Community
Lawmakers propose cap and trade amid continued push for an emission-reduction policy
(CAMERON SHEPPARD/WNPA Olympia Bureau)
Proponents point to California as an example of successful cap and trade program…
A proposed cap and trade program is under consideration in the senate as lawmakers continue to explore ways to meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Senate Bill 5981, with Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Queen Anne, as its primary sponsor, would put a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases certain industrial facilities and practices could produce.
Companies would then bid for their projected portion of produced emissions through an auction process. The total amount of emissions allowed will decline each year to achieve the state’s emission reduction goals. Under the bill, emissions in the state must reach targets set in previous legislation, which means they must decline to 25% below 1990 levels by 2025 and by 50% below 1990 levels by 2050 or be 70% lower than expected that year. More
WDFW seeks public comments on 2020-2021 hunting seasons
(PRESS RELEASE/WDFW)
HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD: Government agency asking for public input for the upcoming hunting seasons…
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking public comments on proposed recommendations for 2020-2021 hunting seasons.
From Feb. 6 through Feb. 26, WDFW will accept written public comments to help finalize hunting rules and regulations proposed for the upcoming year. The proposals and comment forms will be posted on the department’s website at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/season-setting.
Most of the proposals address minor changes in special permit levels and hunting area descriptions proposed since the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the state’s latest three-year hunting package. More substantial proposals, including several options related to cougar season setting, are also under consideration during this process.
Chewelah’s Katzer serves on USS Abraham Lincoln during historic deployment
(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) transits the Atlantic Ocean during a strait transit exercise. Abraham Lincoln is underway conducting a composite training unit exercise with Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Clint Davis/Released)
What is it like serving on one of the US’ largest ships for 297 days?
Chewelah is a land-locked community several hours from the nearest seaport. Save for some flooding in the spring, water isn’t a large natural feature of the area.
But 2017 JHS grad Aspen Katzer has probably seen enough water for the rest of us after serving on the Nimitz-class USS Abraham Lincoln for over 290 days. It was the longest deployment by an aircraft carrier since the Cold War. The ship travelled 70,000 miles, carrying over 6,600 crew members within its three-football-field-long-hull.
“Returning home, it still doesn’t feel real,” Katzer said. “I feel like this is just another port call and that we leave tomorrow, so I’ve been cramming a lot into my days, scared that we leave again soon.”
Navy airman and Chewelah grad Aspen Katzer is greeted by family and friends in San Diego after serving on a historic deployment on the USS Abraham Lincoln. (Courtesy photo)
Springdale mayor takes leave amid investigation
(JARED ARNOLD/Chewelah Independent)
Springdale Mayor Liz Calderwood during the town’s Showcase in the Park parade. (File photo)
INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY: Council looking at $21,421 in questionable payments…
Springdale Mayor Liz Calderwood will take a leave of absence from her office during an investigation of alleged unauthorized expenditures that have occurred since March of 2019.
Calderwood was absent from the town council meeting Monday night, January 27, but asked that a two-page letter be given to the council and also placed in each audience chair. Calderwood’s letter was intentionally short on detail to “ensure that I protect my legal rights” but she expressed regret for a “mistake” and “allowing my personal life to eat me alive and cause me to lose focus on my job as your Mayor…” (See Calderwood’s full letter on Page 9) Calderwood emphasized in her letter that she is not guilty of theft as there was never intent to “defraud or take from anyone.”
Mayor pro tem Stefany Wickham Smith presided over the council meeting. More
How WDFW’s budget is falling short
(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)
MONEY MATTERS: WDFW says increased expenses incurred by legislature piled on to department’s growing budget woes…
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been operating with a structural deficit since 2008, and, due to its complicated funding model and chronic underfunding, is asking the state for $26 million from the state’s supplemental budget to right the ship.
How did the state agency get to this point is something many have asked as budget numbers can be both daunting and complicated.
Government funding is complex enough, but WDFW does take the cake sometimes when it comes to just how their funding model works.
According to Nate Pamplin, WDFW Director of Budget and Government Affairs, the budget shortfall arose from a variety of reasons. More
EGG EMPIRE: The Ewens Brothers begin business to sell organic eggs to community members
(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)
Caden and Forrest Ewens are selling organic eggs after raising 35 chickens who lay up to two dozen eggs a day. (Brandon Hansen photo)
EWENS BROTHERS CHICKEN FARM: Valley youth raise chickens to sell organic eggs…
Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Caden and Forrest Ewens? Two Chewelah youth are becoming titans of industry after starting their own business: the Ewens Brothers Chicken Farm in Valley.
The brothers built a chicken coop and started their business venture last July buying some chicks and raising them into egg-laying adults.
In all, the brothers have 35 chickens and one rooster named Denver. Their chickens are red and black sex-links with some crosses thrown in for good measure.
“I remember reading a book and really getting inspired to start a chicken farm,” Cade Ewens said. More
Storm doesn’t hamper Women’s March
(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)
The Women’s March took to the snowy Chewelah streets last Saturday. (Brandon Hansen photo)
CONTINUED MARCH: For fourth straight year, Women’s March takes to streets of Chewelah…
A blustery snow storm and unshoveled sidewalks did little to slow down the Women’s March in Chewelah. Part of many marches across the country which included hundreds in New York and thousands in Washington, D.C., marchers focused on topics of reproductive health, human rights and justice, workers’ rights, civil rights, disability rights, LGBTQ+ rights, climate justice and immigration.
For Chewelah, there were roughly 45 marchers who began at the Chewelah U.C.C. Church, marched down to the park, crossed Highway 395, looped back around to Chewelah’s main stoplight and then ended the march at Chewelah City Hall.
“I think Chewelah participants’ signs certainly revealed that we are focused on these very issues that require attention and vital changes,” one of the march’s organizers, Susanne Griepp, said. “A message I took from the 45 or so participants here in Chewelah was that we are steady and committed to raising awareness and working on these issues to improve our community for everyone, in our small ways whenever possible.” More
Bob Gumm here to serve as county VSO
(KS BROOKS/Chewelah Independent)
Dr. Robert Gumm has been hired as the county’s Veterans Service Officer under a new pilot program by the state. (KS Brooks photo)
IMPORTANT POSITION: Bob Gumm hired as Stevens County VSO, serving as an important link for veterans to benefits and assistance…
The Stevens County Commissioners have hired Dr. Robert Gumm to be the Veterans Service Officer (VSO) for the county under a new pilot program.
While Dr. Gumm will focus primarily on Stevens County, he will also serve Ferry, Pend Oreille and Lincoln Counties. His position was made possible by state funding due to legislation initiated by Representative Jacquelin Maycumber (R-Republic) to provide a certified VSO for counties with a population of less than 50,000 residents.
Stevens County’s portion of the grant is $206,730 and covers an 18-month period. At the end of that time, the goal is to have enough data to continue the funding from the state level. “Bob will be overwhelmed,” Commissioner Wes McCart said, “but we’ll be able to show the level of need and why a VSO [is needed] for counties under 50,000 [in population].” More