NEWS UNBROKEN
DAILY NEWS 7-19-2024
(upbeat music) We've made it to Friday. Yeah, the weekend right around the corner. It's gonna be a hot one. Eric Carpenter with you. This is KCVL, KCRK. I got a couple things just to mention before we really talk about the news. And that is one. If you are driving off 395, probably a good idea not to drive Buena Vista. You've got a long stretch of one lane road up there on Buena Vista. The Avista contractors are putting gas lines along the side of Buena Vista up there near where the new homeless apartment buildings are being built by rural resources and Catholic charities. They've got that land pretty much all cleared off. They've got the sewer line pipe and everything laying out there ready to get the infrastructure put in for the big government apartment buildings. But traveling Buena Vista Road right now, a little challenging. You're gonna find some delays at times because it is one lane as they are going down the north side of the road with new gas lines. The other, the work that the Avista contract crews did on the south end of Colville, we'll call it shoddy at best. If you're driving on 395 just south of the roundabout, you're going to encounter the patch job these contractors did with about an inch, inch and a half dip in the roadway where they put in the new asphalt and that hopefully either the city or the State Department of Transportation is going to call those contractors back in to repair the road properly. You got a pretty good road there until some guys start cutting holes and that and then don't fill them in properly. So kind of watch yourself if you're driving a motorcycle, watch where you drive. Maybe don't go through that patch job because it's got a pretty good dip. So hopefully one of the two agencies, either the city or the Department of Transportation will get those contractors that did that work back in. Beyond that, maybe you stayed up and watched the entire, if you watched the entire Republican convention coverage last night on TV, you saw a lengthy affair. A lot of energy. The party has really, at least at the convention there, come together wholeheartedly. Good production, some good speeches, lengthy at times, but yeah, what a difference. You see this full fledged convention put on by the Republicans and no matter what, whether Joe Biden continues on as president or goats on the ballot or not, the Democrats aren't even planning a convention. They are going to do everything virtually. Maybe they think, oh, they were so successful during COVID and that and Joe Biden staying in his basement out of sight for the last time around. Maybe that's the way everything is going to continue on with a virtual convention for the Democrats. Very Republican convention is done. Donald Trump accepting the challenge and was a very energetic crowd last night. All around the Pacific Northwest, at least Northeast Washington, North Idaho, cool down a little bit over in Puget Sound today, but we still have the heat advisory in effect and in fact, the heat warning continuing on into next week, hot temperatures. Over the weekend, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, we could actually get 107 degrees here in Colville. Overnight lows right down around 60. Colville, Kettle Falls, Northport, Inshelium, shall we love the entire area. Heat advisory in effect until Saturday and then an excessive heat warning on through Monday. So with this hot weather does increase the risk of heat-related illness, especially if you don't have cooling or adequate hydration, make sure, drink plenty of fluids. Try and stay cool, stay out of the direct sun. Also, you know, check up on relatives, neighbors, friends, make sure they're doing okay and make sure that your pets and livestock have plenty of fresh water. The Kettle Falls School District is currently seeking a skilled and reliable bus driver for the 2024-2025 school year. Accelerate your career in this high-demand field. As a bus driver, you will be transporting students and staff on regular school routes and extracurricular activities, such as field trips. Be a part of our team and help us continue to provide safe and efficient transportation to our community. Apply online at kfschools.org or call 509-738-6625 for more information. - Well, last weekend was the big governor's cup walleye tournament on Lake Roosevelt. Great turnout, some good fishing. Here's results on the walleye tournament. - My name is Ruth Griggs. I'm with the Lake Roosevelt Walleye Club and I am the tournament director for the 2024 governor's cup walleye tournament. - It was great. It was actually a fantastic turnout. Last year, we had 26 boats. This year, we had 37. So we had 11 more boats this year. We always pay off a big fish award. Had some great big fish come in. Day one big fish was won by Robbie Evans