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William (Bill) Allen Charlton | obituary published by the Statesman-Examiner in Colville, Washington. William (Bill) Allen Charlton 85 Jul 21, 1940 - Oct 21, 2025 At his home with family near him, William (Bill) Allen Charlton, age 85, passed away from cancer on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Bill, beloved husband, father and friend was born July 21, 1940, in Ione, Wash., to Allen Leigh Charlton and Lois Elma (Bradeen) Charlton. He grew up in the Kettle Falls area with his four siblings and could be found on most sunny days playing in the river at Old Kettle Falls. Bill graduated from Kettle Falls High School in 1959 and joined the United States Navy, serving four years. He married Caroline Shriner of Orient, Wash., on July 14, 1962, while he was home on leave. After his service in the Navy, Bill attended Eastern Washington University and earned a bachelor’s degree in education. Bill accepted a teaching position with the Northport School District in 1968. For the next 30 years, Bill and Caroline called the town of Northport home and raised four children. Bill taught high school industrial arts, drafting and math, coached basketball and drove school bus until he retired from teaching in 1997 and from bus driving in 2011. In 1998, Bill and Caroline moved onto family land in Orient, Wash., where Bill designed and built their custom home. Bill and Caroline spent the next 10 years sharing the love of their home and land with children, grandchildren, extended family and friends. Caroline passed away in June 2009. On Oct. 22, 2011, Bill married lifelong acquaintance Mary Jean “Jeanne” Wiley of Northport, Washington, and Jeanne joined Bill in Orient. They blended their families of adult children, created new family memories and experienced 14 years of love, companionship and small adventures together. Bill liked taking drives, socializing in the community, helping neighbors, telling jokes, and playing poker with friends. He loved being outside, riding around on his golf cart, seeing wildlife, cutting firewood, sawing lumber, and building in his woodshop. He was always ready for the water, floating the Kettle River and most of all riding his jet ski. He will be greatly missed. Bill was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Caroline Charlton; his brother Joseph “Joe” Charlton; and his sister-in-law, Linda Charlton. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne; siblings, Derry Mounce, Nikki Charlton (Mark);children, Greg Charlton (Melanie), Todd Charlton (Alison), Brad Charlton (Renee), Tami Charlton; stepchildren, Laura Roberston (Alan), Brett Wiley (Di), Shelley Franck; grandchildren, Ainsley Charlton, Braden Charlton, Felicia Quilter (Marshall), Riley Bidondo, Stephanie Bidondo, Jake Charlton (Karlee), Karli Charlton, Amanda Kinkaid; step grandchild Kayla Illsley (Nate); and nine great-grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 1-4 p.m. at TJ’s Bar and Grill in Kettle Falls. Beginning with a short memorial at 1 p.m., followed by food, refreshment and gathering for all who called Bill family, friend, teacher, coach, neighbor. Previous Item Next Item

Ode to an Older Time: Don Birch - local reporting from the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville, Stevens County, and Northeast Washington. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Ode to an Older Time: Don Birch November 12, 2025 By: Tamara Lee Titus Don Birch in front of the mural at the Stevens County Historical Society Keller Museum. Photo by Tamara Lee Titus. “I started delivering newspapers when I was seven years old,” Don Birch said when recalling his introduction and initiation into a world that foreshadowed his future vocation. “I’d get up at 4 every morning, and I had the whole North Hill that I delivered to. I did that until I was a sophomore in high school, then I started at the Statesman-Examiner . Started delivering papers, then went to work for a paper. I have been with newspapers my whole life,” Birch observed. “I had a double bag, front and back, and I wasn’t very big. We had 116 Sunday [including The Spokesman Review ] papers at that time to deliver on the North Hill, from 5 th Ave. on up, past the Hofstetter school. The Sunday papers were too heavy for us to carry all at once, so they would put them on the corner and leave them there for us. And back in the day, rainy days or bad weather, I’d open up the front door and throw the papers inside… You’d probably get shot doing that today,” he continued. Birch has covered every aspect of newspaper production, and dedicated most of his life to reporting the news for Colville and surrounding