Newsbriefs

Housing

hope lists

fill up

The Housing Authority of Okanogan County will actually close its waiting lists for housing assistance programs on June 30 because it has a list that will last two years.

The agency says it will cut off its waiting lists for Section 8 Housing, Tenant Base Rental Assistance and 5-Year Mainstream Voucher Program at 4 p.m. June 30. Applications will be taken until then, and those postmarked before that time will be accepted.

“We have no idea how many years it will take for us to re-open the wait list again,” said the agency’s executive director, Nancy Nash-Mendez, noting the area is in a housing crisis. “This will be when all the people on the current wait list are served, and this could take years.”

Applications can be picked up at the Housing Authority’s office at 110 Oak Street, Okanogan, or by calling 509-422-3721 and requesting the application be mailed.

Plan for

boat fuel

Anyone planning to head up Lake Roosevelt by boat, take note: No fuel is available at Seven Bays until June 30, the National Park Service said this week. Fuel is still available at Keller Ferry and at Two Rivers Marina near Fort Spokane.

New play

to debut

Masquers Theatre will host the world premiere of “Aces Are Feverish” June 17 in Soap Lake. The murder/mystery comedy was written by former Columbia Basin Herald reporter Matthew Weaver, and is directed by Joanne Bracht.

No pass

required

this weekend

For the second week in a row no, Discover Pass is required to access state park land on Saturday.

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is offering the free day in recognition of National Get Outdoors Day. Visitors will not need to display a Discover Pass for day-use visits to state parks, including Steamboat Rock State Park, Northrup Canyon and Crown Point.

The “free days” are in keeping with legislation that created the Discover Pass. The pass costs $30 for an annual pass or $10 for a one-day permit and is required for vehicle access to state recreation lands managed by Washington State Parks, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources. The Discover Pass legislation provided that State Parks could designate up to 12 “free days” when the pass would not be required to visit state parks. The free days apply only at state parks; the Discover Pass is still required on WDFW and DNR lands.

The remaining 2016 State Parks free days are:

* Thursday, August 25 - National Park Service’s 100th birthday

* Saturday,September 24 - National Public Lands Day

* Friday, November 11 - Veterans Day