We’re going to start a new feature here at chewelahindependent.com where we have power rankings each Friday, talking about the things that are seemingly having a good (or bad) week. You’ve seen power rankings in things like college sports where sports writers try to rank the things that are most important, most impressive or most controversial.

So without further delay, here are the Stevens County Power Rankings for Feb. 22, 2019. More

Here are upcoming events for the Libraries of Stevens County…

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(PRESS RELEASE/Park Avenue Players)

Auditions to be held at Chewelah Center for the Arts…

The Park Avenue Players community theater group will be hosting auditions on March 4-5 for their spring comedy production entitled “Sylvia.” The play is centered on a love triangle that develops between a husband and wife and their new female dog.

Sylvia is a beautiful stray puppy that the husband Greg brings home from his walk in Central Park. She is a talking, highly energetic, and attention-craving canine. For both of them, it is love at first sight. However, when he brings the dog home, his wife Kate is less than thrilled as she sees the dog becoming a wedge dividing their marriage. The plot thickens as Greg spends more time with Sylvia, Kate becomes increasingly jealous, the marriage counselor advocates divorce and dog euthanasia, and Greg’s friend warns him of the splintering effect his dog can have on the relationship between husband and wife.

The two-act play is designed for six actors. The characters of Greg, Kate and Sylvia are line-intensive. The characters of Phyllis, Leslie and Tom require less line memorization.
Auditions will be held at the PACA Center for the Arts at 405 North Third Street East, on March 4-5 at 6:00 p.m.

SYLVIA AUDITIONS
SYNOPSIS
Centered on a love triangle that develops between a husband and wife and their new female dog. Sylvia is a beautiful stray puppy that the husband Greg brings home from his walk in Central Park.

AUDITIONS
March 4-5, 6 p.m.
Chewelah Center
for the Arts

(K.S. BROOKS/Chewelah Independent)

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) workers clear snow at Rocky Mountain National Park, 1933. (National Park Service photograph by George A. Grant)

The first patent for a snowplow was issued in the 1840s…

I was driving down Flowery Trail in Chewelah behind a county snowplow and realized that he was sanding at the same time. What a good idea, I thought, and then wondered who, exactly, invented the combination. I remember days back in Boston when the snowplow would come through first, and the sanding truck second. No more – you get both at the same time now. So. whose idea was that?

I figured that maybe the first plow was invented in Scandinavia, the land of snow, but I had no luck researching that. Then I realized – they don’t need no stinkin’ plows there. In Norway, they just ride reindeer, right? And in Sweden, they all drive Saabs (I’m a Saab girl from waaaay back. Don’t judge me).
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(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

Fire District No. 4 volunteers performed rescues or acted as the victim on Waitts Lake last month. The district has a special sled for ice rescues. (Courtesy photo)

Fire District No. 4 practices ice water rescue training at Waitts Lake…

When it’s cold outside, hopping in a frozen-over lake is the last thing people think about.

Yet, 19 volunteer firefighters from Stevens County Fire District 4 took part in their annual ice water rescue training at Waitts Lake last month. While Stevens County is landlocked, there are numerous lakes and bodies of water that may freeze over but can still be a hazard for people when ice is too thin.

Volunteers deployed their Ice Water Rescue Sled and other equipment for drills, so they could become more familiar with using the devices in an emergency situation.
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Kumiko Love is a JHS grad who has made a name for herself helping people with their finances. (Courtesy photo)

JHS grad Kumiko Love finds large audience with “The Budget Mom”…

It would be an understatement to say that some people listen and read what Jenkins High School grad Kumiko Love has to say.

Author of the famous thebudgetmom.com blog which addresses personal finance, Love has 126,000 followers on Instagram, 11,000 friends on Facebook, 22,000 subscribers on YouTube, 28,000 followers on Pinterest and a Twitter following nearly the size of Chewelah.

After graduating from JHS in 2004, she went to Eastern Washington University, got a degree in finance and started working in the finance industry in Spokane – earning her Series 7 FINRA license and Accredited Financial Counselor Designation. More

Here are Stevens County Superior Court New Cases for Feb. 21, 2019…

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(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

Skiers ride a ski lift up 49 Degrees North (49 Degrees North photo)

Unforeseen mechanical issue causes shutdown…

Chewelah-area ski resort 49 Degrees North announced that an unforeseen mechanical issue has closed down Chair 4, Silver Lode, for the remainder of the ski season.

Due to the type of repair that is required, the resort is unable to safely engage in the work to the lift during ski season. It will also take 12 weeks to manufacture the replacement parts.

“With this season’s record-breaking snowfall, the staff at 49 Degrees North Ski Area is running at maximum capacity to provide the best possible experience for our guests, and to keep the resort functioning as safely and efficiently as possible,” 49 Degrees North owner John Eminger said. More

(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent) 

Ugh. Yeah. More snow…

The forecast for this week is getting tiresome for the Chewelah area as there is three more days of snow predicted. Snow showers could come through the area on Tuesday (Feb. 19), Friday (Feb. 22) and Saturday (Feb. 23).

Lows could dip as low as 11 degrees on Thursday, with the warmest temperatures being 34 degrees on both Wednesday and Thursday.

The weather should for the more part have temperatures just below or at freezing for highs and lows in the teens. Sun is forecasted for Thursday so break out your sunscreen?

Led by WSU Extension and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, this Coached Planning course is aimed at owners of small-scale family forests 5-500 acres. Course participants can certify their forests, earn reduced property taxes and become eligible for cost-share assistance on practices such as thinning, pruning, slash disposal, reforestation and wildlife habitat improvement.

Participants meet weekly starting Wednesday, Feb. 20 through April 17 from 6-9pm at Spokane County Fire District 82, 12100 E. Palouse Hwy, Valleyford, WA. The course fee is $100 and is limited to 20 participants (on a first come first serve basis). If you are interested in this training, contact WSU Extension Forestry at 509-667-6540.