areas. In a recent interview conducted in a room housing antique press equipment at the Stevens County Historical Society Keller Museum, he shared about his life and what it was like to eventually run the Statesman-Examiner . “I saw things that couldn’t be printed,” Birch remarked while sharing the intricacies of managing a small town paper. “If you like sticking your nose into everybody’s business…It’s an exciting business, it was for me.” Birch was recruited by the Statesman-Examiner in 1960. He said, “A person that worked there in the back shop knew me, and he suggested they hire me as a kid to do the odd gofers and whatever else. I would run errands, carry papers to the post office, you name it.” It was during that time he learned to operate the Linotype, a machine used to print newspapers at that time. He recounted, “You’d type, just like a typewriter, but those little keys would fall out of that huge machine as you were typing down into a tray…Then you would pick up that tray and put it into another part of the equipment, and hot lead would come against right here (he motioned to a part of the key he held for demonstration) to make the letter and that’s how you set type.” He emphasized, “In the old days, everything was hand set type – can you imagine?” Birch graduated from Colville High School in 1962. “I had a chance to go to college,” he said, “Actually, when Bob Haney, who owned Haney Lumber and was good friends with my grandparents, found out that I decided not to go to school, he said he would pay for my college education at the time.” Still, Birch said he was committed to the paper’s production. He said, “I decided to stay at the Statesman-Examiner , and worked from 1960 on, and knew everything about the back shop; I could run the press. My main job was setting type on the Linotype machine. It’s a big typewriter that we could not fit in this room.” He continued, “My senior year, I had community work, so I spent two periods of my time at the Statesman-Examiner ; I had enough credits that I could get two free periods. And, you weren’t supposed to get paid for it, yet they paid me, 75 cents an hour. And when minimum wage went up to $1, I had to go to the Grahams and ask for it. I said, ‘isn’t minimum wage $1 now,’” he laughed. The owners of the paper then were Charles and Rosanna Graham. Birch said, “Charles Graham grew up here; his family homesteaded here in the Northport and Colville area…He moved away and worked for the Oregonian . He decided he wanted to move back home to Colville. So he purchased The Colville Examiner in 1948. Within a year, he also purchased the Statesman Index , and closed it down, so it became The Statesman-Examiner. That’s how it got its name. It’s been one newspaper ever since.” Birch described more of his early work for the Grahams, “Every Saturday, I’d have to mop and wax the floor in the front office. Mrs. Graham would always come and give me a hug for doing such a good job on Mondays.” Born in 1944 in The Dalles, Ore., Birch grew up in Colville, mainly with his grandparents, Verne and Blanche Slingsby, in a now historic house built in 1882, by the “Father of Colville,” John Hofstetter. Birch added, “That house stayed in the family, until just a few years ago when my aunt died. She bought it from the estate when my grandparents both were gone and lived in it until almost 100 years old. I got a little bit of history that is pretty cool. Especially as the founder of Colville built that house.” Birch noted about the Hofstetter home, that “his children’s footprints were in concrete outside in the back porch, and when my grandpa bought that house, and moved in, in 1950, he tore that out. Later, in 1952 my brothers and my footprints were put in there when I was eight years old. They are since gone [though], because they did some more work and added on to that house. It’s still there, on Birch and Maple.” He also shared an anecdote about the support he received in childhood, “My mom never missed an event that I was involved in. The only way she could afford to travel is that she would chaperone the cheerleaders on the bus for the out of town games. That’s how she got to go to all the games.” Speaking about his wife, Birch said, “My wife was Beverly and she passed away five years ago. She was pretty well-known, too. She grew up just down the street here on the corner of Main and 5 th ; the house is still there and it’s one of the older houses in Colville. We went together through high school and married at a very early age: 18 and 19, and were married 57 years.” The couple had one son, Rob, who currently lives with Don. “He was born in 1972,” “When he completed high school, he found work in