Sequim

Spinks to continue as interim Sequim manager
Friday, May 16

Sequim Police Chief Bob Spinks will continue to wear two hats, at least until the city council can agree on hiring a new manager.

Spinks was thrust into the extra role earlier this month, after a majority of the city council abruptly fired Bill Elliott, who had filed the city manager’s post for a half-dozen years. The council, with former Mayor Walt Schubert and Elliott supporter Bill Huizinga absent, let Elliott go over smoldering differences over his “management style”. The dismissal came as the council continues to go through turmoil following the election of a new majority last fall.

As part of the settlement agreed upon last week, Elliott will get a compensation package valued at more than $150,000.

The council has agreed to have Spinks continue as interim manager until it can decide on hiring a new administrator, in addition to his duties as police chief. Spinks and Elliott were good friends and had worked together previously in eastern Oregon. Elliott brought Spinks on board two years ago.

Sequim suspends city manager
Tuesday, May 6

Shock waves from Sequim today, where the city council has suspended City Manager Bill Elliott, putting him on the sidelines for a month.

The move comes after several weeks where the new council majority has been critical of Elliott for his management style, including the search for a new Public Works Director.

The storm clouds gathered during two executive sessions, and then the council voted 4-1 to suspend Elliott during a study session Monday afternoon. Long-time council members Walt Schubert and Bill Huizinga, who’ve been consistent supporters of Elliott and helped to hire him, were there for the vote. The Sequim Gazette is reporting that Elliott is refusing to resign.

The move leaves the city administration in a state of limbo. Police Chief Bob Spinks will take over management of staff in the meantime.

Sequim police arrest man in Kent murder case
Monday, March 31

Sequim police arrest a Kent man for murdering his wife as he was overseeing construction of the couple’s “dream home” in the East End.

The arrest came late last week, ending a months-long effort by Kent police to solve the homicide that happened last September. Detectives say 56-year old Nancy Floren was found shot to death in her King County home with a gun lying by her side. However, investigators later determined the gun was not the murder weapon, debunking the story that she might have been shot by a burglar.

King County detectives kept gathering evidence and eventually issued an arrest warrant for Floren’s 56-year old husband, who was arrested at the Sequim construction site by local police and Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies. He was taken back to King County to face charges.

Sequim man facing charges for Kitsap holdup
Saturday, March 22

A 47-year old Sequim man is being charged with first degree robbery for trying to holdup a Poulsbo bank and then driving back to the Peninsula.

Kitsap County prosecutors filed the charges against Todd Richard Prokasky on Friday, three days after the reported robbery.

Prosecutors say Prokasky handed a holdup note to tellers at the Timberland Bank branch on Tuesday and took off with cash. A Kitsap County sheriff’s deputy spotted Prokasky’s pickup headed north and followed him across the Hood Canal bridge.

Prokasky wouldn’t stop for police, who spiked the truck’s tires three different times before he finally gave up in Blyn and was taken into custody.

He’s being held on a $200,000 bail.

Sequim students win Knowledge Bowl
Monday, March 24

Sequim High School students have once more shown their knowledge in all things scholarly, wrapping up another title at the Washington State Knowledge Bowl.

Sequim took the 2A title in the annual event at Camas High School in Southwest Washington last week. They competed against 17-other teams in the 2A division.

Knowledge Bowl is one of the most grueling of academic competitions for Washington schools, pitting students against one another in a quiz of general subjects they’ve studied in high school. That includes subjects like math, geography, history and current events. Answers are given within a 15-second time limit, forcing team members to work together for a quick response.

Sequim has won other Knowledge Bowl titles in the past.

Dog killed in collision at Sequim park
Sunday, January 27

Report of more problems at the Sequim dog park, where a collision between two dogs has forced one pet to be put to sleep.

The Seattle Times reported this weekend that a greyhound known as “Moon” had to be put down after suffering critical injuries when it collided with another large dog. The owners, Russ and Merri Wilson say the 3-year old was running across the park when it hit a golden retriever that was chasing a ball.

