032917newportminer

Page 1

The Newport Miner the voice of pend oreille county since 1901

Wednesday, MARCH 29, 2017

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

Volume 115, Number 9 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages $1.00

Selkirk switches to four-day school week By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner

IONE – The Selkirk School district will switch to a four-day school week starting Sept. 5 of the 2017-2018 school year. The school board approved the 2017-2018 school week calendar at the Monday, March 27 meeting, which was the last official step in transitioning to a four-day school week for next fall. “While there will be bugs to work out along the way, we are very excited about the new calendar for next and the possibilities it offers for staff and students,” says Selkirk Superintendent Nancy Lotze. In 2009, the Legislature passed House Bill 1292, which allows school districts to seek waivers from the requirement of 180 school days in order to operate four-day school weeks. The Selkirk School District has 250 full-time equivalent students, which makes the district eligible to submit a waiver. The school district held a public meeting at the Cutter Theatre in Metaline Falls in February to discuss the possibility of moving to a shorter school week. Lotze says that 106 people responded to the survey question on whether they supported the four-day school week. Six indicated that they had no opinion, 10 opposed and 90 supported it. The four-day school week means new hours for Selkirk School District students. Starting next school year kindergarten will go from 8:20 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., instead of getting out at 2:40 p.m. like it currently does. Middle school students will attend classes form 8:10 a.m. to 3:36 p.m. and high school students will go from 8 a.m. to 3:38 p.m. There will be 150 student days in a year for a four-day school week, as opposed to the 177 Selkirk schools had in the 2016-2017 school year. The Washington state average for student days is 180. The motivating forces in opting for a four-day school week were staff recruitSee school, 2A

Miner photo|Sophia Aldous

Start your engines Cub Scout Packs 604 and 696, from Newport and Priest River, gathered with family and leaders at Oldtown Rotary Park Wednesday, March 22 for the annual pine car derby, complete with a computerized track to monitor various speeds. Far right: Stephanie Foust, 696 Pack Leader, and another volunteer help Cub Scouts prepare their cars with weights before the weigh-in. Tobias Stewart took first place, Austin Hirst came in second place, and Ben Stewart came in third place.

Selkirk student nabs first place in art competition tional Service District and features over 150 entries from central and eastern Washington high school students. Shafer also won a $2,000 scholarship for her mixed media piece titled “The Elder” a colorful depiction of a wolf staring back at the viewer from its canvas. Shafer says the piece was partially inspired by her fascination with wolves and in the memory of

By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner

IONE – Who says art doesn’t pay? Not Selkirk High School senior Dakota Shafer, who recently won first place in the 2017 Regional High School Art Show at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. The contest is sponsored by the Northeast Washington Educa-

Unusual mix of factors lead to floods

See art, 2A

Landslide closes Highway 31

By Bob Lutz For the Miner

SACHEEN LAKE – Many have asked me why the surface flooding has been so severe this year. In short, it is an unusual combination of several factors. First, we had record rains in October and early November, which filled the local water tables. This was then followed by an early Arctic outbreak and with little snow on the ground, the saturated soils allowed for a fast and anomalously deep frost. Once the snows began in December, we saw little in the way of any melting thanks to numerous waves of arctic air that continued into early February. This allowed the water equivalent

her grandfather John, who died in 2016. “I wanted it to have more meaning for me,” Shafer says of her artwork’s nod to her grandpa. “He really did like my art.” Her win automatically enters Shafer in the Superintendent’s High School Art Show May 19 at the

METALINE – After a very snowy, wet winter and early spring, it’s no surprise that there are flooded roads and mudslides in many locations. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has a major slide on SR 31 near the town of Metaline. “The section of SR 31 just south of Metaline will remain closed for the near future as we wait for weather and soil conditions to improve,” said Mike Gribner, Regional Administrator for WSDOT Eastern Region in a news release. The continuing melting snow pack and record rainfall has saturated a high bank of clay soil that in places reach approximately 100 feet above the roadway. “There have been multiple slides since the highway was closed on March 16,” he said.

Courtesy photo|Bob Lutz

This home near Davis lake experienced some flooding last week.

See flood, 2A

See landslide, 2A

B r i e f ly County commissioners to get raises in 2018 NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille County Salary Commission met March 22 and voted 8-1 to give the Pend Oreille County Commissioners a three percent raise, starting in 2018. The lone dissenter was Taylor Massengale. Tom Garrett of the Salary Commission said in the last 10 years the commissioners have only received a 1 ½ percent raise. Garrett said in looking at similar sized counties, the commissioners were behind in wages. He said he didn’t want to get to a position where a big raise would be given because the salaries haven’t kept up. The reason the raise doesn’t go into effect until 2018 is that is what the

Follow us on Facebook

law requires. The nine-member salary commission only deals with county commissioner salaries and meets twice a year. The next meeting will be in October.

Grizzly Maws and Paws prepare for April auction NEWPORT – The Grizzly Maws and Paws Booster Club is preparing for their ‘Grrrreat Grizzly Auction,’ set for April 29. There are already a number of items donated, including an instant wine cellar with 50 bottles of wine, a guided Montana fishing trip for four and a night at Northern

Quest and dinner at Maselow’s. There are also a number of themed baskets, all valued at more than $100. Donations are still being accepted. There is a Grizzly Alumni Basket Challenge, with alumni invited to donate cash for an alumni basket that will be auctioned. The goal for the alumni basket is $500. The auction will take place Saturday, April 29, at the Beardmore Bistro Wine Bar and Tap House in Priest River. There will be hors d’oeurves and a silent auction from 6:30 – 8 p.m., with the live auction getting underway at 8 p.m. All proceedsw support students of the Newport School District. For more information, email mawsandpawsboosterclub@gmail.com.

classifieds

6B

Opinion

4a

Record

8B

Life

1B

Police Reports

8A

sports

4B-5B

Obituaries

8A

Public Notices

7B-9B

easter

6-7A, 2-3B, 10B

Easter coloring contest

See Inside WInners announced next week


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.