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Whats Inside District, parents meet

over Sumner pool closing
Views...................................Page 6
Plateau History................Page 7
Obituaries.........................Page 8
Sports.................................Page 15
Classified...........................Page 17
Officials say solutions arent perfect, but doing the best
Coming up... they can; parents start petition to save pool
Enumclaw High
School is hosting its By Ray Still bers appeared to leave the meeting
annual Empty Bowls Assistant Editor even more concerned that the swim
event Friday, March 3 program will weaken, or even stop,
from 4 to 7 p.m. Tickets With the Sumner High School after the pool closes.
cost $20 each, and pool expected to close in the next According to Thomsen and Chief
provide attendees with a year, the district held a community Financial Officer Debbie Campbell,
handmade ceramic bowl meeting last week to address the closing the pool has been a district
with which to use with concerns of students, parents and plan for years, only to finally hap-
community members who are wor-
a hot meal. Proceeds are
donated to Plateau Out-
Bodacious birds The
Enumclaw ried about the districts two swim
pen now that Sumner High School
is going through a major renova-
reach Ministries and the flock to Garden teams.
The message the district wanted
tion.
Enumclaw Food Bank.
Bonney Lake High
Enumclaw Club held
its annual to deliver was clear.
There are many reasons the pool
has to close, they said.
Breakfast We are going to keep all of our First, in order for the school to be
School is hosting a swim teams, District Athletic
5K fun run at 9 a.m. for the Birds event Feb. 22, which included remodeled, more space is needed
food, a silent auction, door prizes and a Director Tim Thomsen said Feb. 23, for parking in order for the school
Saturday, March 11 adding that the district has never
to raise money for the spectacular hat parade, all themed around to stay compliant with the city of
considered ending the swim pro- Sumners code.
upcoming Senior Night birds (except for the food). This years event
gram. Thomsen pointed out that
for the 2017 graduating included a presentation by Featherhaven, But the meeting seemed to do
class. Register at www. a local songbird sanctuary, about the Sumner High School serves 1,800
little to mollify the public, and
databarevents.com/ organization and what you can do to keep local instead, many community mem-
flashbackfunrun. birds safe and healthy. Photos by Ray Still SEE POOL, PAGE 3

Weather
Rain, rain and
more rain
this week.
Wednesday has an 80 percent
chance of precipitation with
a high of 45 and low of 36.
Thursday expects to also be
wet with a high of 47 and
low of 36. Friday, Saturday
and Sunday dont expect the
liquid sunshine to let up, with
highs in the low 40s and lows
around freezing.
Contact Us!
Main Desk
360-825-2555
Circulation ....................Press 1
Classifieds......................Press 2
All others ......................Press 0
Six years for East Pierce seeks grant to hire 9 firefighters
fatal DUI crash
By Kevin Hanson
Senior Writer
A plea arrangement has
been reached in the case of
an intoxicated teenage driver
who crashed into a tree east of
Enumclaw, an accident result-
ing in the death of a passenger.
Friday, the Pierce County
Prosecutors Office accepted a
plea agreement from Bryson
A. Stubbles, 19. Stubbles was
charged with one count of
vehicular homicide for the
death of Paco Frees, 18, and
three counts of vehicular
assault. Frees was a passen-
SEE DUI, PAGE 21
By Ray Still
Assistant Editor
East Pierce Fire and Rescue is
looking to hire nine new firefighters,
and is turning to the federal govern-
ment for help.
Last month, the department
applied for a federal grant that would
allow East Pierce to hire nine entry-
level firefighters to help address
staffing shortfalls.
If the grant known as the Staffing
for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response grant (SAFER) is award-
ed to the department, it would cover
75 percent of the cost of hiring those
new firefighters in the first year.
The grant would reduce over the
next two years, and by the fourth
year, East Pierce would be expected
to cover the cost of those nine fire-
fighters on its own.
Currently, East Pierce employs 43
career firefighter-paramedics and 62
firefighter-EMTs, as well as 27 vol-
unteers, who cover East Pierces 153
square-mile area from the edges of
Buckley, past Sumner and up into
Edgewood and Milton.
Fire Chief Bud Backer said theres
a difference between the total num-
ber of career firefighters employed
and whats needed to be properly
staffed.
East Pierce operates three eight-
hour shifts every 24 hours. Currently,
minimum staffing is 22 firefighters,
meaning there are, at the very least,
22 firefighters staffing the six fire
stations in the district.
Those stations have either three or
four career firefighters/EMTs there
at a time, and that few firefighters
is not consistent with National Fire
Protection Association guidelines,
Backer said, which recommends that
fire departments have at four fire-
fighters to a fire engine or ladder
truck and two EMTs per medic unit.
According to Backer, none of East
Pierces engines are staffed with four
firefighters, and at the moment, only
the departments ladder truck has a
crew of three.
Because most of East Pierces
engines only have two firefighters
per engine, they run the risk of com-
ing up against the states two-in, two-
out rule.
