Willapa Harbor Herald
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RAYMOND, WA 98577 PERMIT NO. 36
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Willapa Harbor Herald $1.00 Vol. 41, Issue 25
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June 19, 2019
Your Independent Community News Since 1890
Pacific County Fair chooses first fair ambassador By Jeff Clemens The Pacific County Fair has chosen Chloe Konigsberger from the Willapa Valley School District to be the inaugural Fair Ambassador. This will be the first time in over 100 years that the fair will not have a king and queen. Residents throughout the county have had a mixed reaction after hearing the news. Entirely new program Pacific County Fair Manager Bill Monohon took over running the fair in April 2018. He immediately began looking at ways to improve the overall fair experience for all and find ways for it to make a better profit. One of his gripes was the lack of dedication by former kings and queens who did not participate as much as they could have. Monohon noted that last year’s dedication to the fair was nearly nonexistent and was something he sought to change for 2019. The new ambassador program will be much more stringent with who is chosen. High school students
in Pacific County can apply for the program with Raymond, South Bend, Willapa Valley, and some Naselle students showing interest for this term. The application is much more thorough with each applicant and candidate being put through an evaluation process. Monohon is still working to sort out the criteria that will have to be met but mentions that Konigsberger showed dedication from the get-go and he believes she will likely set the standard for years to come. Dedication is a must moving forward Under the new program ambassadors will be required to not only consistently promote the fair at events but sell wristbands, meet with local businesses, and even attend other fairs as a representative of Pacific County. The idea is to have more participation and more responsibility for the ambassador. Other tasks will likely include social media posts on platforms such as Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. The ambassador(s) will still be able to make money by selling wristbands and being awarded the traditional $200 at the end of the program. The ambassador(s) will also receive 10% of the first 500 wristbands they sell and it increases to 20% for every wristband sold thereafter. “The ability to make some really good money is there,” Mohonon said. “Because people love to support the ambassador, well what used to king and queen. Oftentimes they will buy and not even come to the fair but they want to support it. I think Chloe is probably going to set a record on what she sells.” “Not just about a king and queen” The new ambassador program is putting to end to what Monohon and others call a “monarchy” that has taken away from what the fair is about, bringing communities together. The change will take away the standard crown and
Chloe Konigsberger will be the first Pacific County Fair Ambassador.
tiara that sat atop the king and queen’s head nor will any robes be present. The ambassador will only be sporting a sash saying they are the fair ambassador. Monohon hopes the change will be more appealing and welcoming to the communities and less subjective. The decision has not sat well with some who feel the change is taking
away from the tradition of the fair that has stood for 122 years prior. Monohon, however, is unfazed by the opposition and believes that while the ambassador program is new, it will be more beneficial to the fair and local youths desiring to be a part of the fair program. “The fair is not just about a king and queen
sitting on a pedestal ...” Monohon said. “That is not what this is about. It is not a beauty contest. It is not a popularity contest. It is about the community supporting and promoting the Pacific County Fair. It is about bringing the communities together in Pacific County to celebrate our wonderful fair.”
Technology center coming to Port Sheila’s burglarized; By Allie Bair the port, totalling $50,000 A brief Pacific County Board of Commissioners meeting was held on Tuesday, June 11, at the commissioner’s meeting room in South Bend. Aside from approving a couple of resignations and subsequent appointments within the county, the first commissioner meeting of June was uneventful. However, the commissioners did approve a contract with the Port of Willapa Harbor that will bring some exciting changes in the coming months in the form of a “fiber optic extension” project. The funds for the project will come from 0.09% tax dollars, already allocated to
over the next two years. According to Port Manager Rebecca Chaffee, the port, PUD, and Raymond and South Bend School Districts are working to create a “technology center” by September of this year. The center, to be located in the original port building, will offer a number of vocational training and online programs to expose kids to existing and emerging technologies. The fiber optic extension will begin in July, and the goal is to complete the project in August. The next regular meeting will be on June 25 at 9:00 a.m. in the commissioner’s meeting room.
Besides several staff changes, suspects still on the loose South Bend’s making curriculum, By Jeff Clemens doors at the front of the and building renovations S h e i l a ’ s K o u n t r y restaurant and were able Kitchen at the corner of 3rd St. and Duryea St. in Raymond was broken into sometime between the late hours of Tuesday, June 4 and the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 5. The suspect(s) broke through the plain glass
to gain entry. According to the Raymond Police Department a worker arrived at the restaurant at around 5:00 a.m. to prep for the day and noticed the damaged front door. They then
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Accident on Hwy 101
South Bend City Council passes garbage amendment By Allie Bair A 13-minute South Bend City Council meeting was held on Monday, June 10, at 5:30 at South Bend City Hall. At this meeting, the council passed the tenth ever amendment to their agreement with the transfer station. This amendment acknowledged an increase in cost - 11% - originating at Royal Heights Transfer Station and passed on to LeMay Disposal Inc. Consequently, these costs will likely be passed down to residents
who utilize the service. The increase in costs for Royal Heights is due to the price of fuel and other necessities. During the department heads’ updates, Police Chief Eastham warned residents that “car prowls will pick up” now that the weather is better, and that everyone should lock their cars and be attentive. The next regularly scheduled South Bend City Council meeting will be held on June 24 at 5:30 p.m.
