Boys regionals: Players to watch, game times, all you need to know
Native beauty The Snohomish County Conservation District native plant sale is Saturday at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Buy and learn about native plants and more. Things to do this weekend in Venture, A13
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SATURDAY, 02.28.2015
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Changing records requests Forum OSO MUDSLIDE
Frustrations over people who seek huge amounts of files led to a bill that would allow fees based on size. By Jerry Cornfield Herald Writer
OLYMPIA — An alliance of cities, counties, schools and special districts are trying a new tactic to
deal with the challenges created by growing demand for public records. These entities failed the past few years to convince Washington lawmakers they need
better tools to repel requests for volumes of records from those whose motives they question. They abandoned that pursuit this session, asking instead for the ability to charge a fee for the large requests they fulfill electronically rather than on paper. On Friday, the House Appropriations Committee approved
House Bill 1684 allowing state agencies and local governments to charge a fee based on the size of an electronic file containing records. It now goes to the Rules Committee where another
See RECORDS, back page, this section
Sights set on the win JROTC teams to face off in training drill and rifle competition
focuses on slide dangers The gathering of experts, long in the making, is aimed at bridging the knowledge gap between the scientific community and non-scientists. By Chris Winters Herald Writer
By Amy Nile Herald Writer
the buzz
SNOHOMISH — Teams from seven area high schools are facing off in a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps drill and rifle competition here Saturday. Students will be vying in airrifle marksmanship and physical fitness contests, such as a onemile run and timed pushups and situps. They’ll be marching in armed and unarmed drills and presenting the color guard. The Snohomish High School Marine Corps JROTC unit is hosting the contest from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the gymnasium. Ashley Wilkins, a sophomore at Snohomish High, is a squad leader for her JROTC class. She competes in co-ed rifle contests, shooting 20 pellets at targets
Alexander Doty practices shooting.
that are 10 meters away to earn points. “I’m a fairly good shot,” she said.
Guess it’s OK First they took our basketball team. Now they take our elephants. The Woodland Park Zoo announced Friday that it will send its two Asian elephants, Bamboo and Chai, to the Oklahoma City Zoo so they can be part of a larger social herd (Page A6). Let’s get one thing
straight. There is absolutely no truth whatsoever to tweeted rumors that former NBA Commissioner David Stern brokered the deal. Because if he had, we’d be sending the stuffed and mounted remains of Bobo the gorilla to OKC, too. Retirement’s for sissies (who managed to save 10 percent of every
Wilkins, 14, said she’s a better shot than the boys, at least most of the time. She competed at a national JROTC rifle contest last
paycheck): Baby boomers on average perform work that’s less taxing on their bodies than what the previous generation endured. That is part of why many boomers are opting to continue working after passing the usual retirement age (Page A10). The thing is, 40 years on the green chain at the sawmill is probably a good preparation for the
week in Phoenix. Despite the competitive aspects of the program, Wilkins said, the JROTC students are a tight-knit group. “There’s a sense of involvement you have to have,” she said. “You have to have a connection with the people you work with.” Captain William Lennon, a retired U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer, has taught the JROTC program at Snohomish High since 2008. Teenagers from Glacier Peak and Monroe high schools also take the class. This year, 125 students are enrolled in Snohomish’s JROTC program. They are not obligated to join the military after high school.
See FORUM, back page, this section
See JROTC, Page A2
quintessential retiree job: standing all day at the Walmart entrance. RIP: Trekkers the world over are mourning the death at age 83 of actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock on “Star Trek” (Page A2). We have been, and always shall be, your friend. Live long and prosper.
— Mark Carlson, Herald staff
INSIDE Business . . . . .A9 Classified . . . . B1 Comics . . . . . . C8 Crossword . . . C8 Dear Abby. . . . C9 Horoscope . . . B6 Happy 51/38, C12 VOL. 115, NO. 18 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
Lottery . . . . . .A2 Obituaries. . . .A6 Opinion. . . . .A12 Sports . . . . . . . C1 Stocks . . . . . .A10 Venture Out. .A13
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PHOTOS BY KEVIN CLARK / THE HERALD
Coach Scott Hansford laughs with Ashley Wilkins and other members of the Snohomish High School Marine Corps JROTC who are practicing shooting in preparation for Saturday’s air-rifle marksmanship and physical fitness contests at the school.
SEATTLE — Scientists, engineers and planners gathered at the University of Washington this week to learn about landslides and how to best work toward eliminating risks to people and property. The Landslide Forum, organized by the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, has been in the works for some time. In fact, the scientific and technical information on display has been developed steadily over decades of work, said the group’s president Ken Fergason. “Oso was a catalyst for the work to plan it to get here,” Fergason said of the mudslide that killed 43 people nearly one year ago. But the result of the forum will not just be environmental and engineering professionals returning to their jobs with a bit more networking under their belts. The conference, especially the second day’s sessions and workshops — dubbed “Where do we go from here?” — was set up to generate new ideas that can be later implemented across the country. “It really will come to mean more than geologists talking to geologists,” said Fergason, who works as a senior geologist with AMEC Environment and Infrastructure Inc. in Phoenix. The overall objective is to help share the knowledge in the scientific community with planners, managers, insurers and even political leaders, he said. Bridging the knowledge gap presents a challenge, especially when risks as they are understood by scientists are not easily grasped by people perhaps unaccustomed to thinking in scientific concepts. David Montgomery, professor
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