Featured News

WDFW offers advice for co-existing with bear populations this fall

October 21, 2019

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Here is how you can avoid encounters with bears…

It’s that time of year when the bear population begins preparations for the winter’s hibernation, which means they’ll be looking for opportunities to gorge on high calorie foods in the fall to build up their fat reserves.

That means they’ll be looking for any and all means of accomplishing their goal, and that could put the population at risk if they’re not careful and know how to play it safe, a memo from the WDFW said.

“Do everything you can to avoid an encounter with any bear, which help to keep them, and you, out of harm’s way,” Rich Beausoleil, WDFW statewide bear and cougar specialist, is quoted as saying in the memo. More

VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Northport handles Valley Christian, Wellpinit loses tough one

October 20, 2019

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Eliza Stark notches 16 kills in Northport win…

It took an extra set, but the Northport Mustangs took care of business with a victory over visiting Valley Christian Saturday 24-26, 25-5, 25-13, 25-15. Valley Christian got to it early, posting a first set win, but Northport (7-5, 5-4) turned things around quickly and made quick work of the Panthers after that, allowing just 33 points the rest of the way.

Eliza Stark did a bit of everything to lead the Mustangs on to the win. She posted a team high with 16 kills, eight digs, and two blocks. Brianna Young tossed in 32 assists for good measure, and Kylie Corcoran served up nine aces to aid in the win. Northport hosts Republic Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. in their next match.

Wellpinit loses tough one

Wellpinit hosted Republic for a few games Saturday night, hoping to keep pace with the Tigers in the league standings. Unfortunately, Republic (5-6, 4-6) had different plans and left town with a straight set win over the Redskins (2-5, 2-5), 15-25, 14-25, 6-25. Wellpinit travels to take on Harrington in their next game Oct. 22 beginning at 6 p.m.

1B VOLLEYBALL: Selkirk downs state power Odessa

October 20, 2019

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Dawson notches 20 kills in victory…

Odessa is constantly considered one of the best teams in the eastern part of the state and it’s hard to ignore with the kind of results they put up.

But NE Washington can put a feather in its cap after the Selkirk Rangers picked up the 25-17, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22 victory over perennial volleyball power Odessa in NE 1B volleyball action.

Bree Dawson had 20 kills for the Rangers, who improved to 8-1 on the year while Odessa so their season mark drop to 10-3. Selkirk’s Nicol Lyons had 30 assists and two blocks, while Kaitlyn Chantry had seven digs.

Selkirk has won eight straight and has five remaining games on the regular season schedule. They will host Cusick on Thursday at 6 p.m.

OCT. 19 FOOTBALL: 6 things we learned on Friday night

October 19, 2019

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Here are some quick reactions from prep football action in Washington on Friday…

1B FOOTBALL: Selkirk improves to 5-1 on year

October 19, 2019

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Ty Taylor runs the ball for the Selkirk Rangers in a 62-0 victory over Springdale on Friday. (Brandon Hansen photo)

Rangers pick up 62-0 victory over Springdale…

Selkirk is cruising at this point.

The Rangers defeated Springdale in NE 1B football action on Friday by a score of 62-0 and have outscored their opponents 348-24 in the last five games. Selkirk improved to 5-1 on the year and 5-0 in league play with the victory.

What is perhaps lost in the stats is the performance of the defense, both Selkirk’s defense for being swarming and pitching their second shutout of the year and Springdale’s resilience to hang for a while with a team that is ranked No. 9 in the state.

Study says Stevens County tax burden ranks amongst lowest in state

October 18, 2019

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Study done by SmartAsset says Ferry has lowest rate in state…

Stevens County has the sixth lowest tax burden in the state according to the 5th annual study from SmartAsset, a financial technology company that aims to provide personal financial advice.

The study looked at the impact various taxes have on a persons finances in each county across the state to see which counties had the lowest burden of tax rates. Included in the study and methodology were income, sales, property, and gas taxes, using specific calculations for each to determine the tax impact on an individual in each county.

For example, SmartAsset noted on their results page that, “In order to determine sales tax burden we estimated that 35% of take-home (after-tax) pay is spent on taxable goods. We multiplied the average sales tax rate for a county by the household income less income tax. This product is then multiplied by 35% to estimate the sales tax paid.”

