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Methow Valley News
VALLEY LIFE Page A10
STORY Page A5
PUBLISHED WEEKLY SINCE 1903
TWISP, WASHINGTON
VOL. 118 NO. 52
WWW.METHOWVALLEYNEWS.COM
April 27, 2022
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New Okanogan County courtroom has state-of-the-art upgrades Security, privacy measures improved BY MARCY STAMPER
For the several weeks now, Okanogan County has been holding Superior Court trials in a new, spacious facility that provides much-needed security for witnesses and defendants and increased public-health protections by allowing jurors and others to spread out in the courtroom. The county purchased the building in Okanogan in October 2021 from the U.S. Forest Service for $1.58 million. The cost was covered entirely by funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which can be used for COVID-related expenses, according to Okanogan County Auditor Cari Hall. While the county has long needed
a larger courtroom and private office space and meeting rooms for attorneys, defendants and witnesses, the shortcomings of the old courtroom became critical during the pandemic, said Superior Court Administrator Dennis Rabidou, who gave a tour of the remodeled facility at the end of March. The former Superior Court courtroom in the historic county courthouse seats about 50 people and has a compact jury box, which made distancing to protect people’s health impossible, Rabidou said. For par t of the pandemic, the county made do with a temporary arrangement at the Agriplex, where they set up widely spaced chairs during questioning of jury panels and had ample spacing for judges, court staff and trial participants. The arrangement at the Agriplex allowed the county to safely conduct trials
when many other counties had to simply postpone them, but it wasn’t a long-term solution because the building is used regularly for other purposes, Rabidou said. The new courtroom seats about 100 people, more than twice the ave r age ju r y pool, said for me r Okanogan County Superior Court Judge Chris Culp, who joined the tour just before his retirement at the end of March. “We all admire the old courthouse, but it had been difficult, shuff ling courtrooms and judges,” Culp said. Rabidou had been looking for a long-term solution for Superior Court for years when a staff member spotted the “for sale” sign at the Forest Service building on the way to the landfill. Rabidou headed over that weekend to check it out. Starting last winter, the county commissioners evaluated the feasi-
Photo by Marcy Stamper
Okanogan County has a new, spacious facility for Superior Court trials. The renovated space provides state-of-the-art security and public health protections. bility of the building and potential funding sources. The county has a contract with an architect to explore
options for property development.
See COURTROOM, A3
Federal money will fund wildfire risk reduction Methow Ranger District included in USFS plan BY MARCY STAMPER
Several “shovel-ready” forest projects in the Methow Valley Ranger District will get additional federal funding to accelerate treatments starting this year, part of a 10-year plan by the U.S. Forest Service to reduce the risk of wildfire. This year, 24,000 acres in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National For-
est will be treated with thinning and prescribed burning, using $24.6 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to Okanoga n-Wenatchee P ublic A f fai r s Officer Victoria Wilkins. The Forest Service plans to treat a total of 124,000 acres through 2024, about 35,000 acres per year. Total funding is $102.6 million. The funding will be used for work on the ground and staffing for projects already approved, including the Mission Restoration Project. It will support environmental review
for the Twisp Restoration Project, which is in the final planning stages. The Methow Valley Ranger District hopes for a signed decision on the Twisp Restoration Project this summer, so these funds could be put toward forest work on that project this year. “The funding will enable us to accelerate the rate of implementation for projects such as Twisp Restoration and Mission by paying for components of projects that weren’t yet
See FUNDING, A3
Photo by Marcy Stamper
Liberty Bell sophomore Ayla Belsby helped make free menstrual-hygiene products available for all students who need them.
E A R T H LY C O N N E C T I O N S
LBHS student leads campaign for free menstrual products Supplies, information available in schools BY MARCY STAMPER
Students at the Methow Valley School District will get free menstrual-hygiene products and educational information about using them, thanks to the efforts of sophomore Ayla Belsby. The schools received their first shipment of tampons and pads last week. Belsby came up with the project for the civic-action unit in her Individuals and Society class. While some students picked an issue like world peace, she wanted to focus on something that would provide an immediate, tangible benefit to students. From her research — and personal experience —– Belsby found that the aging metal dispensers in girls’ bathrooms that theoretically provide a pad or tampon for a quarter haven’t been stocked for years. Menstrual supplies have been available through the school health room, but there was no notice on the dispensers letting students know that’s where they could get them, Belsby said. “It was a no-longerfunctioning system,” she said. Not only did Belsby want to address the needs of menstruators, but she also connected the matter to larger issues. She noted that the school district recognized financial inequities when it replaced the reduced-lunch program with free lunch for all students. The menstrual-product issue contributes to gender inequality, since only some students have to spend money on these products, she said. Belsby calculated that there are approximately 200 menstruators in the schools. Not having readily available
supplies for when students have their period made school less accessible for these students for about one week every month, she said. She pointed out that the school district provides other necessary hygiene products, such as toilet paper and soap and water. She compiled her research in a presentation to Liberty Bell High School Principal Crosby Carpenter and school nurse Adriana Vanbianchi. She followed up with a proposal to Methow Valley School District Superintendent Tom Venable and sent a memo to the school board asking them to fund her project. The board voted the next day to provide $2,000 per year to cover the cost of menstrual products, Belsby said.
Additional education
In addition to the practical and financial aspects of her project, Belsby wanted to educate everyone in the school community about menstruation and to remove the self-consciousness that surrounds the topic for some students and staff members. She elected to work with August because the company provides products that are more compostable and biodegradable than other brands. Belsby also liked August’s approach to education and how it destigmatizes a natural, biological process. Belsby provided the school board with an cost estimate of $1,750 a year for five products — pads and tampons with different absorbencies. The pads and tampons will be available in girls’ bathrooms at Liberty Bell and at the Independent Learning Center, and in sixth-grade bathrooms, where they’ll be stored in small cabinets. The supplies will also be available in the health room.
ADDRESS LABEL
See CAMPAIGN, A2
Photo by Steve Mitchell
There was no shortage of activities or entertainment for attendees at the Methow Recycles Earth Day celebration last weekend at the John Doran Ranch near Twisp. Music, food, art, demonstrations and conversations enlivened the day.
Winthrop delays decision on library charging stations
The Winthrop Town Council wants to see if any local businesses are interested in providing electric vehicle charging stations at the new Winthrop library before signing a contract with an outof-town firm that is prepared to provide the service. At their meeting last week, council members supported the idea of charging stations at the new library on White Avenue, which is scheduled to open
mid-June, but objected to the exclusive arrangement with Irvine, Californiabased for-profit company Rivian LLC to provide them. The council earlier postponed action on a licensing agreement with Rivian for two parking spots at the library because of concerns that local companies did not have a chance to compete for the location. Charging stations are currently available in Winthrop at Pine Near RV Park, East 20 Pizza and AbbyCreek Inn. The state grant that is partially funding the library’s construction requires that charging stations be provided on the site. Jill Sheley — executive director of Friends of the Winthrop Library
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Local businesses will have opportunity to bid BY DON NELSON
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(FOWL), the nonprofit that raised funds for and is building the new library — said that under the terms of the state grant, FOWL is required only to provide the infrastructure to support installation of charging stations, not to install or operate them. Rivian or any other contractor, not the town or FOWL, would be responsible for operating, maintaining and providing electricity for the charging stations. Rivian has similar contracts at other public facilities including state and national parks. Winthrop Town Planner Rocklynn Culp said the company is on
See LIBRARY, A3
INSIDE ... OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 HARTS PASS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . A6-A7 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A8 COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A9 VALLEY LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10