Pot bust at Colter Creek Photo submitted by Arnette Brixey Law enforcement agencies converged near Nason Creek last week to bust a marijuana grow. Some 2,550 plants were removed by the Cannabis Eradication Response Team, which helps local law enforcement. Pipe, fertilizer and garbage were also removed from the scene. No arrests were made.

Babcock casts spells with his House of Magic

Photo by Nevonne McDaniels Mel Babcock, 79, got his introduction to magic at age 13 and though he worked for 35 years growing pears, magic was his love. He said someone gave him advice once that he has taken to heart. “If you find something you like, don’t make it your profession or it will turn into work.” He agrees, he said, though sometimes he wonders if he should have started leasing out his pear orchard a few years earlier. Mel Babcock was 13 years old when his uncle taught him a simple card trick. Soon after that, a comic book advertisement for "10 Easy Magic Tricks" caught his eye. The money he sent in for the magic kit was one of the best investments he ever made. "I tell people, 'I knew, then, I had wasted those first 12 years,'" he said. Now 79, Babcock has been involved in magic in one form or another since, and he has earned a reputation not just as a magician, but as the maker of magical items and proprieter of the Magic House of Babcock. Wednesday, September 08, 2010 More...

Horses take chainsaws in stride, but not falling trees

When Icicle River Outfitters' Manager Aaron Shirley is out on a pack trip, he calls in to check on how things are going back at the office if he reaches a point where his cell phone works. Wednesday, September 08, 2010 More...

Winter of work should reopen entire park by spring - park officials consider timber sale

Lake Wenatchee State Park's beach was still pretty bare over Labor Day weekend, but that might have had as much to do with the wind and chilly weather as with the tree root rot problem. Park officials reopened the day-use park and 48 campsites on the south shore Aug. 31 after closing the entire 489-acre park on Aug. 25, evacuating campers, shutting down the concession stand and the horse rental facility while tree experts assessed potential hazards. Wednesday, September 08, 2010 More...

City officials looking to upgrade city website

Once upon a time, city council candidate Matt Hanson told the city council he would upgrade the city website gratis. And even after he lost the city council race, Hanson still intended to hold to his word and make the long overdue upgrade to the city website. But now, circumstances have changed and Hanson has informed the city council he would not be able to work on the city website. Now, the city is seeking proposals for upgrading the city website. Wednesday, September 08, 2010 More...

Cashmere Chamber moving to new office

Jill FitzSimmons spent her first week as the new Cashmere Chamber of Commerce manager getting to know the day-to-day operation of the office, learning phone numbers and the answers to the most common phone calls. She hasn't yet figured out the location of the nearest FedEx or the Department of Licensing office, but she is up to speed on the Chelan County Fair and the Cashmere Museum and on the coupon books available. And she is starting to put together names and faces of some chamber members and town residents. Several people stopped by to introduce themselves, she said. She started making lists of people to meet and details to learn, with plans to go door-to-door and introduce herself to business owners during her second week on the job. Wednesday, September 08, 2010 More...

Getting a charge out of the trolleys

Cashmere and Leavenworth's green trolley is staying on track despite an even greener version coming to Link Transit this month. Lime green electric trolleys are the newest arrivals for the local transit authority, powered by lithium ion batteries with a titanate matrix. The vehicles will reduce carbon emissions by 688 metric tons over the diesel trolleys each year and will be cheaper to operate in the long run. Thursday, September 02, 2010 More...

Tree rot danger prompts park closure

An empty beach and the buzz of chainsaws and wood chippers aren't what you would expect to find at Lake Wenatchee State Park in late summer. But that was the scene on Saturday, three days after State Park officials closed the park and evacuated campers because of safety concerns over tree root rot and the danger of falling trees. Officials closed the 489-acre park Aug. 25 and by Saturday, crews were cutting down and chipping up trees that had been tagged with blue and white striped tape - those deemed infected by the tree experts surveying the property. The immediate goal was to clear the infected trees from the day-use park so it could reopen in time for Labor Day weekend, but the decision had not yet been made by press time. The long-term goal is to make the entire park safe for campers, but that will take a little longer. Thursday, September 02, 2010 More...

PUD to expand fiber access

All but the most remote areas of Chelan County will have broadband Internet service sometime in the next three years as a result of a decision by Chelan County Public Utility District Commissioners last Wednesday. Commissioners unanimously approved acceptance of the $25 million federal grant from the Rural Utilities Service Broadband Initiatives Program at the special meeting. Acceptance of the grant requires the PUD to expand its fiber program to most of the currently un-served areas of the county. Thursday, September 02, 2010 More...

Preparations for Fair at fever pitch

Most who visit the Chelan County Fair enjoy the many offerings of the event, with perhaps nary of thought of all that went into making the event happen. Not the case for Chelan County Expo Center Director Marsha Clute. For Clute, putting the fair together is a year long process. Problem is, many aspects of the fair do not come together until the final weeks, making those final weeks quite hectic for Clute and her mostly volunteer staff. They are booking entertainment, finding superintendents and judges for all the departments, taking registration for livestock, and receiving reservations for camping and parking. They are finalizing contracts for all the vendors. "The advertising and the entertainment is the most difficult," Clute said. "We have to follow up with vendors to make sure they have their funds and insurance. It's a lot of work because we have 60 vendors." Thursday, September 02, 2010 More...

Cashmere City Council to weigh in on tax increase

Raising the sales tax 2 percent does not seem to be popular with anyone. But garnering support for such an increase has fallen upon the Public Facilities District (PFD), which oversees the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee. The PFD board has decided raising the sales tax is the only way to meet the debt obligations of the facility. The PFD would like to put the issue to public vote, but first needs the approval of all the entities which comprise the district, including the city of Cashmere. Last week, Town Toyota Center General Manager Mark Miller and PFD President Joe Jarvis brought the request to the Cashmere City Council. Thursday, September 02, 2010 More...

Cashmere resident Gretchen Minard dies at age 108

Marguerite “Gretchen” Frank Minard Thursday, August 26, 2010 More...