SmartAsset listed each methodology on their website, www.smartasset.com, when explaining the results that included an interactive map for each county in the state.

Stevens County came in with the sixth lowest overall tax burden, third lowest sales tax impact, fifth lowest poperty tax impact, and ninth lowest gas tax impact in Washington State.

SmartAsset also compared the tax burden in each individual county with those across the country, using a 100.0 index to indicate the lowest burden nationally. The higher the score on the index, the lower the burden.

According to this ranking, Stevens County scored 78.56 on the index, translating to a national rank of 466.

The top three counties in the state according to the study were neighboring counties Ferry, first, Lincoln, second, and Pend Oreille, third.

VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Kettle Falls comes out on top to Davenport, Wellpinit fall in four to Valley Christian

October 18, 2019

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Davenport came into town for a match with Kettle Falls and didn’t feel much love as the Bulldogs knocked off the Gorillas in four sets 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 30-28. Kettle Falls (3-8, 2-6) immediately picked up momentum with a first set win, and that momentum carried through into the third set before Davenport (1-13, 0-5) battled back to take a set of their own.

The Gorillas fought to try and even things up, but the Bulldogs got back on track to get the fourth set and match wins. Jocelyn Glover did a little of everything for the Bulldogs with 16 assists and three aces. Kathryn Lawrence added five blocks, and Malia Langrehr worked up eight digs to help out on the night.

Kettle Falls travels down to St. George’s for a match Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. More

VOLLEYBALL: Selkirk keeps on rolling

October 18, 2019

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Selkirk was riding high after their Thursday night win over visiting Inchelium. The Rangers put together a complete game in downing the Hornets in straight sets 25-16, 25-5, 25-15. It was Selkirk’s eighth straight win after dropping their season opener, and keeps the Rangers (8-1, 8-1) just one game behind league-leading Odessa and setting up a key match later in the week.

Bree Dawson put down 15 kills on the night, Nicol Lyons helped out with 24 assists, and Allison Petrich served up six aces to lead Selkirk on to victory. Rylee Desautel had seven kills and five blocks on the night for Inchelium (0-9, 0-8). Selkirk faces off against Odessa in a key league match on Oct. 19 starting at 12 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL: Colville runs streak to three

October 18, 2019

(COLIN HAFFNER/Chewelah Independent)

Colville got another win Thursday night, notching their third in a row when they took down host Newport in three straight sets 25-17, 25-22, 25-19. Kiley Power had quite a night in helping Colville (8-4, 6-3) to the win with 19 assists and 12 digs, while Brooke Stutzer did her part with eight kills.

McKenna Reggear lead the squad with a pair of blocks to round out the winning performance. Newport’s (3-9, 1-7) Ashley Cox had 16 digs in the loss. Colville will hit the road to take on Medical Lake Oct. 22 starting at 6:30 p.m.

Chewelah library bringing novel to the airwaves

October 18, 2019

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

You might have a newer radio than the one from the Chewelah Museum, but the concept is the same: tune into 102.7 FM and listen to the soothing tones of Bryan Tidwell as he reads “The City of Ember.” (Brandon Hansen photo)

READING RADIO: Chewelah Library’s Bryan Tidwell reading “The City of Ember” on KCHW…

It was common back in the day for families to gather around the radio and listen to stories and broadcasts before TV and the Kardashians took over.

Well, Chewelah being its usual hipster self is getting back to basics, thanks to a partnership between the Libraries of Stevens County and KCHW Northern Lights Public Radio.
Chewelah Public Library Manager Bryan Tidwell will be reading the acclaimed novel :The City of Ember” beginning on Nov. 3 and running for 14 episodes every Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. Each episode lasts 20-30 minutes, usually encompassing a chapter or two of the story.

So how did Tidwell choose “The City of Ember”? Well it’s not an easy process.

“I read a lot of books to my own children, so I lean on that experience, but we’re really looking hard for a book that is both fun to listen to and fun to read aloud,” he said. “I know that if I’m having fun when I’m reading it, the story will resonate with anyone that’s listening.” More

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