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PENINSULA DAILY NEWS March 9, 2016 | 75¢
Port Townsend-Jefferson County’s Daily Newspaper
Building itself back up
CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Jefferson County Weed Control Assistant Coordinator Malloree Weinheimer, right, provides information to Brenda McMillian and Alec Jensen during an outreach effort at the Food Co-op in Port Townsend on Tuesday.
CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Robotics team coach Austin Henry, left, guides 25-year-old Ella Ashford in the team’s lab Tuesday.
PT robotics team to hold fundraiser Friday event aims to help after burglary BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT TOWNSEND — The 4-H Port Townsend STEM robotics team has launched fundraising to recover items lost in a January burglary and to subsidize program costs. “We have an amazing opportunity to provide this resource
to create a place where kids can gather and build community resiliency,” said Gabriella Ashford — her daughter, Ella, is the club president — about the lab. “But this costs money, and if we only raise a few thousand dollars in this benefit, then at the end of April, we’ll just turn it off.” The group hopes to raise $15,000, which will pay the $1,000 monthly utility bill at the lab on Thomas Street for one year, as well as replace tools and equipment taken during a Jan. 18 burglary, which is as yet unsolved. The club is hosting a fund-
raiser from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St. It will include robotics demonstrations and games, a raffle, an auction and entertainment provided by Louie’s World karaoke. Tickets are $20. They will be available at the door. Advance tickets are available by calling 360-531-3575 or emailing havenkids@gmail.com. So far, the club has raised $2,000 in ticket sales, Ashford said. TURN
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Jefferson takes aim at weeds BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT TOWNSEND — Weed eradication takes more than spraying or removing them, according to Jefferson County’s weed control coordinator. “If you pull a weed out, you need to put something else into the soil, or you won’t get anywhere,” said Joost Besijn, who was hired to fill the newly created full-time position in June. “You also need to know what you are doing. If you mow down a thistle, you quadruple it by spreading the seeds, and if you spray at the wrong time, it doesn’t do any good.” On Monday, Besijn presented his agency’s annual report to the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, providing data about its accomplishments since it received an increased subsidy. After the retirement of Eve Dixon, whose position was part time, the commissioners decided
to make a greater weed control effort and charged Besijn with creating a fee structure.
Fee for department He suggested a fee for all property owners of $4 per parcel and 30 cents an acre, which is included on current property tax statements. The fees generate about $150,000 per year, which covers salaries for Besijn and his parttime assistant, along with program support. According to Besijn’s report, his staff spent 130 hours in 2015 surveying Jefferson County to determine the locations, infestation sizes and growth stages of noxious weed populations. The most common species were wild chervil, tansy ragwort, spotted knapweed, Scotch broom, Himalayan blackberry, teasel and reed canary grass. TURN
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Quinault tribe’s eldest member dies at 102 Oliver founded Paddle to Seattle, giving rise to yearly Canoe Journeys PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
“The physical and spiritual discipline required to participate in the Canoe Journey, and the cultural sharing and traditional teachings that take place during the event, have changed countless lives,” the tribe said. “The fact is that Emmett saved hundreds if not thousands of lives,” Sharp said. “It is hard to underestimate the great positive impact that the resurgence of the canoe culture has had on American Indians in this country,” Sharp said. “It has helped so many of our children and adults turn away from drugs and alcohol, and dis- War veteran placed depression and despair After college, he served in with hope and culture-based prin- World War II and the Korean War. ciples,” she added. He also served in the Coast “People are learning their cul- Guard. ture again. They have pride again, TURN TO ELDER/A4 Emmett Oliver at a 2013 Canoe Journey event. and they’re staying in school.
TAHOLAH — The founder of the 1989 Paddle to Seattle and oldest member of the Quinault Nation has died at the age of 102. Emmett Sampson Oliver died in Edmonds at 4:19 p.m. Monday surrounded by members of his family, Indian Country said. “Emmett will be dearly missed. He achieved so much in his life and leaves a legacy that will truly last forever,” said Quinault Nation President Fawn Sharp. Oliver was a member of the committee planning the state’s centennial celebration when he organized the Paddle to Seattle. That prompted the annual Canoe Journeys, in which tribes, mostly from the Pacific Northwest and Canada, travel to a weeklong potlatch.
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“Emmett Oliver was a true hero among our people,” she said. Oliver was born Dec. 2, 1913, in South Bend. He was the son of a Chinook mother and a Cowlitz father, the tribe said. He attended public school in South Bend, boarding school on the Tulalip Reservation and the Sherman Institute in California, where he was a standout academically and athletically, the tribe said. He studied at Bacone College, a two-year Native college in Oklahoma, then transferred on a scholarship to the University of Redlands. He received a degree in biology and education.
BUSINESS CLASSIFIED COMICS COMMENTARY DEAR ABBY DEATHS HOROSCOPE NATION PENINSULA POLL
B5 B5 B4 A11 B4 A10 B4 A3 A2
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PUZZLES/GAMES SPORTS WEATHER WORLD
B6 B1 B10 A3