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Thai Restaurant Opening in Chewelah - 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 Thai Restaurant Opening in Chewelah November 5, 2025 By: Brandon Hansen After three years of serving up Thai flavors at the Chewelah Farmers Market, Thai StreetFood by Nina is taking the next big step in opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant inside the Chewelah General Store (209 E. Main Ave.) on Nov. 20. According to owner and chef Niranut “Nina” Peck, the new location will be open Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and will feature a special Saturday BBQ menu from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. “We are so excited – we will be able to provide another option for the community to eat and enjoy our food,” said Peck. Peck’s inspiration for cooking comes from her mother, she said, who raised her as a single parent in Thailand by selling food on the street each morning. “We sold food on the side of the street every early morning till noon," Nina said. "My mum and I woke up at 4 a.m. to prepare food before I started school. Then at like 8 a.m. I would go to school, and she would cook and sell food by herself until noon.” Though Peck admitted she didn’t love waking up before dawn as a teenager, she said the lessons stuck with her. “At that age, I really hated to wake up and cook, but since moving out of my mum’s place, I realized cooking is still in my blood," Peck said. "I just hated waking up at 4 a.m. and not being able to sleep in and enjoy time.” Peck said she learned to cook entirely from her mother and through her own curiosity. “I learned all from my mum and some dishes I learned from TV and YouTube since I love cooking so much,” she said. “Sometimes when I have a chance to go to a hotel buffet in Thailand, if I have a chance, I talk to the chef and get some trick or secret from them too.” Although she’s never owned a restaurant before, Peck has years of experience cooking, selling, and learning from professional chefs. "I have never done a restaurant before in my life,” she said. “But when I was in Thailand, I had opportunities to be mentored by several chefs." After moving to Chewelah nearly three years ago, Peck said she quickly found a home in the town’s farmers market community. “I first started being a food vendor at the Chewelah Farmers Market…then I fell in love with all my vendors at the market, the town, and people here,” she said. “Most of them are so kind, helpful, and sweet. And I had a lot of good feedback about my food, so I decided to start my first business here.” Thai StreetFood by Nina will feature a rotating menu of authentic Thai dishes. “Our types of dishes we would like to serve are curry, stir-fried, soup, some noodles, and more special Thai dishes each day,” Peck said. Customers will be able to dine in, take out, or order catering, and Peck said she plans to continue offering creative specials and seasonal flavors. Peck said the community’s support has been overwhelming since announcing the opening. “I’m so surprised, everyone is so supportive and encouraging. They have been very positive and excited for us to open,” she said. “We just wanted to have something fun that celebrates food, family, and community,” Peck added. “We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there.” 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

Northport Volleyball Secures Fifth Place Playoff Seed - 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 Northport Volleyball Secures Fifth Place Playoff Seed November 5, 2025 By: Brandon Hansen The Northport Mustangs battled through a grueling stretch of postseason volleyball, bouncing back from an early loss to finish fifth place in the Northeast 1B tournament, and advance to the District 6 1B playoffs. The Mustangs opened tournament play on Thursday, Oct. 30, dropping a 3-1 match at home to Valley Christian. The visiting Panthers (10-8, 8-6) proved resilient in the opening-round matchup. Northport responded with determination in the evening match, sweeping the visiting Panthers 3-0 to stay alive. Northport then traveled to Wellpinit Nov. 1, for the next stage of tournament play but fell 3-0 to Wilbur-Creston. That loss set up a fifth-place showdown with Republic later in the day. In the evening contest, the Mustangs put together one of their best performances of the postseason, sweeping Republic 3-0, a team that previously defeated them in the regular season. The victory lifted Northport to a 14-5 overall record and secured fifth place in the tournament. With the result, Northport advanced to the District 6 1B tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Rosalia High School. Game results were not available at press time. 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

