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75¢Methow Valley NewsFull moon

September 22

ALMANAC

September 6 – 13 High Low Precip.Mazama 78 41 .38”Winthrop 79 39 .42”Twisp River 81 39 .35”

Scattered showers this last full week of summer. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s, as the Harvest Moon approaches.

PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903 TWISP, WASHINGTON VOL. 108 NO. 18 SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

See TESTS on Page A3

See PUD on Page A2

See MAYOR on Page A3

ARTS & CULTURE Page A7

Folk dancing, traditional food, art and more at Fiesta Latina this Sunday

Fiesta!Okanogan County Fair calls on residents to pick the winners

COMMUNITY Page B6

County’s best

Auto Rallye brings style to town Twisp mayor Boosman resigns

By Ann McCreary

Nine months after taking office, Twisp Mayor Bill Boos-man says he can no longer continue in the job unless the Town Council approves a sig-nificant increase in the amount he is paid.

In a letter sent to the town council last week, Boosman said he intends to resign by the end of September, saying he “would prefer that the Council provide adequate funding so that I could continue in the position. I have no doubt that such a move would more than pay for itself.”

The mayor’s position re-ceives a stipend of $400 a month. Boosman says that doesn’t come close to compen-sating him for the time he puts into the job.

“It has been my experience, as Mayor of Twisp, that the needs of the Town a re s i g -nificantly g r e a t e r than the f u n d i n g for the position. This has meant that my service to the Town has come at great personal expense to my family and myself,” Boosman said in his letter sent last Tuesday (Sept. 7) to town council members.

Boosman began telling the council members last spring that his duties as mayor were taking up a significant amount of his time, and asking the council to consider a pay in-crease. In May he wrote in a mayor’s report to the council that he had been working more

than 20 hours a week on town issues. “That’s not something that I’m going to be able to sus-tain long-term, without having adverse personal and family effects. My personal preference is to seek the support to meet town (and citizen) needs.”

In response to Boosman’s resignation letter, the coun-

cil called a special m e e t i n g F r i d a y (Sept. 10) t o d i s -cuss the issue. Af-ter near-ly three

hours spent in executive ses-sion, the council considered motions to increase Boosman’s pay, but took no action.

Council member Soo Ing-Moody asked Boosman at the meeting to clarify whether he wanted more assistance in his work as mayor, or whether he wanted more money.

“There are times when he talks about assistance, and times when he talks about compensation. They are two different things. He was asking

By Marcy Stamper

Most Methow Valley students per-formed better than their peers across Washington on a battery of new tests administered in the spring, according to results just released by the state superin-tendent.

Last year’s sophomores at Liberty Bell did particularly well, with 97 percent meeting the state standard in reading (com-pared to 82 percent of their peers across the state) and 91 percent in writing (the same as others in the state).

Math and science proved more challenging for most students, both locally and across the state. Fifty-three percent of Liberty Bell sopho-mores met the standard for math (compared to 44 percent statewide) and 71 percent of them did in science (compared to 48 percent statewide).

Scores on the exams indicate whether students meet state learning standards, which generally requires a score of 60 to 65 percent, according to the state Office

of the Superintendent of Public Instruc-tion.

This district looks at individual test results along with other information throughout the school year to arrive at an effective learning plan for each student, according to Methow Valley superinten-dent Mark Wenzel. Among the areas of focus are listing the concepts and skills students learn at each grade level and building on previous knowledge. Teach-ers aim to communicate learning goals to students and help them assess their own progress. They also use professional days to share successful teaching strategies, said Wenzel.

Educators tend to look at a group of students as they progress through the system, rather than comparing one year’s fourth or eighth graders to the next, said Wenzel. “One of the things we’ve seen is that most students improve as they move through the system,” he said.

Methow eighth graders also did con-sistently better than their statewide peers, with 80 percent meeting the standard in reading, 74 percent in math, and 69 percent in science, all 10 to 20 percentage points above the statewide scores.

Performance of Methow seventh grad-ers in reading, writing and math was about the same as others across the state, with

64 percent showing proficiency in reading, 74 percent in writing and 52 percent in math.

Sixth graders outpaced their Washington classmates, with 85 percent meeting the standard in reading (compared to 65 percent statewide) and 79 percent in math (compared to 52 percent statewide).

Local fifth graders had more trouble on the exam, coming in close or below their statewide peers in reading (71 percent met standard, compared to 70 percent in the state), math (59 percent versus 54 percent) and science (27 percent versus

Methow students surpass peers on state tests in most subjects

$400 a month stipend is not enough for the work required, he says

Bill Boosman

“I can’t continue at this rate and I’ve been telling the council that

since May.”~ Twisp Mayor Bill Boosman

A flea jumps about 3 inches with each hop. The dog is 2 feet long. About how many hops will it take the flea to jump from the tip of the dog’s nose to the tip of the tail?

Show your work using words, numbers, or pictures.

Sample fourth-grade math question

Results will help tailor teaching plans

By Marcy Stamper

PUD customers who use very little electricity and those with more than one me-ter have expressed concern about the district’s new rates, which include a minimum energy charge for the lowest power consumers.

The Okanogan County Public Utility District ad-opted new rates effective July 1 that maintain the $10 base rate and 4.4-cent-per-kilowatt-hour charge for residential customers. A higher rate of 5.6 cents per kWh has been imposed for use exceeding 2,000 kWh per month (2,000 is the average use), according to PUD gen-eral manager John Grubich.

In addition, the district added a minimum energy charge of $15 a month, which allows for 300 kWh. Under this billing structure, any customers using 300 kWh or more in a month pay only for the power they use, but those using less than 300 pay the $15.

Several ratepayers brought their concerns

about the new rates to a district board meeting last month, including a Brewster resident who contended that the minimum energy charge discourages conservation and penalizes low users.

Others complained that they were hit with an extra charge for having multiple meters, for example, to monitor a well at some dis-tance from the house.

Several seasonal resi-dents in the Methow said they had not noticed a signifi-cant change in their bill.

Letters to the editor of area newspapers also criticized the PUD for hit-ting customers with added expenses during difficult economic times, for penal-izing those who conserve energy, and for coming on the heels of the completion of the PUD’s new headquar-ters in Okanogan and the district’s financial contribu-tions to local schools.

Some commercial cus-tomers whose usage triggers large demand charges once or twice a year have also

Proud owner Ted Parnell, top left, poses next to his 1931 Model A Ford, which he has driven down the Oregon and California coasts twice from his home in Yakima. “It does fine on a long trip,” he said. “People wave and give the thumbs up.” Top right, a detail of

the Ford’s rear end. Above, judge Dwain Hutson (in blue) checks out a 1939 Ford truck belonging to Chris Carter of Twisp. “It’s a Methow truck,” said Carter, who rescued the rig from a field three years ago and got it running again.

Photos by Marcy Stamper

Low power users question new PUD rates

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Offers good on new and unregistered units purchased between 7/27/10 and 9/30/10. Offers only available at participating Polaris® dealers. *Rates as low as 3.99% for 36 months. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on credit worthiness. Other fi nancing offers are available. Applies to the purchase of all new ATV and RANGER® models made on the Polaris Installment Program from 7/27/10 to 9/30/10. Fixed APR of 3.99%, 7.99%, or 10.99% will be assigned based on credit approval criteria. Examples of monthly payments over a 36 month term at 3.99% APR: $29.52 per $1,000 fi nanced and at 10.99% APR: $32.73 per $1,000 fi nanced. **Rebates apply to select models. See your dealer for details. Warning: ATVs can be hazardous to operate. For your safety: Avoid operating Polaris ATVs or RANGERs on paved surfaces or public roads. Riders and passengers should always wear a helmet, eye protection, protective clothing, and a seat belt (on RANGER vehicles). Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Polaris adult ATV models are for riders age 16 and older. Drivers of RANGER vehicles must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license. All ATV riders should take a safety training course. For ATV safety and training information call the SVIA at (800) 887-2887, see your dealer, or call Polaris at (800) 342-3764. ©2010 Polaris Industries Inc.

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Call 509-322-6326 or visit www.jimdetro.com

It's not Me it's WE!to Preserve our Rural Lifestyle & Values

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Page A2 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Methow Valley News

Photo by Ann McCreary

Landing zoneA Caterpillar driven by Mark Bakken of Lloyd Construction breaks up the pavement on the Twisp Municipal Airport runway as a $500,000 airport improvement project gets underway. The airport was closed to traffic on Sept. 6 as work began on the project, which will widen the runway from 40 feet to 60 feet to meet federal safety standards. A

grant from the state Department of Trans-portation Aviation Department is funding the project. The Twisp Airport Improve-ment Club, made up of pilots who use the airport, is providing a 5-percent match worth $25,000 through donated labor and materials. The project is expected to be completed by the first week of October.

By Mike Maltais

The Washington Depart-ment of Fish and Wildlife called up its heavy hitters as the road team traveled to Brewster last Wednesday, Sept. 8, to host a public roundtable discus-sion for Okanogan county residents.

The locals fielded a pretty fair home team of their own as more than 50 sportsmen, landowners and elected offi-cials showed up to engage the issues of fishing, hunting and resource management with the WDFW staff.

During a two-hour discus-sion that included a presenta-tion on various enforcement efforts, WDFW director Phil Anderson, fresh from a bud-getary meeting with Gov. Chris Gregoire earlier in the day, delivered an address that focused primarily on the fiscal challenges the agency is fac-ing now and in the 2011-2013 biennium.

Anderson painted a sober-ing picture of the revenue defi-cits facing the state in general and WDFW in particular. For biennium 2009-2011, WDFW’s budget was cut by $35 million and Anderson projected that the 2011-2013 biennium will take away $20 million more, while the state faces a $3 billion shortfall of its own.

Anderson said he believes his department is at a “critical turning point” and reminded the audience that during the last legislative session, propos-als were floated to combine WDFW with the Department of Natural Resources or merge the agency’s enforcement arm in with the Washington State Patrol. He predicted that the upcoming January legislative session will visit similar pro-posals again.

Anderson said the depart-ment controls about 900,000 acres across the state with about 700 access sites that WDFW also maintains at no cost to users. One of the revenue possi-bilities WDFW is considering is an optional Vehicle Use Permit

to distribute the costs of keep-ing up these access sites to all users, not just sportsmen.

A question from the au-dience asked why, with the revenue outlook so dire, does WDFW acquire working ranch-es, like The Golden Doe, south of Twisp, purchased for $2.9 million, when it strains depart-ment funds to maintain such properties?

Dennis Beich, director for WDFW’s Region 2 in Ephrata, explained that some state and federal funds “are earmarked specifically for protecting criti-cal habitat and can’t be used for other purposes.”

Okanogan County Com-missioner Bud Hover took the floor in response to a discus-sion about WDFW property acquisitions within the county to clarify the commissioners’ position regarding advance notice of future purchases. Hover said the commissioners have requested that WDFW bring them into the loop earlier, while target properties are be-ing evaluated.

Methow resident Phil Lund, a former Western Wash-ington steelhead guide, ex-pressed his concern over the special steelhead season that opened Sept. 8 on the Methow River. Lund said the fish will hold just upstream from the mouth, making the fishery too vulnerable to sport fishermen. He encouraged the department to close the special season, allow the steelhead to work upriver, and reopen the fishery later, perhaps around Oct. 15.

WDFW fish program man-ager Jeff Korth, also from the Ephrata office, replied that the goal of the Methow steelhead fishery is protection and en-hancement of returning native steelhead, and that was also the driving motive behind enforce-ment of special gear restrictions to reduce the chances of injur-ing native fish.

Other questions from the diverse audience addressed conservation easements, water shortages, noxious weeds and buck-doe deer ratios.

WDFW roundtable addresses wildlife, budget issues

By Marcy Stamper

Okanogan County will not have an official policy on climate change in its comp plan, although the subject may be addressed through a resolution.

The county commissioners, at one of their August work sessions, opted to keep the comprehensive plan uncluttered and not to include any optional elements.

While the state does not require that cities and counties address climate change in planning or other documents, recent laws and some guidelines still under devel-opment suggest that having a policy may become more important in grant applica-tions and in the environmental review of private and public developments.

State agencies that provide capital funds for infrastructure or economic de-velopment must take into account whether the entity receiving the funds has adopted policies to reduce greenhouse-gas emis-

sions, according to Joyce Phillips, senior planner at the state Department of Com-merce, who specializes in climate change. These policies would be among the criteria used in scoring applications for competi-tive grants, she said.

Okanogan County planning director Perry Huston prepared a memo with three options for the county commissioners to consider at their work session:

• no mention of climate change in the comp plan;

• including a policy on climate change that “finds the climate change model that predicts world disaster due to global warming from man-made causes to be without sufficient universally accepted science-based support” for it to influence land-use planning, but that would ad-vocate the use of cleaner and renewable energy sources where possible; and

• including a policy dismissing cli-mate change because of the lack of suffi-

cient scientific support and rejecting efforts by the federal agencies to assume authority over local land-use planning.

Following a discussion between com-missioners Bud Hover and Mary Lou Peterson, the commissioners elected to handle any potential policies on climate change through a resolution.

Jurisdictions around the state have taken different approaches to climate change, ranging from issuing a separate plan on sustainability and energy stan-dards, to adding a section to a compre-hensive plan, to incorporating goals in their transportation plans, said Phillips. Others have taken no action or point to existing policies or infrastructure such as a trail system.

Huston is working on a new draft of the comp plan incorporating the com-missioners’ recommendations, which is anticipated within the next month and will be the subject of public hearings.

County will wait to address climate change

Following a moist sum-mer and recent rains, the Methow Valley Ranger District is preparing for some early fall prescribed burning between now and the end of October as weather permits.

Areas of the district with prescribed burn units include:

Little Bridge Creek (Twisp River drainage, 10 miles west of Twisp); Leecher Mountain (six miles east of Carlton); Fawn Creek (seven miles west of Winthrop); Goat Creek and Lucky Jim Bluff (three miles east of Mazama); Eightmile Creek (10 miles northwest of Winthrop); Benson Creek (seven miles northeast of Carl-ton); Loup Loup Summit area (10 miles east of Twisp); and McFarland Creek (three miles west of Methow).

Not all units will be burned this fall.

Prescribed burning set to start in district

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Methow Valley News Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Page A3

for compensation,” Ing-Moody said in an interview this week.

The mayor ’s responsibilities include overseeing personnel, includ-ing hiring and firing, and overseeing implementation of policies that are set by the council. With the loss in recent months of Twisp’s three major depart-ment heads – police, public works and clerk/treasurer – the administrative burden on the mayor has increased.

In recent months, the Twisp Council has indicated an interest in the concept of hiring a profes-sional adminis-trator to man-age the town’s increasing administrative workload.

Based on a staffing proposal recently created for the council’s con-sideration, a part-time administrator would be paid $25,480 per year. Boos-man said that is the amount he asked the council to consider paying him.

“The function I’ve been doing is a part-time administrator,” Boosman said this week in an interview. “I feel like I’m well qualified to deal with those issues.”

Council member Tom Gehring said he felt council members “were all leaning toward an increased role of a part-time management posi-tion” that would be filled by hiring a part-time town administrator. “That would alleviate a lot of the pressures that a mayor is going to take on,” Gehring said.

“I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I wish Bill would too,” Geh-ring said.

Boosman said he favors the idea of hiring an administrator, a process that he estimated would take three months. “In the long term that’s probably a good idea. It would raise the level of professionalism. But,” he added, “that’s three months away. I can’t continue at this rate and I’ve been telling the council that since May.”

Before meeting on Friday the council obtained a legal opinion that indicated any increase in the mayor’s salary could not be given on a tem-porary basis, but would need to be maintained through the end of the mayor’s term. Boosman has 15 months

left in his term. That would tie up funds that could be used to hire a new administrator, Ing-Moody said.

“Money allocated to the mayor presupposes the ability…to hire an administrator,” Ing-Moody said.

Following a closed-door executive session to discuss the salary issue that lasted until after 11 p.m. on Friday, the council came back into regular session and council member Hans Smith offered

several motions to increase Boosman’s sal-ary “because of his personal circumstances and an inordi-nate amount of work.”

Smith said he proposed the motions because by law the council can discuss salaries and performance in executive session, but cannot take official action in execu-tive session. “I felt compelled to raise motions I didn’t necessarily feel good about,” Smith said. “I didn’t see any other way to see the issue resolved” with the legal constraints under which the council was operating.

He began by offering a motion that the council increase the mayor’s pay to $2,000 per month. There was no second, and after some discussion, Smith withdrew the motion.

