dt bnc newswriter portfolio

See FLU PLANS, page 10

TIMES LINES

WeatherCourtesy of the McGregor Co., Davenport

Date H L PcpApr. 29 53 36 Apr. 30 57 27 May 1 64 40May 2 63 40 May 3 56 31May 4 59 43 May 5 59 33May total moisture: .392009 total moisture: 4.67

Market ReportCourtesy of Davenport Union Warehouse

Wheat .............. $4.90/bushelBarley ..................... $121/ton Club premium .............. $3.00

.25

.14

See TRAUMA, page 3

Serving Davenport, Edwall, Harrington, Reardan, Sprague and Surrounding Communities

Thursday, May 7, 2009Davenport, Washington

125th Year, No. 50

75 cents

DavenportTIMES Lower rates by subscription

Float preview set Wednesday night

2008 WNPA Community Service Award recipient

Lincoln County Public Works will power a truck and grader with a 10 percent mixture of canola-based biodiesel from the Inland Oilseeds plant in Odessa, the county commissioners decided this week.

Despite some challenges with mixing the fuel compound and conversion, the commissioners agreed that the county should at least try biodiesel because county funds have helped launch biodie-sel production here.

Six Sprague residents, including four boys between ages 11 and 16, were treated at Lincoln Hospital after a one-vehicle rollover accident last Friday on SR 25 near Egypt Loop Road about 15½ miles north of Davenport.

Additionally, a 10-year-old boy was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medi-cal Center in Spokane. A 13-year-old boy was later transferred to there from the Davenport hospital, where a 41-year-old man, also a passenger in the vehicle, was treated as well.

A Washington State Patrol inves-tigation determined that alcohol was involved. The driver, Benjamin L. Yow, 40, was arrested for vehicular assault and taken to jail after his release from the hospital.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s reports indicated head, chest, neck and arm

injuries were involved. All of the children were of the same family.

The vehicle, northbound on SR 25, left the road to the right, over-corrected and crossed both lanes, went into the southbound ditch and rolled over.

WSP reports indicated only two occupants, the adult passenger and the 13-year-old, were using seat belts at the time.

■ Elsewhere, about 75 gallons of diesel spilled as a result of a colli-sion involving a semi-truck on SR 21 about 10 miles south of Wilbur on Sunday. No one was injured, ac-cording to WSP reports, and the spill wasn’t near any water sources.

Debris from potatoes the rig was hauling also had to be cleaned from the roadway, according to sheriff’s reports.

Tonight – Pioneer Days com-mittee, 7 p.m., Avista building.

Monday – Davenport School Board, 7 p.m., high school library. Expected is discussion of potential impacts of state budget cutbacks on local staff and programs.

Tuesday – Davenport Cham-ber of Commerce, 7 a.m., Avista building.

Wednesday – Reardan-Edwall School Board, 6 p.m., high school library.

Wednesday – Davenport City Council, 7 p.m., city hall.

“Viva Rockrageous,” Daven-port’s community float for 2009, will be revealed next Wednesday evening on Morgan Street during the annual float preview antici-pating the May 16 Spokane Lilac Torchlight Parade.

The float should take to the street, along with the Davenport Gorillas marching band directed by Rob Harper, at dusk (approxi-mately 8:30 p.m.), float coordina-tor Doug Mielke said. The com-munity is invited to line the street for the mini-procession.

This year’s float employs a “Flintstones-like concept” and will carry 2009 Junior Miss Su-san Reider and the three finalists, Alysha Brantley, Katie Vesneske and Shelby Thomas.

Their parents and other com-munity volunteers have been spending some of their evenings and weekends working on the float construction in a portion of the Davenport city shop.

The band will be the 122nd entry in the Spokane parade, with the float following at 123.

By MARK SMITHOf the Times

Debbie Graedel thought it was odd when she drove her teenage son Dylan to Lincoln Hospital after a tree limb fell on his head – and was told they’d have to wait for an ambulance crew to come and take him from the parking lot into the emergency room.

Instead, the Davenport High School fresh-man, helped by his mother and father, Don, walked through the ER doors on his own power and did receive the medical care he required from the local hospital and Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, to which he was transferred with the help of the MedStar helicopter within a half hour.

After missing about a week of school, he returned to class and saw the large poster his fellow students had made and signed to wish him well.

Hospital personnel are using the experience to improve how they’ll respond to a similar situation should it occur in the future.

“Living just blocks from the hospital, we thought it would be faster to go there ourselves rather than call for an ambulance,” Mrs. Grae-del told the Times while placing a thank-you notice for last week’s issue. “So, we were surprised at what happened. We had called ahead to the hospital and thought they would be ready for us when we arrived.”

Despite what happened, Mrs. Graedel em-phasized her support for Lincoln Hospital and its vital place in the community. When she and her husband met with hospital administrator Tom Martin later that week, it was to “make sure this didn’t happen to someone else and for everyone to learn from it.”

Accompanied by Marilynn Snider, the hospital’s vice president for clinical services,

Martin arranged for a meeting with the Times to help the hospital district’s patrons understand what had happened and what would change.

After Dylan’s injury occurred while he helped his father with yard work on a Saturday afternoon, both parents became understandably anxious and concerned and “wanted to get him into the hospital and get things happen-ing. They didn’t think staff responded to get the patient into the building quicker,” Martin related.

The staff on duty at the time wanted to make sure the boy was moved from the family car into the ER “safely – that was on the forefront of the nurses’ minds,” but unfortunately, an im-passe occurred because of what Martin called a failure to communicate effectively, especially on the part of the medical personnel.

“Communication is critical, especially on the provider’s side, in a highly charged situa-

tion like this,” he explained. “Believing help from the ambulance crew was the most logical way to avoid risking further injury, the staff there didn’t observe the family’s uncomfort-ability. It is incumbent on the provider to es-tablish trust and effectively communicate why they’re doing what they’re doing.”

Martin said the nurses on scene must make clinical judgments and were having to deal with the risk of hemorrhage as opposed to vertebrae damage if Dylan had been brought inside in an unsafe fashion.

He cautioned that it was a “rare ER expe-rience to have a trauma come in by private vehicle, perhaps less than 5 percent of the time does this occur.”

But if it should happen again, as a result of the experience with the Graedels, there will be a gurney available that can be used to get


Local health care personnel have worked out a plan – but have kept it flexible – to be as prepared as pos-sible for any occurrence of the H1N1 virus, more popularly known as the “swine flu,” in Lincoln County.

Because the virus is still new, the county’s Public Health Department, along with medical providers and hospitals in Davenport and Odessa, will continue to monitor it with the help of daily conference calls involv-ing state agencies.

Ed Dzedzy, department adminis-trator, went on to advise the Lincoln County commissioners on Monday that he expects some flu medication will be shared here as it is needed, with health workers and the most vulnerable population taking top priority.

So far, the virus has targeted the young, especially teenagers, as well as pregnant women, Dzedzy explained, adding that it seems to be especially communicable.

Schools will be advised to remain open unless a large outbreak occurs, with students who come down with flu symptoms encouraged to remain at home to avoid exposing others to the virus.

Once a case surfaces locally, those who are sick should stay home “at

Trauma case offers learning opportunity at hospital

Rollover sends children to hospital, father to jail on alcohol-related charge

Courtesy photo/Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office

Davenport ambulance personnel and sheriff’s deputies were among those responding to the scene of a rollover accident on SR 25 near Egypt that send several children and two adults to hospitals for treat-ment last Friday.

Courtesy photo/George ArlandImproving access into Davenport’s city parkMembers of the Davenport Lions Club have been actively involved in a major community service project, widening and eventually covering the footbridge over Cottonwood Creek from Park Street into the downtown park. Also planned is a new picnic shelter.

Prepared for local flu casesHealth department plans response for H1N1 occurrences

County will run biodiesel mixture

The Week Ahead

Davenport Schools Supt. Jim Kowalkowski is scheduled to dine with Gov. Christine Gregoire this evening (Thursday) at the Gover-nor’s Mansion in Olympia.

He’ll be part of a three-hour gathering with other officials.

Kowalkowski has date with governor

Your source for

hometown news!

Census Bureau begins preparations for tally in Lincoln CountyDesiring the 2010 U.S. Census to be as smooth

and accurate as that of 10 years ago, the federal agency in charge of the tally wants to develop partnerships with local elected officials.

“We need you to assure the public that the cen-sus is easy to do, that it sends government funds

back to your area, that it’s patriotic and an exercise in democracy and that it’s safe and confidential,” Duane Wakan, a census official, told the Lincoln County commissioners last month.

He reminded them that legislative and Con-gressional seats, along with voting districts are

determined by census results, as is funding for communities, health care, social services and transportation.

“We need accurate counts,” he emphasized.In 2000, 67 percent completed and returned the

census form, the highest tally in history, he said.

TRAUMAContinued from page 1

Davenport Times Page 3Thursday, May 7, 2009

Times photos/Mark Smith

Invite Your Participation As We Invite Your Participation As We Celebrate Our Good Neighbors Celebrate Our Good Neighbors

in Davenport and in Davenport and Lincoln CountyLincoln County

We all know someone who quietly goes about e all know someone who quietly goes about doing random acts of kindness without ever ing random acts of kindness without ever expecting to get rewards. We frequently

wish we could recognize these special someones for all the special things they do. That’s why Davenport Good Neighbor Phar-macy featuring Country Touch Floral and the Davenport Times (your source for hometown news) are teaming up to sponsor a monthly “Good Neighbor” award – but we need your help to know their stories and share the good news about our special recipients. Please nominate that special someone for all he or she does. In a brief letter, tell us how your nominee has made a difference in your life. Include your nominee’s name and contact information, along with yours as well. Then, drop off your nominating letter at either Davenport Pharmacy or Davenport Times – and we’ll take it from there! Each month, we’ll select from nominations re-ceived through the 15th and announce the recipi-ent in the following week’s issue of the Times. Recipients will receive a bouquet of fresh flowers – designed for and delivered to them.

FFor May’s award, please submit nomination or May’s award, please submit nomination letters by Friday, May 15. The selection will

be announced in the May 21 issue of the Times.be announced in the May 21 issue of the Times.

