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Issue 3 | February 7, 2013 | Whitman news since 1896
Sheriff investigating shooting on Lower Waitsburg Road
by RACHEL ALEXANDER
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Editor-in-Chief
he Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating an incident in which two students were shot at while running on Saturday. The students, sophomores Joseph Heegaard and Ryan Jacobsen, were running barefoot along Lower Waitsburg Road near the intersection of Robison Ranch Road. Heegaard said they heard two loud cracks while they were running and stopped shortly after to put their shoes on. “As I bent down to tie my shoes, I heard the ping of a bullet hit the rock behind me,” he said. Recognizing the sound from his experience hunting, Heegaard said he then heard a loud crack from the gun being fired. “When I heard that crack, I was like, ‘Oh shit, Ryan, that’s a gun. Run!’” he said. “We peaced out like cheetahs.” Two more shots hit the ground in front of them before they started running, and Heegaard said he heard two more hit the ground while they were running, though Jacobsen only heard the last two fired in the air. Heegaard said he did not think the shooter was trying to hit them, because the first two shots seemed like warning shots. The students met with Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland on Monday and filed a report with Cleveland for the county sheriff’s office. Cleveland notified the sheriff’s office on Tuesday morning, and a sheriff’s deputy went out with them to the site of the in-
cident on Tuesday afternoon. Heegaard said they spoke to several local families to gather information. “I think they handled it really well,” said Heegaard, referring to both the dean and sheriff’s offices. Based on the information they gathered, Heegaard said the deputy felt that the shooters may have been teenagers, rather than local landowners. Chief Operations Deputy Barry Blackman said he could not confirm or deny this information, but that the investigation was ongoing. “This could be anything from pure negligence to a bad practical joke to outright malicious intent,” he said. Because the incident involved firearms, Blackman said the sheriff’s office is taking it seriously. “We’re forging full speed ahead to get this resolved,” he said. Although the shooting occurred Saturday afternoon, the sheriff’s office was unaware of it until Tuesday morning. Blackman stressed that students should report crimes and other incidents to dispatch at (509) 527-3265 as soon as they happen. “There may have been information out there that we missed because of the delay in reporting,” he said. Heegaard confirmed that the pair was on Lower Waitsburg Road, a public county road, when the shooting occurred. The nearest private road, Robison Ranch Road, belongs to the Robison family, who are alumni of Whitman College and used to allow students to run on their property, until an incident with their dog raised liability concerns. Cross Country Coach
Scott Shields said he agreed that the shooters were most likely teenagers, not landowners. “Every time there’s been a problem with runners on private property, the farmers have always just contacted Whitman first,” he said. While Heegaard and Jacobsen are not members of a Whitman athletic team, the Lower Waitsburg Road route is frequented by cross country runners and cyclists. The shooting incident has raised concerns for other students who exercise in the area. Cory Rand, one of the men’s cross country captains, said the Lower Waitsburg route is often used during practice, as well as on individual runs. “I was going to run there yesterday,” said Rand, who has decided to avoid the area until more is known about the shooting. “It’s real weird. Creepy.” Senior Molly Blust, who is a captain of Whitman’s cycling team, said that Lower Waitsburg Road is one of the team’s top routes for rides. She said she emailed the team asking them to avoid the route for now until more information is available. “I’ve never heard of any run-ins, but hearing of one definitely changes your view of that route,” she said. Cleveland said this is the first report his office has received of students being shot at while running. He sent an email to the student body on Monday urging students to avoid the area for exercise until more is known. Shields said he is encouraging runners to use other routes.
Bennington Lake is a prime birding location in the spring and fall, but often sits relatively empty at its winter low. Photo by Bergman
Bird sanctuary provides habitat, recreation by HANNAH BARTMAN Staff Reporter
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alla Walla’s populated mix of progressive college students, farmers and small town families is also home to a group of unacknowledged individuals: birds. 10 years ago, Walla Walla was dubbed by the city as a “bird sanctuary,” forbidding the hunting and harassment of native bird species within city limits. According to the law, “No person shall shoot or molest any species of wild birds within the city and no person shall molest or damage the nest or eggs of any wild birds within the city.” While the practicality of the law is debatable, the law is proof of the ecological reverence shared within the community. “There are lots of reasons why you can’t do too much harm to birds in the city of Walla Walla anyway,” said Professor of Biology and ornithologist Tim Parker. “Bird sanctuaries are enacted a lot of places for symbolic reasons.” Hunting of native species is illegal on both a federal and state level and the implementation of this law is a reaffirmation of this regulation. Parker also points out that the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 protects all migratory birds
in the United States, Canada and Mexico from unlawful hunting by citizens; a violation of this act could end in fines or jail time. This includes most birds except those introduced from a foreign country, like European birds, or those that are non-migrato-
ry, protecting an extent of 800 species of birds. On top of that, the regulation for the management of firearms prohibits hunting in residential areas, so this makes most of the city of Walla Walla off-limits for hunting.
see BIRDS, page 5
Come out and play one-act play festival comes to campus by EMMA DAHL Staff Reporter
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itting on the couches upstairs in the Reid Campus Center, first-year Tyler Schuh discusses his experience writing for Whitman’s One Act Play Festival. Unlike most of the others who submitted plays, Schuh explained that it wasn’t only his first time writing for the play contest: It was also his first time writing a play. “I never wrote a play before. I wrote a lot of poetry, flash fiction kind of things, because it was easier in the moment to just write and vent,” explained Schuh. “[But] playwriting always fascinated me ... [plays] always appeared so big and intimidating.” But as Schuh explained, playwriting became just another outlet for his work. As it turned out, poetry and playwriting had much more in common than he originally thought, and he was able to use some of his previous works in his play. It was almost like all his play was just a big found poem. “That’s what playwriting is: You just put things together, be it historical characters or texts that you hear and find,” he explained. As Schuh began writing, the play became a metaphor for catharsis. Drawing from his own experiences, Schuh saw the play as a representation for the personal clutter and depression that had occurred in his own life. Reflecting back on his life, Schuh was able to convey the progression of emotion from the lowest low to the eventual high. Schuh found out firsthand that one of the most difficult aspects of being a playwright is the handing over of your work for others to interpret and manipulate. “At first I would come to every rehearsal and cringe a little,” Schuh laughed. “Thank God I got the flu and didn’t come for a few days because when I came back, I was blown away. I was like, ‘this is great.’ This is different, but great, and it’s still really powerful.” Perhaps it was from his experiences of ineffectively defending his ideas in high school that Schuh found it hard to communicate his ideas with others. But after watching the actors convey his vision, Schuh found that he had formed a real connection between his words and reality. It was okay to trust other people. “It’s gonna be great,” said Schuh. The play contest will be produced this weekend, starting Thursday, Feb. 7 and continuing until Sunday, Feb. 10. Thursday through Saturday will be evening shows and the final show will be a matinee. Tickets can be acquired for free at the Harper Joy box office on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. see ONE ACTS, page 4
The One-Act Play Festival gives students a chance to write a screenplay and compete for a monetary prize. Photos by Mellema