Newport Miner October 2, 2013

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THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

www.pendoreillerivervalley.com

Volume 110, Number 35 | 3 Sections, 52 Pages

Federal government shutdown impacts county Forest Service, Corps of Army Engineers effected, more impacts in future BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – The failure of Congress to adopt a continuing resolution for the federal budget has closed federal offices throughout the region. “We showed up and were told to begin an orderly shutdown procedure,” said Franklin Pemberton, a

U.S. Forest Service spokesperson. “The whole office is shut down.” Pemberton said the Forest Service’s law enforcement officers will be working, but the rest of the agency is shut down. “That means no permitting,” Pemberton said. Or other operations in the forest. At the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Albeni Falls Dam Visitor Center in Oldtown, the gate was closed and no tours were being conducted. An Oregon car drove up to the gate and a women

got out and took some pictures of the closed sign. “We were up at Priest Lake and were going to come see Albeni Falls,” said Kathy Harris of Oregon City. “We were very disappointed,” Judy Boyer of Spokane said. The shutdown apparently has no effect on the Border Patrol. Things were operating as usual, said the person who answered the phone at a local border patrol office. He referred requests for comments to the Spokane office, who referred the caller to the Office of Management and Budget in Washington D.C.

According to the message on the OMB phone, the office was not shut down but there weren’t enough people to handle the phone calls. Callers were advised to leave a message and someone would call back. The voice mail to leave a message was full and not taking any more messages. In addition to the Forest Service and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, others are impacted in Pend Oreille County. SEE SHUTDOWN, 2A

Zorica named president of Newport chamber Membership meetings cut to quarterly BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – Mark Zorica, Newport City Councilman, Pend Oreille County commissioner candidate and owner of Country Lane, is the

new president of the Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce. He replaces Steve SEE ZORICA, 10A

PUD fiber grant completed Work continues to complete all requests BY DESIREÉ HOOD OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Public Utility District has arrived at the end of the extension period for the federal grant

used to build the fiber system in south Pend Oreille County. After more than three years, the project meets all the minimum requirements of the grant but is still under construction. The grant requirements included documentation showing the PUD completed the grant according to the contract. Work

will continue until the project is completed, but the work no longer has to be billed and held accountable through the grant. The project is close to $5 million over budget, so the grant funds were used up early. CNS Supervisor Robert Fritz said SEE FIBER, 2A MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING

Digging in the rain The Northeast Washington chapter of the Back County Horsemen were hard at work at Pend Oreille County Park Saturday, Sept. 28. They were preparing to install 1,000 feet of water line. Pictured are Stu Nieman, Jerry Strong, Gary Cutler, Dave Gruver and Darrell Wallace. They worked Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

‘Obamacare’ takes affect Enrollment open for health insurance Oct. 1 BY MICHELLE NEDVED OF THE MINER

WASHINGTON D.C. – Among

COURTESY PHOTO|KELLY DRIVER

Shop upgrade, paint booth for port

|| Cusick Homecoming week ends in mystery CUSICK – The Cusick Panthers are celebrating homecoming Monday, Sept. 30 through Friday, Oct. 4, with daily dress-up days and a Mr. and Mrs. CHS competition. A Rap Battle will be held Wednesday, Oct. 2, where competitors will compete head to head for the first round and the final two will compete for the win. The Rap Battle winner will be selected by a faculty panel of judges. Thursday, Oct. 3, will be video day. Students can make a video featuring themselves and focusing on the opponents the Panthers will play during homecoming week sports. The two minute and 30

OF THE MINER

NEWPORT – The Newport High School students and alumni are celebrating homecoming week, Sept. 27 through Oct. 4, with a

B R I E F LY

second video winner will be selected by popular vote. Friday, Oct. 4, is a mystery day. The students are asked to bring strength, intelligence and artistic ability to school this day. Students plan to arrive in black and yellow attire to show school spirit and cheer on their classmates to close out the week. Mr. and Mrs. CHS will be announced during the pep rally before the game. Friday night athletics includes the homecoming football game against Curlew at 7 p.m. Royalty will be announced during half-time. The game will be followed by the annual homecoming dance.

changes. Coverage begins in 2014, but you must be signed up by Dec. 15 for coverage to begin Jan. 1. Visit www.healthcare.gov, to either apply or learn more. Click SEE OBAMA, 2A

Newport homecoming week BY DESIREÉ HOOD

Progress continues on the POVA shop expansion and locomotive paint booth project at Usk. Global Finishing crews are busy installing the paint booth and all of its components while Elmer Construction continues to work on the shop expansion portion. The overhead crane, which will be located in the west side of the addition should arrive within the next two weeks. The Port of Pend Oreille took over repair work from the company M-Bar-D when it shut down a few years ago. The paint booth will be used to paint railcars.

much debate and confusion, the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, is in affect as of Tuesday, Oct. 1. People without health insurance can now enroll in health care coverage in the Affordable Care Act insurance ex-

free community carnival, manly man volleyball, a parade and the annual homecoming dance. The Newport High School Associated Student Body met with the school board at the regular school board meeting, Tuesday, Sept. 24,

to discuss the upcoming events the school is hosting to celebrate homecoming week. The high school students are dressing up each day of the week, SEE NEWPORT, 2A

|| New grant for new teachers

NEWPORT – The Newport School District applied for and received a grant that will allow them to buy new equipment and hire staff for physical education curriculum. The $700,000 grant is for new health fitness curriculum, Superintendent Dave Smith said. The district is still in the planning process for what this money will be spent on, but Smith said physical education equipment and after school programs are part of the grant. The district will receive the grant over the next three years. The first year will see $378,000.

The second year, $202,000 and the remaining $197,000 will finish the grant during the third year. Smith said they are planning on opening a position Thursday, Oct. 3, for a grant manager for a full-time three-year position. He is posting it in-district. The grant was just announced and Smith is hopeful for new equipment to start arriving soon. He said if it is involved in a physical education class, it is covered under the grant. “We are looking at basically everything,” Smith said. “It’s new curriculum.”

SPORTS 1B-3B - RECORD 6B - POLICE 6B - OPINION 4A - CLASSIFIEDS 7B-10B - PUBLIC NOTICES 9B-10B - DOWN RIVER 9A - LIFE 4B - OBITUARIES 6B


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