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Several area schools Barrel racing event wrap up the A12 B1 features some of graduation season the area’s top riders The Omak-OkanOgan COunTy Tonasket car show and fly-in event make for memorable weekend A8 June 19, 2013 Essential Reading in Okanogan and Ferry counties. $1.00 Residents sound off on mosquitoes Economy, health concerns raised Cities offer By Garrett Rudolph The Chronicle anti-bug OMAK — Local residents tips, advice took the opportunity to express their concern — and in some There are several cases outrage — about the city’s decision not to budget for ways to deter pests mosquito abatement spraying this year. The Chronicle Bob Christie was one of several people who spoke at OMAK — With the issue of Monday night’s City Council mosquito abatement spraying meeting, saying he can’t spend hot on people’s minds, the any time outside without cities of Omak and Okanogan getting bombarded by have both released ways to mosquitoes. He put the onus on keep the bloodsucking bugs Roger Harnack/The Chronicle the city to figure out a way to away. reduce the pest problem. • Destroy or dispose of tin Steven Hoffpauir battles flames on the Sand Flat near U.S. Highway 97 north of Omak on Thursday, June 13. “There has to be a way to get cans, old tires, buckets, unused relief,” he said. plastic swimming pools or Joyce Sweeney said she had other containers that collect guests visiting from out of town and hold water. Fire scorches Omak hillside who said, “I don’t know how you • Clean debris from rain live here. It’s like hell.” gutters and remove any Christie said he was also Several homes was a wall of fire,” she said. standing water under or Friends and family came concerned about the city’s around structures or on flat ability to make money from the endangered by over to check on Scholla, who is roofs. recovering from a stroke. At Stampede, partially because of • Change the water in bird series of blazes the mosquito problem. that point, residents were baths and wading pools at least buzzing about the possibility “This rodeo’s going to go once a week. By Jennifer Marshall that the fires were not downhill faster than it did • Stock ornamental pools before,” he said. The Chronicle accidental. with top-feeding predacious “Yeah, Malott! All right!” Several residents questioned minnows. OMAK – Fire officials are Scholla cheered from her why they had not heard about • Irrigate lawns and gardens still investigating the cause of a driveway as another crew the lack of mosquito abatement carefully to prevent water from string of fires June 13 that arrived to douse the smoldering spraying until late in the spring. standing for several days. triggered evacuations in one sagebrush. City Administrator Ralph • Mosquitoes can be kept neighborhood and shut down a A pregnant woman, Shauna Malone and council member out of the home by keeping two-mile section of U.S. Rice, paced the road and Lew Goebel pointed out that the windows, doors and porches Highway 97. breathed through a red cloth as budgeting process happens in that are tightly screened (16-18 November and December and “I have a theory, but I’m not she watched smoke billow ready to release that officially,” behind her parents’ two-story meetings are open to the public. See Tips A5 Goebel said this past Omak Fire Department Chief home. Rice lives next door with budgeting process was “the Kevin Bowling said on Monday her husband. most painstaking budget morning. “My pool is gone,” she said, process” he’s experienced in his two to three years of hard work. Seven fires, all reported at and noted that her father’s shop time on council. Once implemented, the about 1 p.m., burned a total of took some damage. “My Local resident Larry Darley mosquito control district would about 29 acres and closed the husband won’t let me back spoke about the possibility of focus on killing the larvae, highway for about an hour and there to see what’s going on, but creating a mosquito control before an actual mosquito a half between mileposts 292 I imagine it burned up the district. problem has a chance to and 294. hillside.” Long-term, that would be develop. An eight-acre blaze named While Okanogan County the best way of controlling the the West River Road Fire – Sheriff’s Office deputies were pests, he said, but it would take See Mosquito A5 three fires that merged into one on hand to help people – was the “most significant” in evacuate, most residents stuck that it was the only one to cause close to home, watching flames damage and threaten several rise