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The Newport Miner
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THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901
75¢
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 110, Number 15 | 2 Sections, 16 Pages
Newport schools feeling money pressure BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
MINER PHOTO|JANELLE ATYEO
Sunshine shows between showers on the Oldtown Bridge Between rain showers Monday evening, May 14, the sun shines on the Oldtown Bridge. To the right, you can see the progress on the water tank road for the Oldtown water system expansion. The road now passes the aspen grove on the Jim and Bobbie Ward property, and the site has been cleared for the tank. Construction of the tank won’t likely begin until August. The road should be complete in the next few weeks.
NEWPORT – The federal sequester, declining enrollment and a change in some state funding are among the things that are putting pressure on the Newport School District’s finances. School board members got to hear some of the consequences at the board meeting Monday, May 13. One of the most immediate consequences will be the loss of federal Title 1 money for summer school. Title 1 money goes to schools with a high concentration of students from lowincome families, many of whom qualify for free and reduced price lunches. The district will still provide breakfast and lunch over the summer, but not have a summer school and there will be no transportation. The district would normally put on a summer school for 60 to 70 students. But this year, because of the across the board federal funding cuts called the sequester, the district won’t receive about $45,000, which means they won’t hold the summer school, special services coordinator Michele Hunt told the directors.
It costs about $25,000 to have the summer school, with about half of that going to transportation, she said. At the high school, there will be credit retrieval courses held in the summer, but they will mostly be conducted online, with a teacher coming in once a week or so, high school principal Dennis Matson told board members. Business manager Tom Crouch said that by cutting summer school, the district would be able to preserve all Title 1 programs during the regular school year. Several audience members urged the board to do something to retain the full time services of middle school counselor Sarah Theal. Her position is partially funded by Educational Service District 101 and that money will be redistributed elsewhere, leaving her with a two-day position paid for by the district. That will not likely be enough for Theal, who has worked for the district for nine years. She is seeking full-time work elsewhere. The ESD 101 money will go to Cusick instead, Theal said, based on a needs assessment. Even if it had remained at Newport, it SEE SCHOOL, 2A
Newport chamber still taking proposals for visitor center Deadline for proposals extended until May 17 BY FRED WILLENBROCK OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – After the Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce board decided to find a contractor to operate
the visitor center they have manned for more than 20 years in Centennial Plaza, two viable plans emerged: One for a non-profit to operate in the current building and the other to operate in a business across the street. The deadline for proposals has now been extended to Friday, May 17, said
chamber president Steve Shumski. They extended the deadline after receiving a list of items that could be sold from the Pend Oreille County Historical Society board of directors. Shumski said that before getting the SEE VISITORS, 2A
West Bonner Schools asking voters to approve $3 million levy BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
PRIEST RIVER – Voters will turnout Tuesday, May 21, to decide the fate of the West Bonner School District’s one-year, $3 million maintenance and operations levy. A simple majority is needed to pass. If passed, the $3 million levy will re-
place the $2.35 million current levy. The larger amount will mean an increase in property taxes, from $1.53 per $1,000 assessed value for the current levy to $1.96 per $1,000 for the proposed levy, which would be for the 2013-14 school year. The $2.35 million levy was a bare bones levy and would not maintain cur-
rent staffing next year, so school board members decided to ask voters for the higher amount, Superintendent Ellen Perconti said. About 27 percent of the district’s staff is paid through the M&O levy, she said. The discretionary money the district SEE LEVY, 2A
|| Evelyn Reed appreciation lunch is May 22 NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Historical Society will host a luncheon open to the public to show their appreciation of Evelyn Reed’s 25 years of volunteer service Wednesday, May 22, at 11:30 a.m. at the Riverbank Restaurant. She served 18 years as the historical society president until she resigned this month. Reed started her volunteerism in Reed the community when she and her husband Roy, who became mayor of Newport, moved here in the late 1980s from western Washington. She had grown up in this community. Reed operated the chamber of commerce’s visitor center and served as chamber manager. This was among
MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING
B R I E F LY
the many boards and groups she has volunteered to serve in a variety of ways over the years. New Historical Society President Dwayne Becker said they hope to keep her involved in some way, noting that it will be hard to replace her.
Rocky Creek Bridge closed IONE – Pend Oreille County’s road department is closing Rocky Creek Bridge, located about two and half miles northwest of Highway 20 south of Ione. The bridge has been deemed unsafe and will be closed indefinitely Thursday, May 16. County engineering technician Tom McCaffrey said the bridge has suffered damage over recent years and is actually moving. The county is beginning an engineer-
Showing off Miss Green, the red iguana Chase Miller was out on Washington Avenue in Newport Thursday, May 9, with Miss Green, his red iguana. He bought the year-old lizard on Craigslist, the online sales site, for $70. Miss Green likes people, he says.
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ing study for repair and replacement of the 1958 timber structure, but there are no current plans for repair and no funds available at this time, according to county documents. The bridge over Lost Creek, accesses U.S. Forest Service and Department of Natural Resources land. McCaffrey said there a couple of private landowners closer to Stevens County that can still be accessed from the Aladdin Highway. Road closed signs will be located at Highway 20 and on the other end of Rocky Creek Road, 10 miles from the closure, on the Aladdin Highway.
Commissioners focused on timber NEWPORT – Pend Oreille County commissioners are
pushing the U.S. Forest Service to harvest more trees as a way to generate revenue for the county and jobs at local mills. District 1 commissioner Karen Skoog will be attending the National Association of Counties regional conference next week, May 22-24, in Flagstaff, Ariz., were natural resources will be the topic. Commissioners said they try to limit their out-ofcounty travel, but felt this was an important issue. Skoog said they’ve been working with the U.S. Forest Service to get a sustainable yield. The conference is near the Coconino National Forest, which suffered a humancaused fire of about four acres earlier this month. Skoog plans to attend sessions on public lands steering, Forest Health: The Economics of Treatment vs. Large-scale Forest Fires, and Recovering After Disaster and Protecting Your Community from Further Disaster.
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