Sharp elected to fourth term as Quinault Indian Nation President

Fawn Sharp was re-elected over the weekend to a fourth term as president of the Quinault Indian Nation, culminating the tribe’s two-day annual General Council Meeting in Taholah.

Tyson Johnston, previously elected as first Councilperson, was elected as the Tribe’s Vice President, Larry Ralston was voted in for a third term as Quinault Treasurer, Gina James was elected to First Council and Latosha Underwood was elected to her third term as Tribal Secretary.

As President, Sharp presides over the eleven-member Quinault Business Committee, the governing body of the Quinault Indian Nation, which is elected by the adult tribal membership, or general council, at regular annual meetings.

At Saturday’s meeting, Sharp spoke of both difficulties the tribe faces as well as assets the nation has.

“…Challenges, by definition, are obstacles that can be met and overcome, and as we do overcome them we will grow,” she said, according to a Quinault news release.

She commended the tribe’s moves toward economic self-reliance, both through tribal owned business and individual tribal free enterprise.

Sharp received her law degree from the University of Washington, School of Law and she also holds an advanced certificate in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University. She received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Gonzaga University. She is also president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and Northwest Regional vice president of the National Congress of American Indians.

Johnston says he hopes to follow through on issues of concern raised by the General Council and support President Sharp in overcoming the obstacles the nation faces.

Seven-day clam dig includes Easter weekend

OLYMPIA — State shellfish managers have approved a weeklong series of razor clam digs, which encompass Easter weekend, starting Saturday at four ocean beaches.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed the digs after marine toxin tests showed the clams on those beaches are safe to eat.

All of the digs are scheduled on morning tides. No digging will be allowed on any beach after noon.

Dan Ayres, Fish & Wildlife coastal shellfish manager, reminds diggers they will need a valid 2015-16 fishing license to participate in all upcoming razor clam digs, since the new license year begins April 1. Various types of fishing licenses are available online fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov, by phone at 866-246-9453, and from authorized license dealers throughout the state.

“The razor clams we’re seeing are really fattening up, and are perfect for the frying pan,” Ayres said.

Under state law, diggers are required to keep the first 15 clams they dig. Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container

The upcoming dig is scheduled on the following dates, beaches, and low tides:

• Saturday, April 4, 7:23 a.m.; 0.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Copalis

• Sunday, April 5, 7:57 a.m.; 0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Copalis

• Monday, April 6, 8:32 a.m.; 0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors

• Tuesday, April 7, 9:09 a.m.; 0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors

• Wednesday, April 8, 9:48 a.m.; 0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors

• Thursday, April 9, 10:32 a.m.; 0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors

• Friday, April 10, 11:23 a.m.; 0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors

Fish & Wildlife has also proposed additional digs in April and May, pending the results of future marine toxin tests. Tentative dates for those digs are posted on the department’s website at http://ift.tt/16ZKK9N.

During all upcoming digs, state wildlife managers urge clam diggers to avoid disturbing snowy plovers and streaked horned larks. Both species nest in the soft, dry sand at Leadbetter Point on the Long Beach Peninsula, and on a section of Twin Harbors beach. Both species are listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Lawmakers aim to toughen laws on oil trains

OLYMPIA — State lawmakers are trying to reach agreement on tougher rules for the transportation of oil in Washington, including a requirement that rail carriers give local firefighters advance notice of when oil trains are coming.

Competing bills in the House and Senate could bring higher taxes for refiners, larger crew sizes on trains for railroads and more inspections of tracks and railroad crossings.

Sponsors of the bills are trying to reconcile differences and avoid legislative derailment, but the chasm might be too great in the typically contentious final weeks of the legislative session.

“The public wants us to act,” said Rep. Jessyn Farrell, D-Seattle, prime sponsor of the House bill. “Our local officials want us to act. We’ve made some progress. I think both the Senate and the House want to get a bill passed.”

Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, author of the Senate bill, expressed the same degree of optimism.

“We’ve been listening and working with them,” he said. “We’ll get a bill passed.”

A spate of oil train accidents the past two years has fueled state and federal lawmakers’ concerns about the ability of railroads to safely transport the material and the capability of communities to respond to an incident.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced a bill March 25 to immediately ban the use of older-model tank cars, known as DOT 111, that have been shown to be at high risk for puncturing and catching fire in derailments.

Her bill also increases fines for railroads that violate hazardous-material laws and authorizes money for first-responder training, equipment and emergency preparedness, as well as increased rail inspections.

In Olympia, an attempt to pass new rules in the 2014 session got mired in partisanship.

Ericksen blamed the failure on election-year politics. He was seeking another term, and environmentalists tried and failed to unseat him. This year’s negotiations are occurring in a less volatile atmosphere because there is no election, he said.

“The emerging issue is crude by rail, and that’s the issue we need to address,” he said.

“I think last year a lot of people were more focused on having a campaign issue than having a public safety solution. Hopefully we can move on and get a bill passed.”

In the meantime, BNSF Railway, which hauls most of the oil in Washington, is monitoring both bills and pointing out areas that could negatively affect its operations.

The two bills face key votes this week. On Monday, Ericksen’s Senate Bill 5057 was set to be considered by the House Environment Committee, and on Tuesday, Farrell’s House Bill 1449 will be up for action before the Senate environment panel.

The House bill is also co-sponsored by Twin Harbors Reps. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, Dean Takko, D-Longview, Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim, and Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim. Ericksen is the lone sponsor on the Senate bill.

The House bill — which was originally requested by Gov. Jay Inslee — requires advance notice to the Department of Ecology of oil transfers by rail, including information about the volume, type and route. Such reports must be provided daily. Ericksen’s bill requires notice once a week.

Farrell’s legislation also requires railroads to show they can afford to pay for oil spill cleanup and allows for new rules requiring tug escorts of oil barges along the Columbia River and in Grays Harbor.

Farrell is proposing to double the oil barrel tax from 4 cents to 8 cents to cover the full cost of oil spill preparedness and response. Ericksen’s bill keeps the tax unchanged.

Both bills would begin to apply the barrel tax on oil delivered by trains. Today it is only levied on marine tanker shipments. Farrell also wants it applied to material moved by pipeline.

Both bills would add rail inspectors at the state Utilities and Transportation Commission through increases in an existing railroad regulatory fee.

The required number of crew members on trains transporting oil and other hazardous materials could be contentious.

Today oil trains travel with two crew members. Under the Senate bill, a third person would be required on trains of 50 or fewer cars transporting hazardous materials, and a fourth person would be required for those with 51 or more cars. That could affect roughly 12 trains per week that travel through Snohomish County.

Ericksen opposes the provision, which was added by Senate colleagues over his objection. He said he’ll try to get it removed. The House bill is silent on crew size, but Farrell said her colleagues support it.

“We hope our piece ends up in the final bill,” said Herb Krohn, legislative director for the United Transportation Union, whose members include conductors and engineers. “We think it is landmark and does something substantive for the safety of the railroads.”

Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, a member of the House Environment Committee, said advance-notice and crew-size requirements are about better protecting the public.

And increasing the barrel tax will “make sure that we are paying for what we need.”

“I can’t see how an extra four cents will have a huge impact on the viability of what they’re doing, but it will have a huge impact on what we’re doing in terms of public safety and environmental protection,” he said.

While no legislation was passed in 2014, a comprehensive study of the safety of oil transportation in the state did get funded.

The final report, issued this month, concluded that the state isn’t prepared for a major incident and offered 43 ways to address weaknesses in the transport of oil by marine tankers, trains and pipelines.

Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, who secured money in the budget for that study, said many of the suggestions are in the House bill, while most are not in the version passed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

“If we’re going to spend tens of thousands of dollars, we should damn well listen to the recommendations in that study and not just ask the oil industry which ones they like,” he said.

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

Creating a space for creating

For creative people, a work space is just as important as the work.

Take Steve and René Bartosh, entrepreneurs and owners of La Beauté Pure de Coco, who make a face and body scrub made simply out of sugar, essential oils and coconut butter.

When I asked the Bartoshes for permission to have them photographed in their work space, they told me it was a very small space, a porch attached to their house. What they did not tell me was how lovely it was.

The room, only about eight feet square has windows on three sides, covered in sheer, white curtains. It is just big enough for a desk, a chair, a behemoth Eurodib industrial mixer, a dorm fridge that houses the essential oils and sits upon a simple shelf that also stores various mixing tools and a 25-pound bag of granulated sugar on the bottom. In the middle of the room, overhead, a crystal chandelier adds a layer of sparkle to the seemingly infinite space.

In addition to bags of sugar and essential oils, the Bartoshes buy coconut oil in bulk — 468 ounces at a time — to make the different products: lavender, vanilla, marjoram and peppermint coconut scrubs. Cinnamon and cassi is offered seasonally and at the end of April they are planning to roll out two new scents, tangerine and ylang ylang.

The business is one year old Thursday, April 2, but has been in the making for sometime.