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someone from a car into the hospital. Staff will have been trained to do so, as well as how to communicate better with patients and their loved ones.

“In this case, both the staff and family wanted the same outcome,” Martin said, “but the staff just wasn’t connecting with the patient or his parents.” He said the hospital per-sonnel involved admitted they were “stymied and felt the blockage.”

And, when Snider came to work the following Monday morning, she found correspondence waiting for her from the employees involved, inviting her assistance in making improvements.

“We don’t look for blame when something occurs,” Snider said. “Instead, we want it to be a learning experience for improvement – and it’s very positive for the staff to be part of a solution.”

After she learned the particulars, a meeting took place with the staff involved and Dr. Ralph Monteagudo, the hospital’s medical director, to begin a dialogue of evaluation and action steps.

“We think we do well,” Martin said, “but we’re always looking to do better.”

In its third year, the live auction benefit for the Growing Gorillas Cooperative Preschool brought in $5,295 last Saturday evening.

More money was raised through dinner ticket sales, a silent auction and other donations.

Bringing in the highest bid at the live auction was a four-day, three-night stay in Las Vegas in June that was donated by Mike Miller Construction, Serene Meadows and Ag Ventures. A matted and framed 2005 Masters Tournament flag, autographed by golf great Tiger Woods, and donated by Davenport Vision Source netted $505.

The preschool began some years ago when a local daycare provider closed and affected parents decided that a cooperative venture that employs their assistance would be the best response.

More than 20 families currently have students enrolled.

Board of directors for 2008-09 include Jemara Floyd and Paula Furman, co-presidents; Trea Foster, vice president for membership; Bethany Orvis, vice president for fundraising; Heather Panke, treasurer; Anna Cash, assistant treasurer; Lana Bowdish, secre-tary; and Stacie Nichols, Leslie Schweiger and Diane Wade, at-large members.

For 2009-10, Kristi Bell and Kristin Zellmer will be co-presidents, while Cash will move up to treasurer and also take on the job of vice president for member-ship.

Scott Hopkins is the teacher of both a two-day and three-day group of students that meet in facilities pro-vided by Zion Lutheran Church in Davenport.

Heather Panke shares some of the history behind the formation of the cooperative preschool.

As auctioneer Dean Anderson (left) entices bids, Growing Gorillas Cooperative Preschool teacher Scott Hopkins holds up a chest, complete with their hand prints, made by students in his two-day class. The item went for $260. A companion piece, a recreational table from the three-day students, was sold for $360. BELOW LEFT: The decorating committee and their “Under the Sea”-themed vessel. BELOW RIGHT: Art work and photographs of students decorated the walls at Memorial Hall.

Auction raises $5,295 for preschool

See FAREWELL, page 3

TIMES LINES


Date H L PcpJuly 15 76 50 July 16 85 50 July 17 89 53July 18 92 55 July 19 91 50July 20 83 48 July 21 85 50July total moisture: .402009 total moisture: 6.83


Wheat .............. $4.55/bushelBarley ....................... $98/ton Club premium .............. $2.25



Thursday, July 23, 2009Davenport, Washington

126th Year, No. 9

75 cents


Parade scenes, winnersSee page 5

Skate park is new place to hang out


The Week Ahead

Another vacation coming in August

Friday – Deadline for public comment on county Solid Waste Management Plan update (call 725-7041 for information).

Monday – Lincoln County Com-missioners, budget forecast (public) meeting with elected officials and department heads, 9 a.m., court-house.

Monday – Davenport School Board, 6:30 p.m., high school li-brary.

Wednesday – Lincoln County Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC), public meeting, 1 to 3 p.m., Public Works Building,

Wednesday – Reardan-Edwall School Board, 6:30 p.m., high school library.

Friday (July 31) – Reardan-Edwall School Board, goal setting (public) session, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., high school library.

Community salutes a special Marine

Army Sgt. Josh Kaschmitter is joined by a honor guard of Marines as pallbearers for his younger brother, Marine Sgt. Abe Kaschmitter, who was remembered Wednesday at a funeral in the Davenport High School gym. Air Force Technical Sgt. (ret.) James Faulkner, a Davenport resident, offers a salute as the men accompany the casket into the service, which was attended by about 200 from the local community.

SGT. ABE KASCHMITTERU.S. Marine Corps

Flags line Seventh Street as the high school reader board describes details of the Kaschmitter service.

Virus claims life of Abe Kaschmitter days before 24th birthdayBy MARK SMITHOf the Times

In the same gymnasium where six years before he received his high school diploma, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Abraham (Abe) Kas-chmitter was bid a final farewell Wednesday.

The 2003 Davenport graduate died July 13 – just days before his 24th birthday on July 19 and a sec-ond scheduled tour of duty in Iraq – in Bethesda, Md., where he was being treated by Naval Hospital caregivers for a virus he contracted in the spring.

His casket was accompanied into the DHS gym by a honor guard of fellow Marines, a uniformed con-tingent from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (where his father, Don, works as a corrections/com-munications deputy), and members of the Patriot Freedom Rider Guard, which provided a motorcycle escort from Strate Funeral Home to the school before the 11 a.m. funeral.

Nearly 200 heard comments from Air Force Senior Master Sgt./Chaplain Bill Dehler (also a county Juvenile Services employee), Trin-ity Bible Fellowship Pastor Steve McLachlan, and the Marine recruiter who facilitated Kaschmitter’s way into the unit at age 17.

“I knew he would be a fine Ma-rine, but he was too young, so I had to say no,” the recruiter recalled of his first encounter with a 16-year-old

Kaschmitter. “I thought I wouldn’t see him again, but I didn’t know Abe. When he turned 17 the next year, there he was with his parents, ready to sign the papers.”

In his remarks, Dehler noted that the young man “never wavered from his decision to become a Marine” after meeting up with drill instruc-tors from that branch of the service

during a boot camp experience with the Navy Sea Cadets almost nine years ago.

When Abe began recruit training in 2003, right out of high school, Dehler recalled writing him letters. “But I knew two weeks into it that he was born to be a Marine – he said he was having fun!”

Army Sgt. Joshua Kaschmitter,

who was sent home from Iraq to serve as a pallbearer and give the eulogy for his younger brother, re-called the closeness the two felt while growing up, sharing the same room, and their common experiences in the military, intensified when both were serving in Iraq at the same time.

“He was born big, 11-11 – and it took a lot of years for his body to catch up with the size of his head,” Josh told the gathering. “The paper route he had in Davenport helped to prepare him for the life of a Marine, getting up early every morning and not paid what he was worth.”

He described his brother as “a tough, stubborn kid – which turned him into a tough, stubborn, never-give-up, always wanting to do better, extremely proud Marine. Less than one-third of a percent of the popula-tion are in the U.S. military. So it is an elite group that one has to earn one’s way into and to stay in.

“He never got the chance to de-ploy again, but I know he would have without hesitation,” he continued.

Addressing his brother, Josh concluded his eulogy: “I was proud to have been a part of your life and have you in mine. I will always be proud of you and love you.”

Earlier, Dehler noted that Abe’s faith “began to take off” at about the time he decided to join the Marines “and he caught a fire for God. We don’t know why in God’s wisdom He has chosen to take him to Himself,

but he touched so many lives and accomplished so much more than some who live to be 100.”

Drawing from 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 in the New Testament, McLachlan compared the body to a “tent, a tem-porary, portable dwelling designed for short-term use. It’s an appropriate word for Abe, coming from a fam-ily that loves the out-of-doors more than any other I know. He was very familiar with tents – he was a Marine, for crying out loud!”

Referring to the illness that was unrelated to his military service, McLachlan described Abe as “strong, built to last – but an unheard of thing happened and destroyed this tent before its time. What happened was shocking, but Abe was prepared. He knew the way to get to the permanent

The Times office will be closed Friday, July 31, through Friday, Aug. 7, to allow for a vacation for our hard-working staff. The office will reopen at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10.

While we’re away, our col-leagues at the Cheney Free Press will produce the Aug. 6 paper from their office. We’ll do as much as we can locally through Thursday, July 30, so if you want us to handle your news, letters, display and classified ads and legal notices, you’ll have to get them to us be-fore 5 p.m. that day.

You may use the regular Times email addresses to transmit items to us. Between July 30 and Aug. 6, fax users should dial (509) 235-2887, since the Davenport fax won’t be checked that week.

If you need to speak to some-one while we’re gone, call the Cheney corporate office at (509) 235-6184.

Lions’ barbecue, antique airplane fly-in highlight Pioneer Days


Smoke rises from the barbecue as Dav-enport Lions Club members serve up their famous beef sandwiches during Saturday of Pioneer Days weekend.

Thursday morning, about 28 antique planes flew into Davenport’s airport for one stop in the Puget Sound Antique Air-plane Club’s Washington Air Tour.

MORE PIONEER DAYS PHOTOS and RESULTS INSIDE!

Davenport’s new skate park is proving to be a popular place for young people to hang out.

City officials are pleased about that, but took time during Wednes-day evening’s council meeting to point out that the facility is sup-posed to be closed “at dusk” and that a general curfew is effective at 11 p.m.

Some reports of kids smoking there also have been received.

Mayor Karen Carruth advised citizens not to hesitate to call law enforcement to report violations of city ordinances.

The council also:• Learned that the city’s state

audit had come back clean.• Endorsed the mayor’s deci-

sion to join the county in lowering the U.S. flag on local government buildings Wednesday to honor the late USMC Sgt. Abe Kaschmitter.

FAREWELLContinued from page 1

Obituary

• Obituaries are published in the Times without charge and are subject to editing and conformance to journal-istic style. Paid tributes are available. Photographs are gladly accepted for publication with obituaries.

Davenport Times Page 3Thursday, July 23, 2009

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house Jesus was preparing for him in heaven. That way is to have faith – not in good works, church, giving or being religious – but in a Savior who also died, untimely young, who understands death and loss. Because of that, Abe is more alive today than you or I.”

Dehler earlier had speculated about what Abe might say to the gathering if given the opportunity: “To his loved ones, he would say he loves you and is watching over you. He would tell young people here that the Marine Corps was a great career decision. And, because of decisions he made as a young man, he’s in heaven now and would encourage people to trust in God and have faith in Jesus Christ.”

