Lindsey Comprehensive by Leif Nesheim

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Missing

Survey says:

No sign yet of McCleary’s Lindsey Baum, 10

Monte teacher poll shows perceived ‘culture of secrecy, intimidation and reprisals’

By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter McCLEARY — Living in a small town doesn’t guarantee sanctuary from the ills of big city life. “A small town is just a microcosm of a big town,” a former McCleary city employee said Monday. That became abundantly clear in the little town nestled in the forest of east Grays Harbor County with the disappearance last Friday of 10-year-old Lindsey Baum. As law enforcement professionals and an entire community this week search — and ache — to find a lost little girl, many expressed their disbelief that it could happen there. As the town of just over 1,500 people wrestles with what has happened to one of their own, the community has been reeling with questions on the disappearance. A major part of the agony of waiting for answers and hoping they will be good ones is not knowing much of anything about whether Lindsey has run away from home or was the victim of a predator. Or anywhere in between the two. Searching anywhere and everywhere anyone thought might yield a clue, authorities still had no leads or suspects as of Wednesday morning, though they had been combing the town meticulously for more than four days. Lindsey is reported to have left a friend’s house on Maple Street about 9:15 p.m., heading for her own home several blocks away on East Mommsen Road “walking toward her home roughly between Fifth and Sixth Street” Grays Harbor’s Undersheriff Rick Scott said. That path would have taken her within sight of both the police department and the transit station, rounding the hill a short ways behind city hall where the

By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor MONTESANO — When the blue light outside the junior-senior high school principal’s office flashed, former office manager Tracie Sweeney said she had to drop what she was doing and come running. She found it demeaning to explain to parents, students and teachers why she had to abruptly leave … often just to make a copy or refill a cup of coffee.

Above: Lindsey Baum, 10, has been missing since Friday, June 26. She was last seen walking from a friend’s house in McCleary to her home on Mommsen Road, four blocks away. (Family photo) Right: Josh Baum, 12, participates in a candlelight vigil for his missing sister, Lindsey, Tuesday, June 30. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

police are housed. Lindsey reportedly had been swimming all day at another friend’s house. In the hour before her disappearance, she had a spat with her 12-year-old brother because she’d taken his bicycle, Scott said. “He was upset over that and had followed her out into town yelling at her, and a neighbor seeing this had told him to knock it off and return home. And he did,” Scott said. Lindsey and close friend Michaela Kampen went to Kampen’s Maple Street home for a short time and beseeched Michaela’s mom, Kara Kampen, and Scott Williams, with whom she lives, to allow Lindsey to spend the night. It was a frequent request, the two adults said, and though about half the time they said yes, they had had children over the previous weekend and had “decided Please see Missing on A-8

Please see Survey on A-9

Candlelight vigils held for McCleary girl By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter McCleary — Hundreds of concerned relatives, friends and community members gathered at a tearful — and prayerful — vigil last Tuesday night, June 30, at Beerbower Park in McCleary to entreat God to bring home Lindsey Baum. The 10-yearold vanished the evening of the previous Friday after heading toward her home on East Mommsen Road from a friend’s house on Maple Street. Lindsey’s 12-year-old brother, Josh, was among the somber crowd at the McCleary park, where many who gave their first names prayed and

shared thoughts at home plate on the baseball diamond. Another vigil took place the same night at Elma’s 10th Street Park. McCleary’s vigil was organized by a number of folks, including Wayne Watne of the Evergreen Christian Community in town, where the Baum family has occasionally attended. “I’m sad,” Josh prayed. “But I want you guys to find my sister. Amen.” A small girl who said Lindsey “went to my daycare,” said the missing girl was “nice to everyone there,” adding, “I want to say, ‘Lindsey, Please see Vigil on A-8

Fourth of July promises fun on Harbor Oakville parade ready to go By The Vidette Staff OAKVILLE — Every year, people gather for a day of tradition and fun at the Oakville Independence Day Parade event on July 4. The City of Oakville, located in the midst of the scenic countryside, is a popular place to spend the holiday. Dense forest, rivers, creeks and all kinds of wildlife — that kids are sure to enjoy pointing out — surround the town. Keep an eye out for animals such as eagles, hawks, deer, elk, coyote, and maybe black bear outside of town. All of these features and the Capitol Forest make for an ideal camping or picnicking spot for the family during the Fourth of July weekend. This year, the Community Pancake Breakfast is being brought back. The last time the breakfast had taken place was many years ago. So start the Fourth off with a hearty meal provided by the nonprofit Friends of the Library group at the Community Pancake Breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Community Hall. Admission is $4 per person. The parade begins at 11 a.m. where people can hear bands play and watch the floats, horses, clowns Please see Oakville on A-9

Community Notes A-2 Opinion A-4 Coluumnists A-5 Public Record A-6, B-2 Legal Notices B-2 Flashback A-11

Feds kibosh 13 Corners County won’t get stimulus money By Leif Nesheim The Vidette MONTESANO — The Federal Highway Administration pulled the federal stimulus funding rug out from under the county’s 13 Corners realignment project. The project to widen, straighten and pave the road from the Wynooche to Wishkah valleys won’t be completed this year as hoped, county officials said. The state Department of Transportation still plans to provide money for the project, which will be available through 2011, county engineer Russ Esses said. However, the county lacks the money to cover Please see 13 Corners on A-9

Meeting to discuss Lake Sylvia plans By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor

Westport Dock of The Days Blues Festival beginning at noon on Saturday, July

MONTESANO — More than 10,000 people signed petitions urging the state to keep Lake Sylvia State Park open. Legislators listened, but now the state needs those people to help keep the park open. “Now it’s a case of put up or shut up, in my opinion,” said Helen Hepp of Montesano, one of the people who helped organized the Lake Sylvia campaign. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, has organized a community meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, at Montesano City Hall, 112 N. Main St. The meeting is a response to the civic support for Lake Sylvia and nearby Schafer state parks and will discuss possible ways for area residents to help keep the parks open. Lake Sylvia and 13 other state parks, including Schafer State Park, were on a list of parks deemed potential transfer candidates early in the state budget process. That list was expanded to 32 before the Legislature passed a law change designed to raise more money for parks. Kessler penned a new law changing a $5 license plate fee for parks from opt-in to opt-out in the hopes of raising more money. The change to an opt-out

Please see Fun on A-9

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Young Jeremiah Kersey of Montesano and his baby-sitter Dallas Simmons, also of Monte, pick out some items at the World Class Fireworks stand in the Pick-Rite parking lot Monday, as Jeremiah’s mom, Brandy, who operates the stand, looks on. (Photo by Jerrad Kellogg)

Harbor offers plenty of Independence Day fun Taholah Chief Taholah Days commemorate the 1855 treaty establishing the Quinault Indian Nation. Friday and Saturday, July 3 and 4, activities will include a salmon bake, canoe races, softball tournaments and fireworks. Oakville The town is celebrating with the Oakville Independence Day Parade

on July 4 including a parade, reenactment of the last horseback bank robbery in Washington and rodeo. For more information, call (360) 273-2702. Ocean Shores Fire O’er The Water, a fireworks display, will take place over the ocean Saturday, July 4.

Aberdeen Five Star Dealerships’ SPLASH Festival featuring games, fireworks and more Saturday, July 4. For more information, call (800) 321-1924.

The Vidette, Montesano, Washington

Page A-10

November 26, 2009

f r o m t h e f r ont

McCleary: Continued from A-1

ningham said. “I am totally surprised,” a beaming Anensen said after receiving a plaque honoring her and a warm hug from Cunningham. “I want you to know how much I truly love this community. It is a wonderful place to live, wonderful place to raise my children, and we’re all back here,” she told those honoring her. Anensen and her husband, Garry, have three daughters and six grandchildren. ‘McCleary’s finest’ Chief Crumb, on the other hand, was not surprised to find out at the sumptuous Thanksgiving feast that he’d also been selected — he’d been informed a couple of days before by Sgt. John Graham, who’s been with the department for 24 years. The chief and his “fellow officers do not keep secrets,” Crumb said. “We share information, so we keep ourselves in the loop, ’cause we’re a small group. So my sergeant felt obligated to tell me, and that’s what I would have asked of him.” But the chief is “kind of a quiet, humble kind of guy,” Graham said, adding that when he told

Linda Cunningham reacts when her business, McCleary Video, was dubbed Business of the Year. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

him, Crumb said, “It shouldn’t be me; I feel we’re a team.” He “felt it should have been the department, because he’s unselfish,” said Graham. But “he’s deserving of it, and I’m proud to work with him.” Chief since 2004, Crumb has worked for the department a total of nine years. He also retired after more than 21 years in the Army’s Military Police Corps. He has four grown children and four grandchildren. Presenting the award, chamber’s president, Destiny Frahm, said Crumb manages to keep a sense of humor with those “who interact with (him) on a daily basis. And you all know who

you are.” Crumb’s department has had “many challenges and adversities” this year, Frahm noted, not the least of which has been the disappearance of 10-year-old Lindsey Baum, who vanished last June while walking home from a friend’s house, and is still missing. But Crumb “has risen to the occasion,” Frahm said. “He continues to serve and protect and help keep our streets safe,” which takes “much patience, many hours and effort.” “Crumb, Crumb, Crumb,” the diners chanted. The chief, who’s been “carrying a badge since I was 19 years old,” said he couldn’t put in all those hours without the people in his department. And “it’s fun; I love dealing with people,” he said. And “to protect the trust they give us … (is) one of the biggest things.” Biz of the year Somewhat chagrined, the chamber’s vice president accepted a plaque of her own for being owner of this year’s business of the year, McCleary Video. “I had heartburn over this,” Cunningham told the group. “I didn’t feel right taking it being that I was the vice president of the chamber. And I just did it to help the city, the community, the people. And when I brought in the votes, there were several worthy businesses that deserved it far more than I did.”

Nevertheless, Cunningham was chosen because “we put it out to the public to vote on who they thought is one of the leading businesses in McCleary for the year, the people that did the most for the community, that always donated things to auctions and charities and put in a lot of man-hours,” said the chamber’s treasurer, Kristin Goldy, presenting the award. Cunningham, who worked for the business when it was Olympic Video and owned by Kelly Lester, said, “when he decided to sell it, I decided to buy it.” She took it over May 1, 1999, naming it McCleary Video, which, she said, has “tons” of both current movies and older ones. Amazingly, McCleary Video’s owner doesn’t even live in town; she’s a Shelton resident. But she doesn’t mind the 20- to 25-minute drive because “I love this town. … If it wasn’t for the people, the businesses, everything that goes on in this town … we have the good days, and we have the horrible days, and no matter what, we still stay together,” Cunningham said. “We still try to stay strong; we still try to keep going.” Even if this were her last year in business in McCleary, “I would never give any of it up; I would do it all over again, and I would have done it 10 times over,” she said. “I really feel like this is home for me.” Looking forward, the chamber’s 2010 officers were also introduced: Pauline Martin, president, Paul Stockham, vice president, Sherry Huff, secretary and Goldy, treasurer.

