Tuesday
Grab the Money Tree
Rainy pattern returns to Peninsula B10
Great discounts on local dining and services A8
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS January 12, 2016 | 75¢
Port Townsend-Jefferson County’s Daily Newspaper
Billing change powers charges
Perfect colors on the trail
Cold temps add to sticker shock BY ARWYN RICE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
QUADE SHEEHAN/WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION
The 2015 Northwest Exposure Photo Contest grand prize-winning photo of a sunset in the Olympic Mountains was taken by Quade Sheehan, a lifeboat driver in the U.S. Coast Guard stationed at Quillayute River and an avid hiker.
Olympic sunset photo takes contest grand prize photo of sunset at Grand Pass in the Olympic Mountains, featuring himself and his partner, Stephanie Stefani, framed in the opening of their tent. “It’s amazing,” Sheehan said of his win. The grand prize photo was taken using an iPhone. While he had orchesBY ARWYN RICE trated the setting, angle and pose, PENINSULA DAILY NEWS another friend who was along for the PORT ANGELES — Two Port Ange- hike took the picture, Sheehan said. les photographers have been recognized “The sunset happened to be perfect,” for their talent in a contest sponsored by he said. the Washington Trails Association. Quade Sheehan and Ken Campbell Tough to keep quiet earned top finishes in the 2015 NorthSheehan said he planned to enter west Exposure Photo Contest. Sheehan won the grand prize for a several photos he had taken during vari-
First prize awarded for picture of otters on Discovery Trail
ous hikes around the North Olympic Peninsula, but submitted only one in time for the deadline. “They told me I won in November. It was hard to keep my mouth shut,” he said. He said he has taken all of his photos with an iPhone to prevent damage to an expensive camera. The grand prize, a Nikon AW1 mirrorless camera, is supposed to be built for the rough treatment it might get on a trail. An Oregon native who joined the U.S. Coast Guard, he is no stranger to adventure. He is a Coast Guard motor lifeboat driver stationed in La Push and is nearing the end of his enlistment. TURN
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CONTEST/A6
North Olympic Peninsula power customers have reported increases in their power bills, the result of what power managers say is the combined effect of a very cold December, a small increase in power costs, in some cases a long billing cycle, and a new billing system. In Port Townsend, a new billing system is the biggest difficulty reported by customers in recent weeks, but there has been some sticker shock over recent bills, said Jim Parker, manager for the Jefferson County Public Utility District. “It’s cold out there. Your bill is going to be bigger,” Parker said. Jefferson’s billing system has a very low base rate, and multiple tiers for power usage, with increasing costs when customers use a lot of electricity, he said. Parker said the billing system results in very low summer bills, and very high winter bills. “We have big, dramatic swings,” he said, and noted that he is working on plans to change the system.
Port Angeles Port Angeles City Council approved a 5 percent rate increase for 2016, effective as of Jan. 1. For a typical Port Angeles city utility customer whose electric bill is usually about $100 per month, the bill would increase to $105, said Phil Lusk, deputy director of power systems and telecommunications. That small increase is not nearly enough to account for the $100 increases some customers have reported, Lusk said. Customers need to make sure they are reading only the electric portion of their city utility bill, which also includes other charges, including water and trash collection, he said. TURN
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BILLS/A6
Schools chief talks up Chimacum bond Thompson pitches $29.1M issue BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
CHIMACUM — An upcoming bond item sought by the Chimacum School District is intended to improve its most modern school rather than rehabilitate old ones, according to the district superintendent. “We have one good building and several that are in need of repair,” Superintendent Rick Thompson told about 50 people at the weekly meeting of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce on Monday. “We are not using the bond to fix the buildings that are not worth keeping,” Thompson said,
referencing older district buildings that would cost more money to rehabilitate. Ballots for the $29.1 million bond measure that will be on the Feb. 9 special election ballot are to be mailed to voters Jan. 22.
Primary school The majority of the money raised, $19.8 million, is allocated for the expansion of the Chimacum Creek Primary School that was built in 1999, while the remainder will be used for upgrades of technology, heating, electrical and the construction of an all-weather track at the school district’s main campus.
“We need to look at this as an investment in education and create a building that will last,” Thompson said. Currently the primary school includes kindergarten through grade three followed by the elementary school for fourth and fifth grades, a middle school for grades six through eight and the high school with grades nine through 12. When built, the primary school will be expanded to be an elementary school including kindergarten through grade five. The primary school needs to be expanded as it is currently at capacity and cannot accommoCHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS date any more students or staff Chimacum Schools Superintendent Rick Thompson members, Thompson said. addressed the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce TURN TO BOND/A6 about the district’s upcoming school bond.
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