Elma wins historic first state softball title

RICHLAND — As a final gift for their departing seniors and coaches, Elma’s Eagles made school softball history.

Brooke Goldsmith pitched a two-hitter as Elma captured its first state softball title with a 6-1 victory over Mount Baker in the Class 1A championship game Saturday at Richland’s Columbia Playfields.

Much of the final-day drama came hours earlier. Izzy Cristelli slugged a game-tying two-run home run in the seventh and Goldsmith added a walk-off RBI triple in the eighth as the Eagles came from three runs down in the seventh to edge defending three-time state champion Connell, 6-5, in one semifinal.

Mount Baker overcame a four-run deficit to nip Hoquiam, 7-6, in the other semi.

Hoquiam bounced back to claim a fourth-place trophy, crushing Okanogan, 15-1 in five innings before dropping a 9-4 decision to Woodland in the game to decide third and fourth places.

The state championship marked the swan song not only for Elma’s five seniors but also for its coaching staff. Head coach Janene Todd and her husband, assistant coach Mitchell Todd, are stepping down, Janene confirmed Saturday.

“We have a lot of seniors and this is our coaches’ last year, so we had a lot of motivation,” senior outfielder Sydney Smythe reflected. “We put our hearts on the field and never let up.”

Elma’s 14-9 season record was deceptive. The Eagles returned several key components from a team that had captured Evergreen 1A League championships the previous two years, but the club was slow to jell this season.

In Janene Todd’s estimation, they played their best four games of the season at state.

“It was a different team and we had to get chemistry,” the Elma coach said. “We peaked at the right time. We didn’t overwork Brooke (as a pitcher during the regular season). She was healthy and here 100 percent and out bats backed her up.”

“I think everyone peaked at the right time,” Goldsmith agreed.

Goldsmith turned in a spectacular state performance. The senior right-hander won all four state contests and didn’t allow an earned run in three of them. She also established what was undoubtedly a state record of some sort by hitting four consecutive triples.

“She was the league MVP (an honor she actually shared with Montesano’s Madison Didion) and she’s the MVP of this tournament,” Todd maintained. “And I don’t think anybody doubts it.”

Goldsmith received solid support from her teammate. Cristelli homered in each of the last two games and Smythe, Shayla Shumate, Peyton Elliott and Ashley Cooper were among also making important contributions.

“We definitely went through a lot of bumps and bruises,” a tearful Smythe summed up, “(but) we got to hold up No. 1.”

Elma 6, Mount Baker 1

After the dramatic semifinal, the title game was almost an anti-climax. Goldsmith appropriately jump-started the Eagle attack by hitting Aleks Toivola’s fist pitch of the game into the right-centerfield gap for her fourth straight triple over two contests. Two pitches later, Smythe grounded a single into left field to give the Eagles a lead they never relinquished.

Smythe advanced to third on Shumate’s single to right and scored on Elliott’s sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

Conquerors of both Hoquiam and Montesano in the tourney, Mount Baker got one back in its half of the first when Lacey Postlewait reached on a leadoff error and came in on Emma Lallas’ two-run single.

The Mountaineers, however, were unable to catch up consistently with Goldsmith’s rising fastball. The Eagle ace struck out 11 and retired the last 12 batters she faced.

After walking six and hitting a batter in the semifinal, she did not issue a free pass in the title game - a trick she attributed to not thinking about her control.

Cooper, meanwhile, delivered an RBI single in the third. The Eagles added an unearned run in the fifth, Goldsmith doubled home Kohlby Sayler in the sixth and Cristelli provided the coup de grace with a solo homer in the seventh.

Goldsmith, Smythe and Cooper had two hits apiece in the title game.

Elma 6, Connell 5

Until the dramatic climax, this was a game of frustration for the Eagles.

They squandered a bases-loaded, no-out situation midway through the contest and had Karli Smythe’s apparent RBI single nullified when Mitchell Todd, coaching first base, was ruled to have illegally made contact with Smythe while she was running the bases.

Connell, whose mascot is also the Eagles, had taken command with a three-run fourth and owned a 5-2 lead through 6 1/2 frames.

With the formidable top of their batting order due up, Elma’s Eagles remained confident.

“We knew we could hit and the pitcher was hittable,” Goldsmith said.

Goldsmith’s lead-off triple and Sydney Smythe’s RBI double narrowed the deficit to two.

Then Cristelli unloaded a game-tying blast just to the left of the 223-foot marker in left-center.

Shumate followed with a single and, following a fielder’s choice in which all hands were safe and a sacrifice bunt, Elma had the winning run on third with one out. But Connell pitcher McKenna Mathis worked out of the jam.

After Goldsmith set down the side in order in the eighth, Elma wasted little time ending it.

Karli Smythe worked Mathis for a four-pitch walk and Goldsmith followed with a line drive into left field. When the Connell left fielder was unable to prevent the ball from scooting to the fence, Smythe came around to easily score the deciding run.

That was the last of Goldsmith’s three straight triples in this game.

Sydney Smythe also had three hits, while Smythe doubled twice among her three hits.

Mount Baker 7, Hoquiam 6

The Grizzlies were poised for a fourth meeting this season with Elma in the state championship game before disaster struck in the fifth inning.

Ellie Quercia and Kayla Hilliard had each tripled in a three-run third inning and the Grizzlies added an unearned marker in the top of the fifth to lead 4-0. With Bailee Bradley working on a one-hitter through four, that advantage seemed money in the bank.

Following a leadoff walk in their half of the fifth, however, the Mountaineers strung together five singles in a six-batter sequence.

Emily Yost’s two-run single tied it. A wild pitch and Emily Brandland’s safety squeeze bunt completed the six-run frame that stunningly gave the Mounties a 6-4 edge.

That’s the way it stayed until the Hoquiam seventh. Ashlynn Wakefield’s lead-off walk and Quercia’s one-out single, sandwiched around a fielder’s choice and an infield out, put runners on second and third with two outs. Hilliard’s routine grounder rolled through the second baseman’s legs, bringing home both runners to tie it.

Hoquiam’s celebration, however, was exceedingly short-lived. Lallas reached on an infield error to open the Mount Baker seventh. Yost followed with a double into the right-centerfield gap and Lallas scored easily to end it.

Quercia and Bradley had two hits each for the Grizzlies.

Hoquiam 15, Okanogan 1

To their credit, the Grizzlies quickly hit the reset button to clinch a state trophy with their second rout of Okanogan in the tournament.

Quercia, Bradley and Hannah Hliboki each doubled in a six-run first inning. Hoquiam added five more in the second, with Bradley and Kylie Stewart each delivering RBI singles and Katelynn Paladin delivered a two-run single. Okanogan was also guilty of three errors in that

frame.

Hliboki was the winning pitcher.

Woodland 9, Hoquiam 4

The Beavers, whose title hopes were dashed by a walk-off grand slam by Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls in the opening round, finished the tournament convincingly with five straight wins — dispatching the likes of Montesano and Connell as well as the Grizzlies.

Woodland collected 13 hits against Hoquiam.

Bradley provided the Grizzly highlight with a grand slam homer in the sixth. Quercia concluded a fine tournament with two hits.

The Grizzlies returned home with a 20-7 record and a state trophy, which coach Keith Reynvaan admitted was bittersweet.

“It’s great to get state hardware,” Reynvaan said with a smile. “To have a 4-0 lead and you’re cruising and you have one bad inning (is tough). But I was very proud of the girls the way they bounced back against Okanogan.”

Brendan Carl of the Vidette contributed to this report.

Elma 201 011 1 — 6 9 1

Mt. Baker 100 000 0 — 1 2 3

Goldsmith and Elliott; Toivola and Ortloff.

RBI: Elma — S. Smythe, Cristelli, Shumate, Elliott, Goldsmith, Cooper. Mt. Baker — Lallas. Two hits: Elma — Goldsmith, S. Smythe, Cooper. Home run: Elma - Cristelli. Triples: Elma - Goldsmith. Doubles: Elma - Goldsmith.

Winning pitcher — Goldsmith (walked none; struck out 11). Losing pitcher — Toivola (walked one; struck out one).

Connell 100 300 10 — 5 7 1

Elma 001 100 31 — 6 11 0

Mathis and Olberding; Goldsmith and Elliott.

RBI: Connell — Egbert 3, Hawkins. Elma — S. Smythe 3, Cristelli 2, Goldsmith. Three hits: Connell — Mathis. Elma — Goldsmith, S. Smythe. Two hits: Connell — Egbert. Elma — Shumate, K. Smythe. Home runs: Elma — Cristelli. Triples: Connell — Hawkins. Elma — Goldsmith 3. Doubles: Connell — Mathis. Elma — S. Smythe 2, K. Smythe.

Winning pitcher — Goldsmith (walked six; struck out six). Losing pitcher — Mathis (walked one; struck out four).

Hoquiam 003 010 2 — 6 8 2

Mt. Baker 000 060 1 — 7 9 3

Bradley and Stewart; Toivola and Ortloff.

RBI: Hoquiam — LaLonde, Hilliard, Bradley. Mount Baker — Yost 3, Toivola, Brandland. Two hits: Hoquiam — Quercia, Bradley. Mount Baker — Toivola, Yost, Miles. Triples: Hoquiam — Quercia, Hilliard. Doubles: Hoquiam — Bradley. Mount Baker — Yost.

Winning pitcher — Toivola (walked one; struck out one). Losing pitcher — Bradley (walked three; struck out three).

Summaries of Hoquiam-Okanogan and Woodland-Hoquiam were unavailable

They don’t walk alone in Hoquiam

Harborites participate in Relay for Life for a variety of reasons: to honor family members who lost the battle with cancer, to celebrate their own survival, to raise money for research or to be part of one of Grays Harbor’s largest community events.

