(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

On May 18, 1974 the US House had just begun formal hearings on impeachment of then-US President Richard Nixon. India carried out its first nuclear test, the Boston Celtics were celebrating another NBA title.

In Chewelah? A catastrophe was about to happen. An earthen dam, located behind Quartzite Mountain east of town, gave way from its task of holding back Horseshoe Lake.

The result as reported by the Chewelah Independent in 1974, was nothing less than a spectacle. More

(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

You will not be seeing this type of graduation for the Class of 2020.

Major changes have been made to the normal Jenkins High School graduation ceremony to follow the state’s social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The graduation ceremony will be live-streamed over the internet, whereas the live ceremony can only have five people at a time: the graduating student, two guardians or parents and the superintendent.

The graduation ceremony will take place on June 6, beginning at 10 a.m. Students will be able to walk across the graduation stage for video and a photo. Parents and students will be asked to line up in their cars outside of the school and groups of five students apiece will be led into the building. Cleaning practices and social distancing will still be observed. More

(RICK BANNAN/Centralia Chronicle)

Washington Governor Jay Inslee

Gov. Inslee announces new Easing of restrictions based on ‘Safe Start Washington’ phase for services

Religious congregations in Washington state can make a gradual return to normal services as Gov. Jay Inslee announced new guidance on such gatherings on May 27.

During a press conference Inslee announced that in-person religious services could begin again with restrictions to adhere to physical distancing and safety practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The new guidance applies to both the first and second phases of “Safe Start Washington,” with progressively eased restrictions that were initially in place. More

Churches can now begin holding worship services
In Wednesday’s statewide press conference, Washington Governor Jay Inslee said that Washington churches and religious centers are now allowed to hold outdoor services for up to 100 people.

They also can allow inside services if their county is in the second phase off re-opening but have to cap attendance to 25 percent capacity or less than 50 people while following social distancing guidelines and good cleaning practices.

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Here are images of Memorial Day ceremonies around the Chewelah area on May 25, 2020…

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Spokane moves to Phase 2 of re-opening plan
The Washington State Department of Health cleared Spokane County to move to Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start reopening plan.

Phase 2 allows gatherings outside of one’s household with no more than five people. Some businesses are allowed to open but must comply with guidelines from the governor’s office before doing so.

Restaurants and taverns can open at half capacity. Retail stores, salons and barbershops are allowed to reopen, as well. Real estate and professional services are also allowed to reopen.

Outdoor recreation, like camping, is also allowed with no more than five people outside one’s household.

Amelia Clark, administrator at the Spokane Regional Health District reminded county residents that guidance to wear a mask in public, especially indoors where physically distancing is difficult, remains in place.

Utah coach Jerry Sloan dies at age 78
Jerry Sloan, the Hall of Fame coach who was a fixture for decades in Utah and took the Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, died Friday. He was 78.

The Jazz said he died from complications of Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Sloan had been in failing health for many years.

Sloan spent 23 seasons coaching the Jazz. The team — with John Stockton and Karl Malone leading the way in many of those seasons — finished below .500 in only one of those years. Sloan won 1,221 games in his career, the fourth-highest total in NBA history.

Only Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Gregg Popovich have more victories.

Colville announces city pool wont open in 2020
The City of Colville announced that it will be closing the Colville City Pool for the 2020 season, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Colville City Council recently made the decision and Colville Mayor Ralph Lane Jr. made a statement about the closure on the city’s website.

Lane Jr. said tThese are such trying times for all worldwide, including us here in Colville. First and foremost, I want to clarify that this determination by Council was not made by them alone.

It was in concurrence with Department heads and Mayor and yet as they are the financial decision-making body for the City, this choice could only have been made by them.”

Operating the city pool costs the city approximately $100K a year, Lane Jr. said and while that changes depending on repairs and other issues that might crop up at the facility, about a third of that is committed to startup costs.

This could be an issue for a small city like Colville where they could see the pool never open to the public for restrictions or be open for just a few weeks.

Unemployment grows in Washington State
The state of Washington received 138,000 new requests for jobless benefits last week, bringing the total number of claims filed to more than 1.6 million since the beginning of March, the state Employment Security Department reported Thursday.

The number of new claims filed for the week ending May 16 increased nearly 27% from the 109,425 filed a week prior, but state officials attribute some of that to an influx of fraudulent claims totaling “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The employment department has zeroed in on stopping the increase in fraudulent claims by implementing new security measures and working closely with federal law enforcement to investigate the crimes and recoup the stolen money, said Suzi LeVine, Employment Security Commissioner.

The total number of unemployed in America is now at 40 million.

