SEE INSIDE: Wedding Guide 2013..... pages 13-16 Your hometown newspaper for more than 100 years!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 | 75 cents
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Starving horses taken from farm
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King County animal services take 22 horses, a goat and a cat due to malnutrition
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By Dennis Box
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Postseason hoops, wrestling, gymnastics and swim, see page 10
Weather The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for rain with high temperatures near 45 and lows to 36. Thursday’s forecast calls for clouds with high near 45 and lows to 37. Friday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies changing to rain over the weekend with highs to 47.
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What a little sweetheart
Lila Schmidt, 3, enjoys the dancing and the view from on top of her dad, Jason’s, shoulders. The fatherdaughter sweetheart dance was offered during three shifts Saturday at the Enumclaw High School commons. Photo by Dennis Box
Buckley plans to sell natural gas utility By Kevin Hanson Senior Writer
Looking to shed itself of a troublesome operation, the city of Buckley has put its natural gas utility up for sale. The city recently issued a formal “Request For Proposals,” giving potential suitors the opportu-
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nity to make a sales pitch for the system. Buckley is one of only three communities in the state to operate its own natural gas delivery system, creating a small club with its neighbor to the north, Enumclaw, and the Kittitas County city of Ellensburg. Buckley City Administrator Dave Schmidt said the notion selling off the utility has been kicked around for a couple of years. There was a time when the city could offer its customers natural gas at a pretty decent rate, less than the rate paid throughout the region. But those days are long gone, Schmidt said, admitting that Buckley’s natural gas users are likely paying 10 to 15 percent more than nearby resi-
King County sheriff’s deputies and Regional Animal Services officers took possession of 22 horse, a goat and two cats from a farm outside of Enumclaw Wednesday and Thursday night because of malnutrition. The location of the property is 236th Avenue Southeast and 416th Street. According to Cameron Satterfield, communications manager for animal services, a tip was received by animal services Tuesday concerning emaciated animals on the farm. Satterfield said an animal control officer went to the property Wednesday and observed the animals. A search warrant was served by the deputies and officers Wednesday evening when 16 horses, a goat and two cats were taken from the farm. The officers saw more distressed horses and a second search warrant was
See STARVING, Page 2
dents who are supplied by Puget Sound Energy. The problem, Schmidt said, lies with the ever-increasing safety standards imposed across the nation. There have been a number of large explosions that brought catastrophic results, forcing regulatory reform on providers both large and small. The increased demands are just too much for a small community like Buckley to handle, Schmidt said. The growing list of regulations “are basically pushing the city out of the natural gas business,” he said. “We have to break even,” Schmidt added,
See SELL, Page 2
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