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Liberty Josephine Ringer — 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 Liberty Josephine Ringer Liberty Josephine Ringer was born on Nov. 28, 2025, to parents Sadie and Zach Ringer of Colville, Wash. She weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces at birth. Her maternal grandparents are Daryl and Arlene Grimbly of Plevna, Mont. Her paternal grandparents are Wade and Eva Ringer of Los Ángeles, Chile, South America. Her maternal great-grandparents are Ken and Edna Corne of Washington and Dick and Joyce Grimbly of Washington. Her paternal great-grandparents are Gene and Dorothy Ringer of Colville, Wash. and Rose Mary Barlow of Utah. 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

Freelance writing, photography, and journalism opportunities with the Statesman-Examiner serving Stevens County. Freelance Opportunities Join our network of local writers, photographers, and contributors. The Statesman-Examiner is always looking for passionate, community-minded individuals interested in contributing to our local coverage. Whether you’re an experienced journalist, an emerging writer, or a photographer with an eye for storytelling, we welcome your interest in helping us share the stories that matter to northeast Washington. Submit your information below, and our editorial team will reach out when freelance opportunities become available. Contact Information First name* Last name* Email* Phone* Professional Details Area(s) of Expertise* News & Community Government Business Sports Coverage Arts & Entertainment Photography Opinion / Columns Other (please specify) Short Bio or Background* Upload Samples or Portfolio Upload File Accepts: .pdf, .docx, .jpg, .png (Limit 3 files) Link to Online Portfolio or Website Availability Are you available for on-call assignments?* Yes No Preferred Coverage Area* Kettle Falls Colville Chewelah North Stevens County Central Stevens County South Stevens County Eastern Ferry County Other Areas I understand that freelance opportunities are offered on an as-needed basis and may be project-based or seasonal. Submit

John Matthew Wesley Johnson — 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 John Matthew Wesley Johnson John Matthew Wesley Johnson was born on June 23, 2025, to parents Jessica and Matthew Johnson of Colville, Wash. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces at birth. He has one sister, Shaylee, 4. His maternal grandfather is Mike Chappulz of Colville, Wash., and his paternal grandmother is Cheryl Johnson 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

Northport Basketball Fights to Remain a Top League Contender - 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 Basketball Fights to Remain a Top League Contender January 21, 2026 By: Brandon Hansen Northport Girls Drop Pair of League Games The Northport girls basketball team dropped a pair of Northeast 1B North games over the weekend after opening the week with a strong home victory. The Republic Tigers (13-0 overall, 9-0 league) remained unbeaten in league play with a 48-18 win over the visiting Northport Mustangs in Republic on Saturday, Jan. 17. Northport was also tested Friday night at home, falling 52-33 to the Curlew Cougars on Jan. 16. Curlew (11-4, 6-3) built a 26-19 halftime lead and never relinquished control. Annika Baker scored a game-high 18 points for the Cougars. Northport was led by Ruthie Hebarling with 10 points, while Kate Beardslee chipped in eight points. Northport had started the week with a 57-21 home win over Hunters Lions on Jan. 13. Beardslee led the Mustangs with a dominant performance, scoring 24 points and knocking down one of Northport’s two 3-pointers. Kylie Colton added 17 points, and Persephanie Ste. Marie scored seven as Northport jumped out to a 13-0 first-quarter lead and steadily pulled away. Northport held Hunters to eight field goals in the game. Liberty Herrara led Columbia-Hunters with 10 points. Results from the Mustangs’ matchup against Selkirk on Tuesday, Jan. 20, were unavailable at press time. The Mustangs will continue the week with scheduled games at Inchelium on Friday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m., then at Nespelem on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 4:30 p.m. Northport Boys Still in Control of NE 1B League The Northport boys basketball team went 2-1 in NE 1B North play last week, picking up a pair of decisive home wins before running into league contender Republic on the road. While they did suffer their first loss, the Mustangs stayed atop the NE 1B North standings. The Republic Tigers handed the Northport Mustangs an 81-37 loss in Republic on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Tigers improved to 7-2 in league play at 10-5 overall. Northport recorded a dominant 77-42 home win the previous night over the Curlew Cougars on Jan. 16. Earlier in the week, Northport turned in its highest-scoring performance of the season, cruising to a 95-58 win over the Hunters Lions on Jan. 13. The Mustangs are now 12-5 overall and 9-1 in league play. Results from their Tuesday, Jan. 20, matchup against Selkirk were unavailable at press time; the boys are scheduled to continue the week at Inchelium on Friday, Jan. 23, for the final game of the regular season at 7:30 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

