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SEQUIM GAZETTE
SEQUIM GAZETTE
FEATURES/NEWS Wednesday, April 20, 2011 • A-13
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 • A-13
A closer look at our region’s economic development
OFF THE BEAT Bob Spinks Note: This is the first of a multi-part series that examines economic development efforts on the Olympic Peninsula. Employment in Clallam County continues in a four-year downward spiral, according to the state of Washington. That translates into an 11.3 percent rate of unemployment, better than last year’s high of 12.3 percent. Those are numbers that far exceed state and national unemployment levels. With double-digit unemployment, you would think economic development would be the critical topic on the Olympic Peninsula. Often bandied about, the phrase “economic development” is often misunderstood. The process is complicated by politics, personalities and limited resources for luring new business, so it is a mystery to many. There are many players in the jigsaw puzzle that makes up economic development. The brightest stars in this arena are the Port of Port Angeles (the port) and the Clallam Economic Development Council (EDC). The port’s executive director Jeff Robb has multi-generational ties to the Sequim area and is responsible for the airport, marine, industrial and economic development duties of the port district. Many significant projects face Robb and the port daily. There is the $8 million Black Ball Terminal project with construction beginning next year; the groundbreaking for the port’s Composites Manufacturing Campus including construction of a $4 million, 125,000-squarefoot building to kick off that expansion; the Central Waterfront Plan to enhance marine operations and to accommodate larger vessels; the Lincoln Park tree removal project to increase airport safety; and much more.
What is economic development? Economic development, while hard to define, seems to have many people thinking they know it when they see it. Clallam EDC Executive Director Linda Rotmark notes that economic development is not quick. She likens it more to farming a crop versus being on a fast track to instant prosperity — a growing cycle that can take years before a full harvest is realized. The Clallam County Economic Development Action Plan published in May 2010 defined local goals: “Increasing the number of family wage jobs was a critical component of economic development. Business retention and growth were also seen as critical. Importing money while exporting products and services, increasing individual and community wealth, and building the tax base were also cited.”
See SPINKS, page A-18
by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Smile brightly, wave proudly and ready yourself for a day in the life of a princess. For one year, four teen girls will take time away from school and give up weekends to be the faces of Sequim. This year’s Irrigation Festival royalty — queen Taylor Willis and princesses Marissa Haner, Stephanie Laurie and Abigail Vidals — took the plunge April 9 for their first parade, the Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade in Tacoma. Some people might think royalty is one and done at the May 14 Sequim Irrigation Festival’s Grand Parade, but these girls and a number of volunteers work countless hours to promote Sequim and the longest-running festival in Washington. “This is truly a labor of love,” said Lynn Horton, royalty mom for five years and past kick-off dinner organizer. She and other faithful devotees including her husband, Guy, and Joe and Tawana Borden accompany the royalty to every appearance, including about 15 parades through October. Horton keeps tabs on the girls, driving them to events in a lipstick red minivan, while reminding them they always represent Sequim. “Being silly in the car is OK but once outside, it’s a different matter,” Horton said. For a chance to be royalty, the young women learn a lot they might not normally know, such as Sequim’s history, public speaking and
What it takes to be a Sequim princess
ing to dinner and later taking a dip in the pool to relax. Maybe excitement got the best of her, but the princesses said queen Taylor Willis sang late into the night. The girls needed to be up by 4:30 a.m. to ready for departure at 5:30 a.m., a police escort for the float at 6:30 a.m., judging at 8 a.m. and the actual parade at 10:15 a.m. The schedule did leave for a lot of stop-and-go, but the girls got to see some of the daffodil parade’s many entries.
Royalty reception
Top, glistening teeth and perfect hair were no problem for royalty, from left, princesses Abigail Vidals and Marissa Haner and queen Taylor Willis. Above, after judges come by, queen Taylor Willis, top, unwinds, while princess Stephanie Laurie unstraps herself to trade places with princess Marissa Haner. teamwork. Rules include no public displays of affection while serving, mandated community service, no complaining, and maintaining grades and demeanor to standards of Sequim athletes. Joe Borden, former festival chairman, said the girls mature greatly over the year they’re together. “If you talk to them today versus at the last parade, it’s like they are totally new people,” he said. In order to receive a college scholarship after one year, the girls must sign and uphold a contract with the festival.
Tacoma bound In recent years, the girls
have become more hands-on with assembling and disassembling the float, rain or shine. “We’ve wanted them to take more ownership in the float because it’s theirs,” Horton said. Royalty had no qualms with helping in Tacoma. They arrived the afternoon of Friday, April 8, to unload their bright carousel float next to other meticulously decorated floats. Borden said Sequim’s float cost about $3,000 and used all volunteers whereas other city’s floats have cost as much as $30,000 to build with professional builders. After a flat tire repair,
Sequim’s team got to work. Inside a massive barn, a sea of floats from across the Northwest lined up with people prepping thousands of daffodils to be stapled or placed in baskets. Sequim’s royalty competed to finish stapling rows upon rows of daffodils to boards. The girls were dirtiest at the end of the day as they sat and knelt on the barn’s dirty floor. By the time Sequim’s float was good to go, Horton and the girls had been pulling a 14-hour day.
Celebration Everyone took a breather in their hotel rooms before go-
Sequim royalty queen Taylor Willis, in pink, and princess Stephanie Laurie, in purple, meet several of the daffodil princesses who were enamored with the local girls’ dresses.
Princesses Marissa Haner, left, and Abigail Vidals gladly sacrifice their cleanliness to finish stapling daffodils to boards for the Sequim Irrigation Festival’s float.
The four Sequim Irrigation Festival royalty journey to the royalty reception. Along the way they passed floats, marching bands, a pancake breakfast and dozens of performers.
Marching bands, hot rods and plenty of princesses passed by Sequim’s float. Sequim’s court said they were eager to meet other royalty. Their first friendly greeting was with royalty from New Westminster Hyack Festival Association in British Columbia. An ongoing tradition is to exchange pins from each others’ festivals. By the end of the day, they had pins from Canada, Oregon and across Washington. The biggest surprise for royalty was at the royal reception at a neighboring bank. Inside, most of the parade’s royalty participants shook hands, shared Sequim pins and got to know each other. Sequim’s pink and purple dresses stuck out among the 23 Daffodil royalty all in yellow. Horton said when the girls took off their black capes, the large group of royalty “oohed, aahed” and said, “Look at their dresses.”
See PRINCESS, page A-14
A police escort leads Sequim’s carousel float to the Daffodil Parade, which ends near the Tacoma Dome.
Queen Taylor Willis is full of energy at 5:30 a.m. on April 9 as she puts on final hair spray touches before traveling to the Tacoma Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade.
A-14 • Wednesday, April 20, 2011
SEQUIM GAZETTE
Munchies are a must on the road for Sequim Irrigation Festival royalty, from left, princesses Marissa Haner, Stephanie Laurie, queen Taylor Willis and princess Abigail Vidals.
Princess
See a slideshow with audio online at www.sequimgazette.com
From page A-13 Jessica Schroeder, Horton’s daughter and 2005-2006 festival princess, accompanied the group to the gathering. She said meeting royalty from other cities could mean new friends that last a lifetime. Schroeder said she misses the experience. “My favorite part every time was when little girls
could meet. The woman let them know how much her daughter loved princesses. Princess Marissa Haner said they’ve gotten a similar reception in Sequim at grade schools and events and that they always make time to shake hands and take photos. Even before the parade began, the girls seemed in good spirits with little sleep and cold weather. Everyone except Princess Abigail Vidals had
came up to me and were so happy,” she said. “They looked up to us.”
