THH 5-23-12

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SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS. JOIN THE MOB. CALL 5 P.M. MAY 25, MEET AT GARIBALDI DAIRY QUEEN 842-7525.

TSUNAMI DRILL Sirens will signal the start of the west Tillamook evacuation drill at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 23 (For more info, scan the barcode at left with your smart phone.)

Headlight Herald

TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • MAY 23, 2012

LONGEST RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY • SINCE 1888

PRECINCT-BY-PRECINCT PRIMARY RESULTS, INSIDE

YOUR VOTE BY ERIN DIETRICH

edietrich@countrymedia.net Just more than half of the county’s registered voters cast a ballot to determine the fate of the Tillamook County library system and the makeup of the County Commission. Those voters opted on May 15 to renew the library’s operational levy, and send Lisa Phipps and Bill Baertlein into a November race for commissioner. A total of 8,073 ballots were returned in the primary, or 56.48 percent of registered voters.

CORRECTION On page B4 of the May 15 edition, Jim Cox was misidentified in a photo showing him presented with an Honorary Lion Membership for the upcoming year.

INDEX

WEATHER HIGH 63 54 56 56 63 57 56 53

STATS LOW 50 46 46 45 38 48 50 47

RAINFALL .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .39 .58 --

PRECIPITATION PAST WEEK: 0.97 MONTH TO DATE: 3.23 MAY NORMALS HIGH: 62 LOW: 44 TOTAL PRECIPITATION: 4.72 WEATHER COURTESY OF WEATHER UNDERGROUND

1908 2nd St. 503-842-7535 www.TillamookHeadlightHerald.com

Vol. 123, No. 32 75 cents

Keeding Lewis, front, Avery Troutman and Brianda Barajas-Cervantes spraypaint leaves May 17.

Down by the Make a Difference Riverside Personal tragedy leads to second career in law enforcement BY MARY FAITH BELL

Classified Ads .........................B5 Crossword Puzzle....................B2 Dining Guide ...........................B3 Fenceposts ..............................B3 Letters .....................................A4 Obituaries................................A6 Opinions..................................A4 Sports......................................A8 Tides .....................................A10

MAY 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

This was a dramatic increase from the turnout of last year’s primary election, which saw just 39.87 percent of voters participating. It was about the same turnout shown for the November 2011 defeat of the county road levy. Of those who voted in the May 15 election, 3,635 were Democrats, 2,985 Republicans and 1,453 were registered as Independent. Inside, you’ll find information on how Tillamook County voted on the top two election issues, along with information on other races. See ELECTIONS, Page A3 and A7

Oregon State Police Sergeant Greg Plummer makes a traffic stop in Tillamook County. After his young son’s drowning death in 1997, Plummer left a career in the food services industry to become an OSP trooper.

mfbell@countrymedia.net

Oregon State Police Sgt. Greg Plummer was inspired to become a police officer after the drowning death of his 9-year-old son. At the time, Trooper Tom Dyer helped Plummer and his family through the devastating loss, and in the process changed Plummer’s life.

P

ACIFIC CITY – Sgt. Greg Plummer is driving south on Brooten Road when a compact car speeds past, going 43 mph in a 25 mph zone. He takes in the car’s radar reading and license plate, and makes a U-turn. The car speeds up to 52 before turning into the parking lot of the Oar House. As Plummer pulls in behind her, the driver jumps out of the car and runs toward the bar, streaking across the headlights of the OSP cruiser in flip-flops and jeans. Plummer jumps out and runs toward the driver, commanding her to “Stop! Stop right there! Get back in your vehicle!” She keeps moving toward the bar. He puts a hand on her arm. “Get back in your car,” he tells her. “It’s not my car,” she argues, twisting out of his grasp. “I wasn’t driving that car.” “I saw you get out of it. Now walk back to your car on your own or do it in cuffs,” he says. She visibly deflates, shoulders slumped as she shuffles toward the car. But near the vehicle she gets a second wind and starts arguing again. She refuses to get in the driver’s seat. Instead, she drops to the ground and sits in the gravel, her back against the car’s side panel.

PHOTO BY DONNA PLUMMER

Plummer administers a field sobriety test, which she fails. She has trouble following directions and keeping her balance. Her attitude surges through the clinical stages of grief, beginning with denial: “I didn’t do it! It’s not my car! I wasn’t driving!” Next comes a wave of anger, sitting in the gravel swearing loudly about her bad luck/timing/judgment. Then she shifts to bargaining, trying to impress Plummer with her honesty and cooperation. “I just had three drinks... I admit I was driving the car... I admit I was trying to get into the bar before you caught me. Look, I’m telling the truth here, I’m cooperating.

