Stories by Brent Baker

TONASKET – Is the glass half full, or half empty?

North Valley Hospital District CEO Linda Michel seems to see that right now, it’s both. While the hospital has improved its overall financial standing in the two years since she arrived, the need to get the warrant level (low-interest loans from the county for operating expenses) reduced led her to delve more deeply into each department’s financial performance than had been done previously. Though NVH was on track last winter to have its warrants paid off by its target date of 2014, a recent rise in the warrant level made the need for that analysis more pressing.

TONASKET – It’s a scenario no one wants to think about: a gunman loose in the local school, shooting staff and students.

TONASKET – The Tonasket City Council will be reviewing its noise ordinance after a number of reports that the current law is ineffective.

TONASKET – The Tonasket City Council was in agreement at its Tuesday, June 26, meeting that the city swimming pool needs to be replaced — not just repaired.

How to go about doing that was the subject of a lengthy discussion at which the council made clear it felt that would best be accomplished by a broad-based coalition of the community, including neighboring towns outside the Tonasket city limits.

TONASKET – Michael Greene and his wife retired to Tonasket last November hoping to focus their efforts on doing volunteer work in the community.

TONASKET – North Valley Hospital’s financial health has improved over the past two years and is on par with, or stronger than, most hospitals of comparable demographics, according to the 2011 independent auditor’s report recently completed by Dingus, Zarecor and Associates, PLLC.

TONASKET – The Tonasket Police Department got a big boost from a local merchant as Mike Murphy of Murphy’s Sporting Goods donated a set of new guns, binoculars and other equipment to the department.