Steve was a U.S. Marine and for four years was a vehicle operator with an artillery battery. One day while on a mission operating a cannon, a cargo blind (a 150-pound net) was shoved off without warning and landed on Steve’s head, knocking him unconscious for a short period of time, he said. Steve said they doctored him, and put him on light duty. “In the Marines,” he said, “they give you a Motrin and tell you, ‘Change your socks.’”

Later he found out that he had a hairline fracture in his neck that didn’t heal correctly and therefore had large calcium deposits and irregular curvature as a result.

After becoming disabled in his tour of duty, he decided to take advantage of his GI Bill. He first went to wind turbine school in Vancouver but after graduating as a wind turbine technician, found that the physical requirements were beyond his abilities. He decided to then attend Clark College to finish out his GI Bill and study business. The requirements of the GI Bill changed right before he received his associate’s degree. But he really wanted to get his bachelor’s degree. “Evergreen popped up on my radar,” he said. Both his brothers had gone there. Evergreen, however, did not have a business degree so he tackled environmental studies.

During this entire time, he was dating René who lived in Aberdeen and worked for Anchor Bank. She had a skin problem that left her hands dry and cracked, so much so that they would often bleed. She would try to moisturize them, often wearing gloves to bed, Steve said.

She thought she had tried everything until Steve’s studies opened their eyes to natural based products, one of which was coconut oil.

“René is the reason it was created,” said Steve, ” I had the idea, she had the solution.”

“He told me ‘you should look into this. All the commercial products were really bad on your skin and for the waterways.’ So I researched. There was lots of trial and error and I was my own Guinea pig. We gave out samples to our friends and people became hooked. They wanted more.

“It snowballed from there,” said René.

They chose simple scents that are pure with no alcohol.

They split responsibilities on the weekends covering as many markets as possible. They love that they can take their young (and charming, I might add) 5-year-old son, Lance with them. “He’s at every event and many of our return customers know his name,” said Steve. When more than one event is out of town, he usually goes with whoever has the pool at their hotel. “He’s picking up a lot of the business,” and then added, “He doesn’t have an option.” The Bartosh’s like that Lance sees his parent working and how they make their living.

Their business is cranking.

Currently, they are slated to be on the shelves of the new Whole Foods in University Place when it opens in May. You can also find their product at Lake Quinault Lodge, Organics 101 Market in Montesano, on Amazon, at the Sunday Fremont Market in Seattle, periodically under a tent outside at Jay’s Farmstand. At the Seabrook Saturday Market as well as at Spa Elizabeth in Seabrook. Diana Wilson, owner of Spa Elizabeth, who makes her own scrub but offers La Beauté Pure de Coco for sale as retail, says she offers it because, “It’s the most natural and basic sugar scrub you are going to be able to find. People really want the results of using natural products and that’s what we believe in at the spa.”

Richelle Barger may be reached at rbarger@thedailyworld .com

Simpson still undecided on re-election bid

The likelihood of Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson’s run for re-election this year still remains a mystery, even to him.

The second-term incumbent said Monday that he was still deciding if he would declare and file his candidacy, adding that the sooner he filed, the sooner he would be required to start keeping track of any campaign donations he receives.

A candidate must begin reporting contribution and expenditure statements within two weeks of publicly announcing candidacy, taking on campaign funding, or spending money on the campaign, said Lori Anderson, a spokeswoman for the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Filing week for candidates running for offices statewide is between May 11 and 15.

Simpson gave no indication whatsoever one way or another.

“The quarter is still in the air,” Simpson said Monday morning.

Jack Micheau, a local attorney and former Aberdeen City Council member, is currently the only candidate for mayor after declaring his candidacy last week, though he isn’t technically the first to declare a run for Aberdeen mayor for the upcoming election. Oakland, Calif.-native Edward Stanaway announced his candidacy last December, but dropped out less than two weeks later.

Simpson has served as mayor since 2008.

Nature Conservancy Buys 3,184 Acres on Hoh River

FORKS — The Nature Conservancy has purchased 3,184 acres along the Hoh River on the Olympic Peninsula from Rayonier, the two organizations announced.

The Nature Conservancy said the purchase is part of an initiative to increase salmon populations, promote sustainable economies and restore temperate rainforest on the Washington coast.

This acquisition, for slightly more than $7 million, closed Monday. The Nature Conservancy said it builds on work by the Hoh River Trust, which owns 6,800 acres along the Hoh River, to create a 32-mile conservation corridor extending from Olympic National Park to the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Home to old-growth and temperate rain forest, the Hoh River corridor provides critical habitat for marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl, bald eagle, and bull trout. It also supports some of the healthiest native salmon and steelhead runs in the lower 48 states.

“On the Washington Coast, generations have drawn their livelihoods from a wealth of natural resources — abundant salmon and trees that grow faster than anywhere else in the world,” said Mike Stevens, Washington State Director for The Nature Conservancy. “We’re working with local communities to ensure that these wild salmon rivers and forests will continue to provide recreation and sustainable livelihoods for generations to come.”

“The Hoh River Trust is pleased to welcome The Nature Conservancy to the Hoh Valley,” said Randy Messenbrink of Forks, president of the Hoh River Trust. “Just as we have endeavored to create a restored and open land corridor we are confident The Nature Conservancy holds these shared values and bring a great synergy to the Hoh River, the Forks community and the greater West End.”

“We’re pleased to again partner with The Nature Conservancy to preserve, for future generations, this important regional forest landscape and the fish and wildlife habitat it will protect,” said David Nunes, Rayonier president and CEO. “In addition to safeguarding salmon habitat, this project connects a large forested landscape from the mountains to the sea. The responsible stewardship provided by generations of Rayonier foresters since the 1940s makes this partnership possible. I would like to thank and acknowledge the collaborative work between the Conservancy and our team for their creative and innovative approach to this transaction resulting in an economically viable agreement that will not only keep the land ecologically healthy, but also in a forestland cover.”

This acquisition is made possible with support from the Wyss Foundation, the Norcliffe Foundation, and other private donors and supporters.

“Everyone should have the chance to gaze up at the towering cedars of the Olympic Peninsula and experience the wild steelhead runs of the Hoh River,” said Hansjörg Wyss, who started the Wyss Foundation in 1998. “Thanks to the foresight and leadership of local communities, future generations will be able to hike, hunt, and explore the remarkable rainforests of the Hoh River from its source in Olympic National Park all the way to the Pacific Ocean.”

The Hoh is one of four major river systems flowing from summit to sea in the Olympic rainforest.

The Conservancy has also purchased and is restoring forest lands on the Queets and Clearwater rivers, and is working with the Quinault Indian Nation for restoration of forests on the Quinault River. The Conservancy now manages 11,130 acres of forest lands in Jefferson County. Conservancy foresters and ecologists have developed long-term plans that include planting trees, restoring important salmon and wildlife habitat, and sustainable long-rotation timber harvest where it makes sense, said Stevens. All these activities generate jobs in coastal communities.

The Conservancy plans to maintain a forest designation and pay property taxes on this land.

Farther south on the Washington Coast, the Conservancy owns and manages nearly 8,000 acres at the Ellsworth Creek Preserve adjoining Willapa National Wildlife Refuge on Willapa Bay. The Conservancy also owns 47,921 acres of forest land in the Central Cascades east of Snoqualmie Pass.

All the Conservancy’s land on the Washington Coast continues to be open to public and tribal use for hunting, fishing, traditional gathering of plants and medicines, boating, birding, hiking, and other coastal outdoor activities.

Pacific County undersheriff terminated, reasons undisclosed

The Pacific County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a new undersheriff following last week’s termination of former undersheriff Todd Fosse.

Sheriff Scott Johnson said Monday he could not give details of Fosse’s termination, adding that he could not publicly discuss personnel matters. He did say the department’s undersheriff position is filled on an at-will basis, and those with the title can be released from the position at any time without cause.

Johnson also stressed that Fosse’s termination was not a result of criminal actions, and that the termination had no relation to the investigation of former deputy Vance Johnson. Vance Johnson was convicted last week of official misconduct and five counts of reckless endangerment after chasing a group of teenagers after one had egged his personal vehicle while he was off-duty in March 2014. He also demanded a reimbursement of $1,500 from parents of the teenagers.

“I certainly see how people see a nexus there with the timing of those two things happening at the same time,” the sheriff said about Vance Johnson’s trial and Fosse’s termination. “But there’s absolutely no connection between the two.”

Johnson added that he considered Fosse a “best friend,” and that terminating his employment with the county was “very difficult.”

“It’s been probably very hard on both of us,” he said. “But I had to do what was good for the best of the order.”

With the search for a new undersheriff in the preliminary stages, Johnson indicated that it could be difficult finding someone willing to work for a sheriff’s office whose resources remain limited.

“It’s difficult to recruit people away from other agencies,” he said, adding that lower-level deputies and sergeants in some jurisdictions throughout the state are paid more than Pacific County’s undersheriff. “We just don’t have really good pay.”

Johnson said he’s been looking both inside and outside the department for a replacement, but does not have anyone in mind at this point.

