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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 | 75 cents
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Lake locator program helps first responders
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By Ray Still
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Staff Writer
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Weather The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for a high of 82. Thursday looks to be sunny with a high of 79. Friday is expected to be 77 and partly cloudy. Saturday brings changes with an 80 percent chance of rain and a high of 71. Rain is expected Sunday morning with a high of 67. Labor Day calls for partly cloudy and 70.
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Tunes @ Tapps
Tayla Lynn and members of her band performed at Allan Yorke Park on Wednesday, August 20. The Great Pretenders will entertain the crowd in the second to last Tunes @ Tapps of the summer starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Photos by Kevin Hanson
The new Lake Tapps incident locator program had its first successful test last month – and it wasn’t a test run. On July 31, a boat carrying four people became disabled around 9:30 p.m. In order to get help, the boaters had to tell the 911 dispatchers where they were on the lake. They were able to read the numbers of a nearby locator sign to give dispatchers an accurate idea where they were on the lake, and emergency responders were able to locate and tow the boat to shore. The Lake Tapps locator incident program is designed to save agency response time by giving emergency response teams a better picture of where they need to be on the lake or shore. “Even if you are familiar with Lake Tapps, your perspective is different on the lake than on the shore,” said Rescue Deputy Chief John McDonald. McDonald said that even though there was no specific incident on the lake to prompt the program, quickly locating emergencies on the lake has been an ongoing problem for both the fire and police department. Each parcel of land on the lake has its own unique location number associated with it. The number is not the same as the street address of the land, but fire and police departments can look up a property’s street address with its lake location number. While the fire and police departments have a layout of the lake location numbers, the signs are necessary for boaters,
SEE SIGNS, PAGE 5
‘Not guilty’ plea in White River theft case By Dennis Box Editor
A former assistant coordinator for the White River School District’s Communit y Activ it y Program, Vic L. Robbins, has been charged with first degree theft by the Pierce Count y
Prosecuting Attorney Office. Robbins, 44, pleaded not guilty Aug. 12 in Pierce County Superior Court during an arraignment hearing. He was charged July 29 and the prosecutor’s office stated in a release Robbins was released on his personal
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recognizance. Deput y Prosecutor Scott R. Peters wrote in the charging documents the theft, cost of the investigation and audit totaled $25,725. According to the prosecutor’s office, the case broke open in February when new CAP coordi-
nator was hired and discovered Robbins had not been paying for his two children to participate in the activity programs. The school district was notified and placed Robbins on administrative leave. His computer was confiscated but officials discovered the files
had been deleted. The auditor’s office was contacted by the district business manager and the auditor reported Robbins allegedly stole more than $20,000, including more than $10,000 in cash payments he kept.
SEE THEFT, PAGE 5
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