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FRIDAY DEC 16/11
INSIDE | Problem with Christmas magic | Bursch [18]
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Santa House’s new location stirs merchants ted two blocks west to the downtown plaza opposite Auburn City Hall, house in tow. For Barry and downtown merchants, the relocation of old St. Nick’s House to West Main and South Division came as a complete surprise. Actually, an unpleasant shock to many business folk who had always welcomed the overflow business traffic from the Santa House – and never more so than in these hard times.
BY ROBERT WHALE rwhale@auburn-reporter.com
David Vacknitz, founder of the Auburn Paranormal Activities Research Team, takes readings at the White River Valley Museum with an electromagnetic field (EMF) detector. According to Vacknitz, ghosts and other paranormal activity can sometimes trigger abnormal EMF readings. CHARLES CORTES, Auburn Reporter
CHASING GHOSTS, SPIRITS Local team continues pursuit of the paranormal BY SHAWN SKAGER sskager@auburn-reporter.com
It’s after hours at the White River Valley Museum and a ghost hunt is in progress. For years, rumors of a resident ghost, perhaps a spirit attached to
one of many artifacts lining the shelves in the museum’s storerooms, have persisted. Hilary Pittenger, a curator at the museum for six years, said she believes she’s seen the ghost. “My first experience was before I’d heard anything about her,” Pittenger says. “I was in the back room just doing some cleaning. I saw something walk past that was white and had a
textile feel to it, like it was fabric.” When Pittenger informed coworkers of her experience, they told her of similar encounters. “Every time after that it’s just been walking into a room and getting that feeling that you’ve walked in on someone that wasn’t expecting you,” Pittenger says. “There was nothing [ more APART page 6 ]
Colleen Barry was headed to her restaurant, The Kitsch-en, one recent morning when she passed by the B Street Plaza, home for many Christmas seasons to Santa and his little house. And there Barry’s eyes beheld an astonishing sight — Santa and his tiny domicile had vanished. The jolly old elf, it seems, had slipped into his nifty flame-red pants, rolled up his sleeves, pulled on his shiny black boots and trot-
[ more SANTA HOUSE page 5 ]
Auburn is the scene of short Western BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@auburn-reporter.com
Auburn is in the spotlight, the backdrop for a short film. Crews – in full Hollywood production mode – will be on location this weekend to film scenes at historic Neely Mansion and along bucolic Green Valley Road for the short film, “The Shootout”, an
old West story about hope, faith and choices, including legendary outlaw Jesse James and pursuing U.S. Marshals. Filming spans four days, Friday to Monday, according to Marco B. Nunez, executive producer of Bellevue-based Ides of M Productions. The project involves a large production [ more FILM page 5 ]
City sues FDIC for funds to finish project BY ROBERT WHALE rwhale@auburn-reporter.com
The City of Auburn is seeking funds from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to complete infrastructure for a residential development project that it inherited from King County upon the 2008 annexation of Lea Hill. According to a lawsuit filed Oct. 11, and now in the U.S. District Court for the Western Dis-
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trict of Washington, the City claims the federal bank regulator owes Auburn $413,612 because of infrastructure for the unfinished Marchini Meadows at Lea Hill, and hasn’t made the promised payments. “Due to the lack of funds, the City has been unable to complete the Marchini Meadows project,” Auburn attorneys wrote in court documents.
Molly and Lucy Markham tell St. Nick what they want for Christmas during Breakfast with Santa at the Auburn Senior Activity Center last Saturday. RACHEL CIAMPI,
[ more LAWSUIT page 5 ]
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