But Stan McManemy walks the track to eradicate a misconception: that men can’t be diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Aberdeen resident is living proof that they can. He was diagnosed with the condition in 2001, and has been cancer-free since successfully treating the condition a short time later. At this year’s Relay, he walked holding a large, bright-pink sign reading, “I’m a breast cancer survivor.”

“When they talk about breast cancer on TV, they say that only women get it,” McManemy said. “But that’s not true. And I’m here to tell people that.”

McManemy is the second man in his family to survive breast cancer. His father was diagnosed in the 1960s, but lived into his 90s. So when McManemy found a lump on his chest, he went straight to the doctor.

“He told me it was nothing, that it was just a fatty tumor,” McManemy said. “But I didn’t think so, so I went to another doctor. He said, ‘I’m glad you came to me. Otherwise, you’d be up in the cemetery.’ ”

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is about 100 times less common in men than it is in women. In the United States, about 2,360 men are diagnosed with the condition each year, and about 430 men die of breast cancer.

McManemy said he considers himself lucky — he knew what to look for and was able to catch the condition early enough that it could be treated without chemotherapy.

He started participating in Relay for Life of Grays Harbor in 2005, about a year after his wife died of lung cancer.

“That’s what this is all about,” McManemy said. “Remembering the people we lost and saving other people. That’s why I come out here. A lot of men think they have nothing to worry about, and that’s not true.”

Dave Hill approaches Relay for Life in the same active way. He’s been a 24-hour walker for the past three years, and took on the challenge after learning that those participants typically raise more money. Last year, he collected about $12,000. By 6:30 p.m. Friday he had collected about $350.

Both his grandmother and mother-in-law died of cancer, and Hill said he wants to do what he can to prevent other people from suffering in the same way.

“If I’m here, I want to be doing as much as I can,” Hill said. “I don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines, I want to be out here walking.”

Nancy and Jim Inmon also participate in Relay for Life on a yearly basis. Both are cancer survivors — Nancy Inmon beat breast cancer 11 years ago, and and Jim Inmon is a 6-year survivor of skin cancer. However, he recently found out that his cancer had returned.

The couple moved to Arizona a few years ago, but return to Grays Harbor each year to walk with their children and grandchildren.

“They’re our support system,” Jim Inmon said. “They got us through it all, so we come back each year to celebrate with them.”

For the most part, Relay for Life of Grays Harbor is a happy event for the Inmons. They enjoy being back in their hometown, and Jim Inmon said a larger portion of of Harborites participate in their local Relay than in the other Relays he’s attended.

“What I don’t like is that they keep having to add boards (with the names of people who died of cancer),” he said. “I hope that they find a cure soon, then they won’t have to do that anymore.”

Relay for Life of Grays Harbor will run until 6 p.m. today at Hoquiam High School.

OTHER RELAY EVENTS

Relay for Life of East Grays Harbor

Location: Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds

Time: 6 p.m. June 13 to 6 p.m. June 14

Fundraising Goal: $66,000

Relay for Life of Willapa Bay

Location: Raymond High School

Time: noon July 19 to noon July 20

Fundraising Goal: $45,000

Simons ends nearly four-decades at the YMCA

When Jan Simons first entered the old Aberdeen YMCA building on Market Street in 1975, she never envisioned she was beginning an association that would last for nearly 40 years.

A native of Seattle, she had taught swimming at the West Seattle YMCA. But, having recently relocated to Grays Harbor with her husband Doug, a state Department of Fish & Wildlife employe, she was initially reluctant to undertake a similar job in Aberdeen.

After a couple of false starts, however, she finally hooked up with Pam Aho, then the Aberdeen Y’s aquatics director.

“I came in and Pam was teaching swimming lessons,” Simons recalled. “That was all I needed to see. I was so impressed with her. I learned volumes from her.”

Some 39 years later, the 65-year-old Simons is ending a YMCA career that has included a variety of positions. The director of YMCA’s Camp Bishop operation for the past eight years, she retired Friday. Her husband, having retired from Fish & Wildlife several years ago, is also relinquishing his position as the Camp Bishop facilities director.

The couple will move to Schafer Meadows in Brady, where they own a five-acre farm. Jan will continue as the Aberdeen High School girls swimming coach. She coached the Bobcats to the state 2A championship in 2008.

Simons said retirement was a family decision.

“I would have gone one more year, because I like even numbers,” she said. “But (Doug) works really hard at his job and he was ready for a change.”

Simons began her career teaching youth swimming classes in the Aberdeen Y’s tiny pool, an assignment she embraced.

“It was a perfect teaching pool,” she recalled.

Simons later coached the Y’s swim team, the Sea Otters, and succeeded Aho as aquatics director in the late 1970s. She maintained that position through the merger of the Aberdeen and Hoquiam organizations into the current YMCA of Grays Harbor until she was approached about the Camp Bishop job in 2006.

YMCA officials elected to expand Camp Bishop, located nine miles southwest of Shelton, into a year-round operation and wanted a full-time camp director and facilities manager living on-site.

“They really wanted Doug (who had just retired from the Fish & Wildlife department),” Simons said with a laugh. “They knew about his passion (for that type of work) and he was excited about the job. He became the facilities director and I was moved laterally. Dotty (Colwell) became the aquatics director and it was a win-win situation for everybody.”

At Camp Bishop, Jan supervised the summer camp and assorted off-season activities, such as overnight camps.

“When we moved up to camp, my job became easier. Aquatics is a high-pressure job and camp was totally the opposite,” she said. “Doug, on the other hand, was a one-person staff. He took care of the campground and organized work parties. He really worked hard at that job. The camp has become a year-round job. From March through November, we’re booked every weekend.”

She said the assistance she received from such co-workers as Tim Webb and Tanya Bowers-Anderson at the camp and Colwell at the main office helped make her duties enjoyable.

“When you surround yourself with great people, your job is easier,” she said. “That’s been my good fortune during my professional career. (The staff does) a great job and I get to be the rah-rah person.”

The evolution of the YMCA into a larger Grays Harbor operation, she said, has also been a positive development.

“The emphasis on connecting and caring about people is far greater today,” Simons said. “We’ve always cared about people … but we used to be more tunnel-visioned on maintaining specific programs. As a staff, we’re much more big-picture people.”

In retirement, she plans to keep busy coaching, farming and traveling. While she said she’ll miss Camp Bishop’s beauty and tranquility and her association with the campers, she is confident the program will continue under capable leadership.

“It’s been a great place to work,” she said. “I’m so blessed to have the YMCA as part of my life.”

Buzzing with pride over bees

When honeybee hives started disappearing in the mid-’90s, beekeepers knew there was a serious problem. Hive boxes that should have contained tens of thousands of honeybees were completely empty, without any clue as to what happened to their honey-producing inhabitants. The cause? Colony collapse disorder — a mysterious phenomenon that has devastated huge sectors of the agriculture industry and left scientists and apiarists scratching their heads to this day.

Enter Ron Scholzen, an Elma beekeeper of about 25 years and mentor with the Olympia Beekeeping Association.

Scholzen has seen firsthand how CCD has impacted the honeybee population, and it has served as a catalyst for his work in educating others to help sustain their own healthy hives through his instructional classes and fieldwork.

“They need our help,” said Scholzen of the bees, which he affectionately calls his “ladies.”

Last year, Scholzen lost three of his 10 hives — a disappointment, but not a catastrophe.

It’s been worse though. When the parasitic verroa mite swept across the country in the late ’80s, Scholzen’s hives were left devastated, along with those of countless private and commercial beekeepers across the country. In one year alone, Scholzen lost five of eight hives due to the parasitic mites.

While the North American verroa mite infestation was ultimately brought under control, they were just one contributing factor to CCD. Scholzen believes that the use of pesticides are currently the biggest danger to the world’s honey bee population. He believes chemicals and honeybees shouldn’t mix.

“I won’t use anything on my hives and they’re doing all right!” said Scholzen, who is in his fourth year of keeping completely chemical-free hives.

While CCD is still an ongoing issue, the media attention surrounding it has generated renewed interest in private beekeeping. At one point, the Olympia Beekeeper Association was down to around 20 members — now it’s up to about 200. This provides Scholzen with the opportunity to help mentor new beekeepers and help them get their hives up and running.

Scholzen also volunteers to teach an introductory beekeeping course with the Montesano Community Education Program.

“The whole idea is that we’re trying to build up strong hives so they can go out and bring back nectar and pollen,” he said.

Scholzen can’t stress enough the importance of healthy hives. “Everything the honeybee associates itself with is good for us.”

Besides pollinating many of the world’s crops, honeybees produce edible pollen, beeswax and of course, honey. Scholzen’s eyes light up when discussing his bees’ honey, the only food he said that will never spoil. Scholzen also takes pride in making his own beeswax candles from wax produced by his hives.

“I just take care of those ladies. It becomes kind of a loving relationship because they need our help.”

Missing McCleary woman found safe

Search and Rescue crews were able to find a missing McCleary woman safe on her property Thursday morning.

Karen Grygorcewicz, 63, went for a walk on her property about 5 p.m., Wednesday, Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Dave Pimentel said. She wandered off the trail, picking mushrooms and was unable to find the trail again. A search began about 6 p.m.

At 4 a.m. the state was called in. Responders from Thurston, Lewis, Kitsap and Pierce counties joined the search including five canine teams. About 9 a.m., a local team found Grygorcewicz. They carried her out of the wooded area on a board, where she was treated by medics and released to her family.

She told her rescuers she tried to stay warm overnight by curling up in a hollow log and stuffing moss in her shoes.

