Lang: Riverfront property has become ‘headache’

As city officials continue to talk about posting trespassing notices for campers along the Chehalis River, property owner Michael Lang said he simply wants to be rid of the land.

Lang, on Thursday, added that although he’d like to see the campers find alternative housing options, removing them from the property is in the city’s hands.

“It’s not up to me,” he said. “I’m a pawn in the middle. The city ordered me to get down there and get them out and I have no choice. They obviously have the legal right to do that.”

City of Aberdeen Attorney Eric Nelson said Wednesday the city had given Lang a deadline of June to have the property cleaned. The agreement also stipulated that trespassing notices would be issued at some point between now and Lang’s deadline, though Nelson did not specify a date.

Lang bought the land, he said, as investment property about 25 years ago. Since then, it’s become a “headache” to own and maintain as the city struggles to regulate the campers and their trash, he said.

It’s currently on the market for $400,000, said Rex Valentine, the real estate agent managing the listing. Though the property is assessed at just more than $470,000, Valentine said he thinks it’s worth about $800,000.

Although campers have lived in the area for at least the last year, the latest rousing came in early March when city Code Enforcement Officer Bill Sidor posted notices to vacate the area by the end of the month. Campers and advocates pleaded with officials, leading to an extension by several weeks.

A clean-up effort of the area that some have dubbed “Rivercamp,” led by local volunteers with the hopes of extending their time on the land even longer, began almost three weeks ago.

Local businessman and Aberdeen Revitalization Movement volunteer Tim Quigg, during the effort, donated a portable toilet and a communal supply of wood for burning. Lang said he didn’t mind the donations, but didn’t support an encampment that the city had deemed illegal.

Quigg, on Friday, was making more donations in the form of washing machine tubs for campers to use as fire pits. He also unloaded about a dozen wooden boards intended for campers to make additions to their campsites.

Valentine, also at the site on Friday, said he had talked to city officials that morning, and asked them to consider allowing campers to stay through June and July as long as they continue to clean. Officials, he said, listened, but didn’t outright agree. Valentine said he was aware that the city could not authorize an encampment on the property.

Lang, on Thursday, added that he was sympathetic to the struggles of campers trying to find a place to live.

“We all know that it’s a difficult issue and we all feel sorry for the people who are down there,” he said. “I’m just hoping that they find some kind of a good alternative.”

Kyle Mittan, 360-537-3932, kmittan@thedailyworld.com. Twitter: @KyleMittan

Arnold Samuels: ‘Eyewitness to the Holocaust’

From his Jewish family’s flight to escape the persecution of Hitler’s pre-War Germany to a daring return behind enemy lines for the U.S. Army to identify Nazi War criminals, Arnold Samuels’ first few decades of life left an impression that can never be forgotten.

Now at the age of 91, the longtime Ocean Shores resident, volunteer and former Councilman vividly describes his return long ago in his early 20s to his home in Hammelburg after the Allied Forces had forced Germany to surrender:

“It still gives me goosebumps. We were about 20 miles north of my hometown, and they were ready to start firing artillery down on the town,” said Samuels, whose job in the Army at that time was to provide coordinates for the big guns to hit their intended targets. “I was in survey team, and after they gave up, they sent a messenger out with a white flag. He had orders from the mayor, and we accepted their surrender.

“The next day, I took a jeep and I went into town. After they surrendered, the Nazis withdrew and the town was quiet. I parked the jeep in the middle of the town and walked up the street, and down comes a guy on a cycle with a Nazi uniform still on. He was a messenger. And he looked at me … and I looked at him. And I will never forget, I said, “Markus, is that you?”

The old friend, still wearing the Nazi uniform, got down and “we hugged each other” in a symbolic moment that would place Samuels on the battle lines during one of the most tumultuous times in history.

Samuels’ vivid life story is told by former Daily World publisher John C. Hughes who was honored this week by the Washington Secretary of State’s Office. Published to coincide with Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, the profile “Arnold Samuels: Eyewitness to the Holocaust” is part of a series of profiles and oral histories marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The “Washington Remembers” project is sponsored by state Secretary of State Kim Wyman as Legacy Washington salutes World War II veterans and those who contributed to the war effort from around the state. It can be found online at http://ift.tt/1DTpiEQ

Wyman is the niece of a decorated World War II Marine. “Personal accounts from the deadliest conflict in world history teach us about sacrifice, freedom and who we are today,” Wyman said.

In a phone interview, Wyman said she was excited to oversee the stories of those who lived through such key moments in history.

“From just casual conversation, it has turned into this amazing project and opportunity to capture these stories,” she said.

Hughes, now the chief historian for Legacy Washington, met Samuels more than 20 years ago when he and his wife Phyllis were members of The Daily World’s Reader Advisory Board and Samuels would often write pithy letters to the editor. That’s when Hughes first learned that Samuels had worked in the Counter Intelligence Corps with another famous German who had fled the Nazis only to return — Henry Kissinger, who is part of the Hughes’ profile.

“One of my favorite Kissinger quotes came during a press conference during the Ford era: ‘This has the added advantage of being true.’ Everything Arnold told me checked out, especially after he loaned me the transcripts of a diary he kept during the war,” Hughes said.

“I shared the profile with the U.S. Holocaust Museum and received a call back an hour later. They were mightily impressed,” Hughes said.

Samuels believes too few young people today learned about the horrors and events that changed the world in the years before, during and after World War II.

“Arnold is deeply concerned that schools don’t teach more about the Holocaust and shared privately his disappointment that he hasn’t been asked to speak at a school in years,” Hughes said.

On April 15, Samuels was the guest speaker at Holocaust Remembrance Day at Temple Beth El in Tacoma.

Arnold’s profile

“My favorite Arnold quote was ‘after the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule everything else is hocus pocus,’” Hughes recalled of his interviews with Samuels. “With that he wriggled his hand like a magician.”

Here are some of the key details of the profile and series:

• Arnold Samuels escaped Germany with his parents and brother in 1937, a year before Kristallnacht. Their benefactor was Morris Ernst, one of the most influential civil liberties attorneys in America.

• Samuels’ aunt and uncle, Johanna and Leon Joel, weren’t so fortunate. They were among the 900 Jews who hoped to find refuge in Cuba or the U.S. in 1939, only to have their ship turned away. The Joels perished at Auschwitz.

• Leon Joel was also Billy Joel’s uncle. The famous singer-songwriter and the gregarious former Ocean Shores City Council member are united by the broken branches of their family trees.

• During World War II, Samuels served first as an Army infantry undercover agent behind enemy lines. He helped interview Dachau survivors and interrogated suspected Nazi concentration camp guards.

• At war’s end, Samuels and another young German-born sergeant, Henry Kissinger, headed a Counter Intelligence Corps de-Nazification office near Munich.

• Samuels worked for the Voice of America as a radio engineer during the 1950s, then became a civilian engineer for the Air Force, retiring with a rating equivalent to lieutenant colonel.

• A tireless community activist, he is the only person ever elected to the Ocean Shores City Council as a write-in candidate.

Other profiles in the series focus on former longtime Washington State Auditor Robert Graham of Olympia (also honored by the North Beach School District), who served with the Air Transport Command in the South Pacific; Joe Moser of Ferndale, a fighter pilot POW who survived hellish captivity at Buchenwald.

Next to be published are profiles of George Narozonick of Olympia, who was on landing craft at Normandy on D-Day; and Regina Sawina Tollfeldt of Olympia, a “Rosie” worker on the B-17 production line at Boeing’s Seattle plant.

Wyman noted her own uncle had served in the U.S. Marine Corps on Okinawa at the end of World War II.

“He never talked about it, and for obvious reasons because he had what we now know was post-traumatic stress. He passed away a few years ago and I was talking to my dad, who was his younger brother, and he never had even shared it with him,” Wyman said of her uncle’s war experiences in the Pacific.

‘Enjoy life’

Samuels tends to downplay his own role in uncovering the horrors of the Holocaust. He doesn’t talk that much about it around Ocean Shores, where he regularly takes photos for the North Coast News and the Chamber of Commerce, teaches exercise classes at the Senior Center, attends the Elks or Eagles clubs, and appears at just about every VFW event. He even helps with the local North Beach TV telecasts of the City Council meetings, still maintains his ham radio networking — many of the skills and preoccupations he picked up during his war years.

Something else he learned post-war was to value his health and environment.

“I enjoy life,” Samuels said when asked his secret at 91 for longevity. “Like my dad used to say: You take care of your body, and your body will take care of you. I don’t smoke, I don’t booze. I don’t do drugs. I don’t gamble. I live a relatively easy life, but a busy life. I try to keep busy.”

He’s not much of a cook and eats most of his meals at the Senior Center since beloved wife Phyllis passed away when he was 77.

“It was tough,” he said of losing the one he loved all his life, who helped him raise the couple’s three sons: Stewart, Kenneth and Michael. For about the past 15 years, it’s just been Arnold at home with his longtime furry feline companion, aptly named Shadow.

“It’s still tough. The fact that I’m active makes it easier, but in the evenings it’s still a lonely life,” Samuels says of being a bachelor late in life.

His only indulgence is a couple glasses of Zinfandel a night: One at the Eagles or the Elks early in the evening, and then later after going on his ham radio network about 7:30 p.m. “But that’s all. Two is the maximum, except at a party where I might have a third one. Wine is good for you.”