En route Before the parade, a marathon runner with her daughter strapped to her back ran over to the princesses so they
been in a parade, whether as a Girl Scout, with a school or as Little Miss Maple Leaf, as Willis was in her former home of Carthage, Mo. Willis said a parade doesn’t rattle her nerves. “I’m a little more comfortable in a bigger crowd than a smaller one,” Willis said. Vidals said she was nervous for Tacoma’s parade, but especially Sequim’s. “I’m not used to being in front of people and knowing they are staring at me,” she said. She didn’t crack, though, as judges came by. The whole royalty seemed poised as the parade began. Early into the parade run, three men came in front of the float with a banner reading “Grand Sweepstakes,” otherwise known as the best float of the parade. This was the first time in several years that Sequim’s Irrigation Festival float got first place in Tacoma. Royalty continued to wave and smile while volunteers handed out Sequim buttons and Guy Horton went into the crowds encouraging people to wave. At the end of the parade, about noon, the girls broke
Photo opps with the Sequim Irrigation Festival royalty, from left, Abigail Vidals, Marissa Haner, Taylor Willis and Stephanie Laurie, aren’t all glitz and glam as the group shows off their jumping skills.
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Sequim Irrigation royalty and float schedule April 9 – Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade May 14 – Sequim Kids Parade and Irrigation Festival Grand Parade along Washington Street from Sequim Avenue to Seventh Avenue May 21 – Port Townsend Rhododendron Festival Parade May 23 – Victoria Day June 4 – Shelton, Mason County Forest Festival June 18 – Marysville Strawberry Festival June 25 – Port Orchard, Fathoms O’ Fun Festival July 4 – Forks Fourth of July Parade July 9 – McCleary Bear Festival July 16 – West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival July 30 – Seafair, Seattle Aug. 6 – Joyce Blackberry Festival Sept. 10 – Hoquiam Loggers Playday Sept. 17 – Quilcene Fair and Parade Oct. 1 – Issaquah Salmon Days form with a few loud cheers. They posed for some celebratory photos with the Grand Sweepstakes plaque, changed into festival jumpsuits and helped deconstruct the float. Horton said it’s customary for the girls to be talkative going to a parade — with excitement — and sleepy on the way back with exhaustion. When asked what they learned from their first pa-
rade, Willis had simple advice. “Smile until your face falls off and then keep going,” she joked. Sequim Irrigation Festival events run May 6-15. V i s i t w w w. s e q u i m irrigationfestival.com for more information. Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette. com.
Guy Horton, front left, encourages Tacoma parade watchers to wave like princesses as Sequim’s float passes them. Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash
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STRAITSCENES Wednesday, April 27, 2011
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011 • C-1
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SEQUIM GAZETTE
SPIRITUAL SPOTLIGHT EXTRA Best Bets for the
28 years for the good book Translating the Bible may save a language
Weekend
Here comes the weekend, and, if you are like most of us, you choose carefully how you’ll spend those 72 hours. Here are some suggestions:
Friday, April 29 Recent best-album Grammy winner and blues icon Willie Big Eyes Smith plays Port Townsend tonight. See Page C-6. Sequim’s Olympic Theatre Arts begins its fun run of baby-boomers-themusical with “Too Old for the Chorus.” Runs through May 15. See Page C-6. In the lies and statistics department, “How to Identify Pseudoscience, Quackery and Fraud” by physician Harriet Hall is at Peninsula College in Port Angeles this evening. Or stop next door at Port Angeles Fine Arts Center for “An Evening of Far West Videos,” mixing the Hoh, Poe, early cinema and new music. See Page C-6.
Saturday, April 30 Start the morning with Sequim Prairie Garden Club’s annual spring plant sale. Port Townsend hosts a Children’s Festival of Art and, for the culinary artistes, the annual AAUW Kitchen Tour. Bach, Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, Franck and other luminaries shine in a concert by star organist Angela Kraft Cross, along with her own compositions. They’re all in Sequim this evening. See Page C-6.
by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Linguistic masters in their own right, Dale and Lillian Nesse recently celebrated the gift of language with a whole culture. Nesse, a German and Spanish language teacher at Sequim High School, and his wife Lillian, a paraeducator for students learning English in Sequim elementary schools, visited Cañar, Ecuador, in the high elevation of the Andes Mountains, to attend the dedication of the Quichua Cañar Bible. As missionaries the couple worked from 1983-1997 translating the New Testament into Quichua before dedicating the translation and moving to Sequim. Over the next 14 years, Nesse consulted with an Ecuadorian translation team via e-mail, phone and a few trips to help translate the Old Testament. “People had all the training they needed if they wanted to continue, so they did,” Nesse said. After 28 years, 5,000 copies of the Quichua Bible became available March 19 at the dedication ceremony, where the Nesses and more than 1,000 people marched, sang and celebrated the occasion for two days. “When we were there, people told us they had read it and it meant so much to them,” Nesse said.
Lillian and Dale Nesse on a March trip to Ecuador, where they served as missionaries for 14 years. Photo courtesy of Dale and Lillian Nesse
Preserving culture The Nesses feel the translated Bible not only promotes the Christian faith but also preserves a dying language. Quichua is an Ecuadorian dialect of Quechua, a language family used by millions of indigenous people in the Andes. Nesse said school systems and trades in Ecuador mostly center on Spanish, whereas the Quichua language is used by s ome adults but few children. “Some of the people there, the older adults, they see the risk of their language losing its value and not being spoken anymo re,” he said. Several speakers at the recent dedication spoke on the theme that the Quichua Bible would help the people have better self-esteem because typically they’ve been overlooked and underappreciated. “We’ve seen they feel so much better about themselves now compared to when we first went there,” Lillian Nesse said. Some elder Quichua Indians said they are going to use it to help teach their younger people the language, Nesse said.
Thought process Lillian Nesse said that in the 1980s,
Above: The Bible recently was completed in the Quichua language by translators in Cañar, Ecuador. Dale and Lillian Nesse worked on translating the New Testament there for 14 years before moving to Sequim and serving as consultants. At right: John 3:16, arguably the most widely known Bible verse, was translated by Sequim resident Dale Nesse into Quichua, an Incan language in Ecuador. there were about 3,000 languages without any translated biblical scripture. “Only 10 percent of all languages have the whole Bible in their language,” she said. “We felt that we could help change that.” Nesse learned Quichua through study; Lillian Nesse came to it by immersion. “I didn’t have time to sit down and study like he did,” Lillian Nesse said. “I just had to converse with people as we cooked together in the kitchen or took care of the girls.” After some time, Lillian Nesse shared some of Nesse’s translated scripture with the women to see if they understood it.
Translation challenges
Sunday, May 1 May Day! Maypoles, music and a labyrinth in Port Angeles at the Fine Arts Center’s day of family fun, food, music and art. Webster’s Woods is full of surprises and everybody gets to make art at this festival, too. See Page C-6. Transportation overload: a Rhody Bike Tour in Port Townsend, a history of Spruce Production Railroads in Sequim, and an North Olympic Mustangs show ‘n shine in Port Angeles. See Page C-7.