Local Paper Carrier Celebrates One Year on the Job - 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 Local Paper Carrier Celebrates One Year on the Job August 20, 2025 By: Emma Lee Conyer While some 13-year-olds may spend their after-school hours scrolling through phones or playing video games, Blake Nance of Colville has spent his Tuesdays over the last year delivering newspapers. This month marks Nance’s first anniversary of delivering papers for the Statesman-Examiner , a job he calls “the best first job.” At just 13 years old and heading into eighth grade at Colville Junior High, Nance has already built strong connections across town. “I like meeting everyone and seeing their businesses,” Nance said. “I’ve gotten to know people and have conversations. It’s fun seeing places I might want to work in the future.” Nance’s route stretches across Colville; he said it takes him two to three hours each week to complete, depending on the weather, which can be the hardest part of the job. “There was one week in December I had to go through a snowstorm, and this week it's been super hot,” he said. His motivation is a mix of short-term treats and long-term goals. “I’m saving for my first car,” Nance said. “And I like being able to buy gifts for people with my own money.” Along the way, other perks of the job have also given him more motivation. “I get fun tips sometimes, like cookies, fancy coins, candy, and pizza slices,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like a celebrity. People even gave me cool stuff for my birthday and Christmas.” Nance’s route has also opened his eyes to places in Colville he was not familiar with. He said that living outside of town, he hadn’t spent much time walking through Colville. Now, he said, “I like walking around town. I see old businesses close and new ones open. It’s cool.” He said he’s even learned a bit of local history along the way. “Some people didn’t know there were still paperboys. They tell me how they used to do it on bikes and throw the papers on porches. I think that would be fun.” Nance said he first heard of the paper carrier job from his grandmother when she noticed him working hard at yard work and asked if he’d be interested in a paper route. He said he was nervous on his first day, especially walking into businesses to hand deliver papers to people he did not know, but now he moves with confidence and curiosity. 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

Northport Boys Stack Personal Bests at 1B Regional Cross Country Meet - 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 Northport Boys Stack Personal Bests at 1B Regional Cross Country Meet November 5, 2025 By: Brandon Hansen Northport’s boys turned in a wave of personal-best (PR) performances at the District 6 1B regional at Colfax Golf Club on Oct. 31, punctuating a steady, late-season climb against a deep field. Sophomore Trae Smith led the Mustangs with a 22 nd -place finish in 18:22.3 (PR), pacing a pack of seven Northport runners who all crossed within approximately two-and-a-half minutes of one another. Senior Pete Beardslee was next in 30 th at 19:03.4, with sophomores Canyon Hoskins (35 th , 19:39.0 PR) and Cameron Mawdsley (37 th , 19:44.4 PR) close behind to keep Northport’s scoring tight. Fresh faces rounded out the effort: freshman Isaiah Kingsbury clocked 20:20.1 (47 th , PR), eighth-grader Ty Smith ran 20:30.1 (48 th ), and freshman Hunter Creach posted 21:00.6 (51 st , PR). Valley Christian senior Wesley Hendrickson won the race in 16:04.1, followed by Chesterton Academy’s Gabriel Cary (16:21.0) and Colton’s Tanner Baerlocher (16:28.5). 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

Citizens Weigh in on Vote-At-Home Effectiveness - 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 Citizens Weigh in on Vote-At-Home Effectiveness September 24, 2025 By: Chloe Harrington Stevens County Auditor Lori Larsen partnered with the auditor of Pend Oreille County, Marianne Nichols, to support Washington's vote at home system through their op-ed, “Vote-at-Home is the Law – and it Works.” Larsen said t it began with a call from a local Stevens County voter. “[The voter] wanted to check in with me and make sure that I remained confident in the security, effectiveness, and integrity of voting by mail,” Larsen said. “He invited me to share my thoughts more broadly, and I thought that was excellent encouragement. I wanted to [show] how we got here and the processes that came out of voter desire.” Nichols stated her eagerness to join Larsen, saying, “My biggest hope is that people will understand that vote-at-home is safe, but to also try and answer some other questions that are out there; there is a lot of disinformation.” Larsen said, “I wanted to [show] how we got here and the processes that came out of voter desire.” The op-ed stated, “As county auditors in Washington state, we serve in the executive branch of local government and are responsible for administering elections in accordance with state and federal law. That includes elections for local, state, and federal offices. The U.S. Constitution grants states the authority to conduct federal elections, and Congress sets certain