Lake Life - August 2018

Presorted Standard | US Postage Paid Newport, WA | Permit No. 18 | ECRWWS

Celebrating Life at Diamond Lake and Sacheen Lake Volume 7, Issue 5

August 2018

Just a Chick in the Garden Dick Bockemuehl

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2 Lake Life | August 2018

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Prepping for winter season

By Chicky Gorat

Your yard is looking like a masterpiece after all your hard work.

Blood, sweat and maybe a few tears.

In a few months you’ll be prepping your flowerbeds for a long winter nap.

Here are some steps to insure success.

When: I try to cut most everything back after a frost or two.

You’ll also notice, depending on the perennial, that

some perennial foliage dies back after the first frost and others will need several more frosts.

You can still trim them back without hurting the plant.

Water: As fall approaches you’ll need to pay attention to how much rainfall we receive.

If we continue to have no rain you will have to supplement moisture.

You don’t want your plant material dry going into winter or you will have damage.

Fertilizer: Quick note You shouldn’t fertilize your perennials in the late fall.

This will increase new

growth, which can be damaging to the plant when the next frost arrives.

Tools: Now to the hard work. Let’s try to make it easier for you by using the right tool for the right plant.

I use scissors for most of all my pruning needs throughout the whole season.

These scissors are a bit heavier than normal scissors. You can buy these at your local hardware stores.

For bigger stemmed perennials select from either a by-pass or anvil pruner.

This is a personnel choice.

For even larger stemmed See Chicky, Page 8

ON THE COVER Courtesy photo|Brooks Malberg

Come on in, the water is great

Brooks Malberg from Los Angeles does a flip off of a friend’s dock into Diamond Lake.

Published: August 2018 Publisher: Michelle Nedved Writers & editors: Don Gronning, Sophia Aldous and Caneel Johnson Design: Brad Thew Advertising: Lindsay Guscott, Cindy Boober, Becky McDaniel and Micki Brass LAKE LIFE is published monthly in April, May, June, July and August as a supplement to The Newport Miner and Gem State Miner, 421 S. Spokane, Newport WA 99156.

TELEPHONE: 509-447-2433 E-MAIL: minernews@povn.com, mineradvertising@povn.com FAX: 509-447-9222

Reproduction of articles & photographs is prohibited without permission of the Publisher.

See all issues at:

The Miner Online: www.pendoreillerivervalley.com.

If you want to receive Lake Life in your mail contact The Miner at 509-447-2433.

Jason Butler and his son Brandon help Wyatt Culp, 3, pick out a Sponge Bob sherbet popsicle while his father Logan fishes at the Diamond Lake boat launch.

Miner Photo|Caneel Johnson

Can you hear the ice cream man coming?

By Caneel Johnson Of The Miner

DIAMOND LAKE – There is a new ice cream truck in the Diamond Lake-Newport area. Jason Butler, 42, started Big Boys Ice Cream Truck about eight weeks ago.

“It has been a long time dream of mine to own an ice cream truck,” Butler said. “I like to see the kids smile

when it comes around.”

Butler’s brother called one day this summer and asked him if he still wanted to buy an ice cream truck.

His brother’s boss was selling one for $4,500. Butler had to say no because couldn’t afford it.

“It was crazy,” Butler said. “He called ten minutes later and said if I came and got it I could have it.”

Butler made the drive down to Santa

Rosa, Calif., about a week later to pick it up.

The truck can be seen and heard at random times during the day between Diamond Lake and Newport. “I try to get out as much as I can,” said Butler.

“I sold out last week.”

His son Brandon, 10, goes with him most days.

“My prices are pretty reasonable,” Butler said. “I had a lady tell me that

she bought three ice creams from a truck in Spokane and it cost her $15.

You could buy five ice creams from me for under that.”

Butler’s best sellers are the Big Bopper (a cookie and ice cream sandwich) for $2.75, the Choco Taco for $2.50, the Sponge Bob sherbet, the strawberSee Ice cream, 5 August 2018 | Lake Life 3

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Connecting You to the World

Living in harmony on Sacheen Lake Dear Friends and Neighbors, Is it busy around here, or what? As soon as summer sets in it seems the longer days are shorter than ever… just not enough hours to get everything done. All of a sudden those cold snowy days sitting by the crackling fire reading a good book seem pretty appealing.