Aberdeen Boys Soccer Team Cleans Cars for Cash

On Saturday morning, Aberdeen High School varsity and junior varsity boys soccer players set up buckets, hoses and sponges in the parking lot of the Grays Harbor PUD and spent the day working in shifts, washing cars to raise funds for their team.

STUFF offers free Books for Harbor Kids

As far as John Miller’s concerned, kids should always be able to read.

So Miller, who helps operate STUFF, a bookstore at 706 Simpson Ave. in Hoquiam, has set out to offer books to children in the area at no cost.

Books for Harbor Youth planned to begin offering its first batch to children as soon as the books arrive in the mail Thursday.

Titles up for grabs, Miller said, are intended to appeal to three age groups: “Frog and Toad Are Friends,” Arnold Lobel’s 1970 classic children’s story that started the “Frog And Toad” series, is geared toward children; Norton Juster’s 1961 adventure novel “Phantom Tollbooth” is for the preteen age group; and “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee’s 1960 opus is meant for teenagers.

Miller has ordered 35 of each title. They’ll leave on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The program, run entirely on donations, is an adaptation of a similar philanthropy project Miller saw in Pittsburgh for people who couldn’t afford food.

“Kids always need to read,” Miller said. “Books in the hands of kids is always a good thing.”

Miller began collecting donations in late February, and spent the first $500 on the 105 books he just ordered.

He said he’ll continue ordering new titles every month as long as he gets donations, adding that he hopes to make Books for Harbor Youth a monthly Program.

Miller is taking donations for the program either by cash at STUFF, or online at http://ift.tt/1F3X3lT.

Jack Micheau will run for mayor of Aberdeen

Aberdeen attorney Jack Micheau, a former Aberdeen City Council member, is running for mayor.

Micheau has hinted on social media lately that he would run, and made the announcement in a Facebook posting Thursday.

Incumbent Mayor Bill Simpson said Friday he has not decided whether he will run for re-election.

Micheau said in his Facebook post he would push for the city to hire a city administrator.

He also said he wants to see a crackdown on street-level drug dealers. “Only a fool would deny that Aberdeen has a serious drug problem,” he said.

“Obviously, we have a large number of intravenous drug users, who must be getting their drugs from somewhere,” Micheau said in reference to the number of needles handed out in the county’s needle exchange program. “Yet, the arrest and conviction of street-level drug dealers is an uncommon event. Why? Because enforcement of the drug laws is not a high-level priority. That is a policy implementation choice. A choice I find indefensible. This has to change.”

“There are many other areas of governance that need to change,” Micheau said. “We need to hire a city administrator. We need to restructure our management and administrative hierarchy so that more of our city employees are actually on the streets and not sitting behind a desk.

“We need to partner with the Port and other entities in trying to bring more living wage jobs to the harbor. we need to clean up our Aberdeen. We need to do more to get tourists to actually stop at our remaining businesses downtown. we need to make room in our existing budget for capital improvements and abatements and special projects. We need to make our city government completely transparent. We need to change our Aberdeen.”

State House Democrats want to tax capital gains, service businesses

OLYMPIA — State House Democrats are proposing to boost funding for education and social services with $1.5 billion in new taxes, which would target income from capital gains, service businesses and tax exemptions.

House leaders said their $38.8 billion spending plan, a nearly 13 percent increase over the last two-year budget, would meet key requirements of the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision that ordered the Legislature to fully fund basic education in Washington by 2018.

“If the court wants a plan, this is a plan. A funded plan,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ross Hunter, D-Medina, told reporters.

The House budget proposal would put about $1.4 billion toward McCleary obligations, including lowering class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, paying for school materials and operating costs, and fully funding all-day kindergarten throughout the state.

House leaders didn’t follow fellow Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee’s advice to combat climate change as part of a budget solution by charging the state’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases. They expressed support for such a strategy but said they didn’t want to bank on it in their budget.

But like Inslee, House leaders said their budget would go a long way toward fixing what they described as an unfair tax structure in the state that overburdens the poor.

The House budget proposes enacting a 5 percent tax on capital gains, lower than the similar 7 percent tax on sales of stocks, bonds and investment properties proposed by Inslee. The tax — which would exempt most sales of primary residences and retirement funds — would raise about $570 million a year.

“This is for the super-wealthy,” House Finance Committee Chairman Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, said. “This is asking them to contribute a very modest additional amount to help reinvest in 1 million elementary, middle and high school kids.”

Another major source of revenue in the House budget comes from increasing the business and occupation tax on services businesses such as doctors, lawyers and architects. An increase of 0.3 percentage points in the tax rates for those businesses would generate $532 million in new revenue in the next two years.

But Democrats insisted some small businesses would actually pay less under their proposal, which enlarges a tax credit to eliminate B&O taxes for an extra 15,000 businesses.

House Democrats also set their sights on ending seven tax breaks. Their budget would repeal a sales tax exemption on bottled water, limit sales tax breaks for Oregon residents who purchase small items in Washington, and get rid of tax breaks for travel agents, tour operators and resellers of prescription drugs, among others. Together, those tax adjustments would raise $384 million.

The budget adds more than $90 million to a state mental-health system that is struggling to keep patients out of emergency rooms and jails. It would fund added beds at Western State Hospital and a recent raise for psychiatrists there as well as outpatient treatment that aims to keep patients out of such facilities.

Another large part of the House budget — about $952 million — would pay for raises and benefit increases for teachers and state workers. State workers would receive a 3 percent raise in the first year of the state budget and 1.8 percent in the next, following labor contracts already negotiated between public employee unions and the state. Teachers would receive the same increase.

The House’s strategy hinges on modifying the class-size initiative voters passed last fall as well as using money that otherwise would be transferred to the state’s rainy-day fund. Both of those moves would take supermajority support, which Democratic leaders acknowledge doesn’t yet exist in the House.

The plan wouldn’t entirely ignore Initiative 1351, since it would shrink class sizes in lower grades as part of complying with the McCleary decision.

Durney will run for re-election in Hoquiam

Hoquiam Mayor Jack Durney said Friday that he will run for re-election in the fall.

“I continue to have the energy, enthusiasm and passion about serving my home town,” said Durney, now in his fourth term. “My grandfather Durney came to Hoquiam in the 1880s, built our family home at 5th and K where my father was born and I grew up, and a town that my family business — now in its third generation — is located.”

Durney is the only person ever to serve as mayor of Hoquiam and Aberdeen. He was mayor of Aberdeen in early 1980s.

Official candidate filing is in May.

“With the help of about 200-plus residents 10 years ago, we created the Hometown Hoquiam strategic plan to improve sidewalks, abate dangerous structures, improve our police protection by focusing on community policing and re-opening our jail, improve our parks, make the necessary updates to our aging underground infrastructure, and focus more on economic development,” Durney said. “With the cooperation of a great city council, I believe I have brought to the city a strong management team who over time have made the changes and come up with the creative ideas that have allowed Hoquiam to fulfill these goals.”

Looking forward, Durney said among his priorities is “making sure that our Hoquiam waterfront does not become a massive tank farm and that Hoquiam is more proactive rather than reactive about industrial development.” He was referring to proposals to locate oil storage facilities in Hoquiam.

“Other priorities include finding opportunities to grow housing (as with the new Summerhaven Homes development past Woodlawn), following through on our water and sewer infrastructure, expanding even further recreational opportunities, and focusing even further on working collaboratively with Aberdeen and Cosmopolis on joint public safety opportunity to reduce costs and improve service,” the mayor said.

Thunderbird getting more than its share of police calls

In an 85-day span between December and March, Aberdeen police officers responded to 66 incidents at the Thunderbird Motel, according to a list of reports obtained by The Daily World in a public records request.

The incidents were reported between Dec. 1, and Feb. 23. That’s about one call every 1.3 days.

The figures come to light after the state Department of Health revoked the West Wishkah Street motel’s license to offer lodging, citing numerous code violations that included an infestation of cockroaches, broken windows, hypodermic needles found in rooms of the hotel and mattresses stained with what appeared to be blood and urine, according to court documents.

Motel owners have appealed the decision, and a hearing is set for July 15. The motel can remain open and operational at least until the hearing date.

Since then, the Thunderbird has drawn criticism from City Council members who have weighed options to declare the motel a public nuisance and have its doors closed before the hearing date. And it’s been the focus of numerous negative Facebook conversations about the deterioration of conditions in downtown Aberdeen.

At a council meeting last month, Mayor Bill Simpson estimated that police reported to the motel every day, and said he was disappointed with the potential reflection it has on the city. He wasn’t too far off — .7 times a day. “It’s very frustrating that we have the need for that kind of housing in this community,” he said in February. “To have it on the main drag of town is the part that bothers me the most.”

An eight-day span in January was the longest the motel went during the three-month period without any reports filed by police. Dec. 12, 2014, saw the most reports during the period, with police filing seven between approximately 4:50 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Two of those reports were filed nine minutes apart.