minimum standards.” The op-ed continued, “Here in Washington, our legislature has determined that vote at home is the official method of conducting elections – and that’s not just the law, it’s a system that works.” After sharing the op-ed with their colleagues of the Washington State County Auditors, it was cosigned by “23 elected elections professionals from across the state – underscoring the shared confidence in the transparency, access, and integrity of Washington’s vote at home system.” Larsen said, “For those of us that work in this space, we know this is tight. It is predictable. Our processes and machinery are accurate, but not everybody lives in this role. So this inquiry from the Stevens County voter was my prompt: it's time to say this again, [vote-at-home is] accurate, and folks deserve to be reassured. “Of course,” Larsen continued, “you see a number of bills filed in the Washington state legislature every session concerning elections.” In a single legislative session as co-chair of the legislative committee for the Washington State Association of County Auditors, Larsen said she tracked 70 bills that would directly affect county auditors, 40 of which were elections related. She said, “Some of those seek to go back to in-person voting [and] precinct level ballot tabulation, but those are not bills necessarily getting committee time. It's more about having the conversation, I think. And I'm grateful for repeated opportunities to speak to the strength of the system that we have now.” Larsen said that the citizen who initially inquired about vote by mail “was watching the conversation nationally,” when several days prior President Trump stated his intent to eliminate vote-by-mail. “These concerns turned citizens to their local officials to find out what they think,” she said. “A lot of people, especially in rural areas, consume their news through a national source or lens. It is what comes on their cable, so they don’t necessarily have the same level of understanding or expertise [about] how Washington does business when it comes to elections.” The chair of the Stevens County Democrats and official election observer, Lisa Wolfe, said, “I think that [the] support across the state was fabulous. It's actually pretty amazing to watch them go through the process and elections.” The op-ed presented that “vote-at-home works because it reflects the way people live.” It stated, “Voters can take their time, read through ballot measures and voter pamphlets, and return their ballots from home – or in-person – when it’s convenient for them. Participation is easier and more deliberate, especially for those with demanding jobs, caregiving duties, limited mobility, or long travel distances to the nearest polling place.” Nichols said that the process allows voters to “spend time actually engaging in the process and to think through it.” She continued, “We've really tried to take everything into consideration and make it as easy as possible for people; we even pay for the postage to come back to us now.” Wolfe added, “I view moving away from voting by mail as a problem [because] it feels like it is a backdoor attempt at voter suppression in our state, and I don't support that at all.” She continued, “Vote by mail has opened up voting to people who would not be able to make it to a polling place on Election Day. They are open from seven to seven, but you have people who work. You [have] kids; you got to pick up from school; you got to make dinner. It is so hard to put everything into a day. It doesn't make sense to throw one more thing at them – that they have to be in a certain place at a certain time. Going back to one day would allow way too many people to not be able to do it. It is that inflexible, and absentee ballots would not take care of it.” The op-ed said, “Years ago, when absentee voting required a specific excuse, voters steadily requested more flexibility. Our legislature responded – first by expanding absentee access, then by allowing counties to convert to vote at home elections where it made sense.” Larsen said that the difficulties processing ballots in the 2004 Washington gubernatorial election between Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi also prompted the state to find more cost effective avenues. The op-ed continued, “In 2011, Washington became one of the first states in the nation to adopt vote at home as the statewide standard – a move built on decades of experience, careful planning, and voter trust.” The chairman of the Election Integrity Committee, Eric Simpson, said, “Initially, it was sold to people as a very convenient way to vote – which it is. But I think when it was rolled out, people were a little more trusting of the government than they are now. I know from what I have seen through the precinct caucuses in the county convention – the feedback I got from the citizens that showed up – [voters] were very concerned about the elections.” He also commented on the op-ed, “Personally, I think she did