Aberdeen Council roundup — City to buy new asphalt paver; OK’s timber sale

The Aberdeen City Council voted unanimously to approve several measures concerning public works Wednesday evening, green-lighting a timber sale, energy efficient equipment and the purchase of a new asphalt paving machine.

Only one measure, a clarification of a $25 water shut-off fee, garnered a negative vote, by council member Alice Phelps.

The council voted 11-1 to clarify language in a resolution concerning a $25 fee for delinquent accounts that will be levied automatically. The fee has been on the books but rarely enforced. Now the fee will be charged regardless of whether water service is turned back on.

The language passed earlier this spring was ambiguous and needed to be clarified, Public Works Director Malcolm Bowie said. Bowie and several council members said the measure is needed because some ratepayers “game the system.” They wait until the last minute to pay, right before the water is due to be shut off after 60 days, Finance Director Kathryn Skolrood added.

Council member Jim Cook said he had been told some ratepayers delay because they cannot qualify for help from a public assistance program until shut off is imminent.

Phelps voted no on the clarification because she thinks the total cost of the delinquent charge of $25 plus a separate fee of $20 to turn water back on is too much to ask of someone who is struggling. She would like to lower the fees.

Precise figures on how many people are often in arrears were not immediately available.

The council voted unanimously to approve Quinault Logging Company’s bid to log $631,295 worth of city timber. The money will go straight into reserves for the water fund, said Bowie. The bid was close to $84,000 higher than the bid by Sierra Pacific.

All 12 council members also approved putting up less than half of the estimated total cost of an upgrade for the Sewer Department. The total cost is $461,500, the city’s share is $210,000 after he department won a grant from the Department of Commerce. City officials anticipate an incentive from the Grays Harbor PUD to make up the rest of the cost, Wastewater Manager Kyle Scott in an email earlier Wednesday.

“The aeration upgrade is the replacement of some existing equipment with similar equipment that is more energy efficient,” Scott said in an email earlier Wednesday.

The city estimates it will take just more than six years of energy savings to pay back its share of $210,000, Bowie said.

The council also approved the purchase of a used asphalt paving machine. The department’s “street staff diligently search and found a good used paver,” city documents said.

“It was described as ‘cherry,’ ” said Bowie.

The used machine costs slightly more than $29,000, while a new one costs approximately $150,000, city documents said. The paver was primarily used for smaller projects and as backup. The asphalt machine can pave strips from 8 to 14 feet wide. It was manufactured in 2005 and purchased new by another city in 2007. It has spent 1,222 hours on the job so far.

One public works measure on the schedule was tabled Tuesday in committee, Public Works Chairwoman Margo Shortt said.

The measure would have asked council to approve selling approximately 3,900 of used 5/8 inch water meters to Paymore Recycling of Aberdeen, the second lowest of four bids. The measure was tabled due to mistakes, said Bowie, who did not elaborate what they were.

Higher bids came from companies in Vancouver and Las Vegas, Nev. “Staff believes that ease of transaction and doing business within the community warrants awarding (the contract) to the local business,” city documents said.

By going with the local bid, the city would have foregone making an extra $2,000 to $3,000. The city just replaced water meters with new smart meters. Asked if the city will still recommend the bid still go to Paymore, Bowie said the whole sale would be reevaluated.

Erin Hart, 360-537-3932, ehart@thedailyworld.com, Twitter: @DW_Erin.

Hoquiam, Elma in semis; Bulldogs bow out

RICHLAND — An all-Grays Harbor championship game is still possible in the state 1A softball tournament. It will not, however, include seven-time state champion Montesano.

Elma and Hoquiam rode dominating performances into the semifinals with a pair of victories Friday on the opening day of the state 1A tourney at Richland.

With Brooke Goldsmith excelling in both the pitching circle and at the plate, the Eagles crushed Zillah, 8-0, and Seattle Christian, 14-0.

The Grizzlies scored in nine of 13 innings in thumping Okanogan, 13-4, and Warden, 14-4.

Evergreen 1A and district champion Montesano stunningly fell by the wayside. After opening with a 9-0 win over Nooksack Valley, the Bulldogs were upset by Mount Baker, 3-0, and eliminated by Woodland, 10-3.

Hoquiam (19-5) will face Mount Baker in one semifinal at 9 a.m. today. Elma (12-9) takes on three-time defending state champion but graduation-ravaged Connell in the other semi at the same time at the Columbia Playfields.

The semifinal winners advance to the state championship game at 2:30 this afternoon.

Hoquiam 14, Warden 4

Ellie Quercia and Kayla Hilliard each were short only a home run of hitting for the cycle in Hoquiam’s quarterfinal triumph.

Quercia went 4-for-4, with three RBIs. Hillard added three hits and four RBIs, concluding the day with a bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning that implemented the 10-run mercy rule.

Ironically, HHS coach Keith Reynvaan had expressed concern about his team’s hitting entering the tourney.

“We must like the warm weather,” Reynvaan said with a smile. “We’re getting contributions from a lot of different people.”

Guilty of two errors in the top of the first, the Grizzlies spotted the Cougars a 2-0 lead before roaring back.

Quercia’s two-run double in the second inning put Hoquiam on top, 3-2. Warden tied it with a solo run in the third, but the Grizzlies regained the lead in their half of the same inning on a walk to Hannah Hliboki, Kylie Stewart’s single that was also misplayed in the outfield and Katelynn Paladin’s sacrifice fly.

Hilliard’s walk-off triple capped a seven-run sixth inning.

Bailee Bradley pitched her second complete game of the day to collect the win. The junior right-hander struck out six.

“She settled down and started hitting her spots,” Reynvaan said. “And I thought she was throwing harder as the game went on.”

Stewart added two hits to the winning cause.

Elma 14, Seattle Christian 0

The Eagles wasted little time settling the issue and advancing to their first state semifinal since 2005.

Goldsmith opened the game with a single and scored on Peyton Elliott’s RBI single.

The Eagles then erupted for six runs in the second, an inning highlighted by Sydney Smythe’s RBI double and freshman Kaylee Rambo’s two-run single.

Goldsmith hit an inside-the-park home run in the third and followed it up with an outside-the-park three-run homer in the fourth.

The game was shortened to five innings by the mercy rule.

Goldsmith hardly needed all that support. The senior right-hander pitched a two-hitter, striking out eight. She also contributed four hits and five RBIs. Elliott added three hits and Izzy Cristelli two hits for the Eagles.

“Honestly, it’s just about timely hits and we’re getting them,” Elma coach Janene Todd said.

Elma 8, Zillah 0

For a time, it appeared that Goldsmith would throw a literal no-hitter. She struck out the first eight batters she faced.

The Leopards eventually made enough contact to collect four hits, but Goldsmith wound up striking out 14 and walking only two.

Cristelli’s first-inning double knocked in Smythe, who had reached second on a hit-error combination.

Six Zillah errors helped the Eagles pad their total with two runs in the third, three in the fifth and two more in the seventh.

Smythe had an RBI triple among her two hits. Goldsmith doubled and singled.

Hoquiam 13, Okanogan 4

The Grizzlies pounded out 14 hits to back Bradley’s five-hit pitching.

Hilliard delivered three singles and a double, while Quercia and Hliboki added three hits each.

Hoquiam erased a 1-0 deficit with a four-run second inning capped by Quercia’s two-run single. Stewart smacked an RBI triple and Lydia LaLonde added a two-run triple in a four-run third that broke it open.

Makenzie Norwill and Keeley Morris hit back-to-back homers for Okanogan in the fourth inning.

Montesano 9, Nooksack Valley 0

Every Bulldog starter contributed at least one hit in this opening-round contest. Megan Choate, Hannah Jensen, Rayna Ashlock and Lyndsy Quinn had two apiece, with Jensen driving in three runs.

Choate’s two-run double in the second gave Monte a permanent lead.

Madison Didion scattered six hits in going the distance in the circle.

Mount Baker 3, Montesano 0

The Mountaineers did all their scoring in the first inning, as Montesano was betrayed by its normally excellent defense.

Lacey Postlewait’s lead-off single and a pair of errors produced the opening run. Chyanne Ortloff scored the second run on a fielder’s choice and Emily Yost singled up the middle to make it 3-0.

The Bulldogs squandered a pair of early opportunities to retaliate, leaving the bases loaded in the second and third innings. Mount Baker pitcher Aleks Toivola was flawless after that, retiring the final 13 Bulldogs in order, most of those coming on grounders to shortstop Emily Brandland.

Woodland 10, Montesano 3

What some observers had projected as a potential state championship game pairing wound up as a loser-out affair. Woodland, which had dropped a dramatic district semifinal to the Bulldogs on Allysa Gustafson’s two-run walk-off homer in the seventh inning, suffered an even crueler fate in the opening round of state on a two-out walk-off grand slam by Lakeside’s Madi Naccarato.

A four-run third inning put the Beavers in control against Monte.

Gustafson closed the gap with a two-run single in the fourth, but any Bulldog comeback hopes vanished when they again left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth. Winning pitcher Madison Sorenson had a two-run single and Haylee Michaud a two-run double in Woodland’s half of the sixth.

Choate tripled and scored on Jensen’s double for Montesano’s other run.

“A day of missed opportunities offensively for us,” Bulldog coach Pat Pace reflected. “Too many LOBs.”

Brendan Carl of the Vidette contributed to this report.

Steve Ballmer cuts $2B deal for Clippers; Seattle’s efforts thrown into doubt

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has agreed to buy the Los Angeles Clippers, throwing the future of Seattle’s efforts to land an NBA team into question.

Ballmer bid $2 billion, outdistancing the $1.6 billion offered by a group led by music mogul David Geffen and $1.2 billion from Los Angeles investors Tony Ressler and Steve Karsh. In a statement released late Thursday night, Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling said she’d signed a binding contract for a sale of the team by The Sterling Family Trust to Ballmer.