Police called on LARPER in Wales
People called the police in Cardiff, Wales, after spotting an armed man in combat gear walking in a park. Three armed officers confronted the man and ordered him to put his weapon down. The man dropped his fake sword. The man apologized and said he was a Larper. LARP stands for live-action role playing. The man said he was trying out his new knight’s armor.

Netflix cancelling subscriptions of inactive members
Netflix is canceling the subscriptions of inactive members.

Beginning this week, Netflix customers who haven’t used the streaming service in a year or more are getting a notification, whether through the app they use or, failing that, at the email address associated with their account, asking if they want to maintain their membership. If the customer doesn’t respond to the email, their account will be canceled.

Netflix says any customer whose account is deactivated, but then decides later that they want to come back, will find that their settings, profiles, preferences, and recommendations have not changed.

The number of Netflix customers who have accounts but have sat on them for over a year is less than one half of one percent of the company’s approximately 183 million subscribers.

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

HISTORIC ERUPTION Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980 and killed 57 people while also causing $1.1 billion in property damage. It was the worst volcanic eruption in US history and the first since 1915 when Lassen Peak erupted in California. (USGS photo)

40 YEARS SINCE MT. ST. HELENS ERUPTED: Volcanic eruption almost killed one Chewelah resident, blanketed eastern part of state in ash…

“Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!” 30-year-old volcanologist David A. Johnston said over the radio before the May 18, 1980 eruption of St. St. Helens overtook his monitoring position on Coldwater Ridge.

And thus began the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.

After waking up earlier in the year with smaller eruptions and signs of life, Mt. St. Helens had a bulge grow on the north side that expanded several hundred feet. On May 18, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake below the north side of the mountain triggered the largest landslide in recorded history. This also exposed the volcano’s partly molten, high-pressure gas- and steam-rich rock to explode, putting material 15 miles in the air in ten minutes.

The devastation was almost unimaginable. This beloved area in southwestern Washington that was a great spot for outdoor recreation – not unlike the Colville National Forest – quickly turned into a moonscape. The eruption killed 57 people, destroyed 250 homes, and mudslides moving into river valleys took out 47 bridges.
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(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

The City of Colville announced that it will be closing the Colville City Pool for the 2020 season, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Colville City Council recently made the decision and Colville Mayor Ralph Lane Jr. made a statement about the closure on the city’s website.

“These are such trying times for all worldwide, including us here in Colville,” Lane Jr. said. “First and foremost, I want to clarify that this determination by Council was not made by them alone. It was in concurrence with Department heads and Mayor and yet as they are the financial decision-making body for the City, this choice could only have been made by them.”

Operating the city pool costs the city approximately $100K a year, Lane Jr. said and while that changes depending on repairs and other issues that might crop up at the facility, about a third of that is committed to startup costs. This could be an issue for a small city like Colville where they could see the pool never open to the public for restrictions or be open for just a few weeks.

“In any given year, it takes roughly two months of preparation, cleaning, filling, balancing and heating the pool and its water for it to be ready for public use,” Lane Jr. said. “It holds approximately 300,000 gallons of water and so it takes time to complete these tasks and in each season, the costs to open it are about the same.”

The city also has to hire and train staff and the cost-per-month is unpredictable to run the pool because of equipment failures and bad weather causing poor turnout, the mayor added.

Lane Jr. fully supported the council saying that the decision was a heavy one. Along with the safety of those using the pool – where PPE usage would basically be impossible – the City of Colville will have to contend with an upcoming financial situation for all levels of government both state and local. Washington recently announced that government agencies should expect to cut their budgets 10-15 percent for next year.

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(STAFF REPORTS AND LINKS/Chewelah Independent)

A LOOK AT CHEWELAH FROM AFAR…

Using a tilt-shift focus effect on a photo from Quartzite Mountain, Chewelah looks like a toy village from afar. (Brandon Hansen photo)

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(PRESS RELEASE/Stevens County / Spokane Tribal Broadband Action Team)

COLLECTING INTERNET SPEEDS: Stevens County/Spokane Tribe Broadband Action team asking for people’s help to test for internet speeds…

We have all been living, working and learning at home and we all want faster internet. For many of us, however, residential internet access is an issue and it’s more evident now during this pandemic.

The Stevens County / Spokane Tribe Broadband Action Team is collaborating with the Spokane Tribe Telecom Exchange (STTX) in announcing the formal public kickoff of a crowdsourcing project covering those who have residential internet service throughout all of Stevens County and the Spokane Tribe Reservation. It takes about a minute to do at https://expressoptimizer.net/public/.

We will be doing this testing through May 22, 2020, and we can be contacted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. This survey includes over 6,400 students (K-12) and college students as well as parents required to work from home. It will provide the most accurate collection of internet speeds while demand of internet usage is the highest. Contact one of us below if you do not have residential internet service.

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