a good job describing the conventional thinking of how vote by mail works. But I don’t think that she did a good job addressing a lot of the concerns that people have about the vulnerabilities of mail-in voting.” Larry Batterton, the chair of the Stevens County Republican Central committee, said, “Having several other people on my committee read through [the op-ed], the common response was [that we] don't argue with the points that she wrote. The veracity and the professionalism of the county election office is not a question that we have, and we have put this in the form of a resolution in the past. But it's a narrow picture of the larger voting issue. It is other pieces of the election puzzle that really caused me concern about mail-in voting in general. Voter fraud is a real concern among most conservatives, and I believe even some liberals. And that's the reason that most conservatives, including our Central committee, are very in favor of going back to vote in person and proof of ID.” Explaining the vote-at-home process, the op-ed stated, “Ballots can be returned in-person and into secure storage at the County Auditor’s Office, via any official drop box, or through the United States Postal Service. In addition, voters can sign up at VoteWA.gov to receive text notifications tracking their ballot’s journey – from issuance to acceptance.” Larsen said that she chose the phrase “vote at home” for the op-ed “as an acknowledgement that some people are unsure about the U.S. Postal Service.” Nichols agreed that the ID verification is the biggest contention, but “that's not what the law requires at this point.” She said, “If the law changes, absolutely, we'll do what the law tells us to do. But right now, the law is written. So we can make sure people at home get that ballot.” She continued, “We have so many checks and balances in place. The signatures are the big thing we check. People don't always believe us, but we check every single signature that comes in. We all have to be trained through state patrol training every single year on it. We take [it] seriously if there is somebody that's voting inappropriately.” The op-ed stated, “We are proud of our dedicated elections staff, whose professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to transparency are at the heart of every successful election.” Nichols said that in her 19 years as Pend Oreille County auditor, she has seen only three or four instances of forgery, “and they've been taken care of.” Larsen said, for example, “If you go back to the unanticipated state-wide recount of last year's primary in the commissioner of public lands race, I think that state-wide there were just a tiny handful of adjustments made to the final vote count. Our results after hand counting every single ballot cast in Stevens County resulted in zero change in vote counts.” Nichols said that Pend Oreille had the same success in the recount, which “spoke volumes” to her confidence in the system. Wolfe said, “I've observed the county's processing of ballots using vote by mail. They're very professional; the procedures that they use are defined by the state. It's actually pretty amazing to watch them go through the process.” Simpson has also observed at the county center multiple times and said, “I have never seen anything in that office that would cause me any concern. The issues that I see primarily are [that] the voter rolls are not well maintained. There does not seem to be a lot of proactive effort on the part of the county auditors to ensure that the voter rolls are accurate. For example, in the 2024 election there were seven votes counted from the [395 Chewelah Business Plaza], and that's not a residential address.” Batterton said that, while Stevens County verifies signatures manually, the signatures prove the citizenship of the voter without correct voter rolls. “There are major questions of the completeness of the voter rolls in Washington and whether they meet federal standards; one of those standards is verification of citizenship.” According to Batterton, Harmeet Dhillon of the federal Department of Justice elections department requested that the Washington Secretary of State (SOS)– as well as around 20 other states – present all voting registration records. He said, “It's difficult to get information on the voter rolls in Washington, because the state tends to block avenues that reveal that information.” Several years ago, the SOS promoted legislation that limited voter data access to once per month, Batterton explained. “There were people gathering data – [finding out if] there are significant numbers of double votes –[but] it's a matter of being able to track that frequently enough that you can see statistical information.” Simpson said, “After 2020, a lot of blue states passed laws prohibiting access to the electronic images of the ballots – and this specifically did happen in Washington. So instead of addressing the concerns that people had with possibly the count not being accurate, it