Incidents logged by police included small disputes among motel guests, people reporting thefts, drugs and trespassing. One report was a traffic stop along the street at the motel’s address, but did not indicate that the person involved was a guest there. Officers found at least one case of drugs to be unfounded, with cigarettes being mistaken for marijuana joints.

One civil dispute involved a woman, reportedly pregnant, who paid $200 for a week’s stay and whose room was “infested with termites,” the report says. The woman asked for a more sanitary room, and after an officer responded to the call, was refunded all but $70 to pay for the time she had already spent in the room.

A call in late December came from a mother reporting that her 16-year-old son — two months prior to her filing the report — had been drugged and sexually assaulted at the motel. The suspect was unknown, the report says.

The stack of reports also included two overdoses — an attempted suicide with 50 Tylenol pills and another involving heroin.

The people in both cases were transported to Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

Reports also included statements from motel residents advising police officers of sex solicitation and talk of drug use.

During an inspection of the 66 reports, the Daily World found that 17 came from the same man who was staying at the motel. The reports indicated that officers dealt with the man on a regular basis, and that many of his calls were unfounded.

The numbers for the Thunderbird are significant when compared to other hotels in the area. The only one remotely close in that time frame was the Travelure at 623 W. Wishkah St. and it had 33 incidents, according to documents provided by police Capt. John Green, mainly warrant arrests, suspicious activity and thefts.

Green said he wasn’t surprised the Thunderbird’s list was significantly longer.

“I would say that is not out of the norm for the Thunderbird,” Green said. “I would think that we could check it at almost any period of time for the Thunderbird and you’re going to get the same results.”

In terms of trying to have the motel shut down as a nuisance, City Attorney Eric Nelson recently told the City Council it wouldn’t be conducive to devote more resources on an issue that the state health department is already addressing.

“We’ll be in contact with the state as this goes on and if there comes a point where the city could step in and help with something, then we would,” Nelson said after a meeting in February. “But it’s not good use of scarce enforcement resources to pile on one particular subject. It won’t get a speedier result.”

As it stands now, calls from the motel are already putting a strain on local law enforcement, Green said, again referring to the 66 calls between December and February.

“That’s a big demand on limited police resources,” he said.

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

New Destination Grays Harbor guide available April 3

Destination Grays Harbor, a 96-page tourism guide that will be distributed around the region, including on Washington ferries, will be be available beginning April 3.

The glossy, full-color publication was created by Sound Publishing newspapers on Grays Harbor — The Daily World, South Beach Bulletin, North Coast News and Vidette.

It’s the first year the four papers have combined efforts on the tourism guide. The guide has color-coded indexes to make it easy to find information about the various geographic areas of the county — eastern Grays Harbor County, the inner harbor communities of Aberdeen, Hoquiam and Cosmopolis, and the South Beach and North Beach.

The center pages of the guide feature an easy-to-read and detailed map of the area.

Each section of Destination Grays Harbor includes features, historical facts as well as useful information regarding parks and recreation, festivals and events.

There are lists of attractions that, ostensibly, “only the locals know about, ” designed to help tourists get off the beaten path and experience the local flavor so they can appreciate and understand why people live here.

There’s also a list of some of the best places to take a photo around Grays Harbor. We will share these photos with a slide show online on our newspaper websites. Then, we’ll pick 12 winners and publish a pictorial calendar for 2016.

And thanks to Grays Harbor Tourism and the county Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, the publication will be distributed on the Washington Ferries. The guide is complimentary and will be available April 3.

Guides will be distributed at more than 70 brochure racks located in hotels, visitor centers, and at select attractions throughout the region.

Incident management team to end flood coordination; SBA loan deadline is March 30

The Grays Harbor Incident Management Team, in conjunction with Coastal Community Action Program, is beginning the process of ending formal flood relief coordination for the flooding and mudslides that took place in January. The deadline for homeowners, renters or businesses to apply for disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration is March 30.

All open requests for assistance processed through CCAP have either been addressed, are in progress or have been referred to other resources. The three teams from the Washington Conservation Corps have completed their work, although some volunteer groups are expected to continue working on already assigned rehabilitation projects for weeks or months to come.

Citizens with future needs related to the disaster will be referred to other possible resources for assistance. With the closure of the SBA loan application process, there is no additional relief assistance anticipated at this time.

Those affected by January’s storm can use the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at http://ift.tt/UJSdRu.

Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to replace or repair their primary residence through the loan program. Homeowners and renters can borrow up to $40,000 to replace personal property and businesses may apply for up to $2 million for any combination of property damage or economic injury.

For more information or to find a location near you, call SBA at (800) 659-2955 or visit the SBA’s website at http://ift.tt/1hPg2Sr. A paper application may be completed and mailed to 14925 Kingsport Road, Ft. Worth, TX 76155-2243.

Homeless might get more time before eviction

Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson said he would investigate the possibility of extending eviction notices for homeless people living in camps along the Chehalis River after outcry from community members on both sides of the issue at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting.

The mayor made his decision in front of nearly a full house, some there to support the homeless and some there to support their eviction. It was standing room only in the council chambers.

About 20 campsites along the north side of the river near the empty Stouffer Lumber building are home to some of Aberdeen’s homeless. Eviction notices were served March 11. The notices were issued by the city, but on private property, with the city’s code enforcement officer citing the trash in the area as a safety hazard.

The notices, posted to tents or handed out directly to campers, mandate that they leave the area by March 31.

The Rev. Sarah Monroe, founder of Westport-based Chaplains on the Harbor, spoke before the council on behalf of the homeless people she’s been helping in the area for the last year-and-a-half. She urged the council to extend the eviction to allow campers to find a new place to live, or for the city to provide an alternative.

“We’re all responsible for each other,” Monroe told the council, as voices muttered “amen” from the crowd. “We’re all responsible for the common good. And I know that most of us love this place and most of us want to see this town thrive.”

The first question for Monroe came from Council President Peter Schave, who asked if Monroe had reached out to the property owners where camps have been set up. Bill Sidor, the city’s code enforcement officer, said he served the notices on properties owned by Earl Whiting and Michael Lang.

Monroe said she had not contacted the owners directly, but had come to the city as the entity that had issued the evictions.

As council members discussed the possibility of extending the order to vacate, City Attorney Eric Nelson advised against any action by the city on the property without consent of the owners. This included both extending time for the camps as well as enforcing the evictions.

Ultimately, Simpson made his decision.

“I will do this,” he said. “I will talk to Mr. Sidor tomorrow morning and see if we can’t get it extended, but under the conditions that the property owners say, ‘Yeah, they can have that time.’”

The discussion then turned to the trash in the area, which drew criticism from the mayor.

Some residents also felt strongly about the litter campers had left behind. William Perry, who owns property along the river near the camps, condemned the council for what he said was a sense of delusion toward the problem of trash along the river, and lambasted the county’s needle-exchange program, which provides one-to-one exchanges of clean needles for used ones.

“I am so tired of the whole community backing this. It’s just nuts,” Perry said of the needle-exchange program. “You’re allowing people to do illegal activity and you’re giving them clean needles to do it under a bridge.”

The council heard from more advocates, opponents and volunteers who had spent time cleaning the area along the river as public comment on the issue lasted nearly an hour. After the meeting, Monroe said she was happy with the mayor’s decision.

“We were very pleased with the mayor’s promise,” she said. “We’re going to keep showing up in support of folks and keep working for more solutions and better lives here in Aberdeen.”

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

Cantwell and Murray introduce oil train safety bill

A new bill introduced by Washington’s U.S. senators aims to raise the safety standards of trains carrying crude oil across the country.

Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both Democrats, introduced the Crude-By-Rail Safety Act of 2015, which would require the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to adopt new regulations for rail cars shipping crude oil. The bill also mandates that use of older-model tanker cars be halted immediately.

Regulations in the bill include new tank car design standards that include 9/16th inch shells, thermal protection, pressure relief valves and electronically-controlled pneumatic brakes; requiring railroads to disclose crude-by-rail movements to state emergency response commissions and local emergency planning committees along hazardous material rail routes; and comprehensive oil spill response plans for trains carrying oil, petroleum and other hazardous products.

The legislation comes after several derailments in February and March in West Virginia, Illinois and Ontario, Canada.

“Every new derailment increases the urgency with which we need to act,” Cantwell said in the release. “Communities in Washington state and across the nation see hundreds of these oil tank cars pass through each week. This legislation will help reduce the risk of explosion in accidents, take unsafe tank cars off the tracks, and ensure first responders have the equipment they need. We can’t afford to wait for ten accidents per year, as estimated by the Department of Transportation.”

The statement says the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates 10 derailments will happen every year for the next 20 years with the rise in rail shipments, and will cost $4 billion.

Washington National Guard sends helicopters to sea in warmup for disaster drills

If a major earthquake strikes the Puget Sound region, the Navy could play a critical role in getting supplies and assistance to residents in isolated places.