Parks: Planning alternatives discussed; comments welcome Lindsey: Continued from A-1

team reviewed comments presented at a Sept. 15 workshop and summarized the main issues, presented in a document with two alternatives for each issue: a “natural alternative” and a “recreational alternative.” “It’s not an either-or kind of thing,” said project lead Brian Hovis of the state Parks Department. “We can mix and match.” Both parks had been on a short list for possible closure prior to the legislature’s adoption of a new manner of collecting an optional vehicle license fee; now the fee is opt-out, rather than opt-in. The additional revenue covered a shortfall in the state budget. Supporters of Lake Sylvia and Schafer parks were instrumental in urging the legislature to act. They recently formed a combined Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia Parks group that has been active in the planning effort and in volunteering at the two parks. The group hosted a chili dinner at Lake Sylvia prior to the workshop. Comments about the alternatives received before Dec. 3 will be considered by the planning team as the next stage — a draft plan recommendation — is created. The public then will have a chance to review the draft plan before the final plan is submitted to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. The commission plans to meet May 6 in Montesano to consider the plan. “We’re open to all the ideas; it’s just good to get them now rather than later,” Hovis said. Copies of the plan are available online at www.parks.wa.gov/plans/lksylvia_schafer. Comments should be sent to Hovis at brian. hovis@parks.wa.gov or mailed to Washington State Parks, Planning and Research Program, PO Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504-2650.

Lake Sylvia

Preserve historical landscapes and buildings Alternative: Proper care of historic buildings would be stipulated, but no heritage area will be included. Protection of natural plant and animal communities Natural alternative: Expand long-term boundary to areas within view of lake; classify as Recreation Area the developed areas of park and the rest as Resource Recreation Area. Recreational alternative: Expand longterm boundary to include the trail system to the west; classify current development area as Recreation Area as well as a small area north of the campground; the rest would be Resource Recreation Area. Lake Health The lake is filling in with sediments as part of the gradual natural process. Some would like to see dredging the lake to maintain its recreational potential. The environmental permitting process would be long and costly. Natural alternative: Don’t interfere with the natural process. Recreational alternative: Maintain areas for water recreation and find ways to mitigate environmental impacts. Forest Protection Natural alternative: Protect more forests by including them in long-term boundary; work with Montesano to maintain forest health. Recreational alternative: Work to maintain forest health in park’s existing forest lands. Overnight accommodations More than 10 percent of Grays Harbor workforce is from travel-generated jobs. State parks have a niche; customer demand has led to offering cabins and yurts at some parks recently, and some have asked for these at Lake Sylvia. Alternatives: State Parks will investigate the role of overnight lodging and offer alternatives for cabins. Trail development Montesano operates a large trail system next to and connected with the park. People have asked the park to expand the trail system, but most trails are outside the park boundary. Natural alternative: Improve the trails within the long-term boundary by working

Salmon at Schafer

Continued from A-1

Saturday, Nov. 14, Schafer and Lake Sylvia state parks supporters warmed their hands over an open fire while they waited for the grills to heat up in preparation for a traditional Pacific Northwest salmon barbecue. The crisp cold weather was no deterrent for the 120 supporters who showed up to celebrate their success in saving the parks from the budget chopping block during the previous months. Many committed themselves to continue the effort as guardians of these valuable community resources by adding their names to the membership list of the new non-profit Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia group. Visiting dignitaries attending included Washington State Parks Director Rex Derr, Southwest Region Director Don Hochs, State Parks Commissioner Joe Taller, Sam Garst, president of the State Parks Foundation, Parks Foundation board member Peter Reid, Southwest Region assistant director John Johns Jr, and southwest Maintenance and Preservation manager Lynn Nordloh, state Rep. Fred Finn and Mason County Commissioner Ross Gallagher. Park rangers Brian Hageman, Arnold Hampton and Ross McMahon and their families were also present. Addtionally, there was a constant crowd around the history display and author Sue Schafer, who signed many copies of her new book “Voices of the Past,’ the story and family history of the Schafer Family. Supporters also viewed the recent work done at the park to prevent winter flooding.

home on McCleary’s Maple Street from a friend’s house. Despite a massive search and investigation by law enforcement personnel, including the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, which has been heading up that investigation, the FBI and many others, what happened to Lindsey is still very much a mystery, Undersheriff Rick Scott said Tuesday. “There’s been nothing significantly new in the investigation,” the undersheriff said. “We continue to receive periodic tips and leads that we’re continuing to investigate, and we’re working in that regard to develop new information, while at the same time going over all of the information that’s been previously cataloged in the investigation to make sure we haven’t missed anything.” Scott added that his department has spent a “significant amount of time and effort here lately dispelling rumors that seemed to be running rampant in the community involving Lindsey and reports that arrests had been made or that evidence had been discovered or that a specific scenario had been confirmed with regard to her disappearance.” But “those were all rumors that served no purpose other than to waste man-power and resources,” Scott said. “And at the same time, they’re particularly hurtful to the family who have to experience those phone calls and all of that gossip that goes along with rumors like that. We’ve tried to quickly dispel those rumors and work through that and get back to the task at hand, which is finding Lindsey,” he added. Some of the rumors were “instigated by individuals who were trying to get other people in trouble that they had issues with,” Scott noted. And many were “just stories that were embellished as they were told and passed from person to person.” Sadly, some media received calls about the rumors, which “only added to the concern that was expressed then by friends and family who were hearing this from so many different sources,” Scott said. Results on some of the items seized from two residences and the property surrounding them near McCleary in September have been received, Scott said. “But those results were negative for any evidence that was useful.” However, he added, “we still have not received back all the results on all the evidence we sent in.” The case has drawn attention across the country. Two national groups dedicated to helping find missing children, KlaasKIDS and the Laura Recovery Center, traveled to McCleary last summer to help search. But though dozens of volunteers showed up Aug. 28-30, what had happened to Lindsey remained unknown. Her picture, and those of five other missing persons, even appeared on the cover of People magazine earlier this month. Lindsey’s family spent her 11th birthday July 7 without her, and no fireworks on the Fourth of July heralded her return. September passed without the gregarious brown-haired

with Montesano. Review boundary signs to make clear visitors are leaving the park. Recreational alternative: Same as natural alternative but actively support city’s efforts to create trail-maintenance partnerships with user groups. Dam The dam is old and aging. Upgrades will be costly and time-consuming. This issue will not be decided conclusively during this planning process. Enclosed kitchen shelters A small to medium-sized rustic facility with amenities was requested and proposed with a kitchen area. They can be expensive to build and maintain but can make a park more sustainable by making it more attractive to user groups. The current small building is being evaluated for its best use, including as a rentable enclosed kitchen shelter. A business analysis will be needed. Natural alternative: Use building by beaches for interpretive center or concession stand during summer weekends. Recreational alternative: Use the building as a rentable enclosed kitchen shelter. Other changes to make the campground available to year-round camping would also be needed. Day-use area People want to upgrade the playground. Alternative: State Parks will purchase new playground equipment and install it with community support. Campground improvements Some requested changes to make the campground more economically sustainable. The terrain near the lake is steep and undevelopable, but there are some flat areas nearby that could be developed at high cost and would encroach the forest. New bathrooms and showers were requested and may be needed for an expanded campground. Natural alternative: Keep the campground the same; upgrade campsites by providing electricity and water. A new bathroom might be needed. Recreational alternative: Expand campground into other areas near the park and provide bathrooms with showers. Consider moving administrative facilities to provide more room for camping. Water recreation Natural alternative: Maintain policy of non-motorized boats and continue to support fish-stocking efforts. Recreational alternative: Same as above but build a better boat launch and include kayaks in boats available for rent. Signage Directional signs to the park are under the jurisdiction of other agencies; people asked the park to review the signage to make it easier to find the park.

Schafer

Protection of natural plants and animals Natural alternative: Expand the long-term boundary to better protect salmon-rearing areas and Oregon white oak areas. Classify part of the earliest Schafer Brothers’ donation as Heritage Area; classify park property on the south of the river outside the 100-year flood zone as Recreation Area and the remainder as Resource Recreation.

Recreational alternative: Expand longterm boundary to north side of river and to northeast for access and long-term development. Property north and west of the park would be included for activities such as picnicking and trails. Classify park property north of the river as Recreation Area; property north of the river and west of park property as Resource Recreation Area; property south of river outside 100-year flood zone as Recreation Area and remainder as Resource Recreation Area. Flood control Floods are frequent at the park, and nearly every spring repairs are needed. Natural alternative: Move facilities and buildings out of the 100-year flood zone when opportunities are available; historic buildings eligible for the National Register would be exempt from moving if they can be protected by other means; develop a plan with partners to reduce flooding and lead to better salmon habitat. Recreation alternative: As above plus allowing temporary primitive campsites to be developed within the 100-year flood zone. Preserving historical landscapes and buildings The park includes significant historic resources, including a number of historic buildings constructed by the Works Progress (or Projects) Administration. Natural alternative: A Heritage Area land classification would overlay buildings and historic landscapes. Recreation alternative: Proper care of historic buildings would be stipulated in the management plan, but no heritage area will be included in land classification. Forest health Root rot has infested the forest on both sides of the river. Natural alternative: Eliminate hazard trees and remove infected trees around developed areas. Recreational alternative: With community help, develop a forest health plan and seek funding or other resources to remove infected trees and replant with disease-resistant trees. Oregon white oak (Garry oak) exists near the park and would be an excellent habitat tree to include in the plan. Campground improvements There were lots of ideas including more group camps, cabins, yurts and electricity at the campsites. Flooding complicates the issue. New bathroom buildings with showers were requested and may be needed to accommodate an expanded campground. They can be expensive to build and maintain. Natural alternative: Over time, when opportunity presents, move the campground out of the flood zone; in the Recreational Area outside the flood zone, build a campground primarily including campsites that may include electricity and be intermixed with cabins. Recreation alternative: Move camping into the larger Recreation Area, including at least one group camp; allow temporary primitive campsites to be developed within the flood zone; with community help, design and develop a new campground on the north side of the river and use the existing park for dayuse and group camp facilities.

girl heading back to McCleary School, where she’d finished the fifth grade just days before she went missing, and her family had hoped to be giving thanks long before now that Lindsey had come home. But as of Tuesday, there was no indication that Lindsey would be joining her family Thanksgiving Day when her mother, Melissa Baum, and brother, Josh, 12, spend the day with Mrs. Baum’s aunt and other relatives. Lindsey’s mom also addressed the recent rumors. Contrary to any of them, “Lindsey’s not been found; there’s no confessions, no arrests,” she said Monday. “She’s still out there.” Thanksgiving is one of Lindsey’s favorite holidays, Mrs. Baum said. She loves sweets. Josh, who plans to spend Christmas with his dad in Tennessee, is still “ready to put up a tree this weekend,” as always, she said. But she told him there would be no tree this Christmas. “I have absolutely no interest in holidays this year,” she said. This weekend, however, there is an event Melissa Baum is very interested in. Musician Dan Whyms, a McCleary area resident known for his Johnny Cash impersonation, will present a benefit “Cash for Lindsey” tribute. The music will begin at 9 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28, at Rounders, 202 E. Simpson Ave. in McCleary. Admittance is $5 at the door, with all proceeds going to the search fund, Mrs. Baum said. There will also be a raffle for some gift baskets, as well as gift cards from various businesses, with tickets available those nights. Meanwhile, searches organized each weekend and based at a search center in a building provided by the Evergreen Christian Community in McCleary, will continue “until we just can’t do it any more, rain or shine,” Lindsey’s mom said. But a core group of about nine is trying to figure out how to raise more funds for the searches, as well as to bring in a private detective and some search dogs and their handlers from the East Coast, Mrs. Baum said. Though she’s grateful for the $10,000 reward being offered for information leading to Lindsey’s whereabouts and return, she’d like to see that amount — $4,000 of which is from an anonymous source, the rest from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Crime Stoppers — grow. “I know somebody knows something, and $10,000 is not enough to get somebody to turn in their neighbor,” she said. When she disappeared, Lindsey Jo Baum was 4 feet, 9 inches tall and weighed about 90 lbs. She was last seen wearing a gray or blue hooded pullover shirt, blue jeans with the knees cut and black slip-on tennis shoes. Anyone with any information is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Information Hotline, toll free, at (866) 915-8299; the county E911 Dispatch Center at (360) 533-8765 or (800) 281-6944, or the McCleary Police Department at 495-3107. Or e-mail soadmin@co.grays-harbor. wa.us or write to the police department, P.O. Box 305, McCleary, WA 98557.

