SEE INSIDE: Doctor, advocate, volunteer | Ralph Zech dies at 89, page 2 . . . High School sports | Catch up on the scores and statistics, page 4 . . . . Pets page | Going for a walk shouldn’t be a challenge, page 7
FIND US ON FACEBOOK
Your hometown newspaper for more than 100 years!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015 | 75 cents
What’s Inside Sports..................................Page 4 Church................................Page 5 Views...................................Page 6 Binetti.................................Page 9 Classified...........................Page 10
Calling all 12s... The 12th Man is gearing up for Super Sunday throughout the region – and Enumclaw is certainly no exception. Mayor Liz Reynolds called team headquarters and asked if the Seahawks would donate a 12th Man flag to Enumclaw. The answer was a resounding “yes.” With flag in hand, Reynolds has encouraged the entire community to don their Seahawks attire and gather in front of City Hall for a group photo at noon today, Wednesday. Reynolds will forward the photo to Seahawks headquarters and get it posted on the city’s Facebook page.
Weather The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for cloudy skies and a 20 percent chance of rain. Thursday through Saturday, the days look mostly sunny with high temperatures in the mid-50s. Nighttime lows will drop to the lower 40s. A chance of rain returns to the picture Sunday.
Contact Us! Main Desk 360-825-2555
News ..................................ext. 3 Retail Ads .........................ext. 2 Circulation ........................ext. 1 Classifieds..................ext. 7050
www.courierherald.com
Up in smoke: looking at weed in light of 502 With the passage of I-502 in 2012, development of marijuana legislation and marijuana research has surged to unprecedented levels. In an attempt to clearly translate new laws and research, the Reporter and Courier-Herald will examine these issues in a four-part series. Part one of this series addresses the issue of previous criminal convictions of possession of marijuana.
By Rebecca Gourley Covington Reporter
With a slew of marijuana-related legislation on the docket in Olympia this session, it’s clear legislators are more comfortable with the idea of weeding out the issues surrounding recreational pot legalization. Initiative 502, passed by voters in the 2012 election, was still in its infancy when the 201314 biennium began. It appeared legislators wanted to back off from pot until they were armed with more information. Only about 10 percent of the bills relating to marijuana were passed into law at the end of the last biennium. One of the bills that didn’t make the cut was reintroduced this session by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, a Democrat from the 34th District. If enacted into law, the bill would allow people with a single misdemeanor marijuana conviction to vacate their conviction status. This means they could have their case revisited and the current law applied to their previous crime.
The bill would only apply to individuals 21 or older at the time of conviction and in possession of 40 grams or less of marijuana. Fitzgibbon said the law would not apply to people with multiple convictions, marijuana-related or otherwise. “(It’s) aimed at those people that don’t have other charges on their record,” Fitzgibbon said in a phone interview. When the bill was introduced during the last biennium, Fitzgibbon said there was an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people this would affect. For those people, he said, it would improve their ability to get a job and/or apply for a mortgage. The bill, HB 1041, was read at a public hearing in the House Public Safety committee Friday, Jan. 16 in Olympia. Alex Frix, a public defender representing the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, was the only one to testify about the bill because Fitzgibbon was unable to attend the hearing. Frix spoke for only about a minute. “In favor of this bill,” he said. “But, I don’t need a lot of time to say why… It is patently unfair to continue to punish people with the state of a conviction for possessing a now legal substance.” No questions came from the panel of Public Safety Committee members. Committee Chair Rep. Roger Goodman
SEE MARIJUANA, PAGE 3
Annie on road to recovery The following details the 19-day adventure of Annie, a family pet that ran off, was seriously injured and spent 19 days avoiding people. With some minor editing (mostly for space) this account was provided by Dylan Parkinson, one of Annie’s rescuers. A longer version can be viewed at www.courierherald.com. Annie was hit by a car on Jan. 1 in Enumclaw. A woman
Wedding
who witnessed the accident attempted to grab Annie, but was unable to capture her as Annie was frightened and bit her...so she sent a frantic message to Amanda Guarascio and her girlfriend, Dylan Parkinson, begging for the girls to find this dog and rescue her. Amanda and Dylan run a website and Facebook page called Lost and Found Pets WA State. The pages are used as a tool for
Deadline: January 29 @ 5pm, Published: February 11 2015
PLANNING GUIDE
locating and getting pets home safely via social media. The girls rushed to the scene where they saw blood in the street and bloody paw prints that led into a field. They followed Annie’s tracks, but it was dark and they had come without the proper flashlight for the job; so, they decided to call the nonemergency number for
SEE ANNIE, PAGE 3
Annie is recovering at home, being spoiled by owner Terri Kilbourne (left). Also pictured are rescuers Dylan Parkinson and Amanda Guarascio. Contributed photo
Deadline: February 18 @ Noon, Published: February 25
Pre-school & Daycare
DIRECTORY