“I made another motion – this time decreased compensation to $1,500. We had a discussion, no second, and I with-drew the motion,” Smith said. Smith made another motion with $1,200 as compensation with the same result. A final motion by Clint Estes to set compensation at $1,000 also was with-drawn because it was not seconded by another council member.

At that point, council member Gehring said he felt the public should have the ability to comment on the question of increasing the mayor’s compensation before the council act-ed, and the council adjourned without a decision after 11:30 p.m.

Boosman said this week that he agrees with the need for public discussion. “I’m totally behind that and that’s why I’ve given notice well ahead to give us time to have that kind of conversation. I would feel uncomfortable if the council gave this kind of raise without public input,”

Boosman said.“The council said they don’t want

to lose me but don’t want to make the commitment to have me stay,” he said.

Elected last year by a 21-vote mar-gin against John Lomison, Boosman said he realized soon after taking office in January that the job was going to take more time than he anticipated.

“I initially felt it would take five hours a week,” Boosman said. He said he found “a lot of issues have piled up” in previous administrations. He cited ongoing concerns about acquiring wa-ter rights for the town, development of the industrial park, personnel issues, and compliance with state and federal regulations as examples.

The job of mayor “is pretty close to a half-time position,” Boosman said. “I would be uncomfortable doing the minimal amount. I feel it difficult to ignore problems that exist.”

Boosman is currently working to complete his bachelor’s degree through a distance-learning program, and said his workload as mayor is interfering with his studies. “If I take a full-time job I won’t have the time to do the (mayor) job right,” he said. “The impacts on my family are too high without adequate compensation.”

“In the mayor’s position,” council member Gehring said, “you need to very conscious of what you allocate your time toward, what are the hot fires to be put out.” He added, “The mayor’s position has always been philanthropic in nature, the pay is a means to hold the mayors accountable for their actions or lack of action.”

Ing-Moody said the $400 monthly stipend paid to the mayor, like the $40 monthly stipend paid to council members, “are never truly reflective of the energy and time it takes to serve well. Your intention is to get a good job done at the end of your term. It’s not about whether you’re duly compensated.”

When Boosman’s resignation becomes effective at the end of the month, the council will choose one of the four sitting council members to serve until the next election, in November 2011. The council is down to four members following the resig-nation of Tom Mulgrew earlier this month. The town has begun advertis-ing to fill that vacant council seat.

34 percent). While the majority of students did not meet the science standard, almost half came within 20 points of meeting it, said Wenzel.

Fourth graders were also about the same as their Washington class-mates in all subject areas, with 67 percent meeting standard in reading, 62 percent in writing and 53 percent in math.

Third graders outpaced their peers, with 80 percent proficient in reading and 83 percent in math (com-pared to 73 percent and 62 percent statewide).

Results on the new exams for local students did not follow a consistent pattern when compared with scores on the Washington Assessment of Stu-dent Learning, which was replaced by the two new exams, the Measurements of Student Progress (for third through eighth graders) and the High School Proficiency Exam. In reading, Methow 10th graders improved, while fifth and seventh graders showed an annual decline over the past three school years. All three grades declined in math over the same time period.

To address the math gap locally, the district has instituted enhanced math instruction, with 90 minutes a day for all elementary school students, combining core skills and individual-ized work, and a second math class for high school students who are below standard, said Wenzel.

Writing scores remained fairly constant for fourth, seventh and 10th graders. Science scores have improved each year for eighth and 10th grad-ers, but fifth-grade scores took a big

plunge this year after showing some improvement in the 2008-09 school year, dropping by more than half.

While comparison with students in the same grade across the state may provide an indication of how Methow Valley students are doing, the tests measure students’ performance against a set of learning standards and not against their peers, accord-ing to OSPI.

Passing the reading and writing portions of the High School Profi-ciency Exam (or a state-approved alternative) is required for gradua-tion. Starting next spring, high school students must pass end-of-course exams for algebra and geometry to earn a diploma. The class of 2013 will be required to show proficiency on a comprehensive math exam and in science.

Virtually all students in third through 10th grade (only ninth grad-ers get a year off from standardized tests) took the statewide exams last spring. Methow sixth, eighth and 10th graders joined almost 90,000 other stu-dents in taking the test online. Feed-back about the computerized testing was positive, according to OSPI.

All Washington students will take reading and math tests online in 2012. Writing and science will be phased in more gradually.

Parents and guardians may view their child’s test booklets. Information is available on the OSPI website at www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StateTesting or by calling (360) 725-6348. Test results are also available on the website.

“The mayor’s position has always been

philanthropic in nature.”~ Twisp council member

Tom Gehring

MAYOR From Page A1 TESTS From Page A1

expressed concerns, according to the minutes of the board meeting. Rates for commercial and indus-trial accounts were shifted so that companies pay less per kWh but pay a new demand charge for peak use, which was designed to encourage these accounts to keep their power use more constant, said Grubich when the rates were presented in the spring.

The new rates came out of a de-tailed cost-of-service analysis that showed that residential customers

and those billed for street lights typically pay less than it costs the PUD to provide them with power, while commercial and industrial customers tend to pay more than their share of the fixed costs, said Grubich.

PUD staffers are reviewing the impact of the rates on customers with more than one meter and will make a recommendation to the board by the end of Septem-ber, said Grubich at the August meeting.

PUD From Page A1

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PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903

101 N. Glover St.,P.O. Box 97, Twisp, WA 98856

Telephone: (509) 997-7011FAX: (509) 997-3277

E-mail: editor@methowvalleynews.comHomepage: www.methowvalleynews.com

Paul Butler, PUBLISHER Marilyn Bardin, OFFICE MANAGER

John Hanron, EDITOR Robin Doggett, AD SALES MANAGER

Sue Misao, ARTS EDITOR Callie Fink, AD SALES

Carol Stull, REPORTER Janet Mehus, OFFICE ASSISTANT

Marcy Stamper, REPORTER Dana Sphar, AD DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Ann McCreary, REPORTER Linda Day, AD DESIGN

MIke Maltais SPORTS Jay Humling, DISTRIBUTION

CONTRIBUTORS

Bill Biddle, Erik Brooks, Tania Gonzalez Ortega, Sally Gracie,Patrick Hannigan, Jim & Jane Hutson, Rosalie Hutson,

Ashley Lodato, Patrick McGann, Sam Owen, Bob Spiwak,Amy Stork, Solveig Torvik, Dave Ward, E.A. Weymuller

Display advertising deadline for this newspaper is on the Friday previous to publication at 5 p.m. Classifi ed advertising deadline is Monday at noon. The deadline for news items is Monday at noon. Member of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. THE METHOW VALLEY NEWS (USPS Publication No. 343480) is published weekly by Methow Valley Publishing, LLC, 101 N. Glover St., Twisp, WA 98856. Subscription rates: $30 inside Okanogan County, $40 outside of Okanogan County and $50 outside of Washington State per year (in advance). Periodical class postage paid at Twisp, Washington, and additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE METHOW VALLEY NEWS, P.O. Box 97, Twisp, WA 98856. THE METHOW VALLEY NEWS does not refund subscription payments except to the extent that the newspaper might fail to meet its obligation to publish each week of the individual subscription period, in which case the prorated cost of those issues missed would be refunded.

Methow Valley News

Editorial

OpinionBox 97:

Letters to the editor

Page A4 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Methow Valley News

This public forum is open to all who would like to comment on issues of importance to the Methow Valley community. We encourage letter writers to be civil and

respectful in their comments, elevating the quality of the public debate. Letters are limited to 350 words and may

be edited for libel, grammar and taste. Send to:Methow Valley News, P.O. Box 97, Twisp, WA 98856,

or FAX: 509-997-3277, or e-mail: editor@methowvalleynews.com,

or drop by the office, 101 N. Glover St. in Twisp.

Tania Gonzalez Ortega

Notable quotable

Find someplace elseAn open letter to some of the archery

deer hunters at Harts Pass over Labor Day weekend.

To the hunters (?) who camped on Forest Spur 205: Are you the same folks who camped there in 2008 and left a complete deer carcass minus the head and backstraps? And/or the ones who, in 2009, left a gut pile immediately adjacent to the stream? This year you “forgot” a full five-gallon bucket of trash, a fire under the tree canopy still burning and many, many piles of toilet paper (plus ??) scattered throughout the woods around the campsite (were you marking your territory?). You also left your garbage in the stream where you washed your pots, pans and dishes, along with not one but two bottles of dish detergent.

The group camped on Forest Spur 210 wasn’t quite as bad as their neighbors, but they also left a fire burning and quite a bit of litter around their camp. They did attempt to put out the fire, but were not successful and left anyway.

The alleged hunters at Deer Park, over in Whatcom County, really deserve a special place in Hunter’s Hell. They drove their vehicles through a once-pretty meadow (to collect firewood?), left 10-foot long metal pipes attached to tree branches, hacked at living trees, and left about two gallons worth of burned cans in the fire pit. They also left behind a plastic privy, full but unburied. The absolute worst was the fire pit itself. It took us at least 10 trips to the nearby stream over 45 minutes with a five-gallon bucket to quench the fire. The water we poured on the fire kept boiling away from the heat of the rocks and soil deep in the ground. Very little of the water we poured on the coals managed to leave the fire pit.

If you recognize yourself in any of the above, please do us a great favor and find someplace else to trash – oops, hunt – next year, or even better stay home!

Regretfully,Bill and Patti Karro

Harts Pass Catmpground hostsWinthrop

ElectrocutionEditor,

I’m feeling a bit “shocked” about OCEC electrical rates and new proposals. Here’s why. I have two rentals in the Methow. This year I used $3.94 of electricity for the month of May. The furnace was on for one day in my yearly rental. I was charged $64 for that eight hours, then I was charged $40 for the month’s base charge, for a total of $104, or over three times the charge of last year’s May, were I used $2.54 of electricity

with a base charge of $29 for a total of $31.54.

Secondly, I used less elec-tricity in my nightly rental this

year and its charges went up 100 percent in May.

So, is a three times in-crease in my electrical bill

with no apparent increase on the supply side seem like

it’s fair?I’ll use 2008 as a base

example. In 2009 I de-creased my electrical usage but was charged

25 percent more than 2008. Now, the latest OCEC

alternative of $40 base charge

and $ .08 p e r k W h

would increase my bill to over 48 percent more than 2008 in 2010-2011.

Something just doesn’t seem right about the new rates that OCEC has lev-ied on its small business and residential customers. I am not the only one complain-ing, and I have been talking to the co-op management.

Webster’s dictionary says that a “co-operative store” is a retail store owned by and managed for the customer-consumer. Also, that “cooperative” means the combination of persons for the purpose of joint benefit.

To whose benefit are these new rates? The average consumer? These new rates do not even promote conservation.

OCEC and its (our) board need to do one of two things: go back to the old system that most of the state uses, or figure out a more fair one.

Letting this drag on, even after the

Explore peaceDear Ed,

We already have a Veterans for Peace group here in the valley. Well, now we have a group that is meeting bi-monthly for the entire year, just to discuss, analyze and learn about universal and inner peace.

It’s a bold and wonderful move of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. And it’s free to all comers!

I can’t think of a more appropriate locality to have such a convocation of minds. A lot of people have moved here in order to fulfill some level of serenity and deep satisfaction with life. Here is a marvelous chance to explore what peace means to you.

The UUF has just sponsored this past week’s weekend-long workshop with Jamal Rahman of the Interfaith Commu-nity Church in Seattle. This eloquent and inspiring speaker kicked off the year. Next Sunday, Dr. Gerald Sparling will continue by leading a group discussion: Exploring Aspects of Peace.

I’m really jazzed by the topic of peace because I have recently experienced a personal confrontation that required recognizing that the other guy may have been wrong and may have behaved badly but isn’t inherently a bad guy. Identifying with the other guy is the first step in the peacemaking process.

The UUF meets the first and third Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. at the Community School in Winthrop.

Carolanne SteinebachTwisp

No more ping-pongingEditor,

I would like to express thanks to Paul Taylor, Pat Leigh and Ron Perrow for the time, effort, and commitment they have put forward toward making constructive changes to the Okanogan County Electric Co-op. At the very least, opening a dialog with the directors that were not up for election this year, for us (the sheep), is encouraging. Eliminating the gag rule shows a move to transparency for better communication with us, the confused members.

Comparing rate structures invoked by other similar co-ops in the state sounds like a reasonable avenue to take in evaluating what is done here. Unfortunately, the aristocratic attitude displayed by the disparaging comments made by two of the directors toward the membership makes it appear as though it may be difficult to work with the “old guard.” Their experience and knowledge to deal with future challenges may be invaluable. Let’s hope the board’s dialog is constructive among its own members, and to general members alike for a well-managed co-operative. I assume there is nothing to hide.

The ping-ponging of rates around, up and down, during the past year certainly reflects on the “old guard” board members as being “let’s try this for a while and see how it works” philosophy rather than we are the thoughtful leaders that know what’s best for the sheep.

And thanks, Paul, for delaying the decision to spend more money on devices which could be irrelevant by the time they arrived. Or are we just facing more ping-ponging of rates in the near future (after the next election)?

Buddy ThomasTwisp

Not another bridgeEditor,

San Francisco has a population of 809,000 people and they own a gold bridge that is 8,981 feet or 1.7 miles long. This equals approximately .011 feet per per-son.

Winthrop has a population of 450 people and they own three bridges with approximately 450 feet of span, which equates to about one foot of bridge per resi-dent. Do we really need another bridge?

I’m aware that many people in the state of Washington think and vote like those in San Francisco. I’m OK with that, but the Methow Valley and its people here are unique and diverse with their environmental concerns.

We hear so much talk about expanded powerlines, larger airports and more af-fordable housing. They’re all good issues with a myriad of solutions.

If the town of Winthrop wishes to spend our tax dollars on more east/west egress across the Methow River, I have my own solution. Why not route the river underground, pave over it, and “put up another parking lot”?

Remember, the government doesn’t have any of their own money, they just have yours. Please, not another bridge.

Bob HartTwisp/Winthrop

The will of the localsEditor,

Re: your editorial “Don’t tolerate the intolerable” (MVNews, Sept. 8)

As the rest of America, including my hometown, has found it necessary to opine on the “Cordoba House / Park 51” issue here in New York City, I thought it neces-sary to interject the opinion of a long-time resident on this controversial debate.

In discussing this topic with other resi-dents (friends, family, colleagues) I have found several differing opinions, as expected, regarding the rights and the wisdom of building an inter-faith community center (it’s not a mosque) at this location. However, when asked if this development should be a national issue or contained to a local debate, the opinion is overwhelmingly for the latter. The building of this center had been limited to local news stories until others from outside the city decided it was in their best inter-est to leverage the debate for self-promotional purposes. What is missing from the debate is the simple fact that New York City residents pay, in addition to state and federal taxes, a city tax. This point should singularly de-termine who has the “right” to an opinion on this subject.

To be clear, this location is not on “hal-lowed ground.” There are no memorials on the sidewalk; no reflecting pools for which to contemplate the disaster. The New York Dolls strip club property, one block north of the center, is no more holy or hallowed than it was on Sept. 10th, 2001. To be clear, this controversy is not about “radical Islam” but about special interests, politicians, and pundits seizing an opportunity to push their agendas by inflating a small local story.

Let those of us who live here determine the fate of this institution. If the majority of residents wish to have the center relo-cated, then that is the will of the people: the people who pay additional taxes to live in a city they love.

Jim FloydBrooklyn, NY

overwhelming vote of no confidence at the co-op meeting last year, is not ben-efiting the community, who are the real “owners”.

John WillettMazama/Kitsap

The extinction of silenceLast week’s newspaper contained an interesting letter

regarding noise pollution. This is an issue that isn’t a com-mon one in the Opinion section, especially in rural areas like the Methow. But in today’s world, even in a relatively isolated valley like ours, the subject of noise, silence and people’s rights will only become more prevalent.

I recently read an intriguing interview of Joyce, Wash., resident Gordon Hempton in the September issue of the magazine, The Sun. Hempton is an acoustic ecologist and has traveled the world recording nature, searching areas for silence and working to reduce noise pollution as in trying to limit air traffic over places – especially national parks – like the Olympics.

In the beginning of the interview, Hempton refers to the Methow and the natural balance of sounds: “I think of Campbell Lake in Pipestone Canyon near Winthrop, Washington, for example, which is a natural amphitheater. The lake and surrounding hills amplify sound like a stereo speaker… That is the “silence” that is the presence of every-thing.”