The service concluded with a bugler’s “Taps,” shots fired outside in Kaschmitter’s honor, a presentation of the U.S. flag from the casket to his widow, Amanda (the couple married just last October in North Carolina, where Abe was stationed), a plaque given by the Sheriff’s Office to the Kaschmitter family and a gift from U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodg-ers of a flag flown in the nation’s capital.

Times photo/Mark Smith

Accompanied by members of the Patriot Guard and an entourage of Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office vehicles, the hearse and family vehicle travel east on Morgan Street after Abe Kaschmitter’s funeral in the high school gym.

The hearse was escorted down Morgan Street to the Lincoln-Spo-kane county line on SR 2 east of

Reardan by sheriff ’s patrol ve-hicles. From there, the Patriot Guard planned to continue an escort to Cot-

tonwood, Idaho, where Kaschmitter is to be buried today (Thursday) in a family plot.

Sgt. Abe M. KaschmitterM i l i t a r y

f u n e r a l f o r U.S. Marine Sgt. Abe M. Kaschmitter, a 2003 Dav-enport High School gradu-ate, took place Wednesday, July 22, at the DHS gymnasium. Pas-tor Steve McLachlan of Trinity Bible Fellowship, where Sgt. Kaschmitter was a member, officiated.

Sgt. Kaschmitter died July 13 in Bethesda, Md., just days before his 24th birthday. He was born July 19, 1985, in Spokane.

A military funeral Mass is planned at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 23, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Cotton-wood, Idaho, with Father Richard Haldane officiating. A military graveside service will follow at Cot-tonwood Catholic Cemetery.

His maternal grandparents and paternal grandfather preceded him in death.

He leaves his wife, Amanda Kaschmitter of New River, N.C.; parents, Don and Jan Kaschmitter of Davenport; a brother, Sgt. Joshua Kaschmitter, and two sisters, Jeanne and Megan Kaschmitter, all of Dav-enport; and grandmother, Patricia Kaschmitter of Cottonwood, Idaho.

Memorials may be made to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102 • PMB 609 • Oceanside, CA 92057 (www.semperfifund.org).

A guestbook is posted at www.stratefuneralhome.com.– Strate Funeral Home, Davenport

Pam Kelley, who was the first executive director of the Lincoln County Economic Development Council, is leaving that post to reopen her private PK Consulting business, the county commissioners reported this week.

An EDC committee was sched-uled to meet Wednesday morning in the courthouse to “brainstorm the direction we should go and a job

Pam Kelley will leave EDC postdescription as a search for her succes-sor begins,” explained commissioner Scott Hutsell, the EDC board’s vice president.

Kelley has been involved for about 10 years in various projects in Lincoln County, served three years with the EDC and was instrumental in launching the its forerunner, the “Associate Development Organi-zation” (ADO), along with Public

Development Authority (PDA) enti-ties in Odessa, Wilbur-Creston, Har-rington, Sprague and Reardan.

These work in association with municipal governments to facilitate development of projects that are in-tended to enhance the local economy, including those involving biodiesel, railroad and environmentally sound disposal of waste products.

Kelley is expected to stay on until Sept. 1 if a successor isn’t in place by then. Commissioner Ted Hopkins said he expects she will continue to play a role in the county’s economic devel-opment as “we anticipate contracting for her services in the future.”

Noelle Carstens, a Reardan High School graduate, was listed on the spring 2009 dean’s list at Eastern Oregon University in LaGrande, Ore.

To qualify, students must achieve and maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale while completing a minimum of 12 hours of graded coursework for the duration of the term.

Noelle Carstens on honors list


Due to expected budget cuts, Davenport’s 2009-10 teaching staff will be two members fewer than this past school year.

Junior-senior high school English teacher Erin Utley’s position will remain unfilled, Supt. Jim Kow-alkowski reports, and a one-year non-continuing elementary position held by Deborah Perleberg will not be renewed for the time being.

Additionally, an elementary li-brary aide plans to reduce her hours to “ease into retirement,” leaving $13,920 in the district’s coffers.

“If our enrollment holds constant or, better, increases, and our state and federal funding isn’t cut any further, we might be able to open up another second grade position,” Kowalkowski told the Times.

With state I-728 funding for 2009-10 reduced by $185,110, the district has achieved a savings of about $258,115 by reducing staff compen-sation and some program elements, among other steps.

The two teaching vacancies will save about $100,000 alone, but district administrative personnel agreed to a 1 percent cut to match a comparable loss by the cutback in funding teachers for attending development seminars.

Kowalkowski recommended a 1.5 percent cut in his salary for the next academic year. Together with principals Ben Edwards and Jill Freeze, athletic director Tim Zeiler, business manager Candi Stoner, facilities director Joe Coppersmith, administrative assistant Leslie Oliver and school secretaries Linda Patter-son and Chris Buchmann, the district expects to save $4,056 there.

Coaches and extracurricular advi-sors agreed to a 3 percent reduction in stipends, saving $9,614. Administra-

tors also are encouraging a committee of “stakeholders,” including Edwards and Zeiler, study how a $15,000 savings could be achieved through sharing transportation to athletics and activities with nearby districts, com-bining or reducing teams and possibly utilizing “pay to play” options.

A $2,000 reduction in the district’s contract with Lincoln County Juve-nile Services – without an accompa-nying loss of services provided – has been achieved, Kowalkowski said.

Students will be assessed the “ac-tual cost” for traffic safety education, saving another $1,200, and $5,000 was saved by dealing directly with the district’s insurance provider in Ephrata, rather than through a local broker.

Other savings totally more than $100,000 will be realized by the completion of payments for attorney services associated with a staff ter-mination claim and for the purchase of two vehicles, as well as a return to one insurance premium payment.

So far, state “levy equalization” funds distributed to Davenport in 2009-10 will total $$379,878, an increase from this year’s sum of $376,985. Unless the Legislature decides otherwise in a special session observers believe could be called by the governor this fall, these funds are safe, Kowalkowski said.

■ The school board recently ap-proved the 2009-10 academic calen-dar, with classes beginning Tuesday, Sept. 1, and continuing until Thurs-day, June 10. Graduation would occur on Saturday, June 5. Vacation periods would include Thanksgiving (Nov. 26-27), winter (Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, with classes resuming Jan. 4), and spring (March 29 to April 3, with classes resuming April 5). Several late start days to accommodate staff collaboration meetings, as well as snow makeup days are included.

School tries to save on 2009-10 costs; staff reduced by 2

See CHASE, page 5

TIMES LINES


Date H L PcpJuly 22 91 50 July 23 94 58 July 24 87 52July 25 80 56 July 26 82 60July 27 84 60 July 28 92 59July total moisture: .402009 total moisture: 6.83


Wheat .............. $4.55/bushelBarley ....................... $98/ton Club premium .............. $2.25

Trace

Trace

If it’s not in the Times,

it just didn’t fit!


Thursday, July 30, 2009Davenport, Washington

126th Year, No. 10

75 cents


See COUNTY, page 7

New crop circles develop at Wilbur


The Week Ahead

You should have your ballot soon

Ballots for the Aug. 18 primary election were to be mailed by the Lincoln County Auditor’s Of-fice on Wednesday to Davenport School District voters, who will trim three candidates for the Di-rector District 3 seat to two for the general election ballot.

Seeking the two-year post now held by Brad Sweet are Summer Katz, Merrie Foster and Paula Fur-man. Sweet is running unopposed for the Position 2 seat recently vacated by Mike Strite.

Davenport School District is the only jurisdiction conducting a primary election this year.

Anyone who hasn’t received a ballot by Aug. 7 should contact the Auditor’s Office at 725-4971 or 1-800-725-3031, to which questions also may be directed. Use those contact points to obtain a replace-ment ballot as well.

Voters are reminded to place first class postage on the ballot envelope and make sure it is postmarked by Aug. 18. Ballots also may be dropped off until 8 p.m. Aug. 18 at boxes placed on the east side of the courthouse in Davenport (450 Logan Street) or outside Harrington City Hall on Third Street in Harrington.

Ballots may also be brought to the elections desk in the Auditor’s Office from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon-day through Friday, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the day of the election.


Pursuing an erratically driven vehicle traveling the SR 2 corridor between Reardan and Wilbur at speeds at times exceeding 100 miles per hour, law enforcement officers finally caught up with a 19-year-old Brewster woman on Wednesday afternoon of last week.

But not before the vehicle she drove crashed into another in the process of making a left turn in downtown Wilbur.

“She somehow made it through Davenport

without someone being hurt or killed,” Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy Jason Ball wrote in a statement filed in Superior Court charging Amelia Jean Housden with attempting to elude police. “More charges may follow for everyone’s life she endangered,” he added.

Activating his patrol vehicle’s siren while waving at motorists, a deputy managed to clear Morgan Street in Davenport sufficiently to avert a disaster.

After a near collision in Reardan, deputies and the Washington State Patrol began a pursuit

of the errant vehicle, which was seen passing others on the right side of the roadway as it headed west from Davenport, through Creston – at about 90 mph – and ultimately into Wilbur, where fire department and other emergency personnel were getting traffic, children and pedestrians off the main and side streets.

Told of the possible danger, Wilbur pool personnel made sure children there remained out of harm’s way, added Sheriff Wade Mag-ers.

Joining Ball and Jesse Allen in the chase,

deputy Gabe Gants noted he had to push his pa-trol car to about 120 mph to try to catch up.

Before entering Creston, a deputy attempted to stay in front of the wildly driven vehicle to try to use a spike strip to bring it to a halt.

At one point, the Housden vehicle went down into a ditch between Davenport and Creston – but came out again on SR 2. Entering Wilbur, she slowed to between 70 and 80, but while trying to pass another vehicle on the left while its out-of-town driver was attempting a

CRESTON – A 57-year-old Cle Elum, Wash., man was killed Mon-day afternoon when the 1989 GMC boom truck he was driving went out of control and rolled on Miles Cres-ton Road near its intersection with Hawk Creek Road about nine miles north of Creston.

The Washington State Patrol blamed the accident on brake fail-ure.

David J. Lockwood was ejected from the truck as it traveled north-bound. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was trans-ported to Strate Funeral Home in Davenport.

