03.22.2015
Everett, Wash.
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Oso mudslide: ONE YEAR LATER
GENNA MARTIN / THE HERALD
Tim Ward, 59, on his property last month in the former Steelhead Haven neighborhood, ground zero for the Oso slide. The five acres that once were home to Ward, his wife Brandy and their five dogs, is now a mess of mud, water and debris.
a day at a time…
A year, accomplished By Rikki King Herald Writer
A
RLINGTON — Tim Ward keeps thinking about the meaning of time. He’s still working it out in his mind, what the hours, days and weeks are supposed to measure. Today, a year has passed since he survived the mudslide that took his bride, Brandy, and their life together on Steelhead Drive. The year since March 22, 2014, didn’t determine where he’ll go. It didn’t define what he’ll do. Maybe a year isn’t the best yardstick. Tim turned 59 last month. He could have many more years, and that time has meaning, too. He thinks about it, whenever his phone rings, and as he gets into bed for another sleep-troubled night. His life keeps ticking past, day after day, with Blue, his German shorthaired pointer, at his side. He finds comfort in Brandy’s pictures on the wall of his rental house in Arlington. Their marriage of nearly 38 years wasn’t
perfect, but the commitment mattered. Arguments ended in a hug and a kiss. At night in bed, they would talk about the ups and downs of the day. It’s Blue now on the pillow on Brandy’s side of the mattress, the dog who lost a hind leg after being pinned by a cedar in the mud. Every night without fail, three-legged Blue creeps and kicks his way onto Tim’s side of the bed. Tim’s faith tells him that Brandy is beyond time. One day she’ll turn around in Heaven and he’ll be there. He’s grown closer to his daughters, Tiffany and Brittany. The girls are tighter, too. It feels selfish to want Brandy back, he said, when because of her, “we respect life so much more.”
Remembering lost neighbors Tim and Blue go out to the slide sometimes, to the turnout where their driveway used to be, where neighbor Seth Jefferds always planted daffodils under the mailboxes. It feels right to be there. It smells like
Lessons learned, strengths revealed through catastrophe
Inside ■ Portraits of the rescued and rescuers, A10 ■ Remembrance schedule, A10 ■ Library honors McPherson, B1 ■ In Our View: These towns still stand, B7 ■ Guest commentaries, B6, B7 ■ Tomorrow: Coverage of remembrance.
By Noah Haglund Herald Writer
OSO — Public safety officials have spent the past year studying lessons from the catastrophe in Oso to prepare for the next disaster. They’re building skill sets for professionals — police, firefighters and emergency managers. They’re also looking to prepare regular people who might some day rush to help, as neighbors from Oso and Darrington did after the slide hit their community. Efforts also are underway to make it easier to send emergency workers to far-flung parts of the state, what one official called a
stories >> More and photos,
HeraldNet. com/Oso
See WARD, Page A10
See LESSONS, Page A11
TIPS ARE TOPS
IT’S NO FLUKE
‘BREAKFAST CLUB’ AT 30
Silvertips lose to Victoria, but still win the U.S. Division title. Sports, C1
Now you can hang with the cetaceans out of Edmonds, Great Outdoors, E1
How the truths of a generation emerged from detention. Entertainment, D5
Soppy 53/44, C10
SUNDAY
VOL. 115, NO. 39 © 2015 THE DAILY HERALD CO.
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Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . .E3 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . D7
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Dear Abby. . . . . . . . . . . . D7 Entertainment . . . . . . . . D5
Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . D7 Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1
Lottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . A16
Outdoors. . . . . . . . . . . . . .E1 Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7
Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E2 Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . B6