PDN - Clallam Edition - Thursday November 24th, 2011

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Peninsula Plywood mill shut down ‘Still hope,’ co-owner says BY TOM CALLIS PAUL GOTTLIEB

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PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

PORT ANGELES — Peninsula Plywood is closed. Josh Renshaw, president of the mill on Marine Drive, said the company furloughed its final 15 employees last week but that he

has hopes for reopening. Renshaw said the mill is working on “debt restructuring� but declined to elaborate. “We’re in an uphill battle for sure,� he said. Grant Munro, a PenPly owner and former City Council member, said the mill had been winding down production for the past month. “There’s still hope,� he said, “and I’ll just leave it at that. “We’re still trying some things.� PenPly had employed 130 workers at its peak in July.

That came after the mill received a $500,000 state Department of Commerce grant to keep it afloat. The city of Port Angeles sponsored the grant. As of last month, the mill owed the city nearly $300,000 in delinquent utility payments and $82,783 to the Port of Port Angeles for rent. City Manager Kent Myers said he knew PenPly was struggling financially but had not received official notice of the shutdown as of early Wednesday afternoon.

“We met earlier this week with potential litigation, Myers said. the bank and everyone, so we Renshaw, with the help of local were aware of it,� he said. investors, reopened the shuttered mill in March 2010. City Council discussion Its former owners, Klukwan Inc., closed the mill in November Myers said the City Council will 2007. discuss “what our options are to The U.S. Department of Agricollect that money� at the next City culture’s rural development proCouncil meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday gram allocated stimulus funds to at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St. The council discussion with provide a 90 percent guarantee City Attorney Bill Bloor will be in for two loans in order to help the an executive session because efforts mill reopen. to collect the money could result in

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Big meals set today in Clallam 200 at free dinner on Thanksgiving eve BY ARWYN RICE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

CHRIS TUCKER/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

Jacob Lewis lies on the family couch, recovering from injuries suffered in his fall last weekend.

150 feet ‘head over heels’ teenager worse injuries. The trip began on Pyramid Peak Trail ■Rescue provided challenge for Coast on the north side of the lake, 20 miles Guard aviators/A9 west of Port Angeles. All experienced hikers, the group for an afternoon of hiking in Olympic members reached the peak early and BY ARWYN RICE National Park. were coming back down with Jacob and PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Jacob and family members shared the Carson well ahead. OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — In a story of how the whole trip went sideways, “Dad told us to wait at the slide, to not moment, what had been a pleasant famgo out there until they got there,� Jacob resulting in a three-agency rescue operaadmitted. ily hike turned into a 20-hour ordeal for a tion and helicopter extraction from the But the brothers decided to step out father and son, including a terrifying fall mountainside overlooking Lake Crescent. onto the slide area, and as Jacob stepped Jacob was recovering at home from a and overnight stay on the surface of a shattered and dislocated ankle, a severely onto the narrowest section of the trail, landslide. the wet soil gave way. sprained ankle and other cuts and Brian Lewis of Sequim and his sons, “I started falling,� Jacob said. scrapes after a 150-foot fall that family Skyler, 18, Carson, 16, and Jacob, 15, all TURN TO HIKER/A9 of Port Angeles, took off Sunday morning members marveled hadn’t caused the

Teen recalls tumble from mountain trail

ALSO . . .

PORT ANGELES — The Salvation Army fed about 200 people Wednesday at a pre-Thanksgiving feast that preceded today’s community dinners. In Port Angeles, the fourth annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner will be served at Queens of Angels gym, 209 W. 11th St., from noon to 4:30 p.m. today, while Serenity House of Clallam County will hold its annual traditional community feast at the Single Adult Shelter, 2321 W. 18th St., from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Both are free and open to the public. Meals also are planned in Sequim and Forks. Wednesday’s meal was served by a small army of volunteers at the Salvation Army’s soup kitchen at 206 S. Peabody St. in Port Angeles. The warm dining room was scented by freshly baked bread and roasting turkey and buzzed with contented conversation.

Held a day early The Salvation Army’s annual feast is held a day early to allow people time with their families on the holiday and adds to the number of warm meals people can get at this time of year, said Cherilee Ramsey, a Salvation Army associate pastor. That means a lot to such families as that of Everett Zentz, 36, and his five children, ages 2 to 18, who are struggling in the difficult economy. Zentz, a single, unemployed father, just got the family into a house. “All my funds have gone there,� Zentz said. TURN

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2011 Home Fund drive opens today ‘A hand up, not a handout’ PENINSULA DAILY NEWS

A grandmother caring for two small children received help with her utility bills. An out-of-work logger in Quilcene got money to obtain prescribed medicine.

A fourth-grade Using a recordstudent got the breaking $248,367.35 glasses he needed donated in 2010, to do his schoolwork more than 2,160 in Port Townsend. households — almost Material was 4,750 individuals — provided to help a in Jefferson and volunteer group Clallam counties assist a Port Angehave received help so les woman with repairs to her far this year from the Peninsula mobile home. Daily News’ “hand up, not a handA Forks woman received a load out� Peninsula Home Fund. From Thanksgiving to New of wood to heat her house.

ALSO . . . â– $248,367 worth of thanks to 2010 Home Fund donors/C1 â– Tough times compound Home Fund challenges/A9

Year’s Eve, the Peninsula Home Fund — a safety net for North Olympic Peninsula residents when there is nowhere else to turn — is seeking contributions for its annual holiday season

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INSIDE TODAY’S PENINSULA DAILY NEWS 195131520

Your Business Busine B Bank...

fundraising campaign. Beginning Sunday, Peninsula Daily News will publish stories every Wednesday and Sunday during the campaign listing contributors and reporting on how the fund works. The Peninsula Home Fund is a unique nonprofit program: â– No money is deducted by the Peninsula Daily News for administration fees or any other overhead.

95th year, 279th issue — 3 sections, 36 pages

BUSINESS B6 B6 CLASSIFIED B11 COMICS COMMENTARY/LETTERS A10 B11 DEAR ABBY B4 DEATHS B11 HOROSCOPE A6 MOVIES A3 NATION/WORLD

PENINSULA POLL A2 PUZZLES/GAMES B5, B7 B1 SPORTS B12 WEATHER

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