As his perfectly punctual cuckoo clock sounds nine whistles for the early morning riser, he reads some of Hughes’ profile for the first time in its completed version.

Looking up from the account, he reaches back to explain: “I talked to a lot of Germans afterwards, and most of them were totally ignorant of what was actually going on. They knew the Jews were chased out, but they didn’t know what they did with them. They didn’t know they were taking them to concentration camps. The only ones who really knew about the death camps were the SS who worked in those camps. But the outside world knew very little.”

Right up until arriving in 1945 at the concentration camp of Dachau, where a documented 32,000 people died and thousands more were never accounted for, Samuels and the other American and Allied forces had no idea of the extent of the Holocaust.

“Even up until Dachau, I didn’t know what was going on. We were young kids. Henry Kissinger and I were young 21-year-old kids.

“It gives me goose pimples. All we knew was that we were bringing the murderers to justice. We didn’t worry about history or consequences. All we knew is that they deserved what they ultimately got.”

For excerpts from the Arnold Samuels profile can be seen at http://ift.tt/1DvAiH1

Dad tells harrowing tale of family stuck in surf

An evening at the beach turned into a harrowing event for Peter Reece and his family Thursday night in Ocean Shores when their new, parked car was taken by the water when a strong tide came in.

A wave took the car and flipped it on its side just after firefighters helped Reece’s family to safety, evading what could have been a tragic accident.

Reece, 25, said he had taken a trip to Ocean Shores on Thursday with his fiancé, six-month-old daughter and his mother after having not been to the ocean for quite some time. They parked their car about 20 feet from the tide to take some pictures near the West Chance ala Mer beach approach.

Reece said the tide was low when their car was parked, but within five minutes of their arrival, the waves picked up, surrounding the Reeces’ vehicle.

“The tide was really low,” said Reece of the waves when his family got to the beach. “Then it just came out of nowhere.”

Everyone got in the car. But, Reece tried to drive the vehicle to dry land, the tires were stuck in the surf. Panicked, Reece ran to the beach and recovered some wooden planks to place under the car’s tires to gain traction while his fiancé went to get help. His mother stayed in the car with his daughter. When running to get the wood, Reece heard his mother scream for help.

When he went back, he found a foot of water in the car as his mother clutched his six-month-old daughter.

“I was terrified,” said Reece. “My fiancé was crying because she has a fear of water. Before we got out of the car the tide came in and crashed against the side (of the car).”

Reece tried to move the car a second time with the help of the planks, but the car remained stuck.

First responders arrived around 7 p.m. and found Reece in the car with his mother and daughter and told Reece to stop trying to drive the vehicle and get out. Reece was able to exit the vehicle on his own, but, Ocean Shores Police Officer Kyle Watson helped his mother and daughter exit the vehicle amidst the tide.

Reece said the car had moved roughly 10 feet from where he initially parked it and flipped upside down when a wave hit the vehicle a short time later. While attempting to tow the car out of the water, another wave came and moved the car right-side up, making it easier to tow.

Reece and his fiancé both lost their cellphones during the incident and other items in the car, including an iPad and Reece’s daughter’s formula.

“A lot of stuff floated off,” said Reece. He bought the vehicle in late March.

Reece said first responders went to the store and bought his daughter new formula after the incident.

“I want to thank Ocean Shores fire and police. They did a real good job and they made us feel comfortable, safe and warm,” said Reece.

Several apartments destroyed in Elma fire

Firefighters from Elma, McCleary and Grays Harbor Fire District 5 responded to a structure fire at the Woodsvilla apartment complex in Elma Thursday afternoon. Several units were destroyed, however no injuries have been reported. Several pets remain unaccounted for.

Olympia mayor at GHC Saturday to discuss civic engagement

Olympia Mayor Stephen Buxbaum will be at Grays Harbor College Saturday to speak on the topic of civic engagement in a time of rapid change, particularly in the context of climate change.

Buxbaum will speak to The Evergreen State College’s Grays Harbor program class, “Health From the Inside Out,” but the 1 p.m. event is free and open to the public.

Buxbaum has 30 years of work in community and economic development, including more than two decades in Grays Harbor County. He will discuss best practices used by individuals and communities to address climate change. “Social, economic and environmental challenges are coming at us simultaneously and very rapidly,” said Buxbaum, who believes issues such as food and energy policy need to be addressed at a community and individual level if they are to be successfully resolved.

In the 1980s Buxbaum worked extensively on sustainable agriculture initiatives, including organizing farmers’ markets and distribution cooperatives for organic farmers. He organized Farmers’ Wholesale Cooperative, one of the nation’s first and largest distributors of organically grown produce. He later worked for the State of Washington as an executive manager of community and economic development programs. While working for the state Buxbaum, was directly involved in developing projects such as community centers, day care facilities, farmers’ markets, homeless shelters, affordable housing and water and waste water facilities across the state of Washington, including Grays Harbor County. He is a founding member of the Safe Energy Leadership Alliance, an organization of local elected officials from Pacific Northwest states and Canada who have raised concerns about the transport of coal and oil by rail.

In 2012-’13 Buxbaum collaborated with two faculty members from Evergreen to teach a program in Grays Harbor - “Telling Our Stories – What Makes Communities Work.” As a result of that class, the Grays Harbor resident students self-published a book called “Voices from the Harbor,” the first anthology of stories and poems about the Grays Harbor area to be written by people from the region.

Evergreen runs one eight-credit upper division program each quarter at Grays Harbor as well as other four-credit classes, ensuring that Grays Harbor Community College graduates have access to upper level college courses in their own town.

Buxbaum, who will teach a full program at Grays Harbor in 2015-16, said he was moved by his last experience instructing in the area. “I am very grateful that I have had the opportunity to work with students from the Harbor Region,” said Buxbaum. “The work they did collecting information about their communities was transformational.”

Budget woes drive county to seek consultant

The Grays Harbor County Commissioners are bringing in outside help to create a strategic plan that is aimed to help the county achieve success in several different areas, including organizationally, legislatively and financially, which is both related and unrelated to the county’s dismal financial situation.

This year’s budget shows the county spending more money than it takes in and the resulting deficit will be balanced with funds from reserves. By 2017, if projections hold true, the county could be nearly $2 million in the hole in starting cash.

A presentation delivered by county Budget Director Brenda Sherman on Monday showed a worsening deficit. Whereas the county projected a hole of more than $1.6 million to end the year, the actual budget, using figures through the month of March, shows a deficit of more than $2.5 million.

“We cannot live like this,” Commissioner Vickie Raines said after the presentation. “When you look at what we have budgeted for 2015 and what the projection is for 2015, it’s almost a million dollars more than what the projection is. One of the things that I’m going to request is that all those departments seriously look at their budget.”

On Monday, April 20, each commissioner will propose a budget-reduction plan during the morning meeting. Morning meetings begin at 9 a.m. and are open to the public.

On Wednesday, April 22, a public budget workshop will be held at 1 p.m. to discuss each of the commissioners’ respective plans. Sherman and Budget Manager Marilyn Lewis also will attend the workshop.

The budget is part of an overall problem facing the county, Commissioner Vickie Raines said on Monday.

“There has to be changes. We are existing. Due to the lack of planning and process that has not been taken over the last decade, we are so broken that we’re broke,” Raines said. “We need to fix the broken part of us … currently, our budget drives out policy, and it should be the other way around.”

And that’s where the outside help comes in via Shelli Hopsecger, a private consultant. Her strategic planning process would help develop a long-range solution.

“This would have to be an inclusive process that the department heads would be a part of,” Hopsecger said. “It will have to be a process that has trust and open communication or it will be a complete waste of time.”

Hopsecger’s strategic planning process would involve three workshops, each with their own aim toward an overall goal of a cohesive, focused county.

The first workshop would focus on preparation for planning, with conversations involving Sherman, the county staff and the commissioners. Ideally, the first workshop would identify existing conditions the county faces, including human, financial, legislative and risks. The group then would work to set goals, both long term and short term, for each of the following areas: organization, finance, service and community.

In the second workshop, Hopsecger hopes to help the county figure out where it wants to go. The common goals set in the first workshop will be reviewed, and the group will identify the county’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats or risks. The workshop also will identify the ways in which the county will measure its success.

The third workshop will help the county identify its partners and tools. Additionally, the county will discuss how it will follow through and what expectations it has of the staff.

“Budget driving policy instead of policy driving budget has resulted in a lot of cuts over the years, and that has created an atmosphere of apprehension, and in those environments people tend to withdraw and don’t even want to offer suggestions of solutions for fear that the attention would become focused on them,” Hopsecger said.

Hopsecger priced the first workshop for the commissioners, tentatively billing them for 10 hours at $90 per hour, followed by a two-hour follow-up briefing at the same price for a total of $1,080. She said she worried that she had estimated conservatively.

Another concern Hopsecger had was that she wouldn’t have enough time in her own life to complete the other two workshops with the commissioners, but she said she was willing to find a replacement when the time comes. Commissioner Frank Gordon was apprehensive about moving forward with Hopsecger only to have her replaced by the second workshop.

“I feel comfortable with you, but my biggest fear is that if you didn’t do the second workshop is that the continuity would not be there,” Gordon said.

The commissioners unanimously approved up to $5,000 for the first workshop. A tentative schedule shows the strategic planning workshops beginning some time in May.

Citizen of the Year: G.N. “Pete” Vander Linden

G.N. “Pete” Vander Linden doesn’t take his age too seriously.