No alcohol or drugs were in-volved, the WSP reported, but Lock-wood apparently wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

According to a report in the Ya-

kima Herald-Republic newspaper, Lockwood was a Cle Elum business owner who was active in his com-munity.

His business, Country Classic Log Homes, constructed many large cabins at Snoqualmie Pass and a resort near Roslyn. He was a Cham-ber of Commerce board member and chaired his community’s annual antique car show in August. Chamber executive director Judy Tokarsyck was quoted as saying that “when Dave Lockwood said he was going to get something done, he would do it.”

The Yakima paper reported he was taking a crane to a construction job when the accident occurred. Crew members following his truck unsuccessfully attempted to revive him.

REARDAN – Culminating what Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers described as “a long investigation that we have been working on for some time,” three Hispanic men were arrested July 22 on drug charges for growing marijuana.

The arrests came at about 9:30 p.m. at the scene of a large-scale marijuana grow in a cornfield north of Reardan.

Taken by deputies to the Lin-coln County jail were Martin A. Amezcua-Gutierrez, 19, of Union Gap, Wash., Jose Luis Olivera, 43, of Kennewick, and Vincente M. Garcia, 51, of Sunnyside.

“The investigation involved hours of surveillance and police work that began when we became aware of the

grow,” Magers explained, emphasiz-ing that “the owners of the field were very cooperative and not involved in the grow operation.”

The suspects were observed going into the field that evening. Respond-ing deputies were assisted by the Spokane Tribal Police in making the arrests.

The following morning, Magers said, a methodical search of the corn rows commenced, with deputies re-covering 1,950 plants that had been hidden within the field. He estimated that the haul, based on about $1,500 per plant at maturity, had a street value of more than $2.9 million.

“This process took several hours and was very time consuming,” the sheriff added.

The Times office will be closed Friday, July 31, through Friday, Aug. 7, to allow for vacation time for our hard-working staff. The office will reopen at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10.

While we’re away, our colleagues at the Cheney Free Press will produce the Aug. 6 paper from their office.

You may use the regular Times email addresses to transmit items to us. Between July 30 and Aug. 6, fax users should dial (509) 235-2887, since the Davenport fax won’t be checked during that week.

Deadline for news, legal notices and display advertising is 5 p.m. Monday. Classified ads will be accepted through noon Tuesday.

If you need to speak to someone while we’re gone, call the Cheney corporate office at (509) 235-6184.

Police chase wild driver from Reardan to Wilbur‘She somehow made it through Davenport without someone being hurt or killed,’ deputy remarks

Times staff on vacation next week; here’s how to get into Aug. 6 issue

Reardan marijuana grow yields arrests of 3 men

Cle Elum businessman killed when truck rolls


LINCOM, the communications collaboration of fire districts and emergency response personnel in Lincoln County, received permission from the county commis-sioners to use $7,300 to purchase and install a repeater on an existing cell phone tower along I-90 near Sprague.

Additionally, $9,089 was granted last week for a repeater and antenna to be installed on land leased for $300 annually from Gerry and Ann Krause to better serve the Wilbur, Creston and Davenport areas from Creston Butte. Another $1,500 was allowed for a geological study of the site.

Davenport fire chief and LINCOM secretary Gene Johnson, accompanied by Wilbur chief Craig Haden and sheriff Wade Magers, explained the Creston equipment, once installed, “will be of benefit to the entire northern tier of the county,” while the Sprague facility could be up and running within 30 days and should enhance communications for emergency personnel in Edwall, Reardan and Lamont.

Three weeks ago, a delegation of Reardan-Edwall based Fire District 4 personnel described the need for an independent review of systems problems that have affected them for several years.

Johnson said last week that LINCOM is waiting for

the results of that consultant’s examination.■ Public comment on the preliminary draft update to

the county’s Solid Waste Management Plan was received at the Public Works Department through last Friday, the commissioners were told.

A Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) meet-ing that had been scheduled for Monday afternoon to review comments was cancelled due to a lack of input received.

The plan is posted on the county’s website (www.co.lincoln.wa.us).

Last week, commissioner Ted Hopkins noted that a “flow control” provision, which is included in the draft, was needed. “We’ve got to get all the haulers in this, or it won’t work,” he said.

Flow control would have all waste transported to the county’s Transfer Station west of Davenport on SR 2, or payments in lieu of that required of non-participating cities and towns.

In the plan update, SWAC members propose an evaluation of the implementation of a flow control ordinance the commissioners would approve to require all solid waste generated and collected in the county’s unincorporated areas to be disposed of at sites the county designates.

WILBUR – It took two years, but mysterious crop circles have shown up again in a wheat field near Wilbur.

Six circles are in the latest formation, discovered in a hard-to-get-to portion of farmer Craig Haden’s field east of the town. Haden found them July 14 while riding a motorcycle and inspecting his crop.

The largest was reported by the Wilbur Register newspaper as 120 feet in diameter with a 16-foot swath of wheat lying down around the outside, leaving 88 feet of standing wheat in the center. The circles decrease in size from there.

Hundreds of visitors came to see the first set of circles discov-ered two summers ago in a field north of Wilbur farmed by Jim Llewellyn.

Weird weather continued to vex the area over the past week. Flash flooding was experienced in the Rocklyn and Harrington areas, demonstrated by these photos taken by Terry Anderson of a washout along Earl Road last Friday. On Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service put up severe weather advisories for thunderstorms near Reardan.

Friday – Reardan-Edwall School Board, goal setting (public) session, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., high school library.

Monday – Lincoln County Commissioners, 8 a.m., court-house.

Flash flood in Rocklyn area

An emu found its way to the Rocklyn area on Tuesday and Wednesday, spotted first near Doug and Debbie Mielke’s place and the following day at Gary and Lynne Maurer’s drinking from a puddle. While it was reported to the Sheriff’s office, no one seemed to know who it may belong to or how far it has trav-eled. It didn’t seem too wary of human contact, judging from this photo of Ben McLachlan (with daughter Vanessa), who managed to pet it.

Courtesy photo/Michelle McLachlanAn emu pays a visit

Repeaters for Sprague, Creston OK’d; comment period on waste plan ends

Davenport Times Page 5Thursday, July 30, 2009

Got a news tip? Know someone interesting whose profile should be in your hometown newspaper? Give the Times a call at 725-0101.


How your kids define citizenship in community, Page 5 Thursday, March 1, 2007

Davenport, Washington

123rd Year, No.

75 cents

DavenportTIMESIf it’s not in

Times,

it just

didn’t fit!

SPRAGUE – What caused a

hazardous materials incident Friday

morning in an I-90 rest area bathroom

near here remains under investigation

by the Washington State Patrol.

A Washington State Department

of Transportation (WSDOT) main-

tenance worker required treatment

at Sacred Heart Medical Center in

Spokane after being exposed to an

unknown chemical odor while he

cleaned a stall door in the women’s

bathroom at the eastbound Sprague

Lake rest area. He was later released

from the hospital.

The man described a “reddish

brown” substance, between eight

and 10 inches in circumference that

A trio of fundraising auctions is scheduled for

Saturday, March 10, benefiting Christian Heritage

School in Edwall, the Davenport Booster Club and the

ning, health care, antiques, furniture, toys, services,

tours, parties, fresh-baked goods and baskets galore.

Also featured at this year’s auction are free child-

care, homemade breakfast and lunch concessions, and

the opportunity for a chair massage by Penny Davis of

■ The two booster club auctions will follow in the

DAVENPORT – During a major construction project

from mid-April to early September, Miles Creston Road

will be closed entirely to traffic between Welch Creek and

Hawk Creek roads, the Lincoln County commissioners

decided on Monday.

The only exceptions would be for emergency and medi-

cal assistance vehicles, emphasized Paul Bennett, Public

Works director, and accommodation will be afforded to

three residences on the south end of the project, as well as

for some agricultural traffic during harvest.

The “limited access” means “prior coordination,”

Bennett’s staff report indicated. “The grade will be closed

to all traffic. The road will be kept in absolute minimum

condition to pass a few vehicles per day. Non-construc-

tion vehicles will not be able to move from one end of

the project to the other.”

“We’ve done projects all the time in Lincoln County

and never had a problem, because the contractors know

that we need to get the farmers through – it’s their

livelihood,” added Rick Becker of the Public Works

Department.

A paved detour will utilize SR 2 and 25, adding about

22 miles and 15 to 30 minutes of additional travel time.

But if the commissioners had consented to one lane of

traffic, motorists would still have encountered delays of

similar spans and days at a time when the road would

have been closed anyway for blasting operations, Ben-

nett said.With their decision, at least $300,000 in additional

project costs will be saved, with two pilot cars, and a

total of four flaggers not necessary. Two flaggers will be

needed and signs will be posted on the state highways to

alert travelers about the closure and detour.

Bennett had reviewed the pros and cons of keeping

the road open and closing it with the commissioners at

a previous week’s session. That evening, he shared the

information with the Creston School Board. That district

runs buses on the portion of roadway that will be under

construction.

“We’re not interested in running our bus over rough

roads,” board member (and county treasurer) Linda

Fisher reported this week. “Plus, nobody wants to have

to sit with a busload of kids when the bus isn’t moving”

when traffic would have been halted.

Fisher said Creston school officials would like to

see the project confined to a single year, which Bennett

explained would only occur if the road was closed to

traffic while work ensued.

By MARK SMITH

Of the Times

DAVENPORT – Taking a step

closer to selecting a new superinten-

dent of schools, Davenport directors

planned to gather tonight (Thursday)

to review applications with their

consultants.

Twenty-one completed applica-

tions have been received, director

Merilla Hopkins told her colleagues

during the board’s regular meeting

on Tuesday night. Just more than

40 brochures and forms had been

sent out by the consulting firm to

inquirers.Once the directors trim the field

down to a manageable level, a pro-

cess will unfold that will include

visits by directors to the applicants’

current schools. Finalists will be in-

vited to come to Davenport to meet

with board members, faculty and

staff, students and the community

at-large.“We’re hoping we have the pro-

cess done so that we’ll have a

selection by our next regular board

meeting on March 27,” director Patti

Ensor said.

