The Newport Miner

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Memorial Weekend at Priest Lake. See pages 7A-8A

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High school athletes head to state. See Sports 2B-3B

The Newport Miner

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THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

Just two run for county commissioner

Only District 2 will vote on primary race BY JANELLE ATYEO OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – The race for Pend Oreille County District 2 commissioner didn’t draw any unexpected candidates during filing week May 13-17. Zorica Appointed incumbent Mike Manus, a Republican, will face another Republican, Newport city councilman Mark Zorica, who was one of three candidates in the running for the ap- Manus pointment last fall. Although just two candidates filed, which guarantees them a spot on the general election ballot in November, their names will still be on the primary ballot. Only District 2 voters in Newport

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

and the surrounding area will make their choice in the primary election Aug. 6. The whole county will vote for a candidate to fill the seat in the Nov. 5 general election. County voters will be getting used to those names. They’ll vote for the same seat in 2014. That’s because the commissioner term was unexpired when Manus was appointed to the seat last fall. He was chosen by county commissioners when Laura Merrill resigned from office to take a job in Olympia with the Washington State Association of Counties. In the process of choosing a replacement, the Pend Oreille County Republican Party had their precinct committee officers vote for three candidates to go before the board of commissioners. They were Manus, Zorica and Wayne Antcliff. The board of commissioners – at the time, Diane Wear and John Hankey – interviewed candidates and voted on SEE COUNTY, 2A

Volume 110, Number 16 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages

MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING

Farm day at Stratton Kindergarten teacher Sarah Zwarg brought some of her farm animals to show the students at Stratton Elementary in Newport Monday, May 13. Here, Zwarg, the 2004 Newport Rodeo Queen, shows the teeth of Trippy, the 20-year-old mare she used for her queen duties.

First PUD fiber hook ups made near Sacheen Lake Newport area connections probably coming later this summer BY DON GRONNING AND FRED WILLENBROCK OF THE MINER

MINER PHOTO|FILE

Mike Denuty rests on a railroad car during a visit to Idaho with friend Sheldon Perry of Portland. The snapshot was taken around 2006.

SACHEEN LAKE – The Pend Oreille Public Utility District made the first connections to their new residential fiber system at Sacheen Lake May 14. But they weren’t making any predictions on when they would be connecting other areas such as Newport. Joe Onley, PUD Community

Mike Denuty boards final train

BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – If you are a long time reader of The Newport Miner, the name Mike Denuty probably is familiar. For more than 25 years, Denuty worked for Denuty 1966 the newspaper. He died last week at his home in Spokane at age 65. (See

complete obituary on page 10B.) He was one of the last of the old time newspapermen. He went from the days of true cut and paste, when writers wrote on cheap paper with manual typewriters and a bottle of rubber glue at their side. Mike would type frantically, rip the paper out of the typewriter and cut it up and arrange it how he wanted. Then the paper was pasted together and handed to a

SEE DENUTY, 2A

OLDTOWN – Anna M. Hurst, 19, of Oldtown died in a head-on collision on Highway 41 Tuesday morning, May 21. Hurst was traveling northbound on Highway 41, north of Blanchard, when she attempted to pass another vehicle. Michael L. Radan, 41, of Newport was southbound when Hurst crossed in to the southbound lane. The vehicles met head-on, according to Idaho State Patrol. Both northbound and southbound lanes were blocked for approximately five hours Tuesday. Hurst was driving a 2002 Dodge Stratus, and Radan was in a 2008 Kenworth semi tractor

when people will be able to connect in Newport or other specific areas. “We’re still working on a couple things and waiting for some parts.” Onley said they have more than 3,400 boxes installed with a goal of more than 4,000 in the south county area covered by the grant. Work will continue until fall on the remaining connections – primarily the more difficult underground connections. Even though the PUD has projected a shortfall in grant funds to make all the connections, they have committed to completing the project.

The PUD decided to start in an area of the county with the least amount of options to connect to the Internet – the Fertile Valley Road and Sacheen Lake areas. Barbara McCabe was one of the first people connected. She says the fiber project has lived up to the hype so far. “The speeds are phenomenal,” she said. She works from her Sacheen Lake home for Cerium Networks of Spokane, sending large files and participating in trainings over a Virtual Private Network. SEE FIBER, 2A

Chamber selects River Arts Alliance for visitor center Executive director job description changed, deadline to apply extended

Chamber President Steve Shumski said the board selected RAA at their meeting Monday night, May 20, and they signed an agreement Tuesday. The chamber will maintain a corner of the office where their executive director will be based once the person is hired. The chamber restarted advertising the position with a new job description this week. The job has been open since March when the executive director resigned.

BY FRED WILLENBROCK OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – River Arts Alliance, the group best known for showcasing local artists’ work, was selected by the Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce to run the visitor center for them in Centennial Plaza.

|| Teen dies in head-on collision

Network System manager, said that they had about 300 orders from the different retail service providers to hook up customers. The PUD puts the electronics in the gray boxes they had installed on homes and businesses and connects it to electric power before the meter. From there, the company the customer has selected to provide Internet service, television or phone can begin their installation. “In about a week the floodgates will be open,” said Joe Onley, PUD community connectivity manager, on Monday, May 20. Although he declined to say

B R I E F LY

with a trailer. He was taken to the Newport Hospital with injuries. Both were wearing their seatbelts, according to ISP.

Miner closed for holiday NEWPORT – The Miner newspaper office will be closed Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day holiday. The deadline for classified advertisements will be 5 p.m. on Friday. Lifestyle news items are due by Thursday. The remaining deadlines are the same.

Pike netting continues down river

RAA has agreed to staff the visitor center Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Shumski said. But they are considering changing that to the more visitor friendly Wednesdays to Sundays. He said RAA plans to start as soon as possible. RAA president Loyce Akers said they are a non-profit organization that includes the Evergreen Art Association. They would sell artists’ work at the visitor center.

SEE CHAMBER, 2A

||

NEWPORT – After an index survey to estimate the number of northern pike in the Pend Oreille River, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife determined there are still too many pike in the northern end of the river, north of Riverbend. WDFW and the Kalispel Tribe is doing more suppression netting there. The duration of their efforts depends on water conditions. The number of pike in the river between Riverbend and Oldtown was low enough to forego a second round of gill netting. The agencies aimed to catch 1.7 pike per net in the southern portion of the river during their recent survey.

Newport council approves rodeo grants NEWPORT – The Newport city council awarded the Newport Rodeo Association $3,000 from the funds generated by the city hotel/motel tax at their Monday, May 20, regular meeting. The funds will be used to promote the three association events this year: $1,000 for the Newport Rodeo, $1,000 for Justin Kelly Memorial Rough Stock Invitational, and $1,000 for Newport Bull-ARama. The council also approved the use of the city park for the Newport Music Festival Sept. 13 and 14.

SPORTS 2B-3B - RECORD 4B - POLICE 4B - OPINION 4A - CLASSIFIEDS 6B-10B - PUBLIC NOTICES 8B-10B - DOWN RIVER 9A - LIFE 1B - OBITUARIES 4B, 10B


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