The 94-year-old Hoquiamite doesn’t have any secrets to staying spry, even though some have called him “the youngest 94-year-old” they know.

Vander Linden just stays focused on the little things.

“They keep renewing my driver’s license,” he said with a laugh last week.

The Daily World’s Citizen of the Year, is as glib about his award as he is about growing old. “I wondered what kind of mistake someone had made,” he said.

But Vander Linden’s friends and those who nominated him aren’t the least bit surprised.

At the center of every nomination letter was mention of Vander Linden’s service to the community, which for decades he’s spread across a number of organizations. He’s been a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Rotary Club and the Harbor Toastmasters.

He’s been a member of the Hoquiam Elks Lodge and the Hoquiam’s First Presbyterian Church for 51 years.

He was also involved in bringing hospice to the Harbor.

For Vander Linden, the reason for being involved is simple.

“You’ve got to support your community,” he said.

Upbringing

Growing up, Vander Linden said the mispronunciation of his first name — Gerald, pronounced like Harold — and his hot temper caused a few scraps throughout high school. Eventually someone called him Pete and it stuck. He told the story last week in the lobby at the Elks Lodge in Hoquiam. His schnauzer, Annie, a companion for every occasion, meandered nearby.

An Iowa native born in 1920, Vander Linden grew up as a farmhand, working for whoever would hire him. His $5-a-week paychecks, he said, were “big dollars” for someone working during the Depression era.

But farm work wasn’t for him, he said, and his primary lesson from that time was that his hand “didn’t fit a pitchfork handle.”

After high school, Vander Linden moved to Idaho to live with one of his eight brothers.

There, he joined the National Guard on Sept. 6, 1940. He was mobilized on the ninth, and was at Fort Lewis in Tacoma by the 16th. For the following five years, Vander Linden said he didn’t see a single bomb or bullet, serving in the medical corps at bases in the South Pacific.

Newly married and in search of a job after his service, Vander Linden applied for an apprenticeship with Hoquiam’s Pinnick-Coleman Mortuary in 1946. Two years later, he earned a degree from the California College of Mortuary Science in funeral directing.

When he came back to Hoquiam, Vander Linden only planned to work for another three months at the mortuary. Three months turned into the rest of his career.

Vander Linden bought the mortuary in 1964, remodeled it in 1966 and sold it when he retired in 1986.

Marriage and family

Vander Linden met his future wife Norma on Mother’s Day 1941. She passed away in 2010.

Paired up on a blind date, he said they took to one another immediately. She talked about them getting married before he went overseas, but Vander Linden resisted.

“I said, ‘No, I’m not going to go overseas and get my head bumped off and have you as a widow over here,’” he said. “So, when I came home from overseas, she met me at the door.”

The two were married on Feb. 3, 1945 — or “two, three, four, five,” as Vander Linden likes to point out.

His reluctance to marry before his service ended meant Norma had to wait 31 months before tying the knot.

“I thought that was great,” he said. “I just couldn’t think of anything better happening to me.”

For six years after their marriage, the two tried to have a child. Their only child, Claire, was born in 1951.

From her home in Pasco, Claire described Vander Linden as a “great father,” and recalled the things that earned him the designation. Fishing trips. Shooting lessons. Taking her and a carload of friends on monthly trips to the orthodontist in Portland. Giving away the funeral home’s unused cardboard for her high school classmates to make dance decorations.

He was always dedicated to his work, she added.

“I grew up understanding that the funeral home was there,” she said. “And if somebody needed him over there, that’s where he would be.”

A Hoquiam High School alumna, Claire took Vander Linden to her class’s 45th reunion last summer, where he was the center of the celebration.

“It was amazing how many of my friends came in the house (and said), ‘Oh, Pete’s here,’ and they’d go talk to Dad,” she said.

Supporting his neighborhood

Vander Linden’s community involvement, in large part, escalated with his retirement in 1986, he said.

“I said to my wife, ‘Well, I guess I’d better go to the junior college and figure out what I’m going to do,’” he said about his time just after retirement. “She said, ‘You’re not going to do a damn thing.’ So I haven’t done a damn thing.”

Most of Vander Linden’s friends would argue with that.

His memberships also include several years of volunteer service in organization administration, including presidential stints for the Eagles and Rotary clubs, as well as his current post as treasurer for the Hoquiam Elks Lodge, which he’s had for the past 15 years.

At the Elks, Vander Linden, among other responsibilities, collects money to help fund physical therapy for children.

Susan Campos, the lodge’s bookkeeper, said Vander Linden has declared his last year as treasurer of the lodge for the last eight years.

“They keep electing me,” he said.

Even with all his involvement, Vander Linden said he’s never done anything he hasn’t wanted to do. Years ago, he said, friends had suggested he run for the Hoquiam School Board. Then, city council. He avoided both.

“I don’t like confrontations,” he said. “So I steered clear of the things where confrontations would interfere with what I was trying to do.”

Vander Linden’s work hasn’t gone unseen. One nomination letter called him “a very community-dedicated citizen.” Another quipped that he should’ve been made Citizen of the Year “20 or more” years ago.

In Peter Hegg’s letter, he called Vander Linden “the best role model of positive active citizenship” that he knows. Hegg, who’s known Vander Linden since the 1960s, said their friendship grew closer in the ‘90s through church and Elks memberships.

Hegg knows Vander Linden as a man who’s always willing to contribute.

“… Most of the people his age start to say, ‘Well, I think I’ve done my thing and I’m ready to sit back and do nothing,’” Hegg said last week. “He’s never going to do that.”

To some lodgemates, Vander Linden is more than a treasurer or friend. Campos, whose father died seven years ago, said Vander Linden has come to fill that void. It’s hard, she said, to narrow down their relationship to a single poignant memory.

“Everybody who has ever crossed his path just loves and adores him,” she said. “He’s just a really great guy. He does a lot for people.”

Not settling down

Thirty years after retiring, Vander Linden still hasn’t settled down. Since 1989, he’s attended family reunions every year throughout the midwestern and western U.S. His trips have taken him to Tennessee, Arizona, Idaho and Minnesota, among other states.

This year’s reunion, he said, will take place at his home in Hoquiam, with Claire acting as host.

He has no plans to slow down anytime soon, he said, and won’t stop giving back to his community.

“It’s just something you can’t define,” he said. “It’s just something that you do.”

Kyle Mittan, 360-537-3932, kmittan@thedailyworld.com. Twitter: @KyleMittan

Small turnout at $15 minimum wage rally in Aberdeen

Low-wage workers held rallies across the state on Wednesday asking for increased pay, while a planned rally in Aberdeen had a disappointing turnout, with less than a handful of demonstrators showing up.

The local demonstration was organized by Working Washington, a Seattle-based organization that started protests to raise the minimum wage in 2013. Service Employees International Union 775, a group that represents homecare workers in Washington and Montana, also helped to set up the event. Demonstrations were held around the state Wednesday, with fast-food workers, airline employees and home care workers asking for a $15 minimum wage.

Currently, Washington’s minimum wage is $9.47 an hour.

Olympia, Spokane, Vancouver, Bellingham, Tacoma and Port Orchard were among the cities taking part in the rallies, with most demonstrators ending the day in Seattle with an afternoon demonstration.

Demetrio and Leonor Alburo, a couple from Montesano who both work as caregivers, were the only demonstrators present on Wednesday, aside from Eddy Hayes, a rally organizer. The rally was supposed to take place along Wishkah Street in east Aberdeen, near a number of fast-food restaurants.

The two are in their 70s and have worked as caregivers since they moved to the U.S. from the Philippines in 2003.

Leonor said she showed up to the rally with her husband with the hopes of persuading lawmakers that the $11 an hour she makes isn’t enough to live on.

“You give everything to your client and the pay is so low that you can hardly make it for the next payday,” she said.

Leonor’s husband said the couple is “barely able to survive” on the wages.

Hayes, who has worked as a caregiver in the past, said she hopes a wage increase will attract more workers to the profession and keep the ones who are already in the field.

“I am very passionate about improving the lives of our caregivers. We need to make sure caregivers will stay in this industry,” she said.

After waiting for an hour in hopes of other demonstrators showing up, the three got into a coach bus to make their way to Shelton, where another protest was planned.

Hayes said the rally was a way for fast food workers to voice their discontent with wages, as well.

“This is not just for caregivers; this is for working people, too,” Hayes said on Wednesday.

Chehalis River Bridge open all day Wednesday, cleaning continues Thursday

The Chehalis River Bridge will be open all day Wednesday after efforts to clean the bridge went quicker than expected Tuesday, said Washington State Department of Transportation Olympic Region Maintenance and Operations Superintendent Randy Moody.

The cleaning will continue on Thursday with the exit to State Street and right northbound lane of the bridge closing from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“There was probably a little less (cleaning) than what was anticipated when it was inspected by the bridge inspector’s crew,” said Moody.

Moody said there will be a couple of maintenance openings of the bridge Thursday, but nothing like the numerous openings and closings that took place on Tuesday.

Frederick Russell, driver who killed three students, released from prison

Frederick Russell, who was convicted of killing three Washington State University students, including one from Westport, and seriously injuring three others, including one from Central Park, in 2001 in a drunken driving crash, was released from prison Tuesday.

Russell, now 36, was the subject of a yearslong manhunt after he fled three days before a scheduled court hearing. He was located in Dublin, Ireland, in 2005, where he was living under an alias and working as a security guard. He remained in an Irish jail for a year fighting extradition back to the United States.