Depending upon how things go

and how much in demand the finalists

are in other districts, colleague Scott

Hutsell noted that the board may

have to act quickly and decisively

to acquire the best man or woman

for the position. And that could force

interviews and community forums

they’d like to include in the process

to be scheduled hastily (without the

benefit of notice in the newspaper

that publishes once a week).

Notification would be available

through contact with the district

office (725-1481), communications

sent home with students and on the

district’s website (www.davenport.

wednet.edu).

“We could be in a competitive

situation here,” Hutsell said.

Indeed, superintendent searches

also are occurring in the neighbor-

ing Harrington and Creston districts,

whose leaders, Randy Behrens and

Mike Crowell, respectively, are plan-

textbooks in disuse and forced photo

copying of another text for students

who were unable to have their own,

prompting concern from board chair

Pat Rosman about copyright issues

that may be involved.

“I think the board should be

deciding modifications in courses,”

Rosman said, not only in approv

ing additions to the curriculum, but

subtractions as well.

Rosman suggested that indepen

dent study be made available for

students who wished the greater

challenge and Ensor added that “the

district has an obligation to provide

for its brighter students.” Mike Strite

also favored an independent study

alternative, but praised teacher Jim

Stinson because he “didn’t allow kids

who were struggling to fail.”

ing the March 8 Bi-County Speech,

Commissioners decide to close Miles Creston Road during construction

School board starts review of

applicants for superintendent

ning retirements in June.

■ Meanwhile, a committee of

board members, faculty and admin-

istration have begun a three-year

process that will culminate with an

updated “school improvement plan,”

mandated by the state.

An overview of “Creating A

Culture for Continuing Improve-

ment” is the focus of Friday’s staff

development day that will have

them report to work while students

are given a day away from the

classroom.

Hopkins presented a draft mis-

sion statement and beliefs to her

colleagues on Tuesday. The state-

ment reads: “The Davenport School

District, in collaboration with the

parents/guardians and the com-

munity, will provide a safe, caring

and stimulating environment that

empowers students to persevere and

become contributing people and

problem solvers in our diverse and

ever-changing world. In an atmo-

sphere of equality, acceptance and

respect, we will assist our students

to develop their academic knowl-

edge, career and social skills. We

encourage the effort and imagination

necessary for students to become

self-disciplined, responsible and

productive citizens.”

FFA/ag instructor Brad Watkins

suggested that “leadership” was a

word and concept missing from the

draft and asked that it be considered

for inclusion. “That’s what we’re

trying to teach our students – to be

leaders,” he said.

■ That discussion followed a seg

ment in which the board expressed

its desire to be involved in decisions

concerning modifications in courses

offered.The immediate situation involved

an U.S. history class for juniors that

began with a more advanced college

prep orientation, but soon adopted a

more midstream approach because

its instructor believed it to be a bet

ter fit for some who were struggling

in the class.

The change left recently acquired

Falcons double up on state championships

Photo for the Times/Doris Norris

Sprague-Harrington’s Falcon girls’ basketball team, state championship trophy firmly in their pos-

session, celebrate after defeating Sunnyside Christian at the state 1B tournament in Yakima. All the

details of the Falcons’ experience, comments from head coach Ed Shields and more photos are on

pages 6 and 12 of today’s Times.

WSP investigates chemical incident

at Sprague I-90 rest area bathroom

looked like motor oil.

A Spokane Fire Department Haz-

Mat crew requested by the Patrol and

the Sprague Fire Department, made

entry in fully encapsulated suits

with special monitoring equipment,

Spokane battalion chief Dan Brown

related. A sponge and glove used

by the maintenance worker were

recovered and analyzed with infrared

spectrometer and gas spectrometer

devices.Brown said it appeared that the

cleaning agent possibly reacted with

the substance on the stall door. The

building was completely ventilated

and the hazard removed. Four hours

later, the incident was determined to

be under control.

On the previous day, a woman

told Lincoln County Sheriff’s dis-

patchers of a possible chemical

odor that seemed to originate in that

restroom.Elsewhere, two Almira residents

who were occupants of a 1993 Ford

Explorer that traveled down an em-

bankment and rolled on Feb. 24 on

SR 2 required hospital attention.

The WSP reports that the driver,

Joshua Mings, 25, was treated at

Lincoln Hospital in Davenport and

released. A passenger, Tasha Pruitt,

26, was ejected from the vehicle.

She was transported to Deaconess

Medical Center in Spokane.

Eastbound on SR 2 near milepost

215, the vehicle lost control and

ended up coming to rest on its wheels

in a field. The WSP said the cause

was speed too fast for the snowy

conditions at the time.

The Times crew came to work

Thursday morning and, like many

of you, found our Internet and e-

mail service was down and that

Hold those e-mails, please

Benefit auctions near: Prepare your checkbook!

At the Times, little things mean a lot...

MORE QUESTIONS? CALL:News and Sports: Mark Smith, Managing EditorLegal Notices, Display and Classifi ed Advertising and Subscriptions: Marcia Smith.DAVENPORT TIMESP.O. Box 66 Davenport, WA 99122 506 Morgan Street(509) 725-0101 Fax: 725-0009 Email: [email protected] 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday,9 to 11 a.m. and 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday. Closed Fridays.

SPRAGUE – What caused a

hazardous materials incident Friday

morning in an I-90 rest area bathroom

near here remains under investigation

DAVENPORT – During a major construction project

from mid-April to early September, Miles Creston Road

will be closed entirely to traffic between Welch Creek and

Hawk Creek roads, the Lincoln County commissioners

The only exceptions would be for emergency and medi-

cal assistance vehicles, emphasized Paul Bennett, Public

Works director, and accommodation will be afforded to

three residences on the south end of the project, as well as

for some agricultural traffic during harvest.

The “limited access” means “prior coordination,”

Bennett’s staff report indicated. “The grade will be closed

to all traffic. The road will be kept in absolute minimum

condition to pass a few vehicles per day. Non-construc-

tion vehicles will not be able to move from one end of

the project to the other.”

“We’ve done projects all the time in Lincoln County

and never had a problem, because the contractors know

that we need to get the farmers through – it’s their

livelihood,” added Rick Becker of the Public Works

Department.

A paved detour will utilize SR 2 and 25, adding about

22 miles and 15 to 30 minutes of additional travel time.

But if the commissioners had consented to one lane of

similar spans and days at a time when the road would

have been closed anyway for blasting operations, Ben

nett said.With their decision, at least $300,000 in additional

project costs will be saved, with two pilot cars, and a

total of four flaggers not necessary. Two flaggers will be

needed and signs will be posted on the state highways to

alert travelers about the closure and detour.

Bennett had reviewed the pros and cons of keeping

the road open and closing it with the commissioners at

a previous week’s session. That evening, he shared the

roads,” board member (and county treasurer) Linda

Fisher reported this week. “Plus, nobody wants to have

to sit with a busload of kids when the bus isn’t moving”

when traffic would have been halted.

Fisher said Creston school officials would like to

see the project confined to a single year, which Bennett

explained would only occur if the road was closed to

traffic while work ensued.

By MARK SMITH

Of the Times

DAVENPORT – Taking a step

closer to selecting a new superinten-

dent of schools, Davenport directors

planned to gather tonight (Thursday)

to review applications with their

consultants.

Twenty-one completed applica-

tions have been received, director

Merilla Hopkins told her colleagues

during the board’s regular meeting

on Tuesday night. Just more than

40 brochures and forms had been

sent out by the consulting firm to

inquirers.Once the directors trim the field

down to a manageable level, a pro-

cess will unfold that will include

visits by directors to the applicants’

current schools. Finalists will be in-

vited to come to Davenport to meet

with board members, faculty and

staff, students and the community

at-large.“We’re hoping we have the pro-

cess done so that we’ll have a

selection by our next regular board

meeting on March 27,” director Patti

Ensor said.

Depending upon how things go

and how much in demand the finalists

are in other districts, colleague Scott

Hutsell noted that the board may

have to act quickly and decisively

to acquire the best man or woman

for the position. And that could force

interviews and community forums

they’d like to include in the process

to be scheduled hastily (without the

benefit of notice in the newspaper

that publishes once a week).

Notification would be available



textbooks in disuse and forced photo

copying of another text for students

who were unable to have their own,

prompting concern from board chair

Pat Rosman about copyright issues

that may be involved.

deciding modifications in courses,”

Rosman said, not only in approv

ing additions to the curriculum, but

subtractions as well.

Commissioners decide to close Miles Creston Road during construction

School board starts review of

applicants for superintendent

ning retirements in June.

■ Meanwhile, a committee of

board members, faculty and admin-

istration have begun a three-year

process that will culminate with an

updated “school improvement plan,”

mandated by the state.

An overview of “Creating A

Culture for Continuing Improve-

ment” is the focus of Friday’s staff

development day that will have

them report to work while students

are given a day away from the

classroom.

Hopkins presented a draft mis-

sion statement and beliefs to her

colleagues on Tuesday. The state-

ment reads: “The Davenport School

District, in collaboration with the

parents/guardians and the com

munity, will provide a safe, caring

and stimulating environment that

empowers students to persevere and

become contributing people and

problem solvers in our diverse and

ever-changing world. In an atmo

sphere of equality, acceptance and

respect, we will assist our students

to develop their academic knowl

edge, career and social skills. We

encourage the effort and imagination

necessary for students to become

self-disciplined, responsible and

productive citizens.”

FFA/ag instructor Brad Watkins

suggested that “leadership” was a

word and concept missing from the

draft and asked that it be considered

for inclusion. “That’s what we’re

trying to teach our students – to be

leaders,” he said.

■ That discussion followed a seg

ment in which the board expressed

its desire to be involved in decisions

concerning modifications in courses

offered.The immediate situation involved

Falcons double up on state championships

Photo for the Times/Doris Norris

Sprague-Harrington’s Falcon girls’ basketball team, state championship trophy firmly in their pos-

session, celebrate after defeating Sunnyside Christian at the state 1B tournament in Yakima. All the

details of the Falcons’ experience, comments from head coach Ed Shields and more photos are on

pages 6 and 12 of today’s Times.

WSP investigates chemical incident

at Sprague I-90 rest area bathroom

looked like motor oil.