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Holideals Great gift ideas & area holiday events, inside section

Cascade Christian knocks off Monte in state quarterfinals, B-1

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Riders cause for thanks “Between now and the end of the year, the newspapers and Web sites of Stephens Media are privileged and humbled to present a multiple-part series that tells the stories of heroism and bravery by the men and women in the United States Armed Forces.” Warren Stephens - President, Stephens Media

Lt. Michael McCarty Arkansas Army National Guard, Silver Star

Eagle Riders Mark Irwin, left, and Angelo Cilluffo carve turkeys for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner Sunday. (Photo by Leif Nesheim)

Lt. Mike McCarty of the Arkansas Army National Guard, shown while positioned on a Baghdad rooftop in 2005, successfully led his battalion against long odds against a group of more than 100 insurgents. (National Guard Bureau Photo)

Soldier picks off enemy machine gun crew to protect team By Lewis Delavan Copyright 2009 Stephens Media The door to his armored vehicle was destroyed. His radio operator lay critically wounded. Injuries incapacitated the gunner. The driver was unconscious. Shrapnel had pierced 1st Lt. Michael McCarty himself, but he knew he had to act fast. When he spotted an enemy machine-gun crew preparing to fire on the wounded vehicle, McCarty, a farmer from Bald Knob, Ark., leaped from the still-moving M1114 Humvee and closed in to stop the danger. One by one he picked off the machine-gun crew over the next few minutes, moving from cover to cover as team members supported him with fire from behind. “I didn’t have much of a choice,” McCarty recalls. “Something had to be done about that machine gun.” Once the machine gun was silenced, McCarty’s soldiers moved house to house in the dense Baghdad neighborhood. “We tried to box them in, basically,” he says. “There was very little room — narrow streets, people with cars on the side. We were trying to

MONTESANO — The state isn’t providing enough money to run required basic education programs, so the burden again falls to school district taxpayers. The best shot for the school district to pass a replacement levy is on the Feb. 9, 2010, special election ballot, Superintendent Marti Harruff said Thursday, Nov. 19. The cur-

By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter ELMA — When folks are counting their blessings Thanksgiving Day, it wouldn’t be surprising for some in East Grays Harbor to list a motorcycle group based in Elma. Though it’s been less than three years since the group formed, the Elma Eagle

Riders have already done a lot for others to be thankful for. They’ve helped provide school supplies for kids who might otherwise have had to do without, and they love to spread Thanksgiving and Christmas joy, especially to underprivileged youngsters in the area. One time when a special need presented itself, they even passed the hat, raising $200 on the spot to help out. Though they’re Eagles first, after becoming chartered, the Riders in Elma could have chosen from myriad activities to focus on. The first chartered Eagle Riders group in Washington State, Elma’s Riders made “their whole focus … on charity and specifically underprivileged children,” said this year’s president, Brad Peckham.

Last Sunday, for example, the Riders, with lots of help from fellow Elma Eagles brothers and sisters and the ElmaMcCleary Lions Club, spearheaded a free Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. They served 178 people of all ages. Though they were prepared for 300, the Riders thought 178 “was pretty good for the first time,” Peckham said. “We hope we’re going to do this every year.” Twenty-six turkeys were prepared various ways, including roasted, smoked and deep-fried. There were also plenty of mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salads and desserts, said Rob Cormier, 44, who is credited with having Please see Eagles on A-9

Tops in McCleary Chamber names people/biz of year By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter

Silver Star

The Silver Star is the third-highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is also the third-highest award given for valor in the face of the enemy. The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States not justifying a Service Cross.

find the enemy and engage them.” McCarty was awarded the

McCLEARY — Apparently, the town of McCleary has more than its share of citizens who are known for making it a great place to live. So this year, there are two McCleary citizens of the year to be thankful for, business owner and champion volunteer Barbara Anensen and Police Chief George Crumb. The McCleary Chamber of Commerce provided citizens with ballots for the selection process. And “his name kept coming up, and her name kept coming up,” said chamber vice president, Linda Cunningham. At the annual recognition banquet Nov. 18 at the McCleary Hotel, Cunningham, performing what she described as her “favorite thing to do,” introduced the first honoree by describing some of her activities: • She owned a business, the Sewing

Chamber President Destiny Frahm presents Police Chief George Crumb with the Citizen of the Year award.

Barbara Anensen receives her award as McCleary’s Citizen of the Year. (Photos by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

Basket, in McCleary in the 1970s and ’80s, during which she also volunteered with the Bear Festival and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary — “and to this day, still works for the Bear Festival and the Ladies Auxiliary,” Cunningham said. • She worked at the Simpson Credit

Union, a grocery store and a pharmacy; • She and her family now own the McCleary Laundromat; • She volunteers her time teaching quilting classes and sewing lessons at the Beehive Retirement Center, the “most wonderfulest thing” she could do,” Cun-

Please see McCarty on A-9

Monte school levy proposed for Feb. By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor

Motorcycle group provides pre-holiday bounty for 178 in Elma

rent levy, approved in 2008, expires at the end of next year. If passed, the new levy would take effect in 2011. “This isn’t fluff, folks,” Harruff told about 50 gathered to discuss levy planning. “This isn’t frosting on the cake.” Reduced state funding last year contributed to severe cuts in the district’s budget. Additional state cuts are expected in 2010, leading to even more Please see Levy on A-9

Please see McCleary on A-10

Parks plan Lindsey: put forward Month 5

Riding on hope

By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor

By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter

By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor

MONTESANO — There’s a lot of ideas floating around about the future of Lake Sylvia and Schafer state parks. State Parks officials are busy winnowing through them to create a plan to guide the parks’ future. The planning team presented alternatives to interested area residents at a Nov. 19 workshop at Montesano City Hall. The planning

McCLEARY — For many, Thanksgiving means being gathered around the table with treasured family members. But it’s likely the Baum family of McCleary will still have an empty place. The day will mark the five-month anniversary of the disappearance of Lindsey Baum, 10, who vanished June 26 walking

MONTESANO — Sporting a donated red poncho, a bushy beard and an abundance of faith in humanity, Terry Hurst bicycled into Montesano last week on his nationwide quest to raise $5 million for a community arts center in Salt Lake City. “I’m an average Joe from the neigh-

Please see Parks on A-10

Please see Lindsey on A-10

Please see Rider on A-9

The Vidette, Montesano, Washington

Page A-8

October 1, 2009

O B I TUAR I E S & F R OM THE FR ONT

Budget: Continued from A-1

force program; â&#x20AC;˘ Collecting $100,000 from unpaid guardian ad litem fees; â&#x20AC;˘ $122,687 saved if the Teamsterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s union agrees to give up salary increases; â&#x20AC;˘ $144,285 if the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers agrees to give up salary increases; â&#x20AC;˘ $65,000 by cutting salary increases for non-union employees; â&#x20AC;˘ Cutting $38,000 for Council of Governments; â&#x20AC;˘ Eliminating the $210,000 spent on the Washington State University Extension; â&#x20AC;˘ Cutting the $24,000 spent on the Washington State Association of Counties, Washington Association of County Officials and the National Association of Counties; â&#x20AC;˘ An unknown amount of elected official salary reductions; â&#x20AC;˘ An unknown savings by cutting the contract for indigent defense attorneys 6 percent; â&#x20AC;˘ Reducing the mileage the Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office pays to the vehicle replacement fund to 55 cents per mile saves $120,000 in the sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s general fund budget; â&#x20AC;˘ Using $40,000 of the new one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax for mental health to provide medication to jail inmates; â&#x20AC;˘ $13,000 by returning the sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s car; â&#x20AC;˘ $275,000 by using road fund money to pay for three deputies instead of repairing roads and bridges; â&#x20AC;˘ Getting the unions to agree to $57,000 in Schedule D cuts; â&#x20AC;˘ $292,000 saved if the unions agree to drop medical care for dependents; â&#x20AC;˘ $123,000 saved by dropping medical care for the dependents of non-union employees; â&#x20AC;˘ $250,000 saved if the unions agree to a 1 percent salary cut; â&#x20AC;˘ $198,200 saved if the unions agree to drop the deferred match and medical incentive; â&#x20AC;˘ $18,000 by cutting special projects; â&#x20AC;˘ $4,500 to cut historical and cultural project support; and â&#x20AC;˘ $40,500 in Central Services cuts. The Road Fund would see $182,230 in savings from union concessions and another $103,000 from non-union savings if the above cuts are adopted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The numbers arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t totally concrete but we use it as a ballpark figure,â&#x20AC;? Commissioner

Terry Willis said, reiterating that none of the proposed cuts are certain, especially those reliant on union support. The items on the list also might be cut to a lesser degree, she said. For example, she and Commissioner Al Carter said they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see fully eliminating funding for WSU Extension because of the good work it does, but because it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a statemandated service the county likely will reduce its support. Commissioners met last week with the leaders of the departments that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make a requested 10 percent cut for 2010 and plan to continue meeting with all departments and union representatives in the coming weeks to close the gap. Tuesday they met with Prosecutor Stew Menefee, Sheriff Mike Whelan, Auditor Vern Spatz and District Court Judges Thomas Copland and Stephen Brown. Wednesday, they met with Clerk Cheryl Brown, Juvenile Court Administrator Greg Reynvaan, Superior Court Judges Mark McCauley, Gordon Godfrey and Dave Edwards and Coroner Dan Burns. County Clerk Cheryl Brown said that, other than passports, all of the work her department does is mandated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have nowhere to cut and still maintain my services,â&#x20AC;? Brown told the commissioners. She said the county could hire a collection agency to collect a small fraction of the $1 million owed to the county in outstanding guardian ad litem balances, fees paid to a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hired advocate. The judges said there was little to cut in their budget as they already are among the most understaffed Superior Courts in the state while being among the busiest per capita. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the responsibility of the Legislative and Executive branches to provide the money for the courts,â&#x20AC;? Judge Godfrey said. He suggested the county sue the state to seek payment for unfunded mandates rather than try to make unconstitutional funding cuts to the courts. At the end of the terse meeting, Commissioner Mike Wilson asked if â&#x20AC;&#x201D; like the commissioners and some other elected officials in the county â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the judges would be willing to contribute a portion of their salary back to the county. Silence. Then the meeting ended. Coroner Burns plans to squeeze a few extra bucks out of his budget by giving up his raise, reducing supplies and other office expenses to get nearly to the requested 10 percent cut.

