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Sequim: Hunting permits to be issued on popular elk herd Cherished by some, castigated by others, Sequim's elk herd is quite literally under fire. Or, it will be soon. Eighty archery permits -- specifically targeted at the herd -- will be distributed to sport hunters for seasons beginning in September and running through the end of the year. Another 60 modern firearm permits, also aimed at the herd, will be drawn for October through February hunts. All those hunts -- for any elk -- are set to take place in what the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife defines as Elk Area No. 6071. That thumbprint-shaped chunk of land sits between Jimmycomelately Creek and the Dungeness River (the state rules pamphlet is incorrect). It incorporates sections of Game Management Units 621 and 624, the Olympic and Coyle areas. The 140 total permits is a dramatic increase over the 18 distributed last year, when hunts did not include sections of the Coyle Unit (north of U.S. Highway 101) and no archery-only permits were drawn. ``If you do the arithmetic, it could end up annihilating the herd,'' Will Purser, commissioner for Clallam County Public Utility District No. 1 and a Sequim-area resident, told me Tuesday. ``We just think that it could eliminate the elk or make the elk less than a viable herd,'' Valerie Holland, chairwoman of the Sequim Elk Habitat Committee, added Wednesday. ``That would be just a disaster.'' Leland: Another cougar attack hurts cow2003-07-17 by JIM MANDERS LELAND -- A cow suffered serious facial cuts during an attack by a cougar near Lake Leland, marking the second time farm animals have been targeted by one or more cougars in the past week. Pat Yarr, who raises beef cattle on Boulton Road about five miles north of Quilcene, said the 6-year-old brood cow was cut around its mouth and eyes during the attack he believes happened Saturday. ``It tore her up pretty good,'' Yarr said of the attack. On Sunday night, a horse was attacked by a cougar which had apparently been stalking a fawn on a farm a little more than a mile away. Brenda Bartlett, the horse's owner, said her animal used its front hooves to chase away the cougar. The horse was uninjured. Clallam lacks means to handle communicable diseases and public
health threats, report says The Clallam County Health Department lacks the staffing and resources to develop formal surveillance and reporting systems for communicable disease investigations, responses to disease outbreaks and public health threats. So states the county Department of Health and Human Services 2002 annual report, which department leaders this week presented to county commissioners acting as the Board of Health. The presentation came during a joint meeting of the commissioners and the county's Public Health Advisory Committee. The presentation led the Board of Health to direct the advisory committee to set priorities for the health department. ``We've under-invested in the whole system, and in particular Clallam County shows where areas are understaffed,'' Dr. Tom Locke said of the Health and Human Services departments, which have 26 full-time equivalent positions, including full- and part-time staff members. Port Angeles: City Council gets no assurances about graving yard PORT ANGELES -- The state Department of Transportation graving yard proposed for 23 waterfront acres is being built for the sole purpose of refurbishing the Hood Canal Bridge, the City Council was told. What else the facility might be used for is ``pure speculation,'' said Jerry Moore, project manager from Transportation's Port Angeles office. ``Can you reassure us we won't have a 23-acre basketball court?'' asked City Councilman Larry Williams. Moore said the graving yard was just one element of the entire Hood Canal Bridge project, albeit an expensive one. The project includes building the Port Angeles graving yard -- big enough to hold five Navy battleships side by side -- then using it to build pontoons and concrete anchors for the eastern half replacement of the 42-year-old Hood Canal Bridge, which links Jefferson and Kitsap counties. An eight-week closure is planned beginning in May 2006 to install the new portion of the 1.5-mile floating bridge. Port Angeles: City manager proposes Gateway funding strategy PORT ANGELES -- City Manager Michael Quinn has proposed a funding plan for the $11.5 million International Gateway Transportation Center and related improvements. Quinn's plan relies upon deferring two projects totaling $1 million and raising $220,000 a year in city taxes and fees. That would finance $2.7 million for 20 years at 5.5 percent, he told the City Council late Tuesday evening. ``It's still a challenge,'' Quinn said. ``We need to keep moving forward. We are halfway there.'' The Gateway Center is an ambitious hub for buses, car rentals, underground parking and other transportation services in a beautified area roughly bounded by Front Street and Railroad Avenue at Lincoln Street. Quinn said he would rather underestimate revenues and find that the city has more money than planned, rather than overestimate revenues and come up short. |