Willapa 1.50
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Vol. 44, Issue 29
Herald USPS 455960
July 20, 2022
Area affected by Comcast outage By GEORGE KUNKE, geoakunke@gmail.com SOUTH BEND – South Bend and Raymond were impacted by a Comcast Xfinity power outage that affected their users from noon Friday through 9:45 am Saturday. The outage shut down the Internet, phones and television, and it also affected several states throughout the country, including at least California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois, Arizona, Rhode Island, Georgia and West Virginia. Comcast has not been very forthcoming about releasing information on the matter. “I'm still trying to get some information; they (Comcast) were very evasive (about releasing information),” Information Technology Manager for Pacific County Andy Seaman told the Her-
ald Monday morning. “I'm trying to find out what the outage was caused by. We had no Internet access at all; it was fairly major. We've fixed most of this morning. There was also a fire district out in eastern Washington and Charter Cable in Long Beach was out.” Seaman added that locally, “The 911 circuits were up. Some patrols didn't have access to their database. Our internal email was working.” Director of Pacific County Emergency Management Agency Scott McDougall told the Herald, “It did have an effect on the county. It was serious and the county is waiting for an explanation from Comcast to see what happened.” “The guys were inconvenienced a little.” South Bend Police Chief Lucas
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Stigall said. “It took down city hall for most of the day,” SBPD Officer Eric Fuller said. “I was not able to utilize my computer in my patrol car.” Fuller labeled it a “huge” problem. Pacific County 911 Dispatch Director Ed Heffernan said,“We had no reports of 911 being shut down.” A spokesperson at the Raymond PUD office said, “We had nothing to do with it. We don't know what the cause was.” An employee at Comcast in the Philippines told the Herald that Comcast “is A driftwood sculpture created by Van Adam Davis of North Cove. doing enhancement repairs to fix the situation.” Another Comcast employee in Vancouver told the Herald, “I haven't heard The premier wood carving, art show and music festival happening on Aug. 6 - 7 anything about an outage.” Tokeland — Woodfest including Jeff Samudosky. band’s style as “Americana,” No additional information occurs in the quaint and Jeff was filmed in the first with influences from “Hank was available at press time. lively village of Tokeland, chainsaw reality television Williams, Nirvana, and Hank Washington at the historic show SAW DOGS which Williams Jr. Alessandra Rose Tokeland Hotel and Restau- aired on Discovery. Ad- will perform for her second rant is one of the most popu- ditionally, Josh Blewitt, of year on the Tokeland stage lar events on the South Beach Ridgefield Washington, cre- and Daniel “Mudcat” McKin Pacific County. Make your ator of amazing spheres and instry rounds out the headlinplans to join this magical most recognizable around ers with his downhome “roots gathering where artists, wood here for the welcome signs of rock and roll” sound. carvers and musicians come for Long Beach and Ocean This festival of wood, together for a great time and Park Washington complete saws, art and music takes “I didn’t struggle with pressure good vibes. with beautifully carved place on the grounds of the in middle school and high school “Woodfest brings out the humpback whales. Tokeland Hotel and Resbecause it came so naturally easy best in folks who appreciate In harmony with the sound taurant on Saturday, August for me. Because of my God-given athletic ability, I was just naturally unique and high energy art of chainsaws, a stellar line- 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 ahead of the rest of the girls, so that created by chainsaws while up of musicians will take p.m. and Sunday, August 7 pressure to be better than everybody listening to live music,” said the stage both Saturday and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. else hadn’t set in yet. However, the internationally acclaimed Sunday including Hellbound Since 2007, Woodfest conpressure to succeed at a collegiate wood artist, Jeffro Uitto of Glory, an American country tinues its tradition of being level has been my biggest limiting Knock on Wood. and roots rock band, featur- the event not to miss. Visit factor. Learning to overcome this is This year’s carvers are ing singer-songwriter Leroy http://tokelandnorthcove. still a work in progress. Everybody among the best in the country Virgil. Virgil describes the com for more details. at this level is good. Everybody
Part II
15th Annual Tokeland Woodfest
Freeman loves kids, addresses pressure of competing in a super conference
Photo Courtesy USC Athletics Former Raymond HS track and field standout Karlee Freeman has one year of eligibility remaining at USC.
