By Chewelah Chief of Police Mark Burrows
On New Year’s Eve a couple from Canada found a dog along 395 just north of town. They brought the dog into Chewelah and contacted an officer. They were worried it would be struck by a car and the dog was placed into impound. The owners of the dog were on vacation and aware that their beloved Heeler was missing. The local veterinary clinic posted a picture of the dog on Facebook and the owners were happy to discover their dog was safe. Happy New Year, Jake!
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Study finds pot use increasing in older generations

By Brandon Hansen/Chewelah Independent
The legalization of marijuana in the state of Washington is still something of a new frontier. One interesting note on the budding industry is the fact that the baby boomer generation has increased their pot usage considerably in the past decade.

According to a recent study done by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, usage by adults 50 and up went from 4.5 percent a decade ago to 7.1 percent. This was based on over 45,000 responses to a survey by the NSDRUH.

“Probably the majority of my customers are over the age of 45,” said Ericka Church, store owner of Blowin’ Smoke in Chewelah. “A lot of people are combating arthritis, chronic pain, back pain and other ailments that need relief.”

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Fast pleads guilty, sentenced to 40 months

By Jamie Henneman/The Independent Staff
As one of his final acts as Stevens County Superior Court Judge, Allen Nielson sentenced a woman who hit and killed a bicyclist last June to 40 months in jail on Dec. 27. Judge Nielson, who is retiring, presided over the sentencing of Amber Fast shortly after swearing in his elected replacement, Jessica Taylor Reeves.

Amber R. Fast, 28, pled guilty to one count of vehicular homicide after accidentally hitting a bicyclist on HWY 395 outside of Chewelah on June 20. Fast was intoxicated when she hit Jason M. Chambers, 31, who was riding a bicycle on the side of the road in the southbound lane at 11:20 p.m. The June 20 collision killed Chambers and threw the bicycle into the guardrail on the other side of the road.

The standard sentencing range for the crime of vehicular homicide is 78 to 102 months, but a plea deal with the Stevens County Prosecutor allowed for the range Judge Nielson could consider to be lowered in Fast’s case to zero to 102 months. More

By The Independent Staff
The snowpack levels in Washington are healthier than in previous years, the Associated Press is reporting.

Mountain snowpack in the state is at 110 percent of normal, compared to two years ago when the state’s mountain snowpacks were considerably below 100 percent. More