Ferry County View

10/18/2024

Listen to the audio recording of last night's BPW Ferry County General Election Candidate Forum at https://youtu.be/Pn6MBLpEBE8 .

Candidates for county commissioner, Superior Court judge and District Court judge offer statements and answer questions at Republic Elementary School Thursda...

10/08/2024

Join us Thursday, October 17 for our 2024 General Election Candidates' Forum.

Attendees: all candidates for District Court Judge, all candidates for Superior Court Judge, and all candidates for both County Commissioner positions.

See the attached poster for details.

07/26/2024

This morning's update on the Swawilla Fire from the IMT and tribal officials said:
Even with the favorable change in the weather, forecasting models still indicate a chance that the fire will reach the town of Keller, push towards the Cache Creek Road, and impact the Buffalo Lake area. For this reason, evacuations remain in place. Community leaders are regularly evaluating these orders with the incident management team. The team appreciates the community’s patience with this process.
An evacuation center is open at the Lake Roosevelt High School gym in Coulee Dam. The shelter at the Paschal Sherman Indian School in Omak is full. Keller Ferry is open only for limited service to assist with evacuations.
Also, Ferry County Fairgrounds is available for evacuees and livestock. There are trailer hook ups for power and water. We will utilize the Carousel Building and Red Barn for additional shelter. If you are heading to the Fairgrounds give us a call at any hour so we can assist.
Brian 509-207-0537, Cynda 509-207-9128

07/25/2024

As of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, because of the Swawilla Fire the Keller area was put in a Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation order, according to the incident management team and tribal officials. The Keller Ferry was put into limited operation over night to assist with evacuation.

EVACUATION LEVEL 3 - Town of KellerJuly 24th, 2024 7:30PMLevel 3 evacuation is now in effect from Empire Creek Road (Hwy 21 - MP120) to Silver Creek Road on Highway 21 this includes the town of Keller.

At 1:42 p.m. Wednesday afternoon the IMT and tribal officials made this announcement:
Attention Residents of Peter Dan Road, McGinnis Lake, Reynolds Resort, Belvedere, and Seatons Grove.
Due to increased fire danger from Swawilla Fire, the current Level 2 evacuations status for your area is now elevated to LEVEL 3

07/24/2024

The Colville Business Council in an emergency proclamation closed numerous roads in the area of the Swawilla Fire this afternoon (July 24). They include roads going west from State Highway 21 south of Cache Creek Road, all roads going south off Cache Creek Road, all roads going east of State Highway 155 to Cache Creek Road.

07/23/2024

Wildland firefighters are responding to the third fire that seems to have started during yesterday's thunderstorms. This one is in the Mt. Elizabeth area. It was spotted by a helicopter a little while ago. Yesterday they responded to a fire in the Karamip Road area that was also spotted from a helicopter. That fire, the Belcher Fire, is listed as controlled. Last night an observer spotted a fire in the area near Goodrich Road and Empire Lakes Road. There are units at that scene now. It's called the Lake Butte fire and is listed at 2 acres.

07/23/2024

From Northern Rockies Complex Incident Management Team 6 and the Colville Tribes:

Because of the Bridge Creek Fire, Bridge Creek Road will remained closed today (July 23rd, 2024) due to fire activity along the road. Please avoid the area and keep our wildland firefighting crews safe.

07/23/2024

From Mount Tolman Fire Center:

Keller, WA - EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION
EVACUATION LEVEL 2
Level 2 evacuation is now in effect from Cow Creek Road (MP120) to Silver Creek on Highway 21 this includes the town of Keller.

04/04/2024

The View's office at 771 South Keller Street in Republic will close at noon on Friday. We'll reopen Monday at 9 a.m.

03/19/2024

Prescribed burn

REPUBLIC – A one-day prescribed burn is scheduled for today on Bureau of Land Management property near Lambert Creek, six miles east of Curlew Lake. The project will treat approximately 50 acres of residual materials. Smoke may be visible from a distance, but impacts are expected to be minimal due to the project’s remote location. Roads and trails accessing the area may be temporarily unavailable for use.

12/20/2023

Special meeting
REPUBLIC – The Ferry County Commissioners will meet in their office Wednesday, Dec. 27, 9 a.m. to discuss indigent defense, pass the 2024 budget and possibly approve vouchers and a consent agenda.

10/05/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn63_g7ORO0

Candidates for Ferry County Public Hospital District commissioner; City of Republic mayor and council; Curlew and Republic school boards; and Ferry/Okanogan ...

07/28/2023

Come wish Mary happy trails

Mary Masingale is moving to Port Townsend this weekend! Come by our office today (July 28), have a piece of cake, and wish her well on her new adventures.

07/25/2023

Fairgrounds washout could get temporary fix

The southern entrance to the Ferry County Fairgrounds could be usable by fair time over Labor Day weekend. The county is to get a permit for a temporary fix to the road which washed out in May, knowing it will fail again, according to Ferry County Public Works Director Ron Charlton.
Because various government agencies have interest in the area, Charlton said the Department of Fish and Wildlife will once again
grant a permit to fill in the area knowing that the repair job will fail again when high water in the San Poil River that passes under it again washes out the fill material.

More in Wednesday's View.

07/25/2023

Boy escapes drowning
Curlew EMTs rushed to the Ol’ Swimming Hole Sunday afternoon when reports came in of a four-year old boy drowning with CPR in progress.
Members of Ferry/Okanogan County Fire Protection District 14 EMT team rushed to the scene when the call came into the Ferry County 911 Center at 5:58 p.m.
They responded in personal vehicles and with an ambulance, and EMTs asked for the LifeFlight helicopter to stand by.
The child was able to breathe by the time the ambulance reached the Ferry County Health emergency room.

Full story in Wednesday's View.

07/25/2023

Primary election Tuesday
Primary ballots need to be postmarked or submitted by Tuesday, Aug. 1. However, only three races made the ballot.
The primary ballot contained only races with three candidates which needed to be reduced to two candidates before the November general election.

More in tomorrow's View.

07/25/2023

Sinkhole repair begins
Drivers who have been dealing with a detour around a sinkhole on K**b Hill Road should soon see their route into town back to normal.
Hecla Minerals is working to divert the water that had been draining into an old mine shaft that lies under K**b Hill Road.
Wet weather in the spring caused two sinkholes to develop in the roadway, making it unsafe for vehicles.

Full story in tomorrow's View.

07/19/2023

Quad County Forest Group
REPUBLIC - The Ferry County commissioners will meet with the Quad County Forest Group at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 20, 2023 at the Tri County Economic Development Office in Colville and via WebEx. Topics for discussion will be the Resource Advisory Committee board, Forest Service updates and county commissioner updates. For more information about the meeting call the Ferry County commissioners' office at (509) 775-5225 ext. 2102.