WENATCHEE – Two free classes will be offered for contractors to meet a growing demand for fire mitigation services.

SPOKANE – The state Court of Appeals for Division III has rejected part of convicted murderer Kelly Eugene Small’s appeal of a modified sentence for burglary.

OKANOGAN - Retail sales of electricity were down in 2018 from budget projections, Okanogan County Public Utility District commissioners learned March 11.

OKANOGAN – Customers’ electricity bills will rise in April thanks to an increase in the base charge for electricity approved March 11 by Okanogan County Public Utility District commissioners.

OKANOGAN - Extremely cold weather in Okanogan County and elsewhere in the state during February led to a spike in wholesale electricity prices, with the county’s public utility district spending an unanticipated $945,000 on electricity during the month.

SPOKANE – The state Court of Appeals for Division III has rejected a former Omak woman’s request to return her parental rights to her two children.

OLYMPIA – The state Senate has passed a bill vacating misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions.

OMAK – A 47-unit apartment complex, Meadow Point, is planned in the north end of town.

OKANOGAN – Math teacher Shawn Ingraham and para-educator Penny Tverberg are being honored by the Okanoan School District.

SEATTLE – The potential for spring and summer snow melt flooding in Washington is lower than normal for most areas.

MAZAMA – People who have snowmobiles parked at Early Winters by the Highway 20 closure barricades are asked to remove them because the state wants to start clearing the highway.

OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee has signed the Native American Voting Rights Act, which allows non-traditional addresses for Native American voters.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The president has signed into law a package of public lands bills, including one to protect the Methow Headwaters area.

OMAK - Leaders of Okanogan County’s three hospitals are talking about the possibilities of additional cooperation and possibly designating specializations at each facility.

OLYMPIA - The state House of Representatives has passed legislation aimed at helping prevent wildfires from spreading and also protect firefighters.

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Patrol is launching a bump stock buy-back program.

OKANOGAN – Longtime Okanogan School District administrator Brett D. Baum is leaving after this school year to become superintendent in the Liberty School District in Spangle.

NESPELEM – A motion filed by former Colville Business Council member Andrea George seeking to prevent Darnell Sam from being seated to the council has been denied by Colville Tribal Court.

UPDATE: The victim has been identified as Terry Shaw, according to Oroville Police Chief Todd Hill.

OKANOGAN - February came on strong with cold and snowy conditions statewide, adding some to the snow pack in the state’s mountains.

OLYMPIA – Lawmakers in Olympia last week passed legislation expanding access to democracy with the Native American Voting Rights Act.

EVERETT – A Winthrop man has been charged with murder in the death of a 19-year-old Bothell man.

OLYMPIA — The state Senate has passed a bill aimed at reducing pollution by prohibiting retailers in Washington from handing out single-use plastic bags.

OLYMPIA – The state Senate has voted to require prepaid postage for ballot envelopes during all elections.

OKANOGAN – An Okanogan man faces two assault charges after a stabbing Feb. 26 on South Second Avenue.

OMAK – Applicants are being south for a vacant position on the Omak School Board.

OMAK – A transportation study is under way in the Omak area with an eye toward planning through 2040.

OKANOGAN – Damaged areas of the sewage treatment plant flood control levee will be repaired under an agreement between the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

OKANOGAN – One man was hospitalized after an alleged altercation between inmates March 7 in the Okanogan County Jail.

OLYMPIA – The state House has voted in favor of a bill that would put Washington state on year-round daylight saving time.

CLE ELUM – A Coulee City driver escaped injury in a three-vehicle accident March 5 about five miles west of town.

OKANOGAN – Okanogan County commissioners have begun offering a call-in period so people can telephone in their concerns during a meeting.

OMAK – TranGO buses were involved in two non-injury accidents recently.

SPOKANE — An Omak man’s conviction for second-degree theft has been reduced by the state Court of Appeals to third-degree theft and the case has been sent back to Okanogan County Superior Court for resentencing.

OLYMPIA — Freshman state Rep. Keith Goehner, R-Dryden, had his first bill pass off the House floor last week.