To Hempton, “the world has become dangerously loud.” His advice in reducing noise and finding silence is simple: Be aware, protect your hearing and, lastly, “speak out for your right to quiet.”

This last recommendation can be tricky. Advocacy for quiet in a noisy world can be a bit daunting. It can be dif-ficult to promote, and difficult to convince others of the importance of silence, especially, as in the case of the Twisp motocross track, if the noise is a product of another person’s or group’s activity. Judgments then come into play whether the activity warrants the noise impacts.

As the noise pollution letter writers pointed out last week, there are ordinances regarding noise, yet the enforce-ment of these rules is generally a low priority. The irony here, as Hempton might point out, is that in a community or world of shared resources, “one of the most shared is the acoustic environment – even more so than the visual envi-ronment.”

Hempton and other advocates for quiet obviously are more aware of and appreciative of the need for reducing noise and protecting silence. The more the rest of us can work toward being aware of the importance of silence, the more likely it will be preserved.

Sound crazy? Think about it sometime when you are in a quiet place.

– Paul Butler

“The day will come when man will have to fight noise as inexorably as

cholera and the plague.”~ Nobel Prize winning bacteriologist

Robert Koch, 1905

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Thank You For Buying My

Lamb!Alyssa Button

My Turn

More OpinionMethow Valley News Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Page A5

Thanks to helpersEditor,

In recent months, the Twisp Public Devel-opment Authority has continued to receive in-credible support from people in our community as we all move ahead to realize the vision of our newly adopted master plan for TwispWorks. We’d like at this point to recognize a number of folks who have recently stepped up, offering time, energy and special skills.

They include Dwight Filer (for count-less hours of donated plumbing services), Ed Welch (for plowing up the asphalt in the heat of summer and preparing the soil for a demonstration garden), Aaron and Baynard Buzzard (for removing the asphalt), Bob Lloyd (for enabling disposal of the asphalt), Raleigh Bowden, Ed Welch and others (for the backbreaking work of picking rocks and planting the demonstration garden), Jerry Palm (for his assistance with installation of Bernie Hosey’s sculpture), and Steve Seward (for his generous donation of legal services).

Especially gratifying is the fact that, in most cases, these folks offered their time and expertise without our even asking. They sim-ply saw the need and said, “Here’s what I can do to help!”

On behalf of the all of us at TwispWorks, and of our whole community, which will benefit by your efforts - thank you!!

Maggie Coon andMark Wolf-Armstrong

Co-directorsTwisp PDA

The only path to GodDear John,

Re your editorial in the Sept. 8 edition “Don’t tolerate the intolerant.” I respect the right of every individual to worship as they please; however, with regard to the closing statement of your editorial, I feel compelled to draw your attention to the words of Jesus Christ contained in your New Testament, John chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus answered this question posed by Thomas, one of his disciples: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Surely you regard Jesus as a good man… not given to telling lies and making ridiculous claims. Why would he ever say such a thing if it weren’t true?

Peter, another disciple, spoke these words when he was brought before the Sanhedrin, having been jailed for his faith: Acts 4:12 “Sal-vation is found in no one else, for there is no other name [the name of Jesus] under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Faith in Jesus, for our salvation and eternal life is the only path to God, the Creator of the universe.

Respectfully submitted,Marilyn J. Bardin

Twisp

Great time fiddlingDear Editor,

My family and I attend the North Cascades Fiddle Contest every year, and have since the very first (except two years ago when my wife was in labor). I just wanted to let you know what a great time we have had, and how much we look forward to this at the end of every summer. The Methow Valley now holds a special place in so many of our memories, I am sure we will be coming back for many years to come! We appreciate you being a part of the sponsorship of the contest – thank you!

Trevor Gage and familyPuyallup

Tremendous successDear John:

On Saturday, Aug. 28, Cindy Button and the Aero Methow staff invited some of us from the University of Washington School of Medicine to participate in a continuing education course at their facility in Twisp. This is the second consecutive year that Cindy has organized such training, which profits not only the people Aero Methow serves in the Methow Valley, but also is a boon for those of us at Harborview, who often wind up taking care of severely injured patients airlifted to Seattle. Cooperation, mutual understanding and respect profit everyone, most importantly the sick and injured.

Cindy and the Aero Methow staff are tal-ented, committed professionals dedicated to providing your readers with the best possible

Please slow downDear Editor,

Please slow down! I am writing to remind drivers in the Methow Valley to slow down.

Our beloved marmalade cat, TT, was hit and killed by a car yesterday on Wolf Creek Road. While I do not know the specific details of our cat/family member’s demise, I witness on a daily basis cars speeding well above the speed limit with no regard for those (adults, children – both locals and tourists alike, pets, wildlife, etc.) using our roads on foot or bicycle in the Methow Valley.

Please, please slow down (drive under the speed limit and with caution) for your safety and the safety of others. Thank you.

Robin Anne EllisWinthrop

The Methow Valley Ranger District has failed for decades to manage commercial pack-stock outfitters in the Pasayten Wilderness according to the Wilderness Act, the Okanogan National Forest Plan and overall Forest Service guidelines and regulations.

The Environmental Impact Statement for Stock Outfitters is an opportunity for it to cor-rect this sorry record. Failing that, the EIS is the best opportunity for people who care about wilderness ethics and the rule of law to attempt to influence the Forest Service.

To see that something is terribly wrong with the MVRD’s management of commercial stock users who take large groups of people and ani-mals into the Pasayten, you only need to look at the condition of the camps these outfitters use. The Okanogan Forest Plan has certain standards by which it, supposedly, protects wilderness values, one being that no camp contain more than 400 square feet of “barren core” (trampled ground). Yet every single basecamp used by commercial horse/mule outfitters vastly exceeds this standard, the worst being many tens of thousands of square feet. The Forest Plan has other standards that are also being violated in outfit-ters’ camps, including the number of dead trees due to tying of livestock.

The problems extend to the individual perfor-mance of many of these outfitters. For example, one outfitter was found by a Forest Service em-ployee to have a camp in which feces and used toilet paper were visible throughout the campsite. Another was identified in a specific Forest Service document as being in danger of having his permit revoked due to extensive operating violations. A third was finally given an unsatisfactory rating on his year-end performance evaluatiton after years of operating problems.

The terms of an outfitter’s permit state that renewal of the permit is based on activity “con-sistent with the applicable forest… plan,” yet despite the fact that all the outfitters’ basecamps are grossly out of compliance with the ONF plan, the MVRD has been blindly renewing the permits for decades.

The Pasayten was established under the au-thority of the Wilderness Act and this law is very clear in its intent: To protect specially designated areas where “the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man,” where “the imprint of man’s work is substantially unnoticeable.” The Wilderness Act does allow for commercial activity in designated wilderness areas, but only as secondary to its basic purpose. The MVRD has allowed the outfitters to pressure it to reverse these priorities, and has acquiesced as the outfit-ters have developed a business model based on widespread violations of law and regulations.

The adverse impacts of outfitter use are also visible in areas where three or more trails exist immediately beside each other, each trail eroded one to three feet; overgrazed meadows; dusty (or muddy after a rain), beaten-down trails; and damaged riparian areas. None of this should be happening in an area that the law says should be “untrammeled.”

The primary cause of these adverse impacts is the excessive number of animals used for commercial purposes. The Pasayten (and Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness) allow the larg-est party size of any wilderness area in the state – 12 people and 18 head of stock. The managers of every other wilderness know that this is too high a number to still keep it untrammeled. Yet even this very large party size is not sufficient for local outfitters.

They circumvent this limit by running additional packstrings to support a given group, and as long as the two (or three!) packstrings are not traveling together, the MVRD acquiesces to this as well. The quantity of stuff hauled in by all these packstrings makes a mockery of the concept of minimal impact camping, which the FS preaches to outfitters as well as the public, but which it utterly fails to define and enforce.

There is relevant litigation. This was a case in California in which the Forest Service was sued for failing to manage commercial stock users according to the Wilderness Act. One of the court rulings in this case was that stock outfitters can have a major adverse impact on wilderness and therefore the FS must abide by the National Environmental Protection Act and do an Environmental Impact Statement before issuing commercial use permits to these outfitters. As a result of this ruling, the MVRD was obligated to do its own EIS for local outfitters.

Many of the adverse impacts of commercial pack-stock outfitting in the Pasayten were docu-mented from 1998 to 2000 by a private citizen. (One of her reports is expected to be accessible on the website of Wilderness Watch, under "Wild Issues" by the end of the month) A coalition of groups and individuals coalesced around her work in order to have the issues addressed, but we were either stonewalled or ignored at every level of the Forest Service. The EIS changes the playing field since it is an aspect of the National Environmental Protection Act and this law requires the Forest Service to address issues raised by the public. So although the FS might still make bad decisions, it cannot simply ignore citizens’ concerns.

Another aspect of the Pasayten story is the misinformation presented by many of these out-fitters regarding their operations in the Pasayten and an accompanying pattern of harassment toward anyone who challenges their version. For instance: Two outfitters have been quoted in the pages of this newspaper assuring the public that outfitters operate acceptably, but the record – easily substantiated by observing conditions on the ground and by existing documentation in the MVRD’s own files – proves this is not the case. The private citizen mentioned above was attacked personally, physically and legally in an effort to suppress her exposure of outfitter violations. Documentation in MVRD files shows that one particular outfitter was involved in at least three separate incidents of harassment of other people, including FS employees, who might expose his adverse impacts. A previous district ranger was so concerned about these outfitters that at one special meeting she had the town police chief present, armed and in uniform.

The violations of the Pasayten are succinctly summed up by two comments from the MVRD’s own employees, written long ago but as appli-cable today as they were then. “The impacts that are tolerated are severe” (1994). “More than once I’ve heard comments about the spinelessness of the Forest Service” (1990).

A healthy democracy involves the open debate of issues, not misinformation and ma-nipulation in order to serve one’s narrow self-interest. As long as so many people put private gain above the common good, our country’s decline will continue.

Birch Berman ran his own stock outfitting service, Backcountry Burro Treks, in the Pasayten Wilderness for 25 years.

Violations of the Pasayten

Birch Berman

emergency management and care in transfer, often in extremely trying circumstances. When Dr. Henry helped Mike Copass set up the first statewide emergency management transfer sys-tem years ago, he could not have imagined the tremendous success his daughter would help to make of the project. The citizens of the Methow Valley are fortunate to have these splendid professionals to take care of them in moments of crisis, and the faculty members who have participated in the educational conferences are grateful for the invitation to be included.

Richard Rapport, MDDepartment of Neurological Surgery

University of WashingtonSchool of Medicine, Seattle

Contact your U.S. representativesSen. Patty Murray (D)

Washington, D.C., office:173 Russell Senate

Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20510Phone: (202) 224-2621

D.C. toll-free: (866) 481-9186Fax: (202) 224-0238

website and e-mail access:http://murray.senate.gov

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D)

Washington, D.C., office: 511 Dirksen Senate

Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20510Phone: (202) 224-3441

Fax: (202) 228-0514 State office toll free:

1-888-648-7328website and e-mail access:

http://cantwell.senate.gov

Rep. Cathy McMorrisRodgers (R)

Washington, D.C., office:1323 Longworth House

Office Bldg.Washington, D.C. 20515Phone: (202) 225-2006

Fax: (202) 225-3392website and e-mail access:

http://mcmorrisrodgers.house.gov/

Contact your state repsSen. Linda Evans

Parlette (R)12th Legislative District

P.O. Box 40412316 Legislative BuildingOlympia, WA 98504-0412Telephone: (360) 786-7622

Fax: (360) 786-1266e-mail: parlette_li@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Mike Armstrong (R)12th Legislative District

P.O. Box 40600426-A Legislative BuildingOlympia, WA 98504-0600Telephone: (360) 786-7832

www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/armstrong/

Rep. Cary Condotta (R)12th Legislative District

P.O. Box 40600122B Legislative BuildingOlympia, WA 98504-0600Telephone: (360) 786-7954

www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/condotta/

TOLL-FREE HOTLINE FOR ALL LEGISLATORS:

1-800-562-6000

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Health Care Directory

AA MEETINGS

Twisp: 509-997-0356 • 509-923-9130Sun, Mon, & Tues: 6:30pm at Masonic Lodge

Wed: 7pm at Calvary Chapel

Winthrop: 509-996-8174Thurs: 7pm at the Friendship Church

Fri: 7pm at the OK Co-op Bldg.

Sat: 7pm at the Forest Svc. Bldg.

Methow:

Sat: 9am at Tim’s Cafe

Al-anon Twisp: 509.997.0356Sun: 5:00pm at the Masonic Hall

THESUPPORTCENTER

Kristen Klein, ARNP, FNP

www.BlackbirdClinic.com

Blackbird ClinicBlackbird Clinic

Dr. Andrea Black Naturopathic PhysicianPOB 1039/214 Pine St.Okanogan, WA 98840

509-422-3700

Naturopathic &Nutritional Medicine

PLLC

Ask us about the idealorthodontic option and howyou can improve your smile.

- Children welcome- Oral surgery- Implants & dentures

Call us for a FREEInvisalign Consultation

911 Aero Methow Rescue

Office: 997-4013

Peter Dickinson, MS, PT, SCSBoard Certified Specialist

Lisa Sawyer, PTColleen Ryan, DPTTedra Acheson, PTA

509.996.8234509.996.8234www.winthroppt.comwww.winthroppt.com

“At the Winthrop Bridge”“At the Winthrop Bridge”

Service & Health Directories ~ Deadline for ad placement & changes is Friday at 5 pm for insertion in the next Wednesday’s paper.Directory ads are $8 per column inch. Additional charges may apply for color. To have your service listed please call 997-7011.

Photo by Sue Misao

Farmer Nancy Daniels-Hubert of Twisp, here in her own root cellar, is one of the volunteers for the Root Cellaring Project, which seeks to develop a central root cellar at the Methow Valley Inn to keep produce for distribution through The Cove and Room One.

AgriculturePage A6 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Methow Valley News

By Ann McCreary

A new Root Cellaring Project beginning this fall aims to provide fresh produce throughout winter to local fami-lies in financial need.

The project brings together local farmers to provide root vegetables and storable fruit for winter storage in the cellar of the Methow Valley Inn, to be distributed to families in coming months through The Cove food bank and Room One.

The Root Cellaring Project is led by Kelleigh McMil-lan, director of Red Shed, a Room One program that has provided fresh produce during the summer months to local underserved families for the past four years.

The idea for the project grew from a conversation last spring between McMillan and Raleigh Bowden, the Methow Valley Inn’s new owner. Bowden told McMillan that the inn has a large basement that could serve as a root cellar, and the two women began brainstorming about storing produce to expand the Red Shed food distribution beyond the summer months.

Red Shed serves about 75 to 100 families each week during the growing season of June through October, Mc-Millan said. “There’s obviously a need. We’re looking to extend that season,” she said.

The Root Cellaring Project is a collaboration of Room One’s Red Shed program, the Methow Valley Inn, The Cove Food Bank, and local farmers.

“Everyone has the same goal of getting fresh food to families that need it,” McMillan said.

The public has an opportunity to participate in the project through a workshop, called Root Cellaring 101, to be offered on Oct. 2. The workshop will be taught by Tess Hoke, owner of Local 98856, and will provide an introduction to root cellaring, including when to harvest produce, requirements for a successful root cellar, and how to prepare and store fruits and vegetables for winter.

The workshop will be held at Local 98856 from 9-11 a.m., and tuition is $45. A portion of the tuition, $25, will go to the Root Cellaring Project to purchase vegetables and fruit from local farmers to store and deliver to families.

McMillan encouraged local farmers last spring to grow some additional fall crops to stock the root cellar this fall. Money raised for the Root Cellaring Project will be used to purchase the crops in bulk.

“The idea is to try to use local dollars to buy food from local farmers and continue giving to families,” McMillan said.

Bowden said she expects to begin stocking the Methow Valley Inn’s 1,000-square-foot basement next month with potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, pears and apples. They will be distributed each week to local families through The Cove food bank and Room One.

Bowden said donations of fruits and vegetables this year would help launch the project, which is being car-ried out by volunteers during its first season. The project organizers are exploring grants and other means of future funding.

This year is viewed as a pilot project, McMillan said, with the goal of getting the Methow Valley Inn’s cold

storage space up and running, securing root cellar equip-ment and purchasing produce, and getting systems in place for storing harvested food during the winter. Project volunteers will also evaluate the quality of stored produce, coordinate distribution of the food and collaborate with TwispWorks to develop a plan that will sustain the project in the future.

