(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Unemployment up in Stevens County from previous years…

Washington State’s Employment Security Department released its report on the state’s job market Wednesday stating that April saw more growth in the hiring rate while the unemployment rate rose just a tick.

According to the ESD report, 13,500 jobs were added across the state in April. Those numbers followed a rebound of sorts in the hiring market during March when nearly 28,000 jobs were added. More

(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

Letters of nomination for Chewelah’s Honored Citizen of 2019 are being accepted by the Chewelah Chamber of Commerce Honored Citizen Committee.
Candidates must be over 18 years of age and live in Chewelah or the immediate surrounding area. Letters should briefly outline the reasons the person is being nominated: community service; developing a special project to improve the community; or a specific segment, as in children, disabled, senior citizens; along with some background information.

The Honored Citizen will serve as Grand Marshal of the Chataqua Parade and be honored at CenterStage during the Chataqua opening ceremonies. The 2019 Honored Citizen will also be added to the plaque on display at the Chamber of Commerce office and will have a brick installed at the Historic Niche at Chewelah’s City Hall. Letters may be mailed to: Chewelah Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 94, Chewelah, WA 99109, or dropped off at the Chamber office at 401 S. Park Street. You can email nominations to or email it to info@chewelah.org. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

WIDE-REACHING ISSUE: Several community members discuss the impact of opioids at Chewelah City Hall…

With 240 million prescriptions for opioids given every year, a crisis has developed where more adult Americans are likely to die from a drug overdose than an automobile accident.

This is an issue not lost on the Stevens County and Chewelah local communities. Thanks to the efforts of Chewelah Mayor Dorothy Knauss and the Colville branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), an opioid panel was brought to Chewelah City Hall to discuss the issue.

The showing of a documentary video started off the event, informing the large crowd in attendance that opioid prescription drugs were overprescribed by the medical community as doctors were trying to help people with pain while underestimating the drugs’ addictive qualities. More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

Many people from Chewelah spend their summers at Browns Lake. (Brandon Hansen photo)

SUMMER IS COMING: Browns Lake is part of Chewelah’s history and a community gem…

With Chewelah’s swimming pool a distant memory, area residents are migrating to Browns Lake for their summer outdoor activities. Only a 10-minute drive southwest of the signal light in the middle of town, the lake is becoming an increasingly popular place for frugal fun and relaxation for local families who are members of the Browns Lake Recreation Association.

Browns Lake was owned by the Northwest Magnesite Company, which mined and processed the ore at the Finch and Allen Quarries immediately north of the lake. Magnesite was dead-burned at the plant along Highway 395 and sent to steel plants to make fire bricks to line furnaces and kilns. Magnesite was originally purchased from Austria, but in 1914, World War One cut off that supply. So, the hunt for a domestic source of the mineral led to its discovery near Browns Lake. The magnesite was washed, crushed and some of its impurities separated at the nearby mill complex before being bucketed to the plant by a five-mile tram line. In the summers prior to the closing of the facilities in 1968, the blasting of rock in the quarries could be heard by swimmers at the lake and the smoke cloud could be seen rising out of the pit. More

(PRESS RELEASE/Fossils Five Brass Quintet)

The Fossils Five Brass Quintet will be playing on the Keller House Porch in Colville on June 9 at 1:30 p.m. Funded by the Vinson Fund, this event recreates the lively entertainment that used to occur at the historic Keller House. When the Kellers would have parties, locals would sit out on the lawn to enjoy the music.

There will be some chairs at the event but people are encouraged to bring their own well. Steffan, the well known hot dog guy from the Stevens County Courthouse will be set up serving hot dogs and other foods at the event. Admission is free.

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

The Colville Marching Band performs at Super One Foods. (Brandon Hansen photos)

NEVER A DULL MOMENT: Colville marching band continues to play even when school is out for summer…

When does the Colville High School Marching Band get some time off? In June, the band plays for graduation and gets prepared for the fall. In July, the marching band runs a week-long camp for younger musicians. In August, there is a marching camp before school starts so the band is ready for the halftime show during Colville football games.

So… the band just continues to march on.

The Colville Marching Band recently kicked off its spring season by performing at local Colville schools and Super One Foods before marching at the Blossom Parade in Wenatchee. They will also be in the Lilac Parade in Spokane this weekend. Throw in a full concert and festival schedule along with field shows during the upcoming football season, and you can see this isn’t a light commitment for students or Colville staff. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Valley Community Park will be alive with activity this weekend. 

Packed days of activity in Valley…

The Valley Community Park will be alive once again for a good cause on May 17-18 for Warriors Against Cancer’s “Warriors at Work” fundraiser. There will be a huge plant sale, vendors in the park and food will be served most of the day. There will also be a 5K walk. Warriors Against Cancer has been around since November, and they help local Stevens County cancer patients. Fundraisers can take months to organize, and last year they had two events: a plant sale that raised $1,600 and a main fundraiser in June that raised $3,500. This year, the group combined the two events. There will also be a kids’ booth with games and the Valley Boy Scouts will be providing food Friday and Saturday. More

(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

Once plentiful population, exceeding 100,000 in the state of Washington, the sharp-tailed grouse population has over time dwindled to less than 1,000. (WDFW photo)

WDFW works with Canadian agency to bring back population of sharp-tailed grouse…

A massive partnership headed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and their Canadian counterparts is working to bring back the sharp-tailed grouse population in the state according to a press release by the WDFW.

The once plentiful population, exceeding 100,000 in the state, has over time dwindled to less than 1,000 due to human population expansion and loss of habitat. The low numbers have put the grouse on Washington’s endangered species list, the release said.

In April, the WDFW and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, FLNRORD for short, paired together on a two-week project to capture and transplant up to 40 grouse across the border from the abundant population in British Columbia. More

(PRESS RELEASE/Tri County Economic Development)

Stecker has a diverse professional background…

Tri County Economic Development District (TEDD) is pleased to welcome Liv Stecker to #TeamTEDD as the new Regional Mobility and Veterans Services Coordinator, and she brings decades of involvement with the Veteran community with her.

Stecker helped to build the American Freedom Fund (AFF), a non-profit organization that provides a place for active duty and Veteran service members to come together in a spirit of camaraderie to participate in recreational and competitive sports; to afford the means and opportunity for student Veterans who seek a career in defense or public policy to achieve the next step in their goals; and to raise awareness and financial support for Veteran focused organizations that are providing crucial resources for Veterans in the community. Stecker has spent the last two decades travelling nationally for her work as the AFF’s Program Director and has been serving the local Veteran community with her blog/news column, ‘The Big Voice’, which she uses to help make sure local vets are connected with the opportunities and resources available to them. More

(PRESS RELEASE/WDFW)

Shot cub was found off Sand Canyon Road…

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is offering a cash reward in the case of a bear cub that was shot and left in northeast Washington.

The incident is believed to have happened around Friday, May 10. The cub was found by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer off Sand Canyon Road near Chewelah, Washington. This incident is illegal for several reasons; it is illegal to shoot bear cubs, it is outside the normal bear hunting season, and wasting harvested animals is also against the law.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call WDFW Enforcement Officer Doug King at 509-936-2192. Charges must be brought against a suspect in this case in order for informants to receive reward money.

Persons with disabilities who need to receive this information in an alternative format or who need reasonable accommodations to participate in WDFW-sponsored public meetings or other activities may contact Dolores Noyes by phone (360-902-2349), TTY (360-902-2207), or email (dolores.noyes@dfw.wa.gov<mailto:dolores.noyes@dfw.wa.gov>). For more information, see https://wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/reasonable_request.html.