Enumclaw Courier-Herald, March 05, 2014

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SEE INSIDE: Police Blotter | Page 3 . . . . Marianne Binetti | Page 4 . . . Rich Elfers | Page 6

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014 | 75 cents

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Tempers flare between mayor and councilman

What’s Inside Family Matters................Page 5 Views..................................Page 6 Obituaries.........................Page 9 Sports.................................Page 10 Classified...........................Page 16

By Kevin Hanson Senior Writer

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Sports...

White River boys and girls off to state 2A hoop tourney

Weather The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for heavy rain with a high near 55 and lows to 43. Thursday continues with rain and highs to 53. There is a chance of rain Friday and continuing through Saturday and Sunday with highs in the mid 50s and lows to 41.

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News ..................................ext. 3 Retail Ads .........................ext. 2 Circulation ........................ext. 1 Classifieds..................ext. 7050

A Cat in a Hat at Elk Ridge

Brynn Osborn, Elk Ridge Elementary student, participates Friday in the Read Across America celebration of the Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Garrett Reily, above right, and Karin Gutierrez, bottom right, listen to kindergarten teacher Heidi Lee read a Dr. Seuss story. Photos by Dennis Box

Sparks flew during the most recent gathering of the Enumclaw City Council, with accusations leveled by the mayor and city attorney against Councilman Darrell Dickson, who staunchly denied any wrongdoing. The issue behind the contention public exchange is a pending agreement between the city and Puget Sound Energy that would allow natural gas to continue flowing through Enumclaw on its way to Buckley. PSE is in the process of purchasing Buckley’s gas system and will be paying Enumclaw for its part in the gas transmission, just as Buckley has always done. Specifically at issue are the dollars that will be paid. Terms of an agreement between PSE and Enumclaw had tentatively been ironed out, but Dickson – as a member of the council’s Public Works Committee – wondered if the city would be adequately compensated. He began researching the matter and determined more time was needed to make a fully informed decision. That’s where the fireworks began smoldering, only to blaze into full view during the Feb. 24 council session. City Attorney Mike Reynolds and Mayor Liz Reynolds

See COUNCIL, Page 2

Public hearing on recreational marijuana sales Enumclaw City Council will take testimony at the Monday meeting By Kevin Hanson Senior Writer

What do Enumclaw residents think about marijuana being sold in the community? That question will be addressed Monday evening when members of the City Council host a public hearing on the matter. At issue is the potential retail sale

of recreational weed, as opposed to the medicinal marijuana that has been readily available to those with the proper credentials. In late January, council members took the seldom-used step of declaring an emergency and unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on the production, processing or retail sale of marijuana. Included in that directive was the call for a public hearing. The entire issue has grown out of Initiative 502, passed by Washington voters in November 2012, that allows for the production and sale of marijuana for rec-

reational use. Confusing things is the federal government’s continued declaration that marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug and thus outlawed by the Controlled Substances Act.

Some background

Passage of I-502 might have made sales legal, but provisions were included to keep marijuana dispensaries from sprouting up everywhere. Chief among those is the mandate that any business selling marijuana for recreational use must be at least 1,000 feet from a school, playground, recreation center, childcare center, public park,

transit center, library or game arcade. Beyond that, regulations were put in place limiting the number of retail outlets and where they’re placed, with priority given to the most densely-populated regions. For example, there are no allocations for Enumclaw, Buckley or Black Diamond specifically, although plans allow for “at large” locations. In the wake of 502’s passage, Enumclaw city staff put together a map, looking at where retail mari-

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