Stensgar Scores 61 Points, Inchelium Basketball Finishes Third in League - 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 Stensgar Scores 61 Points, Inchelium Basketball Finishes Third in League January 28, 2026 By: Brandon Hansen The Inchelium boys basketball team balanced a loss to Northport with two NE 1B North victories, claiming third place in the regular season standings. Inchelium opened the stretch Jan. 20 with a commanding 97-23 nonleague win over Nespelem Warriors at home. The Hornets set the tone immediately, racing out to a 25-0 first-quarter lead and never letting up. Inchelium’s Gaige Stensgar delivered a historic performance, erupting for 61 points while knocking down an incredible 13 3-pointers. Stensgar accounted for nearly two-thirds of Inchelium’s offense as the Hornets finished with 15 triples as a team. Caleb Abrahamson added 13 points, while Derek Perez chipped in 11 as Inchelium cruised to the win. Inchelium fell to Northport on Jan. 23, leaving the Mustangs to finish the season as the NE 1B North champions. The Hornets bounced back on Saturday, Jan. 24, rolling past Hunters 64-40 on the road. Inchelium led 33-18 at halftime before pulling away with a 24-point third quarter. Stensgar again led the way with 18 points, while Abrahamson contributed 16 points. Hunters was led by Baren Sterling with 10 points. With the two wins, the Inchelium Hornets finished the regular season 15-4 overall and 9-3 league play. 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

Ode to an Older Time: Timothy Schirman - 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: Timothy Schirman August 20, 2025 By: Nancy Weigel Timothy Schirman teaching kids AutoCad. Photo courtesy Nancy Weigel. Timothy Schirman was born in Monroe, Wash., and said he spent most of his childhood there, attending and graduating from Monroe High School. Some of his favorite childhood memories include his time in the Boy Scouts, collecting Hotwheels (which he still does to this day), and hunting for his family with his father. Schirman said that they had to have a deer for everyone in their family, and even his sister had to get one. Schirman said he attended Spokane Community College and graduated with a degree in Architectural Technology; he also went to the University of Maryland and got his degree in Command and Control. He shared that he loved sports and played football as a center linebacker while in school. After graduation he enlisted in the Air Force, where he spent his next nine years. He traveled all around Pacific Asia, spending seven years of his time in the Philippines and visited Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and Cambodia. During his spare time in the Philippines, Schirman said he loved visiting an island that had a 100-foot tall waterfall at a pond; he shared that people could go behind the waterfall and sit when they got tired of swimming. Once, while at the waterfall, Schirman met a man who would climb up 50-foot palm trees and get coconuts for people for one peso per coconut. When Schirman left the Air Force, he had received a master sergeant ranking. He said his favorite thing about being in the Air Force was meeting people from all the different countries. Schirman married Shawntina Schirman on April 7, 1995, and they lived in a blended household with his step-daughter, Tabitha Neilson, and his daughter, Lacy Schirman. Schirman said one of the wildest things he's done was go white water rafting with kayaks; he said he and his wife would tie a raft in between their kayaks and his two daughters would ride on the middle raft. The family moved to Stevens County when Schirman took a job at Providence where he worked for21 years at Mt. Caramel, The Union, Catholic Charities, and was Chairman of Plans Committee for Habitat for Humanity. He said his main job was working on evacuation plans, and making health and safety plans. During this time, Schirman said he also toured schools for Providence, teaching students AutoCad, a software used for 2D and 3D design and drafting. Since retiring, Schirman said he loves fishing, working with wood, smoking meat, and researching off-the-grid living. He said the only thing he regrets is not going to Alaska when he was younger and “able to lead that kind of lifestyle.” Schirman said his favorite spots in Stevens County are Waitts Lake and the Colville River, both fishing spots for him. When asked if had any wisdom for the younger generation, he said “Put at least a dollar a day into savings, you'll thank yourself later.” 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