That’s why the Navy is an important part of the Washington National Guard’s preparations for what disaster planners consider to be an overdue temblor on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

The Guard and the Navy practiced one part of the earthquake emergency response they anticipate Monday when Army helicopter pilots joined the aircraft carrier USS Stennis in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

It was a warmup to much larger exercises that the Washington National Guard is planning for this year and next that are meant to test how the state would respond to an earthquake that knocks out bridges around the Puget Sound region.

Washington National Guard commander Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty outlined those plans in an interview with The News Tribune last month. His concerns about a potential earthquake are shaping his priorities for domestic training and his requests for new equipment to replace the National Guard’s tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

The Washington National Guard sent Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters to the ship. They’re the helicopters that the Guard uses to fight wildfires at home and to move troops around the battlefield when they deploy overseas.

The active-duty Army at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, meanwhile, sent some of its Apache attack helicopters to the Stennis.

Normally, Navy and Marine helicopter teams take most military maritime assignments. The 16th Combat Aviation Brigade at JBLM is practicing carrier landings in anticipation of more operations along the Pacific Rim in coming years.

The home port for the Stenins is at Naval Base Kitsap. It recently completed a 16-month renovation in dry dock and has been out to sea for training several times since December.

Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646

Commissioners briefed on proposal for new jail, court facilities

The Grays Harbor County Commissioners, and many elected officials and county employees gathered Tuesday morning to hear a presentation about a $56.6 million project that would remake the county public safety infrastructure in phases over the next 20 years.

The presentation by Superior Court Judge David Edwards represents the work of a group known as the third courtroom committee, formed in the wake of a lawsuit in which Superior Court judges sued the county over what they said were inadequate and unsafe conditions in the county’s court rooms. The settlement requires that another courtroom be added and discussions around that grew to include other changes.

The commissioners can decide which pieces of the recommendation to accept or reject (except for the third Superior Court courtroom, which must be built to fulfill the settlement). But Edwards said the projects included were not just wanted, they’re needed.

But they’re not without a hefty price tag, and the county already is facing financial woes.

“During every step of this process, our committee has been sensitive to the economic challenges that we all face,” Edwards said. “We know that what we’re proposing to you today is not something that’s going to happen next week or next year. This is a very expensive project.

“We’re not suggesting that each of these phases be approved by you right now. … We think all these things are needed, but sometimes you can’t afford what you need.”

Additionally, $56.6 million is a preliminary number.

“At this point, there hasn’t been any design work, and certainly as that process proceeds, the numbers will become more refined and certain,” Edwards said. “But regardless, it’s going to be an expensive project.”

Edwards and Commissioner Frank Gordon have been co-chairman of the committee. In addition to the third courtroom, the recommendations include a new jail, a juvenile detention center and courtroom, a District Court courtroom and administration offices.

A third Superior Court courtroom would be built into a new Juvenile Building. The state Legislature approved a third judge in 1993. Three judges currently share two courtrooms.

And while the third courtroom was the original purpose of the committee, ideas were brought forward by interested parties, each solving an issue (crowded jails, juvenile detention issues, courtroom problems) facing the county.

Summed up, the plans — drafted by KMB Design Groups Inc. of Olympia — would locate most of the county’s services to its campus in Montesano. It would construct a new juvenile facility and render the current facility at Junction City obsolete. A jury assembly and sheriff administration building would be built in the current courtyard between the courthouse and the county administration building. A new adult jail would be built, and the current facility would be remodeled for jail support services and for sheriff administration services.

Commissioner Vickie Raines asked if the proposal addressed the increased parking needs. Edwards said it did not and that would need to be addressed moving forward.

“There’s a lot of material here for us to digest and I think we should probably plan a special meeting, just a workshop meeting, where we can discuss this a little bit further and formulate questions we might have,” Raines said.

County Auditor Vern Spatz pointed out that the plans had a new facility going in where his elections shop currently stands. Commissioner Wes Cormier said it was “far too preliminary” to worry about current operations that would be affected, and Raines said the commissioners would ensure Spatz has a facility in the future.

“We’ll make sure that somewhere on the campus you have an elections office and department. It may not be where it’s currently located, but we’ll make sure that you have one,” Raines said.

The meeting was informational and no action was taken.

Twin Harbors jobless rates down a tick, still high

Grays Harbor and Pacific counties have among the highest unemployment rates in the state, according to statistics released Tuesday by the state Employment Security Department.

Grays Harbor County, as the numbers for the month of February show, has the sixth-highest unemployment rate at 10.8 percent, tying with Franklin County. Pacific County showed a slightly higher rate at 11 percent.

Unemployment statewide in February 2015 was 6.8 percent.

The numbers show a trend in decreasing unemployment for Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, as well as the state. Grays Harbor County’s percentage is down from 11.1 percent in January. And in February 2014 its unemployment rate was 11.9 percent. Pacific County saw 11.3 percent unemployment in January, and 12.1 percent in February 2014.

Numbers from the department show that, while 30 workers in Grays Harbor County found jobs between January and February, the county’s labor force also lost 50 workers, which also contributed to the decrease in unemployment rate. Pacific County lost 70 workers from its labor force between January and February, which included 40 employed and 30 unemployed.

The labor force of a particular area, said Janelle Guthrie, Employment Security Department spokeswoman, refers to anyone in the workforce, employed and unemployed, age 16 and older.

Jim Vleming, a regional labor economist whose oversight includes Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, said the numbers aren’t too surprising.

“I think these are pretty much what we’d expect this time of year,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of the retail trade kind of go away this time in January and February, so that’s not a surprise that we’d lose jobs.”

Still, Vleming added that Grays Harbor County in particular continues to see job growth, adding non-farm employment is up 610 jobs in the last year. Increases have also occurred in the service, retail, professional and business services and state and local government employment.

“So we’re seeing some pockets of pretty nice increases of over-the-year employment,” Vleming said. “So that’s a positive sign.”

Ferry County had the highest unemployment rate for the month of February at 14 percent. At 5 percent, the metropolitan division of Seattle, Bellevue and Everett had the lowest.

Vini Samuel will run for mayor of Montesano

MONTESANO — Vini Samuel, an attorney and former chairwoman of the Grays Harbor Democrats, has announced that she will run for mayor of Montesano. Samuel served on the City Council for eight years.

Official filing week is in May, but Samuel has already filed paperwork with the Public Disclosure Commission to start a campaign. The primary election is in August and the General Election is in November.

Incumbent Mayor Ken Estes is in his first term.

“The citizens of Montesano need better,” said Samuel. “There’s no reason to have TV trucks from Seattle camped outside our city hall, or to waste hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on bickering and lawsuits,” she said, apparently in reference to allegations from a former council member who is deaf and has said city officials didn’t do what was necessary for her to take part in meetings.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Samuel said. “We need to rebuild the trust between city employees, management and city council and with the public. Let’s get back to business and get things done for the good people of our town.”

“We live in a great little town, and by working together, we can make it even better for our families and local businesses,” Samuel said. “Business owners and citizens are right to want stability in our government and better infrastructure. We can do a better job of filling up vacant storefronts and encouraging people to start new businesses. But it takes creativity and a willingness to work with others.”

Samuel is on Western Washington University’s Alumni Board, member at the Montesano Church of God an an Aberdeen Rotarian. She owns her own law practice downtown, a block near Montesano City Hall, and lives in Montesano with her husband and son.

The chairwoman of her election committee is Candi Bachtell.

Riverfront homeless face evictions as city deems camps unsafe

Even though Corky Morrison is homeless, he doesn’t have any reason to leave the Harbor.

He says he likes the opportunities its landscape gives to outdoorsmen, and he appreciates its history.

Morrison, a 59-year-old Seattle native, moved to Aberdeen in 1983 and worked as an asphalt equipment operator for two decades.

Then, in 2008, a back injury put him out of work. His income ran dry, and three years later he was on the street.

Morrison, an Army veteran who says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, now lives out of his car, a red Ford Explorer that he parks on the north side of the Chehalis River on a piece of private property among railroad tracks and industrial buildings. He said he’s lived there for nearly two years.

“If you’re not buying a house, you’re homeless,” Morrison said against the backdrop of commuters driving over the Chehalis River Bridge. He’s lived the philosophy for several years now, adding that anyone who rents a home on the Harbor is one paycheck away from being in a tent by the river, just like him.

He’s not the only one. The site — not far from the now-vacant Stouffer Lumber yard — was home to at least a dozen camps on Monday, when temps were in the 40s and rain made the banks soft and muddy. Morrison said the area is home to nearly 20 camps in the winter and nearly 50 in the summer.

He was among the group of homeless in the area surprised to find eviction notices on their tents on March 11. The city’s signs demand the squatters leave by March 31, leaving them and their supporters up in arms about where they should go.

Homes along the river

A longtime resident of the riverside collection of camps, Morrison knows many of the people who call it home. The people who move there, he said, have found themselves in “the circuit,” a vicious cycle that sees people going from rundown apartments to cheap motels, then a tent on the Chehalis as a last resort.

Most people are welcome in the area as long as they don’t bring trouble with them, Morrison said as he walked along the bank, pointing out various camps along the way.

