NorthwestFebruary 6, 2023

Regional News Roundup
Regional News Roundup

Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Sunday’s edition.

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“The Elk City School teacher position has been posted,” MVSD 244 Superintendent Steve Higgins said at the Jan. 19 board meeting.

Current teacher Kathy Nice has turned in her resignation as she prepares to retire at the end of the 2022-23 school year.

Higgins said the district might want to consider some type of housing to be included with the position in order to offer extra incentives for the right person. Elk City is located about 51 miles from Grangeville in the remote backcountry. The teacher position is for kindergarten through eighth grade. The number of students in the school during the past decade has been anywhere between six and 20.

Higgins said it might be too late for this year, but perhaps thinking of remodeling an unused classroom area for living quarters may be something to consider in the future.

Board chair Melisa Kaschmitter said the community of Elk City had been “very supportive of its school.”

“Perhaps we should float it by them if there are any suggestions for housing,” she said.

Higgins and other board members agreed, and he said he would run it by current teacher Nice.

“Elk City has a tremendous little school and we’re blessed with what we have there,” Higgins said. “We just have to find the right person.”

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Higgins also mentioned MVSD owns 25 acres behind the school site and may one day need to think about if that land is needed by the district or if something else should be done with it.

“It’s something to keep in mind and discuss later,” he said.

— Lorie Palmer, Clearwater Progress, Kamiah

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Port of Whitman County purchases land for biodiesel plant

COLFAX — The Port of Whitman County has confirmed purchase of land on Wawawai Road for the proposed biodiesel plant.

Port Executive Director Kara Reibold released information that the board of commissioners voted unanimously to buy three parcels of land on Wawawai Road for $3.8 million, outside Pullman city limits. According to reports, Reibold says more information will be released about the project as the development occurs.

AgTech OS is planning to establish a biodiesel facility to convert canola grain, purchasing approximately 100,000 tons per year from local farmers, into sustainable fuels for agricultural operations. Once at scale, the facility is projected to produce 10.8 million gallons of B100 pure biodiesel, 60,000 tons of seed meal, and 900,000 gallons Propanediol per year.

The Port of Whitman County was awarded a $5 million loan from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board, which will be used to acquire about 100 acres of land to install an Agriculture Advancement Center.

— Teresa Simpson, Whitman County Gazette, Colfax

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