Newport Miner June 25, 2014

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NEWPORT RODEO PAGES 1B-10B

The Newport Miner THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

Volume 111, Number 21 | 2 Sections, 28 Pages

75¢

65th Newport Rodeo hits town Celebration has a full schedule BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – The end of June means rodeo in Newport. This year will be the 65th annual event for the Newport Rodeo, held Friday and Saturday, June 27-28. The rodeo will get underway at 7:30 p.m. both nights, with contestants competing for more than $9,000 in added prize money and the prestigious Newport Rodeo trophy buckles. Advance tickets are available around town, $10 for adults, $5 for youth 5-11. Children under 4 are admitted free. In addition to the arena action, the Paradise Amusements carnival is in town Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the rodeo grounds. The carnival will have a full variety of rides, games and goodies. Thursday the carnival will feature buy-one-getone-free wristbands from 5 p.m. to closing. Friday, from 3-7 p.m., the family fun pack of 60 ride tickets is offered for $40, a $10 savings. For adults, there will be a beer garden located in the

uncovered stands near the entrance. The NewportPriest River Rotary Club organizes the vendors and the beer garden. Saturday’s activities get underway at 8 a.m. with the Cowboy Breakfast at the vendors area of the rodeo grounds, hosted by the Newport Eagles. The Rodeo Parade starts at 11 a.m. The parade will take its usual route – down First Street to North Calispel Street, to Spruce Street, to Washington Avenue, to Fourth Street. The parade will wind up at Newport High School. The Grand Marshalls for the parade are the Earl Family of Newport. (See related story.) After the parade on Saturday there will be music at the Gazebo in downtown Newport provided by Mike Moudy and his band and Scotia Road. There will be free kids activities in the Visitors Center parking lot and the Pend Oreille County Museum, with an inflatable bouncing castle, a big slide, and an obstacle course. All provided by the Greater Newport Area Chamber of SEE RODEO, 2A

In Newport, rodeo means the Earl family BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER

COURTESY PHOTO|AL EARL

Al Earl and his extended family have been involved with the Newport Rodeo for decades. Al has competed, run the chutes and, as in this 1983 photo, worked as a pickup man, helping riders get off bucking horses.

State senate candidates focus jobs, red tape BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – About 18 people attended the first Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting in several months Tuesday, June 17. The event focused on the two men running for the 7th District Senate seat up for election this year. Incumbent Brian Dansel, R-Republic, and his challenger Tony Booth, also a Republican, spoke to the group at Newport High School, about how they would best serve the northeastern region of Washington state, an area consistently suffering from high unemployment. They disagreed on how quickly the problem can be reversed. Booth believes he has a plan that can drop the

If there is one family that has performed just about every role in the Newport Rodeo for more than 40 years, it is the Earl family of Newport, this year’s Grand Marshals for the Newport parade. Whether it is working behind the scenes before and during the rodeo, competing, working as a timer or serving as chute boss, there has been an Earl involved in the rodeo for decades. You might even say they have been destined for rodeo. “I was born on the first night of the Newport Rodeo,” says Lola Rickey, the third child of Glenn and Doris Earl. Glenn was working at the rodeo and Doris had to call the sheriff to come get him so he could be with his wife. Lola married Randy Rickey, an accomplished team roper and rodeo committeeman who was instrumental in producing the Newport Rodeo for years. He and her older brother, SEE EARL, 2A

Deputy pulls dog from septic tank BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER

MINER PHOTO|MICHELLE NEDVED

Tony Booth, center, is running against Sen. Brian Dansel, right, for the 7th District seat in Washington. The two Republicans spoke during a Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce membership meeting Tuesday, June 17. Chamber treasurer Steve Shumski, left, looks on.

unemployment rate in Pend Oreille, Ferry, Stevens and Okanogan counties from about 11.5 to between 8

and 9 percent. “I have a plan that’s thought out. We’ve done our homework and we’re

ready to make a change,” Booth said of himself and

NEWPORT – Friday, June 20, could have went a little better for Bell, an older shepherd, who had recently lost most of her vision and had fallen into an open septic tank that was being repaired. The owner, Lawrence Sima, called 911, where Pend Oreille County Communications officers David Newsom and Amy Lexa caught the call. Newsom could hear the dog crying and yelping in obvious distress as he obtained necessary information required to send help. While communications received the call, deputy Travis Stigall walked into the dispatch center. After hearing what was happening he responded to the incident location on State Route 211 near mile marker 10, according to a press release from the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office. Once on scene, Stigall met with the dog’s owner and assessed the situation. The dog’s owner had placed a ladder into the tank, but due to the small opening and the high level of raw sewage he was unable to rescue Bell. The owner had also tried to use an extension cord to loop

SEE JOBS, 2A

SEE SEWER, 2A

B R I E F LY Child dies when tractor trailer leaves road PRIEST LAKE – A 3-year-old boy was killed Tuesday, June 17, about 10 a.m. when a semi truck left the road on Highway 57, went down a 10-foot embankment and struck several trees south of Priest Lake. According to a press release from the Idaho State Police, Kenneth Abey, 25, of Sagle, was driving north on Highway 57 when his semi left the roadway. The child, who was not identified by ISP, was in the cab with Abey and died in the crash. Abey was taken to Newport Hospital and then transferred to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. He was

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CLASSIFIEDS

listed in satisfactory condition Tuesday, June 24. According to a death notice at Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint, the child was identified as Carson Nicholas Abbey. The incident is still under investigation.

Box Canyon Dam back to generating IONE – The Pend Oreille Public Utility District’s Box Canyon Dam began generating about 27 mega watts, Monday, June 9, after being offline for 14 days to keep the Pend Oreille River from flooding. PUD Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs Mark Cauchy said the National Oceanic and Atmo11B-14B

OPINION

spheric Administration (NOAA) in coordination with the Pend Oreille County Emergency Management have lowered the designation of the flood stage. It was 100,000 cubic feet per second and was lowered to 95,000 cfs. Cauchy said Box quit generating power on May 26 and was offline until June 9. The river is flowing at about 74,000 cfs and it should drop Wednesday, June 25, to 67,000 cfs. PUD Power Production Manager Mark Cleveland said that number should continue to decrease as Pend Oreille Lake is filled to summer levels. AcSEE BRIEFLY, 2A

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RECORD

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SPORTS

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LIFE

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POLICE REPORTS

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OBITUARIES

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PUBLIC NOTICES

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4TH OF JULY

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