and Josh Judd. That was a 6.69 pound fish. Day two was won by Donnie Graham and Craig Berger and 8.5 pound fish. Big Stringer Awards. Day one went to James and Heidi Stanley. Second place was Robbie Adams and Josh Judd. Third place was Greg and Ronald Jablonski and split with Connor and Cave McCurn. They both had 14.36 pounds of fish. Day two, first place was Chad Halverson and Aaron Weets. Second place was Ron Charlton and Jeb Race. Third place was Don Graham and Craig Berger. We also had a female award for the top female, which was sponsored by Colville Toyota. First place was Heidi Stanley. Second place was Amanda Burnett. And third was Mary Lee Weets. Our youth awards for first place youth was sponsored by Country Chevy and our first place youth was Asher Agan. Second place was Easton Race and Andrew Pinyon was third place. We also have another award. We do the top placing ranger boat sponsored by Spokane Valley Marine. And that was won by Ron Charlton and Jeb Race. Then the big governor's cup was won by Chad Halverson and Aaron Weets. Top placers for the overall top 10 winners. 10th place is Josh Wilson and Scott Day. 9th place is Mike Cook and Mike Patestio. 8th place is Travis Hider and Rusty Knight. 7th place is Robbie Adams and Josh Judd. 6th place is Rick Sutherland and Tom Morrow. 5th place is James and Heidi Stanley. 4th place is Ron Charlton and Jeb Race. 3rd place is Chad Halverson and Aaron Weets. Second place is Don Graham and Craig Berger. And the first place winner of the tournament was Greg and Ronald Jablonski. It was really great. - All right, tell you what, the governor's cup and the walleye tournament out on Lake Roosevelt last weekend, a lot of people, a lot of boats turned out. The weather, a little on the hot side, but now they had a great walleye tournament this year. Of course, annual event. We kind of already look forward to next year. You know, if you are going out to the lake, you're gonna go down to Lake Roosevelt or any of the lakes around. It looks like it's going to be a great weekend coming up for getting out on the water, doing a little bit of boating. If you go out, make sure lots of water, kind of limit that alcohol consumption. Let's have a safe weekend out on the water. It's gonna be great weather for boating. - Hey, Caldwell, ready to transform your sleep? Discover the all new Tempur-Pewdie mattresses at Saunders Furniture, downtown Caldwell's sleep experts. Take the test dress and let our sleep experts fit you for the perfect mattress. Whether you're looking for a firm support or a luxurious softness, Tempur-Pewdieck adapts to your body like no other. For over 15 years, I've trusted my sleep to Tempur-Pewdieck through every stage of my life. It's been there for me. Visit us in downtown Caldwell today and experience the Tempur-Pewdieck difference at Saunders Furniture. Your best night's sleep awaits. Take the first step towards better sleep. Visit Saunders Furniture in downtown Caldwell and let our sleep experts guide you to the perfect Tempur-Pewdieck mattress. Saunders Furniture, where comfort meets expertise. Wednesday, the Stevens County Sheriff's Office, conducting a search. They had a warrant for the Colville homeless camp. Part of an ongoing investigation conducted stemming from a multi-month-long illegal narcotics dealing investigation. They found 732 fentanyl-laced, counter-felt oxycodone tablets, 4.4 grams of meth, eight hydrocodone pills, five oxycodone pills, a couple hundred dollars in cash. A Kerry Pemberton was booked on charges, possession with intent to deliver. Robert Pemberton booked on charges, possession with intent to deliver. They've been booked into the Stevens County Jail. Well, it is coming up. In fact, the ballots are being mailed out for the upcoming primary election. By the way, there are not presidential candidates on the primary election ballot, just in case you get your ballot and you wonder where your presidential vote is. And that comes in the general election. Today, we continue with the candidates, the Stevens County Commissioner District One, candidate Steven Thompson had comments. - My name is Steven Thompson. I'm a resident of South Stevens County for 34 years. A parole 92 presidential campaign. Some funny things happened in that election. The media ended up turning on him just like they've turned on President Trump. I'm talking about the national media and not the local folks that are here. In a nutshell, I'm here to empower you. What I've seen lately is a lack of involving the general public into major decisions. They seem to have ideas all to their own and they really don't want input from any of you. If they did, they would have asked you to be a part of the meeting. They'd asked you to be a part of the discussion. What I want to point interest in is the 2023 election