“My son is home alone, I just went home to check on him. I’m on bench probation, I used to have a problem with drugs. If I get arrested I’ll have to go to jail for 16 months... I’m a felon.” Plummer absorbs the emotional barrage professionally as he walks her through the field sobriety test. Then, he arrests her. By the time she is loaded into the back of the police car and read her rights, she’s crying. “Don’t do this, please!” she pleads. The police car fills with alcohol fumes from her breath. “It’s already done,” he tells her, not unkindly.

See DIFFERENCE, Page A7

‘Naughty’ laughs in store on stage Tillamook Association for the Performing Arts (TAPA) invites you to the comedy production of “Never Kiss a Naughty Nanny,” by Michael Parker. The show opens May 25 with a Champagne Gala; receive a glass of champagne or sparkling cider with the purchase of each ticket. “Never Kiss a Naughty Nanny” is a madcap romp through a temperamental “house of the future,” with shady real estate deals, a crossdressing handyman, mistaken identities and an “ionic chamber” from which people emerge in various and surprising states. Chris Chiola directs; cast members include Wally Nelson, Robert Kratz, Lora Ressler, Karen Martin, Barbi Waggerby, Bill Briot, Ben Ruderman, and the director himself. The show runs May 25 through June 9, FriMARY FAITH BELL/HEADLIGHT HERALD day and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Advance tick- Wally Nelson as a deluded Don Juan and Robert Kratz as the ets and reservations available at Diamond Art reluctant nanny during rehearsal for the TAPA production of Jewelers, 503-842-7940. “Never Kiss a Naughty Nanny.”

TILLAMOOK FARMERS’ CO-OP

We’re Teaming Up to Say Thanks!

THURSDAY & FRIDAY, MAY 24 & 25

CENEX PROPANE DISCOUNT

1

$ 99 per G

During Customer Appreciation Days May 24 & 25 Stop by for cake and wish Bill a Happy Retirement & Meet DeWayne our new Manager 503-842-4457 • Fax 503-842-7684 1920 Main Street North • Tillamook, OR

TILLAMOOK – A flock of migratory birds giggled as they flapped their wings and “flew” from Alaska, stopping over in Tillamook County’s bays and waterways along their journey to Mexico. The flock was actually a group of South Prairie Elementary third graders, who spent the day at the Hoquarten Slough Interpretive Trail Park on May 17 for the eighth annual Down By the Riverside event. This year’s event was held over four days, with third graders from Nestucca Valley Elementary participating on May 15, and Garibaldi and Nehalem Grade School third graders attending similar events at Alder Creek Farm. The program, sponsored by the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership, aims to get students out of the classroom to learn about local wildlife and habitats. “This event is created to give them a sense of place,” said TEP Water Trail Coordinator Julie Chick. “Especially here at the Hoquarten Slough, this place has gone through a lot of changes over the years, from Native Americans to pioneers to it being used as a dump site.” About 20 years ago, the community rallied to clean up the area around the slough, building a park and interpretive trail. Chick said that, over the years, Tillamook County students have taken pride in the property through their experiences with Down By the Riverside. “The kids really have ownership of this place,” she said. “These trees the kids have planted. It really makes it real.” Throughout the day, kids are split into groups where they move from station to station, participating in educational activities and helping spread bark dust on the park’s trails. While some kids are busy pretending to be birds – an activity designed to demonstrate the importance of safe waterways for migratory species – others learn about the local Riparian area with a spray paint art project. At another station, students get an in-depth look at animal characteristics, while others learn about the adaptations of different insects. Another popular activity is called Hooks and Ladders, which teaches kids about the life cycle of a salmon. It’s a game of tag, where some are predators and some are fish. “They eat the salmon until there are hardly any left,” said Dean ‘Moses’ Bones, event organizer. “It’s (used) to learn there are so many limiting factors to fish, that maybe of 1,000 hatched, only two will make it back to spawn.” In addition to Down By the Riverside activities for the county’s third graders, TEP organizes and runs an annual Clean Water Festival for all of the fourth graders in the county each spring and leads an activity for all of the sixth graders in the county at Outdoor School each fall. Chick said TEP is currently working on an environmental education assessment for Tillamook County, part of a larger strategic planning project they are undergoing right now. “We’re analyzing what teachers may want and what we can provide,” she said. “The environmental assessment is part of a bigger piece. It’s definitely something to highlight.”

CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAYS

Tillamook’s Country Store Serving Tillamook County Since 1935

PROPANE

BY ERIN DIETRICH

edietrich@countrymedia.net

DeWayne and his crew from propane THANK YOU! Come & Celebrate!! FREE S! HOT DOG 11-3

To Our Loyal Customers!

Questions about residential or commercial propane? FREE Come see us under the tent from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. SODA POP 11-3 ! @ The Farmers’ Co-Op

Office (503) 842-6220 • Cell # (503) 812-4739

H2293


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