Omak District chooses Tonasket

Meeting last Saturday, members of the Colville Tribes’ Omak District selected a replacement Colville Business Council (CBC) member for a position vacated when Ernest “Sneena” Brooks resigned last month.

Richard Tonasket, of Omak, was chosen by attendees. Tonasket has been appointed by the CBC by resolution to serve the remainder of the vacated term, set to expire in 2015.

Tonasket, 53, is the son of former Colville Business Council chairman Mel Tonasket and Nancy Tonasket. He is the grandson of Leonard and Gerry Tonasket and Dave Jane.

Tonasket has worked as a purchasing agent for tribal mills, and is currently working as a fisheries technician for the tribes’ Fish and Wildlife Department. He and his wife Joan have been married for 25 years.

Tonasket will be sworn in at this Thursday’s Special Session at 8:30 a.m. in the Colville Business Council’s chambers.

The vacancy, created when Omak councilman and tribal vice-chairman Ernest “Sneena” Brooks III resigned last week following his arrest on a rape charge in Idaho.