looks like they just tried to make it more difficult for people to have access to be able to verify that the results are accurate.” Nichols said, “The last few elections, we've seen another side of things for people who don't love it. They want to vote in person.” The op-ed stated, “We believe that changing or eliminating Washington’s vote at home model is not necessary, not efficient, and not more secure. It would impose significant costs, reduce accessibility, and dismantle a system that has earned the trust of millions of Washington voters. We often hear from voters who wish results could be finalized on election night. We understand that desire – but elections are large, complex operations.” Simpson responded that he believes “part of the reason they're so complex is because of mail in voting. When it was done at a precinct level, it was actually a very simple operation. It would require more people on election day to administer the elections, but you wouldn't have people in there counting ballots for six or seven weeks with early voting.” However, Larsen and Nichols continued in their op-ed, “In our field, there’s a well-known principle: you can have two of the following – fast, accurate, or affordable – but not all three at once. If speed were the top priority, we would need to dramatically expand staffing, technology, and overnight operations. Returning to polling-place voting would multiply costs even further. Staffing polling sites, facilities, purchasing equipment, training workers, and providing oversight to ensure those duties are performed without error or fraud – all of it would be enormously expensive. And for what gain? Not greater accuracy. Not better security. Just more cost, more complexity, and less access. We prioritize accuracy and fiscal responsibility. Vote-at-home allows us to serve all voters while using public funds efficiently and transparently. It reflects the lessons we’ve learned over decades of service.” Nichols said, “Pend Oreille, for over 20 years, has been doing it this way. I can't imagine what that would look like – having to conduct two separate elections. Because you're going to have the majority of people that still want to vote at home and a handful of them who want to vote at polling places. We [would have] to set up polling places for just a handful of people.” For more information about the op-ed or at-home voting, contact the Stevens County auditor’s office at 509-684-7511. 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

Chewelah Dominates District 6 1B/2B Cross Country Championships - 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 Chewelah Dominates District 6 1B/2B Cross Country Championships November 5, 2025 By: Brandon Hansen The Chewelah Cougars cross country teams are peaking at the perfect time. Behind a pair of elite individual performances from seniors Emmitt Warren VIII and junior Amber Eppel, Chewelah captured the boys’ team title and shared the girls’ top score at the District 6 1B/2B Regional Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31, at Colfax Golf Club. Warren once again proved why he’s one of the best runners in the state, blazing through the course in 15 minutes, 15.5 seconds – the fastest 1B/2B time recorded in Washington this season. The senior’s dominant run powered Chewelah to a 33-point team victory, outpacing perennial powerhouse Freeman (39) and Northwest Christian (75). But he isn’t the only one on the Cougars roster to impress. Justice Whittekiend took fourth place in 16:08.7, followed closely by Blake Schlining (eighth, 16:43.8), Francis Sety (ninth, 16:46.2), and Kyle Foster (11 th , 16:51.6). Chewelah has five runners in the top 25 times for the state in 1B/2B this season. Chewelah’s strong depth was on full display, with Titan Tapia (30 th , 18:06.4) and Jayden Miller (33 rd , 18:11.7) rounding out a full varsity squad heading to state. On the girls’ side, Eppel continued her breakout junior season by finishing second overall in 18:36.3, trailing only Saint George’s senior Regan Thomas (18:00.9). Eppel’s time ranks second-fastest in Washington among all 1B/2B girls, placing her firmly in contention for a state title. Chewelah’s girls tied Saint George’s with 74 points but settled for second on a tiebreaker, underscoring the tight competition at the top. Freshman Josie Carter ran an impressive 20:04.4 to place 13 th , followed by Rin Parsons (21 st , 20:47.6), Mei Parsons (26 th , 21:18.9), and Elise Warren (27 th , 21:19.4). Diana Durham (42 nd , 22:20.5) and Liberty Whittekiend (54 th , 22:58.2) also qualified for state. Kettle Falls also produced state qualifiers on both sides. Isabella Tiwebemal finished 28 th in 21:21.7, and Mason Reeves earned an 18 th -place finish in 17:25.7. Both Chewelah squads and individual Kettle Falls runners are headed to the WIAA State Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on Nov. 8. 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

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