A Spokane Fire Department Haz-

Mat crew requested by the Patrol and

the Sprague Fire Department, made

entry in fully encapsulated suits

with special monitoring equipment,

Spokane battalion chief Dan Brown

patchers of a possible chemical

odor that seemed to originate in that

restroom.Elsewhere, two Almira residents

who were occupants of a 1993 Ford

Explorer that traveled down an em-

bankment and rolled on Feb. 24 on

SR 2 required hospital attention.

The WSP reports that the driver,

PHOTO REPRINTSSelected digital images of staff-taken photos published in the Times are available without charge by email or on a disk you provide. Please don’t violate copyright law and use a Times photo without our permission. If you use one of our photos in another publication, please note therein that the photo is “courtesy of the Davenport Times.” Requests for other photos supplied by outside sources should be made to them directly.

ANNOUNCING AN EVENTStop by our offi ce or send us an email or fax with your information. There’s no charge for announcing non-commercial events that are open to the general public.

SNOWBIRD SERVICEIf you’re one of our faithful readers who moves south each winter, you can take us with you. Just pay the difference of $5 that the post offi ce charges us. Call or stop by with your winter address. Have a safe trip!

SPORTS SCORESWe have a special late deadline to accommodate weekend and Tuesday night sports events. Just get the word to us no later than 10 a.m. Wednesday. Our emphasis is on high school varsity teams (Davenport, Reardan, Sprague-Harrington and Christian Heritage), but we welcome submissions about other youth and adult sports, including bowling, Little League, Little Guys wrestling, shooting – you get the idea. Our one-person news staff can’t be everywhere and appreciates those who send along information and photos!

NEWSPAPER TOURSAlthough we print the Times at our corporate offi ces in Cheney, there’s still a lot to show interested folk at our Davenport offi ce, from which we do the reporting, writing, editing, photo processing, advertising work and page design. As an added bonus, you get some face-to-face contact with the two characters who work here! We’re especially happy to have school classes and youth groups visit – and our editor doesn’t mind being a guest speaker in the classroom. Call today to make arrangements.

B ecause we’re a special kind of newspaper—a community newspaper—it’s the little story that’s a big part of our job.Community newspapers don’t try to cover the whole world – just our corner of it. And those little stories aren’t really so little: Births, weddings, graduations, honor rolls, sports events, anniversaries. Those are the really big events in your life and that’s why they’re a big part of our job. We provide some other little services, too. Here are a few of them. If there’s some little thing we can do for you, just give us a call.



sent home with students and on the

district’s website (www.davenport.

“We could be in a competitive

offered.

an U.S. history class for juniors that

began with a more advanced college

prep orientation, but soon adopted a

“We could be in a competitive prep orientation, but soon adopted a


office (725-1481), communications concerning modifications in courses

offered.

PLACING CLASSIFIED ADSIt’s fast and easy to phone in classifi eds. We can help you write a great ad and tell you how to enlarge its circulation through special rate packages involving papers in Cheney (Free Press), Spokane Valley (News Herald) and Fairchild Air Force Base. Purchasing two weeks will get you the third insertion free. Our local classifi ed ad deadline is noon Tuesday.

ENGAGEMENTS, WEDDINGS and ANNIVERSARIESWe have handy little forms to help you remember all the crucial information. You can send us glossy photos or digital images. Black and white reproduces best, but we can convert color as well.

OBITUARIESDeath notices and funeral information is accepted from individuals or funeral homes without charge, but are subject to editing and conformance to journalistic style. Paid notices also are available, offering fl exibility to include details and commentary. Photos are accepted without additional fees.

BACK ISSUESIf you’re comfortable doing research, the fastest, most comfortable place to read back issues of the Times is at the Davenport Public Library. Our bound volumes going back more than 100 years are available for review in our offi ce only. A limited number of back issues are available for sale at the offi ce. We’re okay with photocopying articles from the archives if single copies are no longer on hand for a small fee.

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Barlee Brown gratefully thanks the Davenport Chamber of Com-merce and Pioneer Days Committee for the distinction of representing our community as Grand Marshal of the parade this year. Special thanks to Mark and Marcia Smith for their interview, stories, and photos in the Davenport Times; friends Betty Beebe for her enthusiastic support and BJ and Jennifer Curley for carrying the parade banner; cousins Don and Sudee Boyk for their time and effort preparing cars for the parade; Don, cousins Paulette and Peter Meldahl, and children Marita and Brad Cardinal for driving and riding in the parade along with me; the many others who worked at the event; and friends who shared their kind thoughts and support. My husband Ralph, parents Gene and Milly Boyk, and siblings Leland, Addy, and Lois would have been so pleased to see me in this role for the town we all loved so much. It was a true honor and pleasure and I am most appreciative...oh yes, and I did wear my cowgirl outfit from 1940, including the boots!

Thank You!Thank You!

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Milford “Bax” BaxterM i l f o r d

“Bax” Baxter, 86, died June 13 at his home in Central Point, Ore.

He was born in Leduc, Al-berta, Canada, to Eliza and Clyde Baxter. He joined the Navy during World War II. In 1942, he married his high school sweetheart, Gladys Maier.

He worked for Washington Water Power Co. (now Avista) until his re-tirement. He was an avid fisherman, basketball fan and enjoyed spending time outdoors and with his family.

Besides his wife, he leaves a daughter Linda; granddaughter Holli; and great-great grandson August.

Connie MyersMemorial service for Connie Dar-

lene (Hefte) Myers, 61, took place June 20 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Spokane.

Mrs. Myers died June 9. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after Thanksgiving of last year.

Born Jan. 29, 1948, she was the last of four daughters born to Alvin and Isabella (Mitchell) Hefte of Otis Orchards. Her parents operated a large tomato farm before starting a construction business. As a young girl, she showed horses, was active in 4-H, sewed and took dance and piano lessons. She was a member of Ferris High School’s first graduating class in 1966 and attended Washington State University for three years.

She married Roy Meye in 1969. He worked as a Washington State Patrol trooper in Colfax, Arlington, Granite Falls, Reardan and Dav-enport, where she worked in the Lincoln County Treasurer’s Office, taught piano and was a church pianist and organist for several churches.

She also served as church trea-surer for the Davenport United Methodist and Assembly of God churches.

After their divorce in 1999, she worked in adult homes and nursing homes in Sandpoint, Idaho, and Newport, accompanied the Inland Northwest Men’s Chorus and also was employed by the Spokane County Treasurer’s and Clerk’s offices.

She and Steve Myers, a retired Lutheran pastor, married in Novem-ber 2002 and made their home in northwest Spokane. They enjoyed traveling, including several visits to Mexico and Scotland (which she had visited three times with her mother), and shorter B&B vacations to Canada.

An active member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, she also participated in various walks for MS and Alzheimer’s disease. She

Bernice L. KanzlerCelebration of Life memorial

service for Bernice L. Kanzler, 94, a lifetime Davenport area resident, is planned at 11 a.m. Friday, July 31, at the Strate Funeral Home Chapel in Davenport, with the Rev. Ted Broadway officiating.

Mrs. Kanzler died July 25 in Spokane.

Born Aug. 26, 1914, in Daven-port, she was the daughter of William and Emma (Heid) Walker. She and her husband George farmed north of Davenport for many years before retiring in 1971 to live in Davenport. She moved in 2007 to the Good

Boyd ResselCelebration

of Life memo-rial service for Boyd Ressel, 87, took place Monday, July 27, at First Pres-byterian Church in Davenport.

Mr. Ressel died July 23.Born March 12, 1922, on the

family farm near Chambers, Neb., he lived with his parents and 10 siblings until the farm was sold in October 1947. For the next two years, he lived and worked in San Francisco, Calif., and near Bend, Ore., before moving to O’Neill, Neb., where he took a job with a new electric cooperative that had just started operation.

He married Rosalie Summers at the O’Neill Presbyterian Church. The couple became parents of four children. In 1955, they moved to Opheim, Mont., where he was a foreman for an electric coopera-tive, then moved two years later to Challis, Idaho, where he worked for Salmon River Electric Cooperative. He was manager there for 12 years and became active in various North-west electric associations, serving as president of the Idaho Coopera-tive Utilities Association and on the board of directors for the Snake River Power Association and the Northwest Public Power Association.

In 1972, he accepted the manage-ment position at Lincoln Electric Cooperative in Davenport. He also served as president of the Wash-ington Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

After suffering a stroke, he retired in 1984. Family members recall his “sheer perseverance” that helped him “overcome this setback and re-learn how to walk and talk.” Describing it as a “source of inspiration for his family, he proved with his own life by overcoming polio as a child and a stroke later in life that no goal is

Obituaries

also belonged to the PEO Sister-hood in Davenport, Priest River and Spokane.

Preceding her in death were her father; a brother, Charles Hefte, and sisters Twylla Kahkonen and Saun-dra Stangland, and a brother-in-law, Bill Kahkonen.

Besides her husband, she leaves her mother, Isabella Hollis of Spo-kane; sister Bonnie Kodis (Gaith-er) of Whidbey Island; daughters Tammy Hammond (Spencer) and grandson Bryce of Portland, Ore., Terrisa Burke (John) of Seattle, Tra-cie Uhrich (Mike) of Maple Valley; and a brother-in-law Al Stangland of Edwall.

She also leaves stepchildren, Jennifer Hammer (Scott) of Moses Lake, and granddaughters Molly, Allison and Greta; Steven Myers of New York City; and Kari Myers of Portland.

Memorial gifts may be made to PEO Emergency Loan Fund, Cot-tey College (Nevada, Mo.), Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Hospice of Spokane, American Cancer So-ciety or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

– Hennessey Valley Funeral Home and Crematory, Spokane Valley

impossible if you put your mind to it.”

After his retirement, he took a very active interest in Davenport’s First Presbyterian Church and served in numerous capacities. He also be-longed to the Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce and was a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge. He served as well as one of the origi-nal board members of Wheatland Bank.

A family statement noted that he “lived his life in a way that made him an example to others with his integrity, gentlemanly demeanor and love and dedication to his Lord and to his family.”

His parents, several brothers and sisters, and a son, Charles, preceded him in death.

