Other Headlines

School levies passing
Judging by the early results announced Tuesday evening by the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office, most East County school levies in the presidential primary election appear to be faring well with the new fifty percent requirement. Returns so far on the Oakville School District levy, however, are very close, with 194 in favor to 185 against, or just over 51 percent to about 48.8 percent. Montesano School District’s replacement levy is passing so far, with a healthy lead of 1,076, or 59.6 percent, to 728, or 40.4 percent. McCleary School District Superintendent Dan Bolender said Wednesday he’s “feeling pretty confident” that, though more ballots remain to be counted, the levy has, indeed, passed. “I think so, with 62 percent,” he said. Elma School District’s levy had garnered 882 “yes” votes by election night, or 56.9 percent, to 669 “no” votes, or 43.1 percent. Mary M. Knight School District also had a replacement levy on the ballot. As of election night, 19 had voted for the levy, or about 65.5 percent, and 10 voters, or 34.5 percent, had cast “no” ballots.

Cell phone case raises policy issues for school
A former assistant coach at Montesano High School who pleaded guilty last week to the gross misdemeanor charge of telephone harassment is not likely to be employed by the district again, according to the superintendent. Moreover, Tyler Trimble’s request that he be allowed back on campus remains in limbo. Superintendent Marti Harruff said the situation is complicated by the fact that his victim is still a student at the school and a judge has forbidden Trimble to have any contact with her or her family.

Harruff said her final decision on the matter will be made after she hears back from the district’s risk management pool and legal counsel. She provided them with a copy of the investigative report earlier this week and is asking for their guidance on the matter.

The case also has the school district examining its cell phone policy and more training is planned for staff on what the law requires of educators when Internet porn is being actively transmitted among minors on school grounds. There’s a separate, unrelated investigation under way through the Children’s Advocacy Center that also involves sexually explicit cell phone pictures being shared among minor students. That case report should be completed this week, officials said.

It is against the law to solicit, possess or transmit sexually explicit photos of a minor. According to the 100-plus page report compiled by the State Patrol’s child pornography task force Trimble, 21, solicited sexually explicit cell phone photos of his (then) under-age girlfriend by taking photos of himself masturbating and then asking her what she would reveal back to him. She sent him several photos, which he then forwarded to friends, and over the next few weeks or so he also shared them with members of the football team and other students, some as young as 14, who heard about them and asked to see them.

District 5 reviews cost-saving ideas at special meeting
Grays Harbor Fire District 5 commissioners held a special meeting Feb. 14 to revisit cost-saving measures. In January, the three, Eric Patton, Jerry Bailey and Matt Howarth, voted to lay off two paramedics, sell a truck and consider moving from their main offices at Station 54 in Elma. At their regular meeting Feb. 4, however, the commissioners voted unanimously to lay off only one paramedic since, after mediation, the district is now receiving some availability fees from the cities of Elma and McCleary and Fire District 12 in rural McCleary.

McCleary City Council approves Summit Place II final plat
The McCleary City Council unanimously approved the final plat Feb. 13 for the Summit Place II subdivision in the north part of town. Todd Hansen Inc. of Olympia owns the 95-lot development on Summit Road. Its original owners were Summit Place I developers Ken Brogan and Garry Anensen. Summit Place I, just south of Summit Place II, is complete, with 37 homes. Both areas were annexed by the city before they were developed.

Elma School District’s transportation commended
Tom Boling, transportation supervisor for the Elma School District, has received a letter of commendation from Education Service District 112 for keeping the district’s fleet of buses in top shape. Skip Enes, regional transportation coordinator for the service district, said in the letter that he had reviewed the results of the 2007 winter and summer bus inspections by the Washington State Patrol and noted that the combined out-of-service rate for Elma was 6.45 percent.

McCleary water system flushed
The McCleary Water System will be flushed during the month of February. The flushing is to dislodge normal residue accumulations from water lines. This may cause discoloration of the water; however it is not a health hazard. Once your immediate area is done, it is suggested that you flush your own system by running the water through your bathtub or an outdoor spigot until the water runs clear. If there are any questions regarding this notice, please contact the city at 495-3667.

More Sports

Monte’s Phillips, Ford earn seventh at 1A state tourney
TACOMA – After meeting up with five state-level opponents each, Montesano’s Brent Phillips and Dillon Ford brought back seventh place medals from Mat Classic XX at the Tacoma Dome last weekend. "We are happy with the year. We took six to state and four of them will be back next year," said Montesano head coach Jeff Klinger

Elma’s Ecklund nabs sixth in girls tourney
TACOMA – In just her first year of wrestling at the high school level, Elma sophomore Michaela Ecklund garnered a sixth place spot from the girls portion of Mat Classic XX last weekend at the Tacoma Dome. Ecklund, who was given a first-round bye following her regional title from the previous week, suffered a second round loss to Highline’s Siri Berg, 14-4. But the Eagle rebounded with a pin over Granger’s Adilene Caballero in 4:51 in the consolation bracket.