(PRESS RELEASE/Providence)

Providence Stevens County Ministries is conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) in order to engage the community to learn about the healthcare needs of our country. CHNA’s are designed to assess the community health needs and develop strategies to address those needs. Developing key partnerships is vital for the programs created and/or enhanced. All not-for-profit healthcare providers must complete CHNA processes every three years in order to be Federally compliant.

Anyone within the Stevens County/Tri County area who may utilize Providence Health Care services can complete a questionnaire and/or attend a public focus group.
Providence Health has used the prior CHNA findings to provide better healthcare services in the area including early childhood support, more access to care, basic food/nutrition services and behavioral health services.

The questionaire can be picked up and dropped off at any Providence Health Care office in Stevens County.

Public Focus Groups are scheduled as followed:
Northport Library Meeting Room, Feb. 19 from 4-6 p.m.
Kettle Falls Library Community Room, Feb. 25, 5:30-7 p.m.
Chewelah Senior Center Meeting Room, Feb. 26, 5:30-7 p.m.
Colville Library, Feb. 27, 5:30-7 p.m.
A light meal will be provided at the focus groups.

For more information contact: Kelly Corcoran, Director of Mission Integration at Providence Health Care Stevens County Ministries at 685-5395 or email at eve.corcoran@providence.org.

Chewelah Area Recreation Planning Effort (CARPE) is a broad, all-hands, all-lands recreation and tourism planning effort to develop a recreation plan that will be adopted by various entities (like the City of Chewelah, Colville National Forest and others) and used in other efforts (such as obtaining funding for swimming pools, trails, etc.). It will also be used to influence other planning efforts and projects such as those being created by the Chewelah Valley Land Trust. The plan will align with existing guidelines and plans such as the County Comprehensive Land Use Plan and the Groth Management Plan.

In developing the recreation plan, we are tapping into the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) planning guidelines as a guide in developing the plan. The guidelines include key steps including: 1) principles/goals, 2) inventory, 3) needs assessment, and 4) community engagement, among other steps. This should provide opportunities for city and community organizations to use this framework to apply for grants to help in developing recreation opportunities.

This survey will help identify current recreation habits in Chewelah, while identifying gaps and needs in the current infastructure. The survey should only take 5-10 minutes.
It can be taken at surveymonkey.com/r/CARPESurvey or can be picked up at the Chewelah Chamber of Commerce, Quartzite Brewing and Chewelah City Offices.

Monica’s Buttermilk Kitchen is here to serve. (K.S. Brooks photo)

New restaurant offers breakfast and lunch options…

There is a new kitchen in town, one that will be dishing up breakfast and lunch for the hungry masses in Chewelah.

The new restaurant — Monica’s Buttermilk Kitchen — is in the building that used to house Mondo’s Italian Restaurant — a local favorite — and has already had a packed opening.
Monica Jo Traaen-Anderson is the new owner of the restaurant, but she is no newcomer.

“I have always loved to cook; I learned a lot from my great grandmother,” Anderson said. “I have been in the restaurant business for over 20 years and have always wanted a place of my own.”

Anderson said she had looked at many options in the past to own her own restaurant, but they had never worked out. Then Mondo’s closed due to the owner having surgery, and just a short time later, Anderson moved in to create a new dining experience. More