Greg Sorensen’s son, Ryan Sorensen from Westport, was one of the three killed in the crash.

“I think he’s being released way too early,” Sorensen said Tuesday. “He’s still alive and our children are all gone.”

Ryan Sorensen was 21 and had just graduated from Washington State.

Russell was sentenced to 14 years in prison for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in January 2008. He was given credit for a little more than a year he served in the Whitman County Jail awaiting trial and, after a Court of Appeals decision, also was given credit for the year he served in Ireland.

Russell had been drinking heavily the night of June 4, 2001, when he lost control on state Route 270 between Moscow and Pullman. His vehicle collided with a car, lost control and hit a second car carrying seven WSU students returning from a movie.

At the time of his sentencing, Rich Morrow, father of victim Stacey Morrow, complained that Russell would likely only serve 10 years of his sentence with time off for good behavior in prison.

“To me, 10 years may not be fair, but I don’t know what’s fair,” Morrow told a Spokesman-Review reporter at the time.

Greg Sorensen couldn’t bring himself to attend Russell’s sentencing in 2008.

“I don’t think they would have wanted to hear my feelings,” he said.

His wife died of cancer a year after their son was killed.

“Her life just deteriorated to nothing after Ryan’s death,” Sorensen said. “She’d given up.”

Now Sorensen finds himself doing the best he can to carry on after the news that Russell was released.

“There’s not much I can do about it,” he said. “I just think he got off awful easy.”

Russell was released from Larch Corrections Center in Yacolt, Wash., and will spend the next 18 months under supervision.

Killed in the crash were WSU students Morrow, Sorensen and Brandon Clements. Students Sameer Ranade, John “Matt” Wagner and Kara Eichelsdoerfer of Central Park received serious injuries.

Bernadette Olson, who was a graduate student at the time of the crash and a Russell family friend, received a six-month jail term in 2004 for lying to federal prosecutors after she drove Russell to Canada to escape the vehicular homicide charges.

At the time of the crash, Russell’s father, Gregory D. Russell, was director of the criminal justice program at Washington State University. He denied having any role in his son’s escape.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

April 23 meeting will review plans for Seaport Landing

The Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority aims to collect public input on “the future of Seaport Landing” with a workshop scheduled for next week, according to a statement from the organization on Tuesday.

The workshop, set for 6 to 8 p.m. on April 23 at the Rotary Log Pavilion in Aberdeen, will collect ideas from the community about the planning and design of the property, which will be home to tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain.

The Seaport Authority acquired the 38-acre property in 2013 and is currently undergoing a master planning process. Most recently, a grant for $23,000 from the Grays Harbor Community Foundation in February helped pay for a structural assessment and schematic design of one of the property’s buildings.

The South Aberdeen plot of land, across the Chehalis River from the Olympic Gateway shopping center, was once occupied by a Weyerhauser sawmill.

Nominations sought for Joel Wolff Service Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the Joel Wolff Community Service Award, an annual recognition created in 2003 to honor community service in Grays Harbor County. The recipient will be announced at the annual meeting of the United Way of Grays Harbor in June 2015. Nominations must be turned in to the United Way Office, 100 South I St., Suite 207, in Aberdeen by April 30.

The Joel Wolff Community Service Award was established to recognize the contributions and examples of its namesake, Joel Wolff. In addition to his numerous community affiliations and causes, Joel was instrumental in the organization and creation of United Ways of Grays Harbor’s predecessor organizations, the Community Chest and United Good Neighbors of Grays Harbor County. His involvement in our United Way and our annual campaigns has been constant and steadfast. The Board of Directors of United Way of Grays Harbor have chosen to honor Joel by continuing the annual award that recognizes a volunteer or professional from the human services community that epitomizes Joel’s example of caring, commitment, and dedication.

A recipient will be chosen based on the following criteria (in no particular order and with no special weight given to any single criteria):

• Length of service

• Impact on community needs - making a difference - real result in the community

• Demonstration of an authentic and real change in the lives of other

• Dedication to meeting the needs of local people

• Reputation in the community

• Leadership on community issues

• Scope and/or depth of involvement in community service

Eligibility for the annual Award shall require:

• An individual active in community service efforts who may be nominated for work done, whether volunteer or work-related.

• The work the person is nominated for must be done in Grays Harbor County.

• Individuals must serve the community at large.

• United Way employees, members of the Panel of Judges or their immediate families are not eligible.

• Nominees from previous years, who were not recipients of the Award, are eligible for re-nomination.

The nomination process shall work as follows:

• For a nomination to be considered, the nomination form must be filled out completely and legibly and turned in to the United Way office at 100 South I Street Suite 207 in Aberdeen by April 30, 2015. An incomplete or unsigned nomination form will not be accepted.

• Any individual may nominate more that one candidate.

• Individuals may not nominate themselves.

• Pertinent supplemental information, of no more than three pages, may be submitted along with the entry form. This may include letters of support, newspaper clippings, photos, etc.

• The Panel of Judges may request additional information from nominees, the nominator, or an organization.

• Nomination forms and supplemental information shall become the property of United Way of Grays Harbor County and will not be returned.

• Please include a recent photograph of the nominee for publicity purposes.

For more information, call 532-6260.

Purple sailors washing up on the beach

Velella, sometimes called purple sailor jellyfish, washed up on the North Beach and are shown here in a photo taken Sunday. For more information on the creatures, check out http://www.livescience.com/47159-sailing-sea-creatures-wash-ashore.html

2014 Police Officer of the Year — Salstrom a “guardians of our community”

Hoquiam Police Patrol Sergeant Jeff Salstrom says he isn’t a risk-taker. “I don’t like roller coasters, I don’t like heights,” said the 14-year police veteran.

But, whether he admits it or not, Salstrom is most definitely a risk-taker, someone who has put his life on the line to ensure the safety of others. And, his record with the police department is proof.

In 2013, Salstrom was shot during a standoff in which he displayed unbelievable calm to keep those around him safe and, in another instance, heroically rescued a little boy who was being mauled by a mastiff.

“When you talk about guardians of our community, Jeff is that person,” said Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers.

For his valor and bravery in protecting the residents of Hoquiam, Salstrom has been selected as The Daily World’s 2014 Police Officer of the Year. The award is presented each year in honor of Hoquiam Police Officer Donald Burke, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1980.

Notwithstanding the severity of the two experiences and the danger Salstrom put himself in, he plays it off as business as usual.

“I know it’s our job as police officers. You might be scared, there’s nothing wrong with being scared. But, you still have to go out and perform.”

Childhood aspirations

Salstrom knew he wanted to be a police officer from an early age, and says he watched shows like “Emergency!” and “CHiPs” while growing up in Aberdeen. But, Salstrom had another passion early on, too: dogs.

“Dog” was Salstrom’s first word as a baby, and he says although he didn’t have a dog of his own until he was an adult, the animals always intrigued him. And, that fascination took on a whole new meaning after an Aberdeen Police Officer came to Stevens Elementary School while Salstrom was a student and showed a video on police K9s.

From then on, Salstrom not only wanted to be a police officer, but a K9 handler, too.

“I thought having the police dog was the coolest thing,” said Salstrom.

Salstrom graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1993 and was hired by the Forks Police Department in 1999, where he worked for two years before joining Hoquiam in 2001 and graduated from the police academy with academic honors and defensive tactics award.

While working as a patrol officer in 2005, Salstrom was approached by then-Hoquiam Police Chief Rick Thomas, who asked him about starting a K9 program. Salstrom did the needed research and then presented his findings to Thomas and the City Council’s Public Safety Committee before the idea was approved.

That same year, Salstrom spent six weeks in Indiana at Landheim Training and Boarding, where he found “Enno,” the German shepherd that would be Salstrom’s partner for the next seven years. Salstrom was accredited as a K9 officer in 2006.

Salstrom has nothing but fond memories of the dual-purpose police dog, including multiple instances in which Enno tracked down evidence or suspects police wouldn’t have been able to locate otherwise.

The dog was with Salstrom all the time, in his patrol car, at the station and at home with his wife and kids.

“That was the most important part of my career,” said Salstrom of working with Enno. “He was an awesome dog.”

On Feb. 8, 2013, Enno died after battling cancer, leaving Salstrom without a law enforcement partner and a companion. The loss left Salstrom heartbroken.

On patrol, Enno would sit in the back of Salstrom’s car, and Salstrom said he still occasionally forgets that the dog is gone.

“It’s been two and half years now and I still reach back there. It’s hard for people who weren’t K9 handlers to understand what that bond is,” he said.

A tough year

That year, 2013, was filled with emotions for Salstrom. In addition to grieving the loss of Enno, Salstrom was involved in two of the most traumatic police calls of his career.

In March, Salstrom went to a house in the 2800 block of Aberdeen Avenue to make an arrest on felony fraud charges. When Salstrom and Hoquiam Officer Phillip High entered the back door of the house, the suspect, Rick Marlowe, picked up a gun and opened fire on the officers.

Salstrom was shot in the hip during the shootout and had his microphone hit with a bullet, as well, forcing him to call dispatch from his cellphone after both of the officers and Marlowe held fire. When listening to the call to dispatch, it is impossible to ignore the amazing calm with which Salstrom speaks.

“It’s absolutely amazing that someone could maintain that level of presence. In this case, especially as a sergeant, it really exemplifies the type of person he is. I’m proud to have him in the department,” said Myers.

