NEWS UNBROKEN
DAILY NEWS 8-7-2024
Aussie skies on this midweek Wednesday Eric Kerpender with you. This is K C V L K C R K right now here in Colville. Our air quality pegged as moderate. A fair amount of particulate in the air. So the air quality in the moderate category as we get underway on this Wednesday. You know the name Tempur-Pedic. If you have a bad back you may already own one. The backbained relief is legendary. I have a secret for you. Tempur-Pedic mattress support system also provides a good night's sleep. You don't have to wait for a bad back. You can get a good night's sleep now. Don't take my word for it. Ask somebody who owns one. Come to Saunders for a seven minute test rest and we'll change your life forever. Saunders for nature, downtown Colville. Yesterday evening, a high wind occurrence near a thunderstorm. Well that ended up knocking large trees across highway 25. That about 30 miles south of Kettle Falls. That severe weather event passing through the area. So the highway was closed about eight in the evening. The Department of Transportation came and removed the trees from the roadway. Highway 25 was reopened about 10 last night. In that about 30 miles south of Kettle Falls, high winds surrounding that thunderstorm. Right beginnings preschool has begun enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year with classes available for the seedlings class for kids ages three to four and the sprouts class for kids ages four to five. Enrolling with bright beginnings provides an academic hands-on play-based program with a comfortable learning environment. They also do community guest visits and field trips, family fun events, music and movement programs along with social, emotional guidance and support. Give bright beginnings a call at 509-684-2686 today or register at callvillebrightbeginnings.com. Here in Stevens County, we have nearly 35,000 registered voters. 6,500 plus ballots were counted last night in the primary election. County officials say they still have about 7,500 ballots that have been returned that are still to be counted. That means a voter turnout under 20%. Now, if you got your ballot in the mail, no doubt more ballots will come trickling in today to the courthouse. So let's take a look at the preliminary results from last night's count here in Stevens County. The incumbent county commissioner for District 1, Wes McCart, will advance to the general election. Monty Stobert getting over 46% of the vote. Wes McCart, nearly 32% of the vote. Stephen Thompson getting just under 20% of the vote. At this point, Stobert and McCart will advance to the general election in November for Commissioner District 1. Now, for the commissioners, after the primary, come general election time, the entire county will be voting. Greg Young getting 81% of the vote for Commissioner District 3, Terahatch, 16% that for the Commissioner District 3. There were just two candidates, both will advance to the general election. Wes McCart likely to remain the precinct committeeman for the Republican Party for the Canvas Prairie precinct. Wes McCart garnering 28 votes. William Fritz Meyer, 21 votes. But again, a lot of votes still to be counted, but it looks like at least for precinct committeeman for Canvas Prairie, Wes McCart will continue. In the seventh legislative district, this for position number one, Andrew Engel, will advance to the general election, but who he will face, well, that is very much in the air. Of course, Tegan Levine, she was endorsed by Joel Kretz and Shelley Short. She garnered 26% of the vote. Sue Ng Moody, also getting 26% of the vote across the legislative district. Here in Stevens County, Andrew Engel garnering 60% of the vote. Levine, 20% and Moody, 18%. So Andrew Engel will advance to the general election, still to be determined. A lot of votes still to be counted, all across the district, whether it's Levine or Moody that will face Engel in the general election. A bit of a surprise in the legislative district 7 position 2 race. First off, here in Stevens County, the candidates Ron McCoy getting nearly 14% of the vote. Hunter, Abel, 39% Pat Bell, 24% and the Democrat from Springdale, Rocky Dean, getting 23% of the vote. That here in Stevens County. District wide, Ron McCoy getting 14% of the vote, just like he did here in Stevens County. Hunter, Abel, 34% of the vote. Pat Bell, 21% of the vote and the Democrat from Springdale, Paul Rocky Dean, 30% of the vote. Again, there's a lot of votes still to be counted and they may change things. They may not change things right now. As things stand, Hunter, Abel from Spring, from, uh, in Shaliam, would face Rocky Dean from Springdale in the general election. Abel with 34% of the vote, Dean with 30%. But as the ballots get counted, we'll see if that holds true. Kathy McMorris Rogers choosing not to run for re-election. That opened up a lot of candidates for the district five for Congress. In the voting yesterday, Carmela Conroy, the Democrat with 19.7% of the vote. Bernadine Bank, the other Democrat, 11.7% of the vote. Jacqueline Maycomer getting 12.2% of the vote. Run a holiday with 2.9%. Brian Dansel, 9.8%. And district-wide Michael Bumgardner with 28.1%. So unless there is a major change in the additional ballots to be counted, it will be Michael Bumgardner, the Republican facing off with Carmela Conroy, the Democrat from Spokane in the general election. Here in Stevens County, Jacqueline Maycomer had the most votes for the district five. Michael Bumgardner and Brian Dansel got the same number of votes here in Stevens County. And no big surprise as far as the Washington state governor race goes. State-wide Bob Ferguson with 45.5% of the vote, the Democrat, Dave Reichhardt with 27.9% of the vote and semi-bird with 9.4% of that vote statewide. Bob Ferguson and Dave Reichhardt going to advance to the general election. Reichhardt ended up with some 33% semi-bird with 23% of the vote here in Stevens County. Well, that's kind of how things went for the primary election voting. Again, lots of votes still to be counted, but we've got one race where things are really close that the others probably already decided not going to see any changes. The Kettlefall 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. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission met July 19th, dealt with proposed changes to Cougar hunting seasons. The new rule establishes the Cougar hunting season, September 1 to March 31 and other items that they dealt with. The question of the week explains these new changes. Hi, I'm Anne-Marie Prince out of your Colville Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Office. At WDFW, we get a lot of questions from the public, and one we've heard recently is, "I heard there are new rules regarding Cougar hunting. What changed and what does it mean for me here in northeast Washington?" The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission approved changes to Cougar hunting seasons at the July 19th meeting. Under these new rules, the Cougar hunting season in Washington runs from September 1 to March 31 each year. Under previous rules, there were two consecutive seasons running from September through December and January through April. The new rules cap Cougar mortality in each hunt area based on an estimated 13% growth rate and a density of 2.3 Cougars per 100 square kilometers. All human-caused deaths between April 1 and March 31 will count toward the cap, including Cougar removals associated with human wildlife conflicts. So in the past, conflict removals were not counted toward the total harvest guideline. Additionally, the commission decided that in management areas that reached a 13% cap prior to the Cougar hunting season starting on September 1, the cap will be increased to 20% of the Cougar population to provide hunting opportunity in those units. Two units have already hit their 13% cap this year, and both of those are in eastern Washington, one near Chwila and the other in hunting districts surrounding Spokane. So because Cougar hunting season started on September 1, hunters must call the Cougar Hotline or look online to check if a unit is still open before heading out to hunt. And then after harvest, hunters must call the hotline to report within 72 hours. And that hotline number can be found on the WDFW website and in the digital hunting pamphlet. The commission also voted to direct Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to reopen the Cougar hunting rules for revisions before next season. So before the 2025 to 2026 hunting season, you can read the new rules and their entirety by going to wdfw.wa.gov and typing Cougar rulemaking in the search box in the upper right hand corner. At this time, the online hunting pamphlet has been updated, but there may be places on the WDFW website that still refer to the old hunting structure. So refer to the online hunting pamphlet for current rules and regulations. And if you have a question for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, send it to communications@dfwa.wa.gov or call 509-563-5495 and please include an email address or a phone number because you can win a prize for asking questions. If you have a question for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, send it to communications@dfw.wa.gov or you can call 519-563-5495. Please include an email address or phone number because you can win a prize for asking questions. There will be a random drawing each week of people who submit questions. If your name is drawn, you win a can of bears for you to take with you on your outdoor adventures. Vagan Brothers Lumber specializes in forest improvements and thinning treatments that add value to the forests for people, products, and the environment. We are currently purchasing saw logs, ton wood, chip wood, and also timberland. Contact Vagan Brothers today at 509-684-5071. Or for more information, go to www.vaganbrothers.com. They Detroit Tigers beat the Mariners for two last night. Rayleigh pulled Seattle within two runs with a homer in the fifth inning. Seattle scored again when Porlanko hit a fly ball that fell in right center field for an RBI single in the ninth. Pitcher Castillo went six innings, allowed three earned runs on eight hits, had nine strikeouts. Both teams actually struck out 14 times. Mariner outfielder Julio Rodriguez still out with that ankle sprain. He did take batting practice last night is progressing in his rehab, but manager Scott Service says there's still no timetable for his return. Right-hander George Kirby going to pitch tonight for the Mariners, game two of the three game series with Detroit. Houston, they defeated Texas last night, 4-2 moving to within one half game of the first place Mariners. Today's local weather forecast brought to you by Colville Auto Repair, your local NAP Auto Care Center. They provide expertise in everything they do, whether you need routine service, a check engine light diagnosis, maybe major repair. You can count on Colville Auto Repair to do it right. Make your appointment, call 509-684-3581 or see them at 505 South Maine. Hazy skies 87 for an afternoon high, 86 tonight, tomorrow 87 on Friday. Over the weekend, the slight chance of a few thunderstorms rolling through Friday night and Saturday, still up around 86 on Saturday, 86 on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, cooling down just a little bit, 81 to 83, the high temperatures Monday and Tuesday. Colville Auto Repair, they specialize in Dodge for Chevy diesel repair and maintenance. Find out all about it. Give them a call 509-684-3581 or see them at 505 South Maine. No wind, the barometer, fairly high pressure at 30.20 and a little cooler this morning, 64 degrees here at the radio station. We're coming up, we're nearing 730. Good to have you with us here. It is Wednesday morning. I'm Eric Carpenter and this is KCBL, KCRK.