Hill As you know, we again asked the county for a no-wake limit while the water was high this spring. Most residents complied, and we sustained reduced levels of shoreline erosion as a result. Thank you for putting up with the inconvenience/ restriction. Now even with the lake level under control, I would ask that everyone still be mindful of your wake. I’m told that some lakes on the west side actually had bladder

boats/wake boats outlawed due to shore damage.

The SLA Board members were pleased with the attendance and participation at the annual meeting in June, and grateful to Bill Baker from the state department of Fish and Wildlife for his presentation dealing with our new year-round fishing season. If you weren’t able to take part in the meeting, the PowerPoint is posted on our web site, www.SacheenLake. com, and includes the slide show of our ongoing beaver dam efforts to help control the lake level. The next Sacheen Lake Association annual meeting will be next year in June 2019, date to be determined.

I hope you had a safe, fun summer at Sacheen Lake!

Don Hill, President of Sacheen Lake Association

ICE CREAM | Started 8 weeks ago From Page 3

ry short cake, chocolate éclair and the snow cone for $2.

“I can’t believe some of these kids have never seen an ice cream truck before,” Butler said. “They were everywhere in California where I grew up.”

Butler will be out bringing smiles to children’s faces until it gets cold, and he will start again next year as soon as it gets hot.

He plans to add candy bars and licorice to his list of goodies, and install a larger freezer.

Butler grew up in Sonoma County, Calif. He moved to the Diamond Lake area with his mother to take care of her parents more than 12 years ago, and stayed.

“I love the woods, and it’s so much nicer here than in California,” Butler said.

He is the single father of four boys ages 15, 10, 3, and 2.

In addition to caring for the boys, Butler does yard work and odd jobs to keep busy.

CORRECTION The photo credit was mistakenly left off of July’s Lake Life cover. The photo of a young woman diving head first into Sacheen Lake was taken by her husband, Kohl Crecelius. Crecelius is the CEO and co-founder of Known Supply, an ethical fashion company that supports and advocates for workers that make clothing. For more information, go to www. knownsupply.com.

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Miner photo|Don Gronning

Pend Oreille County elections workers start preparing for the final count Aug. 20 at the county courthouse.

PUD commissioner candidate Devin Beach looks on anxiously. Beach was five votes short of making the general election.

Final count puts Onley, Peterson in PUD race Manus, Miller advance for county commissioner

By Don Gronning Of The Miner

NEWPORT – There were no big surprises in the final count for the primary election in Pend Oreille County, although the matter of which District 1 Pend Oreille Public Utility District commissioner candidates who will advance to general

election was settled.

When the votes were last counted Aug. 10, Joe Onley was leading Devin Beach by four votes. If there had been a three-vote difference, it would have fell within the quarter of a percent that required a re-count. When they were counted Monday, Aug. 20, Onley had picked up a vote

and will advance to the general election on the basis of his five-vote margin – 350-345.

Onley and incumbent commissioner Dan Peterson will be in the general. Peterson got 540 votes, the most of the five candidates running in the PUD commissioner race.

See Election, Page 11

Food for thought

Healthy doesn’t have to mean boring

By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner

DIAMOND LAKE – Raquel Kaelin loves food, and her cooking shows it. Pot pies, stroganoff, teriyaki bowls— a visit to her website www. lovingcuisine.com shows that she doesn’t go halfway.

“I’ve always loved food,” Kaelin says. “I mean, who doesn’t?”

The vast majority of her recipes are vegan, but those who love their red meat shouldn’t shy away, because Kaelin can relate.

“A hamburger tastes good,” Kaelin says, smiling. “Steak tastes good. You’re not going to get people to try new things if you’re openly judging them for enjoying a pork roast.”

Kaelin, 26, has taught cooking classes in Diamond Lake, Newport, Sandpoint, Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

She does advocate healthy eating, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t taste good.

Kaelin’s classes are usually two hours long and consist of cooking dinner style meals or full meals. She shows people how to transform traditional comfort foods like mac-andcheese into healthier versions that are just as delicious. She doesn’t just show people how to cook; she explains why she

Courtesy photo|Raquel Kaelin

A quinoa veggie burger with homemade onion rings. Prepared and cooked by Kaelin.

is using the ingredients she does. Students get a plate of food and two recipes to take home after each class.