Edwards Scores 31 in Win Over Tri-Cities Prep - 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 Edwards Scores 31 in Win Over Tri-Cities Prep January 7, 2026 By: Brandon Hansen The Kettle Falls girls basketball team split two games over the winter break and Wyn Edwards continued to showcase herself as one of the standout players in northeast Washington. Kettle Falls opened the stretch with a 49-41 victory over Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars on Dec. 29 at West Valley High School. The Bulldogs led by slim margins throughout the contest and used a defensive effort to hold the Jaguars to single digits in the third quarter. Wyn Edwards delivered a standout performance, scoring 31 points to power Kettle Falls to the win. Cambria Thivierge added nine points. Grace Baerlocher led the Jaguars with 16 points. Kettle Falls returned home on Saturday, Jan. 3, and ran into a tough Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors team, falling 60-31. The Warriors built separation early, taking a 34-24 lead into halftime before pulling away in the second half. Naomi Molitor scored a game-high 21 points for Almira/Coulee-Hartline. The Warriors limited Kettle Falls to just 13 points in the second half. Thivierge led the Bulldogs with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, while Edwards finished with 11 points. Kettle Falls is now 3-9 on the season. The Lady Bulldogs played St. George’s on Tuesday, Jan. 6; results were not available at press time. The team is scheduled to play Chewelah on Friday, Jan. 9, 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

2B Boys Basketball Displays Grit and Rivalry - 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 2B Boys Basketball Displays Grit and Rivalry January 14, 2026 By: Brandon Jamsem Mace Thivierge. File photo. Chewelah-Kettle Showdown Worthy of Rivalry A busy week of Northeast 2B North action saw both the Chewelah and Kettle Falls boys basketball teams battle as league play tightened in January. Kettle Falls picked up a narrow 45-43 road win over Chewelah on Friday night, Jan. 9, behind a dominant scoring performance from Mace Thivierge. Thivierge poured in 23 points, accounting for more than half of the Bulldogs’ offense, as Kettle Falls improved to 7-7 overall and 3-3 in Northeast 2B North play. He knocked down three 3-pointers and went 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. Chewelah led 24-21 at halftime and took a 37-33 advantage into the fourth quarter, but the Cougars were held to just six points in the final period as Kettle Falls closed the game on a 12-6 run. Ryen McMillin led Chewelah with 14 points, while the Cougars also got eight points apiece from Asher Stancil and Frank Sety. Both teams finished with 16 fouls, and the game featured just seven 3-pointers in total. Kettle Falls Takes Down St. George’s Kettle Falls earned a convincing 62-44 home win over St. George’s on Jan. 6, setting the tone early with a 17-4 first quarter. Alex Mazanek scored 13 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Thivierge added 12 and Cooper McKern chipped in 11 points. Kettle Falls drained six 3-pointers and went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line in a balanced offensive effort. The Bulldogs led 39-15 at halftime and never allowed the Dragons to seriously threaten down the stretch. Liam Darcy paced St. George’s with 14 points. Chewelah Earns Home Win, Fall on the Road Chewelah opened the week with a strong 61-48 home victory over Davenport on Jan. 6, using a decisive fourth quarter to pull away. Grady Skok scored a game-high 18 points, while Stancil added 14 and Sety finished with 10 points. The Cougars outscored Davenport 19-10 in the final quarter to seal the win. Chewelah followed that win with a 55-49 road loss at St. George’s on Saturday, Jan. 10. McMillin scored 18 points to lead Chewelah, while Stancil added 10. The Cougars led 40-25 at halftime, but St. George’s outscored Chewelah 39-19 in the second half to complete the comeback. The split left Chewelah at 7-6 overall and 2-5 in Northeast 2B North play as the Cougars look to regroup heading into the heart of the league schedule. 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

Crimson Hawk Basketball Downs Riverside in Both Boys and Girls Leagues - 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 Crimson Hawk Basketball Downs Riverside in Both Boys and Girls Leagues February 4, 2026 By: Brandon Hansen Parker Darnold. File photo. Colville’s Darnold Lights Up Net in Win Over Riverside Parker Darnold scored 20 points to lift the Colville Crimson Hawks to a 57-52 NEA League boys basketball win over the Riverside Rams on Friday, Jan. 30. Colville (9-9, 1-3 NEA) has won three of their last four games in the tightly-matched league. The Crimson Hawks led by two points after the first quarter and never trailed in the second half, holding off a late Riverside push in the final minutes. Darnold finished with five field goals and went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, while knocking down three 3-pointers. Crew Bridgeman added nine points, Quentin Huggins scored 10, and Brock Benson chipped in six points as Colville hit seven shots from beyond the arc. Riverside (4-13, 0-4) was led by Justin Gaffaney, who scored 12 points. The Rams also connected on seven 3-pointers but were held to just nine points in the fourth quarter. The road win came three nights after Colville dropped a narrow 55-52 league decision at home to the Lakeside Eagles on Jan. 27. Darnold again paced the Crimson Hawks with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, but Lakeside outscored Colville by five points in the fourth quarter to pull away. Clay Hanson scored 18 points for the Eagles, who improved to 12-5 overall. Bridgeman added nine points, and Benson finished with 11 points. Colville hit seven 3-pointers but wasn’t at the free-throw line much, converting 5-of-9 attempts. With the win at Riverside, Colville picked up its first league win and sits at 1-3 in the NEA League behind Lakeside and Medical Lake. Results from Tuesday’s matchup at Medical Lake were unavailable at press time, and the Crimson Hawks