Spokane for a while and self-taught himself on computers and ended up getting a job with Sterling Bank as a computer engineer,” Birch said. “He didn’t go to school for it, he learned it himself and was hired by Sterling. Sterling sold to Umpqua Bank and he still works for them for pushing 30 years now. When his mom died, he decided to move in with me. He sold his home in Spokane, and decided to come take care of dad, and he has his own office in my house. He works from home and does quite well,” he emphasized proudly. Birch also said he has two grandkids, who visit regularly. When asked why he stayed in Colville his whole life, Birch shared, “I like the small town… and I fell in love with my job; I got better as I got older and didn’t want to leave. My wife didn’t want to live anywhere else, either. She enjoyed it here, she was close to her parents. And I was close to my mom and my grandparents, and it’s a great place to raise kids. Colville was the only place I really ever wanted to be.” Birch said he quickly progressed at the Statesman-Examiner . He shared, “The Statesman-Examiner didn’t have anyone to cover sports. I went to every game, home and away, because no one was writing it up, so I decided I’d do it. The owners let me do it, because I was doing it for free.” He continued, celebrating, “The class of 1965, which was the football season of 1964, was probably the best football season to go through Colville High School to this day, because I still go to games and watch and enjoy that kind of thing. They went undefeated, which has been done before – but, they were only scored on one time, all year! And that’s amazing…several went on to play Division-1 ball; they were that good.” After proving himself as a sports writer, he persisted, “Then in 1972, they needed an editor and they saw that I could put a sentence together. So, they asked me if I wanted to become editor, and I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s a pretty good move up. Sure why not?’ So in 1972, I moved to the front office, until retiring in 2005. I became the publisher in 1992.” He professed, “I wasn’t great at writing, but I was good enough to get by, I guess you could say. “I loved what I did,” he affirmed, “Because I saw so many different things, so many things in the community, whether it was good or bad. You had to be on top of it. I know that I could’ve gone elsewhere to make more, financially, but I was happy with what I did get I guess I felt it was more rewarding.” During his time at the Statesman-Examiner , he experienced many peaks, including covering the time President Bush Sr. came to Colville in 1992. “I got to be part of the Washington Press Corps for the day, and I was backstage with the president,” he remembered. Birch was also the unofficial photographer for years for the state patrol and sheriff’s department. He explained, “I had a good connection with both. I had to go to crime scenes and film all that, which was sometimes not a very good job to have. I went to probably every fatality wreck. They’d call me, ‘Hey Birch, coming by to pick you up.’ I rode with the sheriff and the sergeant of the state patrol a lot. Because I would shoot everything, in case they had a court case. And I would sell pictures to attorneys; I got paid that way. I gave some to the Statesman-Examiner , but it was more to get the story. And, there were obviously a lot of pictures that I couldn’t use: homicides and things like that. It was exciting and scary sometimes – going down the road, 100 miles an hour. On your way there, you get nervous and think, ‘Oh boy, do I really want to see this?’ “I’ve pretty well done it all,” he said. Yet, he still did more, after 45 years of working at the Statesman-Examiner . “I was out of work for two days. I had a friend, [Tony Booth] who was half-owner of the Chevrolet dealership come to me and say, ‘How would you like coming to work for us [as a car salesman]?’ I did that for a year and hated it.” Then, according to Birch, Booth said, “‘Don’t leave, I got a plan for you. Why don’t you start a newspaper?’ I said, ‘I could still be at a newspaper, why would I want to start one?’” Birch said he eventually decided to start the newspaper as a monthly, calling it The Silverado Express, which is still in print today. Birch retired from that venture after six years. He said, “The older generation really liked it. It’s a little different now than when I ran it. I did a lot of feature stories on older folks around here. It was a lot of fun,” he said. Birch has stayed active, most recently retiring from the Stevens County Historical Society as president of the board for eight years. He said, “I wish I’d started here [at the Stevens County Historical Society] earlier, but I was always too busy…I spend every day here now, not on weekends, but weekdays.” Looking back over his life, he shared that he really enjoyed little league. “I just loved coaching kids,” Birch said. “I was 12 years old when they started little league here, so I had one year of little league here in Colville. And I never got away from it. I coached little league for 18 years and I live right across the street from where I played baseball as a little kid. I can watch ballgames right off my front porch.” Reflecting on his life, Birch said, “If I had to do it over, I think I’d have done the same thing. I really and truly loved the Statesman-Examiner . Yeah, I could’ve had a higher paying job somewhere else, probably, but I loved what I did. And I met a lot of people, saw a lot of things, got to travel a lot, and just did a lot of things that I might not have done otherwise. Back in the day, I knew everything that went on in this community. Luckily, I got to hire a few more people before I took over as publisher. There were three people in the news department, three in the sales department; we had 16 full-time people. You can’t imagine that today. I did all the darkroom work at one time, while I was editor. Gabe [Gabriel Cruden, current Statesman-Examiner publisher] actually started in the darkroom. I did everything and I enjoyed doing it.” Don Birch 2005 when he retired from the S-E. Photo courtesy Don Birch. In considering the future for newspapers, he stated, “I always said that ‘small community newspapers would last longer than the big ones’ – but I am not so sure of that now. I think it helps now that it is back to a community-owned paper.” His advice is to “stay neutral.” Previous Article Next Article LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Out of the Past: 11/26/2025 - local reporting from the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville, Stevens County, and Northeast Washington. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Out of the Past: 11/26/2025 November 26, 2025 By: Stevens County Historical Society Hotel Colville in the 1950s. Photo courtesy Stevens County Historical Society. 100 Years Ago— Improved postal service for first class mail has been officially asked of the post office department by petitions from all towns between Colville and Spokane. The petitions cite the present unsatisfactory service of mail 12 times a week, and asked that pouches of first-class mail be hereafter transported by the Colville-Spokane stage line, which never makes less than 54 trips a week. The lot at the southeast corner of Main and Beech (now Birch) holds a one-story building fronting Main which is used by Fred Elwood for a second-hand store at the east end of the lot, facing Beech, a small building which was originally erected on the corner, and later moved to its present corner, and still later, moved to its present location. The story of this lot and these buildings embraces some very interesting Colville history. (Story found in “Little Journeys Around the Town,” Colville Examiner – 12/5/1925) 75 Years Ago— Porter Carter has been nominated as president of the Colville Chamber of Commerce. Carter’s nomination was announced by the Chamber of Commerce’s nominating committee. Joe Striker was nominated vice-president. Other officers nominated were Bill Bronson and Sid Buckley, one-year trustee; Carl Moore and F.H. Cole, two-year trustees. NORTHPORT—Another step toward progress in this community went way over the top in voting for bonds last Saturday for the purpose of building a union high school. 50 Years Ago— Mr. and Mrs. John Dobrowski, owners of the Hotel Colville for the past 10 years, announced this week that they had sold the hotel to Mr. and Mrs. Ernie Anderson and their son Bernie of Kelly Hill. The 40-room hotel sold for $200,000. The Kettle Falls Park committee announced the name selected for the partially constructed three-acre recreational site last Friday. Happy Dell Park was the name submitted by winner Mrs. Alice Crouch. Mrs. Crouch had combined the names of Happy and Ken Trousdell, who donated the three acres for the park. 25 Years Ago— According to 49 Degrees North Marketing Director Mark Bigham, the new Flowery Trail Road improvement to be completed in 2005 will be an all-weather highway allowing year-round access to 49 Degrees North on Chewelah Peak Ski Hill in the inland northwest. The Tacoma Dome should be rocking this Saturday when Northeast B-8 League powers Odessa and Inchelium lock horns in the State B-8 championship game beginning at 4 p.m. 15 Years Ago— “Did you know?” The Dominion Meadows Golf Course is a historically relevant site. There is a plaque marking the ninth tee where the Rush Bros.Brickyard used to be in the early 1900s. Previous Article Next Article LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Out of the Past: 08/06/2025 - local reporting from the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville, Stevens County, and Northeast Washington. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Out of the Past: 08/06/2025 August 6, 2025 By: Stevens County Historical Museum Colville monster truck-lovers enjoyed the national Monster truck tour. Photo courtesy Statesman-Examiner . 100 Years Ago— A trained force of 35 fire fighters is being held in reserve to supplement the work of the 24 lookouts and patrolmen on duty for fire detection in Colville National Forest. Nathan Andserson and wife of Spokane visited in Colville at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Quinn W. McCord on Tuesday. In the afternoon, they visited Kettle Falls and watched the salmon jumping. After more than a month of fishing for salmon in the Columbia River, Al Miller of the R. E. Lee Company landed a 40 1/2 -pound salmon Thursday evening. He had fished all but five minutes before hooking the big fish. The construction of a concrete brick and tile building on the lot adjoining the R. E. Lee Company building on the north, was announced this week by Chas. Oeck, proprietor of the Colville Bakery before the destructive fire of last month. 75 Years Ago— State timber brought half again as much as its appraised value at a public auction here Monday. Fred Draper paid $28,699 for two tracts of state timber appraised at $17,270. The state estimates that there were 2,283,000 board feet of Ponderosa pine, red fir, tamarack and white fir on the tracts. Pick-up and delivery service for the American Railway Express Company has been discontinued in Colville. The service was stopped Thursday. Railroad officials said that all packages for delivery by Railway Express must be brought to the depot. Ma and Pa Kettle, hilarious characters from “The Egg and I,” return to the screen at the Kettle Falls theater Friday and Saturday. 50 Years Ago— Colville’s Southtown Shopping Center will be noting its 19 th anniversary serving Colville and the surrounding vicinity this weekend, with participating businesses offering refreshments and surprises during the annual event. Pacific Northwest Bell announced today that the Colville and Colfax business offices would be closed Nov. 1. Plans for the third annual “Arden Days” celebration, set for Saturday, Aug. 30, are moving smoothly and will be finalized in the next two weeks, according to Rick Kroiss, advertising chairman. 25 Years Ago— Colville was included in the Race Track Promotions Tour, a national monster truck tour. The crowd was larger than expected, with late-comers choosing spots on the grass or fences, as bleachers and grandstands were filled up. Many attendees even took the opportunity to ride in the Monster Trucks. The Moving Wall, the first traveling Vietnam Memorial replica, will visit Nespelem Aug. 17-23. Stevens County Conservation District has received a $450,000 grant from the Washington Department of Ecology for Phase II and III of the Colville River Watershed Planning Project. The project is a local effort to address water quality and water use needs in the Colville River Watershed under the directives of the 1998 Watershed Planning Act. Previous Article Next Article LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

The Woodland Theatre Receives Support for Upcoming Projects - local reporting from the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville, Stevens County, and Northeast Washington. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES The Woodland Theatre Receives Support for Upcoming Projects December 3, 2025 By: Tamara Lee Titus The Woodland Theatre has a rich history, including being a Volkswagen dealership in the 1940s. Photo courtesy Peggy Townley. The Woodland Theatre, built in Kettle Falls in 1940, is the main performance site for Woodland Productions, a nonprofit community of local performing artists. Thanks to donations from grants, Friends of Woodland Theatre, and other major donors, the theatre now has the funds needed to complete upgrades. The building has passed through many incarnations over the years. According to Peggy Townley, Woodland Productions member since 1978, the building was constructed by Henry Wood as a movie theater until the early 1950s, when it started losing money. Townley speculated the advent of TV contributed to its inability to sustain customers. When business slowed, she reported, “Wood’s son came and took it over as a Volkswagen dealership and