The Independent local news and community information for Chewelah, Wa and surrounding areas

The Chewelah Fire Department recently purchased a used Brush Truck to better assist in state wildfires, which they are paid for per day of use.Brush 102 is a 2000 F450 Ford truck with 90,000 miles. It has a 7.3L Diesel Engine and 4-wheel drive. The truck includes a foam system and 300 gallon water tank. A big bumper and winch will be added to the front as well.The truck came from Oregon, with transportation provided by the seller, and cost about $48,000 out of the city's fire department reserve funds. The reserve can only be used toward fire department expenses.Fire Chief Dave DeVeau said it is a great truck and they could not have hoped for anything better. T

The District tennis tournament was all it could be for the Chewelah Cougars last Friday and Saturday at Mead High School, with the Cougs beating out Lakeside, Riverside, Medical Lake and Freeman for the most points earned and another title as District Champs. The Cougs entered 12 players into the tourney and will be advancing 10 to the Regional tournament at West Valley on Friday May 17 starting at 9 a.m. "This is by far the most players to ever represent Chewelah at a regional tourney," stated Coach Smith. "It is a definite statement as to how strong our program is this year. The 80 degree weather didn't affect us mentally, but was draining physically. In bot

An original, and unique, large glass art piece was dedicated to Valley School on April 22 to connect the students and community in several ways. The commissioned artwork was developed especially for Valley following a year-long process to choose an artist to complete an installation for the Washington State Arts Commission. Following the passage of a school bond used to pay for the past expansion of Valley School, among other district building projects, one half of one percent of the state match funding was dedicated to creating a piece of original art for the Art in Public Places program. A committee of school staff and community members formed about a year

In a combination talent show and telethon, Chewelah Community Radio hosted a fundraiser influenced by national competitions such as the X Factor, America's Got Talent, and American Idol to come up with an entertaining event featuring local talent, cash prizes, and celebrity impersonated judges. The "Chewelah's Got Talent" finale took place May 4 at the Chewelah Civic Center where 19 acts of all ages from Chewelah, Valley and Addy competed for $1,500 in cash prizes. Valley resident Shannon McNeil, 16, took first place for $600 with a fiddle performance of "The Orange Blossom Special." He was the last contestant of the evening before judges scores and audience

Susan Griffith of Brick House Quilting will be the featured quilter at the 2013 Chewelah Quilt Show themed: "Timeless." In addition to making personal quilts including designing some of her own patterns, Susan operates a business out of her home for freehand machine quilting. She uses a long arm machine to put together the front and back of quilts with decorative stitching. Susan said she has always loved sewing, and although she started sewing her dolls' clothes when she was 10 years old and has a two year degree in Apparel Design, did not start making quilts until sometime after she moved to Chewelah in the 1990s. "I loved quilts, but I always thought I cou