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The Newport Miner
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THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901
75¢
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Volume 110, Number 44 | 2 Sections, 20 Pages
County budget nearing completion Salary increases, other issues undecided BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – With less than two weeks left, Pend Oreille County commissioners are wrapping up work on their 2014 budget. The budget hearing is set for Dec. 17 but there are still some details to work out, including whether employees will get a cost of living raise or not. “We haven’t heard, so we used the numbers from last year,” county auditor Marianne Nichols
said. She said all step increases were included. If the commissioners decided to give the increases, it would amount to about $90,000 more in expenditures in the $9.1 million current expense fund. That fund is up from last year’s expenditure budget of $8,555,650. The county is budgeting $8.589 million in revenue for 2014, up slightly from 2013 budget of $8.215 million. That includes the 1 percent increase in property taxes approved by commissioners in SEE BUDGET, 10A MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING
Santa comes to town
Levy tops Newport School Board discussion BY DESIREÉ HOOD OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The Newport School District board of directors indicated at their regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 26, that they would soon ask voters to approve a Maintenance and Operations Levy, to replace the current levy with a slightly higher one for the next three years.
Young Brier Johnson takes his first Santa visit in stride while proud parents Jacob Johnson and Kendra Johnson capture the moment on camera at a Hometown Christmas in downtown Newport Saturday, Nov. 30. See more photos of the event, sponsored by the Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce at The Miner Online, www.pendoreillerivervalley.com.
City employees opt for more days off over a raise
The M&O Levy will be voted on during the Tuesday, Dec. 10, regular board meeting at Sadie Halstead Middle School at 3:15 p.m. It would then be on the ballot Feb. 11, 2014. The district has to file by Dec. 27, and with the holiday schedule, there will be no board meeting Dec. 24, so this is the final meeting before the election filing deadline.
SEE SCHOOL, 2A
Newport city budget down from last year BY DESIREÉ HOOD OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The Newport City Council discussed the more than $5 million budget at the Monday, Dec. 2, regular city council meeting and public hearing, adding six additional days off to
compensate for the lack of cost of living adjustments and increasing the water and sewer rates by $1 on each system plus taxes. The budget will be adopted at the Monday, Dec. 16, city council meeting. There were no members of the public at the hearing. The budget for 2014 is $5,075,800, a decrease from 2013 when it was $5,479,356,
down more than $403,000. Capital projects supported primarily by grants will be done next year. The city is increasing the water rates by $1 and the sewer rates by $1. Clerk treasurer Nickole Schutte said the current monthly bill is $62.98 for residents of Newport. The bill will increase to $65.18 in 2014, a $2.20 total increase. The increase is set to take effect Jan. 15, 2014.
Fun, exercise at open gym basketball Tradition goes back 30 years BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – It’s 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning and four people are at Newport High School gym, ready for some hoops. They stretch and start shooting baskets. After a few minutes they break into two man teams. A few minutes later two more men show up and a brisk three-man game gets underway. The half court play is fast and soon the players are sweating and breathing hard. It is plain they are having fun. That’s what they come for, says Dan Jones. At 67, Jones is the eldest in the group Saturday morning. “The idea is to try to break a sweat,” says Jones, who soon has his shirt drenched. He enjoys the
competition and the free flowing nature of the pickup game. He says he’s heard that some high school coaches don’t want their players coming to games like these, fearful that they will learn bad habits. But Jones says playing the non-structured game away from coaches lets players improvise more. “They learn moves,” he says. Newport High School boys basketball coach Steve Bryant doesn’t like his charges playing any kind of pick-up game during the high school basketball season, mainly because of the risk of injury.
OF THE MINER
METALINE FALLS – Santa Claus is coming to town, arriving on a fire truck, Friday, Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. in Busta Park, to help Metaline Falls Mayor Tara Leininger light the town Christmas tree to kick off the Deck the Falls celebration of contests and concerts for the holiday season, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7. Leininger said that helping Santa light the Christmas tree is one of her favorite duties as mayor. During the tree lighting ceremony with Santa, the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club will have hot dogs for eating and coffee, cocoa and hot cider
MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING
The youngest and the eldest compete during the open gym basketball game Saturday at Newport High School. Here Dan Jones, 67, puts one up over a gritty but outsized Justin Jones, 11.
|| Witnesses wanted in fatal semi crash CUSICK – The Washington State Patrol is looking for witnesses of a fatal accident that occurred on Highway 20 Friday, Nov. 22. The WSP Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) is investigating the two-truck, railroad trestle fatality collision that occurred at 7:18 a.m. and is looking for witnesses that may have seen any events leading up to or of the actual crash. The crash was on State Route 20 at mile marker 406 in Pend Oreille County. Detectives have learned that a southbound tractortrailer tipped over in a curve to the right and crossed the centerline into the path of a northbound tractor towing a lowboy trailer. The trucks collided in the
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northbound lane and the original truck continued south into a pillar supporting the train trestle. If you have any information or know someone who does, contact Detective Sergeant Jerry Cooper at 360805-1192 or Detective Dan Comnick at 360-805-1160.
A Tow moved to January planning commission meeting CUSICK – The Pend Oreille County Planning Commission will take up a recreational dock project at its regular meeting Tuesday, Dec. 10. The meeting is held at the Cusick Community Center and starts at 6 p.m. The commission will consider an application from Andy James for a dock on the Pend Oreille River at his
SEE CITY, 2A
Santa comes to Deck the Falls BY DESIREÉ HOOD
SEE BALL, 2A
The water and sewer combined fund is budgeted at more than $1.87 million, down from $1.93 million last year. Current expenses for the city show more than $1.765 million. This includes the daily operation expenses of the city, and is down from $1.83 million last year. The street fund is budgeted at more than $575,500. The budget
to drink to keep visitors warm. The food and beverages are “absolutely free,” Leininger said. The Pend Oreille Fire District No. 2 will have a bonfire to keep hands and feet warm. They will be offering s’mores for dessert. The Christmas Elves display will be downtown in Metaline Falls for everyone to enjoy. Saturday, Dec. 7, events begin at the Cutter Theatre at 10 a.m. with the Arts & Crafts Faire, which continues until 4 p.m. Vendors will be spread throughout the Cutter Theatre. “There are vendors on all three levels of the Cutter so lots of stuff to help finish your SEE SANTA, 2A
||
52 Audrey Lane residence. The commission was going to take up a conditional use permit for A Tow, a proposed 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week towing facility on Silverbirch Lane, just outside Newport. But scheduling conflicts with the applicant has caused that to be pushed to the January 14 meeting.
URM OKs credit purchases NEWPORT – A large cyber attack crippled credit card usage at URM grocery stores three days before Thanksgiving, affecting Mitchell’s Harvest Food in Priest River and Family Foods in Oldtown. After hiring national companies to work with law enforcement, URM of-
ficials said Monday, Dec. 2 that modern credit card systems were back online after adding extra security systems. Officials state the investigation is ongoing but the attack has been stopped. URM officials said the measures in place will not protect the customers who used credit cards at a URM affiliated store prior to Nov. 25 and they ask customers to be diligent in checking bank statements for unauthorized purchases. URM Stores is a Spokane-based wholesaler that processes a large share of electronic payments for shoppers in the Pacific Northwest. The Spokesman Review reported this is the largest cyber attack to hit the Spokane area in more than nine years.
SPORTS 7A - RECORD 6B - POLICE 6B - OPINION 4A - CLASSIFIEDS 7B-10B - PUBLIC NOTICES 9B-10B - DOWN RIVER 9A - LIFE 8A - OBITUARIES 6B