“I think sometimes when people think of “healthy” food, they might think that you’re talking about drinking vegetable juice and just eating

a bunch of raw kale,” Kaelin says, when asked if some people get turned off from taking cooking classes because the recipes are vegetarian and/or vegan centered. “It really just comes down to trying something new and learning how to cook with ingredients

you don’t usually use.”

Though her personality is laid back and amiable, Kaelin’s own journey to healthier living began even before she realized it, during a trying time in her life. Her mother, Paula, passed away from complications due to diabe-

tes three days before Kaelin’s high school graduation in 2009. She had been sick for the past seven years fighting breast cancer and being on dialysis for liver and kidney See Food, Page 9 August 2018 | Lake Life 7

CHICKY | Tips for Winter From Page 3

SK-Marine 8 Lake Life | August 2018

branches, again choose from by-pass or anvil pruners.

For cutting back ornamental grasses use lopping shears.

Makes it quick and easy.

Keep all your garden tools sharp, this will make your job a lot easier for you, your hands and muscles.

Trimming: Most of your deciduous perennials can be cut down to the ground.

If you have evergreen perennials like teucrium or lavender trim off flower heads and finish trimming in spring for a clean look.

If your plant material is diseased or burdened with insects you’ll want to remove as much of the foliage as you can.

Please don’t add any of the infecting foliage to your compost pile. Throw it all away.

Mulching: Mulching in winter is as beneficial as summer mulch.

It protects in many ways – reducing water loss, protecting the soil from erosion and inhibiting weeds.

Adding a thick layer regulates soil temperature and moisture and eases the transition into winter.

I hope this all helps you ease into winter even though we don’t want the season to end.

Rest assure as those winter months come upon us and the snow starts flying that we can start gathering new catalogs and chat with our fellow gardeners of what is to come.

FOOD | Kaelin doesn’t dwell on past From Page 7

issues.

“I never once heard her complain; her favorite song was ‘Walking on Sunshine.’ That was how she looked at life,” Kaelin says. “She always found a way to make you feel good.”

She remembers her mother loved to cook and was always tinkering with recipes and delighting in feeding her family, which included Kaelin’s little sister and their father Martin. Paula and Martin lived in Switzerland before moving to Newport and Kaelin was born in Einsiedeln, north of Zurich.

“There were definitely a lot of good times before she got sick,” Kaelin recalls.

Two years before Paula died, Martin died from cardiac arrest in 2007. Though her childhood was marked by deep personal loss, Kaelin

Courtesy photo|Raquel Kaelin

Raquel Kaelin teaching a cooking class at Cedar Mountain Medicinals at Diamond Lake.

doesn’t dwell on what was taken from her.

“Yeah, it was tumultuous, but that’s life,” she says. “You don’t pick your cards, you pick how you’re going to play them.”

The observation could be made that it was her parents’ own struggles with health that started her on the path to nutrition. After graduation Kaelin enrolled at Whitworth University in Spokane, but illness came into her life again in the form of depression, nausea, and constant anxiety. Her freshman year she had to have her gallbladder removed and she soon found her self on a seemingly revolving door at the doctor’s office. She dropped out of college due to medical reasons and moved to California, looking for a change of scene.

“I was just sick of being sick,” Kaelin says. “I was on several kinds of medication and I got to a point where I thought that if there was anything in my life that I could change to help make me feel better, I was going to do that.”

One thing she did have control over was her diet, so Kaelin began studying various cookbooks, recipes, blogs, nutritional research papers, and learning more about vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. She enrolled in a nutrition class at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif.

“There was a time when you would have talked to me about vegetarianism or veganism, and I honestly would have rolled my eyes,” Kaelin says. “Now I just eat this way because it makes me feel better.”

You can’t control what goes on around you, but if you’re privileged, you do have a say in what you eat,” Kaelin says. “Both of my parents died before they were 50, so I decided I will do whatever I can to improve my health.

If that means giving up animal products, then okay.”