Ballmer “will be a terrific owner,” Sterling said. “We have worked for 33 years to build the Clippers into a premier NBA franchise. I am confident that Steve will take the team to new levels of success.”

The offer is the second-highest ever for a sports team. It is pending approval by the NBA, which would almost certainly stipulate that Ballmer must keep the team in Los Angeles and not move it to Seattle. In a statement released late Thursday night, Ballmer seemed to indicate he would keep the team in Los Angeles.

“I love basketball. And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win — and win big — in Los Angeles,” Ballmer said. “LA is one of the world’s great cities — a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness.”

Ballmer, who stepped down from Microsoft earlier this year, is the biggest partner for hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen’s efforts to bring an NBA franchise to Seattle and build a new arena in the Sodo District. Landing the Clippers would end Ballmer’s involvement with Hansen’s plan and raise the question of who steps in to fill the void.

Besides the issue of exactly when Seattle could expect an NBA team — the league does not appear poised to expand for at least two or three more years — there’s also the issue of Ballmer’s reported bid driving up the price of what a future team would cost.

Hansen’s spokesman, Rollin Fatland, could not be reached for comment.

The bid is just shy of the record $2.1 billion purchase price for the Los Angeles Dodgers two years ago. And it’s hardly a coincidence both teams play in the Los Angeles market, where the surging Clippers — barely on anyone’s radar a few seasons ago — stand to make huge financial gains in coming years.

The Clippers’ regional sports network TV deal with Fox Prime Ticket expires after the 2015-16 season. Analysts predict the team’s new deal could more than triple their annual local TV revenue to between $60 million and $75 million.

The Clippers play in the nation’s second-biggest market, in a revamped Staples Center, with a signed lease running through the next decade that has already proved a profitable shared arrangement with the NBA Lakers and NHL Kings.

After years of irrelevance, the team has surged to the playoffs the past few seasons and looks better positioned for a run at a championship than the Lakers.

Throw in the team’s increased profile in the aftermath of racist comments by Donald Sterling, and some believe the recipe is there for a higher Clippers profile.

Interest expressed by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson and Floyd Mayweather in bidding should also increase the Clippers’ popularity among casual fans.

Add in that the NBA is the last of the major sports still awaiting national TV contract renewals, and the factors were there for the Clippers to go for a near-record price. The national TV deals, expected next season, could double the league’s shared $930 million annual take.

Word of Ballmer’s high bid rocketed through the sports landscape Thursday, with some attention focusing on the chance that Donald Sterling might try to stop a deal. Sterling had vowed to fight any attempt by the league to strip him of ownership in the wake of his racist comments.

But his wife, Shelly, recently stepped into the picture and began brokering offers on the team’s behalf. ESPN, citing unnamed sources, said Donald Sterling, 80, recently was found by experts to be incapacitated, giving his wife the power to deal directly with Ballmer under guidelines previously established in the Sterling family trust.

Shelly Sterling’s statement on Thursday noted that she made the deal “under her authority as the sole trustee of The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Clippers.”

But his lawyer has maintained that no sale can occur without Donald Sterling’s approval. The husband and wife each hold 50 percent of the club.

As for Seattle, the Hansen group already faced formidable issues before Ballmer dropped out of the equation. The group, which also includes Peter and Erik Nordstrom as minority investors, has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city and King County to build a new $500 million arena.

But that MOU is contingent on the group securing an NBA team to play there.

A Los Angeles-based group led by Victor Coleman and John Glasser has looked into bringing an NHL expansion franchise to the city, but there are no “hockey-first” provisions within the MOU, which would have to be changed or completely rewritten before an arena could be built.

A spokesman for King County Executive Dow Constantine said they would defer to Hansen for comment on Thursday’s events. But the spokesman noted that an NBA team is necessary for the arena deal to go forward.

That deal called for up to $200 million in public financing, to be repaid with taxes generated by arena activity and rent from future teams. It requires Hansen to personally guarantee the debt payments to the city.

A spokesman for Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said he’d have no comment on the Clippers purchase.

Whatever the outcome, Ballmer’s offer will almost certainly help drive up the cost of future NBA franchises — even though the huge L.A. market is unlike most others and prices there won’t always mean a relative jump across the country.

Just one year ago, Ballmer and Hansen tried to move the Sacramento Kings to Seattle before the NBA thwarted that bid. The Kings stayed in Sacramento and were purchased by a new group for $534 million — roughly one-quarter what Ballmer would now wind up spending to realize his dream of NBA ownership.

Staff reporter Lynn Thompson contributed to this article.

Details of tentative deal to save 4 Hoquiam firefighters

Hoquiam firefighters and city officials came to an eleventh-hour agreement Wednesday evening to temporarily save the jobs of four firefighters who were supposed to be laid off as of Thursday.

The union local will vote on the agreement Tuesday, but it seems like the last best hope to save Hoquiam Fire Department jobs the city had written off only weeks ago as unsavable. If the union approves the agreement, it would drop its grievance against the city over staffing problems.

“I am really proud of our administrative staff and the members of our fire department who sat down and came to an agreement that avoids the laying off of four great employees,” Mayor Jack Durney said. “I believe we have started to mend relationships and are ready to start having a serious dialogue about how we fund public safety.”

The tentative agreement spells out changes to the handling of ambulance transfers, out of town calls and non-emergency calls. The union has complained current staffing procedures are unsafe because they sometimes leave only three firefighters in the station while the other two to four people on shift are working on non-emergency calls.

The city and the union have never agreed on the extent of the problem, but Wednesday’s agreement takes some steps to improve it.

“We worked into the language to make sure we’re making every attempt to maintain five-person staffing within the city,” union president Doug Stankavich said. “For example, if we’re going to Humptulips now, we’re calling in two people so we have five people at the station that people expect to protect the city.”

Non-emergency calls like hospital transfers and MRI transports earn money for the district, which has been in serious financial difficulty.

“The city is hopeful that the changes made to the handling of ambulance transfers will result in enough increased revenue to get the city back to a balanced budget by the year end,” City Administrator Brian Shay said. “This agreement is a good start to collectively address a long-term solution to our serious budget problems.”

“It’s in our best interest to make sure we’re able to fill as many of those transfers as possible,” Stankavich added.

In return, the city agreed to delay the layoffs of the four firefighters at least until December, when the parties will meet again to evaluate the department’s finances.

If one of the four firefighters who were set to be laid off should quit or find another job, Stankavich said the union has agreed it would not fight a decision from the city to leave that position unfilled.

“That one position we had was the floater position, which is essentially an extra position lately,” he explained. “The local has no interest in fighting that one position as long as it’s done through attrition. If any further position were to be lost, we certainly would have another battle on our hands. But we don’t see that happening, and we have an opportunity over the next six months to find a viable option to sustain our department at its current level.”

The agreement was hammered out during a marathon negotiation session lasting most of the day Wednesday.

“It was a long row to hoe that day alone, let alone all the blood, sweat and tears leading up to it over the past seven months,” Stankavich said. “We’ve finally gotten to a point where we’re working collaboratively, and that was the whole point to begin with.”

Keating, Sand win state 1A golf championships

They both took different routes to get there, but Elma’s Lauryn Keating and Hoquiam’s John Sand finished at the same spot on Thursday afternoon — atop the leaderboard.

At the state 1A boys & girls golf tournaments at Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Spanaway, Keating and Sand won their first state individual championships of their careers.

Keating, a junior, sank a tap-in par putt on the 18th hole to edge out two-time state champion Bree Wandersheid to win the 1A girls title.

Sand, a freshman, ran away from the field in the final round to win the state 1A boys title by five strokes.

Girls 1A

This isn’t the first time Keating has been atop the leaderboard at a state tournament. As a freshman, Keating played with her older sister, Alexis, and teammate Jenna Powers to combine for the state 1A girls team championship in 2012.

Keating added to her state hardware collection on Thursday with a second-day 73 for a 151 total, one better than Wandersheid, who finished with a 76 for a 152 total.

Keating and Wandersheid, of Goldendale, were paired together with Friday Harbor’s Kendra Meeker and King’s Hannah Roh in the final group. Keating and Wandersheid had played together before in youth golf tournaments across the Northwest and both represented Washington in the 2013 Girls Junior America’s Cup tournament in New Mexico.

“It was pretty nerve wracking,” Keating said of Thursday’s round. “I could feel my heart going fast, so I tried to keep my nerves down. I had a song in my head — “We Own It” by Wiz Khalifa and 2 Chainz — to keep myself away from what was going on around me. I was just focusing on my own game, my own shots. I tuned out everyone’s routines.

“I’ve played with Bree a couple of times; I like playing with her,” Keating added. “She’s really sweet. She’s very competitive, but that brings more of the competitive side out of me. When I play with her, I feel like I need to bring a little bit more than what I’m giving. I really enjoyed playing with Bree, Hannah and Kendra. They are all really nice girls and they all played really well.”

The turning point came in the 12th and 13th holes for Keating. A bad lie after her tee shot on the 12th turned into a scrambling up-and-down bogey out of the woods. This put Keating three strokes back of Wandersteid with six holes to play.

On the 13th hole, Keating noted that she found her swing again on her approach to the green, which led to a birdie to get one stroke closer to the lead.

“I definitely needed to keep going,” Keating added. “That (bogey on 12th) made me want to keep going harder. I knew I was still in it and had a chance. Whatever the outcome, I would be happy if I kept trying my hardest. I knew I was still close and still had a lot of golf yet to play.”

Wandersheid bogied the 14th and 17th holes to bring the match to a one-hole showdown. Wandersheid’s approach shot caught a limb from a tree next to the green, while Keating hit a knocked-down wedge to 12 feet of the pin, according to Elma head coach — and Lauryn’s father — Mark Keating.

