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PENINSULA DAILY NEWS February 7, 2016 | $1.50
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Firefighters pass rescue swim exam
Expanding access
Certified swimmers add scope to department BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
John and Cammy Thomas of Port Angeles walk along the water’s edge at the mouth of the Elwha River west of Port Angeles on Saturday.
Wetlands grant to help Elwha mouth purchase Access to river’s east side possible by summer 2018 BY ARWYN RICE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — Public access to the new beaches on the east side of the Elwha River mouth is expected to be available by the summer of 2018. Coastal Watershed Institute
has been awarded a $1 million National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant to help purchase a property, restore wetlands and establish public access in the area. “We are very excited to get to work,” said Jamie Michel, project manager and nearshore biologist for the Institute. The only present public access to the 80 to 100 acres of beaches at the mouth of the Elwha River is on the west bank of the river, which is across public property and where parking and public services are very limited.
“The only Sani-Can, which services up to hundreds of people a day, is sponsored by the Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation,” said Anne Shaffer, executive director and lead scientist for the Institute. The east side of the river delta, where the more extensive beaches have grown, is almost entirely within Lower Elwha Klallam tribal land. The tribe does not currently allow public access to the beaches through its land. TURN TO GRANT/A7
PORT TOWNSEND — Two firefighter/emergency medical technicians are the first firefighters in the area to pass the U.S. Coast Guard Surface Rescue Swimmer program, according to East Jefferson Fire-Rescue. Caton White and JB Fairbanks will be honored in a short ceremony at noon Tuesday on the pier near the Guardian, the fire department’s rescue boat, in the Boat Haven. The two passed written and practical exams to obtain certification. “It was the most physically demanding thing I’ve done since fire academy,” White said. Coast Guard personnel led the three-week program, consisting of 90 hours in the water, including in-pool and in-ocean training, a 1,000-meter swim and a 200-meter victim-towing test in a swimming pool at Navy Base Bangor.
Chilly checkoff Their final checkoff swim was conducted Jan. 22 in the chilly water off Point Wilson. Both firefighters successfully completed several rescue deployments to men in the water, towing them back to the boat, followed by a swim to shore near the Point Wilson lighthouse.
The final swim ended up being extra challenging because of a current that pushed the swimmers off course, requiring them to swim an extra Fairbanks 500 yards before making it to shore, the department said. The addition of two rescue swimmers enhances the scope and capabilities of the department’s marine White program, said Deputy Chief Ted Krysinski of East Jefferson Fire-Rescue. “Sometimes, we have to put someone in the water to get someone out of the water,” he said. “By having certified rescue swimmers on staff, we can now do that more safely.” A robust marine rescue capability positions the fire department to fill a weak area in the Coast Guard’s response areas, said Boatswain’s Mate 2 Jacob Bradley. TURN
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Schools, fire district seek bond approvals Buildings, new station on ballots BY CHARLIE BERMANT PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT TOWNSEND — Multimillion-dollar school bond proposals for the Port Townsend and Chimacum school districts request no more than what is needed to accomplish their goals, according to advocates of both measures. On Tuesday, votes will be counted for two Jefferson County school district measures: Port Townsend’s $40.9 million bond measure and Chimacum’s $29.1 million bond request, both earmarked for elementary school construction and safety improvements.
None is countywide. About 200 voters in Jefferson County are considering a $54 million bond for the Sequim School District. The money would go to a new elementary school, renovation of Sequim High School and other district improvements. And voters in the Discovery Bay Fire District are considering a $530,000 bond to replace a fire station. Ballots were mailed to voters Jan. 20. Bonds require 60 percent supermajority. Chimacum’s Ted Friederich and Port Townsend’s Jeff Randall, each heading committees support-
ing their respective bond’s passage, disagree with those who say the same goals could be accomplished with a smaller amount. “Building an elementary school costs between $30 million and $40 million,” Friederich said. “Someone told me they could build a school for $13 million. If they can do that, more power to them.” An email from Vick Finn, which includes a link to a YouTube presentation on the Chimacum bond measure, said: “CSD wants $20 million to move the elementary school to the primary school with an addition that they say is CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS cheaper because [of] the way the primary school was designed. Grant Street special education director Pat Range’s TURN TO VOTE/A9 classroom has no heat and a leaky ceiling, she said.
INSIDE TODAY’S PENINSULA DAILY NEWS 100th year, 31st issue — 5 sections, 60 pages
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