She was inspired to make the change completely to a plant-based, low-fat diet after watching the 2011 documentary Forks Over Knives. In 2014 she taught her first cooking class at the now closed Kitchen Shop in Newport. She wants to teach more classes in the area and start a monthly vegetarian and vegan potluck for anyone interested in good food and company.

“The best way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach, so reaching out to people through food is what brings people together,” Kaelin says. “It’s fun to share food with people you love, and to meet new people and make new friends around the table. What you serve is up to you.”

For more information, check out Kaelin’s website www.lovingcuisine.com or email her at Raquel@lovingcuisine.com

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Smoke on the water The view from Dick Fanning’s backyard on the Southshore of Diamond Lake Sunday, Aug. 19, the smokiest day of the season so far. The opposite shore is usually visible, but cannot be seen.

Thefts cause community grief

By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner

10 Lake Life | August 2018

NEWPORT – Local crime involving theft, break-ins and vehicle prowls has drawn a lot of attention on social media as area residents express their fear and outrage.

“There is no honor among thieves,” Brenda Sterling posted on The Miner’s Facebook status concerning the burglary earlier this month at Mason’s Meat Packing Co. in Newport. “When they start talking/bragging about what they did or try to sell anything from this break-in, somebody will spill the beans to the right persons that will turn them in. It’s just a matter of time.”

“I hate thieves!” Linda Waring commented on the same status. “I hope they get caught and get thrown in jail!

Someone knows who did this.

Go tell the police!”

Burglars stole between $15,000-$20,000 worth of products and equipment from Mason’s Meat Packing Co. some time between the night

of Aug. 5 and early morning of Aug. 6. The Newport business is located on Green Road and owned by Neil Mason.

Brother and sister Shane Mason and Sharla Medrano comanage the venture together.

According to Medrano, law enforcement is possibly looking for two men and a woman due to footprints that were found around the building.

Fingerprints were also found, as well as items police think belong to the suspects, though Medrano says she cannot reveal at this time what those items are. The suspects forced entry through the back door of the building, damaging the lock and doorjamb.

“I think they had to have two cars, because they took so much stuff,” Medrano says.

Stolen property includes 800 to 900 pounds of meat, along with firearms, ammunition, slaughtering tools, meat hooks, a cash box and even a box of band-aids that the burglars dropped in the driveway.

The suspects also siphoned 10-gallons of diesel from the

business’s ice delivery truck.

One of the guns was a family heirloom that belonged to Medrano’s grandfather and had “My baby” inscribed on the barrel.

“We’ve been here 48 years and this is the first time this has happened,” Medrano says. “The community has to watch out for each other and keep an eye out for these people.”

The business has to pay out of pocket to replace customers’ meat orders that were stolen.

They have also installed new security features like cameras and an alarm system.

According to Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Glenn Blakeslee, while he could not confirm the suspects are two men and a woman, he does think there was more than one person involved.

“We have leads that we are following up on,” Blakeslee says. “We’re always looking for help from the public, so if See Thefts, Page 11

ELECTION | Miller advanced to General From Page 6

Onley said picking up another vote encouraged him.

“That one vote boost was inspiring,” Onley said. “I am not surprised, but very grateful for the voters that have confidence in my goals and vision.”

Onley said the next step is planning a countywide campaign.

In the Pend Oreille County Commissioner District 2 race, Sheryl Miller, who has no party preference, advanced to the general election, where she will face incumbent commissioner Mike Manus, a Republican, in the general election. They both

picked up a handful of votes.

Manus ended up with 645 votes and Miller received 372.

In the Pend Oreille County treasurer race, write-in candidate Tom Watson had already reached the 1 percent of the vote he needed to advance to the general election, where he will face Nicole Dice. Both are running as Republicans.

Watson got 552 votes. Dice received 3,159.

Elections officials certified the elections Tuesday, Aug. 21.

The law requires a threeperson panel to certify the election. The panel is made up of the auditor, the county prosecuting attorney, and a

county commissioner.

Since Auditor Marianne Nichols and Prosecutor Dolly Hunt were both running unopposed in the primary election, they appointed staff members Gregg Hicks from the Prosecutor’s Office and Jill Shacklett from the Auditor’s Office to sit on the panel.