Dale Nesse speaks at the Bible dedication ceremony. He devoted 14 years in Ecuador to translating the New Testament into the Quichua language. He spent another 14 years as a mentor to translators working on the Old Testament, which was completed last month. Photo courtesy of Dale and Lillian Nesse
Nesse found one of his biggest translation assets was a series of books by Bible translators. “You can’t translate word for word,” he said. “You often times have to use a phrase or the meaning and not the word.” He gave the example of Jesus calling himself the son of man: “If you translate that literally, people think he had no mother and was born of a man, so we translated it to ‘The one who came to become man.’” Nesse said the hardest parts in the New Testament to translate were Romans and the epistles because they are so dense: “’Kingdom of God?’ What is that supposed to mean? It’s a church term. In different contexts it could mean different things. In one context, it could mean God is king in your life. It could mean heaven,
See BIBLE, page C-4
More than 28 years ago, Dale Nesse, right, wasn’t sure Reinaldo Chimborazo was able to help him translate the Bible, but Chimborazo became the principal translator of the Old Testament and a Quichua language teacher. He helped complete the Bible translation in March. Photo courtesy of Dale and Lillian Nesse Dale Nesse, a Sequim Spanish and German teacher, was honored for his service of nearly 28 years translating the New Testament and consulting on the Old Testament. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
C-4 • Wednesday, April 27, 2011
SEQUIM GAZETTE and translate scripture into our language.’ He said that out of the blue. That touched our heart and we continued on.” The Nesses studied for a year to become Bible translators. They began translation work in 1983, with 1-yearold daughter Maia in tow. Three more daughters were born in Ecuador: Angela, Sonia and Gloria. All four graduated from Sequim High School.
Continued celebration
Women from El Tambo, Ecuador, walk in the Bible dedication parade to the nearby city of Cañar. The Bible dedication parade began in the city of EL Tambo, Ecuador, which sits about 10,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. Local Bible translators Dale and Lillian Nesse visited in mid-March to take part in the festivities. Photos courtesy of Dale and Lillian Nesse
Bible
From page C-1 where God reigns. It could be a place or a relationship.” Nesse said translators of the Old Testament ran into problems with Psalms because it’s poetry and hard to interpret.
Long-term help The Nesses said they found blessings a lot of the time they were in Ecuador. One of the men who worked initially on the project couldn’t continue, so he asked Nesse to take on his brotherin-law, Reinaldo Chimborazo.
“I didn’t think he was going to be much help at all because he was timid, but he ended up being the one who finished the whole project,” Nesse said. “We saw how God touched his life. His little boy had been sick. We prayed for him and he went to a nearby clinic. Before the boy got there, he was healed.” Lillian Nesse said since that event, Chimborazo has been a different person. “He’s been the faithful one for all these years.” “The second miracle is that this boy joined a gang,” she said. “I think he was stabbed,
At the Quichua Bible translation dedication, more than 1,000 people sat and stood for hours of singing and worship. lying behind a car thinking he was going to die. He told God he was going to turn it around — two years ago.” Now Chimborazo’s son helps with computers. Nesse said the local churches were so impressed with Chimborazo’s work that he was asked to translate
apocryphal books for the Roman Catholic Church. “He said he’d only do it if he was allowed to train younger people,” Nesse said.
Hilltop encounter Going to Ecuador seemed to be a higher calling for the Nesses.
Faith
1-800-22-UNITE Sunday morning children’s virtues classes Weekly study sessions and devotional meetings open to seekers of all Faiths.
Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette. com.
irectory
hurch The Baha’i
They met while going to Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle, now called Trinity Lutheran College. Both said they had a knack for languages and a sense that God wanted to use those talents. Lillian Nesse needed to fulfill a seven-week internship to graduate from the school, so the couple went on her sister’s advice to visit Ecuador. A chance encounter, said Lillian Nesse, was a sign from God: “While there, we visited a little church on top of a hill and a little Quichuan man approached us. He had no idea what was in our hearts. We were intending to go to linguistics school and to go on the bible translation track. He didn’t know that. He said to us, which has stuck with us for many years, ‘We’ve been praying for years that someone would come to our area
At the end of the school year, Nesse will retire from teaching. His hope is to return to the area of Cañar as part of Scripture Engagement, a program of Lutheran Bible Translators through which he and Lillian will visit the area to reinforce and encourage people’s faith. “We were very pleased with what we saw,” Nesse said. “We want to go back and spend more time. It was just like being teased going back for just a week.” Lillian Nesse won’t be retiring quite yet, but she said they are interested in helping missionaries in the short-term with translation, if needed. “We want people to know that it’s not just for the sake of translating the Bible. It’s so people’s lives can be changed and that’s the most exciting thing,” she said. “It changes your life.”
Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church
Dungeness Community Church Sunday Services and Fellowship Children’s Classes and Nursery See www.thecrossingchurch.net for location and time Pastor: Glen Douglas Phone: 360-477-0609 Email: pastorglen@thecrossingchurch.net
Call 683-5520 for information
Worship Service 10:00 a.m. ALSO OFFERING Nursery, Children, Youth and Adult Sunday School Pastors: Scott Culver, Wayne Yamamoto 45 Eberle Lane 3.9 miles N. on Sequim-Dungeness Way from Highway 101 Church Office 683-7333 • Fax 681-0524 Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8am-4pm e-mail: dcc@tfon.com Web Site: www.dcchurch.org
E.L.C.A.
925 N. Sequim Ave. Sundays Worship: 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. Christian Education: 9:40 a.m. Wednesdays Potluck: 6:00 p.m. Christian Education: 6:45 p.m. Nursery Service Available
Pastor Jack Anderson Mary Griffith, RN, Parish Nurse 681-0946
Faith
FAITH LUTHERAN Baptist Church CHURCH L.C.M.S. Family Oriented Ministry Emphasizing Bible Preaching & Teaching
Sunday School 9:45 A.M. Worship 11:00 A.M. Praise & Fellowship Service 6:00 P.M. Nursery Available
360 683-7303
www.faithbaptistsequim.com 7652 Old Olympic Hwy., Sequim
OLYMPIC BIBLE FELLOWSHIP
First Church of
Christ, Scientist
10:45 a.m. Worship Service, Nursery & Sunday School 5:45 p.m. Awana - 3 years through High School Pastor Rich Hay
337 West Spruce • 683-9174 Sunday Service: 10:00 a.m. Wednesday: 7:00 p.m. Sunday School: 8:45 a.m. (held at Reading Room) Christian Science Reading Room 121 North Sequim Avenue Tuesday through Saturday 12 noon until 3:00 p.m. ALL ARE WELCOME
Weekly programs provided for youth and adults, such as AWANA and Precept Bible studies Website: www.obfchurch.org New Meeting location: Olympic Bible Fellowship 261913 Hwy. 101 • Carlsborg
NEW LOCATION
SUNDAY Traditional Worship - 9:30 a.m. Children’s Classes (Ages 3-12) – 10:20 a.m. Adult Discipleship Hour – 11:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship - 11:00 a.m. Evening Worship – 6:00 p.m. Student Ministry – 6:00 p.m.
847 North Sequim Ave. 683-4135 www.sequimbible.org Dave Wiitala, Senior Pastor Shane McCrossen, Youth Pastor
Sequim Presbyterian Fellowship Meeting 4:00 pm on Sundays Holiday Inn Express Conference Center
1441 East Washington • Sequim PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (USA)
Moving Forward on Faith
MONDAY Precepts - 7:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY Adult Bible Study & Prayer – 6:30 p.m. AWANA – 6:30 p.m.
