds of the Kalispel language. It’s an active group, with the students scampering around on the floor as the teacher points to a letter of the language that is printed on a piece of laminated paper and asks what sound it makes. This is the first year for the emersion school but the Kalispel Tribe has had a language program for years. The tribe has offered the Early Learning Center for preschool See Salish, 2A
Moratorium continues with marijuana issues By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner
NEWPORT - The Pend Oreille County Commissioners voted to extend the moratorium on retail marijuana sales, as well as prohibit medical marijuana community gardens at last week’s public hearing, Jan. 24. A smattering of community members attended the public hearing to give testimony regarding their views on retail and medical marijuana with some voicing opposition, citing concerns over youth access to marijuana and others showing their support, saying the county was missing out on
an economic opportunity. The six-month moratorium was passed by county commissioners in January 2016 and extended for another six months in July 2016. This latest moratorium, the third, will last another six months. “While the moratorium was in effect, county staff had a chance to look at state regulations concerning marijuana and how those would coincide with rules and ordinances in Pend Oreille County,” said consultant Gregg Dorhn. Last month, the Pend Oreille County Planning Commission voted to recommend that See Marijuana, 2A
B r i e f ly Snow day make-ups for Newport schools
Get ready for Polar Plunge
NEWPORT – There are two upcoming days that will serve as snow day make-ups for the Newport School District. There will be classes Friday, Feb. 17 and Friday, May 26 to compensate for schools being closed due to weather on Jan. 18 and 19. Feb. 17 and May 26 were previously scheduled as snow days on the school calendar.
PRIEST RIVER – The annual Priest River Panthers Polar Plunge will take place Saturday, Feb. 18, from noon to 5 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the Special Olympics team, the Panthers, and features a live auction and chili cook-off. The plunge happens at Bonner Park West at noon, and then participants go to Priest River Lamanna High School for food.
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For more information on donations for the live auction or chili cook-off, call 208-290-3783.
Cub Scouts bake sale Feb. 12 PRIEST RIVER – Cub Scout Pack 604 is going to have a Valentines Bake Sale at Mitchells IGA in Priest River, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12. There will be a variety of baked goods including cakes, breads, cookies and pies.
Opinion
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