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Mayor poised to hire new clerk
The Montesano City Council may be asked at its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 9, to hire a new city clerk to replace Linda Wolverton, who resigned in July.

“We’ve done the interviews and so we’re progressing down that road,” Mayor Ron Schillinger said. The council also is expected to consider a “memorandum of understanding” with the Teamsters Union setting stipends for the three deputy clerks who are picking up the slack until the vacancy is filled. The mayor approved stipends of $1,200 per month each, but the council has yet to vote.

The city was left scrambling to find a new clerk following Wolverton’s unexpected resignation after less than a year on the job. A CPA and former treasurer for Spokane County, she came on board last fall to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of longtime clerk Sharon Morgan. Wolverton said she couldn’t turn down a higher paying job she had been offered with the Quinault Resort & Casino because it was so much closer to her North Beach home. In her exit letter to the council, Wolverton urged the council to reconsider the idea of a city administrator, but after a lengthy discussion at a workshop and again at its Aug. 26 meeting, the council voted 4-3 not to restructure at this time.

He has a seat with a view
Aydden Anderson, a third-grader at Beacon School in Montesano, peered out from the bus after it pulled up at Simpson School to pick up the 4th, 5th and 6th graders. School officials had not been looking forward to the first day of drop-off and pick-up at Simpson, which is completely reconfigured during construction of the new school All in all, it went well, Principal Judy Holliday said. Students throughout the area went back to class this week, marking the end of summer for kids.

Elma’s Rakevich named to
Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame
Rick Rakevich, an Elma High School physical education teacher and former longtime wrestling coach, will be inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, the Elma School Board learned at its Aug. 27 meeting.

Rakevich led his Eagles to the school’s first state wrestling championship in the 1994-95 season, in addition to coaching numerous individual champions along the way in his impressive career as a wrestling coach.

The year Rakevich’s wrestlers won the 2A state title “was also the first time in the history of the State of Washington that any team has won the team state championship, as well as the team state academic championship,” the school’s athletic director, Steve Bridge, said Friday.

Investigation into tragic fatal concludes with no ready answers
Law enforcement personnel responding to the scene of the fiery crash on Highway 12 near Malone that claimed the lives of two popular 18-year-olds early last Dec. 1 reported sub-freezing temperatures at the site, the Washington State Patrol said last Thursday, announcing the completion of its investigation. Others reported a “dense fog,” and the two weather conditions combined may have contributed to the tragic collision, the State Patrol said.

Miles Zepp and Rod Rowe Jr., who had graduated from Elma High School together the previous June, were westbound about 3:30 a.m. in Rowe’s 1981 Toyota pickup when the truck, which Rowe was driving, collided head-on with a 1997 Mack tractor pulling a loaded chip trailer.

Both vehicles caught fire, though the driver of the tractor, James Ramsey of Aberdeen, escaped before his cab ignited and was uninjured, the State Patrol reported at the time. The State Patrol’s Lt. Steve Smeland said that according to Ramsey, and “citizens who arrived within seconds of the collision, there was dense fog in the area at the time of the collision. This is supported by the fact that Ramsey’s ability to react and apply brakes was simultaneous with the impact.”

Montesano contractor will be inducted at California Lutheran
Charles McShane, a former linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks who now lives in Montesano, will be inducted into California Lutheran University’s Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 13. McShane, a member of the university’s Class of 1976, is one of six alums being inducted to the Hall of Fame “for their outstanding contributions to intercollegiate athletics,” according to a news release from the university. A 225-pound defensive tackle, McShane quickly made his mark after coming to Cal Lutheran in 1974 and was named to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics District II second team his first year, the university said in announcing the selection. His many awards include NAIA District III First Team All-American, NAIA District III Player of the Year, United Press International Little All-Coast and third team Associated Press Little All American. He won the university’s Iron Man award and was the Most Valuable Lineman his first year of university. His level of play continued to improve and by his senior year he was chosen as the NAIA’s District III Player of the Year. McShane also was on the university’s undefeated track team in 1976. He graduated with a degree in administration of justice. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys but was traded to the Seattle Seahawks where he played for two more seasons, until 1979.

More Sports

Kraig Kinser reigns as supreme Outlaw
ELMA — When all the excitement and dust cleared following Monday night’s World of Outlaws feature race, Kraig Kinser of Bloomington, Ind., emerged as the champion at Elma’s Grays Harbor Raceway, and earned $10,000 for his efforts. Kinser began the race in a good spot to fight for the early lead, on the outside of the first row, opposite of pole-sitter, Jayme Barnes of Everett. Although neither would have a clear shot to victory with Outlaw legend and Kraig’s father, Steve Kinser, lurking in row-2 next to Chad Kemenah of Findley, Ohio.

Mixed Martial Arts event set in Elma
The West Coast Fight Team is presenting a Cage Warrior Combat Mixed Martial Arts challenge at the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds on Saturday Sept. 13. The first bout of the evening is scheduled for 7 p.m., with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or presales may be made at Les Schwab locations in Elma, Aberdeen, Shelton and Mud Bay (Olympia). The cost of admission is $20 for general admission, $35-$50 for floor seating or $100 for ringside seats.

Aberdeen Parks & Recreation Co-ed Slow-Pitch
Coed Division 1
Captain’s Corner 13 T.A. Trucking 2
Kristal Hyde had three hits, while Brenda Blancas and Cheryl Norton had two hits each for Captain’s Corner. Brent Boone had a homerun for T.A. Trucking.