Below-average snowpack behind ‘troubling’ forecast Water supply shortages are anticipated this summer in the Methow and Okanogan river basins, based on current snowpack measurements, soil conditions and weather predictions. Water supply forecasts for the Upper Columbia basin, which includes the Methow River watershed, “range from troubling to dire,” said Jeff Marti, water resources planner for […]
NEWS
Local, state programs attack opioids crisis in Okanogan County
Agencies focus resources on treatment, prevention The statistics connected with opioids can be grim, but an intense local and state effort has helped reverse that tide in Okanogan County, providing many new resources to confront the crisis. There were nine confirmed opioid deaths in Okanogan County in 2018, and four others are awaiting toxicology reports, […]
Pasta point of no return
Liberty Bell students use their noodles to meet engineering challenge Spaghetti may be known for its ability to stick to the wall, but not necessarily for its utility as a construction material. But last week a group of Liberty Bell High School seventh- and eighth-graders succeeded in building a bridge — from less than 1.6 pounds of […]
District responds to swastikas found in boys’ bathrooms at Liberty Bell
Students, staff focus on making schools safe for all After the discovery last week of several swastikas on the walls and doors of boys’ bathrooms at Liberty Bell High School, school staff are taking steps to educate students about the history of intolerance and to ensure that schools remain a safe place for all. “One […]
Feds propose eliminating protection for gray wolves
States, tribes would take over management Gray wolves, listed as a federally endangered species in the western two-thirds of Washington state, including the Methow Valley, would be removed from the list of protected species under a proposal announced recently by the Trump administration. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced plans to remove Endangered […]
New phone-in option for county commissioners’ meetings
People who want to weigh in on county issues without driving all the way to Okanogan now have the option of phoning in to the county commissioners’ weekly public-comment session. After a suggestion from a Winthrop resident, the Okanogan County commissioners started the new call-in procedure for public comments this month. Emily Sisson, who’s been […]
Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster opens new emergency room
After more than a year of planning and construction, Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster opened its new emergency room this week. The new ER is still located inside the hospital at 507 Hospital Way, but has been relocated from the main front entrance to the other end of the building. The new space, which previously […]
Wolf populations influence mule deer behavior, UW research finds
Three-year study finds white-tailed deer not affected Mule deer change their behavior, including moving to higher elevations, in areas where they are threatened by wolves, according to a study conducted by University of Washington researchers. The three-year study of deer herds near Republic, in areas occupied by the Nc’icn and Strawberry gray wolf packs, found […]
Apple maggot detections increase in Okanogan County
WSDA: No plans to extend quarantine beyond valley Entomologists found an unprecedented 18 apple-maggot flies in traps last year in the non-quarantined areas of Okanogan County, which includes everywhere in the county outside the Methow Valley. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) entomologists trapped the flies at nine sites, all in hawthorn trees, according […]
Proposed Chewuch River water sale amount revised downward
State environmental review still required The amount of water proposed for sale from a Winthrop ranch to a private investment company has been revised downward in a new application, which is expected to “be revised numerous more times,” according to the attorney preparing the documents. “I have no timeline for completing the transfer. These things […]