Lindsey: Continued from A-1

while walking home from a friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house. But though the Grays Harbor and King County sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offices, the FBI and others served search warrants on two properties on Foreman Road, about a mile south of McCleary city limits, and one for a vehicle â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and searched the houses and the property that surrounds them â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from Friday morning to early Saturday evening, Lindsey Baum is still missing. A recording of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Songâ&#x20AC;? by McCleary resident Erik Paul, who attends the church on Pine, played over and over again, as folks began arriving shortly before dark for Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vigil. Contrary to rumors swirling around the town â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the entire county â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;she has not been found,â&#x20AC;? her mother, Melissa, told about 100 people gathered on the hillside behind the church. Candles flickered as both kids and adults wrestled with deep emotions and the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pastor, Larry Tombleson, led the vigil, giving time for those who wished to share about Lindsey, reading several por-

Dinner: Continued from A-1

Lifetime Achievement Award: John and Maxine Vetterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm on Montesanoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eastern flank at one time was among the countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s larger dairy farms, milking about 120 cows. The Vetters switched to raising black angus cattle and have about 300 acres of vegetable crops and 200 acres of hay. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was born and raised on a farm and been on a farm all my life, except the couple of years I was in the service,â&#x20AC;? Mr. Vetter said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been an awful lot of changes in the dairy industry over the years. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not milking cows anymore. Bill Goeres there, he knows why. The milk industry is terrible for dairy farmers these days. Hopefully things will get better.â&#x20AC;? Mr. Vetter has served on the Grays Harbor Conservation District Board of Supervisors and the Cenex board. Mrs. Vetter has been involved with the Grays Harbor County Dairy Women. Daughter Jeri was a Grays Harbor County Dairy Princess in 1982. The distinctive yellow, flat-

tions of Scripture and praying for Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s return, her family and the protection of community children. Dave Pimentel, chief criminal deputy for the Grays Harbor County Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, said Monday that one vehicle was towed â&#x20AC;&#x153;out of the area for processingâ&#x20AC;? last weekend. But â&#x20AC;&#x153;nobody was taken into custody or arrested,â&#x20AC;? Pimentel said. And the residents of the houses that were searched â&#x20AC;&#x153;were extremely cooperative with investigators and assisted in the investigation,â&#x20AC;? he noted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There were items seized as potential evidence,â&#x20AC;? Pimental said, though he declined to give details. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be gone over, and items that are deemed necessary will be sent to the state crime lab.â&#x20AC;? Pimentel didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how long it would take the lab to process the items. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll depend on the availability of the crime lab â&#x20AC;Ś and sometimes that could take weeks,â&#x20AC;? he said. No physical evidence of Lindsey herself was found, Pimentel said. Asked if there were any suspects, the chief criminal deputy said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s several people that we are following up leads on, but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not even people of interest at this point.â&#x20AC;? Investigators questioned a

man who appeared to be in his 20s Friday afternoon behind the McCleary police station before taking him inside. The man was shirtless but was not handcuffed. He admitted that he â&#x20AC;&#x153;may haveâ&#x20AC;? engaged in small-time drug dealing but denied involvement with Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disappearance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re accusing me of killing that little girl,â&#x20AC;? he said in a tearful denial to a man wearing a black suit and sunglasses, flanked by sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputies. The man was a resident at one of the searched locations who was drawn to law enforcementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention by â&#x20AC;&#x153;initial information,â&#x20AC;? Sgt. Steve Shumate of the Grays Harbor Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office said Tuesday. At this time, the man is not considered a suspect or a person of interest in Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disappearance, Shumate said. The sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office issued a statement Friday saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;credible information has been developed that there are locations in the McCleary area that may contain evidence that will assist investigators in locating Lindsey Baum.â&#x20AC;? But Pimentel declined to say Monday how recent any of the tips or information were that resulted in last weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s searches. King County helped in the search and rescue effort by bringing â&#x20AC;&#x153;equipment, dogs, per-

sonnel and a substantial amount of expertise,â&#x20AC;? Pimentel said. And FBI agents have been â&#x20AC;&#x153;working side-by-side with us from the beginning.â&#x20AC;? A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whereabouts and return. Volunteers have organized another search for Friday-Sunday, Oct. 2-4, based out of a search center set up in a mobile home, which the church has in back of its main building and has made available. Pimentel said Tuesday that he was not aware the volunteer search was scheduled and reiterated, as Undersheriff Rick Scott stressed in August, that the Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office cannot be part of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;civilianâ&#x20AC;? search. Lindsey Jo Baum, whose 11th birthday was July 7, is 4 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 90 lbs. She was last seen wearing a gray or blue hooded pullover shirt, blue jeans and black slipon tennis shoes. Anyone with any information is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Information Hotline, toll free, at (866) 915-8299; the county E911 Dispatch Center at (360) 533-8765 or (800) 281-6944, or the McCleary Police Department at 495-3107. Leif Nesheim contributed to this story.

roofed farm atop a hill was purchased by Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents, Albert and Edna, in 1939. The buildings had been built by the Polsons, who developed the farm to augment their timber business and used the house as a bunkhouse for farm employees.

North by Northwest. â&#x20AC;&#x153;(They are) bringing a new component to our agricultural industry that is already gaining national attention,â&#x20AC;? Tapio said. The facility opened south of Elma on Highway 12 last year, where co-owner Mike Lamb, an

Elma High School graduate, trains top riders and horses for national competitions. The facility now has a private riding school for riders of all ages and abilities. It also was one of the farms featured in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Harvest Celebration farm tour.

Pioneer Award Mel and Jane Zepp started their Community Supported Agriculture farm early this spring with a goal of 25 customers. That goal ballooned to 45 as word spread. People interested in a box of seasonal, locally grown produce sign up for a 20-week subscription, a share in the farm, and share in the bounty from June through October. â&#x20AC;&#x153;(The Zepps have) validated that the combination of research, hard work and enthusiasm are a winning combination,â&#x20AC;? Tapio said. He noted that the number of farms in the county has increased 23 percent in five years, due in part to entrepreneurs like the Zepps. Pioneer Award Co-owner Edward McNutt accepted the pioneer award for Lamb Showhorses Inc. and its Arabian horse breeding facility % 3ECOND 3T s !BERDEEN s 7 9OUNG 3T s %LMA s /R #ALL

Death Notices Vincent White Vincent K. White of Montesano died Tuesday Sept. 22, 2009, at the Montesano Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was 84. Arrangements are by Whiteside Family Mortuary in Aberdeen.

tesano Health and Rehabilitation Center. She was 60. A memorial service was

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FDIC, state to oversee business By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor ABERDEEN — Anchor Mutual Savings Bank must report to state and federal overseers as part of an order designed to keep the foundering financial institution from sinking. The Aberdeen-based bank announced Friday, Sept. 25, that it agreed to a “cease and desist” order issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. Anchor bank and three other Washington banks received similar orders in August that outline what regulators described as “unsafe or unsound banking practices and violations of law and/or regulations.” Anchor bank consented to the issuance of the order and its accompanying

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I N D E X

Montesano’s depth prevailed in a four-school match that included Elma, B-1

Community Notes Opinion Columnists Public Record Pages of the Past Schools Legal Notices

A-2 A-4 A-5 A-7 A-7 A-9 B-2

3 months without a trace Search warrants executed near McCleary on anniversary of Lindsey Baum’s disappearance; third vigil held By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter McCLEARY — Three months … about the length of a kid’s summer vacation from school … or one trimester of a pregnancy — or how long McCleary’s Lindsey Baum has been missing. The disappearance of the brownhaired, sociable 11-year-old was marked Saturday, Sept. 26, with a third candlelight vigil, this one on the grounds of the Evergreen Christian

Community church on McCleary’s West Pine Street. There was also activity around town last weekend by law enforcement that many hoped would bring answers to how the girl had vanished so Lindsey Baum completely June 26 Please see Lindsey on A-8

Melissa Baum of McCleary speaks at a candlelight vigil Saturday for her missing daughter, Lindsey. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

Farm Tour 2009

Please see Anchor on A-9

County cuts will be deep By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor MONTESANO — County commissioners have a white board in their study room listing all the possible ways to cover an anticipated $3 million shortfall in next year’s budget. Even if they approve every one of the cuts and fund transfers — including more than $1 million in union concessions — they’ll have covered just over two-thirds of the gap in the general fund. Combined, everything on the board adds up to less than $2.3 million. At that rate, they’d have to close shop for 37 furlough days in 2010. It’s getting better. Last week commissioners were looking at 103 possible furlough days before finding more possible cuts. Commissioners point out that the list isn’t solid at this time; just because something is on the white board doesn’t mean it’s out of the budget yet, they said. But the picture painted isn’t pretty. What’s being considered? • Taking $115,000 from the election reserve for the general budget; • Cutting $25,000 from the drug task Please see Budget on A-8

State slashes mental health By The Vidette Staff MONTESANO — Services to the county’s mentally ill and chemically dependant will be reduced in the wake of state and federal budget cuts totaling nearly $1.4 million. Grays Harbor County uses most of the money to hire private contractors to provide much of the county’s anti-drug and mental health programs. The state reduced its funding for the services in Grays Harbor County by $548,000, county Public Health and Social Services Director Joan Brewster said Monday. Most of that cut will be passed along to contractor BHR, which if it accepts the new amount likely will have to hire fewer people to provide the service, she said. Another $267,000, a 4.8 percent reduction, will be cut from the prepaid health plan. While the budget is going down, the number of people served is increasing, she said. Federal mental health funds will stay about the same but federal dollars for drugtreatmentwillseea“considerabledecrease,” about $578,000, Brewster said. “We pay for it in the long run,” Commissioner Al Carter said. “People turn to whatever else helps them.” When treatment isn’t available, drug use and related crimes increase.

Kathy Marsh, left, of Texas and Charlotte Boulden of Aberdeen on the bus for last Saturday’s farm tour. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

Participants visit three East County operations: Briggs, Lamb’s, Wild Thyme By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter ELMA — “The bus should be here anytime,” a woman just outside the Elma Grange Hall said as she waited to board it Saturday for the 10th annual Grays Harbor Harvest Celebration Farm Tour.

Always cooperative, the big Grays Harbor Transit bus immediately lumbered up the block. Folks from as far away as Texas awaited their tour of three East County “farms,” including Briggs Nursery on the South Bank Road, Wild Thyme Farm near Oakville and Lamb Show Horses on Highway 12, just outside Elma.

The weather also cooperated, with sunshine throughout the day — but not so hot as it had been in previous weeks. It was the first time Charlotte Boulden of Aberdeen and Kathy Marsh of Livingston, Texas, had taken the annual tour, which features different farms during Montesano’s Harvest Celebration. Marsh had been visiting her father, 94-year-old Thor Gadwa of Montesano, and was especially interested in

the tour because her daughter has an Arabian horse farm at Indio, Calif. And the tour “is my pleasure with my friends,” Marsh said. “I’ve only been on this road once,” a tour participant said to a friend as the bus made its way up the South Bank Road. Her friend extolled the many delights to be found along that byway. Tour guide Cindy Burton gave Please see Tour on A-3

Vetters honored at Farm-City dinner

Zepp Farm and Lamb Show Horses take home pair of Pioneer Awards By Leif Nesheim Vidette Editor

The award winners gather during the 39th annual Montesano Chamber of Commerce Farm-City Dinner Wednesday, Sept. 23. From left are Edward and Diane McNutt and Michael Lamb, Maxine and John Vetter, and Mel and Jane Zepp. (Photo by Leif Nesheim)

MONTESANO — The placemats at the Montesano Farm-City Dinner showcased a 1921 Vidette article on an earlier era of such dinners. The current Montesano Chamber of Commerce event is in its 39th year and is the only dinner of its kind in the state, organizers said. “It’s unique in the state … we get to honor our farming families,” chamber vice president Ken Albert said. “We’re very proud of us being able to do that.”

