Hearings explain plan to save trout

There are interlopers in some of Washington’s fishing lakes, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to eliminate them.

A series of hearings is scheduled to explain the agency’s plans and to hear the public’s input about rehabilitating those lakes and making them healthier for trout. Among the lakes scheduled for treatment are Rocky Lake in Stevens County and Ellen Lake in Ferry County. Those bodies of water have been illegally stocked with pumpkinseed sunfish and largemouth bass, respectively.

In October, the department intends to treat those lakes with rotenone to eliminate the undesired species and then stock the lakes with both adult trout and fry in the spring.

The hearing dealing with Rocky and Ellen lakes will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, in the USDA/Stevens County Conservation District building, 230 Williams Lake Road, northwest of Colville.

• The Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington is updating its four-year budget cycle and wants to hear area citizens’ opinions. A hearing is scheduled from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, July 12, at the agency’s building, 1220 N. Post.

ALTCEW serves low-income seniors and disabled of all ages. As they revise the 2004-07 area plan, officials want to know what priorities the public thinks should be reflected in the budget. They also want suggestions as they define the expectations service providers should address when they bid on agency contracts.

It’s also a grass-roots opportunity for citizens to call their own concerns to the agency’s attention. All community members, not just agency clients, are invited to comment.