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Three months without a trace
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 brown-haired, 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 completely June 26 while walking home from a friend’s house.

Regulators eye Anchor bank
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.”

County cuts will be deep
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 force program;
• Collecting $100,000 from unpaid guardian ad litem fees;
• $122,687 saved if the Teamster’s union agrees to give up salary increases;
• $144,285 if the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers agrees to give up salary increases;
• $65,000 by cutting salary increases for non-union employees;
• Cutting $38,000 for Council of Governments;
• Eliminating the $210,000 spent on the Washington State University Extension;
• Cutting the $24,000 spent on the Washington State Association of Counties, Washington Association of County Officials and the National Association of Counties;
• An unknown amount of elected official salary reductions;
• An unknown savings by cutting the contract for indigent defense attorneys 6 percent;
• Reducing the mileage the Sheriff’s Office pays to the vehicle replacement fund to 55 cents per mile saves $120,000 in the sheriff’s general fund budget;
• Using $40,000 of the new one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax for mental health to provide medication to jail inmates;
• $13,000 by returning the sheriff’s car;
• $275,000 by using road fund money to pay for three deputies instead of repairing roads and bridges;
• Getting the unions to agree to $57,000 in Schedule D cuts;
• $292,000 saved if the unions agree to drop medical care for dependents;
• $123,000 saved by dropping medical care for the dependents of non-union employees;
• $250,000 saved if the unions agree to a 1 percent salary cut;
• $198,200 saved if the unions agree to drop the deferred match and medical incentive;
• $18,000 by cutting special projects;
• $4,500 to cut historical and cultural project support; and
• $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.

State slashes mental health
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 pre-paid 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 drug-treatment will see a “considerable decrease,” about $578,000, Brewster said.

More Sports
Elma’s Jackson tops large field at Oregon meet
SEASIDE, Ore. — With over 2,300 runners in attendance, and more than 400 in his race, Elma’s Todd Jackson ran down a title at the Seaside Three-Course Challenge cross country race Saturday, Sept. 26, at Seaside, Ore. Jackson ran on what was called the 5,000-meter easy course following a draw, and turned in a time of 15:33, which topped the runner-up almost by a minute. Jackson’s teammate D.J. Wheeldon on the same course clocked a 17:00 to nab ninth place. The only other top-50 performance from an East County athlete came from Montesano’s Allison Peterson, who was 41st on the girls hard course in 28:54.

Bulldogs remain unbeaten with win
ROCHESTER — Four weeks into the season, and Montesano has yet to give up a single point. The No. 1 ranked Bulldogs again proved worthy of the top-ranking by completing their fourth blowout of the year — a 55-0 1A Evergreen League football victory over Rochester on Friday, Sept. 25, at Rochester.

Wolves knock off Eagles 49-21
TUMWATER — Pulling away in the second quarter, Black Hills topped Elma 49-21 in a 2a Evergreen Conference football match-up Friday, Sept. 25, at Tumwater Stadium. A 28-point swing in the second frame helped the Wolves secure the victory.