Washington will soon enter into re-opening phase of COVID-19 pandemic
Washington state is just days away from entering phase one of reopening parts of the economy and social interactions, but don’t expect any big changes to Oregon’s social distancing measures this week. In Washington, phase one of a four step plan to reopen starts on a Tuesday. One of the biggest changes people will see is more access and opportunities for outdoor recreation. Washingtonians will be able to hunt and fish, go boating, play rounds of golf and hit the hiking trails but social distancing measures will remain in place and people shouldn’t be recreating with other people outside of their household. Click here for the full story.  More

(PRESS RELEASE/Hewes Marine Company)

Hewes Marine Company will take extra health and safety precautions in re-opening…

After being closed since March 20, 2020, Hewes Marine Company will reopen its offices and production line Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

Hewes Marine Company’s (HMC) top priority has always been the health and safety of its employees and the Stevens County, Ferry County, and Pend Oreille County communities. So, on March 20, 2020 (three days prior to Governor Inslee’s stay-at-home order) HMC voluntarily closed its production facility and offices. During this time, COVID-19 cases in Washington State were increasing dramatically, school closures led to childcare difficulties, and many HMC employees were concerned about the safety of working in close proximity to so many other individuals. The loss (even temporarily) of many employees to these pressures, as well as a desire to keep its team safe from contracting or spreading COVID-19, led to HMC’s voluntary closure. More

(WDFW Question of the Week)

At Colville’s Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife office, we get a lot of questions from the public. One we’ve heard repeatedly is- fishing, hunting, and public lands are now open again- what do we need to know to safely enjoy them?

WDFW, Washington State Parks and the Department of Natural Resources were excited to reopen our lands and hunting and fishing on May 5. Before you go though, be
sure to check what’s open. It takes time to get some of the more remote areas fully opened and we would hate for you to waste a trip.

All facilities are day-use only for now, with no overnight camping. Restrooms will not be open at every site and some that are may not be stocked. So please bring your own soap, water, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper. WDFW offices and fish hatcheries remain closed to the public but fish stocking continues. More

(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

What is re-opening after Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced the scaling back of restrictions on outdoor activities? On May 5, All state-managed public lands, including state parks, natural areas, and recreation land will open on a rolling basis. State-managed boat launches and marinas will be open for day-use services only; no overnight moorage. Recreational fishing for highland and lowland lakes, and the Columbia River and local hunting for turkey and spring bear.

This also generally applies to all DNR managed lands used for day-use activities, which include trailheads, trails, roads, free flight launch sites, water access sites, day-use areas, and dispersed recreation (off-trail hiking, hunting, target shooting, etc.). The Discover Pass is required to park your vehicle at state recreation lands and water-access sites managed by Washington State Parks (Parks), Washington State Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and DNR.

Some parks may not open immediately due to impacts on rural communities and the potential for crowding. State Parks is working with local communities and its partners to determine the best approach and timing to reopening these areas.

Visitor centers, camping and other overnight accommodations on state-managed lands will remain closed until further notice
More

(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

Inslee says more info on economic re-opening will be given Friday…

Washington Governor Inslee announced that the state’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order will remain in effect past May 4 with a phased approach for opening up the economy. It has been 100 days since Washington’s first COVID-19 case, and Inslee said its best to “get the job done” instead of opening and then having to close businesses again.

So far over 13,800 cases and 786 deaths have been reported in Washington.

Inslee spent a large part of his April 29 press conference discussing what metrics are being used to determine when the state could reopen. No concrete date has been provided, although in the past two weeks restrictions on residential construction, fishing, hunting, use of public lands and boating has been relaxed.

To reopen, the first metric the state will look at is case-per-day based on date-of-onset. That number has gone down quite a bit, but needs to go down much more, Inslee said. The second metric: deaths-per-day by date-of-illness onset. The third metric is hospitalization by date of first admission. That number peaked before April in Washington. But, again, not gone down enough. More

(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Here is an ad from the Chewelah Independent on November 8, 1918 showing new restrictions being put in place for an influenza epidemic that would hit most of the world after World War 1. Called “The Spanish Flu” it was only called this because Spain was a neutral country, and was the first to have media report on it, whereas other nationals suppressed the flu info to help preserve the war effort. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Residents of Chewelah and much of the Inland Northwest had the unnerving feeling of the ground moving in April as a 6.5 magnitude quake struck the Boise, Idaho area near Challis.

The quake was the largest to hit Idaho since 1983 and was felt in six states. In 1983, the Borah Peak earthquake hit 6.9 on the Ritcher Scale and killed two while causing millions of dollars worth of damage.

In Chewelah, buildings shook and many people took notice of the weird wave motion the ground was making. Kathryn Patton said, “My office chair started rolling with me in it,” while Kristin Grooms said “Totally felt it after noticing noise coming from my chandelier.” More