“That shot put the pressure on Bree, who had to get up and down off the green,” Mark Keating added. “I’m really proud of her. This is a valuable lesson in that it isn’t over until it is over.”

Lauryn Keating two-putted for par on the 18th to win the tournament and didn’t initially realize she won. She thought she set herself up for a one-hole playoff.

“I didn’t even know I won,” she said. “I totally lost track. I was just focusing on my own game, I didn’t realize it even though everyone was hugging and celebrating. Then, I knew.”

Boys 1A

For Sand, Thursday’s final round had some pressure for him, but not enough to derail his walk to the state title.

After shooting a two-over 38 on the front nine, Sand turned around and shot a three-under 33 on the back nine to win the state 1A boys individual title with a second-day one-under 71 and a two-day total of even-par 144.

“He got into a bogey streak, then caught fire,” HHS head coach Larry Dublanko said. “This is a great round of golf, credit goes to the Sand family. They’ve worked so hard with him and have put a lot of energy to get John to where he is today. He blew everyone away, a freshman winning the state title. He played an amazing round of golf under pressure and never lost his focus.”

Sand was down by one stroke to Woodland’s Ryan Sturdivan after the front nine. Sturdivan was playing one group ahead of Sand, who was outdistancing his two playing partners — Zillah’s Derrick Phelps and King’s Way Christian’s Clayton Rajewich.

Phelps, who shared the first-round lead with Sand at 73 on Wednesday, shot a second-day 80 to finish in eighth place. Rajewich started the day one stroke behind Phelps and Sand and shot an 87 to finished tied for 21st.

Sand took over the lead by taking advantage of Lake Spanaway’s par-5s — reaching the 10th and 13th holes in two strokes for two-putt birdies. He also birdied the 14th hole and finished the round with four straight pars for the win.

Dublanko noted Sand’s work for the season, as well as the work at Hoquiam High School and the community, for keeping the golf program around. Community contributions kept the program running over the last couple of seasons.

“We almost didn’t have a program, but now here we are a couple of years later with a state champion,” Dublanko said. “That’s a wonderful credit to Hoquim, the community and the high school.”

Boys 2A

At Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Aberdeen’s Eric Hagen shot a second-day 85 to finish with a two-day total of 168, good for a three-way tie for 25th place at the state 2A boys golf tournament on Thursday.

Hagen had a rough time on the course, according to AHS head coach Harley Revel.

“There were a lot of ups and downs; nothing went right,” Revel said. “It was one of those days. He showed a lot of character. A lot of kids would have put their heads down, but he kept plugging away.”

Through the first seven holes, Hagen was 10-over for his round. One shot on the third hole capsulized his luck on the day. Hitting onto the green, the ball spun a foot away from the hole and kept going through the green and the sand trap to setting in a divot.

Despite the bad start, Hagen rallied to go just three-over, with four birdies, in the final 11 holes for his 85.

“Those were his worst two rounds in the last three months,” Revel added. “He’s been practicing a lot (after qualifying in November). He’s been playing tournaments in California and working hard. It was just a tough day.”

Hagen started the day tied for 22nd place and was the only Bobcat golfer to qualify for the tournament.

Boys B

At Oakbrook Golf Course in Lakewood, Willapa Valley’s Nicholas Betrozoff started the day with a chance at the state title, but fell off the pace during the state 2B/1B boys golf tournament on Thursday.

Betrozoff finished tied for sixth with a second-day 87 for a two-day total of 167. The Viking sophomore started the day in third, two strokes behind LaConner’s Brendan McLeod, who finished second overall to the state champion Sawyer Spackman, of St. George’s.

Spackman edged out McLeod with a second-day 78 for a tournament-winning 161 two-day total.

A day at the park

Gabriel MacLean, of Hoquiam, helps keep the balance of his 3-year-old son Forest while he walks around the edge of the boat at the Morrison Riverfront Park playground on Tuesday afternoon.

Waterfront development pushing forward in Monte

MONTESANO — The city of Montesano granted the initial permits this month for a proposed riverfront RV park to move forward along the Chehalis River. The approval comes as questions emerge over the process the city took in selling the property two years ago.

Plans are in the works to start construction of the project this summer, although developer Paul Schankel of West Pro Designs says the state Department of Ecology has since put a hold on the project because of continued questions about the impact the project could have on wetlands at the site. Schankel says Ecology has mandated the city conduct a public hearing on the matter before its hearings examiner. A hearing has not yet been set.

Montesano’s Community Development Director Mike Wincewicz issued conditional approval for the first phase of the development on May 8, listing it as a project of “public interest” that outweighs the potential impact on wetlands. That said, the permit approval does require that the state Department of Ecology sign off on the project — and Schankel says Ecology officials do not yet feel comfortable enough to grant the project approval.

In 2012, the city sold 47 acres of property along the Chehalis River to Paul Willis for a proposed RV park. Willis had already owned the old Bowers Construction building on a quarter-acre of property nearby. Schankel’s firm works for Willis.

Wincewicz says the property included about 5.35 acres of “buildable” land. The challenge has been figuring out just where exactly the wetlands begin and end on the property, Schankel says.

“The plan is to start work this summer,” Schankel says. “We just need to get through the public hearing, the hearings examiner and get Ecology to approve the project.”

The project has an address at 71 Highway 109 in Montesano.

The Vidette reviewed records of the sale and documents leading up to the sale.

In January of 2012, Wincewicz first approached council members about declaring the land as “surplus” and looking for buyers. By February, the council declared the property surplus.

Following an executive session in March of 2012, the Montesano City Council approved selling the land to Woods at Sylvia Creek LLC, owned by Willis, for $23,000. Sylvia Creek owns other land around the old city property.

There was just one other bid for the property from Bies Buck Farms for $21,522, who wanted to purchase it “pending a feasibility study,” according to a note submitted to the city four days before the bids were opened. Estes said the farm is co-owned by the husband of a city employee, who wanted to duck hunt on the east side of the property. As it happens, Schankel is also married to a city employee. That means everyone who bid on the property was in some way connected to city employees.

ADVERTISING

When a constituent questioned the sale process, Estes wrote to him on April 10, 2012, saying “Formal notices are done to citizens of the community via posting on the subject property and legal advertising in the newspaper of record, the Montesano Vidette.”

However, despite two public records requests done since the sale took place, The Vidette has been unable to confirm that any advertising of the land sale actually took place.

The city has been unable to produce an affidavit that proves a legal ad was taken out. There is no record in The Vidette that any legal ad was actually done. There were no listings in real estate websites or real estate publications.

Estes says a posting on the property was done to advertise the sale. However, there are no records proving this actually happened. The Vidette twice requested pictures of the posting and nothing was found in the files. And Estes admits he never actually went down to the site to see that it happened, although he heard at least one person saw the posting.

The city doesn’t seem to have broken any of its internal rules.

When the City Council declared the land surplus, it triggered a sale process approved in 2005, requiring the city to place signs on the property large enough for the public to see, which might have happened, and to invite the public to make bids on the property.

The 2005 resolution also says the city could hire an appraiser to figure out the value of the property; but that was never done in this case. It was optional.

There was no legal requirement to get a real estate agent, advertise the property on a real estate website — or even put in a legal advertisement in a local newspaper.

The city has had stricter rules to sell an old ambulance or an old paint sprayer, two recent city-owned pieces of equipment which were both advertised in The Vidette’s legals.

The city had the option to do more marketing, but chose not to. The 2012 resolution authorizing the sale of the waterfront property notes the “city’s administration shall take such actions as it deems may most effectively market the property….” The decision was made to just do the minimum required under the law. Essentially, to sell a piece of land, all the city is legally required to do is post a sign that says, “For sale by owner” and wait for people to notice it. In this case, the bid opening took place 28 days after the council approved that the sale occur. As a comparison, it’s taken more than a year for the city to sell and get a good deal on its two former public works buildings.

“I just had no idea,” Estes said. “This is all so new to me. I hadn’t heard this before.”

CONDITIONS

When the sale was approved in March of 2012, the City Council put a number of conditions on the sale.

For one thing, the developer was to provide paved public parking and a public walkway along the river. The developer was also to guarantee river access to the site — and present complete plans for the use of the property within six months of the sale.

The Vidette has found, through public records requests with the city and County Auditor’s Office, where deeds are recorded; that none of those conditions were recorded with the actual sale.

The only thing on file with the county is the statutory warranty deed, signed by Mayor Estes. None of the conditions were attached.

There is one line on the deed stating the sale is “subject to covenants, conditions, restrictions, reservations, easements and agreements of record, if any.”

But the city does not have any record of the conditions even in its own files that would be part of the sale. As a comparison, in recent sales involving the city’s public works buildings, conditions were set ranging from environmental remediation issues to mandating the city remove furniture from buildings. Those conditions were actually written into the sale documents. Nothing like that exists to secure public access to the waterfront.

Willis, in his original bid for the sale, voluntarily agreed to provide paved access throughout the developed site and paved parking at the east end of the project — but there was nothing in the bid about a walkway or that plans be submitted within six months.

Schankel says it’s important to both him and Willis to continue to allow waterfront access to the public. That’s why they’ve proposed plans with those contents.

Even the meeting minutes for the March 2012 council meeting do not describe the specific conditions behind the sale, only noting the sale was approved “with conditions to have plans within six months.”

In September of 2012, Schankel came to the City Council and presented a rough sketch of what the waterfront development could look like.

“The river is cut and dry but establishing the boundaries of the wetlands is going to be challenging,” Schankel told the council at the time in audio reviewed by The Vidette.

During that meeting, Councilman Chris Hutchings questioned Schankel on whether they would construct a boardwalk or a walkway along the riverfront and Schankel said those ideas were still in the early phase.

