Special Sections - Year in Review - 2015

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2015 YEAR IN REVIEW A look back at some of the people, events and stories that made headlines

Top Peninsula story of 2015: Water woes, p.2

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Lower Elwha Klallam tribal member Ben Charles Sr. looks over a rain-swollen Elwha River after it left its banks and spread out over Lower Elwha Road on the Lower Elwha Klallam reservation west of Port Angeles on Dec. 10.

Clallam County â– Jefferson County Washington state A publication of Peninsula Daily News Also distributed in the Sequim Gazette


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2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Peninsula’s top story in 2015: Drought to deluge 1

ESTABLISHED 1888

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128 Years

WATER WOES: The North Olympic Peninsula began 2015 with too little water and ended it with too much. So little snow fell in the Olympic Mountains that Hurricane Ridge had no ski season and by this past summer, the Olympic snowpack had fallen to zero, leaving rivers that have sources in the mountains running at record-low levels. Gov. Jay Inslee declared a drought on the North Olympic Peninsula, among other areas, on March 13 and declared a statewide

drought emergency May 15. Port Townsend, Port Angeles and Forks instituted water restrictions, and in July, the SequimDungeness Water Users Association called for its members to curtail irrigation to the point of choosing to let some crops die because of the low flow in the Dungeness River. But in August, rain blew in with high winds that toppled trees and caused widespread outages — and closed Olympic National Park. PLEASE

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ESTABLISHED 1895 KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Washington’s Oldest Grocery Store Operating under the same name since 1895 has a NEW LOOK!

Eleven-year-old Abi Moore of Port Angeles plays with her dog, Cosmo, in the knee-deep Elwha River beneath the Elwha River Bridge west of Port Angeles in July. River flow was at a near-record low, prompting Port Angeles city officials to eventually impose mandatory limits on water usage.

ESTABLISHED 1896 Naval Elks #353

940 Lawrence Street, Port Townsend

131 East First St. Port Angeles, WA 360-457-3355

(360) 385-0500 Thank you for your Community Support! Happy New Year

ESTABLISHED 1906

WASHBURN’S GENERAL STORE Serving The West End since 1902

114 Years

Thank you for shopping locally! 360-457-8581

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2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

From scarce to spate, water woes/

The rainswollen Elwha River flows past the closed Olympic National Park gates on Olympic Hot Springs Road in early November.

CONTINUED

for possible future drought. Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons said officials are making plans now as to procedures to take should the coming summer be as dry as last year’s.

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ESTABLISHED 1916

ESTABLISHED 1908

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ESTABLISHED 1921

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ARWYN RICE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

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In Port Angeles, city officials are taking preliminary steps to locate a secondary source of domestic water should the Elwha River run low again — although it could be seven years before water might flow from wells on the city’s West End, which a pair of hydrogeologists said was the best place to drill. But so far, the situation looks better. On Dec. 12, Hurricane Ridge had 44 inches of snow, and the opening of the ski season was able to take place Dec. 19. And after a summer of anxiously gazing at barerock mountains, Peninsula residents now can see snow on those peaks.

611489831

That storm was followed by a series of others that inundated the Peninsula with rain. A storm in December dropped more than 3 inches of rain on Port Angeles and 2 inches on Forks in a 24-hour period, and flooded Olympic Hot Springs Road near the Elwha Campground for the second time this season. Port Townsend was the last city on the Peninsula to lift water restrictions, with the City Council calling an end to alternate outdoor watering days on Dec. 7 after rainstorms had filled the Lords Lake reservoir in Quilcene to nearly 20 feet, a significant increase from its lowest level of 8 feet, 5 inches in November. Port Angeles and Forks lifted restrictions in October. The El Niño weather forecast for this winter could leave the Olympic Mountains short on snowpack next summer, and communities are preparing

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016


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FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Top 10 Clallam County stories in 2015 1

POLAR PIONEER: An oil rig doesn’t look — or generally act — much like Santa Claus, but the Polar Pioneer left gifts in its wake as it left for the North Sea in December. The crew on the 350-foot-tall oil rig, which had been parked in Port Angeles harbor since Oct. 28, offloaded about 15 tons of food to be distributed to food banks and food pantries across Clallam County before the rig was floated onto the MV Dockwise Vanguard, a 902-foot semi-submersible heavy-lift

ESTABLISHED 1952 KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

The oil drilling platform Noble Discoverer, left, is floated onto the transport ship MV Blue Marlin in early December as the oil platform Polar Pioneer, right, waits its turn to be transported away.

www.unitedwayclallam.org 457-3011

ESTABLISHED 1955

SUNNYDELL SHOOTING GROUNDS 292 Dryke Road Sequim, WA 98382

62 Years Thank you

Compost & Organic Produce U-cut Christmas Trees

56 Years

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56 Years

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ESTABLISHED 1960

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65 Years

This is $40,000 of food,” Hernandez said. Coalition members sharing in the largess included Serenity House, Port Angeles Salvation Army, Sequim Food Bank, Olympic Community Action Programs’ Senior Nutrition Program and the Jamestown S’Klallam, Quileute and Makah tribes. The donor of the food was platform owner Transocean Ltd. of Zug, Switzerland, Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said.

ESTABLISHED 1954

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ESTABLISHED 1952

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Established 1951

ship, on Dec. 15, and departed for the North Sea at the end of December. The donation included frozen meat, vegetables, cheese, pita bread, bulk dry goods, snacks and condiments — enough food to make a significant impact toward getting area food banks through the spring, said Jessica Hernandez, executive director of the Port Angeles Food Bank, who accepted the donation on behalf of the Clallam County Food Bank Coalition. “This is huge for us. . . .


2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

5

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

Port Angeles Harbor a happening haven/

CONTINUED

The gift of food was in addition to the $1 million that city officials, citing a report released by Shell Oil, estimate was injected into the Port Angeles economy while the Polar Pioneer was in the Port Angeles Harbor from April 17 to May 14. The Polar Pioneer’s spring visit was to prepare for a summer of drilling for oil in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. It drew the attention of protesters opposed to drilling in the Arctic. By the end of September, Royal Dutch Shell — the parent company of Shell Oil — which leased the rig from Transocean Ltd., gave up on a more than $7 billion push to drill for oil in the Alaskan Arctic, saying it did not find enough oil to make the venture worthwhile. The Polar Pioneer then was returned to Port Ange-

les in October to offload equipment. Just before the Polar Pioneer was taken out of the harbor, the drill ship Noble Discoverer arrived from Everett and was loaded onto the 738-footlong semi-submersible MV Blue Marlin. The Blue Marlin left the harbor with its ship aboard Dec. 14. Port officials have said the Noble Discoverer was headed next to the West Pacific.

