The latest news from around the Chewelah Valley
(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)
In 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted and caused immense damage in Southwestern Washington. Even 40 years later, the landscape looks drastically different. Here are photos from Mt. St. Helens during a recent hike in the area by Chewelah Independent managing editor Brandon Hansen. More
(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)
“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.
More
(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.
(STAFF REPORTS AND LINKS/Chewelah Independent)
Using a tilt-shift focus effect on a photo from Quartzite Mountain, Chewelah looks like a toy village from afar. (Brandon Hansen photo)
(PRESS RELEASE/Stevens County / Spokane Tribal Broadband Action Team)
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.
(PRESS RELEASE/TEDD)
Due to the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns, TEDD is seeing an increase in questions from regional business owners about doing business online, planning for a strong recovery, and reducing the impact on the bottom line.
Feedback and input from every size and type of business in the region is vital to our success. TEDD wants to know what kinds of support, training, and tools you and your business need.
TEDD would appreciate your taking the time to complete our “Regional Small Business Needs Assessment” survey. It will take about 10 – 15 minutes of your time. Your answers are completely anonymous. More
(PRESS RELEASE/WDFW)
On May 11, WDFW staff responded to a report of an injured calf in a private pasture in Stevens County to conduct an investigation. The incident occurred within the Wedge pack territory.
The investigation revealed puncture wounds and lacerations consistent with injury by wolves. The combination of bite wounds and lacerations with associated swelling, wolf tracks scattered throughout the pasture, witness accounts, and howling heard in the area is consistent with a confirmed wolf depredation.
The injured calf was monitored but died from its injuries the following day. The affected livestock producer lives near the pasture where the incident occurred. Wolves were hazed away from the calf when it was being attacked. A Cattle Producers of Washington range rider was assigned to the area.
(STAFF REPORT/Chewelah Independent)
Washington Governor Jay Inslee is apparently dropping the requirement for restaurant customers to provide their name and contact info during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Everett Herald is reporting.
“I think where we’ll end up is giving customers an option of leaving a phone number or not,” Gov. Jay Inslee said at an afternoon news conference.
He added that he would have more to say on Friday.
This comes after some outrage online that restaurants would be required to keep a log of those dining, so that contact tracing could be carried out from a positive COVID-19 case. The information would be used if a worker or customer tests positive, information in the log can be used to track down those who may have come into contact with the infected person. Inslee has emphasized the information would be kept private and restaurants could not use it for any private or commercial purpose. More
(PRESS RELEASE/WDFW)
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff in the Colville office gets a lot of questions from the public and one we’ve heard recently is- we’re hearing that we are
supposed to “hunt and fish locally” and continue practicing social distancing. What does that mean when outside?
WDFW is encouraging people to hunt and fish in their direct community if possible, to avoid spreading the COVID-19 virus. There are many great places to do this in northeast Washington so that isn’t a challenge. More
Stevens County, WA ca. 1908 – High Flume of the Fruitland Irrigation Company. Water was taken from the Colville River near the Meyers Falls and carried by flume and ditch 9 miles south of Kettle Falls to farms and orchards. (WA Rural Heritage/ Kettle Falls Public Library)