Family Fun Sunday May 15 • 12-2pm P.O. Box 925, Sequim, WA 98382 Pastors Steve Eaton and Roger Stites
www.FLCsequim.org
Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship A welcoming congregation and religious home for the liberal spirit.
10:30 a.m. Service & Church School
360-683-6731
382 W. Cedar 683-4803 Sunday Worship Services 8:30 & 11 a.m. Adult Bible Classes 9:45 a.m.
73 Howe Rd., Agnew (Old Olympic to N. Barr Rd.)
Saint Joseph’s Catholic Masses: 5 p.m. Saturday, 8:30 a.m. Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Sunday Weekday Masses: Tues., Wed., Thurs., & Fri. 8:30 a.m. We welcome anyone who is interested in learning about the Catholic Faith or joining the Catholic Church. Call for details.
121 E. Maple, P.O. Box 1209 Father Victor Olvida 683-6076
www.olympicuu.org 417-2665
A Center For Positive Living
Sunday School for all Loving infant care
Sequim Worship Center Rev. David L. Westman
683-6170 255 Medsker Rd.
Pastor: Eric Williams sequimadventist@qwestoffice.net
525 N. 5th Ave. P.O. Box 896 • 683-4862 Sunday Eucharist • 8 am & 10 am Childcare Provided
Reverend Robert Rhoads A Church With A Difference www.stlukesparish.net
w w w. s e q u i m c o m m u n i t y c h u r c h . o r g
Sat. 9:30 a.m. Sabbath School 10:45 a.m. Worship Service
30 Sanford Lane Mountain View Christian School
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Dr. Scott E. Koenigsaecker, Senior Pastor Rev. Rick Dietzman, Minister to Adults Rev. Tony Toth, Pastor to Youth Joel Rosenauer, Director of Worship Arts Peggy McKellar, Director of Children’s Ministries
Sequim Seventh-day Adventist Church Church 683-7373
Spanish Speaking Service ............. 9:00 a.m. Small Groups Bible Study (all ages) ...................................... 9:30 a.m. Worship Service ...........................11:00 a.m. Worship Service ............................6:00 p.m. MONDAY Youth Group ....................................5:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY Adult Bible Study, Prayer .............6:00 p.m.
950 N. Fifth Avenue - (360) 683-4194
Sunday Worship Contemporary @ 9 & 11 a.m. Traditional @ 10 a.m.
Rev. Lynn Osborne INFORMATION CALL 681-0177
SUNDAY
1323 Sequim-Dungeness Way P.O. Box 1557 683-2114
Sequim Community Church
Sequim Center for Spiritual Living Holds Sunday Service 10:00 Pioneer Park
First Baptist Church (S.B.C.)
640 N. Sequim Avenue 360-683-7981
TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
100 South Blake Ave.
SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE 10:45 AM
Celebration Service: 9:30 a.m. Traditional Service: 11:00 a.m. Sunday School & Nursery: 9:30 a.m. Bill Gordon, Pastor
“Sharing Good News from the edge of the Olympic Mountains to the Ends of the Earth”
church@sequimtumc.org www.sequimtumc.org
sequimworshipcenter.org
683-5367
SEQUIM GAZETTE
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 • A-1
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BIT
Program founder says he’ll stay active as volunteer, teacher by PATRICIA MORRISON COATE Sequim Gazette
Bob Boekelheide loves to learn and with that passion, he’s carved out a career in teaching the biological sciences over the past 25 years. When he steps down as director of the Dungeness River Audubon Center on Dec. 31, Boekelheide will continue to do what he does best after a decade of shaping the nonprofit: educate the community about the rich natural world surrounding Sequim. “My future role will be as a volunteer and teacher. I’ll continue to help with educational programs — I just won’t be here for day-today operations. Maybe one or two days, I’ll see how it goes,” Boekelheide said. The director’s job has been a good fit for Boekelheide, after teaching high school science for 15 years, a half dozen of those split between Sequim and Port Angeles. He came to the peninsula in 1995. “I really enjoyed teaching but when this job opened up (in 2001), it was too enticing; I had to apply. When I started at the center, it was an empty shell, literally. Railroad Bridge Park had been open since 1992 and the River Center was the culmination of the project.” Boekelheide, who has a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s in ecology,
See BOEKELHEIDE, page A-4
Photographer/filmmaker John Gussman captures the first few moments as workers begin removal of the Elwha River dams last week. See more pictures on page A-10.
From zero to grown-ups in no time First day for one excited kindergartner
Learning centers like the castle and dinosaur area allow kindergartners like Win Jones to socialize and have fun at the end of the day. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Boekelheide strikes a familiar pose on a Wednesday bird walk, with camera, tripod and binoculars. Photo courtesy of the Dungensss River Audubon Center
Soon enough children like 5-year-old Win Jones will become astronauts, nurses, lawyers, politicians and authors. Today, they are simply kindergartners taking in the building blocks of life. Many students graced the halls of Greywolf Elementary and Helen Haller Elementary on Tuesday, Sept. 6, for the first time as part of their 13-year journey toward graduating from high school. For Win’s first day of school, the
Gazette documented his experience as part of a new series called “First time for everything.” The purpose of these stories is to show how people in our community first experience life’s new challenges and adventures. Win’s school prep began long before he became an official kindergartner. His parents, Powell Jones and Laura Gould, said
they’ve been practicing reading at home, reciting the alphabet, counting to 20, teaching shapes, colors and specific words. Gould said reading is common in their home and they don’t have a lot of time-wasters like TV or fast Internet, so her son usually is playing. “He has a vivid imagination and likes to tell stories,” she said. “We encourage that kind of thing.” Jones said one of the biggest steps for Win was getting him excited for school.
by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Sequim’s restaurant ritual for many hungry customers just lost one long-time staple. Gwennie Thornton recently decided to retire and closed her Gwennie’s Restaurant at 701 E. Washington St., on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Consistent crowds and recurring customers showered Thornton with hugs, thank you’s, and cards while ordering their favorite dishes one last time. Claud Skeen has enjoyed Gwennie’s since moving to Sequim from Lake Tahoe, Nev., two years ago. He started coming after his son suggested it and found that he likes the people at the restaurant a lot. Skeen ordered two berry cobblers as a special goodbye. Sam Smith and Louise Goff have eaten at Gwennie’s for years. “We tried it one day and loved it,” Smith said.
by Sequim Gazette Staff
Gwennie Thornton, owner of Gwennie’s Restaurant, recently decided to retire after 25 years in Sequim and more than 40 years in the restaurant business. The future of the building is unknown but Thornton intends to retire to Idaho to be closer to family.
See GWENNIE, page A-4
A&E Calendar ................. C-6 Obituaries ..................... A-15 Opinions/Letters .......... A-16
Real Estate ..................... D-1 Schools ........................... B-5 Sports/Recreation ......... B-1
A Sequim man was killed in an early morning rollover in the 4500 block of Sequim-Dungeness Way. The only occupant and apparent driver, 23-year-old Jeremy Columbus, was ejected and suffered severe head injuries, Clallam County Sheriff ’s Deputy Josh Ley said in a news release. Peter Loeb, public information officer with Clallam County Fire District 3, said Columbus was unconscious and unresponsive as emergency responders prepared him to be airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. Three Clallam County Sherif f ’s
Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash
INDEX Business ......................... A-7 Classifieds ...................... D-1 Crossword ....................... C-5
See KINDERGARTEN, page A-6
Sequim man dies in rollover
Goodbye, Gwennie Sequim restaurateur retires, sells building
“He wants to be an engineer and paleontologist and we tell him that anything is possible but one of the steps to doing that is going to school,” he said. Gould said she was concerned Win might feel confined in the classroom and get into trouble because of his energy level. “You’ve got to trust the kindergarten teachers because they know 5-year-olds better than anyone,” she said. Upon meeting Win for the first
Strait Scenes ................. C-1 Weather .......................... A-2
This Week’s Forecast: See page A-2 for local weather. Check for updated weather reports at www.sequimgazette.com
See ROLLOVER, page A-3
A-6 • Wednesday, September 21, 2011
SEQUIM GAZETTE
Win Jones, 5, enjoys his first taste of kindergarten inside the Sequim Boys & Girls Club as a part of the KinderKids program. Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash
The first thing students do in kindergarten is hang up their backpacks and find their book boxes for a day of learning.
