Other Headlines

County lays off four more workers
MONTESANO — Four more county employees will be out of work by year’s end due to budget cuts. After more than three hours behind closed doors with union representatives Monday, commissioners unanimously decided to lay off three Road Maintenance Division employees and one Equipment Pool Division mechanic as of Dec. 31.

“I’ve had painful things happen to me in the past, but nothing that painful,” a weary-looking Commissioner Al Carter said after the meeting. It was the third such meeting in recent weeks.

Mark Reed budget
Commissioners cite ‘substantial need’ in raising taxes, rates also up
ELMA — Property taxes in Grays Harbor County Public Hospital District No. 1 and rates at the district’s Mark Reed Hospital and Healthcare Clinic in McCleary will both rise next year. But overall, the hospital district’s financial picture is improving, district officials say.

A new facility to replace the aging and cramped hospital is again being planned, with hopes of finalizing a funding source other than property taxes about three years from now.

After another positive monthly — and year-to-date — financial report by Ron Hulscher, Mark Reed’s chief financial officer, the district’s five commissioners passed next year’s budget at their Nov. 19 meeting at the Microtel Inn and Suites in Elma.

“Overall, the operation’s very healthy,” Hulscher reported.

After approving the 2010 budget, which includes raising property taxes 1 percent of the expected 2009 receipts, Commissioners Brent Meldrum, Roy Musser, Drew Hooper, Louie Figueroa and Amy Thomason passed a resolution declaring the district has a “substantial need.”


More Sports

Elma’s Colard signs with Western Washington University

ELMA — There was another Viking around the table in the Colard household this Thanksgiving. That is because co-2A Evergreen Most Valuable Player, and Elma senior, Katie Colard inked her letter of intent to play basketball for Western Washington University on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at Elma High School.

Katie will be the third Colard to attend Western. She follows in the footsteps of her brother Kevin and sister Kelly who were both Viking athletes, Kevin in football and Kelly in basketball.

The Elma senior drew attention from up and down the West Coast, opting for WWU over California schools in Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego.

Area athletes honored for fall sports season accomplishments

Following the voting of coaches throughout the Evergreen Leagues in both Class 1A and 2A, numerous East County athletes were included on the all-league squads, including several Most Valuable Player honors.

Montesano’s Ryan Campbell was a double MVP in football, while Ali Ohashi, Sydney Bullington and Becca Lane each garnered soccer MVP nods.

The full list of first-team rosters and other local award winners is available in the print edition.