The standoff continued for over 20 hours and ended with Marlowe being shot by police and his house engulfed in flames.

Seven months later, in October, Salstrom found himself in another near-death experience and, once again, came out the situation alive and labeled a hero.

Salstrom responded to a 911 open-line call with a female screaming at a location not a mile away from his location. When Salstrom arrived, he jumped the house’s backyard fence and found an 8-year-old boy covered in blood, being attacked by a mastiff.

Salstrom tased the dog, forcing the animal to let go of the boy, before grabbing the 8-year-old and taking him toward the house. With the boy in one hand and his gun in the other, Salstrom shot the dog and then handed the boy to his grandmother. Salstrom shot the animal twice more, killing it, before carrying the 8-year-old’s 15-year-old babysitter out of the yard.

The incident was especially hard for Salstrom, give his love for dogs.

“That was more stressful for me than getting into the shootout because that guy was trying to kill me, so I don’t have a lot of sympathy for him. But the dog was just being a dog,” he said.

Active shooters

Salstrom is Hoquiam’s active shooter instructor and has worked with both fire departments and the Sheriff’s Office to teach officers how to work with emergency personnel during a mass shooting.

The drills put local agencies ahead of the curve, according to Myers, who explained the drills train both police officers and emergency responders to enter a building that has a shooter inside. Most agencies have police officers go into the location first, which Myers says could be the difference between life and death in that type of situation.

“It’s not just the response of the officers, but also forming rescue teams with their responding EMS providers so we can extract people as quickly as possible. We don’t have time to wait for a SWAT team. We need to get patients extracted as quickly as possible before they bleed to death,” said Myers.

The new approach was Aberdeen Fire Chief Ron Hubbard’s idea. Hubbard said Salstrom’s role as an instructor has been invaluable.

“(Salstrom) was instrumental on the police side as far as the tactics involved,” said Hubbard.

On top of being an active shooter instructor, Salstrom has also organized a tactical first aid class for both the Hoquiam and Aberdeen police department’s Crisis Response Unit members.

Dedicated officer

Myers made clear that the two incidents in 2013 don’t define Salstrom as a police officer, adding that he “continues to be a very dedicated, productive and engaged officer on the street.”

When Salstrom isn’t on duty, he’s at home with his wife Jessica and three kids, Lucas, 11, Jacob, 10, and Alex, who is five.

Salstrom has numerous contacts, professional and otherwise, that always put him in “the know.” Although, that knowledge isn’t only used when on duty, but also to help others in the department when needed.

Salstrom’s youngest son looks up to his father and wants to follow in his footsteps as a police officer, said Myers.

“He always tells me he’s a chief, too,” said Myers of Alex. “It’s one of those special things. You see the value in a person through the eyes of their child.”

A banquet honoring The Daily World’s Officer, Firefighter and Citizen of the Year is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at the Hoquiam Elks. For more information, contact The Daily World at 532-4000.

Hoquiam’s Rick Strom awarded Scouts’ Silver Beaver

Known as “Coach Rick” by the many he’s mentored on the playing field, Rick Strom received this year’s Silver Beaver Award for his dedication to the Boy Scouts and his community.

The prestigious award is given out by the Boy Scouts of America and was presented to Strom late last month.

The Silver Beaver was introduced in 1931 and has since had numerous recipients form the Grays Harbor Area. It recognizes Boy Scout leaders who have provided notable service to the youth in their community.

Strom found out he was chosen to receive the award through Facebook, before the award ceremony.

“I found out a little early, but I was floored,” said Strom. “I was not expecting it.”

Strom is the Scoutmaster of Troop 100 in Hoquiam, which he founded in 2010, 100 years after the Boy Scouts of American were founded. In order to get the troop up and running, Strom needed to start a troop committee, find a sponsor, and recruit members.

On top of organizing the troop, Strom also puts out a monthly Scout newsletter and works on merit badge lists. He has also been involved with Relay for Life, Scouting for Food and has been a lifetime Grizzly Booster.

Additionally, he is a member of the City of Hoquiam Urban Forestry and Community Service Board.

“He’s an energizer bunny kind of guy,” said Boy Scouts Coastal Waters District Chairman Dennis Brumbaugh.

“Anytime I’m needed, I just role up my sleeves and help, I guess,” said Strom.

A Harbor native, Strom began scouting in 1964 as a Cub Scout and earned an Eagle Scout rank on Dec. 9, 1975, 38 years to the day before his son, Tanner, became an Eagle Scout on Dec. 9, 2013.

Scouts engage in a number of outdoor activities and are also active in community service endeavors.

Scouts aim to teach their members how to be responsible adults and productive members of society. And, for Strom, the organization is a great way to accent the successes of young men, rather than their failures.

“We don’t see enough in the media or anywhere saying so much about the good things kids do as much as we do about the stuff that kids are doing wrong. … We try to teach boys good citizenship,” he said.

Strom remembers volunteering for the Lion’s Club as a kid with his dad and said the experience “never rubbed off.”

Since he’s become a scoutmaster, Strom says eight of his troop members have earned their Eagle Scout. Strom says receiving the honor is rare.

“I enjoy watching the kids have a good time and watching them grow as leaders and young men. I’ve seen a handful of kindergartners work their way up to juniors and seniors in high school now. I‘ve been with them quite a while. I like to see the kids flourish,” said Strom.

Strom made it clear that he isn’t involved in Boy Scouts for the accolades, but was honored to be presented with an award that has been recognized others that he looks up to. “I’m in some pretty special company, I think,” said Strom.

Monte man leads police on high speed pursuit

A 23-year-old Montesano man led police on a dangerous high-speed chase Wednesday afternoon in a stolen pickup truck, said Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers.

The 23-year-old had been at Community Hospital pending a mental health evaluation before he initiated the chase, which Myers said took place on each side of Myrtle Street and involved officers from both Hoquiam and Aberdeen.

Myers said that at approximately 2:30 p.m., Aberdeen Police were advised of the man walking from Community Hospital. A passerby later reported giving the man a ride from the top of the hill down to the area of Dollar Tree.

At 2:45, Hoquiam Sgt. Jeremy Mitchell was dispatched to a car lot in the 2700 block of Simpson Avenue for a report of a suspicious man who had just arrived in a blue and gray, older model Ford pickup. Myers said the man, later identified to be a 23-year-old from Montesano, quickly exited the truck and jumped a six-foot barbed-wire fence into a nearby ally.

When Mitchell checked the truck’s registration, it showed the owner was an older man from Copalis Beach.

After looking for the man for a short time, Mitchell returned to the car lot and found the 23-year-old sitting in the truck, which was parked on the sidewalk. As Mitchell approached the vehicle, the 23-year-old rapidly accelerated out into traffic, nearly striking the patrol car. Upon entering Simpson Avenue, the 23-year-old lost control of the truck and nearly struck a passing car, said Myers.

Mitchell activated his emergency lights and siren, but the man refused to pull over and continued to accelerate, waving back and forth between both lanes of Simpson at a high rate of speed. Mitchell was forced to slow down for heavy traffic in the 3000 block of Simpson during the pursuit but the 23-year-old drove down a parking strip and then up onto the sidewalk to get around cars.

When the man entered Aberdeen, Cpl. Andy Snodgrass parked on a side street intending to deploy spike strips, but the man passed by the patrol car a high rate of speed, only missing the Snodgrass’ car by inches.

Entering the corner from Simpson Avenue onto Park Street, the man lost control of the pickup and apparently struck the rear of a green Jeep in traffic, with the pickup sustaining damage to the left front corner, making the vehicle difficult to steer.

When police tried to cut off the pickup, the 23-year-old threw the truck into reverse and careened across both lanes of traffic, over an adjacent grass strip and into the corner parking lot near the old middle Swanson’s sore. He continued to reverse until he struck the corner of an unoccupied U-Haul truck, where Mitchell used his patrol car’s push bars to pin the side of the truck to prevent the man from driving off.

The man was pulled from the truck and taken into custody. No one was injured during the pursuit, according to Myers.

It was discovered that the man had stolen the pickup from the PUD parking lot. Myers said the owner had left the keys in the ignition while he went inside to pay his power bill.

Hoquiam officers were also advised the man had forced his way into a home in the 2700 block of Aberdeen Avenue in Hoquiam between the time he stole the truck and led Sgt. Mitchell on the pursuit, acting strangely and asking if he could use the phone.

Aberdeen Police are investigating the stolen vehicle and related traffic collisions and Hoquiam is investigating the trespass and the man’s attempt to elude a pursuing police vehicle.

Bremen provides Harbor with catchy rock ‘n’ roll

The name “Bremen” isn’t one you would expect to see on a show flyer promoting a band. Instead, if you’re an astute student of European geography, you would think of a city in northern Germany when seeing the moniker, not a three-piece rock ‘n’ roll group.

But, for the indie rock outfit stationed in Grays Harbor, “Bremen” makes perfect sense for a name, seeing that the group’s front man, Stefan Roland, was born in Bremen before moving to Arizona and California before ending up in Washington.

“That’s where the name came from,” said Roland. “We were trying to come up with something and we went through a bunch of really terrible ideas.”

Roland thought of the name while driving to Portland. On his way there, he saw a sign for a “Denmark” Street and the idea to incorporate his European roots into the band’s name came to him.

“I said, ‘Oh, I’m from Bremen.’ I’ll just go with that,” he said.