By GEORGE KUNKE, geoakunke@gmail. com Former Raymond junior and senior high school standout student-athlete Karlee Freeman set the standard for what to achieve both athletically and scholastically. Her work ethic earned her a full-ride scholarship to attend the University of Southern California, where she is now in her fifth year of eligibility. While at Raymond, Freeman achieved a “Top Gun” status after a countless number of successes. In junior high, she placed first in the discus at the National Junior Olympics in Humble, Texas, while competing in the 1314-year-old age bracket. As an eighth grader, she was ranked number in the country in the discus. As a senior at RHS in 2018, she was named the 2017-18 Gatorade Washington Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year – the first Gatorade Washington Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from RHS. At the Class 2B state meet in 2018, Freeman won the discus, shot put and javelin, and showed her versatility by finishing fourth in the 100-meter dash. She rewrote her own meet record in the discus, and set the standard for all state classifications in the shot put. Her sweep of the three throwing events was the first for the 2B girls since Ilwaco's Cathy Schmidt did it in 2000. Freeman also starred in basketball and volleyball at RHS. Freeman, now 22 and living in Los Angeles, is the daughter of Briana and Philip Freeman. She has a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and is working on a second masters. She plans to compete in track and field as a thrower this season. Freeman conducted a track and field training camp for three different age groups last month including kindergarten, first through third graders, and fourth, fifth and sixth graders. Of the camp. Freeman said, “I had a blast putting a camp on. It feels great being able to share the love for track with other kids from this community. It was a great group of kids with great attitudes. If I am able to put this on again, I hope I see all of these kids turn out.” Freeman, who, to many is a star in more ways than one, responded to several questions from the Herald the past couple of weeks. Below is Part II of Freeman's interview. Herald: What did you enjoy the most about your five-day track and field training camp that you conducted in Raymond recently? Freeman: Kids are hilarious. I loved spend-
was the big fish in their small town when they were in high school. It’s a different world.” ~ Karlee Freeman USC Student-Athlete
ing time with them. I’m glad it gave the kids something to do and they got a taste for what track and field is like. I could see them become more and more interested and passionate about it once they realized that they were actually pretty good and they were getting better throughout the week. We kept track of their PR’s each day, so they all came in the next day eager to break their records. I like putting that fire and passion into these young kids. They have so much potential, they just need someone to tell them that. I’m hoping this can become a yearly event that I can put on for the community. It is just as life-giving for me as it is for them. Herald: Who and what do you attribute your academic and athletic successes to in elementary school, high school and college? Freeman: All glory to God. I undoubtedly would not be where I am today without my God-given talent. But I also wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for my dad installing hard work, grit, determination, and mental toughness into me at a young age. It wasn’t fun running sweet 16’s at the end of each basketball practice when I was 8 or coming home and running around the house after soccer games, but I quickly realized that every time my parents were pushing me physically/athletically, it was building my character, dedication, and love for sports and getting better. My parents pushed me and coached me in everything until I was in high school. Then I had a few Raymond coaches who helped develop me in other sports, which ultimately contributed to my athleticism in track. It wasn’t until I met my private coach, Shaun Straka, my junior year of high school that I took throwing to the next level. He developed me in the ring and in the weight room. He took me across the country for national meets, got me some recognition in the collegiate world, and really became family to me. He’s the reason I got into USC. What I’ve learned being in college sports is that it’s pretty rare to stay at the same school and keep the same coach your entire career. Coaching staffs change, athletes transfer, coaches get fired/quit, etcetera. But not only have I had the same coach my entire time at USC, but USC track and field has had the same throws coach for 30 years. Coach Dan is one of a kind. He’s the most authentic person I have ever met. It’s hard to find a coach who prioritizes your mental and emotional wellbeing just as much as they prioritize your physical and athletic well-being. But Coach Dan does that. He really cares about his athletes