theatre. They built an apartment on the back of the theatre, and below it they put in a greasepit repair shop.” She continued, “The last film showed there in 1954, and then it sat idle until the early 1970s, when the Old Mission Art Gallery purchased it for $11,000. They were running the building and we came in and started to do some productions. Eventually, in the late 1970s, the Old Mission sold it to Woodland Productions for $1 because they were running out of money to do repairs.” Townley said many repairs have been done over the years to sustain the theatre, including a new roof in the 1970s; now it’s time to update again. “It’s over 50 years old. It’s an open air roof and bats have been nesting in there. It’s not up to code,” she said, admitting concerns about the open eaves making it more susceptible to catch fire if embers got in there. An enclosed roof would be heavier though, affecting the weight on the walls, which have already started to bow. She said, “The Old Mission Art Gallery recognized the walls bowing and they put cables in to stabilize them, but the cables stretched.” According to Townley, engineers recommended they replace the cables with rods, which they received $10,000 in grant money from the Innovia Foundation to help fund. "The total cost will be about $35,000,” she stated, noting that they have also received donations from local donors. She said, “The rods will not stretch and will strengthen the structure to prepare for a heavier roof replacement planned for 2027-2029 with help from WA State Heritage Capital funds. The new roof will be gently sloped to the east to prevent snow build-up toward our neighbors to the west. It will have enclosed soffits to keep out the bats and insects and be up to code.” Plans also include “recreating the tower that was on the original theatre when it was a movie house,” Townley shared. She said they received a $10,000 donation toward those efforts from Eden Davidson, who was in the ‘Into the Woods’ performance in 2024. Townley added, “We have a screen at the theatre and have shown movies. We have a good sound system, but it’s not the same as the Alpine [Theater in Colville].” She emphasized that their main focus is music and theatre. Townley also discussed how she and her husband participate in productions. “I mostly like to sing; I have been in a few musicals, sing in the chorus, and I play flute in the concert band. My husband is a trombonist, and he sings too,” she said. “One of the amazing things about the theatre is that it is an acoustic gem. We do not mic our performances; people can hear you at the back of the theatre. I don’t know what makes it a good theatre, but it is a good theatre,” Townley concluded. Their next production is Handel's Messiah, which runs on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 7, at 2 p;m. For more information about Woodland Theatre, visit woodlandproductions.org/index.html . Previous Article Next Article LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Wade Orval Hopkins — a community announcement published by the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville and Stevens County. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Births Wade Orval Hopkins Wade Orval Hopkins was born on July 4, 2025, to parents Della Goff and Brandon Hopkins of Colville, Wash. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces at birth. He has two brothers, Adrian, 22, and Donavon, 18, and three sisters, Elliana, 15, Lori, 12, and Aspen, 5. His maternal grandmother is Ginni Torres, and his paternal grandparents are James Hopkins Jr., and Melissa Hopkins of Evans, Wash. Previous Next LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Bruno Hugo Chavez Gomez — a community announcement published by the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville and Stevens County. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Births Bruno Hugo Chavez Gomez Bruno Hugo Chavez Gomez was born on Aug. 7, 2025, to parents Karisma Gallardo and Victor Gomez of Colville, Wash. He weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces at birth. His maternal grandparents are Phillip Gallardo III of Northport, Wash., and Fawn Gallardo of Covington, Ky. His paternal grandparents are Victor and Yesenia Gomez of Spokane, Wash. His maternal great-grandparents are Deborah Gallardo of Northport, Wash., and Bonnie and Michael O’Connor of Covington, Ky. His paternal great-grandparent is Jose Mancilla of Mazatlán, Mexico. Previous Next LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Altiera Stevie Rainbolt Raub — a community announcement published by the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville and Stevens County. