SEE OUR STUDENTS Dear Editor: Hats off to Room One for pulling together Methow Voices, a powerful play based on interviews with local teens. Sharing community voices through events like this helps build understanding and awareness. More events are worth the community’s participation. Today (Wednesday, May 15) at 6 p.m., Liberty Bell seniors will present […]
OPINION
April 3, 2013
On the plus side As a journalist, I’ve never subscribed to the concept of “good news” versus “bad news,” or “positive stories” versus “negative” stories. Most information consumers would probably be surprised that those are not terms we typically use in our coverage discussions. News is news whether it pleases you or not, stories are […]
Lorna Smith
Why are we so afraid of wolves? By Lorna Smith Should we, as humans, be afraid of wolves? Biologists who study large carnivores know that the answer is simply “no.” Wild wolves generally fear people and rarely pose a threat to human safety. Attacks on humans by wolves are quite rare compared to those by […]
Heidi Smith
County’s DUI court will target repeat offenders By Heidi Smith Beginning this fall, Okanogan County District Court is set to launch a DUI Court, a specialized treatment court with the goal of targeting repeat drunk drivers. In a recent 12-month study, 313 people in Okan-ogan County were charged with DUI. Of those charged, 78 had […]
July 24, 2013
Local expertise Two local, smallish organizations with outsized reputations beyond the valley were in the news recently, in each case demonstrating why sometimes the world looks to the Methow Valley for leadership. Planetary scientist Thomas McCord, founder of the Bear Fight Institute north of Winthrop, was bestowed the highest honor that the National Aeronautics and […]
July 31, 2013
BY DON NELSON Museum pieces A couple of weekends ago I dropped by the Shafer Museum in Winthrop because I hadn’t been there for a while, and because I love delving deeper into the valley’s fascinating history (it can only be absorbed and retained over time, I’ve learned). It was a scorching day and not […]
June 26, 2013
BY SOLVEIG TORVIK “The administration claims authority to sift through details of our private lives because the Patriot Act says it can. I disagree. I authored the Patriot Act, and this is an abuse of that law.” –Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. It appears the 9/11 terrorists were far more successful in weakening fundamental American […]
All aboard for the global train wreck
May 29, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK It blew right by you, didn’t it? The biggest news of the month, I mean. Arguably the biggest news in millions of years. But you surely can’t be held responsible for missing it. It was gone from the news cycle in the blink of an eye. Really, it was […]
Secrets of the world’s best education system
March 27, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK The news of Methow Valley School Superintendent Mark Wenzel’s departure invites us to think about our schools, and not just here in the valley. Wenzel came to the job as a non-traditional candidate with a self-described “passion for learning.” To its credit, the school board took a chance on […]
Nightmareliner
Feb. 20, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK “The Dreamliner was supposed to become famous for its revolutionary design. Instead, it’s become an object lesson in how not to build an airplane.” – James Surowiecki, The New Yorker Hate government regulation? Love outsourcing jobs? Boeing’s Dreamliner is the airplane for you. This aircraft’s the hottest thing in […]