Kindergarten From page A-1 time, his love for dinosaurs and telling and listening to stories was apparent. When Win noticed a photograph being taken, he’d smile and ask, “Is that going to be part of the story?”
Starting time Win’s day begins at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club in the KinderKids Program. Both his parents work, so the program serves as a complement to what kindergarten teachers do in the morning and afternoon. Enrollment is at 23 students between the morning and afternoon programs on the first day. Kelly Miller, KinderKids coordinator, said the first day consisted of reading stories, a game of digging in the sandbox for alphabet letters and practice walking through the buildings. Some students had a hard time saying goodbye to their parents/guardians, Miller said, so they didn’t hit the books right away. Instead they took a longer playtime and got to know each other. Win is one of the more outgoing students in the program and his kindergarten class. Jones said he’s a true believer that every child is different and that Win is
Overheard in Sequim kindergarten classrooms: • “I got my permission slip. Let’s fire up those computers.” • “I’m tired of learning.” • “No, no, no. First you lie, then you apologize.” • “Oh, I need a nap. Maybe I can fit one in between Oprah and Spongebob.” • “Yeah, you showed that door who’s the boss.” • (Boy looks at sign-in sheet) “I don’t know why we have to do all this s---.” • (One boy says to another) “You’d better quit acting up. Don’t you know Santa Claus is watching?” • (To his teacher) “I woke up and I had a really good feeling I was going to have a great day.” (When asked how it went later) “Yup, just right.”
very active and excitable, so they’ve worked with him to take his turn and know the right time to talk. “Win is very active like I was and my parents put me in activities that wore me down, so I could do school,” Jones said. Soccer practice started the same day as school for Win, too.
On the web See more photos from this story online at www. sequimgazette.com
School day After lunch in the club, Miller walks with four boys to Helen Haller Elementary where Win and the others go to the library to meet up with their teachers, Judy Flynn and Stephanie Grotzke-Nash (Grotzke-Nash is married to this writer). Each school day, students hear a lunchtime story before teachers whisk them away to class. Win had no qualms standing next to Miller while she attempted to read a story in a busy library filled with sitting students and their grinning parents snapping photos. Teachers lead their students down the halls with Win leading the pack. The youngsters look ready to go with nice outfits and backpacks that almost match the height of their wearers. Grotzke-Nash, Win’s teacher, helps students hang up their backpacks and coats by their name written on a crayon cutout above a hook. They proceed to their seating assignments where Grotzke-Nash introduces herself and teaches students how to sit quietly with their legs crossed or as teachers call it, criss-cross applesauce. Everyone g athers around the carpet area for a story called “Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten.”
Grotzke-Nash reads a line and asks the students to repeat after her. Lines within the book sound similar page after page and students catch on to the theme and energetically say what happens next in the story. “It’s your first day and you are already reading,” GrotzkeNash says. After acclimating them to reading time and imparting tricks of the kindergarten trade, their teacher tasks students to write and draw about how they got ready for kindergarten. Some don’t yet know how to write their names but are happy to draw pictures of brushing their teeth or running from monsters. Through the year, students learn to read and write through teaching approaches of sequencing letters, matching words and forming sentences. Grotzke-Nash says she wants to teach them how to love reading by using a wide range of methods. Activities include reading to themselves, retelling stories and reading in small groups.
Playtime Go into later grades and some students might joke their favorite subject is recess. But for students, physical activity is a great way to help them focus later.
Students quickly line up when the whistle blows for the end of recess. Some students were worried they might not know when to line up because they don’t know how to whistle.
Kindergarten teachers’ perspective Students today definitely experience kindergarten differently than their parents did, according to Sequim kindergarten teachers. Helen Haller Elementary kindergarten teacher Judy Flynn said standards have changed a lot since she started teaching. “We didn’t use to worry about if they knew how to read before first grade,” Flynn said. “We were preparing them with sounds and letters and figured that was the foundation for learning to read in first grade. Now most are reading before the end of kindergarten.” Patty Sullivan, a Greywolf Elementary kindergarten teacher for four years, said they really do start off the school year academically. “Boys and girls are required to have a sight vocabulary of about 25 words,” Sullivan said. “People used to think we were just singing songs and learning to count.” Bethanie Robbins, a second-year kinBethanie Robbins, a kindergarten teacher at Greywolf Elementary, said kindergartners usually have attention spans of about 10 minutes before they need to do something else and move around. Prior to recess in Win’s class, students learn to line up when a teacher blows a whistle. Some students worry they can’t line up because they don’t know how to whistle, but Grotzke-Nash comforts them by saying Mrs. Flynn handles all the whistling so they’ll be OK. Kindergarten teachers agree that recess is an important way for students to socialize and play. Grotzke-Nash says kindergarten studies show the first 45 minutes of class are the most important. Win’s class routine will stay constant, beginning with writing, then recess, reading, math, rotating activities such as physical education and music lessons, and learning centers. “The tricky thing is you want a balance,” GrotzkeNash says. “Standards are so high but they are so young. You want a balance of handson learning and more ‘focused’ learning time.”
dergarten teacher at Greywolf, said students are doing a lot in half a day. “We’re trying to fit everything into 2½ hours,” Robbins said. “Coming from teaching other grades, I thought, ‘Well, it can’t be that hard.’ But now, well, wow. How do you fit everything in there?” Teachers find a balance with district and state standards by working with each other to coordinate curriculum and practices between schools, Robbins said. Bottom line, kindergarten teachers love their students. “It’s the funnest place and I could never teach another grade,” Flynn said. Robbins loves that they are willing to try anything and are open to new ideas. “They come to school with a love of learning,” Sullivan said. “Everything you present is like, ‘tell me more.’ The wonder, the inquisitiveness. ‘Why does it work?’ That’s a good question. Let’s explore that.”
Easing them in
Rounding out the day
Teachers said the first few days are about making students feel welcome and loving to learn. Grotzke-Nash says kindergartners must have success before they are nudged into more challenging things. “Many have difficulties following my classroom expectations right away,” says Flynn, a Helen Haller kindergarten teacher for 15 years. “It’s incremental and little steps and teaching them not to jump on risers and not hit each other and how to sit criss-cross applesauce and remembering to raise their hands.” Patty Sullivan, a Greywolf kindergarten teacher for four years, said each child comes to school in his or her own unique and wonderful way. “Some were in preschool and others never have been in school before,” Sullivan says. “It’s a whole personality we have to build on.” Robbins says it can take up to three months of consistent practice to get routines down. “I can say that for any grade,” added Robbins, who has taught other grades at Greywolf in her eight years of teaching.