The tourism promotion was priceless, and residents in the two communities became friends, with many Chattanoogans vowing to pay the Peninsula a visit and vice versa — and sympathy banners were hand-carried from Port Angeles to the Tennessee city after a gunman killed four Marines and a Navy sailor July 16 at a Navy and Marine Corps reserve center there. During the contest, signs urging residents to vote for their town went up FROM WISHFUL TO on business readerboards, windows and restaurant WINDFALL: Port Angeles’ wild-card tables as organizations entry in Outdoor magazine’s ranging from the Chamber “Best Town Ever” contest of Commerce to Black became a promotional Ball Ferry Line promoted bonanza when the city voting. won several preliminary conGov. Jay Inslee backed tests and finished second to Port Angeles, as did the Chattanooga, Tenn. — nearly Sequim-bred Emblem3 10 times its size — band. U.S. Sens. Maria in the national finals in June. Cantwell and Patty Murray

2

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1116 Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles, WA

119 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim

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51 Years ESTABLISHED 1969

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ESTABLISHED 1968

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when a 10-year pledge with the Washington Dental Service Foundation expires. Deputy Mayor Patrick Downie and council members Brad Collins, Dan Gase and Cherie Kidd voted for FLUORIDE FIGHT: Kidd’s motion to continue The Port Angeles City fluoridating city water Council decided through mid-year 2026, Dec. 15 on a split vote to while Mayor Dan Di Guilio continue fluoridation of city and council members Lee water after a long battle Whetham and Sissi Bruch between proponents of the voted against it. practice and those who Di Guilio and Whetham want fluoride out of their cited an advisory survey of water. water customers that The council voted 4-3 to rejected fluoridation. continue fluoridating the city’s water beyond May 18, PLEASE TURN TO NEXT PAGE the contest to expand into such areas as Port Angeles Citizens Action Network, which is focusing on creating community solutions to illegal drug use.

ESTABLISHED 1967

ESTABLISHED 1965

717 S. Peabody St. Port Angeles

1959-2016

GLEN

and Rep. Derek Kilmer — a Port Angeles native — tweeted their support. Western Washington University called for votes on its Facebook page, and the Seahawks urged people to cast ballots for Port Angeles. The mighty effort to convince the rest of the nation that the attractions of Port Angeles made it the Best Town Ever was led by Revitalize Port Angeles, a group founded by Leslie Robertson. Inspired by success, the Revitalize Port Angeles group is capitalizing on momentum generated by


6

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Fight over water treatment to persist?/

CONTINUED

The survey sent in November to 9,762 water customers was returned by 4,204. Of those, 2,381, or 56.64 percent, rejected water fluoridation, while 1,735, or 41.27 percent, favored it.

The City Council had decided in July to get public input through an advisory survey of water customers, rather than through an advisory measure on the Nov. 3 ballot, so as to allow

responses from water customers outside city limits. After the council vote, a key opponent promised to keep fighting. “Don’t pack away your fluoride papers quite yet,” the council was warned by

ESTABLISHED 1972

ESTABLISHED 1972

ESTABLISHED 1971

have a

261461 Hwy 101

44 Years

44 Years

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Dr. Eloise Kailin, corresponding secretary of Protect the Peninsula’s Future, which, along with Clallam County Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, has unsuccessfully challenged Port Angeles water fluoridation in court. Kailin also headed a city committee opposing fluoridation while Dr. Tom Locke, the public health officer for Jefferson County, headed a committee supporting it. The city held a forum on the issue in October. Proponents say fluoride in the water helps fight tooth decay. Opponents say the practice doesn’t work, that it harms health and constitutes putting medication into drinking water. The city began adding fluoride into the water system in 2006. The action was paid for by a grant from the Washington Dental Service Foundation.

Forks is the only other city on the North Olympic Peninsula that fluoridates its water. It has done so since 1956.

4

BUILDING BOOM: New construction could be seen springing up all over Clallam County in 2015. In April, nearly 200 West End residents celebrated the grand opening of the $2.1 million, 6,300-square-foot Rainforest Arts Center in Forks. The building at 35 N. Forks Ave. replaced the community’s arts center in the 70-year-old International Order of Odd Fellows Hall, which burned 2½ years earlier. Olympic Medical Center is presently constructing a new 42,000-square-foot, $14.2 million medical office building across from the Port Angeles hospital at 939

Caroline St., has just finished expanding the hospital’s emergency room and is eyeing an expansion of the hospital’s Sequim facilities. The new emergency room opened in September, the office building is expected to be completed by next fall and the Sequim expansion is expected in 2017. In December, OMC neighbor Palmer “Jack” McCarter donated his house at 1035 Columbia St. to the hospital. Officials plan to use the area for office space, parking and relocation of its helicopter landing pad, used by Airlift Northwest. In August, Peninsula College broke ground on a 41,650-square-foot, $25 million building for the Allied Health and Early Childhood Development Center at its Port Angeles campus. PLEASE

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ESTABLISHED 1973

ESTABLISHED 1972

Ked-Ter

We’re Now

Construction, Inc. Residential Commercial Remodel

Whiteheads Auto Parts, Inc. 360-374-6065

683-9719

Serving all your parts needs for

43 Years

611489802

611489867

44 Years

FORKS


2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

7

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

Buildings blossom all over the county/

CONTINUED

Construction is expected to take 18 months. In September, Port Angeles threw a party to celebrate the opening of its $3.62 million downtown waterfront park, complete with two new sandy 80-foot-deep beaches. Sometimes called West End Park or the esplanade, the 1.5-acre park features colored-glass markers that mark the Olympic Discovery Trail’s winding route through the park along Railroad Avenue, a walkway along the shore of Port Angeles Harbor and recreation areas. The park is the second phase of the city’s $17 million waterfront transportation improvement plan for the waterfront from Valley Creek estuary to City Pier. Also in September, a groundbreaking ceremony celebrated the beginning of conversion of a 25,000-square-foot building at 2220 W. 18th St. into the Composite Recycling Technology Center. Hopes for the estimated $6.5 million facility are that it will provide 340 direct and spun-off jobs at its building on the Composites Manufacturing Campus at William R. Fairchild International Airport.

5

ELWHA RIVER DELTA: One result of the dismantling of two dams on the Elwha River was the formation of some 80 acres to 100 acres of new beach at the river’s mouth west of Port Angeles. Elwha Dam, built in 1912 about 5 miles south of the river mouth, was taken down in 2012, and the last vestiges of Glines

ESTABLISHED 1974

ESTABLISHED 1974

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360-457-1139 Serving the North Olympic Peninsula Since 1974

SEQUIM GAZETTE 360-683-3311

6

OPIATES: Buoyed by the city nearly being named the “Best Town Ever,” Port Angeles residents resolved to end its reputation as the worst place for opiate addiction. The first group formed by Revitalize Port Angeles members — the Port Ange-

TERRY WARD/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Sea gulls fly over a pool in the Elwha River estuary. Sediment washing down the river has built more than 80 acres of beaches. les Citizen Action Network (PA CAN) — was followed by Hope After Heroin, This is OUR Town: Port Angeles and other efforts. At the same time, Clallam County received attention for its strategy of combining drug intervention with its syringe exchange program. “Now it’s the wave of the future,” Christina Hurst, public health pro-

ESTABLISHED 1974

grams director for the county Health and Human Services Department, told members of the county Board of Health in October. “A lot of people are watching us.” According to state Department of Health statistics, Clallam County had 13 opiate-related deaths in 2013, while Jefferson County had one.