Formed a year ago, the group is made up of Roland, drummer Kyle Bova and bassist/vocalist Brian Bachman. The band will have a release party for their debut EP, “Exposed,” on April 18 at the Westside Tavern in Olympia and plans on playing out as much as they can to showcase the new music around the area.

“The CD was pivotal because now we can use it to promote in a larger area,” said Roland.

Bremen’s 10-song album displays the band’s ability to create catchy rock songs that are well-crafted. The group has a number of influences, including reggae, pop and grunge that creates a melting pot of sound.

“We are all very different. I’m very much the Pearl Jam rock, grunge kind of guy. Brian is very Southern California. He grew up playing in pop punk bands and Kyle is very reggae. We kind of all bring something different to the table,” said Roland.

Live, the band performs classic rock songs as well as originals to reach out to a wide variety of fans.

Songs like “Heroin” and “Exposed” deal with addiction and were written about Roland’s stepsister, who died of a heroin overdose. He said writing the lyrics was a way for him to cope with the tragedy.

“That’s how I dealt with it,” he said.

Using the new album as a jumping off point for exposure, Bremen wants to play out as much as they can and hopefully make a name for themselves. But, with each member working 40 hours a week at a day job, arranging band practices and shows around work obligations can be difficult.

However, the trio has found ways to work around scheduling obstacles and found ways to make time for the music. In 2014, Stefan said the band made roughly $6,000, which was put towards recording their album. On a good night the group can make $700 for playing a gig.

Roland said his idea of “making it” in the music business means being able to do what he loves without having to pinch pennies. He realizes Bremen could be a successful cover ban that only played local clubs, but Stefan made it clear that he is looking for more than that.

Right now Stefan is looking to purchase a van to haul Bremen’s gear to shows.

“You have to make that push,” he said. “It gets easier before it gets harder.”

Barely Human is obvious, last weekend

On your list of things to do this weekend, should be checking out the show at the Six Rivers Gallery in Hoquiam on Sixth Street. The gallery is open on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1-5 p.m. Sunday is the last day of the show will be exhibited.

The show was curated by Donna Miller, a graphite artist who said the show went in a different direction than past shows and was “a little risky,” in terms of the content. However, she was pleased with the success of the show, saying the goal of the gallery and artists is to “push ourselves and encourage artists to push themselves with different ideas.”

“It was successful,” she said, “we had a broad array of artist abilities and styles and perceptions and I felt the show portrayed that.”

She mentioned that this may have been a “different direction” for the gallery, but that the goal of the gallery and of the members of the Harbor Art Guild is “to push ourselves and to encourage artists to push themselves with different ideas.

The entire exhibit is about humanity.

Some images are nudes, created with graphite, and pen and inks. Three works, “Meditate,” “Leslie in Profile” and “Dude” by Kathleen Grady are illustrations that are beautifully intimate, as well as calmly expressive.

The featured painting seems to be “Loss of Innocence” an asymmetrical, large acrylic canvas which, upon entry, demands attention from the far wall. The background colors are warm, calm and vibrant and echo swirls of the ornate frame. The gray subject is repelling and uncomfortable, yet the background is inviting. The image is by Douglas C. Orr. Orr has quite a few paintings in the show that are more like mini Baroque altars that speak to death, war and saving the Earth. The pieces are beautiful and decorative, despite the subject matter.

Below one of the altars, be sure to find the piece entitled “Banned Books, Please Read,” an interactive piece by Robin Moore. Moore adds a bit of humor to the body beautiful.

Photographer, Ed Schroll has a few pieces exhibited, a photograph of a young person who seems to be from a third world country entitled “Hope,” juxtaposed next to his photograph of ocean swimming, titled “This Isn’t Kansas Anymore.” He also has a few nude photographs somewhat reminiscent of risque French postcards.

A few folk art sculptures dot the landscape of the Six Rivers Gallery as well.

We don’t celebrate the body enough. Finally, this show pays homage to something we all have, yet do not appreciate enough.

Along with the show, Kathleen Grady taught a human head and shoulders drawing class. The last one is tonight at the Six Rivers Gallery.

Photos by Aberdeen native sell for $850,000 at auction

pIn an auction at Sotheby’s in New York last week, a collection of 38 photographs by Aberdeen native and internationally renowned photographer Lee Friedlander sold for $850,000.

Born in Aberdeen in 1934, Friedlander graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1952 and pursued a degree in photography at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., before moving to New York City in 1956. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1960. Among a myriad of other awards was a MacArthur Fellowship in 1990. He is considered in the group of the premier modern photographers.

“… Friedlander is one of the most important America artists of any kind since World War II,” according to a Time Magazine piece in 2005.

The 84-year-old’s Little Screen collection that was auctioned last week features photos of small television screens showing a number of different scenes.

Sotheby’s auction catalog explained the collection this way: “Lee Friedlander’s Little Screens photographs capture the growing ubiquity of television in post-war America and offer deadpan comic commentary on the vacuity of popular culture. Taken between 1961 and 1970, in locales ranging from Galax, Virginia, to Washington State, each photograph includes within its frame a television set illuminated with flickering moments of entertainment, advertising, or politics. Like the best of Friedlander’s photographs, the Little Screens images initially appear off-hand and casual. Examined more closely — and seen together as a series — they reveal a depth of sophistication.”

Images from the series were first published, along with text by his friend and mentor Walker Evans — one of the country’s best-known photographers — in the February 1963 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Friedlander’s previous auction record was $84,000, when a set of fifteen of his prints were auctioned at Sotheby’s in 2005, according to artnet.com.

Friedlander’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the George Eastman House.

A piece on the website of the Museum of Contempory Photraphy in Chicago, said he began photographing in 1948 because of a “fascination with the equipment.” His first paid job was a Christmas card photograph of a dog, taken for an Aberdeen madam named Peggy Plus, the piece claims.

While in high school, Friedlander worked at Garrett’s Camera Center in downtown Aberdeen.

In a Daily World story in 1989, Frank Garrett recalled “this big awkward kid leaning over the counter, just wanting to talk about cameras and taking pictures.

“Lee was so crazy about photography that every day, right after school he came right down to the store. I figured the best thing to do was to give him a job. He worked there a couple of summers and even built a glassfront case for the store up in shop class at high school.

Garrett recalled that Friedlander’s father, Fritz, a timber broker, was worried about the boy’s future. “He told me he wanted Lee to get “this camera business’ out of his head so he could amount to something. But Lee just had a one-track mind to take pictures. When he was about 13 he kept hounding me to get him into the Grays Harbor Camera Club. I said, “Lee, that’s for adults.’ But finally I talked to the guys and we said, “Well, let’s let him in.’ Within six months, his pictures were as good or better than ours — and there were a lot of good photographers in that club.”

Some of the images from the Little Screens collection and many other Friendlander images can be seen at the website for the Fraenkel Gallery: http://ift.tt/1EbUAY1

City moves toward sprint boat track with annexation

The Aberdeen City Council moved toward annexing its property adjacent to the Bishop Athletic Complex on Wednesday, allowing the process to turn the area into a sprint-boat track to move forward.

The annexation, officials said at the meeting, only puts the city-owned property into the city’s jurisdiction, and does not address any aspects of developing the land, nor is the annexation at all connected to the track’s development, City Attroney Eric Nelson said.

The council, last Wednesday, viewed a presentation by sprint boat project supporters to explore the possibilities of bringing the venue to the area. Also in attendance were sprint boat drivers from as far away as British Columbia, as well as leaders from both of the sport’s national sanctioning organizations.

The oversight of the park would be spearheaded by the United AberGals, a local corporation that joined Ward 5 Councilmember Alan Richrod’s push to bring the track to the city. Council members plan to lease the property to the group, which would then organize the events.

United AberGals Treasurer Karen Rowe said the track would probably see about two races per year, but added that the venue could be used for other events.

The council members in attendance at last week’s meeting seemed largely optimistic about the prospect of a sprint boat track, which, supporters said, would bring thousands to the area for an entire weekend to see a race.

Though the city’s annexation of the land and discussion of a sprint boat park’s development on that land have both occurred in a week’s time, Nelson said the two aren’t related.

“The timing makes it look like the two are connected but they really aren’t,” Nelson said. “This is something we’ve talked about doing for a long time and it’s just time to get it done.”

Either way, Nelson added that the annexation would need to happen before any permitting on the track could move forward.

The annexation’s adoption had some project supporters pleased about getting one step closer to having the venue.

“Any forward progress is good forward progress,” Rowe said.

Approving the annexation requires the council to pass two more readings of the proposed ordinance. The next, on April 22, will also include a public hearing.

Kyle Mittan, 360-537-3932, kmittan@thedailyworld.com. Twitter: @KyleMittan

Feds will review spotted owl status under the Endangered Species Act

PORTLAND, Ore. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is starting an evaluation of the status of the northern spotted owl, considering whether to increase protection of the owl’s habitat. The review is is required under the Endangered Species Act and is the result of a petition to change the status of the owl from threatened to endangered.

The review will also serve as the five-year review of the species as required under the species act, and which was last completed in 2011. A five-year status review evaluates whether a federally protected species should remain listed, or if it meets the criteria for reclassification.

A petition from the Environmental Protection Information Center requested the northern spotted owl be reclassified from threatened to endangered under the ESA. The ensuing 90-day finding, which will be published in the Federal Register on April 10, determined the petition included substantial information that warrants further review, which automatically triggers a 12-month species review.