Project organizers have a long-term goal of moving the Root Cellaring Project to TwispWorks, which has large space formerly used by the Forest Service as a tree cooler, where seedling trees were stored before planting. Organizers have submitted a proposal outlining their plans to the Public Development Authority that manages the TwispWorks property.

“The long-term vision,” the project proposal stated, “is to create new jobs, pay farmers for their produce, develop markets outside the valley through this col-laboration, expand the workshop education model to bring in regional/national expertise…. Ultimately, this project could serve as a model for other rural farming communities.”

By Ann McCreary

An agreement governing how the Farmers Market uses the Twisp Commons park has been approved by the Twisp Town Council.

The memorandum of agree-ment between the town and the market was developed over the summer to clarify what activities will be allowed to take place in the Commons while the market is in session.

“The town has worked really hard at getting to this conclusion. We’re really appreciative of what they’ve done,” said Bob Elk, co-chairman of the Farmers Market.

The agreement, approved by the Twisp council Aug. 24, gives the market “management control” of the Commons Park during the Saturday market, and stipulates that the market will provide access to public seating and play areas in the park.

Elk said any vendor or orga-nization that wants to sell at the park must apply to the Farmers Market board for permission, and will be expected to comply with the market guidelines. The Farmers Market provides the opportunity for people to sell local wares and agricultural products.

Except for the products of a few long-time vendors who are grandfathered in, the products sold at the market are all locally made or produced, Elk said.

“The Methow Valley farmers market is a non-profit organiza-tion itself, operating successfully and creating this great bond for the valley,” Elk said.

The need for an agreement drew attention earlier this summer when a local church proposed sell-ing hamburgers and hotdogs as a fundraiser in the Commons during the market, and was turned down by the market’s directors, who viewed the sales as undercutting the vendors at the market.

Because the market had ex-panded onto the town’s park prop-erty this summer, an agreement was needed to clarify who would make decisions about activities in the park while the market is in session.

The agreement between the town and the market gives the market jurisdiction over what groups or individuals will be able to sell in the Commons during market hours.

The memorandum of agree-ment will be reviewed each spring by both the town and the market.

Farmers Market, town find common ground

The Root Cellaring ProjectKeeping veggies bound for needy fresh through the winter

Planting fall garlic class offered at Local 98856

Fall is the best time for planting garlic in the Methow Valley, and a class offered Sept. 25 at Local 98856 will give gardeners and farmers the information they need to produce a good garlic crop.

Tess Hoke, owner of Local 98856, will provide information on site se-lection, soil preparation and timing of planting the fall garlic crop. Hoke will demonstrate how to pop and plant cloves, and share tips on tending

young garlic plants in the garden. Hoke will also discuss timing and

methods of harvest and storage. Sev-eral varieties of locally grown garlic seed will be available for purchase at the class.

Class will be held from 1-2:30 p.m. and cost is $15 per person. Reserva-tions are required. Call 997-0978 to register, or e-mail local@methownet.com.

Get intoGet into Ag Ag. Third issue of the month. . Third issue of the month.

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Tuesday , September 28 Join us for an interactive three-course Italian wine

pairing dinner with Executive Chef J. Russell Brad-shaw, CEC and Wine Director Don Elsing. Start

with passed hors d’ oeuvres and a Campari and soda. Each guest will participate in making a 3 course dinner while the chef demonstrates. $45/person + gratuity

& tax. Includes a glass of wine with each course. 6 PM. Reservations required. Please call Don Elsing,

(509) 996-4770 Winthrop, WA ~ www.sunmountainlodge.com

presents an

Methow Valley News Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Page A7

Arts & Culture

All are welcome to Fiesta Latina on Sunday (Sept.19) at Pearrygin Lake State Park.

The Latino cultural cele-bration runs from 12:30 to 4 p.m., wi th regional musicians, folk dancers, tradi-tional food, art demonstrations and a hands-on art booth for kids.

At 1 p.m., Ber-rinche Norteño, conjunto norteño (Mexican folk en-semble) from the Okanogan Valley will perform. At 2 p.m., Los Baila-dores del Sol, folk-lore dancers from the Yakima Valley will perform, and at 3 p.m., Mariachi Estrella de México, mariachi band from the Wenatchee Val-ley, will take the stage.

Eva Castellanoz, nation-ally recognized Smithsonian folk artist, will demonstrate

the art of wax and paper flower making. Castellanoz is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts’

prestigious National Heritage Fellowship, which recognizes lifetime achievement of artistic excellence and contributions to our nation’s traditional arts heritage.

Methow Arts will provide a participatory art booth for all ages, at which artist Sarah Fox-Skutley will lead a masquerade

ball mask-mak-ing activity using feathers, sequins, beads, paint and more.

And the food. Av a i l a b l e f o r purchase will be traditional food from Carlos 1800 Mexican Grill & Cantina out of Winthrop.

For wheel-chair or other special accommo-dations, call the park at 996-2370 in advance of the event. For hear-ing-impaired or speech-impaired

accommodations, call 1-800-833-6388, also in advance of the event.

For other information, call Laura Fine at (509) 429-6808 or Rick Lewis at 996-2370.

The Okanogan Valley Orchestra and Chorus is gearing up for their 2010-2011 concert season, and searching for musicians.

Anyone who can sing or play an instrument is invited to join the orchestra or chorus.

Specific instruments needed are cello, bass, flute, trumpet, trombone, clarinet

and percussion.The chorus is in need of

vocalists of all ranges. The chorus practices

under the direction of Don Pearce every Monday at 7 p.m. The orchestra practices every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. under the direction of Terry Hunt. All practices are in the Omak High School band room.

Musicians learning strings may be interested in Second Strings, a program that challenges and encour-ages growth for music stu-dents, under the direction of Roz Nau.

This season’s concert dates are Oct. 16, Dec. 11, Feb. 5 and March 12.

For information, call (509) 322-5854.

Saskatoon Circle, a five-day primitive and traditional liv-ing skills gathering, will begin Thursday, Sept. 23, at Skalitude Retreat Center in Carlton.

Dozens of instructors will be on hand to teach classes in tanning, raw hide, basketry, medicinal plants, felting, fric-tion fire, cordage, pottery, primitive shelters, wild edibles, moccasin making, cattail craft, tracking, bindcraft and knot-ting, animal processing, foot-wear, bucksin bags and more. A children’s program will also be available.

Saskatoon emphasizes ba-sic living skills, while focusing on ancient crafts, community connection and co-existence with the land.

In addition to classes, par-ticipants will enjoy camping

(ask about indoor lodging), organic meals, storytelling, circle times (including a spe-cial drum and dance circle on Saturday night), a barter circle (bring handmade stuff to

trade), and evening fires.Basic cost is $185 per adult,

with variations.See www.saksatooncircle.

com for more information, or call 997-9077.

Learn the art of ancient crafting

Photo courtesy of Okanogan Valley Orchestra and Chorus

OVOC is looking for a few good musicians.

Singers and players wanted

Luc and the Lov-ingtons are about to hit the road with Grammy-Award winning song-writer Jason Mraz.

The band’s con-nection with Mraz be-gan when the latter heard the Lovingtons’ “Freedom Song,” re-corded with children living in a Baton Rouge shelter during Hur-ricane Katrina. Mraz contacted bandleader Luc Reynaud, asking permission to record the song.

The two musicians shared a common goal of using their music

to promote social and humanitarian causes. On a recent California tour, the Lovingtons hooked up with Mraz, who attended their San Diego show and invited them to perform at six of his upcoming concerts across the U.S.

In addition to Rey-naud on vocals and guitar, the Lovingtons are Jacob Shaw on key-boards, Loren Boley on drums, Soleil Kelley on electric guitar, and Felipe Canete on per-cussion. Four of the five bandmates are from the Methow Valley.

Luc and the Lovingtons tour with Jason Mraz

Photo by Sue Misao

Luc Reynaud of Luc and the Lovingtons

Photo courtesy of Saskatoon Circle

Hide-tanning is one of the many primitive skills folks will learn at Saskatoon Circle.

Photo courtesy of Los Bailadores del Sol

Folklore dancers Los Bailadores del Sol from Yakima will perform in the Fiesta Latina.

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R125 min

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What’s HappeningWhat’s HappeningPage A8 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Methow Valley News

Meetingsand weekly things

Wednesday 9/15EAGLES AUXILIARY: Meeting at Eagles Hall. 996-3869. 7pm FAMILY PLANNING CLINIC: Room One, 315 S. Lincoln, Twisp. Info: 997-2050 or (800) 660-1624. 2:30-5pmQUILTING CLASS: Make a table runner using a pre-cut kit at the Quilting Hive, 309 Hwy 20. $20 includes supplies. 997-7020. 6-9pmLBHS BOOSTER CLUB: Meeting at LBHS library. 996-3766. 7pmAA: Alcoholics Anonymous meets at the Calvary Church, Twisp. 997-0356. 7pmWINTHROP TOWN COUNCIL: At the Winthrop Barn Hen House. 996-2320. 7pm

Thursday 9/16EMERGENCY PLANNING: Annual Okanogan County Local Emergency Planning Committee meets at the Sheriff’s offi ce conference room, 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. (509) 422-7200. 10am-noon SPINNERS & WEAVERS: Meet at 137 Old Twisp Highway. 997-5666. 1pmFOOD BANK: “More than just food” at The Cove, 128 Glover St., Twisp. 997-0227. 1-4pmMETHOW WATERSHED: Council meeting at the Riv-erbank building, Twisp. 997-4081. 5pmWASHINGTON PILOTS: Meeting and stories about fl ights to Alaska at Koala Street Grill, Omak. Anyone in-terested in fl ying is welcome. (509) 422-0678. 6:30pmNONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION: Meets at Room One, Twisp. 997-2050. 7-9pmNARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: Meets at Horseshoe Mobile Home clubhouse, 305 Magers, Twisp. 997-7275. 7pmVOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS DISTRICT 6: Train-ing and meetings at local fi re halls. 997-2981. 7pmAA: Alcoholics Anonymous meets at the Friendship Church, Twisp. 996-8174. 7pmNA: Narcotics Anonymous meets at Horseshoe Mobile Home clubhouse, 305 Magers, Twisp. 997-0158. 7pm

Friday 9/17WATERCOLOR: Open studio with Patty Yates at Confl uence Gallery, Twisp. Drop-ins welcome. $10. 997-2787. 9:30am-1pmDOCTOR: Free health care to uninsured people 18 and under at The Country Clinic, Winthrop. Appoint-ment: 996-8180.FREESTYLE DANCE: Heart-centered dance at The Studio, Twisp. $5. 997-7337. 5:30-7pmBINGO: Play at the Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133. 6pmAA: Alcoholics Anonymous meets in the Electric Co-op building, 93 W. Chewuch, Winthrop. 996-8174. 7pmNA: Narcotics Anonymous meeting at Twisp Masonic Hall. 997-0158. 7pm

Saturday 9/18OKANOGAN COUNTY DEMOCRATS: Meets at Sun Valley Restaurant on Highway 97, Okanogan. (509) 422-5531. NoonAA: Alcoholics Anonymous meets in the Forest Ser-vice building, Winthrop. 996-8174. 7pm

Sunday 9/19BREAST CANCER: Support group meets in Room One, Twisp. Drop-ins welcome. 997-2819. 3-5pmNA: Narcotics Anonymous meets at Horseshoe Mobile Home clubhouse, 305 Magers, Twisp. 997-0158. 4pmAA: Alcoholics Anonymous meets at the Masonic Hall, Twisp. 997-0356.6:30pm

Monday 9/20 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. (509) 422-7100. 9am-5pmSPEAK FRENCH: Revive your or improve your French in the Twisp PDA boardroom. 997-6242. 4:30-5:30pmAA: Alcoholics Anonymous meets at the Masonic Hall, Twisp. 997-0356.6:30pm

Tuesday 9/21TOPS: Take Off Pounds Sensibly at MV United Meth-odist Church, between Twisp and Winthrop. 997-0102. 8:30-10amMETHOW RESTORATION: Council meeting open to the public at the Riverbank building, 206 Glover, Twisp. 997-0038. 9amCOUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Open meeting, Okanogan County Admin. Bldg., 123 Fifth Ave. N., Okanogan. (509) 422-7100. 9am-5pmTWISPWORKS: Tour the site in Twisp. 997-3300. 11amHEALTHY STEPS: Classes in therapeutic exercise, with instructor Nancy Farr at Twisp Valley Grange. 996-2017. Noon-1pmBUDGETING: Workshop at Community Action in Okanogan to help you manage your money and fi x your credit. Free. 1-877-641-0101. 1-3pmQUILTERS: Open studio, 309 Highway 20, Twisp. Free. 997-7020. 5-9pmAA: Alcoholics Anonymous meets at the Masonic Hall, Twisp. 997-0356.6:30pm

Wednesday Sept. 15CAR & TRUCK SHOW: Cars, trucks and motorcycles, shop talk, bench race and more at the Winthrop park. (509) 429-4233. 6-9pmAWANA: Registration at Calvary Baptist Church (age group 3 years through 6th grade). 997-8312. 7pmKARAOKE: Sing your favorite songs at the Branding Iron in Twisp. Free. 997-0040. 9pm-1am

Thursday Sept. 16PEBBLE MOSAICS: Four-week class begins with Larry and Linda McWhirter making pebble mosaics. $115. 997-2787. 5-7pmBOOK LAUNCH: Danbert Nobacon reads from his new book, 3 Dead Princes: An Anar-chist Fairy Tale, and performs music at Twisp River Pub. Slide show accompanies. Free. 997-6822. 7pmTHEATRICAL PERFORMANCE: Perfor-mance of Love Letters starring Jack Bannon and Ellen Travolta, and dessert buffet at the Merc Playhouse, Twisp. $25. 997-7529. 7:30pm

Friday Sept. 17FABRIC PAINTING: Two-day watercolor class begins at 309 Hwy 20, Twisp. $40. 997-7020.OPEN MIC: Hosted by Rivertown Ramblers at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop. Free. 996-3183. 7pmTHEATRICAL PERFORMANCE: Perfor-mance of Love Letters, starring Jack Bannon and Ellen Travolta, and dessert buffet at the Merc Playhouse, Twisp. $25. 997-7529. 7:30pmKARAOKE: Sing your favorite songs at the Branding Iron in Twisp. Free. 997-0040. 9pm-1amDJ MUSIC: Noah Ashford spins the tunes at Mick and Miki’s Red Cedar Bar, Twisp. Free. 997-6425. 9pm-1am

Saturday Sept. 18FARMERS MARKET: Local vendors, farm-ers and crafters in the MV Community Center parking lot. 9am-noon

ZUCCINI RACE: Bring your vegetable with an axle through it to the Farmers Market in Twisp. 11am-noonCOMEDY: Performance by comedian Deb-bie Wooten ($10-$15 at 8pm) and dinner ($12 at 6pm) at the Eagles Hall, Twisp. 997-8133.SINGER SONGWRITER: Olivia De La Cruz performs acoustic folk music at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop. Free. 996-3183. 7pmHIP HOP: Sunz of Sound and Mr. Chapman perform hip hop and reggae at East 20 Pizza, Winthrop. Free. 996-3996. 7:30pmLIVE MUSIC: Honey and the Killer Beez perform at BJ’s Branding Iron in Twisp. Free. 997-0040. 9pm-1am

Sunday Sept. 19ARTISAN MARKET: Local vendors, farm-ers and artisans in the Winthrop park. 341-9102. 10am-2pmFIESTA LATINA: Music, dancing and food at Pearrygin Lake State Park. Free. (509) 429-6808. 12:30-4pmLUC & THE LOVINGTONS: Performance at the Twisp River Pub to raise money to send the band on a tour with Jason Mraz. 997-6822.

Monday Sept. 20MIDDLE METHOW: Landowners forum on the middle Methow River hosted by Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation, Yakama Nation, Upper Columbia Habitat Restoration Project and Bureau of Reclamation. Meets at Twisp Valley Grange. 997-0640 Ext. 267. 6:30pm

Wednesday Sept. 22KARAOKE: Sing your favorite songs at the Branding Iron in Twisp. Free. 997-0040. 9pm-1am

Thursday Sept. 23PIPESTONE ORCHESTRA: Strings, wood-winds, brass and percussion players’ fi rst meeting at MV Community Center, Twisp. 997-9355. 6:30-9pm

Sept. 23-27SASKATOON: Primitive and traditional living skills gathering at Skalitude Retreat Center, Carlton. $80-$185. 997-9077.