550 W. Hendrickson, Sequim

360.683.3348 www.SherwoodAssistedLiving.com

Service & New Installations

41 Years

Providing Charity in the West End since 1975

41 Years

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42 Years

Largest selection of organic non-GMO foods and natural supplements in town.

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42 Years

360•374•2524 452-7175

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Happy New Year!

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Clallam County had the highest per capita opiaterelated death rate in the state that year, health officials said. The Port Angeles Police Department was the first on the North Olympic Peninsula to begin carrying naloxone, which can reverse an overdose long enough for patients to seek complete medical care. PLEASE TURN TO NEXT PAGE

ESTABLISHED 1975

ESTABLISHED 1975

AIR FLO

611489825

147 W. Washington St. Sequim WA.

42 Years

Canyon Dam, built in 1927 some 13 miles south of the mouth, were demolished in 2014. Since the dams, built to fuel North Olympic Peninsula development with a source of electricity, were built without fish ladders, the work freeing the river to its wild state opened it to salmon after a century of blockages. Sediment trapped behind the dams was carried downstream to form new land where once was only a moonscape of cobbles. That land grew ever more alive with fish and birds in 2015. As of the end of the year, the new beaches — fed with more sediment pouring out of the river into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and disturbed by storm waves — were still growing and changing.

ESTABLISHED 1974

611490047

611490283

42 Years

In the fall, Clallam County announced that a private landowner was willing to donate 1.2 acres of waterfront property on the southwest shore of Lake Crescent to Clallam County to be used for public access. In December, the Clallam County Public Utility District celebrated the grand opening of an $8 million, 29,496-squarefoot facility in Carlsborg. The building at 104 Hooker Road consolidates former offices in Port Angeles and Sequim. Along with new construction, new businesses flourished in 2015. Some 37 businesses had opened, remodeled or relocated between late April and early August in Port Angeles.


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2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Clallam officials embroiled in dispute/

CONTINUED

7

TREASURER DISPUTE: Clallam County Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis’ challenges of county commissioners and county Administrator Jim Jones made

ESTABLISHED 1977

headlines in 2015. In June, Barkhuis rejected warrants for nearly $1.3 million in Opportunity Fund grants because commissioners did not hold a budget emergency hearing

ESTABLISHED 1977

or secure written contracts with sister governments. A grant of $1 million to the Port of Port Angeles was earmarked to repurpose a building near William R. Fairchild International Air-

ESTABLISHED 1978

Angeles Concrete Now delivering out of Cays Rd. in Sequim 4410 S. AIRPORT ROAD PORT ANGELES

457-0443

Open Daily 10 AM - 10 PM www.elevated.com

360-385-1156

39 Years

360-877-9894 www.hoodsport.com North 23501 Hwy 101 Hoodsport, WA 98548 Open Daily

38 Years

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627 & 631 Water St. Port Townsend 611489931

39 Years

Handcrafted • Fresh • Healthy • Delicious!

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Happy New Year!

Hoodsport Winery wishes you a Happy New Year!

Thanks to all our loyal customers!

port for a planned Composite Recycling Technology Center. A $285,952 grant to the city of Port Angeles was for the waterfront face-lift between Oak Street and the Valley Creek estuary. Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols in July appointed Jefferson County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez to represent Barkhuis. Commissioners Jim McEntire and Bill Peach, with Commissioner Mike Chapman opposed, voted Aug. 25 to seek a declaratory judgment and an order from a Superior Court judge that would have forced Barkhuis to release the warrants. Barkhuis discharged Alvarez of his duties Sept. 2. In September, citing an undisclosed medical condition, she said in an email to Nichols that she would be on medical leave until Oct. 13 and would no longer stand in the way of approval of the grants. McEntire and Peach approved the grants with opposition from Chapman, who wanted them placed in the 2016 budget and fully vetted by the public. Communicating by

Ray Gruver

PLEASE

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ESTABLISHED 1983

Pacific Pizza

John A. Raske Insurance Agency

611489841

Gourmet Lunch & Dinner Homemade Pasta & Sauces Back East Grinders, Paninis, Open Face Pizza Sandwiches Cheesecake Factory Desserts, Cold Deli, Twilight Menu, Beer & Wine

210 E. 7th Street

457-4567

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

35 Years

308 E. 8th St., Port Angeles

452-3336

33 Years

611489893

870 S. Forks Ave.

360-374-2626

611490042

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37 Years

“In my opinion, this is yet another example of the county administrator abusing his authority to harass me, retaliate against me, and otherwise intrude on my office as county treasurer, all of which amounting to an utterly hostile work environment that is damaging my health and my ability to do my job,” Barkhuis wrote. Barkhuis also, in a Nov. 23 email to county commissioners and other officials, said Nichols had evidence that “unauthorized and excessive” Veter-

ans’ Relief Fund payments were made for the benefit of an unnamed Peninsula Daily News Barkhuis reporter. Barkhuis said the reporter covered the District 1 commissioners’ race and $1.3 million Opportunity Fund loan controversy. Rich Sill, Clallam County’s human resources director and risk manager, concluded that no unauthorized or excessive payments were made from the fund to a PDN reporter. A husband and a wife, both veterans who qualified separately for veterans’ relief funds, received proper payments that were recorded under a single account for “convenience reasons,” Sill said in a memo to Jones. “This appears to be the basis of Ms. Barkhuis’ complaint,” Sill said. “With respect to this account, no unauthorized or excessive payments were found to have been made from the county Veterans’ Relief Fund during 2015,” Sill said.

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‘Another example’

ESTABLISHED 1981

ESTABLISHED 1979

TO ALL OUR LOYAL CUS STOMERS FOR ALLOWING US TO KEEP YO OU ON THE ROAD FOR THE LAST 35 5 YEARS

email in November, Barkhuis called for commissioners to deny an increase in next year’s revenue projections, which she found unrealistic, and to nix a $440,000 expenditure for new staff in the prosecuting attorney’s office, which she said would be used against her. She also called for commissioners to fire Jones, saying the revenue projection was designed to allow him to “maliciously blame me, as county treasurer, for the layoffs he will inevitably recommend when these ridiculous revenue projections fail to materialize.


2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

9

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

Taxpayers/

CONTINUED

In December, also by email, Barkhuis objected to the county’s draft $36.8 million budget on procedural and substantive grounds, saying she reserved “the right to specify the procedural and substantive defects until such time as I have had a reasonable opportunity (access and time wise) to review the 2016 budget processes and documents.” Commissioners have since approved the budget. CHRIS MCDANIEL/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

A measure to create a metropolitan park district to support the Sequim Aquatic Recreation

ESTABLISHED 1984

ESTABLISHED 1983

E L E C T R O N I C S, I N C .