They had hoped to get construction started by spring of 2013, but the wetland delineation process with the state Department of Ecology has gone on much longer than expected.

Did the meeting between Schankel and the City Council in September of 2012 meet the criteria for plans to be presented within six months? Wincewicz said he thought it did.

But Councilman Pat Herrington expected actual design plans, not a rough idea. Herrington was the only council member to vote against the original land sale.

In September of last year, Herrington said he thought the city ought to get the land back. He thought there was a provision in the city’s sale agreement with Willis that could allow the city to force the issue and take it back because of the six-month provision.

However, The Vidette found that no such provision exists — because nothing was filed with the county when the sale was finalized. Estes wrote in 2012 that the project would also include firming up the embankment of the Chehalis River with rock to protect it from erosion — but that’s not in the documents, either.

“That’s my signature,” Estes said, reviewing the documents provided to him by The Vidette.

Estes chalked it up to him being just three months on the job when all this happened. “I’m not sure how we missed this,” he added.

Estes says the city may need to revisit how it markets land sales. Although, he adds, the recent sales of the public works buildings were done “more appropriately” than the way the waterfront land sale was done.

GOOD DEAL

The Grays Harbor Assessor’s Office values the property of the three parcels the city sold at $164,400. That means Willis got the property for 14 percent of its assessed value.

There’s nothing showing that Willis did anything wrong. In the end, he just got a good deal.

Montesano City Councilman Tyler Trimble says he doesn’t think Willis did anything wrong. He says this shouldn’t be about Willis, but about how the city administration failed in its duties to make sure the council’s wishes were acted upon.

He notes that he hopes the mayor will accept a bid on his own house if he were to offer 14 percent of its appraised value.

“You intentionally placed our employees in the spotlight and investigated them on allegations, which you claimed to be serious,” Trimble added at Tuesday night’s council meeting. “Those allegations are steps below the allegations against this administration. This administration should place themselves under the same scrutiny you have placed on others and you should be held to higher standards and the accountability far greater. … Tonight, I vow to the citizens of Montesano, I will not give up, This administration will be held accountable for their actions, that this great town with its great employees and great citizens, the ones who care about each other and will fight like Bulldogs fight, will be back in good hands shortly. In a recent commencement speech a commander in the Navy SEALS told graduates if they wanted to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks. I’m not backing down.”

Trimble and Councilwoman Marisa Salzer are both calling for an independent investigation to figure out what exactly happened.

“The waterfront issue has so many issues behind it that it is impossible to look at it as a whole and say it was a simple mistake,” Salzer said Tuesday night. “If we as the representatives of the city of Montesano expect citizens, employees and user groups to follow the rules, then why aren’t we doing that ourselves? … Why were the requests of the city council ignored? There are no written clause for public access and no legal was ever published. … If an outside investigation is looked at this issue, how much will that cost? I want to start hearing some answers and have at least one person take some responsibility.”

The records show that as early as September of 2011, Willis was pursuing an RV Park along the Chehalis River on his own property along the waterfront. The city issued him a determination of non-significance and gave him the go ahead for the development. But the project never moved forward. Six months after the initial permit was approved, Wincewicz approached the council to sell the city’s property, which would ultimately go to Willis.

The RV park was reconfigured for the new city land — and the permits for that project are now what’s moving forward.

The first phase of the permit will grade approximately six acres of land and construct a new access to the road to the rear of the property. The developer has proposed to remove existing concrete rubble from the top of the Chehalis River bank and cap it with clean gravel and grade an access path.

Schankel says that Cedar Street, a gravel road with many pot holes leading to the waterfront, would be re-located to the back of the property.

“This is going to immediately open up the river to people who have never been here before,” Schankel says.

A proposed phase two will include the RV park with support buildings and a phase three will provide an “assortment of retail and service oriented business,” the permit application states.

The original 2011 environmental application notes that the site would be used from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The new permit application states the site would be used from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In the first phase, just two employees would be employed, the application states. The original permit from 2011, which included a full RV park with paved camp sites, restrooms and showers, called for six personnel and up to 200 transient guests.

Schankel says they are taking the project in phases so that they can get work done faster.

The city issued a determination of non-significance on May 8, noting that the project shouldn’t really disturb anything and should have no impacts to the floodplain. The city’s findings state that no wetlands would be filled in and the access road and grading would occur between June 1 and Aug. 31. Public comment on the project ended May 22. After, someone has 21 days to appeal the decision.

“We are lucky that Paul Willis is a steward in our community and came to us with the proposal to allow more public access and parking in the area,” Estes said. “Because of him, fishermen and the public will have one-of-a-kind access to the Chehalis River in Montesano.”

Fire Chief Hubbard saluted for earning achievement

Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson finally handed Fire Chief Tom Hubbard a plaque honoring his completion of the Executive Fire Officer Program Wednesday evening, something he’s been aiming to do since November.

Due to vacations and scheduling conflicts, saluting Hubbard for his “PhD-like” accomplishment took awhile, Simpson said

The four year program is run by FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration, National Fire Academy.

“The intensive (program) is designed to provide senior fire officers with a broad perspective on various facets of fire administration,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Ernest Mitchell, Jr. in a release Hubbard brought along.

The executives then “apply what they have learned in the classroom to existing situations in their own communities,” Mitchell added. The required courses concern executive development, community risk reduction, fire service operations in emergency management and executive leadership.

Hubbard also provided abstracts of his work. One concerned reducing the risk of heart attacks among local firefighters, the second concerned why people wouldn’t leave during fire alarm activation at the Housing Authority of Grays Harbor Manors, the third, how to implement an Incident Management Team for complex or large scale incidents and the fourth, how to effectively coordinate police and fire response to “active shooter” incidents in Aberdeen, Cosmopolis and Hoquiam.

Erin Hart, 360-537-3932, ehart@thedailyworld.com, Twitter: @DW_Erin.

Montesano man leads police on risky pursuit

A 28-year-old Montesano man is in jail this morning after leading police on a dangerous high-speed chase through Montesano. The man was ultimately captured by the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office K-9 Max, Undersheriff Dave Pimentel said.

At about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sheriff’s Office detectives found out a motorcycle stolen in Federal Way would be traveling down Central Park Drive toward Montesano, where it would be sold, Pimentel said.

Deputy Tracy Gay spotted the motorcycle, which had been spraypainted black, heading eastbound. He pursued, and the driver took off, speeding toward Montesano. The man got around a Montesano Police Department road block at Devonshire Road and took off northbound.

A Montesano Police officer pursued him, but ended up skidding into a ditch while making a right turn onto Pioneer Avenue. He was not injured but his vehicle was damaged.

The driver headed southbound on Main Street, with officers still in pursuit.

“The motorcycle entered SR-12 westbound in the eastbound lanes and reached speeds of up to 100 mph at Clemmons Hill,” Pimentel said. “The vehicle turned north and proceeded to West Wynooche Road, where it struck an ecology barrier at the end of a haul road. The driver took off on foot. K-9 Max and Deputy Gay initiated a track.”

Containment was set up by the Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State Patrol and the Aberdeen and Montesano police departments.

Gay and Max found the man, and Max subdued him, Pimentel said. The man was taken to Grays Harbor Community Hospital for treatment of minor injuries sustained in the chase and his apprehension, then booked into Grays Harbor County Jail for first-degree possession of stolen property and felony eluding a pursuing police vehicle.

The motorcycle was damaged, but returned to its owner.

Hoquiam firefighters ask city council to repeal layoff decision

Many Hoquiam firefighters and community members hope that city officials will repeal a decision to lay off four firefighters, taking their case to the city council at a Tuesday night meeting.

When members of the council arrived at city hall, they were met by about 50 firefighters and their supporters who stood on the sidewalk holding signs and wearing fire department hats and T-shirts. The demonstrators then filed into the council’s meeting room, filling all of the seats and spilling into the lobby area. Among them was Larissa Rohr, one of the firefighters who who will soon be jobless. The layoffs will be effective Thursday.

“We were part of a brotherhood in a union, in a city we wanted to serve. … Hoquiam has become our home, and our coworkers and their families have become our family,” Rohr said.

Rohr, like the other firefighters impacted by the cuts, became a member of the Hoquiam Fire Department in 2013. But ambulance calls decreased by about 10 percent last year, decimating the city’s ambulance fund and prompting the city’s decision to cut back the department. Finance Director Mike Folkers said he and other city officials had hoped ambulance revenue would return to normal levels again this year, but so far that hasn’t happened.

“Ambulance fees are our largest source of revenue (for the ambulance fund),” Folkers said. “Calls for service means money, and we’re at a point where we have to do something.”

Many members of the audience asked why city officials haven’t found another way to make up the lost revenue, perhaps through an EMS levy. But Folkers said the city’s EMS levy has already hit the 50 cent limit and state law prohibits collecting any more money. Other Hoquiam departments have already suffered cuts in recent years, and many employees who plan to retire won’t be replaced.

“There’s just not much we can do,” Mayor Jack Durney said. “We don’t have much in the way of assets to sell off anymore. No one wants to buy a cemetery.”

Longtime Councilman Byron Hyde, who retired at the end of last year, approached the council with a potential solution: decrease the council from 12 members to seven members, decrease the council members’ salaries to $50 per month and decrease some city officials’ salaries by $100 per month. Then, use the saved money to pay the firefighters’ salaries. The council didn’t take action to consider his proposal.

The layoffs aren’t the first point of contention between city officials and the Hoquiam Firefighters Union. The union filed a grievance regarding staffing changes earlier this year and has been working with the city since November to finalize a new contract. Durney said the union hasn’t made the negotiations easy and failed to attend the most recent meeting.

