Tuesday
Grab the Money Tree
Showers today but sun’s making a comeback B10
Great discounts on local dining and services B4
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS March 15, 2016 | 75¢
Port Angeles-Sequim-West End
Closing salmon fisheries eyed Officials mull options as coho forecasts fall short PENINSULA DAILY NEWS AND MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE
OLYMPIA — Alarmed by dwindling wild coho runs hammered by poor ocean conditions, state and tribal fish managers are considering shutting down the recreational and commercial coho and chinook fishery for the 2016 season. A decision will be made by the Pacific Fishery Management
Council (PFMC) at its April meeting. The commission will consider a range of options, including a coastwide closure in Washington, proposed Sunday by state, tribal and federal fishery managers. The consideration is part of the annual season-setting process for the West Coast. Two options would permit some salmon fishing this year, but one would close all recreational
and commercial ocean fisheries for chinook and coho. “In many instances returns will likely be far below minimum levels needed to produce the next generation of salmon,” said Lorraine Loomis, chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, which comanages salmon runs with the state. “Conservation must be our sole focus as we work to rebuild these stocks.”
Alternatives According to a news release from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the non-treaty recreational fishing alternatives include the following quotas for
fisheries off the Washington coast: Alternative 1: 58,600 chinook and 37,800 coho. This option includes early season fisheries, from June 18-30, for hatchery chinook in Washington’s ocean waters (marine areas 1-4). This option also allows hatchery coho retention in all four marine areas during the traditional summer fishery. Alternative 2: 30,000 chinook and 14,700 coho. This option does not include early season fisheries for hatchery chinook, but provides summer chinook fisheries in all four marine areas. Hatchery coho fishing would be allowed only in
Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco). Alternative 3: No commercial or recreational salmon fisheries in Washington’s ocean waters. For more details about the options, visit the PFMC webpage at http://www.pcouncil.org.
Last year Coho also made a poor showing last year, with only about 242,000 — compared with a predicted 700,000 — returning to the Columbia River, where some stocks already are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. TURN
TO
SALMON/A5
PA man cleared in 2014 shooting
After the storm
Jury acquits Olson of manslaughter BY ROB OLLIKAINEN PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
A parasailor passes around the Point Wilson Lighthouse on Monday afternoon, one day after high winds made entering the water near Port Townsend for any reason impossible.
PORT ANGELES — Nathaniel Darren Olson has been acquitted of manslaughter in the death of Matthew Baker. Olson, 29, was charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm enhancement in the shooting of Baker at a midnight-hour social gathering at a Monroe Road residence May 22, 2014. A Clallam County jury reached a not-guilty verdict after about three hours of deliberations Monday. An elated Olson hugged defense attorney Karen Unger after Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer read the verdict aloud. TURN
Sewer project costs cut Staff proposes in-house oversight BY PAUL GOTTLIEB PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — An apologetic Mike Chapman praised public works officials Monday for cutting a construction management cost estimate for the $12.1 million Carlsborg sewer project. Seven days earlier, on March 7, the Clallam commissioner had threatened to refuse to sign the contract, which he had called “highway robbery.” “I blew it,” Chapman said Monday. “I’m just a passionate guy.” Earlier in the meeting Monday, Public Works Administrative Director Bob Martin pledged to
hire a field inspector in-house rather than spend $272,000 of $974,000 under the construction management agreement with consultant Gray & Osborne Inc., which would have included the inspector’s housing and per diem expenses as well as consultant costs of the Seattle-based company. Martin said in a later interview Monday that the total contract should be about $810,000, including about $38,000 for the inspector instead of $272,000. The efficacy of the cost reduction proposal and other financing aspects of the project will be reviewed by the county Finance
Committee, chaired by Treasurer S e l i n d a Barkhuis, at a meeting open to the public at 9 a.m. March 24 in the commissioners’ meeting room. Chapman Construction on the sewer project is expected to begin in April with completion by April 1, 2017. “Carrying the field inspector on the county side greatly reduces the rate,” Martin told Chapman and his fellow Commissioners Bill Peach and Mark Ozias. TURN
TO
Gase, Dodd to share attorney BY PAUL GOTTLIEB PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — An ethics board meeting scheduled for 2:30 p.m. today was cancelled after lawyers entered the fray. It has been tentatively reset for March 31 at a time that has not been determined, City Clerk Jennifer Veneklasen said Monday.
The meeting in the City Council chambers had been set for the panel made up of Ken Williams, Jerry Dean and William Yucha. They were to begin reviewing a complaint by Our Water Our Choice against Deputy Mayor Cherie Kidd and City Councilman Dan Gase. TURN
TO
ETHICS/A5
SEWER/A5
INSIDE TODAY’S PENINSULA DAILY NEWS 100th year, 63rd issue — 2 sections, 18 pages
Presented by Dr. Duane Webb, Board-Certified Gastroenterologist
Tuesday, March 22 at 6 p.m.
Thursday, March 24 at 6 p.m.
Olympic Memorial Hospital - Linkletter Hall 939 Caroline Street, Port Angeles
OMC Medical Services Building 840 N. 5th Avenue, Sequim
631559349
Duane Webb, MD
OLSON/A5
Legal reps delay ethics hearing
Colon Cancer: Causes, Treatment and Prevention
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Visit OlympicMedical.org for more details.
TO
BUSINESS CLASSIFIED COMICS COMMENTARY DEAR ABBY DEATHS HOROSCOPE LETTERS NATION/WORLD
B10 B6 B5 A7 B5 A6 B5 A7 A3
*PENINSULA SPOTLIGHT
PENINSULA POLL PUZZLES/GAMES SPORTS WEATHER
A2 B8 B1 B10