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Births Altiera Stevie Rainbolt Raub Altiera Stevie Rainbolt Raub was born on Aug. 24, 2025, to parents Avarielle Spiegel and Anthony Raub of Colville, Wash. Previous Next LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Raymond Lewis Hedrick | obituary published by the Statesman-Examiner in Colville, Washington. Raymond Lewis Hedrick 86 Jan 23, 1939 - Jul 1, 2025 Raymond Lewis Hedrick passed away peacefully at the Mount Carmel Hospital on July 1, 2025, at the age of 86. Raymond was born January 23, 1939, in Colville, Wash., at the original Mount Carmel Hospital to his parents William Adolf Hedrick and Esther Marjorie Kenyon. Raymond attended the Colville schools from the first through the twelfth grade. In his senior year he was the class president. He took a lot of pride and joy in his FFA activities. Adolph Hendrick, (Ray’s father) was the first FFA president. Adolph, Raymond, Andy Kroiss, and Steve Kroiss were all FFA presidents. After graduating from high school, Raymond spent six months at Fort Ord California in the Army Reserve and earned the honor of Top Rifleman in his unit. It was all that target practice on those pesky ground squirrels. Raymond returned home and attended W.S.U. for a short period. On April 5, 1959, Raymond and Sally Learn were married, and to that union three children were born, Cory Lyn, Kelly Rae and Brian Keith. In 1963 Raymond and Sally moved to Moscow Idaho, then returning home Raymond worked for Fogles equipment for many years. In 1965, the love of farming kept Ray and Sally bending ears. In 1973, they started farming and being the very successful farmer he was, Ray and Sally helped their neighbors with their resources. Raymond was a brother, husband, father, granddad, and great granddad, he worked hard, played hard, and drank a little whiskey. Raymond, Henry, Andy, and Fred loved those hunting and fishing trips and all that went with it. Growing up on the family farm with his three sisters, no wonder he had a little orneriness in him at times. Baseball was Ray’s passion. There was a lot of love, laughter, and hard work. Raymond is survived by his three children, Cory, Kelly, and Brian, grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and his three sisters, Marie, Judy and Bobby. The greatest gift he passed was being who God created him to be. Raymond was our hero at different times in our lives. A private Service for Raymond Lewis Hedrick was held at 155 West First Avenue in Colville, Wash., at the Danekas Funeral Chapel and Crematory on Tuesday July 8, 2025 at 1 p.m. Previous Item Next Item

Levi Richmond Walker — a community announcement published by the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville and Stevens County. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Births Levi Richmond Walker Levi Richmond Walker was born on Dec. 2, 2025, to parents Hope and Collin Walker of Republic, Wash. He weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces at birth, and has two brothers, Malachi Jones Walker, 3, and Isaiah James Walker, 1. His maternal grandparents are Leonor Hernandez of Phoenix, Ariz. and Augustine Hernandez of San Diego, Calif. His paternal grandparents are Howard Walker of San Diego, Calif. and Renee Walker, deceased. Previous Next LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Beardslee Scores Often as Northport Moves to 2-0 - local reporting from the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville, Stevens County, and Northeast Washington. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Beardslee Scores Often as Northport Moves to 2-0 December 10, 2025 By: Brandon Hansen Northport’s girls basketball team is just two games into the season, and Kate Beardslee has already proven herself as a potent sophomore scorer. The Lady Mustangs notched a hard-fought 43-36 victory over the visiting Chewelah Cougars on Friday, Dec. 5, in Northport’s tip-off tournament as Beardslee dropped 24 points. The next day, Northport toppled Springdale 60-38 as Beardlee led the squad with 18 points. There were defensive moments for the Lady Mustangs, and big offensive quarters as well. Against Chewelah, Northport found themselves down to the Lady Cougars 23-19 at halftime, but went on a 20-4 run in the third quarter to take command of the game. Chewelah went on a 9-4 run in the fourth, but it wasn’t quite enough to complete the comeback. Senior Kylie Colton added eight points, while eighth grader Liesel Stark notched four points. Chewelah’s Kayla Davis hit three three-pointers in the matchup and finished with 11 points, while Megan Watts added four points. A day later, the Lady Mustangs took on