452-2727

www.spashop.com 360.457.4406 1.800.869.7177

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since 1986

452-7902

30 Years ESTABLISHED 1990

ESTABLISHED 1988

Reetz

Insurance Services, Inc.

835 E. 2nd St. Port Angeles 452-5820

®

452-4320

(360)457-0794

Monday - Saturday 10-6 Sunday 12-5

26 Years

611489836

28 Years

Cars • Boats • Trains Planes and more... 138 W. Railroad • Port Angeles

A special thank you to our loyal customers. Have a happy and prosperous 2016! 611489849

28 Years

®

1520 E. Front St., Port Angeles

Your Independent Agency wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our friends and customers through the years.

30 Years

611489828

ESTABLISHED 1988

124 S. Albert, Port Angeles

29 Years

30 Years

John Miller 457-8885 Armory Square Mall Thank you to everyone for your support! I look forward to serving you in the future.

Doing property management

611490406

30 Years

32 Years

611489853

To our valued customers.. Thank you for your patronage over the past 30 years. We look forward to many more. Have a safe and prosperous New Year.

611490025

30 Years

452-9692 611489866

452-4222 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Have a Happy New Year!

ALL METAL RECYCLING

E

101 E. Front St., Port Angeles

1210 E. Front Street Port Angeles

Toll Free: 1-800-750-1771

330 E. 1 st St., Ste 1

611489871

The

901 Ness Corner Rd.

Port Hadlock, WA 98339 1-360-385-1771

ESTABLISHED 1987

CORNERHOUS RESTAURANT

PLEASE

LANDMARK, INC. Port Angeles 452-1326

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 611489922

ESTABLISHED 1986

452-1621

611489904

ESTABLISHED 1986

32 Years

611490035

611489932

33 Years

230-C E. 1st St. Port Angeles

A measure to create a metropolitan park district that would solely fund the aquatic recreation center at 610 N. Fifth Ave. — which is known as SARC — was defeated in the Aug. 4 primary election. The measure required a simple majority.

PROPERTIES BY

Pellet Heat Company

723 E. Front St. Port Angeles

Simple majority needed

ESTABLISHED 1986

ESTABLISHED 1986

SPA SHOP Where Quality & Customer Service are #1

Happy Holidays!

ESTABLISHED 1986

ESTABLISHED 1984

8

TAXPAYERS SAY NO: Taxpayers said no in 2015 to the Sequim

Aquatic Recreation Center, the Port Angeles School District and the Sequim School District — the latter for the third time.


10

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Measles outbreak arrives in Clallam/ 9

CONTINUED

The measure was put before voters after they had rejected a proposed sixyear property tax levy in February. The levy required a 60 percent supermajority. Now, the SARC board will consider an agreement in which the center is managed by the Olympic Penin-

sula YMCA. Port Angeles voters rejected in February a $98 million bond to build a new high school. The board has delayed a decision on when to propose another school construction bond to voters until this year. The Sequim School

District failed to pass a $49.2 million construction bond proposal in February and a $49.3 million construction bond on the Nov. 3 ballot after voters defeated a $154 million measure in April 2014. Bond measures require a 60 percent supermajority.

The Sequim School Board will try again, having voted unanimously to place a $54 million bond on the Feb. 9 special election ballot this year. The bond would pay for a new elementary school, renovation of Sequim High School and other district improvements.

MEASLES: Clallam County residents started searching for spots on themselves and their children after a man was diagnosed with measles Feb. 1. Before it was declared over last spring, six measles cases — one of them fatal — had been discovered. Health authorities contacted 257 people with possible measles exposure, conducted 30 no-cost vaccination clinics and gave some 500 shots of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

10

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Olympic Medical Center lab assistant Deana Heimbigner looks over an isolation tent near the hospital’s emergency room in Port Angeles in February. The tent was to be used to temporarily quarantine incoming patients with infectious diseases, such as measles.

ESTABLISHED 1990

ESTABLISHED 1990

Drennan & Ford Funeral Home and Crematory 260 Monroe Road Port Angeles www.drennanford.com

457-1210

Sales & Service you can count on Since 1990!

Structural steel, railings & ornamental iron, gates & gate operating systems, spiral staircases, trailer and RV hitches, farm and construction equipment repairs. Your inventions!

He testified that he did not kill Carter and that sex was consensual during his 2006 trial; he was found guilty of first-degree murder. The state Court of Appeals remanded the case to the Superior Court for a new trial in 2009, saying that some evidence had been admitted by error. There never was a second trial. Covarrubias confessed to murder and rape.

ALDERSON’S AUTO BODY & PAINT WATER CONDITIONING & BOTTLED WATER

683-4285

25 Years

Free Estimates Custom Painting & Color Matching Collision Repair & Insurance Work RANDY ALDERSON

360.452.5990 1935 Edgewood Drive Port Angeles

24 Years

611490026

Thanks to all our Loyal Customers! Happy New Year!

Contractor Registration # ALLFOWI023CB

25 Years

PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Robert Gene Covarrubias in Clallam County Superior Court during his sentencing in 2009.

ESTABLISHED 1992

611490033

81 Hooker Road #9, Sequim Office: 360-681-0584 www.allformwelding.com 611489815

25 Years

611490308

26 Years

Owners:

Jim & Laura Decker

360-374-9400

ESTABLISHED 1991

All Types of Welding, Repair & Fabrication

Happy New Year! Serving the Olympic Peninsula Since 2004

611489933

26 Years

Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

271 S. 7th Ave. #26 Sequim • 681-0820 611489873

Best wishes for the New Year

ESTABLISHED 1991

ESTABLISHED 1991

COVARRUBIAS SUICIDE: Robert Gene Covarrubias, who in 2009 confessed to raping and murdering 15-year-old Melissa Leigh Carter in 2004, killed himself in custody Sept. 2. Covarrubias, 35 — who was serving a 34½-year sentence at the Monroe Correctional Complex for Carter’s murder — died of asphyxia by hanging himself, said Heather Oie, Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office spokeswoman. The Lancaster, Calif., native was accused of raping and strangling Carter.


2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

11

Top 10 stories in Jefferson County 1

PAPER MILL SOLD: Port Townsend Paper Corp. was sold in February to a newly formed holding company, Crown Paper Group, purchasing the mill from GoldenTree Asset Management, a New York-based company. The paper mill is Jefferson County’s largest private employer, with 298 people working there. At the time of the sale, the new owners released a statement that promised to improve the safety performance, streamline manufacturing and build on the performance improvements and customer satisfaction that the employees have already achieved. Mill manager Roger Hagan said after the sale that the purchase would not immediately change operations at the facility and there would be no change in personnel in the near future. However, a new general manager, Carr Tyndall, 54, was named in March. Tyndall — who was plant manager for KapStone Paper and Packaging in Summerville, S.C. — has more than 30 years of experience in the industry.