Friday Sept. 24FUNK/HIP HOP: Eclectic Approach performs at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop. Free. 996-3183. 7pm GREENLAND: Artist Maria Coryell-Martin presents “High Latitudes, Art and Science in the Arctic” slide show and display from her expedi-tion to Greenland. Confl uence Gallery, Twisp. Free. 997-2787. 7:30pmDJ MUSIC: Noah Ashford spins the tunes at Mick and Miki’s Red Cedar Bar, Twisp. Free. 997-6425. 9pm-1am

Wednesday Sept. 22KARAOKE: Sing your favorite songs at the Branding Iron in Twisp. Free. 997-0040. 9pm-1am

Saturday Sept. 25RAPTOR FESTIVAL: View raptors from Pateros Memorial Park as they migrate south. Reserve a fi eld trip shuttle to Chelan Ridge Raptor Migration Site (above Black Canyon) (509) 731-4790. 8am-4pm FARMERS MARKET: Local vendors, farm-ers and crafters in the MV Community Center parking lot. 9am-noonPLEIN AIR: Watercolor class with Maria Co-ryell-Martin at Chickadee Trailhead, Sun Moun-tain. $100. 997-2787. 10am-3pmCIDER SQUEEZE: Methow Conservancy celebrates harvest season at Sabold’s house, Winthrop. 996-2870. 2-4pmARTISTS’ RECEPTION: Opening recep-tion for “Nature Always Wins” by artists Jason Sobottka, Stephen Filla and Tori Karpenko at Confl uence Gallery, Twisp. 997-2787. 4-8pmTWISP ART WALK: View art and meet art-ists in downtown Twisp. 997-2787. 5-8pmFUNK/HIP HOP: Eclectic Approach performs at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery, Winthrop. Free. 996-3183. 7pm

Fiesta Latina!Mariachi music, folk dancing, Mexican food, artists and hands-on art projects are part of the

free entertainment at Pearrygin Lake State Park on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 19).

Photo courtesy of Mariachi Estrella de Mexico

Winter is coming!Submit your event for the 2010-11 Winter Guide Calendar to sue@methowvalleynews.com by Oct. 22.

(Events between Nov. 10 and spring)

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Sportsand Recreation

Methow Valley NewsWednesday, September 15, 2010

Section

BB

Photo courtesy of Ali Rose

Strung out

By Mike Maltais

The Liberty Bell cross-country varsity traveled four-and-a-half hours cross-state last Saturday (Sept. 11) for a first-time visit to the Silverwood Coaster Classic in Silverwood, Idaho.

The big draw event attracted 36 schools up to 5A in size, so while it made placing in the top finishers a remote prospect for the Mountain Lions, it did give the local runners “a chance to see where we’re at,” according to coach Craig Herlihy.

Silverwood’s theme park is the added incen-tive that attracts more than 1,000 cross-country athletes to the Classic every year. In addition to the exposure to high levels of competition, participants also receive reduced-cost access to Silverwood’s recreational diversions.

Six Liberty Bell runners – including senior Brita Ness, the only girl on the team – entered the 3.1-mile varsity cross-country event held near the theme park complex and five finished the event. “Placing wasn’t our goal,’ said Herlihy. “This was a warmup for us.”

Freshman Liam Daily clocked the best time

of the Lion runners completing the course in 18 minutes, nine seconds. Fellow freshman Clancy Mitchell was close behind Daily for the first mile before he had to pull out of the race with leg cramps. Since team-scoring rules required that five boys finish the race, Liberty Bell did not receive a team ranking.

Sophomore Taylor Woodruff finished second among Liberty Bell runners in 20:28, followed by senior Colton Skelton and sopho-more Nolan Jensen in a near dead heat at 21:33 and 21:33.5 respectively. Ness crossed the line at 24:12.

Even though the winning time of 15:40 was more than three minutes faster than Daily’s time, Herlihy was pleased with his team’s per-formance. “All but one of our runners posted faster times than last year.” he noted.

Herlihy added that he has gained two new members of the cross-country team this season, freshmen Jake Pennock and April Oak, neither of whom had the requisite practice time to compete at Silverwood.

The team will next compete Saturday (Sept. 18) among 17 teams at the Moses Lake Invitational.

Lions compete at Silverwood

By Mike Maltais

The Omak Pioneers girls’ varsity volleyball team rolled into town last Tuesday, Sept. 7, and tried to stake their claim on Liberty Bell territory, but a determined Mountain Lions squad finally sent the claim jumpers packing.

In a tough back-and-forth struggle that re-quired all five games to decide, the Liberty Bell girls finally overcame a tough-serving Omak squad to win three of five matches in the non-league contest.

In the five closely contested matchups Liberty Bell edged out the Pioneers in the first game only to have Omak rally to take game two. The Lions regained the momentum to win the third game and the Pioneers returned the favor by winning game four. The fifth and deciding game went to Liberty Bell.

“I was using a lot of different combinations of players depending on how much of the game I felt like we could give away,” said second-year coach Kim Frey. “So, at this point in the season, if it’s a non-league game, I try to get our play-ers court time so I wasn’t necessarily putting in our strongest string all the time, but when we put our big hitters in we were dominating the

game,” she added.Amber Reggiatore was the Lions’ high-

scoring hitter and Ari Watson led the blocking. Frey also got good performances from servers Natalie Rodriguez, Paige Stevie and Nicole Labanauskas.

Omak’s No. 1 server “was just clobbering us,” observed Frey, noting the special power or wobble some servers can put on a ball that gives defenders problems with their passing. Following that exposure, the girls worked on passing in preparation for last Saturday’s (Sept. 11) tournament in Bridgeport.

The Bridgeport invite brought eight teams together and gave Frey an opportunity to scout upcoming league opponents Manson, Pateros, Waterville and Bridgeport. The Lions ended up taking fourth in the tourney beating fifth-place Manson 26-25 and 25-21. They gave up losses to second-place Pateros 19-25, 25-17, 8-15 and third-place winner Waterville 19-25 and 16-25.

The Mountain Lions were scheduled to meet up with Waterville again Tuesday (Sept.14) at Wa-terville. On Thursday (Sept. 16), Liberty Bell hosts Bridgeport at 5 p.m. and will play the Waterville Shockers Saturday (Sept. 18) on the LBHS home court. That game gets underway at 11 a.m.

Lions turn back Pioneers, place fourth at Bridgeport

By Mike Maltais

The Liberty Bell girls’ var-sity soccer team has three non-league games under their belts and one more to go against Chelan to power them toward their first conference game against Oroville next week.

Coach Mike Wilson’s young team has already seen the backs of Concrete, Omak and Okanogan – winning one game and losing two – and was on the pitch to play Chelan at press time Tuesday (Sept. 14).

The previous Tuesday, Sept. 7, the Mountain Lions hosted a tough Okanogan team deep with senior starters. While the Lions lost the match 5-1, Wilson said the results were better than he anticipated since he fielded a team where six of his 11 starters were freshmen or younger.

The Lions have only one se-nior and two juniors on the team this year, “and none of the three have played soccer before,” Wilson said. “The remaining 12 players on the squad are sophomores or younger and two of those are new

to the game as well,” he added. While Wilson was pleased with his

team’s performance against Okanogan,

the game against Omak two days later was a different story. They gave away the 5-2 loss against the Pioneers, in

Wilson’s opinion, because his team didn’t play with the focus and intensity to win. “We were tied 2-2 eight minutes into the second half,” Wilson said, “and then the wheels came off. In the next 13 minutes we gave up three goals.”

Following the Omak experi-ence, “we had a long discussion” in Wilson’s words, about effort and focus. “You play like you practice,” Wilson said, and by the time Concrete arrived at the LBHS field Saturday (Sept. 11) the Lions’ afterburners were smokin’. Sophomore Sage Abate scored on a penalty kick 39 min-utes into the first 40-minute half to put the Lions up 1-0. At the 63-minute mark in the second half, sophomore Jackie O’Keefe scored on an assist by eighth-grade striker Delilah Cupp to put the game out of reach 2-0. That was no surprise to the coach. “We outshot Concrete 14 to five on goals,” Wilson said.

The Mountain Lions travel to Oroville Tuesday (Sept. 21)

for their first league game. Play gets underway at 5 p.m.

Young soccer squad working to stay focused This week in sports

Wednesday, Sept. 15Hunting: High buck hunt through Sept. 25 (check regs)

Thursday, Sept. 16Volleyball: Bridgeport@ LBHS 5pm

Friday, Sept. 17Football: LBHS @ Bridge-port 7pm

Saturday, Sept. 18XC running: LBHS @ Moses Lake Invite 3:30pmVolleyball: Waterville @ LBHS 11am

Tuesday, Sept. 21Soccer: LBHS @ Oroville 5pmVolleyball: LBHS @ Oroville 5pm

Restructured NCW 2B league unveils more teams, less travel

In what is believed to be the first Tyrolean traverse between the North and South Early Winters spires, Wyatt Southworth of Mazama makes his way across the chasm, about 400 feet above the ground, Sept. 3. Southworth and climbing partner Ali Rose of Scotland fixed anchors atop each spire, then set up the traverse, about 70 yards long. “I timidly went first, see-ing as it was my idea,” said Southworth.

“The wind created an audible humming in the rope that reverberated through my harness. Then, I slid off into space.” Rose was next, also going from the north spire to the south spire – uphill – and a contingent of four climbing buddies followed, going from the south spire to the north. “It was the most exciting thing I have done in a long time,” said Southworth.

By Mike Maltais

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association reshuffled the game board for Washington high school sports earlier this year and when the pieces were reassembled, NCW 2B teams in general and Lib-erty Bell High School in particular emerged to some advantage.

The realignment means LBHS teams will have to travel less and

NCW 2B teams will gain more expo-sure to state finals competition.

The NCW 2B league expanded from 10 to 13 teams, split into North and South divisions. It picked up three schools – Brewster, Lake Roosevelt and Warden – from previous 1A stand-ings, and a fourth, Pateros, from 1B. The only loss was LaSalle that moved up from 2B to 1A competition.

Dependent upon the sport and which schools field teams, Riverside

Christian will also cross over into the NCW 2B as needed to balance league play.

So far, the shakeout for NCW 2B footballs looks like this: Northern Division – Liberty Bell, Oroville, Brewster, Manson, Entiat, Bridgeport and Pateros. Southern Division – Soap Lake, Waterville, Kittitas, Warden, Lake Roosevelt and White Swan.

The volleyball alignment is simi-lar to football with the exception of

Waterville, which jumps to the North Division and Entiat, which migrates to the South Division to join Riverside Christian, brought in to balance the league for volleyball play.

LBHS activities director Mike Wilson outlined how the new align-ments will benefit his athletes. “In the past, the burden of travel was weighed against the fringe schools like Liberty Bell over the more central-ized schools,” Wilson said. “With the

two divisions in place the centralized schools will have to share more equi-tably in travel requirements.”

The bonus for NCW 2B schools in general, Wilson noted, “is that the new alignment makes District 6 the largest 2B district in the state. That means at least four of the 16 teams going to State will be from our district,”

The alignment for spring sports remains a work in progress.

Photo by Mike Maltais

Got sports? call Mike at 997-7011

Liberty Bell striker Jackie O’Keefe leaps over a Concrete barrier in pursuit of the ball near the opponents’ goal. In the back-ground, eighth-grade striker Delilah Cupp

moves in to assist. At the 63-minute mark of the second half, the O’Keefe-Cupp duo teamed up to score Liberty Bell’s second goal of the game and a 2-0 shutout.

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The Methow Valley News

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More SportsMethow Valley News Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Page B2

Sports briefsBy Mike Maltais

Soap Lake brought an effective running offense with a strong passing quarterback to their non-league game against the Lib-erty Bell Mountain Lions last Friday eve-ning (Sept. 10).

The Eagles took advantage of some holes in the Lions’ defense to capitalize on several running and passing plays for touchdowns and two-point conversions.

While the game ended in a 40-7 score in favor of Soap Lake, a number of well-executed plays by coach Rick McCau-ley’s young team gave notice that the Moun-tain Lions have made progress since their season opener against Concrete. Positions from quarterback to running back, along with defense and tackles, had their spotlight moments that illuminated the team’s improvement.

Soap Lake built a steady lead in the first two quarters into a 26-0 halftime score on their running and passing offense. A 50-yard pass play in the third quarter with a two-point conversion increased it to 34-0. Late in the third quarter the Lions answered with a sprint by freshman run-ning back Cesar Dominguez, who took a pitchout from senior quarterback Josh Dennis around the right end for a 35-yard gain. On the next play, junior Jonathan McMillan carried the ball into the end zone on a 15-yard scoring run. McMillan

then doubled as place-kicker and put the pigskin through the uprights for the extra point to make the score 40-7,

Late in the fourth quarter, Liberty Bell threatened again after a 20-yard keeper by Dennis, combined with a 15-yard penalty against Soap Lake, put the ball deep into Eagles’ territory. With the ball inside the 10-yard line, senior Scott Sprague carried the snap for a short first down gain. An incomplete pass on second down was fol-lowed by a third-and-goal run by Domin-guez that gained about a yard. A fourth-down pass attempt from Dennis to Justin McMillan failed to connect and Soap Lake took possession on its own four-yard

line. The Eagles kept the ball on the turf and relied on their ground game to run out the clock.

Following the game the coach had spe-cial praise for lineman Peter Sonnichsen’s defensive play. “He had five tackles for a loss.” McCauley said of the 6-foot, 235-pound senior. “We were playing with a three-man front and he was tearing up his whole side of the line and then tackling the guy with the ball.”

The Lions will meet the Brideport Mustangs Friday (Sept. 17) at Bridgeport for their first league game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Soap Lake slips past Mountain Lions 40-7Equestrians score at Yelm

Competing in the highest level equestrian event offered in the Northwest, two local riders made good account of their appearance at Yelm earlier this month.

Tulie Budiselich of Twisp and Kameron Smith of Winthrop were among 280 riders who took part in dressage, show jumping and cross-country Sept. 3-5 at the 240-acre Aspen Farms Event near Yelm.

Budiselich, 14, in her first competition on the 7-year-old thoroughbred, Forest, guided the gelding to a fourth place in the junior novice division. Smith, 16, rode to a seventh place in junior beginner novice on Buttons, an Appaloosa/thoroughbred/Percheron mare owned by Methow Valley Riding Unlimited.

Hunt bucks, birds, bobcatsSeptember is the kick-off month for several big- and

small-game hunting seasons throughout the region.Early archery deer season got underway on Sept. 1 and

continues through Sept. 24, followed by the early muzzle-loader deer season that begins Sept. 25. The 10-day high buck hunt in the region’s wilderness areas is coming up Sept. 15 and will continue through Sept. 25.

Forest grouse – blue, ruffed and spruce varieties – were also fair game as of Sept. 1 as were mourning doves.

The season for small game including bobcat, fox, hare, rabbit and raccoon had a Sept. 1 opener statewide as well.

Young hunters who want to give bird hunting a shot will get their chance during a special youth-only bird-hunting season Sept. 25-26. Shotgunners under the age of 16, ac-companied by a non-hunting adult at least 18 years of age, can hunt for ducks, geese, partridge, pheasant and quail. Farm-raised rooster pheasants will be released prior to the two-day season at selected sites. More details are available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/pub.php?id=00884

Photo by Mike MaltaisLiberty Bell running back Cesar Dominguez car-ries the ball on a third-and-goal attempt late in the fourth quarter against Soap Lake. Dominguez

gained about a yard on the play but the Lions ended up turning the ball over to the Eagles on Soap Lake’s four-yard line.

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Horizon Flats, WinthropSTORAGE

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Boom Truck

WE DELIVERNorth Valley Lumber

996-2264www.nvlumber.com

Horizon Flats, Winthrop

BUILDING SUPPLIES

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

SMALL ENGINE REPAIR

B & B Excavating, Inc.

Serving the Methow Valley for Over 25 Years

BackhoeDozer

Dump TruckExcavator

997-0082Lic. #BBEXCI*000PL

ROOFING, cont.

