THE NEWSPAPER AT THE HEART & SOUL OF OUR COMMUNITY
WEEKEND EDITION JUNE 15, 2014 WWW.ARLINGTONTIMES.COM
Leader works on police shortcomings BY KIRK BOXLEITNER kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
Traffic: Expect delays on I-5. Page 3
ARLINGTON — As the city’s new Public Safety Officer, Bruce Stedman is focused on moving forward in the wake of a consultant’s critical assessment of the police department and its chief ’s subsequent resignation. In January, the city continued its eight-year practice of studying its departments by commissioning the Matrix Consulting Group to conduct an analysis of the management, staffing and operations of the police department. On May 15, the study was completed, and on May 20, Arlington Police Chief Nelson Beazley resigned. While the city declined comment on the resignation, the study pointed to what even Stedman acknowledged were prevalent problems in the management, administration and communication processes of
the department. Among the goals outlined by the study is to reduce the increase in crime over the past four years. “The only way we can deal with heroin and aggressive begging and other issues is, in the words of the Navy, with all hands on deck,” Stedman said. “This will require everyone’s input and support, from the community to the police department to the city government. A lot of these groups have already tried to tackle these problems, but their efforts weren’t as coordinated as they could have been.” Stedman served as chief of the Arlington Fire Department before Mayor Barbara Tolbert named him Public Safety Officer June 3, one day after the City Council created the two-year position. “The good news is that this tells me that the cops on the streets are doing a great job,” Stedman said,
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
Bruce Stedman will be making plans to improve police department operations. citing the findings that police had an “excellent response time to emergency calls,” averaging about 3.7 minutes. Police Cmdr. Brian DeWitt and
Deputy Fire Chief Tom Cooper report to Stedman in his new role, SEE POLICE, PAGE 2
Float-driving dad starts with foundation
By STEVE POWELL
School: Arlington seniors graduate. Page 11.
INDEX CLASSIFIED ADS 15-18 LEGAL NOTICES
9
OPINION
4
SPORTS
8
WORSHIP
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Vol. 124, No. 47
spowell@marysvilleglobe.com
LAKEWOOD – Darren Doty builds custom homes. So it makes sense that in building his family he started with the foundation. Since his children were young, they have always spent time together. “I try to be involved in everything the kids are doing, encouraging them and letting them know they can count on me,” he said. Doty, 48, owns Double D Custom Homes. He and his wife, Shelley, have two girls, Madison, 18, and Kennedy, 15. He also has a stepson, Taylor, 24. As Father’s Day arrives Sunday, June 15, Doty shared tips on being a good father.
Courtesy Photo
Darren Doty works on the motor of the Marysville float. One is to be involved with their lives. Doty said he never wanted to be a father who dropped off his kids and went somewhere else. “We wanted to always do things together as a family,” he said.
One thing the entire family is involved in is the Marysville Strawberry Festival. Both girls have been junior royalty. Last year, Madison was the overall festival queen. This year, as in previous ones, the
family is on the float crew. “We go to most of the parades,” Doty said, adding that’s about 20. He said it takes about 45 minutes to set up and take down the float for each parade. They are involved in the painting and making of props. The girls have some funny parade memories. Their dad, who drives the float, once had to push it up a hill in Leavenworth. In doing so, he lost the sole of his shoe. “We joke that he lost his soul in Leavenworth,” Shelley said, adding he looked like he had clown shoes on that were flapping all around. Another thing the family does is eat together.
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“We started at an early age, so it was easy to continue,” Doty said. The girls said they love it. “It’s a tradition; every single night we have dinner together,” Madison said. Their dad sometimes takes out a news article, reads it, and they discuss it. “We talk about how it affects us and what choices we would make,” Shelley said. They don’t even answer their phones at dinner time, Kennedy added with a smile. The family also loves to go water skiing, knee boarding, wakeboarding and inner tubing on Lake Goodwin.
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