Rick Marcoe, 57, lives inside one of the many blue-tarp tents along the river. Marcoe’s home is one of the most visible from the road that runs alongside the river, thanks to an elaborate archway he’s pieced together from wood that marks the edge of the claim he’s staked.

Morrison called out Marcoe’s name from the road, and Marcoe stepped into the rain.

Marcoe has lived on the river for two years, he said. The Tacoma native moved to Aberdeen about 20 years ago and worked primarily in property management. The city’s eviction notice, he said, was the city’s way of showing a lack of support for its homeless population.

Marcoe said he just wants to be left alone.

“We just need a place where we don’t get kicked when we go to sleep,” he said.

A few feet downriver, John, a 39-year-old camper who withheld his last name, lived in a two-room tent near the bank. A blue tarp helped keep out much of Monday’s downpour. John said he moved to Aberdeen in 2012, from Tucson, Ariz. John’s extensive criminal record, he added, has prevented him from finding a job. A carpenter and mechanic, he said he’s worked odd jobs when he can find them. He lived in abandoned houses until he moved to the river in June 2014.

John said the city hasn’t done anything to help the homeless following the eviction notices.

“We’re just like cockroaches under their feet,” he said. “They won’t even give you the time of day.”

Morrison said that campers don’t fit the alcoholic stereotype that falls on many homeless. Marcoe said he hasn’t drank in about 12 years.

Morrison added he goes to places like the Union Gospel Mission on Heron Street to eat and shower. But the crowded conditions prevent him from living there with his PTSD. With tents along the river the last resort for most campers, he said the city needs to provide an alternative if it plans to post evictions.

The evictions

Eviction notices were posted on March 11 to tents along the river and spread across two properties, said Bill Sidor, the city’s code enforcement officer. The notices deem the tents unsafe to occupy and threaten misdemeanors against those still inside after 4 p.m. on March 31.

A notice, Sidor said, went to the property owners in December about the trash on the land, which is a health hazard.

The property owners, Sidor said, included Earl Whiting, a local businessman in the wood products industry, and Michael Lang. “Something needed to be done,” he said. “So that’s when I started sending those notices out ahead of time instead of waiting another month for spring to get the area cleaned up and get them moved out of there.”

Sidor said the city planned to wait until spring to start the evictions, but, after receiving complaints about thefts and assaults allegedly committed by some of the homeless in the area, he sent them out earlier. The city, he added, can post eviction notices on private property if the property poses health risks.

Sidor added that the evictions do not coincide with the city’s plans to build a riverfront park. The city is currently administering an environmental assessment on the Whiting property with the intent of making it a park.

Sidor said an initiative by the county’s Public Health Department has proposed the city devise a 10-year plan to address homelessness in Aberdeen. That plan, he added, has yet to be discussed in depth.

Following a meeting on downtown revitalization last week, Mayor Bill Simpson said he didn’t know of any plans by the city to provide any living alternatives for evicted homeless along the river. He added that providing assistance to the homeless does not fall under the city’s purview.

“I would think that’s more the responsibility of different organizations like the Union Gospel Mission,” he said. “The city is here to run the water, the sewer, the garbage, the finances to run the city. We’d love to have enough money to build a place for homeless to live.”

Championing the cause

Among the strongest of advocates standing with Aberdeen’s homeless is Sarah Monroe, a priest with Chaplains on the Harbor, a ministry that operates between Aberdeen and Westport. Monroe, who works in partnership with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, visits the camps along the river at least once a week, and was there Monday morning.

A Harbor native, Monroe began working with homeless people in the area a year and a half ago, and has since called it “the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Monroe said she thinks the focus on tourism has left city leaders across the nation ignoring issues of homelessness and turning to improving the city’s storefronts and attractions.

“Cleaning up towns has become a priority, I think, for a lot of cities and towns around the country,” she said, adding that she saw it happen in Seattle. “I think we have the same push in Aberdeen. I think there’s a tendency more and more for cities to adopt policies to push people out of the way instead of actually address the common good.”

Monroe agrees with campers who said they would like to see more housing options.

“If the city is going to evict, there needs to be an alternative place for people to go,” she said last week. “Is there public land for people to go? I think that’s a temporary solution. The city needs to take our housing crisis seriously.”

Evictions pending

As the 31st draws near, Monroe said she hopes to get campers to voice their opinions at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. It’s been difficult in the past to get a large turnout from the homeless population, she said. Still, John said he plans to attend the meeting to fight for the place he’s called home for nearly a year. Morrison hopes to make it, too.

“I’m not looking for a handout,” he said. “I’m looking for a place to live.”

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

Quinault lawyers: City could prevent proposed oil terminals

As the City of Hoquiam works through a process to adopt an ordinance preventing future oil facilities within the city, a legal opinion from attorneys representing the Quinault Indian Nation suggests that the city could prevent the three already-proposed oil terminals currently under consideration.

Hoquiam Mayor Jack Durney pushed for the ordinance that would make it difficult for future oil storage facilities in Hoquiam, but he has said the city’s hands are essentially tied in terms of the three projects that have already requested permits. Those three are grandfathered by the city’s existing zoning ordinances, he has said.

The council at Monday night’s meeting moved to hold a workshop on an ordinance to address future requests. It is set for April 20, to decide what the council would like to include in an ordinance, said City Administrator Brian Shay.

The meeting will allow council members to discuss the details and goals of the ordinance but does not allow them to vote on anything. The workshop is open to the public, though the council is not required to allow public comment.

The council’s schedule for a discussion comes two weeks after Port of Grays Harbor Executive Director Gary Nelson urged the council to reconsider the language in the ordinance, saying it could inadvertently prevent future gas stations, as well as facilities for lubricating oils and greases. At its meeting on March 9, the council voted a moratorium into effect with a 9-1 vote, with council members saying they would spend time revising the language.

The meeting on Monday night allowed for a public hearing about the ordinance, which drew comments largely from crude-oil opponents. Leonard Barnes, the Port’s deputy executive director, attended the meeting but did not give public comment.

Among those to comment was Aberdeen councilman Alan Richrod, who commended the city’s decision to put an ordinance in place.

“Grays Harbor, Washington could — if we want — be a place where the world comes to see how sustainable industry and sustainable management of property happens,” he said.

During the meeting, oil opponents raised concerns stemming from an open letter from Earthjustice, a San Francisco-based environmental law firm whose Seattle office represents the Quinault Indian Nation.

The letter, addressed to Fawn Sharp, the Nation’s president, suggests that the three oil terminals with pending applications that the city had grandfathered in with the moratorium could legally be denied by the city, citing a series of cases as precedent and other regulations, including the Shoreline Management Authority Act.

Arnie Martin, a member with Citizens for a Clean Harbor, sent the letter to a selection of council members and Mayor Jack Durney. Durney said during the meeting that he hadn’t had time to read the letter.

Ward 2 Councilman Richard Pennant, an outspoken opponent of crude-oil facilities, asked fellow council members to provide their thoughts on the letter.

But Durney pointed out that the letter was indeed opinion, and that everyone on the council ought to have a chance to read it before talking about it as a council.

“I don’t know that tonight’s a good time to make a decision based on what Earthjustice says or whatever,” Durney said, adding that he encouraged all council members to read the letter when they received it. “Our information has been that we can’t retroactively change zoning ordinances.”

Ward 4 Councilman Ben Winkelman, an attorney for Hoquiam law firm Parker, Winkelman &Parker, also stressed after the meeting that the letter is no more than a legal opinion.

“I could write my own response to that myself if I wanted to,” he said.

Following the workshop to discuss the ordinance, the council will send a draft ordinance to the city’s public hearing examiner, who will then hold another public hearing on the draft, Shay said.

The examiner will then recommend changes to the council on the draft. The council could then adopt that draft ordinance as-is, make the recommended changes, or make different changes altogether.

“What really needs to happen at the workshop is the council needs to give the staff direction on (what it wants) in the ordinance specifically,” Shay said.

“Return of a River” to be shown Friday at AHS

If you are a free-flowing-river-loving person, either rooting for the fish, the transportation or a healthy shoreline, you will most likely find the documentary, “Return of a River” a sweet testament to the life-blood of a waterway.

If you are a dam kind of person, you might appreciate the technical aspect as well. The scale of removing a dam from a river is as big an undertaking as the building of one.

The public is invited to a free public screening of the seven-award-winning film, “Return of the River,” this Friday, March 27, at Aberdeen’s JM Weatherwax High School Auditorium at 410 N. G St., Aberdeen. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m.

John Gussman of DC Productions, one of the filmmakers, will be in attendance for a Q&A/discussion period. Sponsors are Sportsmen for Wild Olympics and the Grays Harbor Institute.

The film has received good reviews, having tribal perspective and a photogenic eye to really reveal the beauty of nature. The cinematography and music chronicles the last hundred years of the Elwha River including the removal of the dam and the restoration of salmon habitat, and features people and perspectives on all sides of the Elwha debate.

A January 15, showing in Seattle sold out, and the showing this Friday is free. The film won seven awards in as many weeks on the film festival circuit.

