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After more than 50 years, southern resident orca whales have begun returning to Penn Cove, the site where boats, airplanes and nets were used in violent roundups that took place in the early 1970s to capture and sell them to aquariums and marine parks around the world.  The whales were driven from open waters and corralled into pens with hunters using boats and dynamite to move them into the cove.  That trauma for the orcas left deep scars on the population of killer whales which researchers say have been passed down through generations.

A key person most responsible for stopping their capture was former Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro. 

“I got involved with the orcas in a capture in Olympia quite by accident. But  you know I’d seen them as a child and all that stuff. and I loved the whales and all that stuff. As a child it was a different sort of scene. The feeling was that they were eating all the salmon and people were kind of opposed to orcas. I got involved when Karen and I were out sailing one day with some friends on a Sunday and we saw an orca capture take place. I took place about, oh 50 yards from out boat. I was so disgusted and so disturbed that I just did everything I could stop it.”

As a member of Governor Dan Evans’ staff, Munro went to the governor and the two of them along with Attorney General Slade Gorton filed a federal restraining order to stop their capture.

“And we did stop it. And that was the last orcas that were captured in Washington waters. This was a cut-throat deal.  We were very proud to stop it.”

The capture of the Southern Residents population of orcas in Puget Sound caused the loss of one-third of its population.  These who weren’t sold died entangled in nets.  None of them captured are still alive.

“It took a lot of time. It took a lot of effort. There was lots of joy and pleasure when we won. But the orcas were pretty much left alone ever since then.”

And now, more than 50 years after the trauma of the captures, the orcas have begun to return to Penn Cove.

“And I think that’s a significant sign that things are getting better.”

(Photo: Western Washington University Archives)

Listeners to KZQM radio in Sequim might occasionally confuse it with the other radio station in Sequim, KSQM.  KZQM is not the same as KSQM, Sequim’s non-commercial educational, listener supported, all volunteer radio station. KZQM does not play the same kind of music as KSQM, what we like to call the home of the best music ever made. KZQM is operated by Radio Pacific, which also owns KONP and KSTI.  KSQM is owned and operated by Sequim Community Broadcasting, a non-profit 501(c) 3 corporation. So it might be understandable there could be a bit of confusion between the two.

That confusion is coming to an end.  Brown Maloney, the owner of KZQM says effective this week, the station’s call letters have changed to KZEG. He says in a news release, “For some time, there has been confusion by having similar call letters as Sequim’s radio station KSQM 91.5 FM.  Therefore,” he says, “it was my decision that changing the call letters would be beneficial to both stations.“

Three Sequim police officers were presented with life saving awards during Monday’s City Council meeting for their roles in saving a man who had been struck by a hit and run pickup truck on Highway 101 east of Sequim earlier this month.  Witnesses said the man, identified as 66-year-old Lawrence Sherer of Mukilteo had been fighting with another man on the Highway near the “Welcome to Sequim” elk sign at Simdars Road around 11 pm October 8.

Officers Devin McBride, Ella Mildon and Chris Moon were the first to arrive. Sequim Deputy Mayor Rachel Anderson read from the proclamation:

“Officer Mildon arrived first and observed a female doing chest compressions on a male in the middle of the highway. She immediately checked for a pulse and started life saving measures.  As other officers and sheriff’s deputies arrived, they took over chest compressions. Officer Mildon retrieved her AED and handed it off to Officer McBride while officer Moon and others continued CPR. Officers and Deputies continued life saving measures for approximates seven minutes until EMS staff arrived on scene and took over patient care.”

Sherer was airlifted on a Life Flight helicopter to Seattle’s Harborview Hospital in what a State Patrol spokesperson was in “Very Critical” condition.

Police Chief Mike Hill:

“I do think it’s important to recognize officers for saving human life because there’s no way you can put a value on that. So the recognition that they receive for an invaluable service is well deserved.  As you can imagine when they showed up on scene on October 8th it was chaotic and violent. And that’s an understatement based on what we saw and what the investigation revealed. But these three immediately went to work on what their number one priority was and that saving someone’s life.”

The second person involved in the fight on the Highway is not know.  He go into his vehicle and sped away.  The driver of the hit and run pickup turned herself in at the Clallam County courthouse the next morning. 

Veteran Sequim Police Officer Mark Poole was presented with the department’s life saving award during last week’s City Council meeting for his efforts to save a man from jumping from the River Road Bridge overpass at Highway 101.  A proclamation read by Deputy Mayor Rachel Anderson said Poole was first to arrive on scene to a 911 call the afternoon of August 20 that a man had climbed over a railing and looked like he was going to jump. After a minute and a half Poole “determined that he had to take action because the man was refusing help and refused to step off the railing.”

“Due to the immediate danger the male posed to himself and the potential danger to operators of vehicles on the highway below, Office Poole took decisive action and secured the male effectively preventing him from jumping off the bridge.  Once secured Officer Mark Poole continued conversing with the male in a calm voice in an attempt to help him through his crisis. Officer Poole continued to engage the male with kind conversation until a designated crisis responder arrived and spoke with the male. Just before the male was transported to the hospital Officer Poole gave the male a final salutation and wished him well.”