ESTABLISHED 1992

merce for $500,000; a grant of about $180,000 administered by the Jefferson County Public Utility District; and other sources to be determined, according to City Manager David Timmons. The city of Port Townsend has leased the former Mountain View Elementary School from the Port Townsend School District since 2009. The campus includes MOUNTAIN VIEW UPGRADE: Voters in the Port Townsend Police February overwhelm- Department, the Port Townsend Food Bank, Jefingly approved the sale of up to $3.6 million in bonds ferson County YMCA, the for repairs at the Mountain ReCyclery, the KPTZ 91.9 FM radio station, Working View Commons. Repairs of the 50-year-old Image, the Olympic Peninfacility at 1919 Blaine St. in sula chapter of the American Red Cross and the only Port Townsend are estipublic pool in Jefferson mated to cost $4.1 million. County. Property owners will CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS A new roof was installed pay for only part of the Workers gather debris from the roof at Mountain View Commons in Port in the fall. At the end of cost of repairs, with a Townsend in July during the roof replacement process. the year, the city had comproperty tax increase of no missioned a study to determore than 13 cents per mine the future space allo$1,000 of valuation for 15 cation for the campus, as years. many tenants need more The amount between ESTABLISHED 1994 the total cost of the project room. Parallel to the building’s and the amount raised by renovation are plans to the bond measure will build an adjacent YMCA come from grants that are facility, for which a funding already committed from feasibility study is now in the state Department of progress. Ecology for $300,000; the state Department of ComPLEASE TURN TO NEXT PAGE Tyndall said he planned to focus on safety and worker morale. He also hoped that dredging of a runoff pond would sweeten the air, since odors have been a cause for complaint. During the drought this summer, the mill lowered its water consumption from 10 million to 15 million gallons daily to a little more than 10 million gallons.

2

PAW

ESTABLISHED 1993

PRINCE

ESTABLISHED 1994

WHERE YOUR PET IS ROYALTY! FOREIGN & AMERICAN

“We Make House Calls” 360 452-5278

Celebrating 24 years of Great Winemaking! 334 Benson Road, Port Angeles, WA 98363 (360) 417-3564

• NO START SPECIALIST •

452-4890

Thank you for your loyalty. We wish you peace & happiness throughout the year.

22 Years

611490411

22 Years

5 off

Serving The Olympic Peninsula Since 1994 $ Quality Grooming For All Dog Breeds Specializing in Cat Grooming Grooming or Boarding Cozy Homestyle Indoor Boarding Service withth Coupon Exp. Feb. 29 2016 K-9 Obedience Training

360-452-9555 • By Appointment Only 611489929

23 Years

611489823

24 Years

2357 E. Hwy. 101 Port Angeles

Tune Ups • Brakes • Starters • Radiators Alternators • Fuel Pumps • Water Pumps Timing Belts • Heater Cores • Trailer Wiring Electrical & Computer Diagnosis & Repair Your Home, Office or Roadside Service 611489821

www.camaraderiecellars.com Sharing the Best Things in Life

Auto Repair


12

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Building boom/

CONTINUED

The cost of the new YMCA, which could open in 2020, is estimated to be between $13 million and $15 million for a building between 47,000 square feet and 52,000 square feet.

3 CHARLIE BERMANT/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

The construction of Jefferson Healthcare’s new emergency facility in Port Townsend kicked into its second phase in September.

ESTABLISHED 1994

ESTABLISHED 1995

ESTABLISHED 1995

7 Cedars Casino Your One Stop Auto Parts Store

21 Years

452-7880

Serving the North Olympic Peninsula Since 1995

21 Years

611490045

Custom Computer Sales & Service 1940 E. 1st St. Ste. 154 Port Angeles

improved and dedicated cardiology services space supporting the latest in cardiac test procedures.

4

GO, REDHAWKS, RANGERS: In its second year as the Redhawks, the Port Townsend High School football team decimated its opponents, finishing the season with the program’s best record since 1977, a second straight Olympic League 1A title and the school’s first state playoff berth since 2004. The team won all nine of its regular season games, six of them widemargin shutouts. The Redhawks blistered Bellevue Christian 51-8 in the district playoffs before losing their state playoff opener to King’s Schools of Seattle 24-7. PLEASE

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FREE FARMS – FREE STREET FAIR JOIN US THIS SUMMER FOR OUR A N N I V E R S A R Y WE’LL KEEP THE LAVENDER BLOOMING

ESTABLISHED 1996

GHS

360-681-8767 Mon-Fri 8-8 Sat 8-6 • Sun 10-5 Thank you for your continued support!

NEAR PORT ANGELES AIRPORT

info@lavenderfestival.com lavenderfestival.com July 15, 16, & 17, 2016

611489879

20 Years

611490409

20 Years

• Veterinarian Recommended • 24-hour care • Lives on Site 611489896

611489824

21 Years

Party ♣ Game ♦ Shop ♠ Dine ♦ Dance

ESTABLISHED 1996

ESTABLISHED 1995

Fast, Friendly Service Since 1995

452-7991

It’s all fun and games!

611489819

611490038

22 Years

&

120 S. Albert Port Angeles, WA 98362

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 144 W. Washington St. Sequim Phone: 360-681-2883

Strait Alignment Brakes

BUILDING BOOM: May was a big month for groundbreaking, with ceremonies held for a Peninsula College campus at Fort Worden on May 14 and a Jefferson Healthcare Emergency Services Building five days later. Both buildings are scheduled for completion this year, with the college hoping to offer fall semester classes in the new facility. Plans for the college and the rehabilitation of Building 202 have been in development since 2011, but the funding wasn’t lined up until late 2014. The $6.1 million renovation project will create four

general classrooms, a science classroom, a studio-art room, a learning lab, a workforce training room, a student study space, faculty offices and a reception space. Video-equipped classrooms are planned so classes can be conducted in one location and viewed in another. The new space will continue current course offerings, general adult education and associate degrees, as well as eventually expand the curriculum, according to Luke Robins, Peninsula College president. The hospital area at 834 Sheridan St. in Port Townsend has been impacted by construction since the early summer. An office building was demolished to make way for a 50,000-square-foot, $20 million structure that will include an expanded emergency department, an orthopedic clinic and an


2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

13

Psychiatric unit/

CONTINUED

similar situations. The incident accelerated the development of a planned interagency task force combining police, mental health and emergency services resources for mental health cases.

6

PLEASE

TURN TO NEXT PAGE

Murrey’s

Tlympic

Port Angeles

360 457-1644

360-417-8090 • Pre-K – Mon., Wed., Fri. • 3-4 year olds – Tues. & Thurs. • Educational hands-on learning • 8:00-11:00 or 12:00-3:00

20 Years ESTABLISHED 1997

Sequim

360 683-7377

Port Townsend

360 379-6659

720 E. Washington St. Ste 106, Sequim - 683-2429

360-452-5326 • 360-683-6535 Toll Free 1-888-331-4477 PO Box 2636 Port Angeles, WA 98362 Wishing all a Happy New Year!

www.caregiversonline.com

20 Years

19 Years

ESTABLISHED 1997

ESTABLISHED 1998

Certified Hearing Inc.