Guest speaker Janel Spaulding of the Chehalis Basin Partnership introduced the approximately 50 diners to the basics of the river system stewardship effort. “I’m always in awe of how diverse our ag industry is,” WSU Extension agent Don Tapio said. “When you talk about everything from cut-flower peonies … to buffalo.” Other than the beef stew and homemade pies, the highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards by Tapio. Please see Dinner on A-8

The Vidette, Montesano, Washington

Page A-6

September 3, 2009

f r om the f r o n t

Two die attempting separate motorcycle stunts in traffic By The Vidette Staff OLYMPIA — Following the deaths of two 22-yearolds in separate stunt-related crashes Saturday, Aug. 29, the chief of the Washington State Patrol said in a press release he is simultaneously “outraged and heartbroken.” “I’m outraged because these deaths were completely unnecessary,” said Chief John R. Batiste. “I’m heartbroken because these were decent young men who died of what can only be called stupid, youthful mistakes.” Batiste understands the joy of riding. He served as a motorcycle officer in the early part of his career. The first thing he learned is that motorcycles don’t care if you feel young and invincible. “We’ve all made dumb mistakes as young people, and most of us survive them,” Batiste said. “Stunt riding would be just another dumb mistake except that motorcycles are completely unforgiving. Given the chance, they’ll kill you,” he said. Saturday afternoon a young man from Monroe died on Highway 522 in Snohomish County. Witnesses

said the man had been performing stunts, lost control and was thrown against the guard rail, the state patorl said. That evening, an Olympia man died while “popping wheelies” on an elevated freeway ramp in Seattle. He lost control, crashed and was vaulted over the guard rail to the ground below, the state patorl said. Even though total highway fatalities are dropping in Washington, the number of motorcycle fatalities remains high, the release says. A disproportionate number of deaths involve young people on racing-type bikes. In about two-thirds of fatal crashes the rider is found to be at fault. “Riders have the power to save their own lives,” Batiste said. “In about half of fatal crashes, there’s not even another vehicle involved.” Additionally, about half of riders killed hadn’t bothered to get motorcycle endorsements for their licenses. Troopers are now impounding the bikes of riders caught without the proper endorsement.

Shooting: Man dies Continued from A-1

including “justifiable homicide.” And ultimately, Scott said, it will be the county prosecutor’s responsibility to make a legal determination “as to whether this use of deadly force falls within the law as an allowable and justifiable act.” Wolff had been camped with two other males, 16 and 25, Scott said. A family was camped in the area, which included the person who fired the shot, and another family was camped separately nearby, Scott said. None of the three groups were related to or knew the others, he said. “At this point, we are not releasing any information about the person who fired the shot, nor are we releasing any information about the facts and circumstances that led up to the shooting itself, due to the fact that this is a homicide …,” Scott said. Until the prosecutor’s office reviews the facts and circumstances, “we are not going to discuss them in a public forum so that the prosecutor has an opportu-

nity to look at them first,” he said. The investigation is continuing, Scott noted. “We still have some loose ends to tie up before we complete the investigation and submit it, hopefully this week, to the prosecutor’s office for their review. And then following their determination, we’ll be able to discuss a little more openly the circumstances.” Investigators had “accounted for all those persons that had any involvement in this at all,” Scott said, “and we’re in the process of interviewing, and in some cases re-interviewing, those people to make sure that we’ve got this information as detailed as possible.” The undersheriff said he’d met with the prosecutors that morning and gone over the preliminary information with them in detail. They were “comfortable with the decision that was made initially to not make an arrest in this case,” he said, as well as with “what we’ve done thus far and are just awaiting the completed investigation for their review.”

Representatives of two national missing children groups join hands in prayer with volunteer searchers Aug. 28 at the McCleary Community Center before launching another search for McCleary’s Lindsey Baum, missing since June 26. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

Lindsey: Volunteers search throughout weekend Continued from A-1

Lindsey, 10, vanished June 26 while walking home on McCleary’s Maple Street from a friend’s house. Despite a massive search and investigation by law enforcement personnel, including the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, which is heading up that investigation, what happened to Lindsey is still very much a mystery, according to Undersheriff Rick Scott. Her 11th birthday was July 7, but there could be no party. Though the miracle didn’t seem to happen last weekend, it wasn’t because Friday’s 56 searchers, Saturday’s 59 and Sunday’s 76 didn’t do their best to find it. And Stafford said Monday that it might not be known immediately if whatever they did find was significant. Anything “obvious that we think may be of significance” was tagged by searchers, then Brad Dennis, director of search operations for KlassKIDS, and Dawn Davis, senior case manager for the Laura Recovery Center, went out to look at the items. “They err on the side of letting law enforcement determine if it is of significance,” Stafford said. Dennis and Lindsey’s greatuncle, Dennis Pierpoint, also checked Monday on “some of the articles that were found,” Stafford said. Scott said Monday it was his understanding that the sheriff’s office would receive an “afteraction report” from the groups on the weekend’s activities, including who was involved and “what information, if any, they gathered.” “We did have a couple of

contacts with them over the weekend,” Scott said, and an article of clothing found along Highway 108 was “collected for evaluation to see if there’s any indication that it might be in any way related to the investigation. At this point, there’s nothing about it that definitively says anything one way or the other,” Scott said. “But beyond that, there wasn’t any significant find on their part,” the undersheriff said. “So we’ll await their after-action report and look at that information and compare it to what we have in hand as far as the criminal case goes.” ‘She needs us’ Polly Klaas and Laura Smither, both 12-year-olds in whose memory the two groups were founded, didn’t come home alive. But those experiencing the trauma of having a child disappear need their support, said Polly’s dad, Marc Klaas. Lindsey “needs us,” Klaas said Friday morning at the community center, from where nearly four dozen volunteer searchers had just set out. “She needs somebody to find her.” A short time later, Klaas and Melissa Baum, Lindsey’s mother, sat talking quietly together. Klaas, who said he’s part of a “search situation like this” once or twice a year, said the “KlaasKIDS search team has located missing persons, both dead and alive. I personally

have not, but our team has.” Asked why he travels to searches, “I think I serve a couple of functions,” Klaas said. “First of all, I think that I can help the family personally because, after all, we have the commonality of our kids having been missing. So that’s a shared experience that the vast majority of people don’t understand at all.” Secondly, said Klaas — whose daughter’s case was widely publicized after she was abducted from a slumber party in her own bedroom in 1993 — “I think I can bring attention to a case. I think that the fact that we get a couple of TV stations out here is probably greater if I’m here than if I’m not.” Told how many searchers were already out Friday, Klaas, who still wears a button with a picture of Polly on his lapel, called it “terrific.” The groups sent out volunteers only after handing them each a numbered fluorescent yellow or orange vest, giving them specific instructions and assigning them to teams, with the leaders to know where each member was at all times. Their safety was paramount, they were told; they were not to take risks. Finding a seemingly important item, “do not bring anything back,” Davis exhorted them. “Leave everything where it is,” she said, and do not disturb the scene. If they talked with anyone who indicated they had some-

thing to add to law enforcement’s investigation, “get that person’s name; get their information,” Davis said. The first searchers were directed to where the last confirmed sighting of Lindsey was on Maple Street. “In any case, we start from the ‘point last seen’ — PLS — then spiral out in a radius fashion,” said Dennis, heading up the mapping and determining where to search. Stafford was impressed with the community. “Everyone has just been phenomenal. … Without exception, people have welcomed us,” she said. “It’s always difficult for us to come into a community under these circumstances,” she said. “A child is missing. It’s difficult for the family; it’s terribly difficult and draining on law enforcement.” They didn’t come to “take over anything,” Stafford added. They just wanted to lend a hand and share “what we learned when Laura (Smither) went missing.”

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5th Annual Montesano Lions Club

Trek WIN $1000!

Come enjoy the race, food and fun.

Or maybe win Four tickets to the Seahawks; Trip for Two on a Brusco Tug; Charter Salmon or Bottom Fishing Trip for Two; $100 Gift Card to the Dennis Company; And more prizes!

ABOUT THE TURTLE RACE… Up to 2,000 turtles will compete for great prizes as they race along the Wynooche River.

Saturday Sept. 19 at Sterling Landing FREE barbecue starts at 1 pm TURTLE race begins at 2 pm

HOW TO ADOPT A TURTLE: $5 donation adopts a ‘Turbo Turtle’ – one turtle. $25 donation adopts a ‘Bale of Turtles’ – six turtles. $50 donation adopts a ‘Troop of Turtles’ – 13 turtles. Adoption papers are available at: Edward Jones, Burkhamer Property Services, Timberland Savings Bank and Sterling Savings Bank. For updates on the race, prizes or official rules contact Kelly at

Turtle Central (360) 249-6602 Directions to Sterling Landing: Take Devonshire exit off Hwy 12. Head south on Devonshire. Take a right before you reach the Wynooche River and proceed west to the grass parking area. There should be signs to lead the way.

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Outlaws

Sports begin

Outlaws of all sorts are set to invade Elma this weekend, C-3

Monte has strong showing at Jamboree, C-1

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Proponents pack commission tax hearing By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter MONTESANO — Their meeting room packed Aug. 31, Grays Harbor County Commissioners heard testimony from two dozen proponents of a tax increase to finance programs for mentally ill persons and those with drug and alcohol addictions. If the commissioners agree, the retail sales tax in the county will increase 1/10th of a percent, as allowed by the Omnibus Mental and Substance Abuse Disorders Act of 2005. Though unable to attend the hear-

ing, Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, a sponsor of the bill that became the act, said in a letter that he’s “convinced” adding the tax and the treatment programs it could fund will save money by reducing criminal justice costs now spent on mentally ill and “drug-affected” offenders. “If I did not believe that the evidence is irrefutable that treatment works and that the taxpayers will save money in the long run, I would not have worked on this bill or be recommending this tax,” Hargrove wrote. “Also, less crime means less victims.” From a different prospective, Edwin

Drake of Hoquiam told the standingroom-only crowd of about 84 that he was an example that Grays Harbor needs the services the tax could fund. A Thurston County Drug Court graduate, Drake said he’d been a drug addict since he was 16. “I’ve pretty much lost all my family members for a long time; they turned their backs to me,” Drake said. “I had warrants from here to Florida, every state I’ve ever been in.” Returning to the area, Drake said, he was arrested in Thurston County and decided to go through drug court. Drake traveled by bus from the

Harbor multiple times a week to participate in what he now calls “truly an amazing program.” “It works on your core beliefs,” he said. “You take a look at your past, the actions you’ve done, people you’ve hurt.” And “you gain a support network.” And not only is the participant held accountable, “the requirements they give you are just like perfect,” Drake said. One of the “most positive” requirements, he said, was to get a high school diploma or be in school or work full time. He didn’t have a high school diplo-

National groups help search for Lindsey

ma, Drake said. So he got his General Education Development certificate. “Just that alone … when you’re that beat down where you can’t look people in the face — you look at your family and just see the hurt in their eyes … “And thanks to drug court, it’s all gone,” Drake said. “My family supports me, and I work in the community. In fact, there’s quite a few people here I know that don’t know this side of me.” Speaking as one who’d been there Please see Tax on A-7

Man shot at Wynooche Lake dies By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter

Marc Klaas, father of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, who was abducted and murdered in California in 1993, lends support last week to Melissa Baum of McCleary, mother of Lindsey Baum, 11, who vanished more than two months ago while walking home from a friend’s home. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

KlassKIDS, Laura Recovery Center join volunteers By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter McCLEARY — “Miracles happen,” Sandy Stafford, case manager specialist with the Laura Recovery Center for Missing Children, said last Friday in McCleary. “People can and do win the lottery,” said Brad Dennis, director of search operations for the KlaasKIDS Foundation, headquartered in Sau-

Back to school for area youth Elma Elementary School student Brenna Fairchild, center, shows principal Mark Keating the bright red — tomato — that she brought for her teacher the first day of school Tuesday. The other students are, Elesiah Bodi, left, and Shayna Whisenhunt. Satsop and Oakville schools also started Tuesday. McCleary and Montesano schools will begin next Tuesday, Sept. 8. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

salito, Calif. And missing children do come home again. Volunteers organized by the two national groups dedicated to missing children, literally beat the bushes Aug. 28-30, covering areas as far away as Elma, hoping to find some clue to how McCleary’s Lindsey Baum could have vanished so completely two months earlier. “Overwhelming,” one woman eye-

ing a large fenced-in field filled with blackberry brambles termed the density of the area. Private property was left to the owners to search. A Tacoma resident, she used a walking stick as she made her way along Wenzel Slough Road near Vance Creek Park in Elma and said she would be willing to return and look again if a future search is planned. A short time later, she and several others on her team moved

slowly along the path surrounding the park’s Pond 1. As if to underscore that what they were doing had merit, Jaycee Lee Dugard, 29, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., abducted 18 years earlier, was reunited with her family just the day before the two groups began sending searchers out from the McCleary Community Center. Please see Lindsey on A-6

