Taking the plunge
Falling for the Fair
Annual county fest in photos
B-1,
Plunder wonder Can Pirates
three-peat?
Biz offers up a chilly challenge
B-10
B-5
A-3
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014
Sequim Gazette www
Sequim’s Hometown Newspaper
com
75 cents
Vol. 41, Number 34
Sound Community Bank nears purchase of three Columbia Bank branches
One-time sources boost county revenues
by MATTHEW NASH
by ALANA LINDEROTH
Sequim Gazette
Leaders of Sound Community Bank expect the purchase of three Columbia Bank branches to go through by the work week’s end.
CEO/president L aur ie Stewart of Sound Community Bank said the transaction tentatively is scheduled to close Aug. 22 on the branches in Sequim, 645 W. Washington St.; Port Angeles,
See SOUND, A-11
County administrator urges restraint in spending
Funds spent on major highway construction between Sequim and Port Angeles this summer has helped boost the Clallam County Budget’s sales tax figures in 2014. Sequim Gazette file photo by Michael Dashiell
Sequim Gazette
A mid-year budget report reveals Clallam County should finish 2014 with about $100,000 more than expected. But county officials are curbing their enthusiasm, recognizing several of those unanticipated
See COUNTY, A-9
Sequim: Best place to grow old and happy?
Flights of Fancy
National news outlets pick area tops for retirees, thanks to ‘mild seasons’ and legalized marijuana Sequim Gazette staff
Trent and Donna Sommer, 84 and 80, stand by their RV-12 airplane that they and club members with the Experimental Aircraft Association have worked on since January 2013. “People stop by all the time tell us we are an inspiration,” Donna said. “You have to use your mind and take your time. I’m proud you can touch it and feel it.” Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash
Couple shares the Sequim skies Experimental Aircraft chapter opens up for youth, Air Affaire by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Parked in a hangar at Sequim Valley Airport, a shiny airplane awaits its final pieces before taking its first flight. Since January 2013, 84- and 80-year-old husband and wife Trent and Donna Sommer have intricately pieced together almost daily the RV-12, two-seat all-metal side-by-side airplane. “What I tell people is that any Tuesday from now, we’ll be finished,” Donna said. “But we don’t know what month.”
with the Experimental Aircraft Association Olympic Peninsula Chapter 4 30 since Youths learn t h e e a rl y 2000s and to soar hosting the Adult pilots help club in their youngsters reach hangar for the sky through a few years the Young now. Sev- Eagles Program eral mem- at Sequim Valley bers have Airport Saturday. completed See photos, A-2 planes and/ or are working on one or two or more right As pilots begin or finish working on their airplanes, Trent Sommer makes and now. Trent keeps track of progress moves wooden airplanes to represent the progress of members of the Experion a board with wooden planes on mental Aircraft Association Olympic Peninsula Chapter 430. the east side of the hangar. “Nobody does it (builds an airThis will be the first airplane Donna, a retired contract draftsplane) by themselves,” Trent said. they’ve constructed entirely to- man, said. gether. The Sommers aren’t alone in “There are always a lot of people “When I’m finished with this, I their efforts to build a plane in See SKIES, A-9 can tell people I built an airplane,” Sequim. They’ve been meeting
Two national media outlets gave high praise to Sequim for its retireeaged population last week. The city and its greater area recently was promoted as the best city to grow old and be happy in by the Huffington Post and Fox News. The Huffington Post’s Shelley Emling of the Huff/Post 50 section first asked fans for their picks. In her story from Aug. 11, Emling said Sequim is near the water and has the same rainfall as Los Angeles or Walla Walla and features “four mild seasons and tons of wineries.” She added that Sequim and Walla Walla “are much cheaper than Los Angeles, have no smog or water or gang worries.” While more general to Washington as a whole, Emling finished by saying “Assisted suicide is legal, as is pot!” Sequim took top billing in Emling’s article over a nudist resort in Edinburg, Texas, which took second followed by Denver, Colo., Sarasota, Fla., Napa Valley, Calif., and San Diego, Calif. Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” TV program also gave Sequim top billing on Aug. 13 with a nearly identical list, minus the nudist colony, in the same order. “This place has it all from sandy beaches to lush forests,” the newscaster said, “And all four seasons.” Sequim’s response online from the Gazette’s social networking pages were mostly supportive of the news reports. Residents Patti Ayers and Kathleen O’Connell agreed but wanted to keep the area a secret while people like Lori Osman Morgan are hopeful to come here with a view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Twitter user @955jack said he’s “Not sure it’s the ‘best place,’ but it certainly is a good place, to grow older!” To read and view the reports, visit http://pnw.cc/Av6Qs and http://pnw. cc/Av6Yr.
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