NMLS-50132

th

830 East 8 Street, Port Angeles

(360) 452-2228 Forks 1-800-723-4106

19 Years

of Clallam & Jefferson Co.

683-0773 379-0205

18 Years

611490311

Have a Happy & Wonderful 2016

Fire & Water Cleanup & Restoration™

190 Center Park Way Sequim, WA

611489892

611489850

19 Years

We Pick Up Where You Left Off

James W. Paulsen Owner

Thanks to all our clients that we had the privilege of serving in 2015

& DM DispTsal

ESTABLISHED 1997

611489939

ABORTION SERVICES: Jefferson Healthcare hospital adopted a new reproductive health policy in July with expectations that a full slate of services — including abortion — would be available to East Jefferson County residents early this year. The hospital had received in February a letter from the Seattle chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union saying that Jefferson Healthcare was out of compliance with state law because it did not provide on-site abortion services.

ESTABLISHED 1996

ESTABLISHED 1996

611489834

5

MENTAL HEALTH HELP: Jefferson Healthcare hospital was awarded in November a $1.5 million grant from the state Department of Commerce to create East Jefferson County’s first inpatient psychiatric unit. Hospital commissioners are scheduled to meet this month to discuss acceptance of the grant for the seven-bed facility that will be created from existing space on the Port Townsend campus.

Jefferson Mental Health Services was a key partner in the application and will play a significant role in the development of the service, according to hospital CEO Mike Glenn. Support also came from the Port Townsend Police Department, the Jefferson County sheriff, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue and the Peninsula Regional Support Center, said Adam Marquis, Jefferson Mental Health Services’ executive director. The issue of mental health services was brought to the forefront after the forceful arrest of a reportedly mentally ill man in June. An external investigation found in September that the officer did not use excessive force. By that time, the Port Townsend Police Department had developed new procedures to deal with

611490288

The Quilcene Rangers also made the eight-man state playoffs, besting Taholah 56-8 in the first round before being defeated by Lummi in the quarterfinals. Chimacum snapped an 18-game losing streak and advanced to the district playoffs before falling to Cascade Christian.

Established 1997

HAPPY NEW YEAR

• Residential & Commercial Refuse & Recycle Curbside Pick-Up • Dumpsters (Permanent & temp) • 1, 1 1/2 or 2 yarders • Portable Storage Units, 12 or 22 ft. • Drop Box Service, 20, 25, & 30 yarders

Friends

Fine Dining for your Family Pets

217 N. Laurel Street

Prosperity to All in 2015!

18 Years

9 Hole Golf Course Clubhouse Pull Thurs Propane Group Discounts

53802 Hwy. 112 West Port Angeles (360) 928-2488 www.olypen.com/scrv

18 Years

611489813

18 Years

bonitasfourleggedfriends.com

RV Park • Golf Course • Clubhouse

611489870

Visit Us on facebook

1433 Sims Way, PT. 360-379-0436

611491044

2058 W. Edgewood Dr., Port Angeles, WA 98363-1332

611489913

457-6400

ESTABLISHED 1998

onit a’ s BFour-Legged

NECESSITIES & TEMPTATIONS

(360) 385-6612 (360) 452-7278

19 YEARS

ESTABLISHED 1998

ESTABLISHED 1998


14

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Biggest drug bust/

CONTINUED

ESTABLISHED 1999

ESTABLISHED 1999

ESTABLISHED 1999

TYLER & GUY Auto Body Repair HAPPY NEW YEAR

2912 HWY 101 EAST PORT ANGELES

360.417.8858

Linda Allen, DVM We would like to thank all our clients entrusting us to care for their four-legged children.

(360) 681-3368

17 Years

360.452.4494

ESTABLISHED 2000

ESTABLISHED 2000

128 E. Railroad Ave. Port Angeles Happy New Year!

611490027

289 West Bell St., Sequim

611489883

511202707

17 Years

VETERINARY HOSPITAL

17 Years

7

LARGEST DRUG BUST: An expired license plate led to the confiscation of 803 grams of heroin and 98 grams of methamphetamine having a combined street value of over $100,000, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

ESTABLISHED 2000

“Imagine it Framed”

Karon’s FRAME CENTER

1510 W Sims Way Port Townsend

Thank you for your Patronage

379-4739

16 Years

CEDAR CREEK

said. The value of the drugs made the July bust the largest in the history of the county, deputies said. The two Port Angeles women found in the car both quickly returned to custody after being released on bail. Colette Marie Vail, 35, of Port Angeles was arrested for investigation of driving without a license, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and one count of introducing contraband into a correctional facility as she allegedly attempted to smuggle heroin into the jail after her arrest. Vail was released on bail Sept. 11 and was arrested again Sept. 14. She was hospitalized for a heroin overdose and then turned herself in to the state Department of

Corrections in Port Angeles. On Oct. 30, she pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license, possession of heroin with intent to manufacture or deliver and unlawful possession of oxycodone, buprenorphine and methadone. She was sentenced to 30 months in prison. A passenger in her car, Marlen Ravelo, 47, also of Port Angeles, was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture or deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. She was scheduled for a Nov. 30 trial and released on bond. On Oct. 31, Ravelo was charged with 10 drugrelated felonies in Hamilton, Mont. PLEASE

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16 Beautiful years in Sequim 665 N. 5th Avenue, Sequim (across from SARC)

ESTABLISHED 2002

681-4363

16 Years

611489836

360-565-0308 625 E. Front St. Port Angeles, WA

611490292

16 Years

Happy New Year! 611489862

Serving the North Olympic Peninsula since 2000

AT

Although hospital officials responded that the low annual number of abortions — about 50 — wasn’t enough to establish a specialized clinic, they formed a committee to explore the issue and understand what resources would be needed to offer those services. The task force recommended that the hospital provide abortion services, and commissioners approved adopting them. Implementation will be monitored by the ACLU and members of the community.

A Taste of Mexico

VOTED BEST MEXICAN FOOD SINCE 2003!

ESTABLISHED 2000

ESTABLISHED 2000

Clark’s Chambers Bed & Breakfast Inn Located on

The oldest family owned farm in Washington State since 1850. Great mountain & water views. Breakfast is served family style.

582-9689 30 Years Experience and still going strong.

