Archive - News Article
August 15th, 2011
Crews battled steep terrain, gusty winds and heavy timber on the Rogers Mountain fire last Thursday on the Colville National Forest (CNF).
Localized thunderstorms created wind gusts and aggressive fire behavior Thursday afternoon on the fire line, pushing the Rogers Mountain fire to 90 acres.
“We know it was human caused,†said CNF spokesman Franklin Pemberton. “But the exact cause is still under investigation.â€
Pemberton quelled rumors that the fire was caused by a helicopter crash last Tuesday.
August 10th
Eric Lee Booth, charged with the murder of Gordon R. Feist of Smart Way Road, Colville, could plead not guilty by reason of insanity after undergoing a mental evalua¬tion at Eastern State Hospital.
At Booth’s arraignment last Tuesday, his defense attorney, Paul Wasson, requested that his client be taken to Eastern State Hospital for a professional assessment of his mental state. Wasson said that while it was uncertain that Booth, 26, would enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, Wasson still made the request for the evaluation to preserve that option.
August 3rd
The Stevens County Commissioners recently secured a $650,000 state grant for replacement of the Arden Bridge. The grant was obtained from the Washington State County Road Administration Board on July 28 from the board’s Rural Arterial Trust Account. The account is a portion of the state fuel tax that is set aside for emergency projects.
The grant money will be used to fund replacement of the existing structure, which suffered an undermining of its foundation from flood waters earlier this spring.
August 1st
Members of the Colville Community Senior Center (CCSC) attended last Tuesday’s city council meeting to request that the city set aside $500 a month for the new adult community center, The Hub. Construction on the center, which will be located on Wynne Street, is expected to start in 2012.
July 26th
Community members from Deer Park to Colville lined Highway 395 last Saturday afternoon as law enforcement, firemen and military personnel escorted the body of Staff Sergeant Wyatt Goldsmith, 28, to Danekas Funeral Chapel. Goldsmith was killed while serving in the United States Army on his third deployment to Afghanistan. He was flown by the military from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to Deer Park Airport, then driven to Colville, where area residents waited to pay their respects. Many stood along the streets with American flags, hands covering hearts, or silently watching the procession.
By
S-E Intern Briana Wallace
An area of Stevens County with some serious mining history is in the forefront again with the impending opening of the old Flagstaff Mine.
The open face barite mine, located some five miles from Northport, has been purchased by Kent Exploration Inc. and, according to company officials, should begin production within the next week. The mine re-opening will create at least 14 jobs, officials say, and maybe more.
July 22nd
It may be late July, but Colville valley residents were awakened early last Friday morning to the sounds and sights of a hailstorm. According to the National Weather Service, thunderstorms moved across northeast Washington and the northeast mountains on Friday morning. Around Colville environs, that thunderstorm precipitation came in the form of heavy hail.
July 20th
U.S. Customs and Border Protection broke ground officially last week on its new multi-million-dollar U.S. Border Patrol station in Colville. The station is located just off Buena Vista Road near the northwest Colville city limits. The new “state of the art†secure facility meets eco-friendly LEED component certification and will be “strategically located on Highway 395 between Kettle Falls and Colville,†according to David D. Smith, Senior Patrol Agent, Public Information Office, U.S. Border Patrol in Spokane.
July 19th
In a four to three roll call vote at last Tuesday’s meeting, the Colville City Council opted to put an advisory ballot item in the November General Election concerning the relocated airport project. The measure will ask Colville citizens whether or not they think the City of Colville should proceed with a site selection process for a regional airport. There are certain stipulations though:
The vote will only be advisory, meaning the decision to continue with the airport site selection process ultimately rests on the shoulders of Colville City Council.
Staff Sergeant Wyatt A. Goldsmith, 28, of Colville, died July 15 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered after enemy forces attacked his unit.
He is survived by his parents, John and Lorie Goldsmith of Colville, and by his sister, Nicole.
Goldsmith was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord and was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-
Afghanistan.
This was Goldsmith's third deployment in support of Overseas Contingency Operations, according to the U.S. Department of Defense website.