are set to host Riverside next Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 7:15 p.m. Colville Girls Bounce Back With Lopsided Road Victory At Riverside The Lady Crimson Hawks responded emphatically after a league loss earlier in the week, rolling to a 58-21 NEA League girls basketball victory over the Riverside Rams on Jan. 30. Colville (11-6, 2-2 NEA) controlled the game from the opening tip, building a commanding lead and never allowing Riverside (0-17, 0-4) to find offensive rhythm. The Crimson Hawks’ defense remains very stout as Colville improved to .500 in league play. The decisive win came three days after Colville dropped a 49-36 conference decision at home to the Lakeside Eagles on Jan. 27. Lakeside built an early cushion and held Colville to just 16 points in the first half. Sienna Weinberger scored 13 points to lead the Eagles, while Jillian Owen added 10 points. Colville was paced by Georgia Beardslee and Andee Kroiss, who finished with 11 points apiece. The Crimson Hawks struggled at the free-throw line, shooting 13 of 28, and managed just one 3-pointer as Lakeside pulled away with a 15-4 advantage in the third quarter. Results from Colville’s NEA League matchup at Medical Lake on Tuesday, Feb. 3, were unavailable at press time. The Lady Crimson Hawks are scheduled to host Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 3:45 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

McMillin Crosses 1,000-Point Milestone as Chewelah Downs Colville - 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 McMillin Crosses 1,000-Point Milestone as Chewelah Downs Colville January 7, 2026 By: Brandon Hansen Chewelah's Ryan McMillin (center) celebrates his 1000th point with mother Cami and father Mike McMillin. Photo by Derek Dobell. The Chewelah boys basketball team closed out the holiday break with a strong bounce-back performance, rolling past the 1A Colville Crimson Hawks 75-48 in a nonleague matchup Saturday, Jan. 3, at home. Chewelah leapt to a 27-11 first-quarter lead and never let Colville recover. The Cougars continued to control the tempo throughout the game, outscoring the Crimson Hawks in three of the four quarters to improve to 7-4 overall on the season. Ryan McMillin and Grady Skok led a balanced Chewelah attack, scoring 14 points apiece. Asher Stancil added 12 points, while Franky Sety chipped in 11. The Cougars finished with 27 made field goals and went 17-for-25 from the free-throw line, using steady offense and defensive pressure to build a 44-23 halftime advantage. Colville was paced by Brock Benson with 12 points. The Crimson Hawks hit five 3-pointers. The win came on the heels of a 73-63 loss to the Tonasket Tigers on Dec. 30, also at Chewelah. In that contest, the Cougars stayed competitive but were ultimately undone by a torrid shooting night from Tonasket’s Tanner Tompkins. Tompkins poured in 35 points, knocking down six 3-pointers, while Isaiah Spangler added 25 points as the Tigers connected on 10 shots from beyond the arc. Tonasket led 37-34 at halftime and maintained control down the stretch. McMillin led Chewelah with 22 points in the loss, while Stancil added 20. Chewelah is now 6-4 on the year. Chewelah faced Davenport on Tuesday, Jan. 6; results were not available at press time. The team is scheduled to host Kettle Falls on Friday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 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

The Heart of Being in Public Service: Dorothy Knauss - 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 Heart of Being in Public Service: Dorothy Knauss November 12, 2025 By: Tamara Lee Titus Mayor Dorothy Knauss sits in her office, eager to hand the reins to Lindsay Baxter. Photo by Tamara Lee Titus. Dorothy Knauss is about to relinquish the reins of mayorship for a second time in her life after stepping into Chewelah’s interim mayor position in June; this time to the new incoming mayor, Lindsay Baxter. Before stepping down, she shared a little about her background and experience as a civil servant and elected mayor. According to Knauss, her family moved to Stevens County in 1946, when she was two years old, and moved to Chewelah when she was in the fourth grade. She said, “It was very interesting because I came into this building in the fourth grade, never dreaming that [one day] I would come in the door as mayor.” Describing her life’s trajectory, she recalled,“In high school, when we did our yearbook and they tried to predict what somebody’s future would be – mine was city clerk. I thought it was crazy. But in 1979, I was hired as city clerk.” Knauss said she has spent 46 years in public service, including roles such as city clerk, clerk/treasurer, city administrator, mayor and most recently, city council appointed interim mayor. After graduating from Jenkins High School in 1962, she worked as a legal secretary for two-and-half years for Larry Kristianson, who is now a retired Stevens County Superior Court judge. Knauss said she next worked at “Northwest Alloys for four years. I was the secretary to the raw materials and the ferroalloys departments and later a front line supervisor.”