The greyhound, which had been adopted by the Wilsons two years ago, flew into the air and apparently suffered a spinal injury.

There have been other reports of dogs being injured at the park, which opened last year to allow owners an enclosed area where their pets could run off-leash.

Sequim picks first woman mayor
Saturday, January 5

A major shift in power is complete for the City of Sequim, with the city council going through its largest change in more than a decade, picking it’s first woman mayor and ending the dominant run of Mayor Walt Schubert.

After four new council members were sworn in Wednesday, the panel immediately called for a special meeting Friday morning and proceeded to select newly-elected Laura DuBois as the new mayor. The vote came while Councilmen Paul McHugh and Bill Huizinga, largely considered as supporters of Schubert, were out of town on vacation.

The change ends Schubert’s long stint as mayor, a period which saw the city experiencing major commercial and residential growth. Schubert and his council colleagues approved thousands of new housing units and allowed developers to build hundreds of thousands of square feet of new commercial space in the city. While they touted the city’s economic growth, the positions also sparked on-going controversy, eventually leading to the upsets last fall as Dubois, Eric Eriksen, Ken Hays and Susan Lorenzen swept to victory on a joint platform of “intelligent growth”.

Schubert had toyed with using his political momentum to run for East End Clallam County commissioner. But early last summer he surprised most by opting not to run for the office, saying he wanted to stay working for Sequim residents as mayor.

Dubois becomes the first woman to hold the position in Sequim, and the third mayor since voters re-organized the city structure to a council-manager form in the mid-90s, succeeding Schubert and Bill Thomas.

Dubois’ selection creates an interesting balance of power on the council and could place her in a position of deciding many tie votes on growth and development issues, with 3 of the new council members that may align frequently on one side, and Schubert, Huizinga and McHugh opposite.

Sequim authorities considering charges in abduction hoax
Wednesday, January 2

Sequim authorities are considering whether to file charges in the case of a 12-year old boy who left a note in a local restaurant, alarming police into thinking he’d been abducted.

Friday, employees at the Applebee’s restaurant found the note with the words “help me” scrawled in crayon. They called police, who immediately started looking for the boy and the two men he’d been seen with at area motels, stores and local businesses.

Sequim officers were eventually able to use a restaurant receipt to track the boy down in Pierce County, discovering he was safe and sound with his father and the note had been left as a “joke”.

Sequim Police Chief Bob Spinks says it’s fortunate the boy was found. But he says police went to a great deal of trouble trying to investigate. He is glad the restaurant workers took the note seriously and called police.

The Sequim city attorney is reviewing the case to see if charges should be filed.

Sequim police car wrecked during chase
Sunday, December 23

A Sequim police car was ruined, but no one was injured Sunday when an officer crashed while chasing a speeder.

The accident happened Sunday afternoon when officer Rick Larson was trying to stop a speeding car near Spruce Street.

The Washington State Patrol Larson was driving the marked patrol car with lights and sirens activated south on 2nd when it tangled with an SUV. Troopers say Larson had gone through the stop sign, crossing in front of 72-year old Bernice Metz. Metz tried to swerve to avoid the patrol car but both vehicles collided in the intersection, with her ’99 Ford Explorer smashing into a light pole.

Fortunately, neither Metz nor Larson were injured. The SUV was damaged but driven from the scene, while Larson’s Ford had $10,000 in damage.

WSP will be investigating the accident.

Daredevil's father dies in Florida
Friday, November 30, 2007

The famous father of Sequim daredevil Robbie Knieval has died in Florida.

Relative confirmed that Evel Knieval passed away at his home in Clearwater, Florida, where he has lived for the past several years. There was no immediate word on the cause of his death.

Knieval, who was born in Butte, Montana, rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s breaking records with his famous motorcycle jumps. He was unsuccessful with an attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon in Idaho on a rocket-powered "skycycle" in 1974 and inujuries forced his retirement. He continued to tour the country and make public appearances, but has been in failing health for several years.

