By Soo Ing-Moody We are in a time of emergency in our country, state and locally here in the Methow Valley. This past week, all our local jurisdictions, both towns and Okanogan County, have declared states of emergency so as to protect the health and interests of those we serve. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is a […]
My Turn
WVCO faculty cares about students’ interests
By Peter Donahue As a professor at Wenatchee Valley College-Omak (WVCO), I sometimes josh that we are the Harvard of Okanogan County. I say this with pride, not facetiousness. Like Harvard, our impact is significant relative to our size. The WVCO service district encompasses an enormous geographic area, from Coulee Dam and Oroville to Pateros […]
Maternity Center of Excellence will better serve Okanogan County
Contributors: Dr. James Wallace, Medical Director, and Jesus Hernandez, CEO, of Family Health Centers Alan Fisher, CEO of Mid-Valley Hospital Scott Graham, CEO of Three Rivers Hospital and North Valley Hospital Collaboration has been key to the envisioning of a sustainable future for maternity services in Okanogan County. Included in this vision is a comprehensive […]
Action and advocacy: Beyond the Methow Headwaters Campaign
By Jasmine Minbashian and Maggie Coon When the votes were counted in December for “Top Ten Stories of the Year,” the Methow Headwaters campaign landed No. 1, as it had in 2017. It came in No. 2 in 2018. Our community joined as never before to achieve a special Congressional land designation on over 340,000 […]
We will miss OB at Three Rivers Hospital
By Blue Bradley It’s the end of an era for Okanogan county families that have delivered babies at Three Rivers Hospital in Brewster. Change is hard. As you may have heard, on April 1, 2020, Three Rivers will no longer be doing births. Many are grieving daily about this news. I wanted to write a […]
Do-nothing approach to forest management is dangerous
By Gina McCoy I have been an environmentalist for over 40 years. As a natural resource professional, a primary goal has been to reconcile human uses of these resources with ecosystem protection. But, to be blunt, I have sometimes found the agendas of many self-identified environmentalists and environmental groups to be simplistic and often counter-productive. […]
Twisp’s new gateway art reflects a community’s inspiration
By Perri and Craig Howard In your travels around the valley, soon you will encounter new outdoor artwork. We are the artists who were chosen to create the gateway art for Twisp, and we’re thrilled that it’s time to share it with everyone. The Methow Valley News has covered this process since the beginning, and […]
Learning by listening — insights from a visit to the Methow Valley
By Senator Brad Hawkins Earlier this September, I concluded my third annual district-wide listening tour with key stops in the Methow Valley, including Pateros, Twisp and Mazama. We expanded this year’s tour by one additional day which was helpful and much needed. Traveling throughout north central Washington with my staff has become an annual tradition […]
Thanks to a community for doing what neighbors do
By Sam Lucy For a long, long time fire has been something folks have gathered around. The past few years in most parts of the West it’s no secret this notion has taken a different slant. We all have good reason to be on edge come late summer ’round here and I first want to apologize to […]
Fish hatcheries: part of the solution to a complex problem
By Peter Aspholm Fish hatcheries have been under fire recently, with the airing of Patagonia-sponsored “Artifishal” as well as certain groups that disapprove of hatchery management or practices. To be honest, I never gave hatcheries a second thought before this year. I would look at fish or participate in fishing events there as a young […]