. Her calling to public service eventually came from her former boss. “Surprisingly enough, Larry Kristianson recommended me to the mayor, suggested that I apply, so I did,” she said. Once hired as city clerk, her career advanced into other positions, reaching city administrator in 1992. “Then I decided I wanted to retire,” she said of her first retirement. “In 1998, the mayor had dismissed his city administrator and asked me to come back. I came out of retirement to do this until 1999. Then I said, ‘That’s it, I am not going back.’” She continued. Knauss said her husband passed away from cancer in 2010. That’s roughly when she came out of her second retirement. “The then city administrator, Mike Frizzell, came and asked me if I would fill a position on city council that was vacant. He said, ‘Why don’t you put your letter in?’ So I did; I served a year-and-a-half on city council from 2012-13. And he said, ‘By the way, would you consider running for mayor?’ And I thought, ‘That’s just crazy!’” She consulted with her family, whom she assumed would advise her against it, “because the city administrator job can be pretty stressful. Instead they all said, ‘We just think that’s great.’ So, I did and I was mayor for eight years [2014-2021].” She then attempted a third time to retire. “At the end, in 2021, I could see that the city needed to move ahead in technology and just streamline the way we did things, and I did not feel like I had the mental energy to do that. So I decided not to run again,” Knauss said. In total, she said she has come back four times to the city. “After the new mayor was elected, it wasn’t long before he called me and said, ‘We have a vacancy on our civil service commission. Could you fill that?’ I came back a little over a year ago to fill that position, from late 2022 to early 2023.” When mayor Greg McCunn resigned on May 5, 2025, she was appointed by the council to come back until the elections. Despite enjoying retirement, she reported, “I was excited to come back because it was a situation where I was the only one who was really qualified. I probably have attended over 500 council meetings in my 46 years, from 1979-2025.” She described returning to conflict and tension. “We would have 100 people in council meetings, which is very unusual. There was a lot of tension between the community and within the council, and I felt like I could be a calming influence. I came back with the intent to calm things down and just keep things moving forward until the new mayor was elected. I have had a number of people tell me that the night I took the oath, you could feel the tension leave the room. That made me feel good,” she said. When asked how she explained her calming influence, she said, “I have a lot of historical knowledge of the city, but I know probably one of my best attributes is that I know, without a doubt, the role of the mayor and the role of the council. And, I don’t let them mix and that works well for everyone.” As for her role as interim mayor, she acknowledged, “They’re ready for a new administration now. I deliberately have not made changes or started anything new for obvious reasons – a new mayor is going to want to come in and have their own administration.” In terms of the new mayor, she said she has been meeting with Baxter to help him prepare. “We probably had four meetings by now, and we will have another one this next week. We spend a couple of hours just talking about what it means to be the mayor of a small town. It’s totally different from running a corporation or running a business. He doesn’t have experience in government; he has experience in business and he’s been on the board of the golf course… He attends all of our council meetings, so he has been absorbing what’s going on. I am confident he will do a good job.” She added, “He actually will take his oath the day the election is certified, Nov. 25, and then he will be mayor. I begged him to take his oath, not that I had to, he was very willing to do that. The sooner he gets started the better.” Knauss said some highlights from her time as mayor include creating a “Students in Government” program in conjunction with the local high school’s civic class. She said, “Every year, the city attorney and I would go over to the Civic’s class and talk to them about what a Second Class Code City is, which we are. Then we would challenge them to elect a mayor and seven council members to just mirror what we had here, a city attorney, a city administrator, clerk treasurer, and then the attorney and I would’ve thought of three scenarios of problems they had to solve as a council. When they were ready, we would bring them over and right before our normal council meeting, they would have their council meeting. They would do a mock council meeting, and they would solve these three areas. Then we would give them a critique after, and feed everybody pizza.” Although they don’t have this program currently, she said she has talked to Baxter about bringing it back. “My concern was that young people don’t really care about politics unless it affects what they’re doing.” Knauss continued, “We did fun things; the first one we had, we took a student who was not taking part in the council, but she was a really good actress in the Stage Time Theatre. We got her aside and got her to be a person that interrupted. Of course, they didn’t know anything about it, and here she just showed up, and started yelling at them about this, that and the other. It was hilarious!” She said she also created the Mayor’s Youth Award. “Every month someone could nominate a youth for something outstanding they had done and then we honored them with a certificate at the council meeting.”