MONTESANO — A 25-year-old Olympia man, Westin Wolff, died early Saturday, Aug. 29, after a shooting at a campsite at Wynooche Lake. “Preliminary indications” were that the shooting was “an act of self defense,” Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott said Monday. No one else was injured, and no arrests had been made, he said. Based on the preliminary investigation, including statements from “all those persons involved, as well as physical evidence at the scene, the preliminary indications are that this was an act of self defense that resulted in the shooting and the (resulting) death of Mr. Wolff,” the undersheriff said. An autopsy was conducted over the weekend, Scott said. Interim coroner Dan Burns said Westin had died about 1 a.m. from “a gunshot wound of the chest.” The sheriff’s office received a call about 1:20 a.m. Saturday about a shooting at the lake, and upon their arrival, deputies found Wolff dead, the undersheriff said. The death was a homicide, Scott said, adding however that, by definition, “when one person takes another person’s life, it is a homicide.” But there are various forms of that kind of death, he noted, Please see Shooting on A-6

Raymond man arrested following collision MONTESANO — A 51-year-old Raymond man was taken into custordy following a one-car accident at the on-ramp from Highway 107 to Highway 12 in Montesano on Friday, Aug. 28, according the Washington State Patrol. The driver was reported as a possible DUI traveling north on Highway 107 approaching Montesano. The responding trooper intercepted the 1998 Lincoln Towncar near mile post3 and as the trooper attempted to overtake the Towncar it entered the on-ramp and struck a guard rail, the state patrol said. After colliding with the guard rail, the vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed and entered Highway12, the state patrol said. At mile post 14 the driver pulled to the shoulder but did not comply with verbal commands and was taken into custody for DUI and resisting arrest. The responding trooper recovered two firearms and a small ammount of marijuana from the vehicle, the state patrol said.

The Vidette, Montesano, Washington

July 9, 2009

Princesses: Hutson or Hall? Continued from A-1

meeting new people, hanging out with Cassie and getting to wear pretty dresses, she said. Hutson lives with her aunt and uncle, Donna Baker, manager of a retirement center, and Jim Baker, a construction worker. She is involved in the Elma Football Dance Drill Team, basketball, track and volleyball during the school year, and likes to hang around town in her free time. Asked why she wanted to

be a Bear Festival princess, Hutson said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s princesses said it was really fun being in all the parades and stuff and all the dresses.â&#x20AC;? By becoming a princess, Hall is walking in the footsteps of her mother, Debbie Hall. Mrs. Hall has been involved with the festival for years and was once a Bear Festival queen. Her mother is a registered nurse, and her father, Pete, is a parole and corrections officer. She also has a younger sister, Jordaan. Cassie Hall is also involved

in the Elma Football Dance Drill Team and 4-H and likes to hang out and spend time on the computer during her free time. Asked why she first became involved with the festival, Hall said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something to do over the summer, an extra activity.â&#x20AC;? Her favorite part about being a princess is shopping for outfits. The coronation ceremony, where either Hutson or Hall will be named queen, will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, July 10, at Beerbower Park.

Lindsey: Search continues Continued from A-1

her 12-year-old brother, Josh, live in McCleary with Mrs. Baum. The three moved from Tennessee to Lacey a couple of years ago, then to McCleary about six months later. Lindsey is reported to have left a friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house in the 600 block of Maple Street about 9:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, walking toward her home six or seven blocks away on East Mommsen Road. The last confirmed sighting of her was on Maple between Fifth and Sixth streets, according to the undersheriff. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We continue to feel that she was about midway up Maple,â&#x20AC;? he said earlier Monday. There were other reported sightings â&#x20AC;&#x153;that we werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to validate that put her closer to Third Street,â&#x20AC;? Scott added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taking all those possibilities, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re focusing around that area in and around Third and Maple.â&#x20AC;? When she hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t returned by 10 p.m., Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother and friends drove around looking for her. Mrs. Baum called the McCleary Police Department at 10:50 p.m. Asked during the press conference when her dad would leave for Iraq, the undersheriff said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not at liberty to discuss that. Suffice it to say, he will be deploying overseas in the very near future. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very important to him and the other members of the family that they be reunited with Lindsey as soon as possible.â&#x20AC;? Her birthday would be the next day, Tuesday, July 7. The biggest birthday present â&#x20AC;&#x153;that family could receive would be to be reunited with Lindsey tomorrow,â&#x20AC;? Scott said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very important date to the family. Investigators have put in â&#x20AC;&#x153;thousands of man-hours,â&#x20AC;? Scott noted adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will continue to investigate any and all leads that come in â&#x20AC;Ś Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very important that we continue to keep Lindsey in our minds, keep this investigation in our thoughts and report any information that you think might aid us in bringing Lindsey home.â&#x20AC;? Also Monday, numerous search and rescue resources were activated, the undersheriff said, likely the largest number â&#x20AC;&#x153;deployed thus far,â&#x20AC;? including 50 to 60 searchers from throughout Western Washington.â&#x20AC;? All of them were staged at the Straddleline Off Road Vehicle Park, about three miles east of McCleary, where, he said, there was plenty of parking. Normally open weekdays, the park noted on its Web site that it would be closed that day. Besides having lots of parking, Scott said, the 155-acre park is â&#x20AC;&#x153;one of the largest public access wooded areas in this area.â&#x20AC;? It offers more than 150 acres of open riding and has access to more than 100 miles of trails within Capitol State Forest. Some â&#x20AC;&#x153;tentative searchesâ&#x20AC;? had been made there, Scott said. But because of the summertime and holiday usage, Monday was â&#x20AC;&#x153;the first day that we could really get a lot of resources in there to search it very thoroughly and at the same time be able to deploy resources elsewhere in the McCleary area.â&#x20AC;? Because it was â&#x20AC;&#x153;so full of people using it for recreational purposes, we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have conducted an effective search,â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said Monday. Now, â&#x20AC;&#x153;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty much ours to search as we wish, and it allows for us to bring a lot of resources into that area â&#x20AC;Ś we could truly get a huge number of people out today, and we had room to operate.â&#x20AC;? The weather change could

also help, Scott noted. Last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;heat waveâ&#x20AC;? posed a problem for search dogs, he said. In extreme heat, smells associated with specific individuals â&#x20AC;&#x153;dry up,â&#x20AC;? he explained. But when an area is rehydrated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;sometimes that aids in the development of the scent.â&#x20AC;? Both cadaver and scent-discriminating dogs were used Monday. However, â&#x20AC;&#x153;thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fine line between the weather changing to our advantage and the weather changing to the extent that it begins to wash things away, so we had to work quickly to take advantage of the new window of opportunity and capitalize on it before things begin to dissipate,â&#x20AC;? Scott said. Aircraft with heat-sensitive equipment was likewise stymied by last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s searing temperatures. But Scott was hopeful they could try again. Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activity was â&#x20AC;&#x153;the big push with the search and rescue aspect of it, unless leads require deployment of those resources in the future,â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said that day. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tomorrow will be more of a law enforcement component again, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll remain that way throughout the week.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Brick wallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Asked if the investigation was running into a â&#x20AC;&#x153;brick wall,â&#x20AC;? Scott said detectives had followed up on â&#x20AC;&#x153;a number of leads that we were hoping would be very viable in aiding in locating Lindsey and explaining her disappearance.â&#x20AC;? But â&#x20AC;&#x153;sadly, those leads would fizzle out, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d hit that brick wall, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have to regroup and re-evaluate. But we continue to receive information; we continue to receive leads. I still have a large number of police officers working today in conjunction with the search and rescue people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will continue in that vein throughout the week, pursuing those leads,â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a long way from hitting a dead end, here.â&#x20AC;? Frustratingly, though, â&#x20AC;&#x153;while I have a lot of clues, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a lot of evidence to support any specific clue or scenario,â&#x20AC;? he added. One possible â&#x20AC;&#x153;scenarioâ&#x20AC;? is Lindsey headed to Tennessee and her dad, which is not â&#x20AC;&#x153;completely ruled out,â&#x20AC;? Scott said. But a child her age â&#x20AC;&#x153;would find it hard to sustain her disappearance for this long â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, while that continues to remain a possibility, the likelihood that she has done this of her own volition and is trying to do it on her own, without some type of involvement by an unknown person is unlikely.â&#x20AC;? The undersheriff said he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if Lindsey was aware that her father would be deployed soon to Iraq. Though she is listed as miss-

ing on the Amber Alert Web site, Scott said an Amber Alert could not be issued for Lindsey because the criteria includes suspect and other information. As frustrating as the search has been, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the detectives in this case, myself, the family â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we remain optimistic that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a successful and a positive outcome to this,â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a long ways from throwing in the towel on this,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s things that we can do, and there have been cases throughout this nation over recent history where children have been reunited with the family after a substantial time â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Happy birthdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;? Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 11th birthday Tuesday dawned a gloomy gray. It was relatively quiet in McCleary compared to the activity of the intense firstweek search by myriad local, state and federal law enforcement. They include the McCleary Police Department; Grays Harbor Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, lead agency in the investigation; the FBI and detectives from multiple other counties and areas, in addition to aircraft, a representative from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, search and rescue groups and countless volunteers. The townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature Bear Festival is set for this weekend, and the festival court is comprised of two young girls only a couple years older who have attended school with Lindsey Baum. The celebration coming at a time when the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart is reeling because of the missing child has created a flood of conflicting emotions. But there will be a lot of people in town, â&#x20AC;&#x153;more people to talk to,â&#x20AC;? Undersheriff Scott said. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;certainly not going to guarantee any new information, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an opportunity that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll take advantage of. And to the extent it can help, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not ruling it out.â&#x20AC;? Asked if there would be police officers at the festival, Scott replied, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have officers in McCleary until we find Lindsey and bring her home.â&#x20AC;? The brown-haired, browneyed girl is 4 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 80 pounds. She was last seen wearing a light blue hooded pullover shirt, blue jeans and black shoes. Anyone with any information, even if it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem pertinent, is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Information Hotline, toll free, at (866) 915-8299; the county E911 Dispatch Center at (360) 533-8765 or (800) 281-6944, or the McCleary Police Department at 495-3107. Or e-mail soadmin@co.grays-harbor. wa.us or write to the McCleary Police Department, P.O. Box 305, McCleary, WA 98557.

See Water Lilies In Bloom

Page A-9

Marshal: Curran to head parade Continued from A-1

the years,â&#x20AC;? Curran said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like in the city, the buildings were old and all. Now they have a nice city hall and other buildings.â&#x20AC;? Curran worked for the City of McCleary for eight years until she started working for the transportation department for 29 years until her retirement at 65. She enjoyed the years she spent working, but doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t regret retirement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just loved those people,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were like brothers and sisters to me.â&#x20AC;? Sixty-five proved to be a busy year for her, as it was when she would receive her driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s license. Until a few months ago, she had family in Tacoma who she would try to visit on a regular basis. She didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have her driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s license back in 1987 and she wanted independence, so she hired a driving instructor and got her license. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I got my license at 65, isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that something?â&#x20AC;? Curran said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was happy I learned to drive. I felt so free.â&#x20AC;? As a child, she went to school in McCleary through fourth grade. Then she transferred to Elma where she graduated. After high school, she attended a business

school in Olympia for one year, but went home to start work at the city hall. Curran lived a happy childhood. Her mother, Minnie Southgate, taught her and her sisters, Helen and Florence, embroidery when they were young. She also had an older brother, Dale. Mrs. Southgate also took the children to pick wild blackberries on a nearby prairie. Sometimes the neighbor children would come over for tea parties, too. Some of McClearyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history is tied to her relatives as well. Her grandfather, H.P. Craft, who was blind, had the first post office in McCleary. She has also attended church her whole life and continues to do so at the McCleary Community Church. She used to work on community projects and was on the church board. Years ago, Curran helped out with the Bear Festival too. She and other women in town peeled and diced vegetables to put into the bear stew. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just loved to visit around,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was always fun to have so many people in McCleary for the Bear Festival.â&#x20AC;? Her comfortable home is adorned with pictures and items that carry memories. She lives with her spunky orange and white cat, Sweetie.

