Sequim Gazette, February 11, 2015

Page 1

merce er of Com ley Chamb geness Val Sequim Dun

or t A n nu a l R e p 2014

INSIDE: ctors Board of Dire efits • Meet the Member Ben • Chamber Updates • Festival

In this issue

An ‘Epic’ journey, retold

Moratorium stands

Traveler’s Journal rides into second week

Medical, rec pot sales may merge A-2

B-1

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015

et shington Stre 1192 E. Wa 2 ) 737-846 -6197 • (800 (360) 683 chamber.com ww w.sequim

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Vol. 42, Number 6

School bond, SARC levy failing Measures get 57 percent of vote but falling short of 60 percent ‘super majority’

Special election results

Sequim School District school construction bond*

Sequim Gazette staff

The majority of voters in Sequim cast ballots to approve both Sequim School District’s bond proposal and the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center levy, but both are short of the 60 percent required for approval.

Votes Approved 6,691 Rejected 5,026

%** 57.11 42.89

Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center levy (SARC)

School ballots falling short

Votes Approved 6,610 Rejected 4,947

In the first count of ballots, voters are rejecting the $49.5 million Sequim school construction bond, about 10 months after voters turned down a $154 million bond proposal. On Feb. 10, election results show that 6,691 voters approved the measure (57.1 percent), falling short of the 60 percent “super majority” required to pass. Sequim schools superintendent Kelly Shea said he’s still hopeful, noting that just 400 more yes votes would put the proposal over the top. Jim Stoffer, chair of Citizens for Sequim Schools, said, “It’s a little disappointing, but we know the count is still coming in. The work we did paid off (with better numbers than April of 2014), but we’re not ready to call it (over).” The 20-year bond would pay for land and the building of a new elementary school, add four classrooms, a gym and service kitchen at Greywolf Elementary School, add six science classrooms and band/choir rooms at Sequim High School and tear down an unused portion of the Sequim Community School. The bond also would have included a major renovation of the district’s base kitchen, funded renovations at Helen Haller Elementary School’s A

Sequim schools superintendent Kelly Shea, second from right, talks with KSQM’s Ed Evans as school leaders reflect on the election night results. To the far left is Jim Stoffer, chair of the Citizens for Sequim Schools’ bond campaign, and David Mattingley, chair for Citizens for Sequim Schools’ bond campaign in April of 2014. Sequim Gazette photos by Michael Dashiell

In recent weeks, school district officials and school advocates from the Citizens for Sequim Schools group have canvassed the community, talking to community groups, hosting informational meetings and waving familiar yellow signs at downtown Sequim intersections. “We definitely turned over every stone we could to get our message out there,” Shea said. “I always feel there are more people to talk to, especially when you read negative letters to the editor and realize none of these people have been to a presentation.” Mary Reader of Port Angeles, front left, and Kathy Schreiner, right, of Sequim, ready special election ballots from across Clallam County last week. They’re joined by Laurie Dombowski and Denise Edgington, in back. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

and D buildings, renovated Sequim High School’s science classrooms into general education classrooms and converted a portion of the Sequim Community School that Olympic Peninsula Academy students use now into a district main-

tenance and warehouse building. “The next step for the (school) board is to sit down and talk about what our possibilities are. We really have to look at what’s causing people to vote no,” Sequim school board member John Bridge said Tuesday night.

Storm damages Sequim park’s trestle Railroad Bridge Park bridge impassable; crews assess damage Sequim Gazette

See TRESTLE, A-8

Voters rejected a levy for the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center on Tuesday night, with 6,610 voters or 57.1 percent approving the measure; a 60 percent “super majority” also was required to pass. Proponents say the 27-year-old facility is likely to close by the end of 2016 due to depleting reserves and increasing costs for replacing deterio-

by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette

High flow conditions and large debris, such as trees, caused damage to the trestle that supports the pedestrian bridge across the Dungeness River within Railroad Bridge Park. Photo by Christopher Dorris

* Includes Jefferson County votes ** 60 percent needed to approve rating equipment and infrastructure. “Obviously, we’re disappointed,” Frank Pickering, Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center’s board president, said. “We thought we well proved our case to the Sequim community. Without a strategic plan, we will close Dec. 31, 2016. We’ll need to look at what action we can take to handle this emergency.” SARC director Scott Deschenes said levy funds would have been used to replace infrastructure like a pool air handling unit, replace and repair equipment, and recover costs accrued over recent years. “It’s hard — you see all the old people there that rely on this place and the kids after school and I feel like we’ve let them down by not passing the levy,” Deschenes said. “It’s a nail in the coffin, but hopefully not the last. We’ll do everything we can in the next year to save this place. We’ll have to make some tough choices.” Read the full story online at www. sequimgazette.com.

Measles case is isolated, stabilized in Port Angeles Officials bringing more vaccinations to immunization clinics

by ALANA LINDEROTH Flood conditions and runaway debris first compromised the aged trestle that supports the 100-year-old bridge across the Dungeness River within Railroad Bridge Park on Feb. 6. Since, six pilings have been lost to the force of the river. In response, county authorities closed the portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail

SARC failing

%** 57.19 42.81

More than a week after being diagnosed with the measles, a Port Angeles man in his 50s is in stable condition and recovering while in isolation at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, health officials say.

The Washington State Public Health Lab confirmed his diagnosis last week but the measles source remains unknown. Dr. Tom Locke, Clallam County Health officer, said they’ve sent the man’s measles cultures to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to trace their origins to other known cases. Several dozen people who have been in contact with the man remain quarantined at their homes, Locke said, unless they’ve

See MEASLES, A-3

Sports B-5 • Schools B-8 • Arts & Entertainment B-1 • Opinion A-10 • Obituaries A-9 • Classifieds C-1 • Crossword Section C

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