A tour of the classroom, a singalong, a counting game and learning centers rounds out the rest of Win’s school day. Counting in kindergarten is hands-on as they use different blocks for activities. One student is shocked to learn about math methods. “Isn’t it weird that we use toys for math?” she asks. The highlight for many students is the end-of-the-day activity of rotating learning centers, where students spend time playing house, castles, dinosaurs, blocks, play dough, seeds table, science, counting and/or the reading center. Win says he loves the castle center and dinosaurs. Throughout the afternoon he has a dinosaur in his hands. As school ends, kindergartners are readied to go about 10 minutes before all other grades so they can get on buses or to their parents/ guardians safely. Win walks hand-in-hand with Grotzke-Nash to meet his mom at the end of the bus line. He runs to her with a big smile the second he sees her in the distance. The first day of school was exciting and tiring for Win, his dad said. “He’s gone to the same place for five years and doing something else was a lot of firsts like soccer practice, Boys & Girls Club and class all in the same day.” His parents said he didn’t discuss school too much because he was so tired, but he did make new friends. Win says he loves his teacher most and that he likes writing books. “I’m a write, write, writing machine,” Win says.
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prime•time
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 • A-13
SEQUIM GAZETTE
What? me scammed? Never!
SENIOR CROSSROADS ... Pam Scott With the downturn of the economy, most people are looking for ways to save a few dollars on the goods and services that they purchase. That makes everyone a prime target for the less scrupulous folks among us — also known as “scammers.” And I’m pretty sure that we all think that we are too clever to be taken in by their cons. But it happens. The scammers are getting more clever all the time and are focusing more on those things in our life that mean the most to us — family, friends and financial security. They are counting on the shock factor and your emotions to help them break through the protective wall around you. And no matter how clever we may think we are, no one is immune and we are all at risk.
Even if you’re really smart … Several years ago I was working in the health care industry in another town when I witnessed first-hand the hold that some scammers can have on their victims and the resulting devastation. The gentleman I was working with had retired 21 years ago from his first career a laboratory researcher and recently had retired from his second career as a biochemist. So you might think that a person with his background would be above a scammer’s ability to con him. But somehow they had managed to tap into his emotions and his love for his previous professions. By the time I met him, he had managed to “donate” over $200,000 (in two years) to numerous “charities,” believing he was doing some good for those less fortunate. The end result? He lost his house and ended up moving into a nursing home — a broken man. It broke his spirit, his faith and his will to live. I cried at his funeral a year later. And because the culprits never were caught, you can be sure that they went on to their next victims without blinking an eye. This can happen to anyone! Today’s scammers and con artists are much more savvy in their methods and their approaches. I could stand on my soapbox for years, but still be unable to protect everyone from having something like this happen to them or a loved one.
Tricks of the trade Most of us worry about having enough money to live on during our later years and wouldn’t mind having a little extra come our way — and the scammers know this. Here are some of their favorite tricks: 1) Predatory lending: Also known as loan fraud, predatory lending involves a wide array of
See CROSSROADS, page A-18
Finding his dream in the sky, Kyle Parrish of Sequim tandem skydives with Joe Williams of Kapowsin Skydiving over Port Angeles. Parrish, blind for 45 years, said jumping out of a plane was a dream of his and that others with disabilities should pursue their dreams, too. Photo courtesy of Deb Cox
Sensing Sequim from above Blind man sky dives for first time, fulfills dream by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
A tap on the shoulder, a shuffle to his left and within seconds Kyle Parrish, 59, soared to fulfill a lifelong dream of skydiving. “All the time I was up there I felt a freedom,” Parrish said. “I felt like I was the only one up there. It was peaceful and a freeing experience.” Parrish could serve as inspiration for those with adversity. Since age 15, Parrish has been blind. A tumor that crushed his optic nerves left him only with some light perception in his left eye. Yet the brave diver said he’s done a lot more dangerous things in his life. “I’ve done everything I ever wanted to do. Rock climb, go whitewater rafting, hang glide and mountain climb,” he said. “I downhill skied for years. It’s a lot harder than coming down in a parachute.” Parrish went up with 14 other tandem skydivers on Aug. 24 as part of Olympic
Cellars’ ongoing skydiving events through Kapowsin Skydiving of Shelton. Deb Cox, a friend and board member of the Vision Loss Center in Port Angeles where Parrish is director, said she mentioned the event to Parrish. He liked the idea but said the cost was too high for him. Cox took up a collection from c e n t e r vo l u n teers and earned enough for him to go. Parrish said with everyone behind him, he had to do the jump. Leading up to the dive, Parrish said he had some reservations. “With vision loss, you think things through before you do it,” Parrish said. “It was all new to me. I was thinking, ‘How am I gonna find the edge of the plane?’ Just little stuff like that.” The day of the jump, Cox said Parrish was visibly excited and didn’t seem nervous at all. His jump partner, Joe Williams, worked with Parrish to create a system for their jump. One of Parrish’s fears
was that he wouldn’t hear instructions over the cabin noise and wind. “He told me what to expect,” Parrish said. “We’d freefall for a minute, then he’d tap me three times when he was going to pull the chute.” Parrish and Cox were in the first flight to load up at Sequim Valley Airport and go to the sky. The jump wasn’t scary for Parrish but his senses went into overdrive. The plane doors opened at 13,000 feet and Parrish took position — within an instant they were falling. Williams tapped him three times and the parachute came out. Parrish expected a sharp jerking motion from the parachute, but it wasn’t like that at all. “As soon as the chute opened it was incredible,” he said. “Dead silence.” Williams then began aerobatics: The duo went left, right and in circles until they closed in on the ground. They bounced once and stopped, with Parrish landing on his bottom. Parrish said he expected the chute to carry him across the field or for the landing to hurt but on both accounts he was happily proved wrong. Parrish’s guide dog, Peter, greeted him behind the winery where everyone landed. “He saw me when we got close and when they pulled away the parachute he was right there in my face,” Parrish said.
Thousands of feet above Sequim and Port Angeles, Kyle Parrish and Joe Williams soar through the air on Aug. 24. Photos courtesy of Rick Crimmel
Kyle Parrish fulfilled a dream of skydiving on Aug. 24. His service dog Peter welcomed him upon arrival. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Parrish said the dive worked out perfectly and was the thrill of his life to that point. “I’d love to figure out a way to do it myself ... it’s a dream,” he said. He encourages others to pursue their dreams. “If you want to do something, it doesn’t matter if you have a disability, do it,” he
said. “It’s just a great feeling. Something I’ll never forget.” Parrish helps run the nonprofit Vision Loss Center in Armory Square Mall, 228 W. First St., Suite N, Port Angeles. The center is open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Call the center at 457-1383 or visit www.visionlossservices.org.
Open sign-up season, times two In past years, my October article always has been about the Medicare open season, more correctly titled, “Annual Election Period.” This year’s October article also will follow that same path and years 2012 and probably 2013 also will partially coincide with another open season. I can hear you wondering, “How can you have two simultaneous open seasons?” The answer is really quite simple. Each open season is for a different segment of the population. Washington instituted a semi-annual open enrollment period for persons under the age of 19 to purchase health insurance. This period will run from Sept. 15-Oct. 31, so while not exactly on the scale of a lunar eclipse, we will have an overlap of open seasons for a two-week period. During this time frame a
MEDICARE MATTERS Phil Castell
person under age 19 can purchase, either as an individual plan or on a parent’s plan, coverage on a guaranteed issue basis, meaning no health questions. Outside of these semi-annual open enrollment periods they are unable to obtain individual coverage unless they have an eligible reason for an exception.
