June 26, 2013 - Goldendale Sentinel

A2 — JUNE 26, 2013PUD appealing court rulingCase pits KPUD vs DNR over 2010 fireSVERRE BAKKEGORGE NEWS REPORTSPublic Utility District No.1 of Klickitat County is appealinga Klickitat CountySuperior Court ruling denyingits motion to dismiss a$1.6 million fire cost recoveryclaim filed by the state Departmentof Natural Resources.Judge Brian Altman issuedan oral ruling againstKlickitat PUD (KPUD) onJune 6. Altman, who heardoral arguments in the matteron May 21, also accepted noticefrom KPUD that it intendedto appeal his decision.Daniel W. Short, aSpokane attorney representingKPUD in the matter, saidon June 11 an order denyingKPUD’s motion to dismissthe state’s complaint will bepresented to and signed byJudge Altman “within aweek or two and then filed inKlickitat County SuperiorCourt.”Within 30 days thereafter,Short continued, KPUD willbe filing a notice of discretionaryreview with DivisionIII of the state Court of Appealsin Spokane. Followingsubmission of briefs byKPUD and the state, the appellatecourt will advise theparties if discretionary reviewis granted or denied.“We believe this processmay take two to threemonths” if the Court of Appealsaccepts discretionaryreview, Short said. “My guessis briefs will be filed in lateJuly or early August.”In the meantime, KPUD officialsmaintain the UtilityDistrict is/was not negligentfor the Old Highway 8 Fire ofAugust 2010 that ignited froma ground spark after a stemof a double-topped ponderosapine tore down KPUD powerlines at 151 Old Hwy 8 in highwinds, and is exempt by lawfrom claims filed by anothergovernmental entity.Michael J. Rollinger, theassistant attorney generalrepresenting the DNR in itsattempt to collect costs resultingfrom the Old Highway8 Fire, emphasized thetime and scheduling estimatesmade by Short areonly estimates. “Estimatescan vary considerably basedupon a number of factors, includingthe appellate court’s,counsel availability, and soforth,” he noted.As for settlement talks betweenthe parties, Short andRollinger declined to addressthe question. Said Short,“The case is in the midst oflitigation and therefore wedon’t have any comment.”Short gave the same answerfor questions about howmuch insurance coverageKPUD carries and what itsclaim deductible is, andwhether any settlement willaffect KPUD customer rates.Rollinger told The Enterpriselast month that DNRtypically resolves its fire costrecovery claims without theneed to file a lawsuit.“In the past 10-plus years Ihave been representing DNRin its fire cost recoveryclaims, I have only had to filelawsuits on five occasionsthat I can recall,” Rollingersaid. “All of the lawsuitswere resolved prior to trialthrough negotiated settlements,”including one hefiled against a PUD.GOLDENDALE, WASHINGTONStabbing death in Lyle hasVancouver gang connectionA 52 year old Vancouver man died of stab wounds inflictedover the weekend in what is believed to be a gang related incident.According to the Klickitat County Sheriff ’s Office(KCSO) Richard T. Noblit was transported to Skyline Hospitalby ambulance after deputies were called to Lyle Point around4:35 a.m. on June 23, for an altercation between two men.Noblit was pronounced dead at the hospital.Detectives believed that the main suspect in the case,Michael A. Bradley Jr., 28, fled the location on foot and later reportedto Skyline Hospital for treatment of injuries sustainedin the altercation. Bradley is believed to reside in the Portland/Vancouverarea. A 15 year old male from Tigard, Ore.,was also arrested for intimidating a witness following the stabbing.The case is still under investigation. KCSO asks anyonewith information related to the incident to contact the Sheriff’s office or call the crime tip line at (877) 288-1926.Man found dead atKlickitat River campKlickitat County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to thereport of a dead man at a campground along SR 142, five milesnorth of Lyle. Nearby campers had noticed a lack of activityat a camp site that was set near the shrubs in the far south endof the campground and that a dog was unattended at the site.One of the campers investigated on the morning of June 21and found a man who appeared to have died inside the tent.The camper called the Sheriff ’s Office and tended to thedog.The man was later identified as 50 year old Vincent L.Coonts, address not given. Cause of death has not been confirmedby the Clark County Medical Examiner, however investigatorsbelieve Coonts may have taken his own life anddrug paraphernalia was apparent in the tent. The dog wastaken to the animal shelter in Goldendale.Prosecutor hires new attorneyLOU MARZELESHEAD ’EM UP. MOVE ’EM OUT: Some 40 Smart cars came to Stonehenge Memorial Monument Sunday, inan event organized by the Smart car dealership in Portland and a lot of Smart fans. The cars were designedby Swatch, the watch company, and are made by Mercedes. They get favorable gas mileage, and pass stringentsafety tests. They come in several colors and styles, including convertibles, but though some ask aboutit, none are designed to look like a Fisher-Price toy.The Prosecuting Attorney’sOffice has announcedthe addition of an attorney. Ina press release issued on Monday,Prosecuting AttorneyLori Lyn Hoctor wrote thatBrian Aaron, a licensed HoodRiver attorney with 23 yearsof experience, is joining heroffice. According to Hoctor,Aaron, a resident of Lyle, recentlypassed the WashingtonState Bar.“Mr. Aaron brings an impressivedepth of experienceconsistent with this administration’spromise to increasecompetency, reduce outsourcing,and maintain confidentiality,”said Hoctor.The release went on to say,“These considerations, basedon Mr. Aaron’s proven trackrecord, elevated him above afield of superbly qualifiedcandidates.”Beef producers helpfight hunger withprotein for the needyDALLAS SMITHREPORTERThis is the third year thatthe Klickitat County Cattlemenand Cattlewomen in associationwith Beef Harvestout of Spokane have broughtthe mobile food bank toKlickitat County. The Cattlemenand Cattlewomen workto raise money for the eventwhich is matched by thestate association.Some of the money cattlemenand cattlewomen raisecomes through the auctionof a cow. Buyers repeatedlyturn the cow back and it isresold four or five times withall of the money going towardsthis program. Theprogram’s goal is to helpfeed people who normallycan’t afford to get proteinand other groceries.Beef producers aroundthe county participate in theprogram and many volunteerto help on distributionday.One of those who participatesin the program is BradCameron, president of theKlickitat County Cattlemen.“It’s a good deal,” saysCameron. “Our countieshave been donating cash foryears, but there’s plenty ofneedy people here, so wemake a stop in this town, inthis county.”When asked what hethought the best part of theprogram was, he said that hethought the best part wasthat it shows that peoplecare, it’s a good program,and he’s very supportive ofit.The large turnout at themobile food bank showedthat there is a need and thatpeople in Klickitat Countydo care. Local volunteerssupplied some of the producein addition to the beef,and helped with the distribution.It was evidence of thekindness and caring attitudeof people in this area.Postal Service still searching for savingsDALLAS SMITHREPORTERAccording to GoldendalePostmaster Jim Hamilton,the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)tried to change from six deliverydays to five delivery daysbut rescinded their proposal.Congress dictated there hadto be six delivery days, so theservice is looking for differentways to save money. (TheUSPS continues to lose between$1.6 and $1.9 billionevery year.)The USPS did find a possiblesolution in the form of apre-funding savings accountthat is in place to pay for themedical costs of retirees. IfCongress allows the service tostop paying into the fund orpay a smaller amount, itwould be able to break even.The account has approximately$60 billion in it. If theUSPS went without this burdenfor a while and became financiallystable, it would beable to contribute to the fundagain.In terms of revenue, flatrate priority mail has increasedby five percent in thelast five years, while advertisements,first class letters, andperiodicals are still declining.Goldendale belongs to thePortland district, and Hamiltonpoints out that one waythey’ve been saving money isby consolidating mail processingplants. What used tobe processed in Salem is nowbeing processed in Portland.Originally the USPS wasplanning on closing small offices,but instead it just reducedthe office hours fromeight to either four or sixhours. Places in KlickitatCounty that have been affectedinclude Dallesport andKlickitat. Offices that plan toreduce their hours next includeAppleton and Husum.The reduction depends on thesize of the office.The Goldendale-Centervilleoffice makes around4,100 deliveries to post officeboxes and personal mailboxesand delivers between 2,500and 3,000 parcels a week. Theoffice also makes between2,200 and 2,600 window transactionsweekly. The Goldendale-Centervilleoffice isbeing affected by cost savingsmeasures as well—one of themost prominent effects on theAPPLETON POST OFFICEoffice was the loss of a clerk’sposition at the end of April.There may be more changesto come.FILE PHOTO