SEE INSIDE: Local photographer shares her secrets to learning photography | Page 9 . . . 2016 Log Show results | Page 11 . . . . New coaches at White River and Enumclaw | Page 12
Wednesday, June 29, 2016 | 75 cents
What’s Inside
Views...................................Page 4 Obituaries.........................Page 7 Sports.................................Page 12 Classified...........................Page 13
www.courierherald.com
Sheriff’s Department to hire 40 deputies to combat understaffing
Buckley Log Show
Fourth of July events • The Tapps Island firework show in Bonney Lake is scheduled to start around 10:15 July 4. The show can be watched anywhere around the lake, but the public is not allowed on Tapps Island during the show. • Enumclaw’s Chamber of Commerce is putting on a firework show, starting at 9:45 on July 4 at the Southwood soccer fields. • The City of Sumner does not have a firework show, but will be kicking off its Music Off Main events July 1 with the USO Show at 6:30 p.m. at Heritage Park.
Weather Sun, sun and more sun this week. Wednesday could get as hot as 80 with a low of 52. Thursday expects a high of 77 and low of 52. Friday also expects a high of 77 and low of 52. The weekend may cool off with Saturday and Sunday expecting a high of 74 and lows in the low 50s.
Contact Us! Main Desk 360-825-2555
Circulation ....................Press 1 Classifieds......................Press 2 All others ......................Press 0
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
By Kayse Angel Reporter
Timbrr the Clown, far left, performs some mid-air acrobatics at this year’s Buckley Log Show. Forest Miller, top right, placed third in the Hot Saw competition. Brandon Koch, center, tries his hand in the Choker Setting competition. Berkley Bachmeier, far right, gets a workout in the Speed Climbing competition. Log Show results are printed on page 16. Photos by Ashley Britschgi
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is severely understaffed according to a recently published study. The study found that the sheriff’s department needs between 72-82 new employees throughout the department to ensure safety among the community. The department needs at least 40 more deputies and then 30-40 more staff members to fulfill other duties in the sheriff’s department. In total, it would cost between $9 million and $11 million per year to hire them all. To get this money, the department plans to go to the executive and County Council to put this money into their annual budget, but nothing more has been discussed or approved yet. If the department follows these guidelines and get more employees, they will be back at the level they were before the 2008 recession hit, according to the survey. Cut backs in the department contributed to the low staff at the department. The number of deputies went from 235 in 2007 to 189 in 2016, according to the press release by the
SEE SHERIFFS, PAGE 3
Bonney Lake Public Board of Health aims to enact septic Works director retires tank fee amid council, resident outcry City plans to consolidate Public Works and Community Development, erect new building By Ray Still Assistant Editor
After serving Bonney Lake for more than a decade and being involved in public works for more than 40 years, Bonney Lake’s Public Works Director Daniel Grigsby is bowing out and welcoming retirement. “As I wrap things up and think about what’s happened over the past 12 years, the city has accomplished
a lot from a Public Works perspective,” Grigsby said. “That’s always something to feel good about, when you leave a job knowing you’ve left it in better condition than you received it in.” Grigsby will be officially retired Thursday, June 30, after a public retirement ceremony at the Bonney Lake Senior Center at 4:30 p.m.
SEE PUBLIC WORKS, PAGE 10
4th of July Parade & Fireworks Downtown Enumclaw • Details Inside!
By Kevin Hanson Senior Writer
A proposal that would hit all King County septic-system users in the pocketbook is seeing opposition from a primarily-rural population. The King County Board of Health appeared to be moving quickly with a plan aimed at approximately 85,000 property owners from all corners of the county. Hearings have been concluded – including one in Maple Valley that drew a crowd estimated at nearly 600 – and a
vote originally was planned for as early as July. But public sentiment and official interventions seems to have stalled the process. The BOH was initially briefed June 16 about creating a funding source to maintain a program to oversee onsite sewage systems, commonly referred to as septic tanks. The tanks, with associated drainfields, are used where there is no connection to a municipal sewage collection system. Septic tanks are used primarily in rural areas but there are exceptions to the
rule; for example, there are a handful of homes served by septic tanks in the Enumclaw city limits. The idea being floated by the Board of Health would result in an annual assessment charged to every property with a septic system. Possible fees have been listed at $23 for rural properties to almost $40 for properties in urban areas or near shorelines. Lines were drawn and arguments were made.
SEE SEPTIC, PAGE 3
Win one of three $50 gift certificates by playing the Who’s Who contest! Look inside for the contest ad and for Who’s Who on the Plateau inserted in this week’s Courier Herald to play.