Key changes Back to the Medicare open
season. The biggest and most important change taking place is the change of the dates. Starting in 2011 and beyond, the Annual Election Period will be from Oct. 15-Dec. 7. Yes folks, the same Dec. 7 that will live in infamy according to the famous FDR speech of nearly 70 years ago. This change makes it highly likely that if a person chooses to change Medicare coverage for either a Medicare Advantage Plan or a standalone Part D prescription drug plan, he or she will have new ID cards in hand prior to the Jan. 1 effective date and have a smooth transition from one plan to the other. From my initial review of plan details that were released on Oct. 1, I think this could be a quiet year for plan changes. Most of the plan changes appear to be incremental and not
drastic in scope.
In the details This is where I try not to bore too many people as I do go into some details and numbers. So here goes. In 2012, Washington will have choices of 30 different Part D prescription drug plans. This is down slightly from the 32 choices in 2011 and down drastically from the 50+ plans of the first couple of years of the program’s existence. Of those 30 plans, 27 are continuing plans, with five plans having chosen to leave the marketplace and three new plans having entered. Four of the five sponsors will have other plans available in the state and just will move clients to another of their options. The only plan that is leaving without a replace-
ment is a plan offered by Rx America and co-branded with CVS (a large national drugstore chain with no Washington physical locations). The three new plans for 2012 are from existing participants and we have no new players in the marketplace. Of the 27 continuing plans, nine have lowered their premiums for 2012 and 18 have increased their premiums. The premium increases range from a very paltry 10 cents per month for the most expensive Humana plan, to an eye-staggering $31.20 for the Unicare Rx Rewards Plus plan. On the decrease side, the decreases ranged from $1 for the Silverscript Value to an impressive $25.80 for an offering from Aetna. We have seen quite a lot
See CASTELL, page A-15
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 • A-1
SEQUIM GAZETTE
‘Suitcase’ stirs
To the mats
Lost and found
Artist details life in Kuwait.
Police recover iconic mural piece.
Wolves prep for wrestling season.
C-1
A-11
B-1
SEQUIM GAZETTE Wednesday, December 7, 2011
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75 CENTS
Sequim’s Hometown Newspaper
Vol. 38, Number 49
Missing Sequim girl found in California Mother charged with custody violation by AMANDA WINTERS Sequim Gazette
A Sequim girl allegedly abducted by her mother was found safe in San Diego on Dec. 5. Sarah J. Barton, of Port Ludlow, is in law enforcement custody in California and charged with custodial
interference for allegedly abducting her daughter from Sequim on Nov. 30, in violation of a court custody order. School video surveillance showed Barton contacting her daughter, Hannah McVay, 12, and leaving Sequim Middle School with her at 7:53 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30. A court
McVAY
BARTON
order gave custody of Hannah to her father, Clallam County Sheriff ’s Sgt. John Hollis said in a news release. Barton appeared “disjointed and
panicky” according to a Sheriff ’s Office narrative filed in Clallam County Superior Court. After the Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Office checked Barton’s residence in the Port Ludlow area, law enforcement learned she hadn’t been seen there since the night before, Hollis said. One charge of custodial interference in the first degree, a Class C felony, was filed in Clallam County
Superior Court on Dec. 2. A warrant for Barton’s arrest also was filed. Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict told the Port Townsend Leader the girl is in protective custody and speculated Barton may have had contacts in California who alerted local authorities to her whereabouts. Reach Amanda Winters at awinters@sequimgazette.com.
Customers consider loyalty to banks
A changed country, a changed man
Local bankers see move to smaller branches by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Nationwide, bank customers are testing their dollars locally. Bank representatives are acknowledging that a mass exodus of customers from large, national banks are switching to smaller regional banks or credit unions. In Sequim and across the peninsula, activist groups like MoveOn rallied SORRENTINO for a similar change. They recommend local banks because local banks supposedly offer similar services to national banks at lower rates, offer free checking and invest more locally. Four banks with Sequim branches confirm a growing trend of new accounts. Michele Sorrentino, Sequim branch manager for Sound Community Bank, said new accounts have gone up compared to past quarterly reports. At the end of September last quarter, Sound saw 146 checking accounts open compared to a normal count of about 90, she said,
After 40 years away from Vietnam, Leonard Horst returned to the country to gain a fresh perspective from his days serving as a Navy SEAL. Horst said he gained some peace of mind from the trip.
Former SEAL finds peace of mind in return to Vietnam by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
“Overwhelming.” That’s how Leonard “Lenny” Horst, a retired U.S. Navy chief petty officer, summed up his recent return to Vietnam. Forty years have passed since Horst served his last of five tours as a Navy SEAL in the formerly war-torn country. For 18 days, Horst and his
son, Leonard “Len” Horst Jr., traveled along Vietnam’s eastern coastline to gain a better understanding of the country he left decades ago. The country is drastically different from Horst’s memory. It is growing and thriving economically. The lone structure he recognized was an old water tower. “It’s a country that’s been
See HORSTS, page A-8
Leonard Horst and Leonard Horst Jr. spent a few nights on a train going up the eastern coastline of Vietnam. They said it wasn’t the most comfortable trip but that it added to the experience. Photos courtesy of Leonard Horst Jr.
See BANKS, page A-6
New study provides proof: Sequim is sunny Sunshine bragging rights defined by MARK ST.J. COUHIG Sequim Gazette
Sequim lies in a rain shadow, which means we enjoy more days of sunshine than our neighbors in Seattle. Everybody knows that. Or at least, they do now. David Britton, a Seattle resident who has a second home in Sequim, is the first to prove with fine instruments and science that what we always knew instinctively is true. We are, comparatively speaking, sunny Sequim. While most of us, including professional weather watchers, simply eyeball the sky, Britton had a valuable insight: for one year he would measure the amount of solar radiation that both Sequim and Seattle receive. While he admits solar radiation isn’t directly analogous to the number of sunny days
Sequim enjoys, it does provide a way of measuring the difference in the cloud coverage that Sequim sees as opposed to Seattle. His new methodology provides an “apples to apples” comparison, he said. After collecting data for a full year, Britton recently concluded that Sequim receives 30 percent more solar radiation each year BRITTON than Seattle. “Sequim is quantitatively different,” Britton said.
When it matters most Perhaps more importantly, Britton’s findings provide data on when Sequim is sunnier than Seattle. “Sequim pulls ahead, dramatically, in the stormier months,” he said. That means when the weather is worst in Seattle, it is, at least comparatively, much better in Sequim. Britton pointed out that in March 2011 we
Yes, Port Angeles receives more rain than Sequim, but Britton’s research shows it receives almost as much sunshine.
See RAINSHADOW, page A-10
Map courtesy of olympicrainshadow.com.
INDEX Business ......................... A-7 Classifieds ...................... D-1 Crossword ....................... C-5
A&E Calendar ................. C-6 Obituaries ......................A-14 Opinions/Letters ...........A-12
Real Estate ..................... D-1 Schools ........................... B-5 Sports/Recreation ......... B-1
Strait Scenes ................. C-1 Weather .......................... A-2
This Week’s Forecast: See page A-2 for local weather. Check for updated weather reports at www.sequimgazette.com
A-8 • Wednesday, December 7, 2011
SEQUIM GAZETTE
PUD proposes increase Residential bills would increase $3.30 per month by AMANDA WINTERS Sequim Gazette
On their first day in Vietnam, Leonard Horst, shown here, and his son toured the Cú Chi tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City. As they went through the humid tunnel, smells of gunpowder filled the air from a nearby weapons range where tourists could try Vietnam War-era guns. “It was weird seeing kids ask to shoot guns,” Len Horst Jr. said.