Installed Insulation & Garage Doors

ALL VALLEY INSULATION, LLC

Offi ce (509) 422-0295Cell (509) 429-0417

BYRO CONSTRUCTION

Specializing in Concrete• Foundations • Slabs• Daylight Basements

• Retaining walls • & More

Boom Truck Services AvailableBrian Baseler, General Contractor

509-923-2477Lic. #BYROCI*01OJE

509-996-2033MEMBER: BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU • WA LIC. #DOUGHE1003JN

Complete Excavation Service

THE DIRT DOCTOR

Locally owned and operated since 1995

TWISP FEED & RENTALTWISP FEED & RENTAL

997-3621Corner of Highway 20 & 2nd Ave., Twisp

Feed, Seed, Ranching, Fencing & Garden suppliesRental Equipment & Small EngineRepair

PROPANE SALES

TAXES

PEST CONTROL

ROAD BUILDING / GRADING / GRAVELEXCAVATOR / BACKHOE / DOZERROCK WALLS / TOP SOIL / SAND

SEPTIC / WATER & MORE

509-997-6394

“WE DIG IT!”#MCHUGEI036KL

All your excavation & construction needs.996-2884 cell 509-322-3032PALM*GL125P6 Over 20 years local experience

www.palmconstructioninc.com

CONTRACTORS

House Watch

Caretaking, Security, Cleaning/ windows

Landscape / handyman

Licen./Bonded/Insured

996- 2883

TREE SERVICE

www.hiltonconstruction.com

TWISP FEED & RENTALTWISP FEED & RENTAL

GARBAGE COLLECTION

WELL DRILLING

Longest Continuous Service in North Central Washington

Owned & Operated by: Marshall & Charles Miller

Lic#: MVMQUDLO33MM

MVM QUALITY DRILLINGMVM QUALITY DRILLING

www.mvmqualitydrilling.com

TOLL FREE (888) 682-1010

PATEROS SHOP (7-8:30am) 923-2073

BREWSTER OFFICE689-0909

CHELAN OFFICE - 682-1122

WATER WELLS & PUMPSAIR ROTARY DRILLING

PROMPT, HONEST & PROFESSIONAL

GEOLOGIC SITE ANALYSIS

Whistle’sWell Drilling

32 years well drillingexperience

in the Methow ValleyALL WORK FULLY GUARANTEED

FREE on site estimates

#WHISTWD920D5

Owner/Operator, Rick Bynum509-997-0650 Cell: 509-322-4970

Jim & Jake Whipple509-997-2219 • 800-253-0269

BEAVECW940R2

New water system installationsSolar/generator alternativesIrrigation pumps & meters

Pump & system repairsWell testing

Beaver Creek Well Services, LLCProfessional Service Since 1998

WATER WELL SERVICESEXCAVATION, cont. IRRIGATION

RECYCLING

EXCAVATIONHEATING & COOLING

ROOFING

Service & Health Directories ~ Deadline for ad placement & changes is Friday at 5 pm for insertion in the next Wednesday’s paper.Directory ads are $8 per column inch. Additional charges may apply for color. To have your service listed please call 997-7011.

Methow Valley News Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Page B3

News of Record Compiled by

Sue Misao

District CourtJohn Andy Neuneker Jr., 32, from Carl-

ton pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault. He was sentenced to 180 days with 178 sus-pended and fined a total of $833.

Okanogan County Sheriff

Sept. 7CLEAN: Report of landlords cleaning out

a trailer in Winthrop, including possessions belonging to the late resident.

ROCKS: Report of rocks on Highway 20 in Twisp.

TAMPER: A woman in Twisp reported someone tampered with her vehicle two years ago.

BURGLARY: Someone stole a riding mower, chainsaw and push mower from a storage shed in Twisp. The lock was torn off the door.

Sept. 8HIT-AND-RUN: There was a hit-and-run

near the post office in Twisp.SIGNS: Someone damaged four “No

Hunting” signs at a location in Winthrop.BURN: People were burning things illegal-

ly on the East County Road near Winthrop.LIGHTS: A person keeping an eye on a

neighbor’s property saw a light on, maybe flashlights, or maybe a car, or maybe some-one night hunting.

Sept. 9THREATS: A woman in Winthrop received

a letter that seemed like a death threat.

Sept. 10ITEMS: Someone was taking items from

the home of a person who died, before the will was presented.

ACCIDENT: A motorcyclist received lac-erations after being hit by a running horse on Last Chance Road in Winthrop.

THREATS: A man in Winthrop received a threatening phone message from his ex-step-daughter in retaliation for an article he sent to her mother.

Sept. 11DOG: A dog in Winthrop bit the next door

neighbor.TRANSPORT: A person in Methow need-

ed transportation to the hospital.

Sept. 12ACCIDENT: An unoccupied vehicle was

seen on its side on Wolf Creek Road and Highway 20 in Winthrop.

SUSPICIOUS: A woman on Lost River Road reported several males sitting on a

ledge, watching.HARASS: A person was using Facebook

to threaten to assault another person.ACCIDENT: A car hit some corrals and a

bale feeder on Balky Hill Road, then drove away.

LOUD: A loud party on Wolf Creek Road was, as previously stated, loud.

Sept. 13THEFT: A thief entered someone’s prop-

erty and stole a faucet while the owner of the faucet was in the hospital.

DEATH: A person on Gold Creek Road died.

Twisp Police DepartmentSept. 7

MORE COPS PLEASE: Extra patrols were sent to, or requested by, a motel in Twisp.

Sept. 8FRAUD, TRAFFIC HAZARD, HARASS-

MENT: It all happened in or near Twisp.

Sept. 9MISCHIEF: Someone did something mis-

chievious at the Twisp park.

Sept. 12BUGS: Someone was accused of climbing

a roof to set up a bugging device to eaves-drop on someone else in Twisp.

Sept. 13RACE: A Camaro was accused of racing

up and down the Twisp Airport runway.STALKING: A woman in Twisp said a man

was stalking her.SUSPICIOUS: A dark-colored pickup

drove very slowly, late at night, with no lights on, through the trailer park in Twisp.

Sept. 14FOLLOWED: A woman in Twisp said a

man followed her from out of state.

Winthrop Marshal’s Office

Sept. 8BAD CHECK: Someone wrote one in

Winthrop.

Sept. 10BURGLARY: An office in Winthrop was

entered through a locked, and now damaged, door.

Sept. 11 LOST: A brown checkbook was lost in

Mazama. Also two pens.DEER: A deer became injured on High-

way 20 in Winthrop.

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CMVN, pg 4

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING - 997-7011

E-MAIL TO frontdesk@methowvalleynews.com

All classifi eds to be prepaid.Weekly: $6.75 for 15 words or less. $8.75 with email or web site address.

20 cents for each additional word.Deadline: Monday, Noon. CLASSIFIED SPECIAL:

Buy 3 weeks and get 4th week free. No refunds or changes please.Classifi ed display ads: $10.00 per column inch. Deadline: Friday, 5 p.m.

Deadline for LEGAL NOTICES: Friday, 5 p.m.

ClassifiedsPage B4 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Methow Valley News

DirectoryFOR SALE ................................10

YARD SALE ..........................14FARM EQUIPMENT ..............15AUCTIONS ............................16

REAL ESTATE ..........................20MOBILE/MFD. HOMES ........22FOR RENT ............................24WANTED TO RENT ..............25

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ..30EMPLOYMENT .........................31

WORK WANTED ..................32SERVICES ............................34

CARS & TRUCKS .....................40RVS .......................................42

ANIMALS ..................................50LIVESTOCK ..........................52HORSES ...............................54PETS .....................................56

MISCELLANEOUS ...................70WANTED ...................................75THANK YOU .............................80COMMUNITY EVENTS .............83PERSONALS ............................85FREE .........................................90LOST & FOUND........................95

IMPACTA D S P E C I A L

360.659.1300Learn how it works, call

2.7 Million Prospects.One Phone Call.

Reach 2.7 million Washington newspaper readers for as low as $1,250 per ad.

(509) 997-7011

PELLET STOVE. Quadra Fire-Mt. Vernon. 60,000 BTU. Cost $4,500. Now with thermostat & accessories - $1,200. 509.997.4904. 21LUNDGREN RANCH raised beef steroid and hormone free. Half or whole, also individual cuts will be available at the ranch in June. All USDA inspected. 5-lb boxes of hamburger patties ready now. Our family has been ranching in the Methow Valley since 1956 raising quality beef. Call 509.341.4178 or 509.996.3494. 20LASER PRINTER, Lexmark E-322 monochrome (for PC), cable, manual. $50.00, 509.997.7011, ask for Marilyn. 5tfMRR BUILDING MATERIALS (new and used). Open May 1 through Oct. 31, 10am to 4pm, Thurs. and Sat. 104 Wagner St. (fi rst street to the west, south end of bridge, Hwy 20, Twisp. Donate, Buy, Become Inspired. It’s all here. For more info, call 509.997.5643 or go to www.methowresourcere-covery.org . 18ATTENTION GARDENERS/Landscapers: Topsoil, manure, 50/50 “mixed”, sand, gravel , road mater ial and excavat ing services. Eagle Excavating, li-censed and bonded/Hank Rogers 509.997.6302. 20

10.................................FOR SALE

PUBLISHER'S NO TICE:All real estate advertising in this

newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custo-dians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. The toll-free telephone number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

20.......................... REAL ESTATE

MOST AFFORDABLE river-front access. 1 ac. W. Chewuch Rvr views. 200 yd. path to 300+ ft. of riverfront private beach. Screamin’ deal! $89,000 terms. Anne Eckmann, Agent, Blue Sky Real Estate. 509.421.7127. 21FSBO: (2) DOUBLE residential lots on Marble St. in Twisp. Close to proposed river trail. Sewer on site, water avail. $55,000 and $59,000. 509.997.1011. 2111,000 SQ. FT. double lot in Twisp on Twisp Avenue. $52,500. Water and sewer on site. 509.997.2424. 1910 ACRES N.WINTHROP, high bank river frontage, prime location. Well and power. 509.422.0516. 20W. CHEWUCH RIVERFRONT. Beautiful riverfront lot w/750 sq.ft. yurt and bathhouse. All util ities are in, and wireless - $289,000. Call 509.996.4400 or www.kristindevin.com/yurt.html . 19

FOR LEASE: (2) 550 sq ft offices/shops - $600 month each, on Hwy 20, Twisp. New energy efficient building, great visible location, great parking and signage. Each has handicap bathroom, individual heat pumps for heating and cool-ing. 509.668.0908. 212BR 2BA WITH LOFT in Edel-weiss. All appliances, commu-nity pool, close to bike/ski trails, pristine condition - $800/mo. 509.996.9897, cvrv@centurytel.net . 18BEAUTIFUL VIEW! Brand new! On the river in Winthrop. 2 offi ce spaces now available with high-speed internet, fi ber optics, plus common kitchenette and conference room. Chewuch Profes-sional Bldg., 509.996.2820. 3tfPRIME LOCATION, TWISP! Cascade Center next to NCNB, office space for rent. Two units left - from $200/mo.Call Andy at 509.997.3262. 7tfHOMES FOR RENT. 3BR 1BA w/garage in Twisp - $650-675/mo. Twisp PDA, 509.997.3300. 18HOUSE FOR RENT. W. Chewuch. 2BR on sunny sm. acreage. 1BR in loft. Peaceful, artistic - $680, 1st/last/dep. 509.996.9969. 20EDELWEISS CHALET, 3 bed-room, W/D, Wood and Elect. Heat, Storage, $ 750 no dogs/smoking, 360.779.8008. 19

FOR SALE. THE Outdoorsman in Winthrop. Hunting, fishing, camping and gift supply store. Great location and great lease. All reasonable offers considered. 509.996.2649. 19DAILY BUSINESS in Twisp. Of-fice products, art supplies and copy services for the Methow Val-ley. $170k + inventory. As part of the business purchase the Twisp building is available by lease or sale. Call 509.996.3493 to speak with Jerome or Kim. 33

30 ...BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

CALL ME! Tree service, rigging, falling, topping, on-site chip-ping, 60’ bucket truck available.Dennis Jones, 509.997.2007, 449.1022 cell. 32

34.................................SERVICES

1994 FORD EXPLORER Sport-2 door, 4x4, 5 speed, 6 cyl., P/W, P/L, plus 4 snow tires - $2000 OBO. 509.449.2351. 15tf

40.....................CARS & TRUCKS

2006 SUZUKI DR-Z 125. $950. Helmet, boots, accessories also available. 509.996.2897. 18

44.......................MOTORCYCLES

24................................ FOR RENT

ADOPTIONADOPT -- Adoring couple, Doctor & Lawyer promise your baby uncon-ditional love, laughter & happiness. Expenses paid. 1-800-933-1975

BUILDINGSSTEEL ARCH BUILDINGS Huge Sav-ings on some of our Summer Clearance Buildings Selling for Balanced Owed plus Repos. 16x20, 20x24, 25x30, etc.

STATEWIDE ADS

MOVING SALE. Sat. only, 9-5. Household items, furniture, dishes, clothes, sports equipment. 628 Bigelow, Twisp. 18

HISTORIC WATERFRONT Ranch. 64 acres near Twisp. 1,500 feet of creek front. Restored farm-house, large barn and outbuild-ings. Excellent water rights and soils, year-round pond. Peaceful. Sustainable. Irreplaceable. Please see websi te : www.oldschool-houseranch.com for more infor-mation. 509.997.0819. 10tfBY OWNER APPROX. 4.8 wood-ed acres, large upper building site developed with power, well, septic system, with phone service avail-able. Full hook-up RV site. Backs to USFS land, road maintained by county. $97,750. More pho-tos and info. available. Cell 509.679.8873. 13tf

3BR 2BA HOME, on Burgar St., Twisp. Great for family, looking for long-term rental, great neighborhood, large garden space, all appliances, wood/baseboard heat, recent remodel. No smoking, pets negotiable, references required. Avail. now - $750/month, plus damage deposit. Call or e-mail for details and photos: greerg5@comcast.net - 206.795.1564. 18OFFICE SPACE available in Winthrop commercial area. 300 sq ft. w/ ½ bath - $250/mo., utilities included. 1st month rent free. Call 360.378.4802. 18WINTHROP 3BR 2BA . D/W, W/D, electric & propane heat, pets negotiable - $750/mo., avail. Sep. 1. 509.341.4018. 18

24.................... FOR RENT, Con’t.

CONFLUENCE GALLERY, Twisp, seeks Administrative As-sistant with strong computer skills. Part time, temporary, Oct. thru’ May. Details at www.confluence-gallery.com . 18 ADMIN ASSISTANT: Part time (3 days min) office support for John L. Scott - Methow Valley. Strong customer service skil ls , com-puter and Microsoft applications, QuickBooks, and internet required. Immediate availability is a must. Salary DOE. Call Linda Schmal at 509.996.3360. Email resume to lindaschmal@johnlscott.com . 19

24..............REAL ESTATE, Con’t.

MOVING SALE. 20 years of stuff – all must go. Tools, yard equip., baby things, furniture, too much to list. 221 Squaw Crk. Rd., below town of Methow. Fri.-Sun., 8-? 18MOVING SALE. One day only, Sat., Sep. 18, 9-2. Cheery sofa, blue glider & ottoman, dining table/6 chairs, freestanding closet & storage units, etc. 302 Methow St., Twisp. 18

14................... YARD SALE. Cont.

OKANOGAN COUNTY Electric Cooperative Inc has an immedi-ate job opening for a clerical staff person. Previous office experience and computer knowledge a require-ment. Must be able to multi-task and have good communication skills. Please submit resume to Office Manager, Okanogan County Electric Co-op Inc, PO Box 69 Winthrop WA 98862 or drop off resume at 93 West Chewuch Rd, Winthrop WA. EOE. 18WANTED: WAITPERSON expe-rienced in fine dining service. Call John at Tappi. 509.997.3345. 19NANNY WANTED . Childcare experience (toddler) preferred. CPR trained (or willing to ob-tain), professional references, non-smoker. 20 hrs/wk, pay DOQ. 509.996.3339. 19

Supplies Won’t Last! 1-866-339-7449MISC FOR SALE

FASTER INTERNET! No access to cable/DSL? Get connected with High Speed Satellite Internet. Call now for a limited time offer from WildBlue -- 1-877-369-2553NEW Norwood SAWMILLS- Lumber-Mate-Pro handles logs 34” diameter, mills boards 28” wide. Automated quick-cycle-sawing increases effi cien-cy up to 40%! www.NorwoodSawmills.com/300N 1-800-661-7746 Ext 300N

EDUCATION-INSTRUCTIONATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE from home. *Medical, *Business, *Parale-gal, *Accounting, *Criminal Justice. Job placement assistance. Computer available. Financial aid if qualifi ed. Call 866-483-4429; www.CenturaOn-line.com

EVENTS-FESTIVALSANNOUNCE your festival for only pen-nies. Four weeks to 2.7 million readers statewide for about $1,000. Call this newspaper or 1 (206) 634-3838 for more details.