“I understand how all of this works, but it makes it difficult to discuss with people who have differing opinions (when they don’t come to meetings),” Durney said.

But union President Doug Stankavich argued at the council meeting that the situation hasn’t been handled fairly. He and other union members never agreed to a date and time for the negotiations — they were simply told to show up or lose the right to speak. He said the meeting was scheduled during one of his shifts, so he wasn’t able to attend.

“When it comes to labor negotiations, the time and place need to be agreed upon,” Stankavich said. “They were never agreed upon.”

Stakavich also urged members of the council to get involved. He said that a few members — Richard Pennant, Denise Anderson, Paul McMillan and Bill Nelson — had already reached out to hear both sides, but others have been more resistant. Stankavich and others who spoke at the meeting worried that the council had previously heard only one side of the story.

The City of Hoquiam and the Hoquaim Firefighters Union will resume labor negotiations today.

Author and poet Maya Angelou dies at 86

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The poet Maya Angelou died Wednesday, according to multiple news outlets. She was 86.

But when you read her poems, you can still hear her rich, deep voice caressing every syllable:

Come you death, in haste, do come,

My shroud of black be weaving,

Quiet my heart, be deathly quiet,

My true love is leaving.

“She was an extraordinary, charismatic person,” Edwin Wilson, a former provost at Wake Forest University where Angelou taught, told The Charlotte Observer years ago. “She had a way of bringing an audience very much to within her grasp.”

After Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, he asked her to read a poem at his inauguration, the first poem at an inauguration in 32 years.

She called it “On the Pulse of the Morning,” and in it she spoke of hope for the country’s future, but also reminded listeners of two despairs from the past: the Trail of Tears and slavery.

History, despite its wrenching pain

Cannot be unlived, but if freed

With courage, need not be lived again.

Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in 1928 in St. Louis. She was raised by her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Ark. — “swollen-belly poor,” she described it. At 16, she had her only child, son Guy Johnson. She married and divorced at least two times, but would never say how many.

She was a poet, dancer, actress, songwriter, civil rights activist, streetcar conductor, Creole cook, cocktail waitress, filmmaker, script writer. While touring as an entertainer in Europe and Africa in the 1950s, she assumed the name Maya Angelou.

In 1969, she emerged as an author. Her first book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” was a critical and commercial success. In it, she described being raped at age 7 by her mother’s boyfriend.

“I had to make a decision that I would tell a truth which might liberate me, and might liberate others,” she told the Observer in 1994. “I have a file in my office filled with letters from women and men, mostly women, who read ‘Caged Bird’ and somehow felt liberated enough to tell their mothers, or to confront their fathers or their uncles or their brothers, as grown women, and to say, ‘This was cruel, what you did to me.’ “

She dedicated the book to her son, Guy Johnson, and “all the strong black birds of promise who defy the odds and gods and sing their songs.”

For six years after the rape, Angelou said, she rarely spoke, and only to her brother. That experience nurtured the writer in her.

“I spent six years as a mute,” she told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution in 2002, “and so I had read everything.” And I had memorized. I memorized 60 sonnets. And I memorized Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Welden Johnson, Countee Cullen and Edgar Allan Poe. I loved Poe so much I called him ‘Eap’ to myself.”

Early in her writing career, she began renting hotel rooms where she would write. She would take a yellow pad, a dictionary, a thesaurus, a Bible and a bottle of sherry.

“I’m very fortunate, here in my town,” she said, referring to Winston-Salem, N.C., “to have a hotel which I use. And everyone there, from the clerks, the counter people, the reservations people, the maids and the janitors and so forth, everyone says they don’t know me.

“People call or come by and say, ‘Is this the place where Maya Angelou is? And they say, ‘Maya who?’”

Angelou moved to Winston-Salem in 1981 after being given a lifetime position as the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

“Not only was she a strong and active member of the faculty,” said Wilson, the former provost. “She brought to the campus other people of distinction, especially African Americans. That added a kind of special strength and diversity to the Wake Forest community.”

Angelou found herself at the center of controversy in December 2001 after she partnered with Hallmark Cards on a line of greeting cards and other products.

“I think it’s preposterous,” said Billy Collins, poet laureate of the United States. “It lowers the understanding of what poetry actually can do.”

Angelou said she saw it as a literary challenge: to distill an inspiration into two sentences. “I have not reduced my value or respect for words or love of the language,” she told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “I have accepted the challenge to say what I mean succinctly and I’m having a ball. It was exactly what I needed after ‘A Song Flung up to Heaven.’”

“A Song Flung up to Heaven” was the sixth and final volume of her autobiography, published in 2002 and including memories of motherhood, as well as the assassinations in the 1960s of her friends Malcolm X and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The last sentence of that volume is the same as the first sentence of the first:

“What are you looking at me for?” she wrote. “I didn’t come to stay.”

Hoquaim Council adopts crude-by-rail resolution

The Hoquiam City Council expressed reservations about crude oil shipping facilities proposed for Grays Harbor, adopting a resolution regarding petroleum shipping at a Tuesday meeting.

The resolution, originally drafted by Councilman Greg Grun, won’t create any new city laws, but instead urges the state and federal governments to strengthen regulations and consider the impacts of petroleum shipping on public safety.

The council opted to use the word “petroleum” instead of “crude oil” in an effort to cover more bases.

“The City of Hoquiam strongly urges the U.S. Department of Transportation to strengthen Federal tank car design and operation regulations for petroleum product shipments by rail and aggressively phase out older-model tank cars used to move flammable liquids that are not retrofitted to meet new Federal requirements,” the resolution reads.

The measure also provided suggestions for areas of study for an Environmental Impact Statement being performed by the city, the state Department of Ecology and a hired contractor. The study suggestions include impacts associated with oil spills, vehicle safety at railroad crossings, increased rail congestion, safety considerations for oil transport, effects on pubic transit, increased risk of oil fires and explosions and an evaluation of emergency response.

The council adopted the resolution with little discussion.

Crude-by-rail opponent and frequent Hoquiam City Council meeting attendee Arnie Martin said he’s glad that the council decided to pass the resolution, but he had hoped for a more aggressive measure.

“I’m glad they finally did something, but I have to say I wish they had done more,” Martin said.

Good Samaritans interrupt Moclips rape

A couple of Good Samaritans stopped a rape in progress in Moclips Friday, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Deputies and detectives responded to a home on Otis Avenue in Moclips at about 4:25 p.m., where a 53-year-old woman told them her live-in boyfriend of four years had assaulted her. The woman was “extremely emotional and had minor scrapes and scratches on her head,” Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Shumate said, and told police her 49-year-old boyfriend was upset with her over a conversation she had with another man.

The two were in the man’s car when he pulled down a logging spur and started assaulting the woman, Shumate said. The man allegedly then began raping her.

A man and a woman who lived in the area were driving by at the time and heard the woman’s screams for help. They stopped and yelled at the man to stop. He did stop and then drove away in the car, Shumate said..

The witnesses gave the woman a ride to the home on Otis Avenue where she was contacted by deputies and aid. She was transported to Grays Harbor Community Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Deputies found the man later that evening at another home on Otis Avenue, where he was arrested and booked into Grays Harbor County Jail for first-degree rape.

Photos: Blessing of the Fleet in Westport

More than 100 people attended the Blessing of the Fleet memorial ceremony in Westport on Sunday afternoon to commemorate those lost at sea and killed in combat. The annual ceremony was lead by the South Beach Minesterial Assocation at the Fisherman’s Monument and has been an ongoing Westport tradition for more than 60 years.

“Avenue of Flags” in place for Memorial Day

Groundskeepers at Fern Hill Cemetery spent the past week setting up for their busiest time of the year, Memorial Day weekend. Roughly 2,500 small American flags were set up at the graves of those who served in the military and about 250 larger flags make up the “Avenue of Flags” along the roads throughout the cemetery. There will be a Memorial Day service on Monday at 11 a.m. at the veterans wall outside the main mausoleum, weather permitting, or inside the Sunrise Corridor.

Rail officials explain inspection process

After three trains derailed in just more than two weeks in Grays Harbor County, and another slipped off the rails north of Centralia late Wednesday, more and more questions are being asked about safety procedures on the Puget Sound &Pacific railroad.

The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating the Grays Harbor incidents, along with Genesee &Wyoming, PSAP’s parent company.

Railroad Administration Public Affairs Specialist Mike England said he can’t comment on ongoing investigations and declined to give an estimate on how long the investigations might take.

“That’s hard to say, the length of investigations varies widely depending on the severity, complexity, etc.,” he said. “They take an average of six months, but I don’t think this one will take that long.”

“Safety is our number one priority,” England said. “The occurrence of three incidents on the same rail line operated by the same carrier merits an investigation. Our investigation will identify the root causes of the accidents and we will take all appropriate enforcement actions. In addition, we will conduct a thorough examination of the track owned by Puget Sound &Pacific Railroad in the Montesano area to ensure the track integrity is sound and to determine if further compliance or enforcement actions are warranted.”

G&W Senior Vice President of Engineering Scott Linn and Director of Corporate Communications Michael Williams talked with The Daily World this week about track inspection procedures.

The frequency of inspections required by federal law are based more on speed than the commodity being shipped, Linn explained.

“What drives the frequency of tests is the tonnage, how many cars go over the track, and the speed that they run,” he said. “Really what drives the inspection frequency by the track inspection, is the speed, that’s the big driver.”

“The maximum speed on the PSAP is 25 mph, so they’re required to inspect it once a week,” he continued, with a minimum three-day interval between inspections.

Linn said PSAP employs two inspectors, who are supervised by a road master.

“You have to physically traverse the entire line, and usually it’s an individual, and he has to have certain qualifications to be able to inspect track. He goes in a high rail vehicle, like a pick-up truck,” traveling from 5 to 10 mph.