322 Clark Road, Sequim, WA 98382 360-683-4431 www.olypen.com/clacha E-mail: clacha@olypen.com

ALL SAFE mini storage

101 Grant Road 8 LOCATIONS IN SEQUIM TO SERVE YOU!

360-683-6646 WE SELL PACKING SUPPLIES

www.allsafe-storage.com

Sunday-Thursday 11 am - 9:30 pm Friday & Saturday 11 am -10 pm

360.452.3928

636 E. Front St., Port Angeles

Serving Beer, Wine & Mixed Drinks BANQUET ROOM AVAILABLE

14 Years

611489854

14 Years

611489889

16 Years

611490028

16 Years

611490284

Veterinary Recommended

Daily Lunch & Dinner Specials

ESTABLISHED 2002


SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

Inaugural Race to Alaska gets underway/ 9

15

CONTINUED

RACE TO ALASKA: In June, the Northwest Maritime Center sponsored the inaugural Race to Alaska. Participants traveled 750 miles from Port Townsend to

ESTABLISHED 2004

under its own power. The race, which ended on the Fourth of July, drew 53 entries, with 16 finishing the race. PLEASE

ESTABLISHED 2005

ESTABLISHED 2004

The Cat’s Pajamas

Quail Hollow Psychotherapy

A Bed and Breakfast for Cats, Inc.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 360-379-8025 315 Decatur St. Port Townsend

12 Years

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PLLC

318 Howe Road Port Angeles, WA 98362

360.683.4818

360-565-1077 www.catspjsbnb.com

401 Discovery View Dr. Sequim

Happy New Year!

www.QuailHollowTherapy.com

12 Years

11 Years

ESTABLISHED 2005

ESTABLISHED 2003

ALL POINTS CHARTERS AND TOURS IF

Y OUR F ULL S ERVICE T OUR AND T RANSPORTATION P ROVIDER

YOU HAVE TRANSPORTATION NEEDS CALL US AT

360-460-7131

We Finance Everyone!

OR VISIT US AT

11 Years

611490043

“Let’s hit the road with Willie!”

4C1204392

WWW . GOALLPOINT S . COM

611489855

13 Years

Ketchikan, Alaska, in nonmotorized craft. There were no restrictions as to the size of the boat or the number of crew members. The only rule was that each boat travel

611489901

8

YOUTH TAKES SEATS ON PORT TOWNSEND CITY COUNCIL: The two new-

est members of the Port Townsend City Council are in their 30s, which brings an element of youth to a panel that once had no one younger than 45. The ages of other sitting members on the sevenmember council range from their 50s to 70s. David Faber, 32, and Amy Howard, 33, were elected to the council in the Nov. 3 election. Faber succeeds Deputy Mayor Kris Nelson, who chose not to run for re-election. Howard fills the seat vacated by Mayor David King, who also chose not to run again. That, both Howard and Rice have said, will change the balance of the council. Their election means that a heretofore unrepresented demographic now will have a voice on the council, they have said.

611489816

Seattle included residents of Bothell, Everett, Marysville and Stanwood, as well as Fresno, Calif. A spokeswoman for the federal office in Seattle said then it remained undecided whether the Jefferson County case, the Montana charges or the federal indictments against Ravelo would take precedence. The federal office did not enumerate the federal complaints against her. Vail is now incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, where she is serving a 30-month sentence for possession with intent to distribute, one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and driving without a license.

611489898

She was released from the Ravalli County Adult Detention Center in Hamilton after paying $100,000 bail but was returned to custody within 24 hours, where she remains. Deputies said she set up a drug delivery when she arranged for bail. Her bond was reset at $250,000 after a urine test showed she had used narcotics, authorities said. They added a charge of tampering with evidence to her 10 state drug-related counts after jailers said they caught her trying to replace the sample with “clean” urine. While in the Montana jail, Ravelo was among 12 people indicted on federal charges after a two-year investigation of drug trafficking in the Puget Sound area. The indictments announced Nov. 5 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in


16

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

The three-person crew of Team Elsie Piddock — from left, Capt. Al Hughes, Matt Steverson and Graeme Esarey — with their $10,000 cash prize after winning the Race to Alaska.

ESTABLISHED 2007

360 670-5188

821 First Street Port Angeles

A place in pictures/

CONTINUED

Forty finished the first leg, a 40-mile journey to Victoria. Twenty-nine teams continued on the subsequent 710-mile journey to Alaska.

Thank you for 9 great years on the Peninsula!

9 Years

611489864

www.tjsflooringpa.com

ESTABLISHED 2007

Experience the art of dining Thai style in the heart of Sequim

360-683-8069 120 W. Bell Sequim, WA 98382

ESTABLISHED 2007

9 Years

611490029

www.galarethai.com

Team Elsie Piddock came in first to claim a $10,000 prize, while the second-place award, a set of steak knives, went to team MOB Mentality. The event succeeded beyond the sponsors’ dreams, drawing intense worldwide interest and extensive media coverage. In August, the maritime center announced that a second race was scheduled to begin June 23 from Port Townsend, a later start than 2015 to allow increased student participation.

10

PORT TOWNSEND IN THE MOVIES: When independent filmmaker John Sayles arrived in 2014 as the Port Townsend Film Festival’s special guest, he said he might not ever make another movie due to the

ESTABLISHED 2008

ESTABLISHED 1952

money-driven state of the film industry. That changed when he visited Fort Worden State Park and decided it was the perfect place to film a long-percolating idea about a 19th-century school for Native Americans. By February, he’d written the script for “To Save the Man” and began raising money for the movie. By year’s end, he’d made progress, boosted by megastar Robert Redford becoming the executive producer. Redford is not expected to visit Port Townsend during filming, according to Maggie Renzi, the film’s producer. In the fall, Sayles signed a letter of intent to film the movie in July, renting space for the movie that is scheduled to star Chris Cooper, one of the film festival’s 2015 special guests.

ESTABLISHED 2008

COCKTAILS • WINE • LOCAL MICRO BREWS

Northwest Waterfront Dining at John Wayne Marina FRESH LOCAL SEAFOOD, STEAKS & MORE

Port Angeles Community Players

LUNCH SERVED 11:30AM - 3PM • DINNER SERVED 4PM - 8PM OPEN WEDNESDAY - SUNDAY • CLOSED MON & TUES

360-683-7510 • 2577 W. Sequim Bay Rd., Sequim

www.pacommunityplayers.com

360-681-0113

Happy New Year! 8th & Peabody 360.452.3999 www.theblackbirdcoffeehouse.com

8 Years

611489897

8 Years

• stumptown coffee • • fresh lunch / smoothies • • scratch-made pastries • • wi-fi • drive-thru •

Port Angeles

www.CozyCarePetBoarding.net 611489857

64 Years

611489888

360-452-6551

Highly Vet Recommended for All Breeds & Sizes

By Appointment Only

1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd. 611489886

9 Years

Port Angeles Community Playhouse

Excellent rural Sequim location minutes from downtown


2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

1

THREE FIREFIGHTERS KILLED: The men perished in August after their vehicle crashed and was engulfed in flames in the Methow River Valley. Tom Zbyszewski, 20, Andrew Zajac, 26, and Richard Wheeler, 31, were fighting the Okanogan Complex fire, which as the largest wildfire in state history burned more than about 470 square miles.

2

AUDITOR INDICTED: Troy Kelley was indicted in April on charges of money laundering, possession of stolen money and other charges related to his prior operation of a real estate

services firm. Gov. Jay Inslee and other top officials have called for him to resign but Kelley maintains he’s innocent. His trial is set for March.

3

RIDE THE DUCKS CRASH: An outing for new international students at North Seattle College ended in tragedy when a bus they were on was struck Sept. 24 by an amphibious tour vehicle on Seattle’s Aurora Bridge. Five students were killed, and dozens were injured. Authorities have been looking into whether axle failure on the repurposed military “duck boat” caused

ESTABLISHED 2011

the crash.