FINANCIALLOCAL PRIVATE INVESTOR loans money on real estate equity. I loan on houses, raw land, commercial property and property development. Call Eric at (800) 563-3005. www.fos-smortgage.com

HELP WANTEDWARM, CARING HOST FAMILIES needed for high school exchange students. Volunteer today! Call 1 (866) GO-AFICE or visit afi ce.org.

HELP WANTED --TRUCK DRIVERS

REEFER DRIVERS NEEDED? Experi-enced Drivers and Class A Commercial students welcome! Our incredible Freight network offers plenty of miles! 1-800-277-0212 www.primeinc.comDRIVERS -- Company Drivers Up to 40k First Year. New Team Pay! Up to .48c/mile CDL Training Available. Regional Locations. (877) 369-7105. www.centraldrivingjobs.net

REAL ESTATE20 ACRE RANCH Foreclosures only $99/mo. $0 Down, $12,900, great deal! Near Growing El Paso, Texas. Owner Financing, No Credit Checks, Money Back Guarantee. Free Map/Pictures 800-343-9444ARIZONA big beautiful lots $89/mo. $0 down, $0 interest. Golf Course, Nat’l Parks. 1 hours from Tucson Intl’t Airport. Guaranteed Financing. No credit check Pre-recorded msg. (800) 631-8164 code 4044 www.sun-siteslandrush.com

STATEWIDE ADS, Cont.

www.methowvalleynews.com

visit us online

14............................YARD SALES

24............. EMPLOYMENT, Con’t.

31......................... EMPLOYMENT

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CMVN, pg 5

You're InvitedJoin your Methow friends & neighbors at the

Methow Conservancy's annual

Cider SqueezeSaturday, September 25th

2pm to 4pm17 Bean Road

(off E. County Road) in Winthrop

ConservancyMethow

Music a Food a Activities for All AgesBring a container to take cider home!Call 996-2870 for more info

Methow Valley News Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Page B5

From Back issues Compiled by

Paul Butler

80 years ago – September 12, 1930

The Gas Stream illustration

100 years ago – September 16, 1910Editorial

The Chesaw News, speaking of the principal issues before the people of Okanogan county in the present campaign, says of county division:

“The county at large would doubtless concede to letting the Methow country, which is naturally isolated from us, cut loose, provided they will confine their boundaries to the Methow watershed and leave the Okanogan intact.”

20 years ago – September 13, 1990

Absolutely beautiful – is the only way to describe Bob and Doris Allen’s 1918 Cadillac. They won the trophy for having the Best Antique.

40 years ago – September 17, 1970

Town Of Twisp Needs DumpBetween now and October 1st the town of Twisp faces the near impossible task of finding a

new garbage disposal site.The owner of the present site, Bernie Brunson, told the council at last week’s meeting that

he has set a fee of $400 a month for the use of his property, if used by rural and town residents. If only the town uses the dump, the fee would be $200 a month.

The town’s lease with Brunson expired on Sept. 1st.Mayor Ralph Ferguson and the council explained that the town does not have the money.

60 years ago – September 14, 1950

Lines from Mick’s Scrapbook“Who’s the stranger, mother dear?

Look, he knows us – ain’t he queer?”“Hush, my own, don’t talk so wild –

He’s your father, dearest child.”“He’s my father? No such thing!Father died away last spring!”“Father didn’t die, you dub –Father joined the fishing club.

but now the season’s over, so he,Has no place to go, you see.

No place left for him to roam –That is why he’s coming home.

Kiss him – he won’t bite you, child –All those fishing guys look wild.”

By Ann McCreary

A study of the tree survival after the 2006 Tripod Fire has concluded that thinning tree stands and removing surface fuels from forest floors can reduce fire severity and protect older

trees during wildfires.The study, conducted by the U.S. Forest

Service and the University of Washington, found that fuel treatment of even a few acres protects older trees that are desirable for their timber, wildlife and carbon-storage value.

Researchers compared untreated stands with treated stands in an area of the Oka-nogan-Wenatchee National Forest affected by the Tripod Fire, which burned 175,000 acres. They found that more than 80 percent of trees in untreated areas were killed in the fire, while in treated areas only 60 percent were killed, and three-quarters of large trees with diameters larger than eight inches survived.

“The objective of fuel treatments is not to eliminate wildfires, but to reduce their intensity in areas,” said Dave Peterson, co-author of the study.

The study was published in the August issue of Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

By Marcy Stamper

Hurry up or wait? The PUD is seeking to accelerate the appeals of its condemnation of state land for its Methow transmission line, while the state and an environmental organiza-tion want the case to be put on hold until after a Supreme Court ruling.

The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to hear the commissioner of public lands’ argu-ment that the state attorney general must repre-sent him in an appeal of the ruling permitting the PUD’s condemnation of state land for the powerline. Oral arguments are set for Nov. 18 in the Supreme Court.

The Okanogan County Public Utility Dis-trict is asking that the appeals court speed up the case because state law requires eminent do-main proceedings be handled as expeditiously as possible. Moreover, costs resulting from further delay in building the powerline would be “shouldered by the PUD and its ratepayers,” according to the PUD’s motion.

The state “seeks to suspend the schedule for these cases until at least 30 days after the Supreme Court has issued a decision” as to whether commissioner of public lands Peter Goldmark can compel the attorney general to represent him in the appeal, according to its motion. The PUD seeks easements for the trans-mission line across 12 miles of land managed by the Department of Natural Resources.

Conservation Northwest, which intervened in the case to preserve DNR’s discretion to man-age school trust lands, is not only rejecting the district’s request to speed up the hearings but, like the state, is seeking a stay in the appeal until after the Supreme Court ruling.

“DNR is currently unable to pursue its ap-peal at this time because of an unprecedented disagreement between DNR and the attorney general’s office relating to the attorney general’s statutory and ethical duties to represent DNR in this appeal,” according to the Conservation Northwest motion. “It would be prejudicial to both the State and CNW to allow this appeal to proceed without the State being represented by counsel.”

In its response, the PUD rejects Conserva-tion Northwest’s claim that Goldmark does not have legal representation, since another attorney was engaged to file the Supreme Court lawsuit and the attorney general’s office prepared the motion in this case. The PUD argues that the motions filed by the state and Conservation Northwest are simply one more tactic to delay the powerline.

The PUD has also appealed the Superior Court judge’s original granting of intervenor status to Conservation Northwest in February. In addition to hearing the motions for an ac-celeration or stay, the court will consider the timeliness of the PUD’s appeal of Conservation Northwest’s status. The PUD filed the appeal in June, outside the standard 30-day deadline, according to Washington Court of Appeals court clerk/administrator Renee Townsley.

The hearing on whether to accelerate or suspend the appeals, on consolidation and on timeliness was Sept. 8 before Commissioner Joyce J. McCown of the state Court of Appeals, Division 3. The time necessary for a ruling depends on caseload and complexity of the case, but is generally not more than a month, according to Townsley.

PUD and state in court over timing of powerline appeal

Study shows thinning works

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Real EstateReal EstatePUB LISH ER'S NO TICE: All real estate ad ver tis ing in this news- pa per is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise "any pref er ence, lim i ta tion or dis crim i na tion based on race, col or, re li gion, sex, hand i cap, fa mil ial status or national or i gin, or an in ten tion, to make any such pref er ence, limitation or dis crim i na tion." Fa mil ial sta tus in cludes children under the age of 18 living with par ents or legal cus to di ans, pregnant wom en

and peo ple se cur ing cus to dy of children under 18.This newspaper will not know ing ly ac cept any advertising for

real estate which is in violation of the law. Our read ers are here by informed that all dwell ings ad ver tised in this news pa per are avail able on an equal op por tu ni ty ba sis. To com plain of dis crim i na tion call HUD toll-free at 1-800-669-9777. The toll-free tele phone num ber for the hear ing im paired is 1-800-927-9275.

Let the Methow Valley

News help sell your home

or property.Advertise with the sourcethat people rely on when making their property

investment choices.Call the Advertising Dept.

today to see how we can helpyou get the exposure you need!(509) 997-7011

Price Price

ReducedReduced

Page B6 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Methow Valley News

By Marcy Stamper

Being a judge of baked goods at the county fair sounds like a dream job, and doubtless there is no shortage of people who presume they would bring consummate skill to the task.

“I would consider myself a good candidate for a cookie judge because I’ve eaten a lot of cookies over the past 58 years,” said Twisp resident Kelly Donoghue, who signed up after perusing the goodies in the Home Ec barn last year.

Janis Henry, who spends summers in Conconully, also brought impeccable creden-tials. “I’m 82 and I’ve been eating all my life,” she said, adding that, with a large fam-ily, she had vast experience cooking and baking. Bill Gagne started out life as a baker but was less active in the kitchen

until his recent retirement, which affords him time to try out new recipes for the senior center.

Judges employed differ-ent methods for cleansing the palate between tastings. Omak resident Ella Houston said she keeps water and dill pickles at the ready to get a fresh start on each sweet, although she conceded, “If it’s really good, you have to try it again.” But Donoghue was not anticipat-ing vinegary palate cleansers.

“I hope I’m not tasting pickles just prior to tasting cookies,” he said.

Conconully summer resi-dent Shirley Ballard uses sugar-free applesauce as her refresher. “Otherwise, by 5 o’clock, you really have a sugar high,” she said.

Donoghue took his respon-sibility seriously – but with flexibility – reporting for duty at the judges’ table fresh off a flight from Hawaii. “They may throw me a curve and I end up on the pie panel. It’ll be enter-taining, at any rate.”

The half-dozen judges who assembled Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 8) were indeed entertained, but the job was more demanding than one might surmise. They shuffled stacks of evaluation forms for different sweets, with sponge, angel and yellow cakes on one

sheet; muffins on another; and candy and pie on their own forms. All judging had to be completed that day.

After evaluating each char-acteristic, the judges reached a consensus. Is the aroma delicate and pleasing? Does the angel cake have a tender, velvety crumb? Is the candy characterized by uniform, symmetrical pieces free of large sugar crystals? Are the quick breads free from tunnels?

Twisp residents Larry and

Jayne Schrock contributed their efforts as registrants. For people who had pre-registered, it was fairly straightforward, but some categories were harder to pin down. “There’s an entire category for snicker-doodles,” said Jane, and oth-ers for molded, pressed and refrigerator cookies.

By mid-afternoon the Schrocks had checked in about 100 entries, but many more items came in after school and work ended. The biggest categories were doughnuts and cookies (176) and quick breads (94), with another 130 sweets in other divisions.

The Schrocks also oversaw the arrangement of cookies and slices of cake and bread on small Styrofoam trays and assigned a number so the entries were anonymous. All judging at the fair uses the Danish system, where each item is evaluated on its own merits and not compared with the others.

Over in the canning divi-sion, the criteria blended sci-ence and aesthetics. “You don’t taste anything that’s sealed,” said Erica Bell, a long-time can-ner who lives near Bridgeport. Instead, judges verify that the processing time on the label is appropriate for the altitude and the food, using a compre-hensive list of elevations for Okanogan and surrounding counties.

Bell said interest in can-ning has increased as people economize by growing and preserving their own foods. “If you’re poor, you can anything that stands still long enough,” she said.

Bell learned to can from an old-timer from Wyoming who grew up eating bear, but said the process has become sim-pler. “Today, pressure canners are so good that they no longer explode, spraying glass on the ceiling or in the curtains. And they raise the temperature so high that it kills off the bacte-ria,” she said.

Canned meats were not hotly contested this year – there was only one entry – but the division had almost 300 entries overall, with the heaviest com-petition in canned fruit, jams and dried foods.

Unlike the tasters, who sample everything as it comes in, the floriculture panel waits until all the dahlias, marigolds and other blooms have been dropped off before they start judging. They had 730 entries this year.

The fair hires judges for livestock, but most other divi-sions rely on volunteers. Laurie Morgan, superintendent of the Home Ec barn, said they need many volunteers to make the fair a success. “Anybody in the community can be a judge,” she said, although they look for people with quilting or canning experience for those divisions.

In addition to recruiting judges, Morgan relies on vol-unteers for displays and pa-perwork. She also coordinates shifts for people to oversee the barn when the fair is open. “You need judges for everything,” she said. “Some are there till midnight.”

Judging cookies at the fair – dream job for the detail-oriented

Photo by Marcy Stamper

Kelly Donoghue of Twisp takes his judging responsibility very seriously.

Photo by Marcy Stamper

There were 730 flower entries in the fair this year. Vroom!

Far away from the cookie

judges, Gavin McAuliffe of Twisp imag-

ined riding on one of the trac-

tors on dis-play with old

restored farm machinery.

Photo by Mike Maltais

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Methow Valley News Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Page B7

Community

Senior menu

Thur, Sept. 16: Chili with cheese, green salad and tomatoes, corn, chilled pears, corn bread, cookies.Fri, Sept. 17: Sausage gravy and biscuits, hash browns, mixed veg-etables, sliced tomatoes, cherries, frosted cake.Mon, Sept. 20: Chicken and dump-lings, cuke and tomato salad, broccoli cuts, whole wheat bread or roll, fruit cobblerThur, Sept. 23: Deluxe cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and onion, veg-etable pasta salad, melon, frosted cake.

Obituaries

Weddings, births, obituaries, bat/bar mitzvahs, engagements, signifi cant anniversaries, 90th

birthdays, graduations, family reunions, and that sort of thing: Send it to sue@methowvalleynews.com

Senior Center lunch prices:Seniors (60 and over):

suggested donation: $3.25All others: $7.50

School menuMon, Sept. 20: Pancakes with syrup, egg patty, hash browns, fruit, milk.Tue, Sept. 21: Roasted turkey deli sand-wich, ’tater tots, fruit, milk.Wed, Sept. 22: Chicken patty mozzarella, bread sticks, salad, fruit, milk.Thur, Sept. 23: Bean soup with ham, seasoned roll, salad, fruit, milk.Fri, Sept. 24: Tacos, salad, corn, fruit, milk.

Senior news

Kenneth (Kenny) Mark Addis, 81, passed away July 26, 2010, at home in Twisp, with family and friends by his side. Kenny was born in Wenatchee, Jan. 13, 1929, to Kent and Evelyn (Amsden) Ad-dis. He spent his early childhood in Chelan and Waterville, then moved to Tacoma with his family, where he attended Stadium High School. He was active in sports, club activities and school politics. He moved to Wenatchee in 1948, and graduated from Wenatchee High School.

He was the first president of the Wenatchee Teenage Club and its supervisor, before being called into the United States Air Force. After four years, he re-ceived an honorable discharge with the rank of sergeant. While in the service, he traveled with a group of performers entertain-ing at colleges, service organi-zations, and nightclubs. Kenny

was a stand-up comedian and a master of ceremonies. After his military service, he worked as a salesman for the Wells and Wade Ski Shop. He worked for

Snyder’s Bakery as a driver-salesman for 33 years, and many people came to know him as “Buns” and/or “Cupcake.” After re-tiring from Snyder’s, he drove school bus for the Methow Valley School District. It was his favorite job; he

enjoyed the students and watch-ing their sporting events.

While in Chelan, he was supervisor for the Chelan Teen-age Club. Kenny was member and past president of the Lake Chelan Junior Chamber, Golf Club, and the Lake Chelan Ski Club. He was a member and vestryman for the Lake Chelan Episcopal Church.

On June 23, 1984, he mar-ried Carolee Anne Porter in Twisp, where he made his home until his death. He loved to fish,

ski and golf, and enjoyed nature with his wife and daughter. He had an exceptional relationship with Carolee and wanted to be with her and share every moment.

He is survived by his wife Carolee (Porter) Addis of Twisp; daughters Jenny Addis of Twisp and Mary Ann (Jim) Bettner of Port Ludlow, Wash.; son Mark Addis of East Wenatchee; granddaughters Jamie Bet-tner of Delray Beach, Fla., and Kirsten (Ben) Addis Juchmes of Malaga, Wash.; grandsons Jeffrey Bettner of Bremerton and Jonathon (Erin) Bettner of Delray Beach, Fla.; sister Audrey Thomsen of Bonney Lake, Wash.; two great-grand-sons; many cousins, nieces and nephews, and a few dear friends. Kenny was preceded in death by his parents.

A celebration of his life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Aero Methow Rescue Service, P.O. Box 66, Twisp, WA 98856 (aeromethow.org).

On Aug. 24, 2010, the Methow Valley lost a true friend and a believer in maintaining our way of life with the passing of Jim Gerlach.

