SEE INSIDE: Jessica Gamble named White River Daffodil Princess, Page 3 . . . . Enumclaw and White River Golf teams riding high into state meets, Page 9 . . . Washington becoming leader in alpaca farms, Fall Harvest, Page 14
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | 75 cents
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Hornet Homecomig
What’s Inside News...............................Pages 1-4 Views.....................................Page 6 Health and Fitness..........Page 8 Obituaries...........................Page 5 Classified....................Page 20-25
Utility yo-yo: one rate going up, one dropping By Kevin Hanson Senior Writer
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Burn bans ended Burn bans in Pierce and King County, as well as state-wide have officially been called off, thanks to this past weekend’s wet and rainy weather and moderate temperatures. Gov. Christine Gregoire ended the statewide ban over the weekend and county officials followed suit on Monday.
Weather The skies should partially clear to partly sunny today, Wednesday, with highs in the mid-50s and overnight lows in the mid-40s. The sun stays around Thursday with highs in the low 60s, but the rains return Friday with showers and temps in the 50s.
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White River spirit was on display Friday afternoon, as students rolled down Buckley’s Main Street prior to the Homecoming tussle against Clover Park later that evening. While the parade might have plenty of fun, the game was disppointing for Hornet fans. Photo by Kevin Hanson
Wilkeson seeking citizen thoughts on coke ovens Wilkeson’s historic coke ovens – those that remain intact from the community’s boom times – have fallen into disrepair during the course of many years. Weeds have covered what was a bustling part of the town’s coal-mining success and vandals have left their mark as well. Despite relative inattention in recent decades, a desire to preserve a visible link to Wilkeson’s past has remained. Recent work has been accomplished and now it’s the pub-
The Courier-Herald’s
Starts Oct. 31st
It was a good news-bad news situation for city utility customers when members of the Enumclaw City Council last met, as talks centered upon a proposed decrease in natural gas rates and a hike in garbage rates. The net effect for the average, singlefamily-home customer would be a savings of perhaps $13 per month. That applies, however, only to those using natural gas. Discussions were preliminary during the Oct. 8 council meeting, based on written and verbal reports by Public Works Director Chris Searcy. The council gave a tentative thumbs-up to the rate adjustments, but will issue a final verdict during Monday night’s session. The city’s natural gas and solid waste operations are enterprise funds, which means their annual expenses and revenues must balance. Considering natural gas, council members are looking at dropping rates much more than they did in late 2011. Due to decreasing supply costs, the city reduced rates by 5 percent a year ago; this time around, Searcy has proposed a 15 percent
rate reduction, effective Nov. 1. If the council approves the recommended rate decrease, the average monthly winter gas bill should drop about $15, Searcy reported, with an annual savings of about $109. While that rate decrease impacts only those using natural gas, the proposed increase in garbage and yard waste collections hits all city customers. The ordinance before the council calls for an across-the-board, 9.5 percent increase in garbage rates and a 5 percent hike in yard waste rates, both to take effect Jan. 1. Added together, it amounts to an additional $2.23 per month. The proposed increases follow rate hikes imposed a year ago, in response to bumpedup fees at both the King County transfer station and Cedar Grove Composting, where the city hauls garbage and compostables, respectively. Despite the increases, the solid waste utility is expected to fall short of operating expenditures by approximately $66,000 this year, pushing reserves to a minimum. Adding to the financial mix is another rate increase this year at the transfer station, along with the need to replace many of the city-owned yard waste containers.
Count the number of turkeys for a chance to win 1 of 5 Smoked Turkeys from
Count theTurkeys Contest
lic’s turn to weigh in. The town will present several landscape drawings for the future Coke Oven Park from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Town Hall. Those drawings will be developed during a brainstorming workshop earlier that day, a process involving about 20 community members, 11 volunteer landscape architects and seven student landscape architects from the University of Washington and Washington State University.
OLSON’S MEATS!
Yummy… Just in time for Thanksgiving.
Contest runs in the Oct. 31st, Nov. 7th and 14th editions of The Courier-Herald
Wilkeson’s coke ovens have fallen into disrepair during past decades, but could be restored as a link to the town’s mining past. File photo.
Have you ever wanted to tell Brian to go jump in a lake? Now’s your chance! See “Our Corner” on page 6 for more details.