The rule mandates that there
must be four firefighters on scene
before firefighters can enter a burn-
ing building two to go in and
SEE EAST PIERCE, PAGE 4

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www.courierherald.com
POOL FROM 1
students on a 25 acre cam-
pus, which may be the
smallest 4A high school
campus in the state, he said
in an earlier interview.
To make room for park-
ing, he continued, some
things like the pool
have to go.
The pool is also extremely
old and running on its last
legs, Thomsen said.
Honestly, the boiler can
blow up tomorrow, and were
done, he said at the meet-
ing. The mechanics of that
building theyre not the
kind of thing we can main-
tain much longer.
Campbell estimated it
would cost the district $15
to $20 million to build a new
pool, money the district did
not ask voters for when it put
a $164 million bond issue on
the ballot in 2016.
Furthermore, she said
the district does not want to
keep a pool at Sumner High
School.
If we had the money to
build a pool that the school
district owned and ran in
the future, it would not be
at Sumner High School,
she said at the meeting. It
would be on the hill, some-
where around/with/ includ-
ed/part of Bonney Lake
High Schools campus or
that area.
Other reasons Campbell
and Thomsen gave were
that the swim teams use the
pool for practice only 11 per-
cent of the time and that its
financially irresponsible to
operate a pool with a YMCA
pool just down the street.
Campbell said final design
work for the high school
remodel is planned to be
completed around January
2018, with the project going
out to bid that spring.
SHORT-TERM PLANS
TO CONTINUE SWIM
PROGRAM
Thomsen and Campbell
were able to share some
details with the public about
the districts plan to keep the
Spartan and Panther swim
teams in operation.
Thomsen said that the
district and the YMCA have
come to an agreement over
swim times at their pool
six lanes from 5 a.m. to 7:30
Correction
Last week, it was incorrectly re-
ported in the article PSE pinches
off Tehaleh gas leaks, (Feb. 22)
that Puget Sound Energy complet-
ed fixing gas leaks in the Tehaleh
development on Feb. 10. PSE had
finished inspecting all 850 houses
in the Tehaleh area by Feb. 10, but
were still fixing leaks.
a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 3:45
p.m., and three lanes from
3:45 p.m. to 4:15 free of
charge.
Thats potentially more
time than swimmers get now
(practices run from 2:45 to 5
p.m.) but parents noted the
YMCA doesnt have starting
blocks or a dive tank, essen-
tial materials for swimmers
and divers to practice with
for meets.
To that effect, Thomsen
said he has contacted eight
different pools in neighbor-
ing school districts and com-
munities about using their
pools, which come better
given the district permis-
equipped for competitive
swimming.
However, he was unable to
give a definitive answer as to
whether these pools would
be able to host Sumner
School District swimmers.
The problem with being
17 months out is that they
cant make a commitment,
other than to say theyre
willing to help us out, until
they get a little bit closer,
to the pool closing deadline,
Thomsen said, saying the
district should have a more
specific plan by this fall.
As for transportation, the
district will do whatever
it takes to get swimmers
to and from practices and
meets, Thomsen said.
A FUTURE BONNEY
LAKE POOL?
As for a long-term solu-
tion for the districts swim
program, Thomsen and
Campbell announced that
Bonney Lake Mayor Neil
Johnson has renewed his
commitment to building a
municipal pool in his city,
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Many parents addressed their questions and concerns about the
Sumner pool closing to Athletic Director Tim Thomsen at a meeting last
Thursday. Photo by Ray Still
and the school board has
6-9 months or so, at which
sion to talk to Bonney Lake
about what the district can
do financially to help speed
up the process of building
that pool.
We are getting ready to
formalize and finalize a very
large financial commitment
from Sumner School District
to spearhead the building
of a new pool at Midtown
Park, Campbell said, add-
ing that the district plans to
donate some of the $164 mil-
lion bond money to the city.
Campbell wasnt specif-
ic as to how much money
the district would give to
Bonney Lake.
Johnson confirmed in an
email interview that an ad
hoc committee will being
meeting in March to put
together a plan for a pool at
Midtown Park.
The property is zoned for
public facilities and the city
owns it. We have no ren-
derings since we have yet to
meet as an ad hoc committee
to discuss the WSU mas-
ter plan, he wrote. As for
a timeline, the master plan
YOUR LOCAL
1816358
360 825-2806
Wednesday, March 1, 2017 THE COURIER-HERALD Page 3
district closing the Sumner
High School pool.
all except for the least pop-
ular or least feasible times.