The Port Townsend Film Festival awarded it the Audience Award for Best Documentary and Jury Award for Film Imact. At the Friday Harbor Film Festival, the film won Audience Choice Award.

In addition, the narrator, Debbie Hirata won the Outstanding Movie Narration category at the Voice Arts award in NYC. This means, it sounds nice, too.

Lawsuit filed over 2013 collision with deputy

A lawsuit has been filed in Thurston County Superior Court against Grays Harbor County for an accident in July 2013 involving a commuter and a Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Deputy.

On July 8, 2013, Rikki L. Meneely of Aberdeen was driving home from work in Ocean Shores when then-Deputy Richard S. Cork crossed the center line in a county-owned 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe and struck Meneely’s 2002 Kia Sportage on Highway 109 about 10 miles north of Hoquiam. Both vehicles were traveling in opposite directions. Both vehicles were considered a total loss and the impact was so hard it tore a child’s car seat from its belts in Meneely’s vehicle and it smashed through the rear window, according to court documents. The accident blocked the highway for more than four hours.

According to a Washington State Patrol investigation, Cork had suffered a medical event that caused him to lose consciousness during the accident.

In January 2014, Sheriff Rick Scott announced that Cork would not return to duty following months of testing that revealed a combination of medical conditions.

“Doctors determined those medical conditions will prevent his ever returning to full service,” Scott was quoted as saying in a Jan. 3, 2014, article in The Daily World.

The lawsuit lists the Grays Harbor County, Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, Cork, and “Jane Doe” Cork (individually and married) as defendants.

Meneely is seeking undisclosed damages for physical and mental injuries, physical and mental pain, disability, discomfort and anguish which have impaired her earning capacity, and damages for loss of income, all due to “a direct and proximate result of the negligence, carelessness and unlawful conduct of the defendants.”

A tort claim form filed by Meneely in October 2014 was seeking $350,000 in damages from the state.

A trial scheduling date has been set for July 10.

Hargrove stewards bill to curb repeat offenders

OLYMPIA — Washington’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative would help prevent frequent-flying property offenders from committing more crimes, proponents say.

Recidivist thieves and burglars — often addicted to drugs or brain disordered — might have benefited from the bill to reduce sentences for some offenders but increase their probation supervision, they say.

The initiative, a pet proposal of state Sen. Jim Hargove of Hoquiam, has passed the Senate as Senate Bill 5755.

He shepherded it through the Republican-controlled state Senate 40-9, he said.

Its companion measure, House Bill 1885, is set for hearing at 9 a.m. Tuesday before the House Committee of Public Safety.

Hargrove represents the 24th District with fellow Democrats Reps. Steve Tharinger and Kevin Van De Wege. The district covers Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County.

The act, if passed and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee, would affect crimes committed after July 1, 2015.

It would put most first-time property offenders under a year’s supervision by the state Department of Corrections when they are released from prison or jail.

Hargrove said it would give them a better shot at going straight.

Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson questioned if that were true.

“I’m concerned if we don’t have a mechanism to protect the public, which is incarceration, will putting [offenders] on probation and making them check in once a week stop that?” Dickinson said.

Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict agrees with Hargrove — up to a point.

“There’s lot of good in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative,” Benedict said Friday.

“I stipulate that our recidivism rate (offenders committing subsequent crimes and returning to incarceration) is way too high.”

But the sheriff, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols, and the police chiefs of Port Angeles and Sequim say the program is being stripped of funds as it moves through the state Legislature.

Justice Reinvestment would replace some prison sentences with jail terms — and shift the cost for keeping inmates behind bars from the state onto its 39 counties.

Yet the bill has no revenue stream to house the 10 to 15 street-level drug dealers a year who’d no longer serve their sentences in prison but in the Clallam County jail instead, Benedict said.

At $80 per inmate a day — $29,200 annually— the bill for cell, food, medical care and supervision might total $435,000 a year, he said.

“The Legislature says to the county, ‘Go raise taxes,’ but raising taxes in this economic environment is very difficult,” Benedict told Peninsula Daily News, citing a jail that’s filled to capacity.

Nichols told the Port Angeles Business Association earlier this month that the initiative provides no funding for its programs.

“Under justice reinvestment,” Nichols said then, “we might not have the capacity to house them in the local jail.”

Nichols said the measure appeared to be on a fast-track to Inslee.

Not so fast, said Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher.

“The state Department of Corrections cannot adequately manage the case loads presented to them now,” he said.

“Substantially increasing their workload by mandating the intensive supervision of hundreds, maybe thousands of new clients statewide is a recipe for disaster absent adequate funding.”

According to Benedict, the half-dozen community corrections officers for Clallam and Jefferson counties supervise about 300 offenders who have been released from prison.

“Our local DOC office does not have the staff to manage the offenders that the Port Angeles Police Department could potentially send their way,” Gallagher said, “let alone the numbers that might be represented by all Clallam County law enforcement agencies.”

The chief called the initiative “an effort to free up prison bed space while potentially saving millions of dollars.

“My view is that the state may indeed save millions, but the potential for substantial costs being shifted onto the county or cities is certainly there.”

Hargrove denies that it would burden corrections counselors or county jails with unfunded mandates.

“We’re either going to fund this adequately, or we’re not going to do it,” Hargrove said.

“We’re not doing this as a budget savings.”

Revising sentencing, Hargrove told the PDN, “will actually reduce our property crimes in this state quite dramatically” and in the end save money.

Proponents note that although 27 percent of property crimes are first offenses, Washington has provided no post-prison supervision for property offenders since 1984.

Hargrove cites data developed by a governor’s task force that he cochaired last year.

It in turn grew from a federal search for better ways to fight crime and reduce its cost.

The state’s present system isn’t working, Hargrove said.

Although the state punishes property criminals with the stiffest sentences in the nation, it still stands No. 1 among states for property offenses per capita.

Hargrove’s task force set a goal of reinvesting $4 million in the first biennium and $8 million in the second biennium in law enforcement, he said

“It also has a grant program to provide some additional resources for community policing, which will also roll up into a lower property crime rate,” he said.

“So, this will cost us a little bit this year as we implement some of the supervision and treatment around some of these offenders.

“But in the future it should start saving us quite a bit of money, including potentially delaying the need for another state prison within the next six years or seven years.

“So this is a way to make your citizens safer, to reduce property crime in the state and to save the state money.”

Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Haas supports it.

“What we’re trying to focus on is getting people off the revolving wheel,” he said.

“The flip side is that we can’t get any worse. If it doesn’t work, we go back to what we’ve been doing.”

Van De Wege said he’ll back the bill.

“I know some people have some angst when criminals aren’t punished enough, but generally it’s becoming a nonpartisan issue because there’s so many studies that show lower recidivism when we do these sort of programs.

“Less crime in the future means fewer victims.”

Tharinger said he needs to examine budget implications.

“The data is that it’s pretty effective. The question is the cost and where the money is going to come from.”

Serviceman appears in court on child rape charges

The 23-year-old man charged with rape of a child in the second degree last week after he was found in the backseat of his car with a 12-year-old girl was appointed an attorney on Monday in Grays Harbor Superior Court.

Anthony Eloy Perez, a serviceman who was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord before being taken into custody last Monday, was appointed defense attorney James Foley and will be formally arraigned next Monday.

The girl’s mother told police she found Perez and her daughter in the backseat of his car early Monday morning, after the 12-year-old was reported missing to Elma Police after she left house without her parents’ consent. The mother found Perez’s car in the 1500 block of Bailey Road in Elma.

Investigators found that Perez is from Texas and currently enlisted in the Military. As a matter of precaution, The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office has been communicating with military police to see where Perez has traveled as part of his service in order to find out if there are any other potential victims.

During Monday’s hearing, Perez’s bail was raised to $100,000. Perez told the court that he makes approximately $800 every two weeks as compensation for his military service, but will not be receiving that stipend now that he is in custody.

Expo, Bite of Grays Harbor draws large crowd to Aberdeen High School

On Saturday Aberdeen High School hosted the local trade show Expo Grays Harbor and Bite of Grays Harbor. A variety of booths set up by local businesses and organizations filled the high school gym. During the Bite of Grays Harbor, which featured local eateries, Aberdeen and Hoquiam High School culinary students set out displays of colorful cupcakes and pitted their creations against one another’s for the title of crowd favorite.

McCleary residents cool to contract with Sheriff’s Office

The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office has drafted a contract for police services for the City of McCleary, and while citizens are apprehensive with the idea of losing their local police department, the City Council maintains the fiscal state of the city means a change must occur — contract or no — either to services or funding.

Residents of McCleary filled the council chambers recently, urging their council to reject a contract for police services through the Sheriff’s Office, saying the contract offers no guarantees and the expense is worth the services that will be provided.

“It’s by no means on par with what I heard council members indicate it would be,” McCleary resident Brenda Orffer said during the meeting. “The suggestion that our police services be contracted out comes at too high a price to warrant what the savings are supposed to be.”