campaign. There are people in this room that were a part of putting together that proposition. It was to build a jail. Yes, we needed jail, but what's wrong with involving the people in that process? What ended up happening is they set a committee in favor of the jail and neglected, spent months when they could have ran press releases. They could have asked, is there anyone out in the public who would like to make that a better deal? I myself would have loved to have been part of that negotiation. But like all of you, I was shut out of that process. They had months and months and months to seat the two committees that they are required to see by law. They neglected that service and also included other elected officials which aren't on the ballot, so I'm not gonna mention them. But we need to restore faith in local government. This is where we're the most powerful. We don't have a lot to say when it comes to federal law and we're outnumbered when it comes to state law, but when it comes to county law, we have all of the power invested in you in the Washington State Constitution provides that Article 1, Section 1. This county belongs to you, the people. So what I would like to do when elected is I would like to see term limits become law at the county level. We have the ability to do that. We could put it on the ballot. You folks can decide yes or no, do we want term limits. I'm thinking two four year terms, that's eight years. After that, if you wanna continue your service for the county, you can apply for a job, a department head, whatever role you wanna play. But you don't need to be the elected leader for any longer than eight years. I am in support of single day elections. How on earth did we allow the state to talk us into elections that last three weeks, four weeks? Are our elections secure? We need hand-counted paper ballots. Now, at least we do have paper ballots, but are they hand-counted or machine-counted? And can we trust the software that people in this room signed a 10 year contract to stick us with? The contract signed in 2018, I believe, have been researching me, right? So there's several more years left of that 10 year agreement that we can't get out of that I'm aware of. I wish we could. I'm in favor of voter ID, like an ATM card. You should be able to lock up to a kiosk, insert that card, put it in a pen. Once you're verified, it snaps your photograph, and then it puts out a ballot that is unique to you. So if that ballot is photocopied and more than one is turned in, we're gonna catch you. We're gonna prosecute you. Voter fraud has to have teeth. We can't just allow people to cheat and not be held accountable. In addition to term limits, I wanna see a local initiative referendum and recall process added to the ballot so you folks can decide. If we have a county commissioner or any elected official who for whatever reason has fallen out of favor with the law, we need to be able to remove that person midterm. Right now we can't do any of that, we're stuck. So initiative referendum recall that I think everybody in this room has to become a part of that process. You have to demand that of your leaders. We want that on the ballot. We want term limits on the ballot. You need to become empowered. We can no longer have blind faith in elected officials who tell us what we wanna hear during election campaigns and then what do they do? They closed-door meetings, meetings with lobbyists in Olympia, meetings with lobbyists in DC, disassociation, that association. How are we served when our current commissioner spends time in Jackson Hole, Wyoming? To some conference. How are any of you served in that expense to send that commissioner to Jackson, Wyoming? We've got the records and it's high time that you folks start learning what's been going on and what have we got to do to fix it. So in August, I hope to get your vote. I hope to have your support, but that's only part of it. The job starts once I'm elected. Then I want to have public policy debates on any big issues. I wanna bring you in. I don't wanna shut you out like you are now. - Thank you. - All right, that's comments from the candidate, Stephen Thompson. He is one of three candidates for Stephen's County Commissioner District number one. Now, two candidates, the top two vote getters, go on to the general election. Yesterday, we heard from the other two candidates, Stephen Thompson III. And again, it will be the primary election votes, voters that are registered in District one to decide who the two candidates are that go on to the general election. One will be eliminated in the general election the entire county will vote. You know, a whole lot of people are running for office. We've got a ton of people running for Congress. We've got a lot of people running for governor. Well, it's an interesting way. We