Sequim Gazette, February 25, 2015

Page 1

home &

For the kids

SPRING 2015

garden Inthis

Heavy medal

Donation helps local youths get the essentials

by nt produced tte g suppleme Gaze An advertisin News and Sequim Daily Peninsula

issue

SHS girls wrestle to podium at state B-5

A-2

SEQUIM GAZETTE Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015

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75 CENTS

Vol. 42, Number 8

City councilors back parks plan SHS tennis court closures leads to girls team cuts by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette

Tennis and pickleball players now have some verbal support from Sequim city councilors for new courts. City councilors unanimously approved the 2015 Parks and Recreation Master Plan on Monday, which in-

cludes tentative plans to build eight pickleball courts in 2016-2017 valued at $150,000 and four tennis courts in 2017-2018 valued at $225,000. However, finding financing remains the biggest obstacle for the city and sports enthusiasts. Joe Irvin, Sequim parks manager, said the plan is a vision document

Sequim Picklers Carlos Cordero, left, and Lee Bowen play a round of pickleball on a sunny morning at the intersection of Fir Street and Third Avenue. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

showing the city’s needs in the next 20 years for its parks. The plan allows the city to become eligible again for grants by the end of the year, Irvin said, but the master plan’s six-year Capital Improvement Program allocates $4.3 million to projects but the city historically spends about $600,000 on park

See PARKS, A-3

Cliff Vining, Sequim’s Citizen of the Year SARC board

seeks spot on August ballot

1921-2015

Directors to pick levy or metropolitan park district by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Honorary pioneer, longtime resident and now 2014 Citizen of the Year Award holder Cliff Vining spent several hours a day, nearly everyday of the week volunteering at the Sequim Food Bank for the past 30 years. Sequim Gazette file photo by Matthew Nash

Sequim Food Bank volunteer gone but well recognized, remembered by ALANA LINDEROTH Sequim Gazette

Despite his absence, community members gathered to both honor and give respect to Cliff Vining as the 2014 Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year Award winner. Vining died at 93 years old, just days prior to the luncheon, and was among four award finalists, David Blakeslee, Melissa Murray and Judy Reandeau Stipe – all nominated for their contribu- Former Sequim Citizen of the Year Stephen Rosales accepts this tions toward the betterment of year’s award for Cliff Vining. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell the community. “I’m thrilled it went to Cliff,” cheon, Feb. 24. “He’s the one Vining told Gazette staff to Reandeau Stipe said following example we should all follow.” be nominated was “quite an the announcement at the lunShortly before his death, honor,” but he wasn’t one to

Voters can expect to see the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center back on their ballots in August. “This board is 100 percent behind making certain SARC continues, but the method is what needs to be PICKERING discussed,” Frank Pickering, SARC Board of Commissioners chairman, said. Recovering from the recent failure of a levy proposal for 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, or about $26.04 per year for the average $217,000 home – Pickering said the commissioners “have to get this settled in the August election.” To pass in the February special election, the 27-year-old facility needed a super majority (60 percent), but fell short with 57.5 percent of the 12,626 votes cast. “I think we shocked a bunch of people with how many yes votes we got,” Pickering said. “The public will is out there.” Although SARC officials have agreed to get another funding proposal before the public by the primary election, the board has yet to decide whether to opt

See SARC, A-9

seek recognition for his years of volunteerism. “Cliff did volunteer work because he wanted to do it, not for the honor,” Esther Nelson, a past Citizen of the Year, said. Vining was nominated as Citizen of the Year once before, but wouldn’t accept the award, Stephen Rosales, Sequim Food Bank board president, told those attending the luncheon. Only after convincing from Rosales did Vining agree to accept the second nomination. “He knew it would bring positive light to the food bank and that’s the only reason he

Three-day hunt for stolen van, chase yields fugitive capture

See CITIZEN, A-5

See HUNT, A-9

Sequim Gazette staff

William M. Gilbertson, 43, of Port Angeles, was arrested last week for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, eluding a police vehicle and driving with a suspended driver’s license. Law enforcement caught up with Gilbertson after short chase in a stolen van in Sequim. On Feb. 13, employees from All Weather Heating and Cooling of Port Angeles discovered one of their service vans had been stolen from their shop in the Mount Pleasant area. The van was equipped with a

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

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