Robbie Knieval followed in his father's footsteps, breaking many of his records. He moved to Sequim and has based out of the area for the past decade.

SPD busts suspected drug dealer
Sunday, November 25

Sequim police have arrested a 20-year old man who they say was dealing drugs near Helen Haller Elementary School.

The arrested happened Friday afternoon after SPD got a call reporting drug activity at a house in the 300 block of West Alder Street, which is only a block away from the school.

Officers Rick Larsen and Grant Dennis checked out the report and discovered suspected marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Once they’d gotten a search warrant, they found several ounces of marijuana and $3600 which police believe is cash from drug sales.

The 20-year old man who was renting the house is facing drug charges and could be hit a stiffer sentence if convicted since the drug dealer was near a public school.

Sequim council majority shifts
Saturday, November 10

For the past half-dozen years, the Sequim city council has presided over unprecedented growth and development, approving thousands of new housing units in dozens of subdivisions and a series of big box stores and new retail outlets. Throughout that time, Mayor Walt Schubert has touted the city’s “positive growth”, surrounded by a council following the same philosophical approach.

Now, Schubert and his supporters have lost majority control of the council and will have to forge new working relationships as voters assign four new faces to serve.

Friday’s count of ballots from Tuesday’s General election is confirming a complete turnover on the council come January.

Incumbents Don Hall, Ron Farquhar and Bob Anundson failed to get any more than 40% of the votes in their individual races. In fact, Hall and Farquhar failed to top the 30% mark for the most resounding defeats in any Sequim council race in many years.

Susan Lorensen beat Hall with 72% of the vote, while Anundson lost to Erik Erichsen who picked up slightly less than 62% of the ballots. Laura Dubois had over 73% to beat Farquhar, the former J.C. Penny store manager who had served on the council with Schubert since the late 90s.

The other position with be filled by local architect Ken Hayes, who faced a last minute write-in attempt to derail his campaign.

Hayes, Lorensen and Erichsen had all been among those that competed for a council appointment earlier this year that went to Anundson. They had also been advocating a more cautious approach to Sequim’s growth, indicating a period of political adjustment when the new council takes office after the first of the year.

Council incumbents pounded in PA and Sequim
Wednesday, November 7

2007 turns out to be a poor year to run as an incumbent city councilman in Port Angeles and Sequim, with most of the sitting council members being ousted in this weeks’ voting.

In Port Angeles, former Clallam Transit General Manager Dan Di Guilio upset Edna Peterson’s bid for a full term on council with nearly 56% of the vote. Peterson trails by almost 400 votes and would need to capture a vast majority of the remaining ballots in order to claim victory. Di Guilio had applied for the council appointment that went to Peterson last year.

And it appears the third time might finally be the charm for Cherie Kidd, who has a solid lead over incumbent Grant Munro in the race for Position 7. She leads by more than 100 votes after the initial ballot count Tuesday night. Kidd has come close before, eventually losing to incumbent Larry Williams 2-years ago after additional votes were counted after election day.

In the race for an open seat, insurance salesman Don Perry swept to an easy win over newcomer Paul Sawyer with almost 63% of the ballots.

In Sequim, Susan Lorenzen trounced incumbent Don Hall’s bid for a second term, capturing over 71% of the votes. Bob Anundson’s time on the council will be short after managing just 38% of the vote against Erik Erichsen. Both Lorensen and Erichsen had competed for the appointment that was given to Anundsen earlier this year.

Voters also turned out incumbent Ron Farquhar, who could managed only 26% of the ballots against newcomer Laura Dubios. And architect Ken Hays prevailed in the race for Council Position 7, overcoming a vociferous write-in bid by Margaret Williams.

The results appear to be a major referendum on the Sequim council’s handling of growth issues since all of the candidates had been critical of the incumbents handling of the city’s rapid development in the past couple of years. It will present a challenge for Mayor Walt Schubert and the remainder of the previous council to incorporate those viewpoints, now that a majority of the seats will be held by new members.