Statements conflict in documents on bridge collapse
A new class of greats Rower who won Olympic gold is among inductees to sports hall of fame, C1
Page A3 THURSDAY, 06.12.2014
●
EVERETT, WASHINGTON
●
WWW.HERALDNET.COM
●
75¢ (HIGHER IN OUTLYING AREAS)
Lowering the landing gear Paine Field’s manager plans to retire after historic, notable tenure By Dan Catchpole Herald Writer
EVERETT — The longtime manager of Snohomish County’s Paine Field, Dave Waggoner, plans to retire later this summer, capping a 23-year stewardship that has seen historic firsts and huge growth at and around the airport. The soft-spoken Waggoner, 69, deflects the credit. “I have strong department heads and a great staff,” he said. Once a military base, Paine Field became home to Boeing’s wide-body jetliner factory in the late 1960s. Today it is a major economic driver, with hundreds of aerospace manufacturing jobs on airport property. Waggoner runs the airfield with a staff of 50 and an operating budget of about $19 million. Waggoner came in 1992 after retiring from the U.S. Navy. Since then, airport revenue has quadrupled, the number of planes based there has grown by 50 percent, adjacent wetland habitat has been restored, runways have been overhauled, three aerospace museums have opened and several large aerospace suppliers have located manufacturing operations on airport land. And that’s just a short list of what Waggoner has overseen on his watch. “We’ve had some difficult projects and some interesting ones,” he said. Moving the main runway more than 400 feet south — that was a difficult project. It was necessary because the north end was too close to Highway 526. “We were pelting cars with gravel,” he said. But shifting the 9,000-foot runway meant having to fill in and level two steep draws at the south end to create enough flat, open buffer space in case an airplane overshoots the runway. The three-year project involved some tricky engineering. It was finished in the late-1990s. A few months later, a small private plane did go off the runway. “If that had happened a year earlier, they would have ended up in a ball and maybe all died,” he said. Waggoner knows what he’s talking about. During his career
OSO MUDSLIDE
On to the next step A Ferndale company is awarded a contract to sift through debris that was moved by search and rescue teams onto private property. By Noah Haglund Herald Writer
MARK MULLIGAN / THE HERALD
Dave Waggoner, who has run Paine Field for more than 20 years, plans to retire later this year.
as a naval aviator, he saw plenty of close calls and even had to crash-land his A-6 Intruder once.
Flying into Naval Air Station Oceana near Virginia Beach, Virginia, his jet fighter’s rear landing gear wouldn’t lower.
So Waggoner landed using the plane’s front landing gear
EVERETT — After months of searching and sifting, Snohomish County is getting down to the long-term clean-up of the landscape left by the Oso mudslide. The County Council on Wednesday approved a $6.4 million contract with low bidder IMCO General Construction. The Ferndale company recently completed work for the state Department of Transportation clearing debris from Highway 530. The county job will involve an estimated 200,000 cubic yards of debris that search and rescue crews moved around. The material sits in giant mounds on either side of the mile-wide slide zone. “We’re actually going to be going through debris that the search and rescue teams moved onto private property,” said Gary Haakenson, a county executive’s office director overseeing slide recovery. “We’ll be respectful in that process as we go through clearing that debris.” Contractors will screen the material for human remains and personal effects. That’s in addition to earlier screening during the emergency phase. See SLIDE, back page, this section
See WAGGONER, Page A2
In speech, Lynnwood mayor calls for unity and pride Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD — The changes coming to this city won’t all be easy, but they will be worth it, Mayor Nicola Smith told a packed
50% OFF
Go to HeraldNetDailyDeal.com to purchase today’s deal from
MarcelloCicciniColors VOL. 114, NO. 129 © 2014 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
INSIDE
Business . . . . .A9 Classified . . . . B3
Comics . . . . . .D4 Crossword . . .D4
house at the Lynnwood Convention Center on Wednesday. Smith’s first “State of the City” address came amid her sixth month in office. The speech is expected to become an annual event.
It’s the real thing And bring back the cocaine in Coke while you’re at it: Fans of the beverage called Vitaminwater want parent company Coca-Cola to drop a new formula that uses stevia. They say the lowcalorie sweetener gives the product a metallic aftertaste Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B8
Lynnwood remains a vibrant city with a great location and untapped potential, Smith said. “There’s still so much work to do and tough decisions ahead, and it’s going to take all of us working together,” she said.
(Page A9). Sorry, Vitaminwater drinkers, but that’s not stevia you taste — it’s snake oil. It’s the water — and lots of other stuff: The federal government has cut away red tape that made it hard for brewers to bring new beers to market (Page A9). The changes will enable
Lottery . . . . . .A2 Northwest. . . . B1
Obituaries. . . .A6 Opinion. . . . .A11
brewers to experiment with ingredients and production techniques. Perhaps some enterprising craft brewer will make a stevia beer, just to tick off the Vitaminwater drinkers. Doctor, doctor: A number of new laws take effect this week in Washington state, Sports . . . . . . . C1 TV . . . . . . . . . .D6
By the time Smith took the stage, the importance of her tenure was made clear by civic leaders who shared their own See SPEECH, back page, this section
including one that bans teenagers from using tanning salons without a doctor’s prescription (Northwest Extra, Page B1). Good luck finding a doc who considers looking good for the family’s Hawaii vacation next winter to be a legitimate medical condition.
— Mark Carlson, Herald staff
Striking 65/54, C6
DAILY
By Rikki King
the buzz
In her first “State of the City” address, Nicola Smith says the city has a future full of potential, but much work remains to be done.
6
42963 33333
9