The population of the northern spotted owl, which is currently listed as threatened, is declining across most of the species’ range. The most recent available data on the owl report a 2.9 percent range-wide population decline per year, although declines as high as 5.9 percent per year have been observed in some areas, says the Fish &Wildlife Service.

The two main threats to the survival of the northern spotted owl are habitat loss and competition from barred owls. Barred owls have spread westward, encroaching on spotted owl territories and out-competing them.

While the Northwest Forest Plan has helped reduce habitat loss on federal lands since 1994, the threat from barred owls has intensified. Preliminary results from an experiment testing the effects of removing barred owls from select areas of northern spotted owl habitat show promise in benefitting northern spotted owls and will help inform this review.

“The best tools we have to prevent spotted owls from going extinct are continued habitat protection and barred owl management, both of which are recommended in the recovery plan,” said Paul Henson, Oregon State Supervisor for the Service. “On a positive note, the experimental removal of barred owls is showing real promise, with early reports indicating that spotted owl populations rebound when barred owl populations are reduced. Our review of the spotted owl will tell us whether current efforts to address threats are sufficient.”

The Service will use the best available scientific and commercial information, including data from the barred owl removal experiment, in the review. To assist in the review, the Service is requesting input from the public and scientific community, including information on biology, possible threats, population trends and habitat conditions for the species. Information can be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov, or by U.S. mail or hand delivery at Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R1–ES–2014–0061, Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Va. 22041-3803.

For more information on the northern spotted owl, visit http://ift.tt/1EbUyPV....

After lots of trash talk, budget talk will get real in Olympia

OLYMPIA — It’s nasty time inside the state Capitol, where Democratic and Republican lawmakers are digging in for fierce negotiations on a new two-year budget.

A handful of House and Senate negotiators from both parties will begin meeting this week behind closed doors to try to reach agreement on how much the state will spend and exactly where those dollars will go.

There are fewer than 20 days to reach a deal and avoid a special session of the Legislature, and a deal doesn’t seem probable given the differences in partisan budgets passed by House Democrats and Senate Republicans and the volleys of criticism exchanged by their authors.

Consider these examples:

When House Democrats rolled out their $38.8 billion proposal, the lead budget writer in the Senate blasted its reliance on money from an unpredictable capital gains tax for public schools.

“Quite frankly, I don’t know if that’s unconstitutional or just unconscionable,” said Sen. Andy Hill, R-Redmond, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

A few days later, Hill released the Senate Republicans’ $37.8 billion proposal and the author of the House budget said it relied on “overly optimistic” marijuana tax revenues and mystery cuts in spending.

“The Senate’s budget assumes millions in magic agency ‘efficiencies,’ which are essentially budget gimmicks designed to make cuts without being specific about which cuts they’re making,” said Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

But in Olympia, there’s a rhythm to the ritual, and such rhetoric is the first beat.

Hunter and Hill, who are both well-spoken, detail-oriented former employees of Microsoft, will be steering the talks in pursuit of a compromise before the scheduled end of the session on April 26.

The players

There will be about a dozen people deeply involved. The Democratic and Republican caucus in each chamber will designate two negotiators and have their respective leaders engaged, as well.

Gov. Jay Inslee is scheduled to meet this week with negotiators — individually and collectively — for a frank conversation about his interests. This can be critically important because lawmakers want an idea at the outset what decisions the governor might embrace or oppose. No one wants to waste time on a matter that could get vetoed.

Hunter said he hoped to meet with Hill as early as Wednesday so they can get a handle on the calculations — mathematical and political — that went into their respective plans.

“I can’t really negotiate with them until I understand what they’re doing,” Hunter said.

House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, and Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, vice chairman of the Senate budget committee, are the other members of the caucus negotiating teams.

At the outset, there are a slew of big boulders to crack, none larger than how much to spend in the two-year budget, or, in the language of Olympia, “the size of the box.”

The differences

The House plan spends $1 billion more than the Senate’s. It’s likely the final figure will be somewhere in between, which would force Democrats to curb their desires and Republicans to agree to spend more in some areas than they would like.

Another huge boulder is taxes. The Democratic plan seeks to raise $1.5 billion, mostly from a capital gains tax and an increase in the business tax paid by lawyers and other professionals. Senate Republicans insist new or higher taxes are not needed.

Pay hikes for state workers is an obstacle. The House fully funds pay raises negotiated under collective bargaining agreements, while the Senate does not, instead offering an alternative that would cost $66 million less.

There’s also a chasm between the chambers on pay hikes for teachers, expansion of early childhood education, freezing or reducing tuition, and whether to suspend Initiative 1351 or allow voters to modify the measure to lower class sizes.

And on marijuana tax revenue, Democrats would put it into health care while Republicans would put it into public school funding. Unraveling that knot will affect other decisions, lawmakers said.

Even as the negotiators banter on large issues, they and their staffers are going line-by-line through the 500-page tomes in search of agreement on less-costly matters.

For example, the Senate would provide $2.4 million for Washington State University to add classes at the University Center on the campus of Everett Community College. The House would allocate $1.8 million.

And House Democrats want $28.6 million for state parks and $4.6 million for LIDAR mapping of landslide-prone areas, while Senate Republicans would spend $5 million for parks and nothing for the additional mapping.

Reaching a deal

After this week’s initial round of meetings, an unpredictable pace will ensue.

There are no rules for the frequency of conversations or how quickly the two sides might begin exchanging written offers, let alone reach a tentative agreement. In areas where disagreement is deep, lawmakers with expertise in those areas might be summoned to help break an impasse.

When a tentative agreement is reached, it is presented to leaders of the four caucuses, then the members. Each caucus will conduct some version of a vote count, because it is presumed that any deal will pass with some level of bipartisan support.

Even when there’s a deal, much work remains as staff members meticulously ensure the documents possessed by the two sides match to the penny and the bills needed to implement the budget match to the comma.

Through it all, House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, and Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler will never be far from the negotiations. And as the two chambers close in on a deal, they’ll be in contact, directly or through intermediaries.

If talks stall, the governor will speak with leaders of all four caucuses on how to get around the obstacles.

Lawmakers don’t want to reprise the drama of 2013, when they struggled through two special sessions before reaching a deal hours before a partial shutdown of state government.

“We’re well-positioned to get it done on time,” said Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, one of the House Republican negotiators. “From my experience, members will take the same vote in July that they would have taken in March. It’s not like making wine. It doesn’t get better with age.”

Getting it right is more important than getting it done by April 26, Hunter said.

Lawmakers are writing a budget and operating documents to guide the state for the next two years, setting a course through the next four years, Hunter said. There is an “existential change” from previous years because it must infuse billions of new dollars into education to comply with a state Supreme Court order for the state to fully fund public schools.

“The whole budget has to be restructured. Getting that right is job one. We’re clearly working hard to get it done in 105 days,” he said. “I think the public should be more focused on what is it that we’re doing than the exact number of days.”

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

Pro baseball flies back to Grays Harbor

There will be professional baseball in Grays Harbor this summer.

The Grays Harbor Gulls of the newly formed Mount Rainier Professional Baseball League plan to open their season on May 25 and will call Hoquiam’s Olympic Stadium home through early August.

The Gulls may have the same name as the defunct Western Baseball League franchise that inhabited the same stadium from 1995-98, but this is a whole new game. Gone is the original team’s teal and blue for a color scheme of navy and orange.

Grays Harbor will be one of six franchises to take part in the inaugural season of the new league started by Mike Greene of Brier, Washington.

Greene has coached baseball for more than 25 years, most recently with the Douglas Diablos of the Pecos League. While with Douglas, Greene said he didn’t really like the way the league was being run and how players were being treated. He said he felt he could create a league that would treat players better and bring quality baseball to the Northwest.

“I thought up in Washington, where I am from, I can find cities that will support these kids and treat them right,” Greene said. “Grays Harbor is one of the most supported teams we have had so far.”

Greene, who will act as owner of all six teams and commissioner of the league, said the Gulls and the Glacier (Mont.) Outlaws have had the most support from their respective communities. The Gulls have 913 Facebook likes as of Wednesday and have some of the best apparel and ticket sales numbers among the six franchises, according to Greene.

COMMUNITY SKEPTICISM

While many in the community have already started to get excited about the prospect of pro baseball on the Harbor, there are still some who share skepticism that the team and the league will last.

The Hoquiam Babe Ruth Baseball League traditionally has used Olympic Stadium for games throughout the summer. With the Gulls signing a lease to use the stadium for 32 games this season, the Babe Ruth teams and the Gulls have been working with the City of Hoquiam to figure out a schedule that works for both sides.

The Gulls were provided with some blackout dates to give the league opportunities to play a couple of traditional tournaments and will play some doubleheaders to allow for Hoquiam High School’s graduation. Hoquiam Babe Ruth will have to work with the Gulls to allow for a schedule where they will be able to alternate use of the field for several days at a time, allowing for each group to move in all concessions items and then move them out for the other group.

“It is going to be tough,” Hoquiam Babe Ruth president Rusty Standstipher said. “We only have a set number of days to get our games in before the district tournament and state tournaments. The first time around, Babe Ruth was kind of kicked to the curb a little bit. I don’t think it is going to fly just like any of the other teams. We had the original Grays Harbor Gulls and the Grays Harbor Rain. I’ve watched all of the years and I have watched baseball go down numbers-wise all around the Harbor and the spectators. I don’t think it is going to last long. Maybe one year, two at the most. If it lasts longer, great, but there has to be some give and take. Babe Ruth was here first and we will be here when they are gone.”