Several expressed con- Even if we find a pool that
cern that swimmers will lets our kids practice during
leave the team if they have a viable time, our kids will
to be bussed to and from a end up being bussed, pos-
busy pool outside city lim- sibly long distances in com-
its, because it would cut into muter traffic. Well certainly
their academic and personal lose swimmers, either due to
lives. inconvenience, lack of sleep
Some expressed doubts or plummeting grade point
that a Bonney Lake pool averages.
would become a reality, Instead of sending swim-
despite reassurances from mers out, Terrell said Sumner
Campbell that she is as con- Bonney Lake Aquatics, who
fident as this pool being built has been partnering with
as I am anything else that we the district in keeping the
do with public money. pool operational for the last
discussions will take at least
Emily Terrell, the mother several years, has proposed
of a Spartan freshman swim- providing temporary pool
point we should have a better
mer and one of the leaders of space out of existing vacant
idea of what the plan looks
the group resisting the pool warehouse space.
like, costs and timelines.
closure, expressed disap- On top of being a Spartan
Johnson added that if the
pointment and skepticism parent, Terrell is also
city has the funds to con-
of both the districts short the principal for Sound
struct the pool, he is willing
term and long term plans for Municipal Consultants,
to slot pool construction as
the swim teams during last which helps cities plan parks,
one of the first projects the
weeks meeting. transportation and housing
city tackles at the park.
The district says theyve developments, according
Currently, we have no
spoken with eight other to her Linkedin account.
funds for a pool. Anything
pools this month to try to Additionally, she works as a
from the city would need to
find space for our aquat- land use specialist and is a
come from a bond measure
ics program. They claim hearing examiner.
of some kind, he wrote. It
they cant make real plans Based on this experience,
is possible a ballot measure
because no one knows what Terrell said at the public
could be ready for Feb. 2018
theyll be doing in 17 months meeting that she believes it
or April 2018, if the coun-
when we need the pool for will take years for a pool to
cil approves the master plan
the new swim season. That be built.
and wants to move forward
seems unlikely to me, she I know how long even a
with a bond measure.
wrote in an email inter- fast tracked planning pro-
STUDENT, PARENT view, addressing Sumners
plan to send swimmers to
cess takes For the initial
planning component, we can
RESISTANCE other pools for practices expect to take 18-24 months
Many of the students and
parents at last weeks meet-
and meets. The real issue is
probably the simple fact that
SEE POOL, PAGE 24
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Page 24 THE COURIER-HERALD Wednesday, March 1, 2017
POOL FROM 3
with consultant selection, design,
public process and approval, she
wrote, adding that the funding pro-
cess which includes seeking grants
and levy preparation and con-
struction could add four more years
to the process. At best, with the
stars aligned, our kids are looking
at a gap of at least five years before
a new, permanent aquatics facility
is available to them. The likelihood
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is that even if the project is success-
ful, it wont be available to any kid
currently attending middle school
or high school. Its possible their
youngest siblings might get a chance
to use the new pool.
But its also possible that Bonney
Lake will be unable to fund a pool,
she wrote, pointing to the metro-
politan parks district proposal vot-
ers voted down in 2009.
That was during the recession,
and the economy has changed, she
added, and as the Bonney Lakes
2015 Comprehensive Plan points
present
and recipes from St. Elizabeth
Hospitals Cornerstone Caf
Dance it Up performances
Enumclaw Police Department
Enumclaw
Health and Rehab
out, a city survey showed that an
indoor swimming pool was the
second-most popular item ranked
in the survey, and captured 50 per-
cent of the No. 1 ranking votes in
the water features category of the
survey.
That being said, given that an
indoor swimming pool will be con-
structed as part of the new Sumner
YMCA and the high maintenance
cost of swimming pools, the city has
no capital plans to develop a stand-
alone indoor or outdoor swimming
pool, chapter six, page 22 reads.
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www.courierherald.com
The most deeply concerning
aspect of the districts long term EAST PIERCE FROM 4
plan is its high risk of failure, Terrell
wrote. The district has stated there
than 1 percent, the fire levy
is no Plan B. Well, there is a Plan B.
depreciated to $1.38 per
Its simply failure.
$1,000 in assessed value this
Terrell has created a petition to
year.
save the Sumner pool on thepe-
Backer originally thought
titionsite.com, and more than
hed have to ask voters for a
830 people have signed since last
levy lid lift every two years,
Monday.
but with the fire levy being
There is also a Facebook page,
hit that hard, he expects to
Sumners School Planners, for par-
ask voters for a fire lid lift this
ents and students to follow pool
year, and potentially another
updates.
lid lift in the third year of the
grant, if its awarded.
If East Pierce can collect
the full $2 in levies, and con-
struction growth is factored
in, Backer wrote the depart-
ment can afford to cover the
costs of those nine new fire-
fighters by year four.
Im not going to do what
some departments have done
in the past, and hire folks
that I cant afford to keep
after the grant funding has
expired, he continued. If
were not collecting at that
rate, or near it, we should still
be able to keep the people, but
may slide back in the number
of firefighters on duty as we
wouldnt fill vacancies cre-
ated by retirements, which
we anticipate several in the
next five to seven years. That
would allow us to avoid lay-
offs, but at the cost of lower
service levels and decreased
safety.
However, district voters
may still see a Maintenance
and Operations levy or a Fire
Benefit Charge find their
way to an election ballot.
We dont have many
choices for seeking funds
due to statutory limitations,
Backer wrote. Honestly,
with rising need for more
units on the road, and the
potential of two or three new
stations in the next 10 or so
years, well probably have to
do that anyway.
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