. During her mayorship, Knauss also served on a committee called the Association of Washington Cities Board of Directors for seven years, representing eastern Washington on the west side of the state. “I really felt like Olympia doesn’t understand what ‘rural’ is. The board of directors was 25 people and I often would tell them that ‘rural is not the area between Seattle and Tacoma. Come to eastern Washington and really see what rural means.’” Regarding being a mayor of a small town, she shared,“Sometimes it’s pretty stressful, sometimes the public doesn’t understand, but you try to remain calm and just put one foot forward, and go ahead and do what you need to do. But I have always had a real heart for the citizenry. When I ran for mayor the first time, I had written on the wall, ‘Every person has worth and deserves to be heard.’ And that was one of my campaign slogans. I think that made people feel they could come in and talk to me.” Mayor Knauss was presented with the Citizen of the Year award in 2021. “It was a big surprise,” she said. “I just thank the community. I felt their support through all the years, especially when I was mayor. So many people have thanked me for coming back and just being here. That is really rewarding. When people just care enough to say thank you.” When asked about the benefits of being a mayor, she said, “The satisfaction of doing something that really helps your community is probably the strongest pro. I never really cared for the title. I never really looked at myself as ‘Oh, I am the mayor;’ I looked at myself as I am a servant to the people of the city.” She also acknowledged that the salary isn’t very high, and added, “For seven-and-a-half years, I made $658 a month, gross. I think In the last six months that I was mayor before, they raised it to $1,000 a month. But you know, you really can’t do it for the money. And over the years, there has been some talk, ‘You should pay the mayor more money,’ but I really don’t want it to be a position you get in because you wanted the money. That’s just not the right reason.” She continued outlining more of the mayoral duties and personal highlights, “There’s a lot to it; I think you have to have a heart to really embrace the community and be part of the chamber [of commerce]. I am the first mayor, the [Spokane] tribe told me, that ever went down to Wellpinit to meet with the tribal council and introduce myself and say ‘How can we work together?’” She also relayed that she attended everything she could, and that she “never turned down an invitation to speak or to attend.” When asked if she ever felt nervous speaking, she replied,“I never speak with notes. I know what I need to talk about and I just speak from the heart. I think that resonates with people. They don’t want fancy words; they just want to know you as a person, and whether they can trust you or not.” When asked about how she dealt with criticism, she shared that, “It takes awhile to earn the confidence that you know what you’re doing.” She said, “Once you have that confidence and you have the confidence of the people, that they may not agree with you, but you’re always going to listen to them, I think that’s something that’s important. There’s been people over the years that haven’t liked me. You just have to treat them like people; I have never struck back at anyone. You’ve just got to take it. You have to keep the main thing the main thing, which is serving the city, and don’t get side-tracked by petty arguments or gossip that’s out there.” Reflecting on if she will return again at some point, Knauss replied, “This is it. I am 81 years old.” She is looking forward to spending more time with family now. She has three children, 13 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. “During the time I stopped being mayor and before [becoming mayor], I was an avid quilter. I quilted a lot, so hopefully I will get back to that,” she said. She added, “My main advice is to remember who you’re serving. You’re not serving yourself. You’re not serving a business. You’re serving the citizens of the city.” 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

Community Comes Together in Time of Need - 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 Community Comes Together in Time of Need November 12, 2025 By: Tamara Lee Titus Local food banks help the community. Cutline: Chewelah Food Bank volunteers. Photo by Tamara Lee Titus. “This community is very generous, very generous,” said Tiane Shoemaker, executive director of the Colville Volunteer Food & Resource Center. “They are seeing a need, and they don’t want their fellow community members going hungry,”. Six volunteers filled boxes for their outdoor market, assisted families, and organized stock as clients lined up outside, while Shoemaker led a tour of the facility. “We have 15 volunteers altogether,” she said, “with currently no need for more.” The help that they do request is mainly financial, because, “with money we can go and purchase exactly what we need,” she said. For those with food donations, she offered, “We could use eggs, canned goods (canned fruit mostly) and holiday items: flour, sugar, baked goods, stuffing, boxed scallop potatoes, anything and everything.” Tiane Shoemaker Colville Food & Resource Center. Photo by