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North Central W A S H I N G T O N City editor Russ Hemphill (509) 665-1161 [email protected] Assistant city editor Kevira Voegele (509) 664-7146 [email protected] Page A2 Wednesday, December 15, 2010 BY DEE RIGGS World staff writer ROCK ISLAND — Two Wenatchee residents were injured Tuesday when the Ford Bronco they were in collided with a semitrailer on Highway 28 about 16 miles east of East Wenatchee. Thomas L. Emsley, 65, the driver of the Bronco, suffered leg, foot and collarbone injuries in the 8:20 a.m. crash, according to a State Patrol report. He was in satisfactory condition at Central Washing- ton Hospital this morning. A passenger in the Bronco, Luann Keene, 40, received a chest injury and was treated and released at the hospital. The driver of the semitrail- er, Daniel J. Eddy, 43, of Hilton, N.Y., was not injured. Emsley’s Bronco was westbound when it crossed the centerline and struck the eastbound semitrailer, the report stated. The highway was closed for about two and a half hours while troopers inves- tigated the accident and the damaged vehicles were removed. Dee Riggs: 664-7147 [email protected] Crash closes highway for two hours Two people from a Ford Bronco went to Central Washington Hospital after the vehicle hit a semitrailer on Highway 28 Tuesday morning. The driver of the semi was uninjured. World photos/Kathryn Stevens Dan Eddy, the driver of a semitrailer that collided with a Ford Bronco Tuesday morning, talks on his cell phone from the cab of the truck as Washington State Patrol and a tow company work to remove the SUV from Highway 28 one mile south of Palisades Road. If you believe information printed in The World is incorrect, call 665-1161. ◆ CORRECTIONS ◆ HAVE A QUESTION? If you have a comment or question about the paper, call managing editor Cal FitzSimmons at 665-1176 or e-mail him at fitzsimmons@ wenatcheeworld.com. If your question has to do with delivery of the paper, please contact our circulation department directly at 662-2904. BY CHRISTINE PRATT World staff writer WENATCHEE — Starting in 2012, the Chelan County PUD and its biggest power buyers will begin to set money aside to help pay down the utility’s $1.04 billion in debt. Commissioners Monday agreed to set the highest savings quotas permitted by new long-term power sales contracts with Alcoa and Puget Sound Energy. The contracts begin in 2012. The positive vote came despite a final appeal by Bob Huber, Northwest energy manager for Alcoa, for lower quotas, saying Alcoa doesn’t have as large a customer base as the utilities to absorb the extra cost. PUD General Manager John Janney responded that Alcoa agreed to the quotas during the negotiation process. He added that PUD staff had recommended the highest quotas permitted so even its biggest customers share in a burden it has already placed on its other customers via higher rates for electricity, fiber and, next year, likely water and sewer services. “From my perspective, it’s the best thing to do for the overall good of the district,” Janney said. Commissioners agreed. “We are absolutely charged with representing the best interest of the district,” Commissioner Randy Smith said. “We have to remain serious and committed as a district to a plan to be taken seriously in the financial world.” “These are exceptional times,” said Commissioner Ann Congdon. “We have financial metrics we have committed to staying within. It’s a big step, but I think it’s something we need to do.” Commissioner Norm Gutzwiler instructed PUD staff to readdress the quota discussion with commissioners yearly for adjust- ments. “If it’s going to continue, I don’t want it to just be a pass- through,” he said. Talks also are under way to establish debt pay-down quotas with Douglas County PUD, whose contract doesn’t expire. The new contracts for the first time establish quotas called “debt reduction” and “capital recovery” charges. The quotas require the utility and its contracted power purchasers to set cash aside both for paying down debt directly and for reducing the need to fund capital improvements with new debt. Current long-term contracts require that debt fund virtually all capital improvement at the dams. Christine Pratt: 665-1173 [email protected] Chelan PUD plans to pay down debt The Chelan County PUD’s debt-reduction quotas are part of a plan to reduce its debt load from the 75 percent of net assets estimated for 2011 to less than 60 percent by 2015. Kelly Boyd, the PUD’s chief financial and risk officer, said the utility’s debt calculation also takes into account “equity” or the portion of its dams and other equipment that it owns outright. When equity isn’t part of the debt-calculation equation, the utility’s debt ratio increases to about 95 percent of assets, based on 2009 figures. The World reported the 95 percent figure in June at the recommendation of an analyst from Fitch Ratings. If the PUD is successful in reducing its equity- included debt load to the 60 percent range by 2015, the debt load calculated without equity would drop to around 75 percent of net assets, Boyd said. That would still be higher than the 60 percent average rate estimated by the Fitch analyst. But Boyd said the PUD chose its calculation because it’s also an industry standard, with good peer comparisons. A PUD study in June of other utilities with AA bond ratings, including Grant County PUD, Snohomish County PUD and the Eugene (Ore.) Water and Electric Board, showed median debt level of 54 percent, Boyd said. — Christine Pratt, World staff PUD debt: How low should it go? John Janney General manager, Chelan County PUD Ann Congdon PUD commissioner T ODAY Community Wenatchee High ◆ School Holiday Concerts: Choir concert, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; band/orchestra concert, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Wenatchee High School auditorium, 663-8117 Government Wenatchee Planning ◆ Commission: 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 664-3300 Brewster City Council: ◆ 6 p.m., City Hall, 689-3464 Winthrop City Council: ◆ 7 p.m., City Hall, 996-2320 Soap Lake City Council: ◆ 7 p.m., City Hall, 246-1211 Ephrata City Council: ◆ 7 p.m. City Hall, 754-4601 Schools Eastmont School Board: ◆ 5:30 p.m., site visit and board meeting, Eastmont Junior High, 884-7169 Waterville School Board: ◆ 6 p.m., high school career center, 745-8584 THURSDAY Government Port of Chelan County: ◆ 8:30 a.m., 238 Olds Station Road Suite A, Wenatchee, 663-5159 Upper Columbia Salmon ◆ Recovery Board: 3 p.m., 400 Douglas St. Wenatchee, 662-4710 Cascadia Conservation ◆ District: 3:30 p.m., 215 Melody Lane, Methow Valley Room, Wenatchee, 664-9370 North Central Regional ◆ Library Board: 1 p.m., distri- bution center, 16 N. Columbia St., Wenatchee, 663-1117 Douglas County PUD: ◆ 2 p.m., 1151 Valley Mall Parkway, East Wenatchee, 884-7191 Wenatchee City Council: ◆ 5:15 p.m., City Hall, 664-3300 Wenatchee Historic ◆ Preservation Board: 5:30, City Hall, 888-6243 Schools Quincy School Board: ◆ 5:30 p.m., district office 787-4571 Entiat School Board: ◆ 7 p.m., high school library, 784-1800 Manson School Board: ◆ 7 p.m., Ray Bumgarner Building., 687-3140 Plug in Your connection to community events through tomorrow GRANDVIEW — The Washington State Patrol says a speeding driver apparently was under the influence when his pickup ran off Wilson Highway into a vineyard near Grandview. The patrol says the truck rolled multiple times Tuesday night, ejecting 22-year-old Ricardo Cesar Uribe of Grandview. He was taken to Sunnyside Community Hospital where he died. — The Associated Press Driver dies in crash at vineyard *See club for details. STARTING JANUARY 2011 NO JOINING FEE who sign up* NEW! 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