“He has a whole set of FRA requirements that deal with the distance between the rails — that’s called gauge,” Linn continued. “There’s certain tolerances that are allowed from a design perspective for gauge” as well as alignment, whether one rail is lower than the other.

“If the standard is beyond what is allowed for 25 mph he either has to reduce the speed to where he is in compliance, or he has to fix the track to where he is in compliance, or he has to close the track,” Linn said. “He has no choice, he has to do that. He doesn’t have to ask anybody.”

Tracks are also inspected with geometry cars, which simulate the weight of a laden car and take measurements of the same thing an inspector would. Inspectors watch the results in real time.

“Almost like a heartbeat chart,” Linn said. “As it goes down the track, it’s got little lines that show where you’re in compliance and not in compliance. If they come across something that’s alarming or way out of standard, they’ll stop and look at it.”

At least once per year, the railroad conducts two different tests designed to detect flaws inside the rails themselves: ultrasonic and induction testing.

“There can be defects inside the rail that you can’t see that, over time, can cause the rail to stress and break,” Williams said.

“The ultrasonic shoots sound waves into the rail at three different angles, and each angle looks for a specific type of defect,” Linn said. “It will go down to the bottom of the rail and it will bounce back clean if there’s nothing there.”

An induction test does the same thing with a magnetic field. If those tests reveal irregularities, inspectors head out with handheld equipment and locate the defect. The rail defect tests are conducted by a third-party company.

Crude oil

Williams said Genesee &Wyoming also has other requirements for unit trains — those longer than 60 cars — which carry crude oil, including doubling the weekly inspections.

“In addition to the twice-a-week inspections, we also inspect in advance of each crude oil train,” Williams said. “Depending on the volume of crude oil trains or hazardous material, we run the geometry cars up to quarterly.”

The geometry tests are run at least twice yearly, he added, along with rail defect tests up to quarterly.

The maximum speed on G&W tracks for trains carrying crude oil is 25 mph, already the top speed on PSAP tracks. Williams noted that’s “considerably slower than the speeds at which recent crude oil train derailments have occurred on other railroads.”

That’s true in cases like Lac Megantic, Quebec, where a runaway crude oil train reached speeds of about 63 mph before derailing and exploding, killing 47 people. A more recent explosive derailment in Lynchburg, Va., however, involved a crude oil train traveling at 24 mph, according to the CSX railroad.

In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation came to an agreement with rail industry leaders on some voluntary restrictions that would go into effect July 1, including adopting higher safety standards for tank cars and a top speed of 40 mph for trains laden with crude oil traveling through major cities.

Williams said G&W is committed to meeting those requirements in addition to their own internal standards.

Bridges

The condition of local rail bridges is a perennial topic of discussion at public meetings on crude-by-rail concerns. Williams said bridges are inspected annually, but the appearance of the bridge may be deceiving to laypeople.

“The cosmetic appearance of a railroad bridge has nothing to do with its suitability to carry the traffic,” he said. “So, for example, we just had a case where maybe a couple components of a wooden truss are deteriorated and people will be all concerned about it and call the TV news, and it’s a part of the bridge that has nothing to do with load-bearing structure. So no matter how many times we assure people the bridge was just inspected and it’s perfectly safe, people don’t believe it. That’s why trained engineers need to make these assessments.”

Linn said those non-load-bearing components might be portions of a walkway meant for railroad employees, or sway braces for the bridge.

“You put what they call sway braces just to shore it up and make sure it doesn’t sway back and forth,” he explained. “You probably put five times the amount of braces you actually need to shore it up. You might have one worn … it has nothing to do with the ability to hold weight of the bridge, it just kind of keeps it in the line.”

Rust on the metal components of the bridges is another common concern, but Linn said a little rust can be a good thing.

“A lot of bridges are designed to rust,” he said. “You get that first layer of rust and it protects the bridge. It doesn’t allow any more rust.”

Linn recalled some century-old bridges in Rapid City, S.D., he inspected.

“They just have a nice thin coat of rust on them, but other than that they look pretty much like they were when they were put in,” he said.

Old bridges designed for steam engines may actually be sturdier than if they were replaced with a modern design, Williams added.

“Bridges that were designed for steam locomotives are actually way overbuilt for today’s rail traffic,” he said. “The steam locomotives imparted greater impact loads to the bridges, so they had to be designed for that.”

FRA role

In order to determine which tracks the Federal Railroad Administration should inspect, the agency uses a “safety allocation model.”

“It factors in a lot of things,” FRA spokesman England said. “It factors in, obviously, the amount of rail traffic, what’s being shipped, is it oil versus grain, population of a particular area. … It takes several factors into account and based on that we determine how we allocate our manpower.”

FRA inspectors will audit the inspection reports and do “spot checks” of the track, England said.

Local inspectors “have to keep those records, every week they’re doing the inspections,” Linn said. The federal inspectors review those reports at least annually.

“They’ll make sure you’re getting the milepost you’re supposed to, you’re complying with the frequency you’re supposed to do,” Linn said.

The PSAP track was last inspected by the FRA April 29, the same day as the first derailment in Aberdeen. Before that, it was inspected on Jan. 24, 23, 22, 8 and 7.

“Right now they’re transporting grain,” England said. “If they were to start transporting hazardous materials or oil, obviously that track would be subject to greater scrutiny by the FRA.”

Brionna Friedrich: 360-537-3933 or bfriedrich@thedailyworld.com and @DW_Brionna on Twitter.

Pat Gordon: Helping cancer patients “Look Good, Feel Better” for 25 years

Longtime Harbor resident Pat Gordon has been involved with helping cancer patients for around 52 years. She is the licensed cosmetologist who helps with the wigs given to women fighting cancer for the “Look Good, Feel Better” program at Grays Harbor Community Hospital. She also runs Pat’s Trim &Style, where people can come for help donating to Locks of Love, to get their wigs restyled or just for a cut and style. She also volunteers to help kids going through difficult times.

Have you experienced someone in your life with cancer?

My mother. I lost her to cancer 31 years ago.

Do you think she would have liked these programs?

She would have absolutely loved it and wanted to help out in a heartbeat. I learned from her. She was a very giving person. My daughter, Shelly, is the same way.

How are you involved with Locks of Love?

Through the “Look Good, Feel Better” program with people wanting to donate their hair. They pay for a haircut, but if they want I can take care of sweeping it up and shipping it out, they don’t have to pay for that part. That’s a small thing, we don’t get too many in here for that.

How did you originally get involved with “Look Good, Feel Better?”

I have worked with cancer patients for over 40 years now, well about 52 years now. I got more involved when my mother was diagnosed. She died 31 years ago. About 25 years ago, I started doing the “Look Good, Feel Better,” that’s where I really got involved. I’ve donated a lot of wigs to them.

Did they approach you for this?

They have to have a licensed cosmetologist to do this, which is why they need me. You get so much back for doing it I mean, I’ve gained friends that lasted years. It makes such a difference for people. They come in feeling awful and they leave looking and feeling better. You get to feeling sorry for yourself and you’ve got to get over that hump and say, “I’m not going to die.” That’s important.

Why do you think programs like this are important?

When they come in, most of them are pretty depressed. I mean, you’ve just been told you have cancer and when we get them there, we give them a free makeup kit … We have them put the makeup on and we help them if they need it. We have wigs there. If they pick one out, we cut and dye it any color they want for free. When I started about 25 years ago, I was supposed to bill the Cancer Society for $5. I think I’ve done 10,000 at this point. They didn’t tell me. I didn’t want to charge for it anyway. It’s how I donate.

We see these people leave there. They’re smiling. They feel better about themselves. That’s the main thing. They feel sick, they’ve lost their coloring and hair — makeup really does make a difference. Sometimes we can talk them into trying on a couple different colored wigs. They can take three, four, more wigs, whatever they need.

Who would you recommend this program to?

Any woman going through cancer. They are entitled to the one-time makeover. They can come for help any time, but the makeover is just one time. We explain the cosmetics and match it up with their skin tone. Also help with the wigs. It’s on the first Wednesday of every month between 2 and 4 p.m. They should call me to make an appointment here at the shop at 360-532-5858 or 537-6190. Sometimes we get a call from Tacoma that someone will be there and we show up but no one’s there so I just prefer to do it myself.

Is there a program for men?

I think they do in other areas. They have some things for those with prostate cancer. There’s another program for breast cancer. Helen Eklund, who does “Look Good, Feel Better” with me, also volunteers at the Cancer Resource Center so she’s very busy.

How long have you been working on hair?

I’ve been doing hair for 52 years and I’ve been in business for 42, so I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been doing wigs, I started at Norma’s, for 45 years. As far as I know, I’m the only wig person who does wigs and cuts them too. A lot of operators are afraid of them because if you mess up, it doesn’t grow back!

Are you also involved with Relay For Life?

Yeah, I’ve done it every year. For the past 10 years, I’ve been associated with Bob Muhlhauser’s team. I baked a wild blackberry for their last meeting and they got $155 for it, which was just great.

Do you do any other volunteer work?

I’m a full-time volunteer, every Monday, at Robert Gray. I take pizza and sweets and the counselor takes a child who is having trouble making friends or has had something terrible like a death in the family happen to them to have a special lunch. They are told a week in advance and can bring five other kids. That makes the other kids really like the one kid. That’s one of my pet projects. I was bullied growing up. Sometimes you have to pick the bully too because then they learn they don’t have to act out to get attention. I’ve been doing it about 20 years.

I now have kids that are fully grown who come to visit. It’s fun. They don’t know my name, I’m just “pizza lady.” The kids think I work at Domino’s, who have been great and given me great deals to be able to do this every week.