4

LEGISLATURE FINED: In August, the state Supreme Court announced $100,000 daily fines for the Legislature because justices said lawmakers have failed to adequately pay to educate the state’s 1 million school children following the McCleary education funding lawsuit. Lawmakers have allocated billions of dollars toward public schools, but critics said that’s not enough to meet the requirements in the state Constitution that education be the Legislature’s “paramount duty.” PLEASE

17

611490044

Top 10 stories in Washington state

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

• Criminal Reports in all 50 States • DMV & CDLIS Records Search • Social Security Search • Tenant/Employment Credit Reports • Eviction Reports in all 50 States • Virtually Instant Turn Around Time 360.460.6507 888.907.3303 Toll Free pacificsentinel@live.com • www.pacific-sentinel.com

Your Need To Know is Our #1 Priority

5 Years

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611489865


18

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Man’s killing sparks protests/ 5 6 Elliott’s 8 10

CONTINUED

ESTABLISHED 2011

ESTABLISHED 2011

Antique Emporium Store, Estate Sales & Appraisals

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

ESTABLISHED 2011

ESTABLISHED 2012

Local help for all your legal secretarial needs. Office Assistant or Personal Assistant

360-344.3200

Self Service Dog Wash & Boarding

4

SEAHAWKS LOSE SUPER BOWL: Fans anticipating a thrilling, late-fourth-quarter Super Bowl comeback were left dumbstruck when the Seahawks opted for a pass play from the 1-yard line. Russell Wilson’s throw was picked off and the New England Patriots hung on for a 28-24 victory in Super Bowl XLIX.

7

ESTABLISHED 2014

LAW

Email: a2zfencing@hotmail.com www.a2zfencing.net Licensed CONTR#A2ZEF*870DM Bonded & Insured

4 Years

Payne Law, P.S. Full Service Law Firm Est. 2015

(360) 683-8784

360.797.1480

UNIT 14 (JCP MALL)

2 Years

Attorney-At-Law

“Client focused, results driven.” 888.670.9389

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Clallam County for a successful year in practice and look forward to continuing to provide support for the citizens of Clallam County and their legal needs.

P.O. Box 1179 Carlsborg

www.clearwaterbidets.com

1 Year

611489926

SEQUIM, WA

611489827

3 Years

609 W. WASHINGTON ST. 611490288

101 Provence View Ln., Off Sequim Ave. nourishsequim.com or facebook.com/nourishsequim

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ESTABLISHED 2015

KAROL’S ORGANIC • LOCAL 100% GLUTEN FREE RESTAURANT

DEBATE ON IDENTITY: Spokane’s Rachel Dolezal resigned as president of the NAACP’s Spokane chapter in June after her parents said she was a white woman posing as black. The furor touched off fierce debate around the country over racial identity and divided the NAACP itself.

• Cedar-Chain Link-Vinyl • Wrought Iron Gates and Fencing • Installation and Repairs • Automatic Gate Opener Installation

Years

Yakima, which has about 90,000 residents, is about 40 percent Hispanic.

9

P ESTABLISHED 2013

School, where he invited 100 students to visit China.

CHIPOTLE E. COLI OUTBREAK: Chipotle temporarily closed 43 of its Pacific Northwest locations in the fall after a foodborne illness linked to its stores sickened nearly 50 people in Washington and Oregon — prompting renewed scrutiny HEAD OF STATE of a company that touts its ARRIVES: Chinese use of fresh ingredients and President Xi Jinping farm-sourced fare. started his U.S. visit by YAKIMA ELECCases of the E. coli. illspeaking to business leadTION: Three Hispanic nesses were traced to six of candidates were ers in Seattle, visiting the the casual Mexican food resBoeing production plant in elected to the Yakima City taurants, but the company Council following a federal voluntarily closed down all Everett and stopping at a Tacoma high school as part lawsuit. November’s elecof its locations in Washingtion was the first since the of his three-day swing ton and the Portland, Ore., ACLU sued the city under through Washington state area as a precaution. the Voting Rights Act, before he headed to the ________ demanding that the comnation’s capital. A highlight of his stay in munity’s election system be This list was ranked by The changed to give Hispanics this Washington was his Associated Press’ member editors across the state. appearance at Lincoln High a better chance.

611490032

611489860

www.stinkydogubathe.com

ESTABLISHED 2012

611489830

cebrow@cablespeed.com 219A Patison St. Port Hadlock

5 Years

5 Years

611490311

5 Years

611489927

License# ARTISCR89N3

Email: EAEmporium@aol.com (360) 504-2890 135 E. 1st St. Port Angeles, WA

PASCO POLICE: Unarmed orchard worker Antonio Zambrano-Montes was fatally shot by three Pasco police officers in February, sparking weeks of protests. The killing was captured on cellphone video that went viral. Authorities said the 35-year-old from Mexico threw rocks at the officers near a busy intersection. A local prosecutor said in September that the officers would not be charged with any crimes.


2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2016

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION OF THE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

TOP REASONS TO BUY FROM WILDER! Serving the Local Community for over 39 years as a family owned and operated dealership. Wilder contributes in many ways back to the community. Selection- We offer new Toyota, Honda, Nissan, VW, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram. We have over 500 vehicles in stock and can get anything not currently here. Wilder Advantage- Buy with Confidence! Every vehicle comes with The Wilder Advantage, all used vehicles are safety checked and serviced. We offer shuttle services discounts on accessories, loaner vehicles and every 4th oil change is on us - FREE! Buying Experience We understand that purchasing a vehicle is a big decision and can sometimes be stressful. At Wilder we strive to make the buying experience hassle free and simple. We don’t sell cars, we help people buy them. With so many options and information available, nothing is more important for us than your ability to make an informed and confident decision! We’d love to form a lasting and great long term relationship with all our customers. Value Pricing We offer very competitive pricing and will do what it takes to earn and maintain your business. Top Trade Values We will offer you the most we can for your trade in. We will even offer to buy your car outright if you are just selling and not looking to replace it! Financing Terms- We have many lending sources including banks and credit unions. We will compare all your options to find the perfect solution for you! People- We have great people who care about you and your purchasing experience. Our employees are very helpful and look to build great relationships to last for many years to come. Reliable Service- AAA Top Shop in the state of Washington as rated by AAA criteria. We are committed to your satisfaction!

4Runner Durango RAV4 Land Cruiser

Journey Highlander Sequoia

CR-V

Armada Xterra

HR-V Pathfinder

Rogue

Grand Cherokee

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TIED FOR 1ST FOR BEST AUTO REPAIR CLALLAM CO. WILDER AUTO

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www.wilderauto.com 101 and Deer Park Rd, Port Angeles • 1-888-813-8545

4C1204824

You Can Count On Us!

FINALIST

FOR BEST OIL CHANGE CLALLAM CO. WILDER AUTO

Cherokee

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