Tamara Lee Titus. Shoemaker reported, “We get stuff from local stores [Grocery Rescue], Second Harvest & Northwest Harvest. Our TEFAP [The Emergency Food Assistance Program] commodities come from the Arden Warehouse Rural Resources.” Numbers have increased lately at food pantries throughout the area, according to not only Shoemaker, but also Tina Rubio, director of Kettle Falls Community Chest. “Both us and Colville, our clients have [almost] doubled. I talked to [Shoemaker] the other day and she said she went from 250-280 up to almost 500. Ours have gone up from 160 to 220, just this last month. We got 31 new families this last month,” Rubio said. “It’s been crazy. Monday, we actually had a line going all the way down the street! I think they’re panicking; that’s what’s happening,” Rubio added. Shoemaker reported, “We have people coming from Republic. We used to do six to 10 boxes a day, now we are doing 28 boxes. In two days, we had 17 new households sign up.” Chewelah echoed similar conditions. “We had the busiest day we have ever had today, and I’ve been here 15 years,” stated Bill Steuber, Chewlah Food Bank board member and volunteer. “It was just crazy busy today.”. When asked what was needed for donations, Steuber said, “Money or hamburger, but mostly money.” Money is requested especially due to damage recently discovered in their eastern wall. “It needs $56,000 of structural repair and we don’t have the money. We’re trying to get a grant,” he said, adding, “We just found out about [the damage] a week ago… Merry Christmas.” These three local food pantries/food banks are not doing Thanksgiving boxes this year. Steuber explained, “We don’t do turkeys anymore; we haven’t for years. So, we give out $30 gift cards, to buy a turkey or whatever. I don’t know if everybody heard that this was the first day we’d be giving them out, but we had 20 people in line at 9 a.m.” In Kettle Falls, Rubio said, “No Thanksgiving boxes; what we are handing out is Thanksgiving items throughout the month. We will have some turkeys, but not like we normally do. We used to put together boxes, it would take two days to put all these boxes together, people would pre-sign-up. Then, half of them wouldn’t show up. We would have to unbox all the boxes… it got to be a lot, so we decided, ‘Let’s try this a different way and see if this works.’ Because we do have a couple of businesses that would donate a bunch of turkeys and stuff like that.” Rural Resources division director Aja Bridge summed it up with, “[The local food pantries] are so busy and overwhelmed with day-to-day work, they gotta just keep it going instead of trying to do something really different for the holidays.” Rubio elaborated, “We are an emergency food bank, so our goal is to feed people for two to three days. We do a lot more here than that. We also provide personal hygiene items and pet food; little things. We are always telling donors that we can take personal hygiene, laundry soap, dish soap, any of that stuff. And we can take it in big containers because we break it all down and make it in smaller containers too, to give away. We can use ziplock bags, we use a lot.” She also emphasized financial donations and shelf stable items such as chili, soup, canned fruit, tuna, any type of protein, and cold cereal. Rubio said she posts regularly on their Facebook page listing their current needs. Becky Esvelt, Kettle Falls Community Chest volunteer and board member, added to the list of items needed: “Things their kids can cook for themselves.” Explaining why financial contributions are helpful, Rubio continued, “We prefer money because I can get discounts that other people can’t. They can’t walk into the grocery store and say, ‘I’m buying donations for a food bank, can I get a discount?’ I can walk in and say, ‘This is for the food bank. What kind of discount can you give me?’” Becky Esvelt & Tina Rubio Kettle Falls Community Chest. Photo by Tamara Lee Titus. The three nonprofits expressed their gratitude for the community’s help. Rubio said, “The community really has stepped up; we have been getting some really good donations.” Steuber also acknowledged donations from the community have increased over the last three years; “I am happily shocked,” he said. Rubio mentioned that they could always use more volunteers; “We’re always rotating them somewhere, and we are always looking for extra drivers,” she said. In Chewelah, Steuber reported, “We have enough volunteers, but we could always use some reserves. For the most part, we like to have some people that help out when people are down. You don’t want too many people in here, because it’s small and you’d be running into each other.” Rural Resources is also a key player in providing food where it’s needed. Bridge added that, regarding their role in the distribution of resources, “We are a food bank for the tri-counties [Stevens, Ferry, and Pend Oreille]. We receive food that comes from the state, and then we distribute that out to our tri-county partners. We also are the re-distribution organization for some of the larger statewide hunger-relief partners like Second Harvest and Northwest Harvest; we are receiving food from all these different organizations here in Arden…We re-package…and then we deliver that out to our food pantries. We also bring them Grocery Rescue from Walmart.” Mark Lauth Rural Resources Arden Warehouse