Springdale for the second day of Northport’s tipoff tournament, and the offense put up even bigger numbers in a 60-38 victory over the Lady Chargers. Beardlee’s 18 points were accented with 12 points apiece from Colton and Persephonie SteMarie. Northport had a five-point lead in the first quarter, then outscored the Lady Chargers 24-9 in the second for the 38-18 halftime lead. The Lady Mustangs then outscored Springdale by eight in the third quarter. After not hitting a single three-pointer against Chewelah, Northport hit four against Springdale. Colton swished two while Brooklyn Wilson hit from downtown and had eight points. Ruthie Heberling hit one and tallied seven points for the contest. Springdale was led by Asa Cannon’s 13 points. The Lady Mustangs faced Medical Lake on Tuesday, Dec. 9; results were not available at press time. The team is set to face the Columbia Lions in Hunters on Friday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. Previous Article Next Article LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES

Out of the Past: 07/23/2025 - local reporting from the Statesman-Examiner serving Colville, Stevens County, and Northeast Washington. LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES Out of the Past: 07/23/2025 July 23, 2025 By: Stevens County Historical Museum Columbia Restaurant in Addy about 1914. Photo courtesy Stevens County Historical Society. 100 Years Ago— Careful watching and hard fighting on the part of the patrolmen and the forest fire fighting organizations in Stevens County have kept the forest fires from destroying or doing damage to a large amount of property. Every day calls have been coming to the office of Supervisor J. Nugent in the Lane building of new fires, but the patrolmen are put on the job at once and the fires are put out before great headway has been made. Earl Broderick, driver of a truck for the Fred Draper Lumber Company, was given a fine of $25 with $10 of the fine suspended on order of the court by Justice A. L. Knapp on Monday. He was picked up by Mr. Renne, state highway officer, and charged with overloading his truck. 75 Years Ago— Kettle Falls and Northport will go after the Colville Valley Baseball Championship at the fairgrounds here Sunday. It’s against the law to fire BB guns in the city. City police warned this week that they would confiscate guns of youths found firing the guns in the city. Attempts to use Grand Coulee Dam for flood control are costing the Inland Empire logging industry thousands of dollars in lost time, in the opinion of J.M. Aston, president of the Roosevelt Log Owners Association. RICE—A new mercantile store at Rice is now assured. The buildings were destroyed by fire last January while owned by Claire Bryan. Dave Olson of Kettle Falls has purchased the former site from Bryan and is now putting in the foundation. 50 Years Ago— Although the recession had a strong impact in Stevens County in the past year, as it did everywhere else, its effect on business was less severe than in many other communities. George Cloakey, 40, of Waterville, has been named new basketball coach at Colville High School, Don Munson, superintendent of schools, announced Wednesday. Upon receiving a certificate of need from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and approval from the Washington State Hospital Commission, Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville is proceeding immediately with a $204,000 project to renovate its plumbing and heating system and to install air conditioning. 25 Years Ago— One of Colville’s most popular mayors, Helen White, was honored last Friday in downtown Colville. “Helen White Day” gave the retired mayor and local businesswomen an opportunity to be chauffeured by another popular former local mayor, Duane Scott. Greenwood Grange is ready to celebrate their 90 th anniversary. The Grange held meetings in various members’ homes or in the Meyers Falls Town Hall – what is now the Union Hall in Kettle Falls. 10 Years Ago— After several years of hope and planning, the Kettle Falls Library is expanding. A groundbreaking ceremony was held last Wednesday at the empty lot adjacent to the building on Meyers Street. Drought conditions are prompting state officials to prohibit or limit fishing on more than 30 rivers across Washington to help protect fish. Rivers included are sections of the Kettle River. Previous Article Next Article LOCAL NEWS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS SPORTS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FARM & RANCH GREAT OUTDOORS PROFILES OUT OF THE PAST LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CLASSIFIEDS ANNOUNCEMENTS EVENTS CALENDAR OBITUARIES