took a look and I was very surprised, pleasantly surprised. Most everybody actually paid the filing fee. So if you wanna run for office, you put up 1% of that office's annual salary. That's what it costs to be on the ballot. So if you wanna run for governor, the filing fee is $1982. If you wanna run for attorney general, it's $1,875. Superintendent of Public Instruction, $1,619. Now there is a way that a candidate does not have to pay the filing fee. A candidate without sufficient assets or income to pay the filing fee can submit a filing fee petition in lieu of the filing fee. So for each whole dollar of the filing fee, it requires one signature of a registered voter on the petition. So if you wanna run for governor, you don't wanna pay the filing fee, you turn in this petition in lieu of the filing fee. You'd have to have 1, 1983 signatures. The filing fee for governor, $1982.57. So they round it up. And so the candidate can submit the petition. They have to do that in person. They have to be signatures of registered voters. And you have to have individual signatures. You can't have the same person signing more than once on your petition. So that is how you go about it. All of the statewide and the congressional candidates that you will find on your ballot paid the fee. Checking with the state, there was just one legislative candidate that got the petition and had the fee waived. And that was for the 38th legislative district, not here in our area. So that is what goes on. If you don't wanna pay the fee. A fire breaking out yesterday, Washington State Fire Service Resource Mobilization Plan, this near the town of Wilson Creek. They are calling this the Road R Fire. Quickly spread to 500 acres yesterday afternoon. The fire started about three o'clock. The state mobilization started at seven last night. Sagebrush, threatening crops, power lines and some homes. There is no evacuations in place at this time. They've got a serial arsonist over into the Tacoma Fife area. They had one fire that the fire department responded to a structure fire that commercial building totally destroyed. But just hours later, three more fires were set along Puyallup Avenue. And then they had two additional fires started in Fife. They say at this point, there are no suspects and no one in custody. And if you remember, we talked about yesterday, the strike vote over in Seattle for Boeing machinist union. The union says 99.9% of the thousands of Boeing machinist union members voted to authorize that strike if needed. Again, the contract expires September 12th. They would go on walk off the job September 13th. The machinist union wanting a 40% raise and the company to resume the pension plan. - A forest health message to all timber landowners, insects, disease and suppressed stands of timber have created an unhealthy forest environment that is susceptible to wildfire. Forest health is a concern to our community and to us at Vog and Brothers Lumber. To discuss the possible options available for your timber land, call our experienced forestry team at 509-684-5071 for a free onsite consultation or look us up on the web at www.vogandbrothers.com. - All right, Major League Baseball All-Star Games done. The political convention is done. It's time to get back to baseball tonight. The Seattle Mariners, two games in the lead, first place in the American League West. Ready to take on second place, Houston. That game tonight, six o'clock pregame, first pitch just after seven. It'll be a 5-30 pregame Saturday, 12 noon on Sunday, three game series with second place Houston, Maryland or baseball tonight on 92.1 KCRK. I'll look at today's local weather forecast brought to you by Forget Me Nod at 173 South Maine, the sidewalk sale. It's happening today and tomorrow, everything in the shop, 20% off, lots of 50% off racks out on the sidewalk. Forget Me Nod, open Monday through Friday, 10 till five Saturdays, 10 till four. We are going to have a kind of hazy skies today, 96 the high, 99 the expected high on Saturday, Sunday 104 for a high here in Colville 101 Monday. By Tuesday, a high of 91 degrees, 89 Wednesday, 85 Thursday. So it is going to continue really hot on through Monday and maybe only a high of 91 by Tuesday. Again, drink plenty of water, keep hydrated. It can get dangerous once we get up at this 100 degree mark. You know, the folks down at Forget Me Nod, they've got the Navajo cowgirl boutique, lots of Western clothing, Judy Blue denim, shoes, accessories, seasonal goods, of course, candy, local souvenirs, home decor. Lots of things out on the sidewalk for the sidewalk sale today. At Forget Me Nod, 173 South Maine. No wind here in the valley. The barometer, back up a little bit at 30.20. Gonna be a warm one. Thanks a lot for joining us. It's a Friday, I'm Eric Carpenter, and this is KCVL, KCRK.