Police Chief Mike Hill:

“I think calm, cool and collected is cliché that’s often overused. That’s literally how Mark operates day to day and probably the reason why he was able to show up on scene.  A little follow up to that is because we do have a designated crisis responder through Peninsula Behavioral Health embedded with our department we were able to do follow up services and make sure that the individual got more appropriate help that he needed.”

Hill says Poole is the longest serving officer in the department, beginning in 1995.  During that time he has been named Officer of the year, and most recently partner of the year – an award voted on by piers as the officer they would most like to have on a call with them.

“And I think Mark’s demeanor and consistency that he’s known for is why they would want him there with them much like he was able to save a life on August 20th. 

After the announcement last week that the Blue Mountain and Port Angeles Regional Transfer stations would no longer be accepting glass for recycling, the City of Sequim is reminding residents there are still places where glass can be recycled. Because Sequim uses a different glass recycling processor than most of the rest of the Olympic Peninsula, glass can continue to be dropped off for recycling at two drop box locations – at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Hemlock just outside the City Shop yard, and at Evergreen Collision at 703 E. Washington Street. Olympic Disposal transports that mixed glass to the Olympia area where it is added to concrete used in landscaping and other products. 

The fallout from the hurricanes on the east coast is beginning to be felt here on the North Olympic Peninsula.  Forks Community hospital has suspended all elective, non-emergent procedures due to a disruption of IV fluid supplies caused by the impact of Hurricane Helene.  The hospital says in a Facebook posting it that is has immediately suspended  elective procedures in order to have enough IV supplies for patients with urgent medical needs. The suspension comes after the Washington State Hospital Association has advised hospitals across the state to conserve their supplies of IV fluid after a major manufacturer of the fluids, the Baxter facility in North Carolina, was impacted by Hurricane Helene.  The facility supplies approximately 60 percent, or 1.5 million bags of the solution used in hospitals every day across the country.

 WSHA President and CEO Cassie Sauer says, “Unfortunately, the current supply chain disruption means that some procedures  that are not as time-sensitive may be delayed.  However, the longer procedures are delayed, the sicker patients can get. It is not an acceptable long-term solution.”

The Forks hospital says it will continue to monitor this national IV shortage and provide updates as possible.

The North Olympic Library System has released a video that highlights the progress being made on construction of the new Sequim library and showcases architectural illustrations of what library users can anticipate when the new facility is completed next spring.  The new facility will nearly double the library’s size from 6,000 to 10,000 square feet. It’s estimated the total project will cost around $10.6 million. After failing to gain voter approval for a bond measure in 2018 for the new library by a slim margin of only one percent, reaching 59 percent when it needed 60, the project was able to secure alternative funding through grants, timber revenue from DNR managed state trust lands, and community donations to continue with the project without a new bond or levy. 

To watch the video tour, read construction updates or support the new Sequim Library, visit NOLS.org/Sequim.

Upwards of 250 to 300 people attended a public meeting Monday at the 7 Cedars Resort to learn more about a planned project to build a multi-use waterfront community on 160 acres of property adjacent to the John Wayne Marina. Known as the “Sequim Bay West Neighborhood”, it’s a 600 home project modeled after Seabrook, a resort startup community on the Washington coast in Grays Harbor County that’s grown to 600 homes in the past 20 years.  Seabrook CEO Casey Roloff told the gathering yesterday the project focuses on creating a walkable community with commercial retail sites surrounded by relatively dense residential properties with parks and open spaces.

“And now a lot of people are realizing with climate change, with the environment, that we need to build more compact walk able places. So the reality when you live in a walkable community, 70 percent of our vehicle trips are cut out of our lives because those places we would normally drive our car to now we’re walking to those places. So, again, compact walkable places they’re good for people, they’re good for the environment and it’s a smarter way to grow into the future.”

He says Monday's gathering was the third public meeting they’ve held about the project.

“This meeting tonight is actually mandated by the City of Sequim. One of the requirements to make an application is to have public meetings. We did our first two public meetings back in April. And that’s because we want to get out in front of it, we want to hear to hear questions. We want to hear concerns and those of you that were at that meeting hopefully know that we’ve been proactive and again, trying to answer your questions.”

Questions raised at Monday’s meeting ranged from concerns about availability of water, traffic congestion and who will be paying for sewer and water infrastructure costs. He said one of the requirements of the city is doing a complete traffic study before the final application can be turned in and they are still awaiting that. Anyone with additional questions or comments is encourage too submit those online at sequiminfo@seabrookwa.com

A Sequim resident was airlifted to the burn unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after being injured when fire destroyed a fifth-wheel trailer where he was living in a small RV park at 1192 Taylor Cut-Off Road just after noon Friday.

Crews from Clallam County Fire District #3, responding to reports of a structure fire in an RV just after noon Friday, arrived to find a fully involved fire and neighbors tending to a person lying on the ground nearby. Paramedics determined that a Life Flight helicopter would be needed to transport the victim to the burn center at Harborview.  The fire was quickly knocked down. Additional units and volunteer firefighters assisted with scene control, backup, and cleanup efforts.

Battalion Chief Chris Turner says the 35’ Companion Fifth Wheel and its contents were a total loss. Overall, approximately 1,100 gallons of water were used to extinguish the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Olympic Ambulance and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife also provided assistance.