Besides his wife of nearly 56 years, he leaves two daughters, Phyllis Dowling and Mary Hopkins; a son, Bill; two grandchildren, Mat-thew Hopkins and Michael Hopkins; and several brothers and sisters.

Family members noted “it was Boyd’s wish that money be donated to worthy charities in lieu of flow-ers.”– Strate Funeral Home, Davenport

Samaritan Assisted Living Center in Spokane Valley.

She enjoyed gardening, watching sports (especially those that involved her grandchildren and great-grand-children), and playing cards at the Senior Center. She belonged to First Presbyterian Church and Community Grange.

Her husband of 42 years preceded her in death.

She leaves three daughters (and sons-in-law), Anita and Larry Foster of Centralia, Wash., Wenda and Roy Mackey of Liberty Lake, and Yvonne and Ken Manning of Antelope, Ca-lif.; three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. The family suggests memorials be made to the American Heart Association. – Strate Funeral Home, Davenport

Times Obituary Policy: Obituaries are published in the Times without charge and are subject to editing and conformance to journalistic style. Alternative paid tributes are available. Photographs are gladly accepted. We welcome your consideration in purchasing “thank-you notices” that will be preserved for years to come in the community’s ongoing historical chronicle and help us keep obituaries a free service for our readers.

left turn, the resulting collision ended the chase.

Housden’s vehicle lost control and both front wheels ended up on a sidewalk facing south, according to the court record.

Displaying his weapon, Ball or-dered Housden out of the vehicle several times and finally was forced to physically remove her from it. A meth pipe was found during a search.

Magers said the suspect “had no explanation for her reckless behavior. We are bery fortunate that no one was injured.”

He characterized the incident as “an extremely dangerous situation” and praised deputies, WSP troopers and civilians “who were placed into harm’s way, but all handled the situ-ation with professionalism.”

CHASEContinued from page 1

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If it’s not in the Times,

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Thursday, December 3, 2009Davenport, Washington

126th Year, No. 28

75 cents



Care Project work about to be done

The Week Ahead

Holidays bring earlier deadlines

Special to the TimesFormer Davenport Gorilla student and star

athlete Jennifer (Stinson) Greeny recently lived out an adventure that will probably rate highly on her playing and coaching resume.

Greeny, a 1995 Gorilla graduate, is in her third season as head volleyball coach at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

Each of her three teams have won the regular season Frontier Conference title (tied for top spot this year), won the league tour-nament, and have qualified for the National NAIA Volleyball Tournament. She has been named Coach of the Year all three seasons. Her current record at L-C State is 80-19.

Her adventure has been going on all sea-son, but it came to a climax shortly after the completion of the Frontier League tourna-ment in Lewiston on Nov. 13-14.

Greeny hit the 9-month pregnant plateau when the tournament began. If the Warriors won the tournament they would qualify for

Nationals, which would begin the following week.

Their coach wanted to make sure she could be there for her team, so she arranged a pos-sible deal with the OB doctors in Pullman to “move things along,” so the baby would be born Sunday or Monday. The Warriors also thought they were ranked high enough that they would host a first-round tournament game in Lewiston.

Greeny and her husband, Burdette (who served as her assistant coach), had to come up with a quick Plan B. The NAIA decided on a regional concept in the first-round pair-ings, and the Warriors were assigned to travel to Ashland, Ore., to play the highly ranked University of Southern Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 21. It would be a 13-hour trip from Lewiston.

Also, “there was no room at the inn” at the hospital in Pullman, so the doctors could not begin the inducement procedure.

But Leah Jae Greeny and her mother had other ideas. After a frustrating Sunday (which included a long walk to try to get things going), the highly competitive former Go-rilla star began natural labor at about 1 p.m. in Lewiston on Nov. 16, and at 2:57 Leah made her appearance in Pull-man. All went very well. Now back to coaching.

After the short over-night stay in Pullman, Greeny went back to work on Wednesday and prepared her team for the trip to Ashland. The players left Thursday. The next day, their head coach, her newborn daughter and maternal

grandparents Jim and Judy Stinson followed, driving the 660 miles. Leah slept 11 of the 13 hours.

Saturday’s match start-ed very, very poorly, as the Warriors fell behind the tough Southern Or-egon team 18-2 in the first game, eventually losing 25-15. But L-C took the second game by a 25-14 score, lost the third 32-30 (after leading by 6), won game four, 25-13, and ral-lied to win the shortened fifth game, 16-14.

Now Leah gets to fly off to Sioux City, Iowa, for the rest of the national

tournament, scheduled for this week (Dec. 1-5). She obviously didn’t want to miss it!

JENNIFER GREENY

Former Gorilla gives birth one day, back on sidelines the next

Churches, organizations and school groups are invited to share their plans for the Christmas season with the Times and its readers.

Information can be sent to us at P.O. Box 66, Davenport, WA 99122, by fax at (509) 725-0009, by email ([email protected] or [email protected]) or hand-delivered to 506 Morgan Street.

Share your holiday plans with us

If you want into the Times’ Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 issues, please note these deadlines.

Display advertising for both editions will be received until 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18. Legal notices and news department submissions received after that date will have to wait until the Jan. 7, 2010, issue to be published.

Classified advertising for both holiday week issues will be ac-cepted until 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21.

The newspaper plans to print both issues on an early schedule so that copies will be in your mailboxes before Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Dec. 24 is-sue will include holiday greeting ads, letters to Santa Claus from area schoolchildren and Baby’s First Christmas. The Dec. 31 issue is expected to contain the annual Year-in-Review features.

To accommodate these short-ened deadlines, the Times office will be open on Friday, Dec. 18.

Our staff plans to get in some rest time between the two holi-days, so the office will be closed from noon Wednesday, Dec. 23, to 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 4.

Work is about to finish up on this year’s Christmas Care Project sponsored by the Davenport Lions Club and co-chaired by Sydney Schneider and Verna Schneider.

“We hope you will remember those in your community who need our help,” Sydney comment-ed. “Our goal is to purchase an article of clothing for each child, prioritizing winter clothing needs, and if possible a toy for each child. Then we try to purchase a prior-ity item, based on need for adults requesting help.”

Those wishing to help can take a name from the giving trees located at all of the banks, by sponsoring an entire family and bringing the gift(s) back by Dec. 12 or by sending money to Daven-port Lions Care Project in care of Sydney Schneider, P.O. Box 146, Davenport, WA 99122.

She or Verla can be reached at 725-0870 or 725-0485, respec-tively, by those wishing to offer other kinds of help or having questions.

The deadline for those wishing to apply for help was Nov. 27.

Laughing all the way!Young Logan Ensor enjoys his time with Santa Claus (whose visit was coordinated by Richard and Denise Hayes) during last Sunday evening’s Hometown Christmas event in Davenport’s Memorial Hall. Mild weather facilitated a good turnout for tasty food, musical entertainment, prize giveaways and, as the photo below demonstrates, wagon rides in the downtown core. More photos are on page 3 of today’s Times.

Wearing a black jacket, Karolynn Marsan, of Athol, Idaho, the 2010 Ambassador for the North Idaho Draft Horse and Mule Association, was among those helping Jon and Michelle Overmyer with the wagon ride element of last Sunday’s Davenport Hometown Christmas. “We were fortunate to have her with us,” Michelle commented. “She travels around to many different draft horse and mule events to pro-mote draft horse and draft mule history and the Idaho State Draft Horse and Mule Show in September in Sandpoint.” Also in the photo, to Marsan’s left, is Nicole Wolfe from Wilbur, who, Michelle explains “is ourYouth Mule Teamster and always takes advantage of getting to drive the mules (Tom and Bill) anytime that she can.”

Monday, Dec. 7 – Lincoln County commissioners, 8 a.m., courthouse.

Wednesday, Dec. 9 – Daven-port City Council, 7 p.m., city hall; Reardan-Edwall School Board, 6 p.m., high school library.


SPRAGUE – No negotiation sessions have yet been scheduled between the City of Sprague and Lincoln County in the wake of the county commissioners’ decision to terminate the current contract for po-lice services at the end of this year.

In a Nov. 18 letter to the city, the commissioners wrote they felt “it is prudent … to given official notice of our desire to terminate the contract, effective Dec. 31” but added, “we fully expect to continue to discuss a new contract for next year.”

It was the latest development in what has become a dispute between the two entities over the cost of providing law enforcement services from the county sheriff’s office.

City officials have offered $15,000 for a year’s worth of protection that Sheriff Wade Magers and the com-missioners say can’t be provided for less than $35,000.

The city has asked county officials to explain the specific costs and jus-tify their $35,000 figure, but thus far doesn’t believe that request has been met, despite letters between the two and meetings involving Magers and commission chair Dennis Bly.

Correspondence between the two governments acknowledges that each faces economic issues.

City officials “need to be able to explain to their citizens the basis of the costs for contracting with the sheriff,” Sprague’s city attorney, Cynthia McMullen, wrote in a Nov. 16 letter to the commissioners.

She and city administrator Rick Harwood emphasized that the city has no desire to end its contractual relationship with the county or es-tablish its own municipal police department.

“The city’s position is very sim-ple,” Harwood said this week. “We just want to know how the county arrives at the figure they charge us for the services we pay for. They have not done so to-date. We have asked

repeatedly, but the commissioners have failed to provide the requested specific details. Our concern lies with the commissioners’ inability or unwillingness to offer a fair, jus-tifiable contract for us and all of the contract cities.”

He added that the city “is, and always has been, willing to sit down and bargain in good faith. We have attempted to do so for over a year. The commissioners have stated as late as this week that they ‘won’t budge’ on the price.”

In their Nov. 18 letter, the com-missioners (Bly, Scott Hutsell and Ted Hopkins) acknowledge that if the two entities don’t adjust on price, “we may be at an impasse that cannot be overcome.”

Citing the meetings between them, the commissioners concluded their letter by noting “the decision is really yours to make. Either contract for another year at the current rate ($35,000), or we will terminate the contract effective Dec. 31.”

But Harwood told the Times that he believes “the ball is really in the commissioners’ court now.”

He noted that the notice of termi-nation came from the commissioners, not the city. Come Jan. 1, if the two entities haven’t reached an agree-ment, he said the city could, under state law, “force the county into binding arbitration should it become necessary.”

