The Newport Miner THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY SINCE 1901
www.pendoreillerivervalley.com
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Volume 116, Number 45 | 2 Sections, 24 Pages $1.00
History made
Work, senior leadership brought Grizzlies to championship BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The Newport Grizzlies football team set a record in 2017 when they made it to the semifinals of the 1A State Football Championships. Making it back a second year isn’t automatic, even under a veteran coach like Dave Pomante. To go even farther, to advance to the championship game in the Tacoma Dome like Newport did, is another historic accomplishment for the school’s football program. The championship game didn’t go Newport’s way. They lost 48-7 to Colville, another Northeast A League team Saturday (see story page 8A). The loss was disappointing, Pomante said, but it really didn’t take away from the season. He
MINER PHOTO|JASON DUCHOW
No. 4 Johnny Miller, No. 3 Tug Smith, No. 57 Jacob Tanner and No. 44 Danny Bradbury prepare for the coin toss at the Washington State 1A Football ChampiSEE STATE, 2A onship game against Colville at the Tacoma Dome Saturday morning, Dec. 1.
County considers gravel
No PUD rate increase planned BY DON GRONNING OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The Pend Oreille Public Utility District is about to pass a budget that had more than $1 million more revenue than expenditures and didn’t include a rate increase for the first time in years. “It’s the first time in a decade we haven’t had a rate increase,” PUD General Manager Colin Willenbrock said. The PUD is set to adopt the $61.5 million budget at its Dec. 18 meeting. It held a public hearing Dec. 4. The PUD is still working towards getting 180 days of cash on hand. It currently has 173 days cash on hand, about $10 million for the electric system. It needs another $500,000 to reach 180 days cash on hand for the electric system, according to PUD treasurer Sarah Holderman. The district is proposing a $61.5 million budget for 2019, down from $73 million last year. The $61.5 million is expenditures. The PUD anticipated col-
lecting $62.7 million in revenue in 2019. The $1.2 million difference will go towards increasing cash reserves. The reduction is mainly because capital project costs were high last year, as the PUD worked on the fish passage required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The PUD budgeted $11.5 million for capital improvements in 2019, down from $19.83 million budgeted for 2018. The PUD still budgets $3 million for the fish passage work in 2019, which should wrap up that project. It was a big financial year for the PUD, with the biggest bond sale in its history happening in early October. The PUD issued $32 million in new bonds and refinanced another $51.4 million. The bonds were financed at 4.315 percent interest. The previous interest rates for the refinanced bonds varied, de-
BY CANEEL JOHNSON OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – There are three roads in Pend Oreille County that are in such bad condition that public works director Craig Jackson may recommend the commissioners return them to gravel. “This is just a preliminary thought,” Jackson said. “My recommendation will be
based upon cost of repair, cost of maintenance, the amount of traffic on the road, and the amount of funding available.” The three roads that are in bad enough condition to warrant consideration to become gravel are Westside Road (a short subdivision road across from Russell Road), Roborge Road and Overlook Drive. SEE ROADS, 2A
Public works director transfers from Saudi Arabia BY CANEEL JOHNSON OF THE MINER
NEWPORT – The new public works director for Pend Oreille County just spent five years in Saudi Arabia working on the world’s largest civil engineering project.
SEE PUD, 12A
“It was an amazing experience being a foreigner in a new place,” Craig Jackson said. “There were 60 countries working together on the project including India, Germany and Japan.” Jackson worked in Jubail for Bechtel Corporation building infrastructure
like roads, water, power, sewer and bridges. His first project was working with the Chinese to build seven bridges to connect cities. “We had to negotiate with leaders to relocate a lot of Bedouin camps,” SEE PUBLIC WORKS, 2A
B R I E F LY Public hearing for clean air this Thursday NEWPORT – A public hearing on the Kalispel Tribe’s request for a Class 1 Clean Air Act designation is set for Thursday, Dec. 6, from 6-9 p.m. at the Pend Oreille PUD offices in Newport. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on the proposal, made by the tribe May 11, 2017, to re-designate lands within the exterior boundaries of the reservation in Pend Oreille County, for the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) of air quality. The PUD office is located at 130 N. Washington Ave., Newport.
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CLASSIFIEDS
Re-designation to Class I will result in lowering the allowable increases in ambient concentrations of particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOX) on the Kalispel Indian Reservation. The EPA is proposing to codify the re-designation through a revision to the Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) currently in place for the Kalispel Indian Reservation. The EPA will implement this FIP unless or until a Tribal Implementation Plan (TIP) replaces it. Written comments must be received on or before Dec. 14. Submit comments identified by Docket ID No. EPAR10-OAR-2017-0347 at www.regulations.gov. 9B-12B
Presentation on suicide this Thursday PRIEST RIVER – Priest River Junior High is hosting a presentation on suicide awareness Thursday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. “With suicide being an important issue across the state of Idaho for our youth, we will be addressing issues of how to look for signs and how to help people get help, among other things,” says PRJH Principal Leoni Johnson. Call 208-448-1118 for more information.
OPINION
4A
RECORD
8B
SPORTS
8A-10A
LIFE
5B
POLICE REPORTS
8B
OBITUARIES
8B
PUBLIC NOTICES
10B-12B
GIFT GUIDE
1
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