Birthday: Girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 11th birthday was July 7 Continued from A-1

McCleary child knew precious little more than they did the terrible night she went missing. Lindsey is reported to have left a friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house in the 600 block of Maple Street about 9:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, walking toward her home six or seven blocks away on East Mommsen Road. The last confirmed sighting of her was on Maple between Fifth and Sixth streets, according to Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott. Eleven days had come and gone, but â&#x20AC;&#x153;today is sort of a benchmark day for the investigation because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s her birthday, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a day we had hoped to reunite her with her family,â&#x20AC;? Scott said Tuesday. Though there had been a massive search and rescue operation the day before, based at the Straddleline Off Road Vehicle Park about three miles east of McCleary, which had followed numerous other days of intensive investigation and searching, â&#x20AC;&#x153;nothing significant was discovered as a result of those search efforts,â&#x20AC;? Scott said. So far, it hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yielded â&#x20AC;&#x153;any evidence that would explain her disappearance or point us in a particular direction,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So we just continue to follow up on leads.â&#x20AC;? Scott said Tuesday investigators had been â&#x20AC;&#x153;affording the family as much privacy today as possible, so as not to intrude.â&#x20AC;? They â&#x20AC;&#x153;pretty much left them alone to cope with what was hoped to be a day of celebrationâ&#x20AC;? but had instead turned into a â&#x20AC;&#x153;day of remembrance.â&#x20AC;? One family member, Angie Wharton, a cousin of Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother, Melissa Baum, talked of her memory last week of Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birth, which she had attended. The hospital where Lindsey greeted the world in McKenzie, Tenn., was the closest to Melissa and Scott Baumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home in Greenfield, a town not much bigger than McCleary, about 17 miles west of McKenzie. For Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birth, Wharton traveled to Tennessee, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and I was in the delivery room with Melissa. She and my son share the same birthday,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be 22 this year, so he got Lindsey for his 11th birthday.â&#x20AC;? The family wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t making any specific plans last week in anticipation of Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday, Wharton said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still taking one day at a time. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really not

looking forward to the Fourth of July or the seventh.â&#x20AC;? But â&#x20AC;&#x153;the main thing that we want everyone to know is that we love Lindsey and we miss her, and we want her home,â&#x20AC;? Wharton said. Monday, Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dad made an ardent appeal for his daughterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s return at a press conference in McClearyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beerbower Park. Living in Tennessee since he and Mrs. Baum separated a couple of years ago and subsequently divorced, the National Guard soldier said he would be deployed soon to Iraq. He hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen his daughter in more than a year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Please, bring me my daughter home before I have to leave,â&#x20AC;? he pleaded. Lindsey and her mom and 12-year-old brother, Josh, have lived in McCleary only about a year and a half. They moved from Lacey, where they lived for six months or so after moving from Tennessee. The girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disappearance has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;very toughâ&#x20AC;? on her brother, Wharton said. Initially accompanying Lindsey and her friend to the friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house shortly before she vanished, the two siblings had a â&#x20AC;&#x153;little spit spat, and he just came home as opposed to dealing with it,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He feels that if he had just walked with her, it would have been fine.â&#x20AC;? Nevertheless, there is still something to be thankful for â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Lindsey Baum is in very good health, for one thing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have anything that requires routine medicine or anything, so sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in good health. So thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a concern,â&#x20AC;? Wharton said. And, as have most other youngsters her age, Lindsey has been taught â&#x20AC;&#x153;not to talk to strangers; if anybody approaches her, not to talk to them; scream if you need help; get to a phone; call 911,â&#x20AC;? Wharton said. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fervently hoping that instruction will yield the best of results as soon as possible. As for those working tirelessly to find and bring Lindsey Baum back home, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we think theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing a great job,â&#x20AC;? Wharton said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re confident theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not missing anything. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re turning over every rock and looking under every rock.â&#x20AC;? Nevertheless, there was no party at the Baum home Tuesday. That would have to wait until it could be both a birthday and welcome home celebration. The town was quiet. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the rainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s put a damper on everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spirit,â&#x20AC;? Undersheriff Scott said that afternoon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just the rain.â&#x20AC;?

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Search for Lindsey continues Father pleads for daughter’s safe return before he deploys to Iraq By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter

No birthday party at Baum home By Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin Vidette Reporter

McCLEARY — Lindsey Baum’s 11th birthday, Tuesday, July 7, dawned gray and dreary. The myriad family and friends, law enforcement personnel, volunteers and others searching for the brown-haired

McCLEARY — Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a National Guard logo, his voice tight with emotion, Scott Baum made an impassioned appeal earlier this week at a press conference in McCleary, where his 11-year-old daughter, Lindsey, had vanished 10 days earlier. Seated Monday in front of a number of microphones on a picnic table in Beerbower Park, where a poignant prayer vigil for his daughter took place just days before, the member of the Tennessee National Guard pleaded with anyone who could to “Please, bring my daughter home. “I’m fixin’ to deploy to Iraq, and tomorrow is her birthday,” said the Tennessee resident who is divorced from her mother and hadn’t seen his daughter in over a year. “I would love nothing more than to

Please see Birthday on A-9

see my daughter before I have to go.” Clutching a rolled-up flier of the missing girl, Baum also beseeched anyone who knows anything to “contact the hotline, contact any 911 center.” Then, unrolling and displaying the flier to TV crews and other media, he added, “But, please, bring me my daughter home before I have to leave.” “I thank you,” Baum concluded, scooting quickly away from the microphones. Rising, he stepped to the side and stood with folded arms, as Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Rick Scott answered a number questions from the media. Sadly, however, by Wednesday morning, there was still no definitive information on how the child had so effectively disappeared. Lindsey’s dad and her mom, Melissa, divorced last spring. Lindsey and Please see Lindsey on A-9

Scott Baum looks on after pleading at a press conference Monday for the safe return of his daughter Lindsey, missing since June 26. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

Bear Festival celebrates 50 years Princesses vie for Bear Fest crown

Curran is parade grand marshal By Amy Thompson Vidette Staff McCLEARY — This weekend is special as it is the 50th Bear Festival. The festival is always full of activities, from the bear stew to the grand parade. A tradition of the parade, at noon this Saturday, is having a grand marshal. Born in 1922, this year’s honorable grand marshal is Pauline Curran. Curran was born and raised

By Amy Thompson Vidette Staff Pauline Curran

in McCleary and has seen the town, and the people, change and grow in her 87 years of living there. “There’s been a lot of changes in McCleary through Bear Festival princesses Heather Hutson, left, and Cassie Hall, right, will learn Friday who takes last year’s queen, BriPlease see Marshal on A-9 anna Barajas’ place. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

McCLEARY — This year’s Bear Festival princesses are Heather Hutson, 13, and Cassie Hall, 14. As the festival’s princesses, they have duties to fulfill in hopes of being crowned the Bear Festival queen. As part of a friendly competition — very friendly in this case because the two princesses

Inside See more McCleary Bear Festival Coverage on pages A-6 and A-7.

are close friends — they are required to do community service as well as sell Bear Festival buttons, where the top seller will be named queen. “We attend parades, dress appropriately and are role models for little kids,” Hutson said. Her favorite part about being a festival princess is Please see Princesses on A-9

Nabbing family 4th fun in Oakville By Marisa Chatt Vidette Staff OAKVILLE — A large number of people turned out in Oakville to celebrate Independence Day the old-fashioned way, with a parade, a nod to the past with a reenactment of the last horseback bank robbery and a rodeo. It was a perfect day for the activities: sunny, warm and plenty of room for bystanders. The parade, which started promptly at noon, began at the corner of Willis Enterprises. It took a direct route through town and ended just past Sterling Savings Bank, the location of the last known horseback bank robbery in the state. This year, the parade featured grand marshals Patti and Buck Graham and was complete with traditional entrants ranging from tractors to horses and log trucks. Winners of various awards given before the parade proudly displayed their ribbons as they proceeded down the street. When the parade ended about 45 minutes later, the crowd of well over 200 people quickly gathered in front of Sterling Savings Bank, which was known as the Oakville State Bank when it was last robbed by a man on horse-

Inside See more photos on page A-12.

A member of the Appaloosa club runs off with the loot as the two bank workers protest during the re-enactment of the state’s last known horseback bank robbery in Oakville. (Photo by Marisa Chatt)

back sometime around July 5, 1938. Randy Caverly, a long-time narrator of the re-enactment, explained to the crowd the story of the robbery. Though the sun was beating down on the large audience, the crowd stood still and quiet, captivat-

ed with Caverly’s retelling of the story. The story began when George Clark, the town handyman who lived upstairs in the hotel (now known as the Only Tavern, located across from the bank), heard the commotion of the bank being robbed.

He rushed outside and fired a .22 caliber pistol at the bank robber. Reportedly, he initially struck the bricks on the outside of the bank, and the spot where his bullet chipped the bricks is still visible today. The robber fired back with a .45 caliber handgun and made

his getaway towards the railroad tracks. Both men were wounded in the fight, but the robber managed to get away. It was reported that he met his end at a later heist near Tillamook, Ore. With the audience being the judge of which group per-

formed the best re-enactment, Caverly began the show. First place went to Austin Carrell, 12, who hid his younger sister, Jaime, in his period costume and rode in front of the bank in a pony-drawn cart. His sister popped out from underneath his robe and quickly made away with the loot, jumping back underneath the costume to flee from the scene of the crime. Second place went to the Appaloosa Club, and third place went to the Black Hills Wranglers. The Grays Harbor Mounted Posse was voted most entertaining; their skit featured two robbers who were surprised from behind the crowd by “law enforcement,” who fired shots — knocking down one of the robbers. A crowd of men on horses quickly arrived on the scene and determined that the fallen robber had “kicked the bucket” — literally. After the skits, the crowd quickly dissipated in search of water and shade or to watch the Black Hills Wrangler’s junior rodeo.