VFW celebrates 100 Years of Service By Gordon L. Aleshire, Quartermaster Since July 27, 1922, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Pacific Post 968 has been serving the Raymond, South Bend and Willapa Valley communities. We are inviting the community to an open house on Saturday July 30 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Our meeting room is located at 209 Third St. in Raymond. Any veteran stopping in will receive a commemorative coin or you can buy one for $10 in support of our veteran relief fund. On November 11, 1940 the VFW and its Auxiliary dedicated a memorial to community members who lost their lives in WWI. Many years later the Post helped establish a
second memorial listing those lost in service to our country in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Both are now located in the park at Third and Alder St. The Post has a history of awarding $1,000 scholarships to five graduating seniors each year. The post recently made a significant investment that will ensure these scholarships continue for many years. The Post is planning the establishment of a Sea Scouting opportunity. If you are interested in helping us put this together, please contact us. VFW Pacific Post 968 | Facebook or PacificPost968@gmail.com. We aren’t done serving yet. Please stop by our open house on July 30 between 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and see what’s going on.
Second drive for SBSD mascot in full swing
By GEORGE KUNKE, geoakunke@gmail.com SOUTH BEND – After not getting enough interest to choose a new mascot last year, South Bend School District hopes to find one the second time around before next March, if not sooner. The new mascot timeline for South Bend Jr./Sr. High School is March 1, 2023, set by the board of directors at last month's regular school board meeting. This action follows a year-long pause from when the mascot matter was put on the shelf. South Bend Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Tienhaara put the mascot issue back in the forefront when he posted information on his blog July 6: The mascot issue stems from a recent Washington State law (HB 1356) banning the use of Native American names for school mascots, which was signed by Governor Jay Inslee in 2021. Though the school did some extensive work to identify and select a new mascot during the spring of 2021, no clear mascot replacement was identified. Rather than rush the decision, the board elected to pause the selection See freeman Page 2
process until now. From now until August 31, 2022, the board invites the public to provide ideas for the new mascot. Input can be provided one of two ways: 1) sending an email to school director Wendy Manlow at wmanlow@ southbendschools.org; or 2) completing a feedback form found at:https://forms.gle/ ezirv5igjC9hKML37. The board will select possible mascots from the summer input collection and provide visuals for the public to view at upcoming fall sports events. Collected feedback will then be shared with a focus group in January, 2023, preceding the March 1, 2023, deadline. The focus group will evaluate the collected mascot input and provide a recommendation to the board. School Hirings, Construction News Dr. Tienhaara addressed questions from the Herald concerning the mascot and other school news. Firstly, Tienharra informed about the new teacher hirings for 2022-23, including Carlee Cavanaugh (first grade), Savanah Friese (preschool-fourth grade, spe-
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cial education), Jose Ramos (junior high ELA (English Language Arts), Stacey Webber-Villenueva (Pediatric Mental Health); and Jamie Howell (9-12 special education teacher). Secondly, Tienharra addressed the progress of construction projects on the South Bend campus. “Rognlins is still on schedule for the seismic retrofit of Koplitz Field House. They are doing extensive work to build structural supports. We are about to begin a major stormwater upgrade and a couple paving projects across the district.” Dr. Tienharra fielded questions from the Herald concerning the new mascot drive. Asked how much feedback/response does SBSD need to finally make a decision about what to change the mascot to, Tienhaara said, “The board is moving forward as required by the new Washington State law signed by Governor Jay Inslee that bans Native American names and imagery from being used by schools. The board has outlined their process for selecting a new mascot. See sbsd Page 2