Jim was born Jan. 8, 1940, in Encinitas, Calif., to parents who were amateur horticulturists and practicing amateur magi-cians. His early life was filled with weekly in-home magic, and his formative years proved him to be a man of the earth. He was actively involved in FFA, 4-H, sheep raising and garden-ing. As he grew, he developed a unique interest in architecture and apprenticed with Bruce Goff, who was a contemporary

of Frank Lloyd Wright. One has only to look at Jim’s home to see his creativity.

Jim was well traveled, having crossed Eu-rope and visited many countries in the Mid-dle East. Jim was an excellent cook, and for years owned and ran Riverside Ribs in Winthrop. He started in the valley with the Forest Service, then with OK’s Cascade, all the while doing architectural projects for val-ley homes. He was a staunch advocate for valley safety and

preservation of water rights and power dispersion.

Jim could at times be stubborn and curmudgeonly,

but those who knew him knew a friend with a heart of gold. He will be missed on his daily haunts around the valley. He was a good man and we who knew him are honored to have had him in our lives. A memorial potluck will be at Jim’s home

at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept 30. Bring any remembrances that you wish.

Kenny Addis

Jim Gerlach

Kenneth (Kenny) Mark Addis

Jim GerlachAn eight-week childbirth

education class will be offered for pregnant women whose babies are due in November, December or January.

Taught by Blue Bradley, CNM, Adrianne Moore and Nimmi Chandwaney, the

class will cover topics such as hormones, labor, support, interventions, newborn and postpartum basics, breastfeed-ing, cloth diapers and more. The first class is Tuesday, Sept. 28, from 6-8 p.m. The series runs through Nov. 16.

Cost is $120, and expectant moms can bring their partners (or anyone they choose) at no extra charge.

For more information or to register, call Blue at 341-4256.

Have you received NSF check notices? Do you feel like you’ll never be able to get ahead enough to make a down payment on a house, pay college tuition or build an emergency savings account? If so, you’re not alone – and Community Action wants to help by offering free workshops that include budgeting, credit repair and basic money management education.

“Bounce Back” money management classes will focus on setting up and maintaining a monthly budget; contacting creditors when you can’t pay a bill; disputing a bad credit report; and protecting yourself from predatory lenders.

Classes are free at 424 Second Ave. N., in Okanogan, on Tuesday (Sept. 21) and the fol-lowing Tuesday, Sept. 28, from 1-3 p.m.

To register or for more information, call (509) 422-4041 or 1-877-641-0101.

The rummage room run-neth over from all the yard sales and I think everyone is doing their fall house clean-ing (except me). So, we are passing on our overstock of goods to you by dropping the price to $1 a bag, and keeping the free pile full.

Also, we have been get-ting a lot of unusable stuff

(garbage). Please get rid of that yourself; don’t give it to us.

We have two pretty wed-ding gowns, size 6-7, sealed up and in great condition, for $25 each. What a deal!

There were three birth-days the first of the month that I know of: Howard Brewer, Dorothy Johnson

and Martha Imes. Happy birthday! Hope you had good celebrations.

The Winter Sale is Oct. 2 (Saturday), and will run through the next Saturday, and then the Halloween Sale will start.

Not much news this week.

Rosalie Hutson

Childbirth education class offered

Photo by Sue Misao

All together now....They may look serious, but local fish expert and singer songwriter Ken Bevis, left, and internationally known traveling musician Dana Lyons, right, got the au-

dience laughing at Confluence Gallery last Friday as they led the audience in a sing-along about cows, or lawn mowers, or maybe it was RVs.

Bounce back from your money woes

Do you dream of owning a home?Residents of Okanogan County who would

like to become home owners are invited to attend a free seminar designed to help prepare potential buyers for home ownership and to avoid mis-takes often made by first-time homebuyers.

Topics covered in this free workshop in-clude:

• The steps to homeownership• Owning vs. renting• How much can you afford?• Selecting a loan program • Down payment and closing costs• How to shop for a lender and real estate

professional • Foreclosure prevention and early delin-

quency intervention• Fair housing and predatory lendingThe seminar is at Community Action, 424

Second Ave., N., in Okanogan on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call (509) 422-4041 to register.

Learn how to buy your first home

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CMVN, pg 8

Page B8 Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Methow Valley News

Valley Life

Sue Misao

Ashley Lodato

Bob Spiwak

Sally Gracie

poets’corner

Mazama: Bob Spiwak 996-2777 or badwater@

centurytel.net •Winthrop: Ashley Lodato 996-3363 or

ashleylodato@stanfordalumni.org •Twisp: Sally

Gracie 997-4364 or sgracie@centurytel.net

•Carlton: Sue Misao 997-7011 or sue@methow

valleynews.com

Submit poems for Poets’ Corner to

MV News poetry editor Eileen “Sam” Owen,

samjohn373@methownet.com or P.O. Box 1217,

Winthrop, WA 98862

Poet’s Corner is published in the

3rd issue of the month

Photo by Sue Misao

Flapper & DapperLinda and Wayne Mendro helped inaugurate the somewhat open-air dance floor at TwispWorks on Saturday, when Miss Rose and her Rhythm

Percolators performed vintage jazz and the local citizenry dressed the part for an evening of 1930s nostalgia.

Kip and Ce-leste Roberts just returned from a canoe trip on Myr-tle Lake, in BC. Kip had done this trip once before, with Dwight Filer and Rick Rozell, so he was surprised to see the new

improvements made at the put-in: wheeled canoe portage trailers to help with the 1.5-mile portage down to the lake.

It was a windy and rainy trip about half the time; whitecaps on the lake, ominous and omnipresent storm clouds, downpours, thunder, and lightning. Kip says he and Celeste had their lighting-a-fire-with-wet-wood skills tested, but the inclusion of an axe in their camping gear (thanks to Rick for the reminder!) was instrumental in their nightly fire building.

The weather cleared for the last few days of the trip and the Roberts en-joyed the spectacular scenery, moose, and grizzly signs. The winds were finally favorable and they even got to sail down the lake on the last day.

Linda Kimbrell and Linda Robert-son had a memorable mother-daugh-ter trip to London and Ireland with Andi Kimbrell and Skye Robertson in late August. Andi had just finished an internship through Boston University in London’s theater district, so the other three flew over to London for four days of seeing shows and sights before embarking on a 12-day trip to the Dingle Peninsula in southwest Ireland. The four women spent a week hiking 90 miles of the Dingle Way, which weaves through sheep farms and along dramatic cliffs looking out toward some islands.

Then everyone else flew home except Skye, who is now studying Eastern European politics at Univer-sity College London, after attending the American University in Paris for 18 months. Skye plans to host her first houseguests pretty soon: Claire and Mariel LeDuc. After a summer of working long hours at the Mazama Store, the LeDuc sisters will slow the pace a bit with a trip to Europe.

The first event at the TwispWorks last Saturday was filled with guests wearing 1930s-inspired garb. Mark Wenzel in his turquoise pinstripe zoot suit was a sight to behold – sort of David Byrne meets Skye Masterson – as was Linda Mendro in her white flapper dress and feather boa. But if you haven’t ever seen Joanna from Poppy Jo’s in her full fox stole (we’re talking head, paws – the entire fox!) and sleek pheasant cap, well, you need to get out more often.

STATESIDE SLOVENIAN SKI GURU WORK-ING AT WIN-DOW WITNESSES WHACK BY WAY-WARD OWL.

Wi n d o w - 1 , Owl-0.

Mark Waech-ter, ski sharpener

for the Slovenian Olympic team, reports that a small owl smacked into the kitchen window on Monday morning about 05:45. “I thought it

was odd for a bird to hit the window [in the dark] and turned on the porch light to make sure the resident bear wasn’t trying to smack his way into the kitchen for breakfast...”

“When it was light I saw a dead bird on the bench just below the win-dow,” says Waechter. He noted a small owl, 6 or 7 inches. He consulted his Audubon field guide and found that it was probably a Northern Pygmy Owl. “Last year a Merlin (small falcon) came to an end in a similar fashion.”

Concluding, Mark states that if anyone wants to see a dead pygmy owl, “Just give me a hoot.” Be careful you don’t get a citation, too, Mark.

Speaking of things bouncing,

Ann Diamond, athletic director of the Mazama Sports Coliseum, mentioned in passing that she was consider-ing a basketball tournament before the weather turns wintry. The huge multi-sport outdoor complex could be used, considering all the little children that now abound up here, for games of shuffle-kid when the surface ices up.

More Brushes with Stardom. A friend sent a column from the Rhode Island Journal written by a fella named Patinkin. The article described in detail how to speak in Rhode Island-ese, where the “R” is omitted from the ends of words and frequently from the body as well. You have all heard the expression, “Have-uhd Yaad.” Same

thing, adjoining state.This column was forwarded to

Claire Bunney and Jay Lucas, the latter a native Rhode Islander, and Claire sent a response to the author, noting that her boyfriend was walk-ing through the house looking for his khakis. She suggested the closet, where pants reside, then found she did not understand: Jay was looking for those slender implements most folks call car keys.

Anyhow, Patinkin wrote back to her, stating essentially that he was unabashedly stealing her response to use at a future time.

And that is the current Brush With Staaaa-dum.

In last week’s Labor Day car

count, we made note that for the first time there were no continual streams of vehicles going by the automotive observatory here in West Boesel. Came to find out that there was a cop direct-ing traffic at the main intersection in Winthrop. This is but the second time I have been aware of this phenom-enon, and, by golly, it is a good one and long needed. More than a tip of the hat is deserved to the Marshal’s office for instituting this function. Not only does vehicular traffic move more smoothly, so, too, does the pedestrian wanderings at the crosswalks, where many of us have waited for a severe accident, especially when the sun is low in the west. Good work, guys. The valley thanks you.

I love going to the Okanogan C o u n t y F a i r. Congratulations to everyone from the valley who participated.

I arrived after noon on opening day, Thursday, just in time to see

the market class “swine” judging in the “Swine (hereafter called “piggies”) Barn.”

The finalists in the class, eight or nine young people, used their canes to keep their piggies in front of the judge, who kept saying things like, “Any one of these animals could win” and “All of these [piggies] are wonderful.” Still, he had to choose – “This was really a hard decision” – as he selected the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion.

Thirteen-year-old Emmett Fink and his piggy Pigger Pie, both of Winthrop, were in the final group. Bidding was intense at Saturday’s auction when Pigger Pie – and all his 287-pound blue ribbon beauty – was sold to a Winthrop company.

How ever do the kids keep their

piggies so clean?On to eat a roast beef sandwich

at the Okanogan Beef Growers place. Then I went into the Crafts building and looked through the glass at the baked goods. Judy Brezina of Carlton won three rosettes and five blue ribbons for her entries: Grand Champion and blue for her buttermilk sourdough in the “Best Yeast Bread” category; blue for candied ginger scones; blue for Snickerdoodles; Special Award and blue for Linzer cookies, and Reserve Grand Champion and blue for a rum raisin sour cream walnut apple pie (this recipe also won at the Pateros apple pie event).

Looking at these entries displayed under glass leaves a lot to be desired. Judy told me that her pigs had a nice apple pie dessert when the fair ended. And the chickens got the bread! Betty Vintin of Twisp won a blue ribbon for her beautiful blue and white quilt (machine-pieced, hand-quilted) in an original pattern. She was awarded Grand Champion for her “Log Cabin” wall hanging, and blue ribbons for two other hangings, “Flying Geese” and “Quick Trip.” In the same hall, Tarrie Darwood’s family took several blue ribbons for their flowers, including echinacea, amaranth, strawflower, sunflower, and roses. Caring for the flowers was a family enterprise shared by

her husband Ken, and sons Carter and Rian.

Somehow I skipped the 4-H barn, but general leader of the valley’s 4-H Cascaders, Suellen White, told me that valley kids won lots of ribbons for their vegetables, flowers and baked goodies.

In the Grange building, I found the Twisp Valley Grange showcase, designed to the theme “Planting Hope for the Future.” If you ask my unbiased opinion, our Grange’s display deserved a first, not the third it was awarded. Same thing happened last year!

Outside and over to the feathers and fur, and the sheep and goats. One little girl’s lamb lay down and wouldn’t budge. Another tiny girl and her tubby little goat were walking on the grass until the goat took off to see the midway. I ran into Ani Black (who lives close to Okanogan but has loads of friends over here). I had just missed her daughter Laila Kent’s winning third in an event with her lamb, Simon, a Suffolk-Hampshire. This breed appeared to be the favorite this year.

I enjoyed my afternoon at the fair, but next year I hope to see a food vendor from the valley. Maybe Crown S Ranch? Thomson’s Meat? And more quilts, flowers and baked goods from the other talented people here. Let’s resolve to be there!

The Methow Store

The Methow store holds memoriesThat often we recallAs we old timers in life’s autumnJust dream about it all.

It has served the needs of peopleThroughout its many years.Some came here with a visionMuch stronger than their fears.It has stood the test of natureWhen the wind began to blow.The summer sun and lightningAnd the winter’s driven snow.

And now it still is standingWith a countenance so fair.‘Tho it has had some changes –A facelift here and there –Us old timers with our memoriesWe can close our eyes and seeThis store in all her beautyJust like she used to be.

By Harold Otto, step-uncle of the late Wayne Luft

Wayne’s comments:“As you drive through the town

of Methow, slow down and take a good look at the Methow Store. It has a false front on both ends, and on the highway side, the building front is cut at an angle.

The store building was built in the town of Squaw Creek about 4 miles down river from Methow Town and 2 miles up Squaw Creek, where in the late 1800s a mining boom was on. W.A. Bolinger built the store, and when the mining boom came to an end, he had the store moved to the town site of Methow in 1899, where it has been from that time on. He had a fellow cut it in three sections and skid it to Methow. A fellow by the name of John Truax did the moving for a measly 30 bucks. But in those days, thirty dollars was a lot of dough to a bunch of broke old timers.

When the store was put on its lot, the main highway was on the opposite side of the building. That’s how it got its false front on that end. In later years the highway changed to its present location and so as not to have to move the building, and to conform to the highway right of way, they just cut off the end of the building at an angle and built a false front on that end.

So next time you’re driving through Methow, take a good look at this building. After all, it’s been there over a hundred years. They have made one improvement to the store building. They put in a side door for the people who don’t know which end is which.”

W a r n i n g : Reading the Carl-ton news can be disturbing. I mean I only just started and already I’m disturbed.

Meanwhile, welcome to Carl-ton, where the cof-

fee is always from today. And happy birthday to all the Virgos, who seem to think being a Virgo is somehow im-portant enough to talk about amongst themselves for insanely large chunks of time until finally some random Sagittarian changes the subject to anything more reality-based. Many Virgos will leave the room at such a

suddenly awkward moment, though it was not our intent. Or was it? If you go searching, you will find the Virgos out on the lawn, naming all the other Virgos they know. Why are there so many of you?

The final burst of tourist season brought the usual traffic snarls and beachfront crowds to Carlton last week. All the public benches were full up, so there was nowhere to sit. If I can’t sit, I’m staying home. The local residents hid in their local corn-stalks until they got too weirded out by the local earwigs. Everything is local here. My dog is local. This scar on my left thumb is local. Well it is now, anyway. Local grumpies shooed local wolves toward town to frighten the numerous odd-shaped tourists savoring the final death throes of their summer vacations.

But now it is done with and all the

Virgo conversations have started up again and they probably won’t end until the first frost, when the hunters begin eyeing my front yard, thinking it is wild, unoccupied open space with probably a deer in it.

In America, according to the Na-tional Organization for Women, about three women every day are killed by their intimate partners, and, accord-ing to the Department of Health and Human Services, nearly five children are killed every day by abuse. I know that’s not very cheery, but it adds up to about 3,000 innocent victims each year. If we gathered them all together in one spot and killed them all on a single day, maybe the entire nation would call that spot “sacred ground” and televise a ceremonial reading of their names, and the vice president would show up and everyone would call them “heroes.”

To make it festive, we could blame it on the Muslims, who just celebrated the end of Ramadan with Eid, which everyone knows is code for IED.

But back to Carlton. We are glee-ishly anticipating the future: a better, more fabulous impending Carlton with extra fringy stuff around the edges, frilly bits you might say, blue perhaps, to go with the sky, which we like.

Some people take these Methow blue skies for granted, but I’m from California and sometimes the uber blueness here is almost scalding, the way biting into a freshly picked Cali-fornia orange can be. We all have our extraordinary color experiences.

Well, it’s late and I have to get up early in the morning so my dog can have a stick removed from her belly. Don’t ask.