Standstipher said the Babe Ruth league will need at least three nights a week, and sometimes more, to get in the 20-25 games on the schedule for June and July. While Standstipher said he thinks the two groups will be able to create a schedule that works for both sides, he understands there will be some difficulties going forward.

COMMUNITY INTERACTION

For those who share Standstipher’s skepticism, Greene and Grays Harbor General Manager Patrick Thornton have the same response — “Just give us a chance.”

“I understand the skepticism,” Greene said. “There are just negative people who want to be negative. I don’t understand why people want to be negative or have things fail. There are just people like that. I understand it too, until you prove it. It is a big undertaking, it is not like getting an adult softball league going…We are trying to at least let everyone know that we are here and then we get them to a ball game and find out what a good time it is.”

One of the main ways the Gulls will try to get individuals into Olympic Stadium this summer is through a full promotion schedule. From the first homestand, which will include a military appreciation night on Opening Night, Ladies Night on Tuesday, Seniors Night on Wednesday and a Thirsty Thursday, the team hopes to create a fun, family atmosphere.

“There will be something for everyone from (youth baseball/softball players) to senior citizens,” Thornton said. “When the original Gulls left, I was still a little kid. It was really upsetting. We want to really connect with the community. Have it be like the original Gulls were, but have them here for a while. I remember going to the games and enjoying being at the ballpark on a Friday night under the lights. Just being there around the stadium with a bunch of other fans of the game was just enjoyable.”

Along with concession promotions like $2 drafts and dollar dogs, there will be several theme nights such as Country Night, Tropical Night, 80’s Night and even a 1978 Loggers Night.

Greene said he plans to have plenty of opportunities for young fans to connect with the team. There will be occasions where fans will be able to run the bases between innings and players will be available for autographs several times before and after the game.

Attendance will come at a reasonable price. There are currently two ticket packages available for purchase — a 10-game pack is $55 or a package with all 32 home games will run $160.

In addition to the 32 regular season games, Olympic Stadium will host the MRPBL All-Star Game on July 2. The game will feature the best talent from the Gulls, as well as the five other franchises — the Skagit Valley Lumberjacks, the Glacier Outlaws, the Ellensburg Bulls, the Moses Lake Rattlesnakes and the Oregon City (Ore.) Mud Turtles — taking part in the game and a home run derby.

ON THE FIELD PRODUCT

Providing some entertainment in the stands can help bring individuals to the ballpark, but the Gulls will need to put a quality product on the field to be successful, a fact of which Greene is keenly aware.

“The baseball is going to be really good,” Greene said. “There are so many guys that want to keep playing. Finding quality players is the easiest thing to do. They don’t make a lot of money, but they get to play baseball for 12 weeks and keep the dream alive.”

It may take a couple of seasons, but Greene said he expects to be able to produce a product that is better than the Everett AquaSox, because his players will be often be older and have more experience in the game.

Greene will be traveling between the six league venues to watch the games, but handling the day-to-day operation of the team will be Gulls manager Phil Savage. The first-time professional manager has been working to put together a roster of 35 players that he will trim down to 24 when the season starts. Savage has coached baseball in his native Canada and the United States and has been as associate scout for several MLB teams. Even though he has never stepped foot in Grays Harbor, the Hamilton, Ontario resident is eager to get started in Hoquiam.

“There is nothing like the excitement of a new league or a new team starting up somewhere,” Savage said. “It gives a lot of players a new chance to start out. My biggest goal is the opportunities for players to advance, whether it is a higher independent league or affiliated ball. That is our on-the-field goal. Our off-the-field goal is to be as entertaining as possible for the fans.”

Savage’s signings have included a variety of players, from several college players who went undrafted to a few players who have played independent baseball. Included on the current Gulls roster is Hoquiam graduate and Aberdeen resident Jimmy Hargrove, who is one of 10 right-handed pitchers on the squad. Left-handed pitching is the last need Savage said he will address in the coming weeks. Savage doubled the number of lefties on the pitching staff by signing Oscar Cabrera earlier this week. Cabrera spent three years in the Toronto Blue Jays system and finished the 2014 season with a 1.98 ERA playing for the Rookie League Bluefield (W.V.) Blue Jays.

Savage signed another former Bluefield Blue Jay on the same day when he inked a deal with Lydell Moseby. The son of Toronto Blue Jay and Detroit Tiger outfielder Lloyd Moseby, Lydell has a career batting average of .214 in 54 games with Bluefield over the last two seasons. Savage said he expects the right-hander to see time at first base and designated hitter.

“We’ve all been working hard here over the last six to seven months putting the team together,” Savage said. “I don’t think there is going to be any shortage of effort and enthusiasm.”

CHALLENGES AND EXCITEMENT

The Gulls may have a home in Olympic Stadium, but finding homes to put the players off the field has not been easy. Thornton said out of the 25 host families the Gulls will need to house the team, they still need to find close to 15 more residents who are willing to take in a player for the three-month season. The team is currently offering those who take in a player four season tickets, four team shirts and hats as compensation for providing a separate bedroom and bathroom.

The final challenge for the Gulls will be attendance. Greene said he hopes for around 500 fans at each game this season, but must have just more than 300 fans to continue to break even with the Gulls. There may be growing pains, but the commissioner hopes fans will give the league an opportunity to grow.

“It could be something where we lose a little bit of money or break even in the first year,” Greene said. “The second year, it is going to be a different story getting into it.”

Thornton said he has felt excitement throughout the community surrounding the new team. Locals aren’t just buying a shirt, hat or ticket, but a number of businesses have showed their support for the franchise through advertising dollars. Harborites aren’t just looking to resurrect old memories, but create plenty of new ones as well.

“We have a solid foundation set,” Thornton said. “We are looking forward to starting the season and having all of Grays Harbor and anybody who enjoys baseball come out to the park and have a good time. A lot of people remember going to the games and having a good time. People are very excited to have baseball back here.”

Brendan Carl: bcarl@thedailyworld.com; (360) 537-3954; Twitter: @DW_Brendan

Stafford Creek bike program gives inmates chance to give back

Nicholas Howe sits on a stool holding a bike wheel. On the wall next to him hangs an array of tools and hardware, including reflectors, handles and pedals.

“We’re going to put a gas tank on it and some bags to make it look like a bagger,” said Howe. For those not privy to motorcycle speak, a “bagger” is a motorcycle with luggage bags for long trips. The gas tank isn’t real, either, but rather a wooden block designed to look like one.

Howe, an inmate at Stafford Creek Corrections Facility, is working on a bike that will be given away as part of the “Bikes from Heaven” program, a partnership between Stafford Creek and the Aberdeen Lions Club that gives bikes to low income children around the area.

Stafford Creek receives refurbished bikes from the Lions Club and then puts inmates to work in a well-appointed bike shop to repair them before sending them back to Lions members who give them out to families who couldn’t otherwise afford them.

Howe was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2008 after he stabbed someone four times. After serving time at the penitentiary at Walla Walla, Howe was transferred to Stafford Creek, where he will be until 2019.

“It keeps the time going,” Howe said of his work in the bike shop. He added, too, that the work means something to him. Howe’s niece received a bike as part of the program last year.

Prisoners who want to join the program must interview for the position. Having shop skills is important, but an applicant’s behavior while locked up is key to deciding whether or not they get the job, which pays a maximum of 42 cents an hour, according to prison Facility Manger Chris Idso.

The bike shop is right next the Stafford Creek’s sally port, a secured entry and exit point for prisoners and an area that has a high escape potential.

“It’s a select group of offenders allowed to work in this area,” said Idso.

Idso estimated that the prison refurbishes 20 to 30 bikes a month and can fix as many as 300 a year. Most of them are given out around Christmas time. Last year, a holiday giveaway was held at the Historic Seaport in Aberdeen on Dec. 20.

Every inmate who comes to Stafford Creek needs to spend at least 90 days working in the prison’s kitchen. Each offender is offered educational and job opportunities. The prison has a welding program, a home construction program, a state-of-the-art facility for building office furniture and several other work opportunities. Aside from the mandatory stint in the kitchen, however, no one at the facility is forced to work.

“(The bike program) had meaning to it,” said Idso. “It’s something that’s purposeful and much more than mopping a floor or cleaning a toilet.”

Inmates in the shop also fix wheelchairs that are sent to disabled people in developing countries through an agreement with Joni and Friends, a faith-based organization that looks to help people with disabilities. Idso said inmates have worked on wheelchairs that have been shipped as far as Thailand and Guatemala.

Howe has always been interested in fixing bikes and says his experience in the shop has piqued his interest even more. When he gets out of prison, he said he wants to start his own bike shop.

“This job right here is probably the best job in the facility,” said Jeremiah Coffey, a tall, slender inmate from Tacoma.

Coffey has served 15 years in prison and still has five to go. He was convicted of second-degree murder after he killed a man who he says molested his girlfriend’s daughter.

Coffey helps with putting together the wheelchairs but spends most of his time working on bikes. Coffey raced bikes before coming to prison and says spending time in the shop helps to alleviate the reality of being incarcerated.

“It helps relieve the stress of being locked up. There are a lot of programs that help people do that, but this does it for me. This is what I like to do,” said Coffey.