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The Daily World
SATURDAY EDITION JUNE 29, 2019
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GARDEN DEDICATED TO LINDSEY BAUM
PLANNING A GRAND CANYON VISIT?
MCLEARY CEREMONY
TRAVEL TIPS
Century of service honored
Motels charged for code violations By Louis Krauss Grays Harbor News Group
Wishkah Fire Department Chief Keldy Matthews said Pauley, like Worth, “wears many hats in his job with the school district, community, church and the fire department.” More than 30 years ago he began as a volunteer firefighter, and as needs within the department arose he was first in line to fill them. Emergency Medical Technician, department captain, assistant chief, certified first aid and CPR instructor, fire commissioner, he’s taken on the responsibility when called upon. “It’s humbling being honored,” said Pauley. “We are neighbors helping neighbors. It’s a
The owners of two Hoquiam motels are facing criminal charges for allegedly violating a city ordinance that prohibits “transient accommodation” for more than 29 consecutive days in the same hotel complex. The charges follow a month-long investigation by the Hoquiam Police Department, in cooperation with the city’s building department and code enforcement, Police Chief Jeff Myers wrote in a release. The misdemeanor charges were filed by the city attorney against the owners of the Sandstone Motel and Kerns Motel. The ordinance has been in place since 2014, and states that “no transient accommodation shall offer a lodging unit or units to a guest for more than 29 consecutive days.” “Over the past several years, the city has repeatedly warned local motels, in person and by letter, of the Hoquiam city ordinance,” wrote Meyers. “The rental of motel units over 30 days effectively changes the transient accommodations of a motel into more of a situation expected of an actual tenant within an apartment building.” The police press release states that because motels are not required to have the same space, cooking facilities and amenities as an apartment, “many people living long-term in motels have suffered from inadequate housing without protections afforded under the state’s landlord-tenant law.” Karen Baker, 55, has been living at the Kerns off and on for about six years with her husband, and said she’s unaware of other towns ever enforcing such a rule. “I’ve been to every motel in this county, and believe me it’s never been practiced,” said Baker, who receives Social Security funding and pays around $500 a month for her hotel room at a discount rate. The owners of both motels said they think the city’s rule is unfair, and said these hotel rooms are usually the only thing separating the people who live there from becoming homeless. Sandstone Motel owner Howard Kim added that he
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See MOTELS, Page A4
DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP
Honorees at the Daily World 2019 Citizen of the Year banquet included, from left, Firefighter of the Year Mike Pauley, Citizen of the Year Bette Worth, and Police Officer of the Year Sgt. Darrin King.
By Dan Hammock Grays Harbor News Group
More than a century of community service was honored at The Daily World 2019 Citizen of the Year Banquet at the Hoquiam Elks Lodge Thursday evening. “I was astounded by the fact there is more than 100 years of combined service between us,” said 2019 Firefighter of the Year Mike Pauley of the three 2019 honorees. “To be recognized with the other two is a real honor.” This marks the 50th year The Daily World has recognized a Citizen of the Year, the first being Jim Jackson in 1969. The Donald M. Burke Memorial Award for Police Officer of the Year was first awarded to Peter Czerniski and Tony May in 1981, the first Denny York Memorial Award for Firefighter of the Year to Jack Quien in 1986. Pauley, Citizen of the Year Bette Worth and Police Officer of the Year Darrin King spoke about what has driven them to dedicate their lives to serving their communities and what a life of service meant to them.
Citizen of the Year Longtime family friend Gary Morean illustrated the many hats Worth has worn over her years of service in dramatic fashion,
donning hat after hat during his introduction, and noted her often early-morning phone calls, texts and emails asking for help with various community service projects. “But she never asks you to do more than she would do herself,” said Morean. Worth, dressed as Dorothy from the “Wizard of Oz,” carrying on the theatrical tone set by Morean, a well-known local actor and attorney, said it was her mother who inspired her to dedicate herself to community service. “When it came to volunteering, no was not a part of her vocabulary, so I guess I can say service and volunteering is part of my DNA,” said Worth. Worth expressed her gratitude for the many people who have helped her with her grand plans. “The success of an event would not have been possible without friends who have listened and said yes whenever I asked them to help, whether it was an early morning phone call, which I often began with, ‘I have an idea,’ working with Aberdeen Parks and Rec and Grays Harbor Youth Soccer Association to raise money to build the Bishop Athletic Complex, donating money for World Class Scholars and the Mystery Getaway (at Grays Harbor College), or the Bloom Team, a newer group of volunteers who gather twice a month during the summer to dead-head
flowers and pick up litter, or even my neighbor boy, donating his hard-earned money to the Aberdeen Flower Program.” It’s that kind of group effort that is needed to make for a better community, said Worth. “Providing service is not about me or you,” she said. It’s about “working together toward a common goal. We are a long way from being out of the woods, but together, we should continue to make every possible effort to make Grays Harbor somewhere over the rainbow, because there’s no place like home.”
Firefighter of the Year
Hospital computer issues stem from ransomware By Doug Barker Grays Harbor News Group
Grays Harbor Community Hospital’s computer problems the past couple of weeks are an issue of ransomware. In a ransomware attack, hackers compromise the computer network of the target, usually encrypting information and
making it inaccessible unless the target pays to get encryption codes. Public Hospital District 2 administrators won’t comment on the record about its problems, other than to say that it is experiencing computer issues and that it is using paper documentation. In a statement about 10 days ago, the hospital
said it was having computer issues, but didn’t mention a ransomware attack and said the “hospital will continue to treat patients with the same quality of care and professionalism.” The attack affects the hospital and the Harbor Medical Group, which includes some individual doctors’ offices and Hospital District 2-owned clinics.
It’s not known whether the hospital has contacted the FBI, but Aberdeen Police Chief Steve Shumate said he had recently spoken with someone in hospital administration on a routine check-in call and a ransomware attack didn’t come up. “Nobody from the hospital has reached out to report a crime along those lines,” he said.
A ransomware attack would be a violation of cyber extortion laws, Shumate said, and proper protocol would be to contact local authorities, who would then contact the FBI. The Daily World submitted a list of questions to the hospital Friday, but was told hospital officials would make no comment at this time.
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