Under state law, the sheriff, as the county’s chief law enforcement officer, “has both a duty and an obli-gation to respond to calls for service” inside the city limits, whether or not a contract is in effect, Harwood added.

“In short, the law is on our side,” he said. “Even if we don’t pay them, they have to come anyway. We hope to avoid this. Sheriff Magers and I have spoken on multiple occasions and he has assured me that even if a new contract isn’t reached, ‘if someone in Sprague dials 911, we’re coming.’”

Costs of providing law enforcement is sticking point for Sprague, countyCounty gives notice to end contract; city wants ‘good faith effort to justify price’

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Thursday, February 4, 2010Davenport, Washington

126th Year, No. 37

75 cents


Times photo/Mark Smith

Four seek 2010 Junior Miss title

Repairs start on recalled Toyotas

The Week AheadMonday, Feb. 8

7 p.m. – Harrington meeting on proposed Odessa school partner-ship, Harrington High School.

Tuesday, Feb. 9ELECTION DAY – Return bal-

lots for Davenport and Harrington School M & O levy proposals to Lincoln County Auditor’s Office.

Wednesday, Feb. 106 p.m. – Reardan-Edwall School

Board, high school library.7 p.m. – Davenport City Coun-

cil, city hall.7 p.m. – Sprague-Lamont

School Boards, Lamont Middle School.

Return school ballots by Feb. 9

Ballots are in voters’ hands awaiting their decision on mainte-nance and operation levies in the Davenport and Harrington school districts.

Completed ballots must be returned by Feb. 9 to be included in the election count.

Both districts are asking voter consideration of replacement lev-ies, essentially renewing (with some increases in funding) what is already in place.

The auto manufacturer Toyota released a statement Monday say-ing it would begin providing repairs of accelerator pedals on millions of recalled vehicles at dealerships across the nation this week.

Toyota recalled and suspended sales of eight vehicle models fol-lowing concern over the safety of accelerator pedals which have been reported to stick in some cases.

Details on the recall and addi-tional safety information is posted at www.toyota.com or call 1-800-331-4331.

HARRINGTON – A community meeting with the proposed school partnership with Odessa as the primary topic has been scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, at the Har-rington School cafeteria.

Harrington School District staff met Wednesday afternoon to discuss the issue.

Supt. Monte Swenson described the two meetings as an opportunity for the school board “to make sound educational decisions for our district’s future.”

Letters were sent to district patrons last week inviting them to Monday’s meeting, designed to “gather input regarding direction for the future.”

Both sessions are being facilitated by Helene Paroff, an assistant superintendent with Spo-kane-based Educational Service District 101.

“The initial goal for these meetings is for the community and staff to formulate input through Ms. Paroff’s assistance to be considered by the board,” Swenson explained. “The final goal is for the board to decide whether to change educational direction at this time.”

Swenson said conversations during the past several months between Harrington and Odes-sa community members, school administrators and directors focused on “combining efforts, including classes, staff and athletics.”

The two boards, along with their chief administrators, met in a combined session in Odessa on Jan. 6 and launched formal discus-sions that could lead in a partnership between the two districts.

The discussions are rooted in the larger context of decreased state funding for K-12

education, along with talk on the state level about the possibility of consolidating schools with fewer than 150 students enrolled.

“We were identified as one of 50 schools that fit that description, since we have 128 students,” Swenson said. “Last year’s state reduction in funding prompted reduced staff-ing in many schools, not all of them small. Reduced funding for education because of reduced revenue at state levels is again a sig-nificant challenge for the current legislative session and will also be a challenge for the next biennium.”

Also driving the proposed sharing relation-ship is a desire “to save money and provide quality programs for students,” he added. “The challenge for school districts is to maintain some sort of autonomy and yet offer the most

programs possible in an efficient manner. This is Harrington’s challenge as well. Efficiency has become a key word in legislative circles, (not to mention households). The board is seeking direction and [patrons’] input is im-portant.”

Harrington currently participates in an athletic cooperative with the Sprague and Lamont districts, but shares no other programs and staff.

If Harrington and Odessa link up for ath-letics, it is likely that the coop with Sprague-Lamont would be dissolved.

At the Jan. 6 Odessa meeting, two Har-rington directors, Linda Mielke and Scott Miller, expressed satisfaction with their school’s sports partnership with Sprague-Lamont.

Four Davenport High School juniors are seeking the title of 2010 Junior Miss.

The annual program is sched-uled on Saturday, April 3, in the high school auditorium.

This year’s contestants include Amria Akre, Krista Becker, Sa-mantha Sawyer and Tia Bousman. They will assume seats on the community float occupied this year by 2009 Junior Miss Susan Reider and representatives Katie Vesneske, Alysha Brantley and Shelby Thomas.

Among the highlights of 2009, Reider told attendees at last Thurs-day’s Chamber of Commerce banquet, was receiving the Prin-cess Award at Spokane’s Lilac Parade.


Hawk Creek area residents Lynn and Patty Richardson will have per-manent access through Johns Rocky Way to their property, Lincoln County Superior Court Judge John Strohmaier ruled on Jan. 22.

His “memorandum opinion” has been filed in the court record; an order will follow after attorneys involved in the case review the memorandum, the judge explained this week.

Bringing to a conclusion a case filed in 2007 by the Richardsons against Marie Johns on behalf of the Danver Johns LLC, which she manages, Strohmaier determined that the petitioners “have established their right to prescriptive easement for themselves, their family, visi-tors, guests and others with a valid business purpose to see them at their residence.”

Otherwise, their property essen-tially would have been landlocked, with only a “back way access” that Strohmaier said was “more danger-ous, especially during winter, with five times the distance, less main-tained, very steep and is often closed due to snow drifts.”

Before issuing his ruling, the judge traveled the road for himself on two occasions and viewed DVDs supplied to him.

Based on testimony at trial during December, the judge decided that the Richardsons had used Johns Rocky Way as their primary access since 1973, when Mrs. Richardson (then Patty Bilyen) and her then-husband purchased property in the Hawk Creek area.

“They accessed it through this

road with no knowledge it was pri-vate,” the judge wrote. People ini-tially “believed it was a government road,” since it was constructed in the 1940s by the Bonneville Power Ad-ministration, which made improve-ments between 1975 and 1985.

Known at first as the “Bonneville Road,” it was never considered by Danver and Verna Johns (Marie’s parents) as their private property, Strohmaier wrote, noting the influ-ence of testimony from Davenport resident Gene Stuckle, who recalled that Mr. Johns referred to it as “BPA’s road, not mine” in the 1950s. “It ap-peared that he may not have known he had a right to control its use,” the judge wrote.

Through the years, the road has been used by firefighters, govern-ment and emergency personnel on an as needed basis. Sheriff’s deputies have patrolled it at various times, even though it is a private, not public, roadway.

Lynn Richardson purchased prop-erty in 1972-73, before his marriage to Patty, and, “operated his (construc-tion) business with use of the road some 30 years without restriction.”

Strohmaier wrote that “Danver and Verna Johns “obviously knew of the use of the road” and appar-ently didn’t see the need for issuing any “permission or consent” for its use. About a day of testimony dur-ing trial made it clear that he and his wife were highly regarded for their “friendly, neighborly actions” towards their neighbors and others.

“It would not be a friendly and neighborly accommodation to allow (the Richardsons to build) a home on deadlocked property,” the judge wrote.

Proposed school partnership focus of Monday meetingPatrons invited to weigh in on whether Harrington and Odessa should share classes, staff and athletics

Richardsons retain access from Johns Rocky Way to propertyAfter Mr. Johns’ death, Ma-

rie Johns assumed control of the property and the LLC. Desiring “solitude, privacy and silence,” she placed fencing and gates along-side and across Johns Rocky Way, explaining it was to confine her cattle and protect the property from vandalism.

But Strohmaier said the only reason for the gates across the road was to “restrict travel, but the LLC has no authority to restrict the Rich-ardsons’ right acquired after (more than) 10 years of actual, continuous and uninterrupted use.”

He ordered the two gates erected

by Ms. Johns in 2007 be removed before March 20 because “they’re clearly not necessary,” adding that the Richardsons “are required to stop (and open and close gates) six times within a half mile – that’s a significant inconvenience” and one that “Marie doesn’t have, since she placed them above her driveway entrance.”

The judge said that whatever van-dalism Ms. Johns said she has had “is directly related to the placing of the gates” and determined that her claim “is unfounded.”

She may replace the gates with cattle guards at her own expense,

Strohmaier wrote, while the Rich-ardsons, if they wish, may pay for a guard in place of the gate at the north end of the Johns property.

The ruling applies only to the Richardsons and their personal and business relationships. Ms. Johns may “limit others who have no permission and rights to use the road, post signs and file trespassing charges or petition for injunctions,” the judge wrote.

Sixteen other petitioners who joined the Richardsons when the case originally was filed subsequently withdrew and won’t receive benefit from Strohmaier’s decision.

Jeske, Martin honored at C of C dinnerSpencer Jeske, a Davenport High School student and Eagle Scout, received the Davenport Chamber of Commerce’s Youth Award for Community Service from Chamber president Danita Hammond (left photo) during last Thursday’s annual banquet. He was honored along with 2010 Laurence Jayne Award recipient Bob Martin (shown with emcee Dean Anderson and Hammond). “Snowbird” Martin received the prize in December, but was back in town to assist an ailing family member. Jeske was recognized for counseling sixth graders at CIS-PUS, helping with the community float, building a “big toy” for a local pre-school, and other service. Martin said the young man “is already off to a good start” towards becoming a future Jayne Award honoree.

Sheriff prepares records for SpragueSheriff’s Office staff assembled this paperwork in fulfillment of the City of Sprague’s request for records of cases from 2007 to 2009 involving both Sprague and Harrington. Deputies responded to 148 Sprague calls (as well as 638 hours on patrol) in 2009, compared to 93 in Harrington. The numbers were196 and 110, respectively, in 2008; and 202 and 129 in 2007.

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Documents

davenport hospital

davenport school board

davenport city council

davenport chamber

county commissioners

county funds

yearold boy

high school library