Stories by Gazette-Tribune Staff

The Youth Activity Center (YAC) on Central in Oroville has been in operation for five years, opening our doors Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. as a drop-in center for all age kids to have a place to hang out and build relationships with adults who take the time to be there for them. Monday nights are specifically a time for junior and senior high students. With a fantastic staff of volunteers we have been able to minister to upwards of 30 to 40 kids.

Another Tonasket school levy coming up! This community has been great in their support for our school and they need you again to keep our school top notch! Our kids are our future.

Bill Forhan’s commentary, ‘Green Policy’s Legacy of Waste’ triggered thoughts of old when we used to frown on shortcuts; when a “let it burn” policy was never in play.

My thoughts meandered to remember how this little tot of eight or ten years of age would be in awe watching what then seemed a mile long bright gleaming red fire engine (truck). Men seemed to claw to it hanging on all sides, their heads all facing in one direction, forward; all cloaked in black rain resistant gear. The large coils of hose looked like the huge reptiles I used to see in the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo.

We keep hearing and seeing article in the newspapers stating the Tonasket Eagles quit negotiating with the North Valley Hospital on the purchase of the Eagles building and property and that we offered to sell 18 feet north of our building and 10 feet east of our building that is adjacent to the alley to the hospital. That is not true.

The Washington State Legislature is in session and looking at the list of proposed bills; nobody’s wallet is safe. Following their last session where the Democrat controlled legislature threw bipartisanship out the window and set new records for spending, it looks like they have set a course to follow that up with new tax programs that will dwarf any in recent memory.

Thanks to Proposition 960 the Office of Management and Budget must calculate the cost of bills submitted for consideration. This newspaper has signed on to receive email notification of those budget calculations and each day we receive numerous messages about the cost to taxpayers of new legislation. While many of the proposals are specific to individual segments of our state economy, there are currently two bills in the legislative process that would add over $88 billion in new taxes over the next 10 years. Yes, that is billion with a B. To put that in perspective those two bills would cost every occupied household in Washington state approximately $37,500 over the next 10 years. That is an average of just over $4,550 per year or 8.7 percent of the average household income in this state.