(PRESS RELEASE/Gess Elementary)

If you have a student who will be attending Gess Elementary Kindergarten, please register your student on May 30 at Gess.  Registration information will help us to develop classes for next year.  Children must be five years old before September 1, 2019. Please bring your child’s birth certificate and immunization record to registration.  If you are unable to attend registration on May 30, please contact the Gess office at 685-6800 ext 8-4002.

(SUSAN PARRISH/Between the Rivers Gathering)

Between the Rivers has been happening just outside of Chewelah for seven years. (File photo)

SURVIVAL GATHERING: Between the Rivers holding week-long primitive skills gathering for seventh year in a row…

If you’ve seen reality TV shows like “Alone” or “Mountain Men” and have been curious about learning primitive, ancestral and survival skills, here’s your chance. About 80 primitive skills and self-sufficiency experts will teach hands-on classes at the Between the Rivers Gathering May 27-June 1 at Grouse Creek Farm, 3586 Solokar Road, Valley, about 10 miles south of Chewelah on Highway 395.

“With my army of volunteers it takes three days to set up for Between the Rivers,” said Patrick Farneman, executive director of Bridges to the Past, the nonprofit organization that produces the event.

It’s the seventh year for this family-friendly event attended by students of all ages. Students can learn to start a bow-drill fire, brain tan a deer hide, weave a bark basket, felt wool, make a bow, arrows and arrowheads, forage for edible and medicinal plants in the woods and much more at this northeastern Washington ancestral skills and self-sufficiency gathering.
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(K.S. BROOKS/Chewelah Independent)

This little guy can’t get too far away from a well placed rope at the Arden Old Timers Rodeo. (K.S. Brooks photo)

ARDEN OLD TIMERS WOW THE CROWD: Rodeo has been running since the 1970s in Stevens County…

The rain stopped just in time this past Saturday afternoon so that spectators could comfortably enjoy the Arden Old Timers Rodeo, which was more like a family reunion with cowboy games than a stringent rodeo. Despite the jovial attitude and atmosphere, this rodeo went off without a hitch, running fluidly and like clockwork.

The rodeo opened at 2 p.m. with a performance by Tough Enough, the Colville Equestrian Drill Team, and a special tribute was paid to longtime rodeo staple Mickey Brown. There was nothing ordinary about this rodeo – from the fact that spectators could watch for free, or make a donation upon entry if they so desired – to the uniqueness of the contests, which centered more around fun than competition. Standard rodeo events included calf roping, team roping and barrel racing. But then it got really interesting, with contests like the potato race (where riders had to race with a potato on a large spoon), the sweetheart race, the ribbon race (where two riders had to hold each end of a ribbon while riding side-by-side and not let go), wild cow milking, cow decorating and more. These were highly entertaining and good for a number of laughs, especially with all the mud in the arena. More

(K.S. BROOKS/Chewelah Independent)

Chataqua is just around the corner, and for the third year running, the annual, award-winning Chataqua Film Festival will be a part of it. This year, the festival will again be held at the Chewelah Center for the Arts, located at 405 North 3rd Street East.

Craig McQuain will be the featured musician, and Tristan Seyler, the 2019 winner of Chewelah’s Got Talent, will be the special guest artist. Tristan will perform some movie theme songs.

Filmmaker Shaun Springer of Spokane will be on hand to introduce the feature film titled “The Garageland Chronicles.” The movie, which was written and directed by Springer, is an anthology centered around an independent record store and follows the lives of its customers and employees. Springer has more than 30 credits on the IMDB and has directed a number of award-winning films. There will be a question and answer session after the showing.

The Chewelah Chataqua Film Festival will be held on July 13, 2019, and doors will open at 12:45 p.m. Admission is free.

(INDIGO KENNEDY/Chewelah Arts Guild)

The JJSHS gym will be full of quilts this weekend for the Chewelah Quilt Show. (Courtesy photo)

ENJOY A CHEWELAH TRADITION: Show has been a mainstay since 2000, featured many talented quilters…

For the 20th Annual Chewelah Quilt Show presented by the Chewelah Arts Guild, the quilt committee wanted to reminisce about the last 19 years of quilting our little town has showcased. One of the displays will be an array of quilts from the many featured quilters we have shown.

The quilt show started back in 2000 at the Chewelah Museum, and moved after seven years to the Gess Elementary School where there was more room for displays. Committee members had seen featured quilters at quilt shows elsewhere, and with the plethora of local talent thought it would be a good addition to our show. So, the featured quilter display was begun.

Terry Husby was the first featured quilter in 2007. She learned to quilt on a treadle sewing machine using scraps of fabric from family members. She has crafted many award-winning quilts and has quilts in regional museums today. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

BUDGET CUTS: Teacher Sheena Rancourt addresses board, Joe Wulczynski asks about drama program…

After learning that she would not have her teaching contract renewed for next year, Sheena Rancourt addressed the Chewelah School Board on May 15, not to ask for her job but rather to suggest what the school board could do moving forward. This was followed by another tearful statement from community member Joe Wulcyznski asking about the future of the Chewelah drama program.

Recent budget cuts by the district and measures approved by the school board cut the drama program to an after-school program and Rancourt, who taught theatre and social studies classes in the junior high school position, had her job cut for next year.

Rancourt had moved back to Chewelah after teaching in Nebraska for seven years and had the least seniority in the school district. Being a single mother of two, Rancourt said she felt she couldn’t wait for the budget crisis to be resolved and looked elsewhere for employment. So even if the budget numbers even out, Rancourt said she will not be in Chewelah next year.

“What you lose in cuts is not just a teacher, you lose a community member,” Rancourt said, listing the numerous groups she was a part of. “I wanted to be here because I am a 2002 graduate of Jenkins High School.” More