Orffer said local control of the police department means cuts could be weighed, officials could be held accountable, and discussions could be had about priorities — all things that could be limited if service was passed on to the county.

“That would not be true if the money was simply appropriated to a similarly cash-strapped county government with no real guarantees as to what we would get in return,” she said. “What is to prevent the county, as its budget continues to suffer, from paring back on even the vaguely promised components of this supposed deal?”

The proposed contract offers base-level services to the city, comparable to those provided for unincorporated cities, at a cost of $225,000 per year for 2015 (prorated as of the date when the contract is signed), $225,000 for 2016, and then grows each year after that. For 2017, the city will pay $234,000, in 2018 it would pay $243,360, and services in 2019 will cost $253,094.

City officials highlight the savings the contract would bring to the city, noting that the McCleary Police Department was budgeted at $417,000 for 2015, down from $570,000 in 2014, Councilman Brent Schiller said.

“We’ve already expended 30 percent of (the 2015 budget) and we’re only into March, so we’re already having problems,” Schiller said. “We can keep the city police department, but what level of service is the city willing to accept? That’s the bottom line here.”

If the city accepted the contract with the Sheriff’s Office, base-level services would include a first response for the enforcement of state law, and “limited response” for the city’s adopted municipal, criminal and traffic codes. Patrol services would include reactive patrol for responding to calls, and limited proactive patrol (for prevention) at the discretion of the Sheriff. The Sheriff also will designate an unspecified number of fully commissioned sheriff deputies to patrol the city as part of its regular law enforcement services, which will be under the purview of the Sheriff or command staff. The Sheriff or a designee will attend City Council meetings on a monthly basis to report on criminal and traffic activity in city limits.

The city also would be required to allow the county to convert available vehicles and equipment for the county’s use, with the vehicles and equipment being returned when the contract ends.

Though the contract was unappealing to the residents at the meeting, the council reminded the crowd that the contract is a draft.

“This is a beginning document and we need to write down what we don’t like about it, we need to make a list of items and shoot it back to them,” Councilman Jeff Catterlin said. “The one thing that I agree with is it didn’t list how many hours of patrol — that’s a biggie — and the cars I would just like to see us keep.”

Though the Sheriff’s Office would take over police services, the county would not be on the hook for all of the associated costs. The city would be required to supply any special supplies, such as stationary and citation and infraction books with the city name or seal, and an office space with an internet connection, according to the contract, “for the exclusive use of the county to provide for preparation and storage of sensitive/confidential materials,” and the city would be required to maintain its 911 contract.

Additionally, the city would be required to contract separately for jail space, and court services would need to be contracted through the county. The city also will be responsible for all animal control impoundment costs arising from enforcement of the municipal code.

McCleary resident Chris Vessey asked the city to hold a City Hall meeting to discuss the situation.

“The people of McCleary should be entitled to a city meeting where their questions could be asked and answered,” Vessey said. “This thing here, to me, is not a contract that we, the citizens of McCleary, should have to sign.”

Orffer agreed that discussion should continue.

“I urge you, our city council, to keep our money and our police services at home here in McCleary, and let’s please solve this problem as a community and not outsource it away,” Orffer said.

While the City reviews the contract, not all is lost for the McCleary Police Department. Schiller said he has asked the department to provide a cost estimate for reduced services, and city Attorney Dan Glenn said discussions and negotiations were ongoing with the city’s police department and its union.

Glenn also suggested the city could propose an excess levy to fund the department for one year, which would then require the approval of voters — much like the city of Elma (where Glenn also is city attorney) has discussed doing.

“It’s a very sensitive issue, there’s no question, it’s trying to be as straightforward as it can be and the citizens make the decision,” Glenn said. “That’s a decision that (Elma) will be making, and it’s a decision this council will have to make.”

No action was taken regarding the contract. The council will continue to review the contract and other options. Mayor Gary Dent was not at the meeting.

Expo, Bite of Grays Harbor draws large crowd to Aberdeen High School

On Saturday Aberdeen High School held local trade show Expo Grays Harbor and Bite of Grays Harbor. A variety of booths set up by local businesses and organizations filled the high school gym, handing out prizes and promotional schwag to Expo-goers. During Bite of Grays Harbor, Aberdeen and Hoquiam High School culinary students set out displays of colorful cupcakes and pitted their creations against one another’s for the title of crowd favorite.

Morning Tide Season Opener Starts With Glimpse of Sunshine

Hoards of clam diggers who made it out to Twin Harbors were treated to a brief period of sunshine around 8 a.m. for the season’s first morning tide dig. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife scheduled the season opener to coincide with this year’s Ocean Shores Razor Clam Festival. Tuesday will be the last day of this month’s dig.

Friends Landing now taking reservations for 2015 camping season

Friends Landing, the Port-owned campsite southwest of Montesano, is taking reservations for the 2015 camping season, according to a statement released by the Port of Grays Harbor on Friday.

Camping fees are $25 per night for RVs and $15 for tents. The 152-acre property features 18 RV campsites and 11 for tents. Camping is offered between mid-March and mid-November.

The area’s facilities also include two picnic shelters that can be reserved for $50 a day or $10 an hour.

The Port assumed long-term management of the property last fall. The area near the Chehalis River and man-made Lake Quigg offer hiking, fishing and bird-watching opportunities, as well as a boat launch on the river.

To make reservations call (360) 249-5117. For more information visit http://ift.tt/1AWk71X or email friendslanding@portgrays.org.

EXPO and Bite of Grays Harbor Saturday at Aberdeen High School

Looking for a way to get out of the house and stay dry at the same time? Don’t miss EXPO Grays Harbor and Bite of Grays Harbor Saturday at Aberdeen High School

Dozens of local businesses and institutions will have booths set up, many with giveaways. It’s a chance to find out more about the services various businesses offer. In the commons area of the school, the Bite of Grays Harbor features food from many local eateries. The EXPO and the Bite have become the area’s premier business event and largest locally-produced trade show. Organized by Greater Grays Harbor, the event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Aberdeen High School. Admission is free to the public.

In addition to food, prizes, entertainment, and vendors, EXPO and Bite of Grays Harbor will be introducing new programming, including: do-it-yourself home repair workshops, home energy efficiency presentations, ballroom dancing instruction, a culinary competition, and much more.

For adults, Home Depot will conduct two do-it-yourself workshops. The first involves pallet refurbishing, where one can learn how to create a wine rack out of an old pallet. The second workshop will provide instruction on how to install a ceiling fan in your home.

For those looking for a new hobby, there will be a ballroom dance demonstration located in the second gym.

Lastly, if you are looking for some entertainment, the event will host a cupcake competition between local high schools. Watch as the judges choose their favorite based on presentation and taste.

For the children, there will have several kids’ activities involving face painting, an inflatable football toss, and a painting project from Home Depot.

At the Bite of Grays Harbor, you can find some of your favorite local restaurants serving up some of their specialties; such as Nancy’s Bakery and her individual sized marionberry pies, Clarks burgers, Deidra’s deli and her famous taco soup, and a whole lot more.

City has a path to acquire land for riverfront park

The City of Aberdeen is in line to acquire a plot of land near the mouth of the Wishkah River to later be made into a riverfront park conceived by the downtown development group Aberdeen Revitalization Movement and the city.

City officials are now coordinating an environmental assessment on six-acres on the west side of the Wishkah River near the Chehalis River Bridge. Following the assessment and an appraisal of the property, the Trust for Public Land will make an offer and buy the land. The city will pay back the trust over several years. The trust is a national organization that helps cities acquire and preserve parkland.

Earl Whiting, a longtime businessman in the wood products industry, owns the property, according to the Grays Harbor County Assessor’s Office.

The Bozeman Group, consultants hired by the city a year ago, created a rendering of the park last June that included a plaza to commemorate famed Aberdeen rock band Nirvana, a viewing tower, forest grove, stage and yards of beach access. Lisa Scott, the city’s community development administrator, said Friday that the city has not made any decision on how the park will look, and that the city intends to acquire the land first.

Access to the waterfront, Scott said, was a high-priority direction the city gave to the Bozeman Group when it started work in town a year ago. Other priorities included cleaning up the entrance to downtown and traffic mitigation along Wishkah, which is set to be addressed later this summer by reducing the street to two lanes.

The rendering also shows the park extending beyond the six acres of Whiting’s land. Still, Scott said the environmental assessment is only for the six acres of the Whiting property.

That assessment, Scott added, is set to be completed in June.

In a Thursday meeting between city officials and Aberdeen Revitalization Movement volunteers, Scott Reynvaan, an ARM volunteer who once served as a director for the organization, said the Trust for Public Land was ready to “move forward” on buying the land.

The city, Reynvaan said at the meeting, could then take up to the next seven years to apply for grants through the state Recreation and Conservation Office to reimburse the trust.

“This gives the City of Aberdeen a unique opportunity to own a strategic piece of waterfront and potentially build a new waterfront park,” he added.

Malcolm Bowie, the city’s public works director, did not return calls requesting comment.

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