The versatility and resonance of the string quartet will be on full display at “Winter Strings,” a special concert organized by the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival on Feb. 1. The concert features three strikingly distinct examples of string quartet repertoire, including an exuberant quartet by Felix Mendelssohn written at the height of his musical […]
Superior Court’s French Creek Road ruling will be appealed
The property owners who claim that part of French Creek Road is private have appealed a judge’s ruling that the road is a public county road. Gamble Land and Timber and Cascade Holdings Group filed the appeal in the Washington Court of Appeals on Dec. 30. The appeal asks the court to review Okanogan County […]
MV School District asks community to ‘Dream Big’
Seeking input on budget priorities The Methow Valley School District is giving all interested members of the community — along with school staff and students — the chance to weigh in on how the district spends part of its budget. For the past several years, the district has asked the community for input about programs and classes that should […]
M.V. Community Center accorded new tax status
Will help raise money for needed upgrades At the Methow Valley Community Center, people dance and practice taekwon do, learn the violin, play pickleball, and read and do computer research in the library. The community center in Twisp has been a true community hub since the moribund former school building was rescued in 1978 by […]
OCEC waives monthly base fee for December
No electricity rate hikes planned in 2020 People who get their power through the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative (OCEC) will get a financial break to start the new year, since the co-op has waived the base fee for December. The OCEC board opted to eliminate the base rate as a way of returning capital credits […]
County puts hold on new subdivisions in Methow
Two-year moratorium to study water regs The Okanogan County commissioners have set a two-year moratorium on virtually all new subdivisions of land in the Methow watershed to allow the county to study water regulations for the Methow Valley. The county commissioners unanimously adopted an ordinance that designates a water-availability study area for the watershed on […]
French Creek Road is public
Judge finds no dispute over facts, rejects jurisdiction argument French Creek Road is a public county road. In a succinct opinion issued Dec. 18, Okanogan County Superior Court Judge Henry Rawson granted summary judgment to Okanogan County and the Okanogan Open Roads Coalition, agreeing that there are no facts in dispute as to whether a […]
Potential WDFW land acquisitions identified
Two areas in the Methow Valley — including land adjacent to Okanogan County’s proposed gravel-pit site — are among properties the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is considering purchasing for wildlife habitat. WDFW is eyeing 420 acres on Hunter Mountain adjacent to the gravel-pit site near Methow. The Hunter Mountain parcels conserve sagebrush-steppe habitat for mule deer […]
No appeal of gravel pit
The Methow River Ranch Phase II Homeowners Association has decided not to take their appeal of a new Okanogan County gravel pit to the next level, according to their attorney, Mark Ryan. The homeowners’ association is a group of 70 property owners across from the site north of the town of Methow where the county […]
Methow to DNR: Public land is vital for wildlife
Locals argue against proposed land swap Though there’s no public access to much of hundreds of acres of Methow land the state is proposing to dispose of, area residents made eloquent and emotional pleas about its value for wildlife habitat and recreation. About 55 people — hikers, skiers, hunters, photographers and native-plant enthusiasts — attended a public meeting on […]
