On the west side of the mountains, the icy conditions have wrought numerous accidents and brought I-5 to a standstill last night as many people abandoned their cars on the freeways and walked home. 

There is a possibility of more snowfall for Manson on Wednesday evening through Thursday morning.  New snowfall on top of icy roads makes for extremely dangerous driving. The Washington State DOT asks motorists not to drive unless it is absolutely necessary.  If you must drive, make sure you have water, a flashlight and warm blankets in case of an emergency.

Manson(MVT) - Santa arrived at the Lake Chelan Lighting Center in downtown Manson at noon today.  A line of eager children and their parents extended out to the sidewalk as they waited to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

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Stehekin - The General Manage Plan for the Stehekin Area adopted by the National Park Service in 1988 states: "The 23-mile Stehekin Valley road will be maintained at its current length, width, and character. Although the written responses to the EA concerning this road were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the road open, the National Park Service adopted Alternative B, permanently closing the road above Car Wash Falls."

The community of Stehekin is stunned by this action. No compromise or alternative action was discussed with the community. Action to remove the road was immediate by the National Park Service. Even while wildfire threatened to burn the valley and the official story was that they lacked resources to control the fire, crews were dispatched to tear out and helicopter out Dolly Varden Campground and the road culverts.

As a result Stehekin Heritage has conducted a poll in the community to determine the support for attempting to reopen the road to Cottonwood Camp. On October 16, 2006 a poll was sent to all persons 18 or over living in Stehekin. There were 72 poll letters sent. Of these 72, 54 were returned. Of the 54 returned 92.5% indicated they favored the reopening of the road to Cottonwood Camp. There were 50 in favor and 4 opposed.

Conclusion: The Stehekin Community has been called upon to state their position on the reopening of the Upper Stehekin Valley Road to Cottonwood Camp. Stehekin Heritage with a group of community members and others with ties to Stehekin are moving forward to take action to re-route the Stehekin Valley Road from Car Wash Falls to Bridge Creek and from Glory to Cottonwood Camp.