Turnout for the election came in at 54.55 percent, with 4,944 ballots counted. There were five ballots discarded because there was no signature, five ballots discarded because they only came in the yellow envelope and 18 ballots where the signatures didn’t match.

The general election is Nov. 6.

THEFTS | Leads are being followed From Page 10

you think you might have information that may be in any way useful, please get in touch with us.”

Blakeslee adds that there have been four reported burglaries since the beginning of the month. This does not factor in vehicle prowls or thefts.

On Saturday, Aug. 11, at around 2 p.m. a 1997 Ford 4x4 was reported stolen from out front of a residence on Westside Calispell Road.

According to Blakeslee the doors to the vehicle were unlocked and the keys were inside.

“In a perfect world we could do that and people wouldn’t mess with things that don’t belong to them,” Blakeslee says. “That person in no way deserved to have their property stolen from them, but we are asking people to please be diligent; don’t give thieves the opportunity if you can help it, because that’s the kind of situations they are looking for.”

Last month Shane Mason’s home, which is also on Green Road, was burglarized. If anyone has information pertaining to these crimes, contact the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office at 509-447-3151.

Just across the border in Priest River, a 2007 John Deere 648 GIII logging skidder was stolen from a job site near Eastman Road some time Wednesday, Aug. 8 according to the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office. The machine was recovered Thursday, Aug. 9, around 40-miles

away in Pend Oreille County on Deer Valley Road. The skidder belongs to Newport Equipment.

“We know exactly who stole it, but if they haven’t been apprehended yet we don’t want to tip them off,” says owner Debbie Smith.

When asked about suspects, Bonner County Undersheriff Ror Lakewold says no arrests have been made yet and the investigation is still underway.

“At this point our leads indicate one suspect, and our detectives are following up on who we think it is,” Lakewold says.

Lakewold adds that he had heard reports of the suspect driving the skidder past a Priest River police officer on duty, but that it is legal to drive heavy equipment on the highways as long as the machine is properly marked with a triangle placard and is using the correct flashing lights.

However, Smith says the machine was not outfitted to drive on the highway and she expressed displeasure that the skidder wasn’t stopped by law enforcement.

“From what I was told, it went by two deputies, one from Bonner County and the other from Pend Oreille County and it wasn’t pulled over,” Smith says. “There was also a car close behind it, which was suspicious, and the skidder was being driven as fast as it could go. I think some heads should roll, especially since See Thefts, Page 12

Murder mystery coming to Circle Moon Theatre SACHEEN LAKE – It’s time for a mystery at Circle Moon Theatre, with Northwoods Performing Arts upcoming production of Every Little Crook and Nanny.

The comedy is directed by Terri Caldwell and performance dates are Oct. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20.

For those that want to enjoy the dinner theatre experience, Owen’s Catering, Coffey’s Catering, Skeyes the Limit and Mi

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THEFTS From Page 11

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12 Lake Life | August 2018

it was driven through two counties. None of the cops thought that was odd?”

According to Smith, the skidder has a top speed of 30 miles per hour and is valued at $130,000. The thief also started up other equipment at the job site after breaking through a locked gate.

Employees discovered a bulldozer still running when they arrived to work the next morning. Smith says there were no keys left in the machines and all the equipment is stored inside the locked perimeter. The Smiths rented a helicopter from Inland Helicopters at $500 an hour to try and locate the stolen skidder, searching the Freeman Lake and Bodie Canyon Road areas for about four hours.

“We didn’t think to look in Pend Oreille County because we didn’t think they would take it (the skidder) that far,” Smith says. “It’s not meant to be driven distances like that.”

Smith adds that once the skidder was recovered it was taken back to Newport Equipment’s shop. There hasn’t been any noticeable damage, but long-term damage could be exposed when employees go to use the machine.

This is not the first time Newport Equipment has fallen victim to theft. Smith says the business has had batteries and chains stolen, as well as a log loader that was stolen and recovered eight years ago. All were taken from secured job sites.

She says that business is going to hire a night watchman to guard the shop and machinery.

“These things go in cycles and it seems like more thefts are happening again,” Smith says. “We have the game cameras and alarm systems, but it looks like we’re going to have to get a watchman. It’s incredibly frustrating.”