behind their houses to ART AND DANCING homes, Bowling said. consume sagebrush, bushes The house at 19 W. River and trees. Nearly every yard Road caught fire, but “we were had at least one fire truck able to put that out before there parked on it so crews could focus on structure protection. was too much damage,” he said. Roger Harnack/The Chronicle At 29 W. River Road, an old Up the road, one man took truck and car out in a field were The West River Road Fire burns close to several homes in Omak. preventive measures in hosing destroyed, and at 23 W. River down a wooden shed near his Road, a garage and shop took from work to help protect their Scholla said, watching smoke house, while another dragged some heat damage, he said. He property and to move their rise over the nearby hill. She his sprinkler into the dry grass didn’t know if any of the owners animals – mostly horses and lives in the last house on the and sagebrush by his front yard. had insurance. dogs – out of harm’s way. north side of the dead-end road. Some residents came home “This is ridiculous,” Vickie “I came outside and there See Fire A6 Dansel receives Farm Bureau’s nod Three hopefuls was largely other things. civil, Dansel One major difference in vying for Senate and Smith opinion was about volunteering traded a few requirements in education. One By Jennifer Marshall barbs. Farm Bureau board member The Chronicle Dansel asked the candidates if they called Smith were in favor of a bill OMAK – The Okanogan a “slick introduced this year that would County Farm Bureau is talker,” and have made community service recommending Brian Dansel be Smith mandatory for high school endorsed in the race for the 7th Brunson accused him students. Legislative District senate seat Dansel Smith of “making While Brunson and Dansel following a debate Monday blind said they felt such a law would night. Farm Bureaus have yet to make speeches” about decisions made cross the line in terms of “big The board of the local recommendations. in Olympia. government,” Boy Scout leader chapter voted unanimously to The candidates tackled All three candidates agreed Smith said he believed it was a recommend the Washington several local hot-button topics on most issues, coming out in good idea so children won’t go State Farm Bureau endorse — from eminent domain to opposition to the Growth into the real world with a sense Dee Camp/The Chronicle Dansel, 30, of Republic, over water rights to preserving Management Act, the state and of entitlement. Mike Brunson, 57, of agriculture — Monday evening federal government buying The three also had different Ashley Cortes performs a Mexican dance during Art in the Park Springdale and Sen. John at the debate in the Koala Street privately-owned lands with answers when it came to what on Saturday in Omak’s Civic League Park. For more photos from Smith, 40, of Colville in the Grill and Neighborhood Bar’s taxpayer dollars and the state their Top 2 objectives would be Art in the Park, see Page B5. Republican primary. large meeting room. Department of Ecology’s ability Ferry and Stevens counties’ While the two-hour event to revoke water rights, among See Forum A5 Year 104 No. 9 www.omakchronicle.com OMAK 826-0057 OROVILLE 476-3902 BREWSTER 689-3215 TWISP 997-2026 REPUBLIC 775-3355 a2 • almanac • The Chronicle • June 19, 2013 www.omakchronicle.com AccuWeather.com Seven-day Forecast for Omak this wEEk Wednesday Wed. night Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Arts B3 Business A7 Community A8 Events B6 News of record B7 Obituaries A11 A couple of A couple of Some sun with a A shower pos- Variable cloudi- A shower in the Mostly cloudy Mostly sunny Opinion A4 showers showers shower sible ness afternoon Sports B1 72° 48° 72°/48° 75°/50° 80°/52° 85°/63° 85°/57° 87°/59° North-Central Washington Weekly Almanac Lake Levels Omak through Sunday, June 16 Levels as of 7 a.m. Sunday (in feet) Bellingham Temperature Lake Level* 24 hr. change Oliver 64/52 Omak 62/50 Last week’s high/low 88°/43° Roosevelt 1286.09 -0.22 Normal high/low 79°/51° Rufus Woods 781.30 -0.90 Osoyoos Record high/low 99°/32° Osoyoos 923.78 -0.26 70/54 Seattle 63/51 Spokane Precipitation * Elevation above sea level (USPS 408-300) Oroville 64/44 Total for the week 0.05” Published weekly by The Omak- 73/50 Olympia Total for the month 0.05” Okanogan County Chronicle, 64/50 Yakima Pullman Normal for the month 0.69” Tonasket 75/45 64/41 Total for the year 4.14” 618 Okoma Drive, PO Box 553, 74/51 Forecasts and graphics provided by Omak, WA 98841.

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