HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE
Headlight Herald
TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • DECEMBER 19, 2012
More charges, reduced bail for Welsh BY JOE WRABEK
LONGEST RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY • SINCE 1888
Explosive found at YMCA Building evacuated; small IED enough to ‘blow up a mailbox’ The Tillamook YMCA was evacuated Friday evening, Dec. 14, after an employee discovered a suspicious device that looked like a bomb. A 12-year-old boy was responsible for the explosive device found in the YMCA. The Tillamook Police Department identified the youth, and he admitted to refashioning left-over fireworks to make a device that would
explode. According to Chief Terry Wright, the child did not intend to display or use the device at the YMCA. He showed it to a friend, and it evidently fell out of his bag. He was referred to the juvenile department because of his age. Twelveyear-olds are not arrested, but rather, referred to the juvenile department for
further action. The State Police classified the device as an IED, or improvised explosive device. The Oregon State Police Explosives unit responded to the YMCA about 9 p.m. Friday, and a bomb technician removed the device from the premises after rendering it safe to move. “The State Police said that it would
have enough explosive power to blow up a mailbox or take off a hand; not enough explosive power to blow up a building,” said Tillamook Police Officer James Harrell. The device was discovered by an employee in the gym at around 6:15 p.m., according to YMCA Director Don Schmidt. Schmidt described it as a small, hand-made, cigar-shaped device with what appeared to be fuses protruding from it.
jwrabek@countrymedia.net
NEHALEM – Anna Welsh of Nehalem was charged with additional Measure 11 crimes, and released on a reduced bail, following a court appearance last week. At a bail reduction hearing Thursday, Dec. 13, Judge ANNA WELSH Mari Trevino reduced Welsh’s bail from $119,000 to $50,000, and eliminated the “full cash” requirement (which applies in Measure 11 cases), allowing Welsh to post 10 percent of $50,000 to be released from jail. Welsh, 31, was arrested for sex crimes involving at least three teenaged males, ages 1516. She was charged with additional crimes at the bail reduction hearing.
The Joy of Giving 12-year-old raises money for kids’ bikes BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
See WELSH, Page A12
WEATHER DEC 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
HIGH 47 49 48 48 46 54 49
STATS LOW 40 38 33 34 33 39 39
RAINFALL .66 .47 .62 .00 .61 1.79 .21
MARY FAITH BELL/HEADLIGHT HERALD
Tillamook Police Officer Nick Troxel and Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office volunteer Damian Boswell shop with two sisters at the sixth annual Shop with a Cop event.
WEATHER COURTESY OF WEATHER UNDERGROUND
INDEX Classified Ads .........................B5 Crossword Puzzle....................B2 Fenceposts ..............................B3 Obituaries................................A6 Opinions..................................A4 Sports......................................A7
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Vol. 123, No. 51 75 cents
Shop with a Cop breaks barriers BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
S
hop with a Cop took place Dec. 15 at the Tillamook Fred Meyer. Sixty Tillamook County kids were paired with local law enforcement personnel and given a $100 gift card to spend on anything their hearts desired. It was an exciting morning at Fred Meyer, the toy aisles full of smiling kids and smiling cops in uniform. Thirty police officers volunteered their time to participate in what has become a heartfelt annual holiday event, where kids not only get to chose things for themselves that they want and need, they also have a chance to interact with kind and patient police officers who want to spend time with them. Fred Meyer, the Tillamook High School Charity Drive and local businesses partner to provide the gift
cards. No public funds are used for this community service project. Rose and Hazel Werner spent the morning shopping with Undersheriff Jana McCandless. The sisters, 9 and 11, started out in the electronics department, where they decided not to purchase a Nintendo DS, because a DS is over $100, and they had $200 to spend between them, and so they would have had to share. “We’re not very good at sharing,” Rose explained. The undersheriff commended her for being honest about it. “Could we get nail polish instead of a DS?” Hazel asked. “Absolutely,” said McCandless. They headed to the toy section, where there was a Barbie sale going on, and the girls were beside themselves with their options.
See COP, Page A12
The Tillamook Fred Meyer was full of men and women in uniform Saturday morning for the Shop with a Cop event. There were city, county, and state police, chaplains, cadets, and officers from outlying cities to the north. All of them, every man and woman in uniform applauded the efforts DAMIAN BOSWELL of one stand-out civilian volunteer, 12-year-old Damian Boswell, who raised almost $400 and used it to purchase bikes and scooters to give to kids who came to Shop with a Cop. Damian has been giving away bikes for half his life. “When I was six we were doing a raffle at my church. They were giving away a bike and I won it! But I already had a bike. There was this other kid, and he looked really sad because he really wanted to win that bike. So I asked, ‘Can I give it to someone?’ I gave the bike to that other kid and it made him really happy because he didn’t have a bike. That was a great feeling. So I wanted to give more bikes after that.”
See BIKES, Page A12
Tillamook dancers headed to Holiday Bowl BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
It is a heady Christmas season for 16 high school dancers who are preparing for the biggest performance of their lives. The Tillamook School of Dance is headed to San Diego Dec. 26 to perform at the Holiday Bowl game for an audience of 70,000. They’ll be on TV. Mark your calendars to watch the Holiday Bowl game on ESPN at 6:45 p.m. Dec. 27. In fact, the dancers will be on TV twice that day. Before the big game, they’ll perform in the Big Bay Balloon Parade, which will be televised on USA network at 9 a.m. (Check local listings.) The dancers will be the opening act in the parade. Pink Colleknon-Eggert, owner of the Tillamook School of Dance, got the call from the show’s producers, inviting her dancers to perform in the Holiday Bowl. It is a thrilling opportunity, as she well knows, because when she was a high school dancer, and her mom owned the dance school, Pink and her
peers got to dance in the Orange Bowl. “I am so happy to be able take these girls to the Holiday Bowl,“ she said. “They have no idea what it will feel like to perform for an audience of 70,000; but I do, because I danced in the Orange Bowl. These girls deserve it. They work so hard. They dance until they’re bruised, they’re bleeding, they dance when they have sore muscles, pulled muscles, hurt ankles; they push themselves. They dance 6-8 hours a week during the school year, and more in the summer. They’re three-sport athletes, student body officers, they do charity drive; their work ethic is incredible. This is an opportunity for me to ‘pay it forward,’ to give to them something that was given to me at their age.” Mandy Moore, choreographer of the TV show, “So You Think You Can Dance?” provided the choreography for the Holiday Bowl Dance, in the form of music and a video with instructions for each section of the dance.
See DANCERS, Page A12
High school student Kennady Johnson practices the dance she’ll perform at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego Dec. 27 with the Tillamook School of Dance.
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