Worker. Photo by Tamara Lee Titus. In explaining the bigger picture of the resource allocation, she stated, “A lot of pantries have many sources of food, [for example] they might do their own Grocery Rescue, they get their own donations, and then they get the food from us. So, they are all trying to do the best they can with food that comes in from all these different sources.” According to Bridge, there are 17 food pantries in the tri-county area and those are all listed on their website, along with food drives and drive-up events, such as those offered by Second Harvest. “We also have our mobile food pantry, which is direct client services. We go out to very rural areas that have limited food access, and we set up a mobile food pantry right there and people can get the food for free,” she stated. “We are hosting a drive up event on Nov. 19, which is not something we normally do, but we are trying to just help meet the need,” Bridge continued. “Knowing that there’s so much demand already at the pantries, we will have a drive up food giveaway right here in Arden, at the Warehouse, so hopefully, this will help.” This event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 657 Elm Tree Drive according to their website. Bridge explained the increased need due to the impact from the federal government shutdown and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits being cut. “Even before the shutdown, everyone was already seeing an increased need. So there were already higher client visits, people struggling with increased costs and everything else. That is not going away. It’s consistent across the state, since 2020 the numbers just climbed every year. This state normally releases numbers to compare client visits at pantries and, for the first time, they released numbers comparing east side to west side of the state, rural and urban, and they showed that rural areas and eastern Washington are being impacted the hardest.” “And we have the least amount of food,” added Alaina Kowitz, Rural Resources community and outreach manager. “The $2.2 million that Governor Ferguson announced is great, wonderful, yet our three counties get a really small piece of that. We’ll use it to buy extra food, but it does not in any way replace SNAP or compare to the gap,” Bridge said. Kowitz elaborated, “For our fifth congressional district, it’s $32 million of SNAP [cut], so $2.2 million across the whole state is like a drop in the bucket; it doesn’t fill the gap.” Regarding the increase in numbers in Chewelah, Steuber said, “I don’t know if it’s because SNAP money is running out…I don’t know if that would be what’s making the difference because most of the people on SNAP shop here anyway.” According to Shoemaker, “What happened is that during the pandemic, SNAP and EBT went to their maximum level, and our clientele household dropped way down. Now that things have shifted, and they’re not losing their SNAP funding, it went back to what it was normally – except for this month because of the congress, [government shutdown] it was delayed. It’s going to eventually fall, but it depends on congress.” Regarding the governor’s support, Shoemaker said, “Washington state is putting out $2.2 million to the food banks. I am actually classified as a pantry. I don’t get that directly; it goes to Rural Resources, Northwest Harvest and Second Harvest. Those big distribution centers are the food banks.” Shoemaker continued, “If you are in another community, catch up with your local food pantry and see what they are in need of. Everyone is seeing an increase right now in neighbor helping neighbor.” Kowitz said, “If people wanted to donate to Rural Resources to redistribute out to the food pantries, the Ag Trade center is accepting food donations on our behalf. We will pick them up or the Colville office has a drop off box.” Upcoming food drives are listed on their website. “We will also accept funds that can be specified for food purchases,” Bridge added. As indicated on a sign in their Nutrition Warehouse in Arden, 1,103,032 pounds of food was distributed to their tri-county partners last year. Bridges emphasized, “It is the communities that I think are going to help everyone get through this. It’s everyone jumping in together, the churches, the faith-based groups and the schools, who are looking out for the kids…but it’s going to be a whole community effort.” Kowitz added, “Even if the government opens up next week, people will still be impacted past that. This shut-down will really have a ripple effect in the coming months, so I do think it’s important for community members to know that even if, and when things open back up again, local support is really needed through the new year, if not longer. Any support that folks can give is really appreciated and needed.” For more information: Colville Volunteer Food and Resource Center https://colvillefoodbank.org/ 210 S. Wynne St. Colville, WA 99114 (509) 684-2971 Kettle Falls Community Chest https://www.kffoodbank.org/ 472 Meyers Street Kettle Falls, WA 99141 (509) 738-2326 Chewelah Food Bank https://chewelahfoodbank.weebly.com/contact-the-bank.html 302 E Main Street Chewelah, WA 99109 (509) 936-9155 Rural Resources https://ruralresources.org/ 956 South Main Street Colville, WA 99114 Arden Warehouse 657 Elm Tree Dr Colville, WA (509) 684-8421 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