August 2013 Spotlight – Colville and Republic

The Stevens/Ferry Counties team is a small but mighty group of six. As the first branch office, we are the sole providers of Individual Supported Employment and Community Access services for customers referred by the Developmental Disabilities Administration.

In the Tri County areas, we provide transitional employment services through a contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce.   Services to customers who come to us from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation include Community Based Assessments, Trial Work Experiences, Job Placement, Job Retention, Independent Living and WorkStrides.

We enjoy a small yet diverse employer base: the world provider of laundry finishing products and heating and cooling coils; the manufacturer of welded aluminum boats with sixty years experience, the oldest on the west coast; and goldmines and fossil beds in Ferry County.

One of the most exciting things about our rural communities is the momentum to move into home ownership.  Because we work so closely with partners in our communities, we have been able to support approximately seven Individual Supported Employment customers to realize these dreams.

The Colville office holds the distinction of being the only office to have ever generated an incident report due to a turtle bite on the job.

Our Local History: Colville is the largest city in the Tri County area and was established in 1882 when Fort Colville was abandoned by the military.   When Grand Coulee Dam was brought on line in 1941, the backup of the Columbia River resulted in the permanent flooding of numerous small towns and the second Fort Colville.  Some of these foundations are still visible in Lake Roosevelt during the spring draw down of the river.