Horsts From page A-1 reunified,” Horst said. “The construction was overwhelming with new bridges and skyscrapers. It was strange coming to a tollgate on a fourlane highway.” Running water and showers in rural areas are longtime norms with cement structures, satellite dishes and bigscreen TVs featured in many homes. The phrase “living in the here and now” came to fruition for Horst in Vietnam. Since his tours, Horst has suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Len Jr. said growing up his family heard all the war stories several times, which skewed his own idea of Vietnam. “I was pretty ignorant going,” Len said. “I thought I was going to rice paddies and jungle. It certainly was not. There were a lot of metropolitan areas with a young population in the city. Being wrong was humbling.” Most places they visited had seen skyscrapers built over former war zones. Len said a turning point for his father was in Hoi An. “He was so worried that when he left that country they left land mines riddled on this land and then to see them dredging and putting six-, eight- and 10-story hotels and resorts for vacations on those spots, he was like, ‘They’re doing OK,’” Len said. “That worry in his mind is gone or at least lessened.” On the trip overseas, Horst said he initially was scared but seeing the change in landscape and people soothed him. “To go back and be welcomed, a lot of war fires were put out,” he said. Their tour guide opened up to them and Horst got the op-
The streets of Hoi An were so busy, Len Horst Jr. said, that they could barely cross the street because it was so packed. Photos courtesy of Leonard Horst Jr.
portunity to share his experiences with the man and others in the tour group. “My father would talk to some Vietnamese people and they would say that (the war) is not forgotten but it’s forgiven,” Len said. “Everyone said there were no winners in war.”
Healing memories They visited some of the sites that Horst saw during his tenure as a SEAL. On one peaceful boat ride, Horst realized he was going back to an island that had haunted him for 40 years. Len said his dad spoke of it often during his childhood because some soldiers died from booby traps there. “For him there were waves of emotions when things came together,” Len said. They were both in shock when they landed. “I couldn’t believe this, and here we are having a barbecue,” Len said. At first, Horst said he was fearful of the island. “Now they’ve made it into a wildlife preserve with an eco-tourism tour. I was impressed,” he said. Horst said he had an auxiliary mission: to look for information on a Sequim woman’s husband who served in Vietnam and is as yet unaccounted for. “I promised her I’d go over there and check. I went to the
war memorial but didn’t learn anything,” he said. “I put his name on a piece of paper and placed it on an island in Hanoi. It was unspoiled and a beautiful place.”
Next steps Horst said his favorite part of the trip was interacting and sharing the experiences with the American, Australian and Canadian tourists. He also felt successful in observing and learning new methods for gardening and creating soil. Len said the trip helped him separate who his father is, who he was prior to the military and the war, and what part is the post-traumatic side. Horst plans to take photographs to the veterans he knows with Veterans Affairs. “I want to show veterans what’s happening and hopefully it can make a difference in their lives,” he said. “I got the joy of being with my son and I finally got some peace of mind. The mines are gone and it’s more of a holiday routine there, and the people will smile at you and there’s a feeling of love,” Horst said. “That’s one thing I’ve got with my son and family is love. We need more of that in this world and maybe we won’t be doing battle.” Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette. com.
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Clallam County Public Utility District #1 could raise electric utility rates in 2012. Staff is proposing a 3-percent electric rate increase added to the daily user charge of 62 cents per day, which will equal about $3.30 per month for a residential customer, PUD treasurer/ controller Joshua Bunch said. The proposed electric utility rate increase comes on the heels of the Bonneville Power Administration’s wholesale power rate increase of about 8 percent, which represents a cost increase of about $1.8 million. The PUD also faces an additional $860,000 in Energy Independence Act renewables and conservation costs, Bunch said. Cuts in the amount of $900,000 were made to the 2012 PUD budget, but the net impact of $1.76 million is too much to absorb without compromising service, Bunch said.
Pricey mandates The EIA was passed by Washington voters in 2006 and the first big mandate comes in 2012, with the requirement that 3 percent of utilities’ power come from renewable resources. The percentage must increase to 9 percent by 2016 and 15 percent by 2020, according to the law. Renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar power, are significantly more expensive than the hydropower from BPA, PUD General Manager Doug
Nass said. The BPA power rate is about 3 cents per kilowatt hour, whereas wind power is 9 cents and solar power 12 cents per kilowatt hour, Bunch said. NASS The EIA also requires utility companies do more conservation. Last year, the PUD spent $1.4 million on conservation and sent out compact fluorescent lights to customers. They plan to do it again in 2012, Nass said. The BPA fully reimbursed the conservation costs but in 2012 it will only partially fund conservation, contributing an estimated $750,000, Bunch said. Additionally, the EIA mandates energy savings for 2012 be almost double what was achieved in 2011, he said.
Double trouble PUD Executive Communications Coordinator Michael Howe said the BPA rate increase and conservation reimbursement decrease happen to coincide with the more demanding EIA requirements, which come with harsh penalties for noncompliance. “The mandates are really hard on us and are hard on our customers,” Nass said, later adding the world isn’t the same as it was in 2006. If the PUD had to make cuts to close the entire $2.66 million increases projected for 2012, services would take a hit and costs would be pushed down the road, he said. Cutting a program like
ve getation management would result in more outages, which would end up increasing overtime costs for responding workers, he said. Nass said small rate increases over time are better than implementing a large increase to catch up.
Other increases The PUD has steadily increased rates for water and electricity over the past several years. In June, the PUD raised water rates by 6 percent and will increase at the same percentage annually for two more years. For the three years before that, water rates increased 6.5 percent annually. Electric rates went up 8 percent in December 2010. At the time, commissioners said they could not absorb another rate increase from the BPA, having absorbed a 5-percent increase in 2009.
Public hearing PUD staff will hold an informational meeting this week in Sequim regarding the proposed 2012 electric utility rate increase. The meeting, set for 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., includes a short presentation by PUD staff and concludes with time for questions and/or comments from the public. Each of these issues, as well as PUD cost controls, will be presented. The public is encouraged to attend. PUD commissioners also will consider the proposal at their Dec. 12 and Dec. 19 regular meeting dates. For additional information on the PUD, visit www.clallampud.net or call 452-9771. Reach Amanda Winters at awinters@sequimgazette. com.
Season takes the stage First Teacher hosts annual Winter fest Sequim Gazette staff
Why wait until Christmas Eve? Children and parents alike can visit with Santa and Frosty the Snowman, hear holiday carols, enjoy holiday treats, play games and more at the annual First Teacher Winter Celebration this week. The event is slated for 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 9, in the Sequim Community School cafeteria, 220. W. Alder St. Youths also can meet with with Laugh Pack clowns and take part in a variety of games and
Trent Webber, 4, poses for a picture with clown Batty Patty of the Laugh Pack group before Patty makes him a balloon animal at last year’s Winter Celebration. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell
activities throughout the cafeteria. The event is free. The Winter Celebration is brought to the community by the Parenting Matters Foundation and First Teacher; the Sequim School District’s Birth-to-3 program and De-
velopmental Preschool; First Step Family Support Center; Head Start; Laugh Pack Clowns; Sequim High School Choir; Sequim Education Foundation; and other community volunteers. For more information, call 582-3428.