The Vidette, Montesano, Washington

Page A-8

July 2, 2009

F r om the f r ont

Missing: Tight-knit McCleary community grapples with disappearance of girl, 10 Continued from A-1

no kids this weekend,â&#x20AC;? Williams said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be dark soon; see that you get home before it gets dark,â&#x20AC;? he said he told Lindsey around 9 p.m. Lindsey headed home, but Williams and Kampen are now wishing they had let the girls have their sleepover. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be the last one to see a child,â&#x20AC;? Williams said. When she hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t returned by 10 p.m., the girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother, Melissa Baum, and friends drove around looking for her. When she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find her daughter, Mrs. Baum called the McCleary Police Department at 10:50 p.m. Saturday morning, Lindsey still was not home. Over the weekend, the search for her grew to include the Grays Harbor County Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, the FBI, search dogs, and countless others. At this point, nobody is considered a suspect, Scott said. Feeling helpless Monday, volunteers stood near corners at the intersection of Third Street and Simpson Avenue, just outside the police department, handing out scores of fliers to passing motorists, who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to mind stopping for them. Pfc. Adam Golder, an Army Reservist who is not on active duty, was there in his fatigues, asking those who took the fliers, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do you know anyone else you could give some to?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I heard about the young girl and wanted to help out,â&#x20AC;? said Golder. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It really hurts to hear about this. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve lived here all my life,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You never think that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to happen here.â&#x20AC;? Nearby, Doyle Wenzel and John Walkins of the West Coast Search Dogs Grays Harbor County ate a quick meal served by the American Red Cross, which had set up an emergency kitchen back of the police station. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were working the bloodhounds,â&#x20AC;? including his dog, Jasmine, Walkins said. They had been helping every day since Saturday. Beth Cheshier, of the German Shepherd Dogs of Pierce County sat in a camp chair holding a Styrofoam container of food, her dog Mini lying to her left side. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe this is actually happening,â&#x20AC;? said Chantol Sego, who was passing fliers out to passing vehicles near

Pfc. Adam Golder of McCleary passes out information in downtown McCleary about missing 10-year-old girl Lindsey Baum. (Photo by Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin)

another corner. In front of her was a homemade sign reading â&#x20AC;&#x153;Missing child.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I came down after I got off work just to help with whatever I could,â&#x20AC;? said Sego, whose two daughters attend McCleary School with Lindsey. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If it was my kid, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d want everybody looking.â&#x20AC;? As the days have passed, information on the missing girl has spread in the hopes that someone will recognize something and offer a clue that will, in some way, bring Lindsey home. Besides her description in fliers given out by volunteers on street corners to passing motorists just a block or so from where she vanished, news stories and the Internet, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Web site, are also spreading the word that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a 4-feet, 9-inches tall Caucasian who weighs 80 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. When last seen, she was wearing a light blue hooded pullover shirt and blue jeans. Her 11th birthday is next week. Anyone with any information, even if it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem pertinent to the case, is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Information Hotline Line, toll free, at (866) 915-8299; the county E911 Dispatch Center at (360) 533-8765 or (800) 281-6944 or the McCleary Police Department at 495-3107. Or e-mail soadmin@co.grays-harbor.wa.us or mail the McCleary Police Department, P.O. Box 305, McCleary, WA 98557.

Monday, Day 3 There was â&#x20AC;&#x153;no further news other than the girl is still missing,â&#x20AC;? McCleary Police Chief George Crumb said that morning, referring all inquiries to Scott. Scott said that afternoon that there was a family spokesperson, but that the family â&#x20AC;&#x153;has told me that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not interested in having any further media discussions, at least today. That may change tomorrow.â&#x20AC;? Scott said the spokesperson had told him â&#x20AC;&#x153;they were actually going to try to take Mom and maybe get out of town for an hour or two and just get away from all this â&#x20AC;Ś try to do something [other than] be in the middle of this where itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just so emotionally taxing.â&#x20AC;? Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents recently divorced, and her dad is living in a little town in Tennessee, Scott said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But he is going to be coming out here either late this week or sometime next week,â&#x20AC;? he said. As for the investigation, Scott said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;roughly 25 officers, a mixture of Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department and FBIâ&#x20AC;? had met, then deployed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and we have searched throughout the day, searching trash containers, alleyways, rooftops, backyards, knocking on doors, talking to people, just trying to develop a lead, just trying to get a piece of information. And, sadly, none of it has borne fruit today.â&#x20AC;? A representative from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was also â&#x20AC;&#x153;on site, assisting us,â&#x20AC;? Scott said Monday. And besides

Vigil: Community sends up prayers Continued from A-1

After all had the opportunity to pray or speak, still carrying their lighted candles they filed out of the park and up the nearby street on the hill behind the police station to Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home. With them they brought a wooden plaque Watne and his neighbor had made that said simply, â&#x20AC;&#x153;HOPE,â&#x20AC;? to give to Melissa Baum, Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d stayed at home in case the phone rang. She wants to be the one who gets the call saying Lindsey is coming home, a friend of the family said. When they arrived at the house, the solemn crowd, which filled the street, raised their voices together to tell Mrs. Baum, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We love you, Melissa.â&#x20AC;?

Tuesday, Day 4 There was â&#x20AC;&#x153;nothing newâ&#x20AC;? in the search for Lindsey, Scott said Tuesday morning. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re continuing to do search and rescue operations in and around McCleary. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a Washington State Patrol plane thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be up to assist with air support on that,â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said. Aerial photos had also, as yet, yielded no clues, only helping â&#x20AC;&#x153;to map out search areas,â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said Tuesday afternoon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re continuing to canvass neighborhoods and talk to people, follow up on leads that we received on the tip line overnight, but nothing thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been concrete or pointed in a specific direction with regard with her disappearance.â&#x20AC;? Investigators had been able to rule out â&#x20AC;&#x153;certain areas that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve searched as clearly not having any evidence â&#x20AC;Ś but we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been able to develop anything thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specific that will help us,â&#x20AC;? Scott said Tuesday afternoon. Waiting for answers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and trying not to imagine the worst in the face of the continuing vacuum of clues â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is perhaps the hardest part of all for the family, as well as scores of others doing whatever they can to help while the waiting drags on. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to support all the family and the community, and yet we want to stay out of the road of those professionals that are trying to help us, so that they can do their job. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Patrol to increase patrols The Washington State Patrol will increase patrols along the Olympic Peninsula during the holiday weekend, to target drivers who choose to speed and drive impaired. Three additional troopers will be assigned to Grays Harbor County. In an effort to increase public safety,

just about all I can say,â&#x20AC;? Mayor Wally Bentley said Tuesday, reflecting the difficulty of putting such a horrifying occurrence into words. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everybody sits and holds their breath.â&#x20AC;? Hundreds attended an emotional candlelight prayer vigil that evening in McClearyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beerbower Park. Afterward, they walked to the home of the girl they had prayed for to show support for her family. Another vigil took place Tuesday evening in Elmaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10th Street Park. Wednesday, Day 5 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more of the same,â&#x20AC;? Undersheriff Scott said Wednesday morning. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking to people, following up leads, searchingâ&#x20AC;? anywhere anyone suggests â&#x20AC;&#x153;we might want to check,â&#x20AC;? such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a drainage or culvert area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going back for the fourth, fifth, sixth time,â&#x20AC;? he said â&#x20AC;&#x201D; whatever it takes to try to find the missing child. Searchers were also scrutinizing what logging roads and other areas might have been accessible that night, Scott said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gates get opened, gates get closed,â&#x20AC;? and what was accessible last Friday might not be the same as the next day â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or five days later. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of this sounds redundant and repetitive, and it is,â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all necessary, he said, until â&#x20AC;&#x153;we find that one piece of information thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to open this case up.â&#x20AC;? Everywhere in the town once perceived as an idyllic place to live, people were agonizing for any sign of what could have happened to the brown-haired, brown-eyed girl, who left just days earlier for summer break from her fifth-grade classroom at McCleary School, just up Third Street from her home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely frustrating. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re very saddened by her disappearance and very frustrated that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not able to do more,â&#x20AC;? the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s superintendent/principal, Dan Bolender said Wednesday morning. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been working with the Grays Harbor Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department, making them aware of all our staff and their contact information, so that they can follow any possible leads with anybody who has a school association with Lindsey,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just really hard to wait,â&#x20AC;? Bolender said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like everybody else is going through, we just feel quite helpless and wish we could do more.â&#x20AC;?

the state patrol recommends motorists to: â&#x20AC;˘ Be aware of motorcycles. â&#x20AC;˘ If you or one of your friends has been drinking, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drive. â&#x20AC;˘ Allow yourself enough time to get where you need to go so you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to speed. â&#x20AC;˘ Take your time and slow down and be sure to wear your seatbelt.

t h 4 o y f p Jul p a

please come home safe.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;? Girl Scouts from Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s troop also shared, and a boy named Michael said he hoped that she â&#x20AC;&#x153;comes back really safe and â&#x20AC;Ś says hello to everyone in the town.â&#x20AC;? People were sniffling in the crowd. Some were sobbing. Christina talked to God about getting through this â&#x20AC;&#x153;very terrible and trying time.â&#x20AC;? Amens wafted through the crowd. A woman who said sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d probably break down if she, herself, spoke, told Watne â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who then related it to the crowd â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everybody in Shelton is

praying for her safe return.â&#x20AC;? One family shared a poem they had written, and a young girl named Zoe said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lindsey was a great friend to me, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pretty sad that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gone. But I hope she comes back. â&#x20AC;Ś I really, really miss her.â&#x20AC;? A man said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We pray for a breakthrough, even right now â&#x20AC;Ś Give us a miracle, Lord.â&#x20AC;? A girl said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lindsey was like a friend to me, and I want her to come back.â&#x20AC;? Then the sobbing overtook her. As they took their turns, Watne thanked them, gently encouraging and often giving a hug. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look at all those candles,â&#x20AC;? he told one sad boy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every one of (the people holding) them loves Lindsey.â&#x20AC;?

agents from the Seattle area, the FBI had brought in â&#x20AC;&#x153;experts in missing children investigations from as far away as Oregon.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a tremendous amount of experience and resources in that regard,â&#x20AC;? Scott said. And, he said, searchers included those from Grays Harbor, Thurston, Pierce, Kitsap, King and Cowlitz counties, amateur radio personnel and the American Red Cross. A helicopter and planes have also been used in the search, and some aerial photographs would be carefully scrutinized Tuesday to see â&#x20AC;&#x153;if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something in those photographs thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll give us a new avenue to pursue,â&#x20AC;? a sunburned Scott said Monday afternoon. The appeal, Scott said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;is to come forward. If you were in McCleary on that Friday night around 8:30 to 9:30, 10 oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock, during that window of time and you were passing through, driving through; if you were out and about that night, we want to talk to you to see what you saw, see what you heard, â&#x20AC;&#x2122;cause you may have seen something thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meant nothing to you, but could be important to us. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve talked to a few of those folks, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you know, I really didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see anything,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;? the undersheriff said. But the authorities could possibly gain some valuable clues simply by knowing â&#x20AC;&#x153;what did the car look like that was in front of you; what did the car look like that was behind you? Was there any pedestrian traffic happening? Did you see anyone?â&#x20AC;?

Scott said folks would be surprised when they think back on it, and remember, â&#x20AC;&#x153;well, yeah, I saw this; I saw that.â&#x20AC;? And even though the authorities hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t yet developed â&#x20AC;&#x153;any avenuesâ&#x20AC;? of exactly what happened to Lindsey that night, â&#x20AC;&#x153;weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve developed information.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to continue to search in and around McCleary using the search and rescue people,â&#x20AC;? Scott said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve eliminated no possibility here; this is a very comprehensive investigation that continues to look at this as though it could possibly be a runaway or some type of voluntary disappearance, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also looking at it from a worst-case scenario that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a criminal investigation and Lindseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the victim of foul play.â&#x20AC;? But, the undersheriff said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;if we have to knock on every door in McCleary and talk to every person that lives here, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to do that if thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what it takes to bring her home.â&#x20AC;?

Keep children out of cars to keep them safe The Washington State Department of Health would like to remind parents that children are at a serious risk of heatstroke when left alone, even for a few minutes in a vehicle. Follow these tips to ensure safety: â&#x20AC;˘ Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even with the window slightly open. â&#x20AC;˘ Always lock a vehicleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doors and trunk â&#x20AC;&#x201D; espe-

cially at home. Keep keys and remote entry devices out of childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reach. â&#x20AC;˘ Place something that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need at your next stop â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a purse, lunch, gym bag or briefcase, on the floor of the backseat where the child is sitting. The simple reminder could help prevent you from accidentally forgetting a child.

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