By Jeff Clemens The Willapa Valley School District quickly took the spotlight at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year due to teacher contracts. As one of three local districts having to hard bargain, the divide between Willapa Valley teachers and district administrators hit a critical juncture as school began and negotiations were near nonexistent. The rift continued for months until litigation took place and drove both sides together. Many thought the rift between teachers and the administrators had been solved. The way the school year ended proved that not to be true. Two days of senior pranks Senior pranks in the Willapa Harbor area became some of the most intense ever seen with South Bend Principal Manuel Rangel’s
car being covered in toilet paper and wrapped in cling wrap. Willapa Valley, however, experienced carnage like none of the other harbor schools. The senior class took part in two days of pranks with the first day consisting of poles and doors being coated in vaseline, tables from the commons relocated, desks in classrooms organized in nuisance configurations, toilet paper streamed on fixtures, and boulders moved into the school. On the second day the senior class was able to gain entry inside of and stay within the school overnight, camping out leading up to their 4:00 a.m. departure for their senior trip the next morning. During the prank vaseline was once again smeared around, tables and chairs relocated once again, cling wrap was used, library books spread throughout, and ambiguous
Photo by Jeff Clemens Two cars collided on US 101 in South Bend on Friday, June 7. Both vehicles were headed south on US 101 when the first car attempted to turn left and the car directly behind it didn’t stop in time and rear-ended them. One person was transported to Willapa Harbor Hospital with unknown injuries. The roadway was down to one lane for just over 45 minutes. Units from South Bend PD, Raymond PD, Pacific County Sheriff's Office, Raymond FD and South Bend FD responded to the scene. An engine from the South Bend FD cleared the road of debris with a fire hose and the damaged car was towed from the scene by Maynards Towing.
By GEORGE KUNKE, geoakunke@gmail.com SOUTH BEND – There are more significant changes at South Bend School District than some chameleons offering colors in terms of teachers and athletic coming and going, curriculum revamps, building renovations, and yes, even a new track surface for the 2019-20 school year. South Bend Superintendent Dr. Jon Tienhaara caught the Herald up to speed and many of the transformations. For starters, the athletic department will feature major changes. Tom Sanchez, Steve Lazelle, Gary Wilson, Manuel Rangel and Jim Bleecker are retiring. Sanchez served as athletic director for several years and also was the head coach of the football team before retiring two years ago, and he also was an assistant coach on the girls' basketball team. Sanchez, who coached the Indians to the Class 2B State Football title in 2010, will stay on in his teaching position. Lazelle, who also teaches, was the head track and field for more than 30 years at South Bend High School. Retiring is long-time facility director Gary Wilson, who was also the head girls basketball coach for more than two decades. Randy Carlson is replacing Wilson as head coach. Rangel is also leaving. Rangel was the assistant principal/special education director and head boys basketball coach, who is leaving for a job at ESD 105 in Yakima, according to Tienhaara. Bleecker is gone after coaching the baseball team the past two seasons. Roger Williams, the elementary custodian, and Denise Williams, a bus driver, are also retiring. As far as new hires, Tienhaara said, “We hired a new Career & Technical Education Teacher, Ms. Jayda Jessie, who will be teaching several new classes.”
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Rough school year ends on a sour note at Willapa Valley scriptures were written on windows and doors with window markers “They had written all sorts of things on windows,” Willapa Valley Superintendent Nancy Morris said. “For example on the window to the main high school office, it said ‘oops we did it again.’ This is the first time someone had come in again on a second day. Usually it's a one day thing and it's done. Mr. Ege sent me a picture of something they had written that said something like ‘be yourself no one else wants to be.’ Mr. Carney told me they wrote something about ‘not lending money to friends because it will cause trouble in the end.’ Mrs. Taylor’s said something like ‘enjoy life or else something bad will happen.’” Morris learned of the day 2 pranks after teachers arrived around 4:00 a.m. to
prepare for the senior trip departure and were upset with the ruckus that had been caused. They wanted the students to clean up the mess immediately but were told by several students “no Mrs. Kraley knew we were going to this.” Morris reached out to Kraley and they both arrived at school early and cleaned up the mess with a few other staff members before the day started. Tensions hit boiling point; She had to of been involved! The first day of pranks were mostly harmless and most of the teachers had a few chuckles while some staff members found the carnage to not be entirely amusing. The day 2 pranks are what made the teachers the angriest and caused tensions to boil over. The students were able to gain entry with keys obtained from Kraley who was ap-
proached by a few students while mowing her yard at her home, a decision that hasn’t sat well with several teachers. Several teachers have stated they believe Kraley took a part in or directed students during the day 2 pranks to carry out various task towards teachers she had tensions with. Morris mentioned that while it could be possible, there is no proof of the allegations. Some staff members have stated there was a text messaging chain that had at least some information that students were directed to carry out or asked to target certain teachers and classrooms. The only text chain shown to the Herald was interactions between several students planning out the overnight spree. “The staff, I think, got the impression that Mrs. Kraley was here writing things,” Morris said. “Or told kids
what to write. For every prank, we’ve had a staff member who have handed over their keys. Prank number one a staff member handed over their keys so it's not anything that hasn’t happened before.” Morris went on to explain that throughout the history of the now annual tradition at least one teacher has handed over their keys to assist the senior classes pranks. Another teacher handed their keys over for the day 1 pranks. Some teachers called for Kraley’s termination for playing a part in the second-day ruckus but Morris declined action mentioning “if I were to fire her for it then I would have to fire all the other teachers who have done the exact same thing.” The rift began months prior According to Morris and anonymous sources, Kraley
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