In this issue
ic lymp ide o h t u Nor sula G peNiN
2014
er
Summ
g/ Sprin
Preserving history
A fudge first
Couple gets grant to save Frost Road barn B-1
Sweets at the drive-thru
A-7
lEy | ESS VAl NgEN TORiA uim/Du AST | ViC | SEq EST CO uNTy ON CO | NORTh/W EffERS END SEND/J RkS/WEST TOWN fO PORT lES | gE AN PORT
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Sequim Gazette ment
ple sing sup
ed by
produc
ette and
uim Gaz
s, Seq
ly New
la Dai
Peninsu
Forks
Forum
erti
An adv
www
Sequim’s Hometown Newspaper
com
Fire destroys Sequim shops Baja Cantina looks to reopen, Sequim Consignment Co. awaits answers
Police believe missing area woman OK and in I-5 corridor Contacts say Garrett left on her own accord
Sequim Gazette staff
During a routine Monday afternoon, Brian Barrick, owner of Sequim Consignment Co., found nearly five years of hard work gone. An attic fire took his business and the neighboring Baja Cantina Fresh Mexican Grill at 820 W. Washington St., starting around 1:07 p.m. on May 19. “I was doing some normal desk work with an employee until we smelled something burning but we couldn’t see anything,” Barrick said. “We checked a few places but couldn’t spot anything. I looked in the attic and saw something glowing.” Patrick Young, public information officer for Clallam County Fire District 3, said paramedics en route to another call spotted smoke from the building and called it in moments before Barrick called 9-1-1, too. Employees from both businesses evacuated with one employee examined for smoke inhalation but not treated. “I am not sure what happened,” said Baja Cantina co-
75 cents
Vol. 41, Number 21
by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Firefighters with Clallam County Fire District 3 battle a blaze Monday, May 19, that burned Baja Cantina and Sequim Consignment Co. It took them nearly four hours to contain the fire. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
owner Martha Biseno as she watched the building engulf in smoke. “We just saw some smoke coming from the far end of the building.” Fire crews used 2 million
gallons of water to extinguish the fire through 5:30 p.m. with two ladder trucks, one from Fire District 3 and the City of Port Angeles, Young said. Because of the massive
amount of water used to fight the fire, City of Sequim officials lined the sides of West Washington Street with sandbags to help
See FIRE, A-12
Carlsborg wastewater: Sequim bound? ‘Preliminary recommendation will be to pump to Sequim’ by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette
Clallam County officials and the Clallam Public Utility District (PUD) continue to explore the Urban Growth Area (UGA) in Carlsborg and the need for either its own sewer treatment facility or the use of Sequim’s existing facility. Despite the multi-
year process thus far, county officials still anticipate having a sewage system established and running by end of 2015. By the end of the month an amended facility plan, including the recommendation to pump UGA sewage to the Sequim facility, will be presented by PUD officials to the board of county commissioners for final review, Community Development and Senior Planner Dennis Lefevre said. The Department of Ecology also will have to approve the amended plan, however the review process is expected to be fairly
quick since the Department of Ecology already has addressed the majority of the work needed in the original facilities plan. The latest 20-year life cycle cost comparison presented last month by county officials, which includes the operation, maintenance and capital costs, suggests nearly $700,000 annual savings are made if a separate Carlsborg water reclamation facility (WRF) is deemed unnecessary.
See CARLSBORG, A-10
Police officials report Lauryn Garrett, a 23-year-old Sequim woman, is believed to be OK as of Tuesday, May 20. Officer Luke Bogues with the Port Townsend Police Department said one of its detectives recently formed task force to find Garrett and learned through a series of tips that she left the Port Townsend area on her own but her whereabouts remain unknown. “We’re still following up on leads but we believe she’s along the I-5 corridor,” he said. “We still want to make face to GARRETT face contact with her to confirm she is OK and check on her welfare.” Garrett, who was last seen on May 1 in Port Townsend in Safeway buying liquor and soda, was to meet her father, Fred Garrett, on May 2 at the Port Townsend ferry. However, she phoned her father around 7:30 p.m. on a borrowed cell phone the night before asking for a ride. Patrick Fudally, public information officer for Port Townsend Police, said Fred Garrett told police he was unable to pick her up that night. Fred Garrett said his daughter was coming to Sequim from Sedro-Woolley after finishing
See MISSING, A-11
Subscribe today!
Get breaking news and updates, green editions and unlimited access to the Sequim Gazette and its website today. Go to www.sequimgazette. com or call 683-3311 to subscribe. Subscribers to the print edition get access to all digital products. Or, subscribe for the digital-only package. Cost is only $36 per year or about 69 cents per week.
‘Save the Elevator’ campaign begins Museum trustees look to recruit donors before June 6 auction by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
This week, trustees with the Museum & Arts Center launch a campaign to “Save the Grain Elevator” prior to a June 6 public auction for the site. Their concern is that the facility would be torn down and forgotten. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
The “Save the Grain Elevator” campaign is on. Trustees for the Museum & Arts Center of the SequimDungeness Valley are looking for donors to give up to $1 million to purchase the Clallam Co-
op grain elevator and the building formerly housing El Cazador at 531 W. Washington St. MAC trustees like Louie Rychlik, its treasurer, have expressed interest in preserving the building for more than a month. Rychlik said their strategy is to work together as a com-
munity. “We want to get enough people to pledge money so that we can buy grain elevator as a community itself rather than have it tore it down,” he said. So far, Rychlik has paid for advertisements while fellow trustees continue to spread the word and make items like T-shirts for supporters. Most recently, Heritage Bank, formerly Whidbey Island Bank, delayed a public auction of the
site to June 6 on the foreclosed property. Kerry Wake, a commercial loan officer with Heritage Bank, told the Gazette last week the postponement was to finalize internal paperwork and had nothing to do with the MAC’s efforts. He advised Rychlik get in touch with the former owner Hilda Rodriguez and her
See CAMPAIGN, A-10
Sports B-5 • Schools B-7 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-16 • Obituaries A-11 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C
weather outlook: Thursday, May 22
▲66 ▼53
FRIDAY, may 23
▲64 ▼52
SATURday, may 24
▲64 ▼50
2013 Model Year Clearance Event
ALL 2013 MODELS
SALE TAGGED 97 DEER PARK ROAD, PORT ANGELES • 360.452.9268
• 800.927.9372
www.wilderauto.com • You Can Count On Us!
45103421
WILDER AUTO CENTER