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Newspaper Archive of
The Goldendale Sentinel
Goldendale , Washington
March 8, 2017     The Goldendale Sentinel
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March 8, 2017
 
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1.6 2025 Z-118 sma~ Town papers, Inc 217 West cota St she~tOn WA 98584-2263 Jess ACTIVE SHOOTER EXERCISE: Tom Fdzgibbons, center in each picture, played the bad guy in Saturday's active shooter exercise at the Goldendale Middle School. Left to right: bad guy gets cornered, bad guy raises weapon, bad guy gets shot (see shell casing in the air in far right picture). • • • • JESS MACINK0 NEWS EDITOR Saturday, officers respond- ing to Goldendale Middle School (GMS) faced a unique threat: Animal Control Offi- cer Tom Fitzgibbons, wield- ing a plastic knife. The par- ticipating officers were armed with "sim gun" rifles and pistols, nearly identical to their duty weapons except that these fired detergent paint pellets instead of live rounds. Fitzgibbons, subject to multiple barrages, was dressed for the occasion in a paintball mask and puffy down vest. This marked the 10th year of the Goldendale Police De- partment (GPD) active shoot- er drill. The drill ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and comprised three scenarios, with officers responding individually and in teams of two and three. Each officer from participat- ing agencies (GPD, Klickitat County Emergency Manage- ment, and the parks depart- ment) ran through every sce- nario. GMS students and Princi- pal Dave Barta participated, playing victims and hostages. The mood was sur- prisingly upbeat--officers were charged with adrena- line and the kids seemed to enjoy taking part. Assessment vs. speed Police Chief Reggie Bartkowski said procedure regarding active shooters See Drill, Page 11 ¢ 19 RODGER NICHOLS FoR THE SENTINEL Goldendale City residents will see giant spiders on Ekone Field this summer. Not real spiders, thank good- ness. That's the name mem- bers of a Goldendale High School class chose for one of the two designs they submit- ted to the Goldendale City Council for bike racks at Ekone Park at Monday night's council meeting. Goldendale instructor Mike Merfield said that he had his Introduction to Engineering class provide a number of de- signs, with two suggested forms, and planned to have the metal fabrication class in the agricultural department do the construction. He pre- sented the designs in con- junction with senior Nadia Smith, who is the Washing- ton State President of the Technology Students Associ- ation. Councilors chose the de- sign because it can hold eight bikes, one on each side of each of the four "legs." A flat central portion would allow a space to put in a plant con- See City, Page 11 / !: ~i~iii~~ !i~!i i ii~! b day at Sod- i Restaurant Saturday. CONTRIBUTED: UNION CYLISTE INTERNATIONALE PARK WITH ITS UPS AND DOWNS: 3D rendering of a BMX park like the one proposed for Railroad Avenue. JESS MACINKO NEW LIFE?: The old Mount Adams Care Center building at 216 Simcoe Drive. The building has been city property since 2012. JESS MACINK0 NEWS EDITOR Though a formal decision won't be made until next week, the mood at Monday night's city council work- shop was all but unanimous: helping veterans is good, but Goodnoe Station represents a greater economic opportu- nity for Goldendale. The workshop convened after the regular council meeting to discuss proposals for the purchase and develop- ment of the former site of the Mount Adams Care Cen-. ter. Two proposals--one from the Veterans Recreation and Rehabilitation Center, one from Goodnoe Station Devel- opment, LLC--were present- ed at a special meeting of the council Tuesday, Feb. 28. The 4 March 6 workshop was held to allow further assessment of the proposals, which will then be decided upon at an- other special council meet- ing on Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. The property, located at 216 Simcoe Drive, was ac- quired by the city in 2012. The building has a number of issues, most notably the pres- ence of asbestos that would take an estimated $200,00(O $250,000 to abate. A request for proposals issued in Janu- ary states the city's desire "to dispose of the property to an entity capable of [developing the site in a way] that will provide the most economic benefit to the community" That anticipated benefit is listed as 45 percent of the val- uation criteria, the single largest consideration. The Veterans Recreation and Rehabilitation Center, a non-profit dedicated to veter- ans support services, propos- es to renovate the building to house veterans in career training programs, specifi- cally culinary and Automo- tive Service Excellence (ASE) certification. The Cen- ter estimates they would em- ploy at least 12 local subcon- tractors in the renovation and 28 personnel for facility operations. Additionally, they envision the program will foster local veteran-run businesses, which would cre- ate additional job opportuni- ties for the community. Goodnoe Station Develop- ment, a local development firm whose members are re- sponsible for the 2012 Mary- hill Museum expansion, pro- poses SOGO: a mixed-use project in southern Golden- dale. The two-phase project would provide housing for approximately 200 employees at an anticipated vineyard in the Goodnoe Hills area east of Goldendale. GSD cites the advantage of housing em- ployees in an established city as opposed to the sparsely populated vineyard site; con- versely, they expect the in- flux of 200 employees and their families will add to Goldendale's tax base and otherwise benefit the local economy. Wine and taxes Mayor Michael Canon stressed that SOGO repre- sents a unique opportunity to bring the wine industry closer to Goldendale. "SOGO means not just workers mov- ing to town, but vineyards," he said, and with the vine- yards secondary industries like tourism and food pro- duction. According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management, the total economic impact of wine and related activities grew from $3.5 billion in 2009 to $4.8 billion in 2013. Council member Carmen Knopes expressed confidence in the proposed Goodnoe Hills vineyard, citing a 50- year water supply agreement between KPUD and Goodnoe Station for the project. She also referred to estimates highlighting the difference in revenue to the city Com- bining property taxes, build- ing permits, and annual water and sewer fees, SOGO See Building, Page 11 JESS MACINK0 NEWS EDITOR The Feb. 21 city council meeting brought several dreams and schemes a little closer to reality, not the least of which is a proposed BMX park. The park, brainchild of Brock Warrener, received the city's blessing in a tenta- tive allocation of land on Railroad Avenue. Now, it must be approved by area residents. BMX stands for bicycle motocross, which is just what it sounds like: a non- motorized version of dirt- bike track racing. Warrener describes the proposed park as a 1000-foot track with four straightaways and three banked corners, folded into an area roughly 195 by 525 feet. The track, which fea- tures jumps and other obsta- cles, will be wide enough for eight people to safely race side by side. Safety is a key goal for the park, as is encouraging exer- cise and community activity. Warrener describes BMX as a family sport, suitable for ages "two to 102." The track will have some- thing for all skill levels, War- rener says. "This is a sport where you can challenge yourself every single day to get better." Though the track should accommodate any type of bike, Warrener says it is ide- ally suited for racing bikes in the 20- 24 inch tire range. Down the road, Warrener plans to start a team and put on a 10-week race series this summer, then continue with seasonal races. Long term, he would like to get the track certified with the American Bicycle Associa- tion and USA BMX. Certi- fied tracks are eligible to host state races; Warrener estimates a state race could draw upwards of 300 com- petitors for a single week- end, not to mention specta- tors. What's next? Before the park becomes a reality, the proposal must be assessed and presented for a public hearing and ap- peal period. Warrener hopes the residents of Railroad Avenue will consider the park an unobtrusive pres- ence, a fun and safe activity for local youth and a poten- tial tourist draw. The park will be closed to motorized vehicles and will be open for daytime use only. Addition- ally, because the track will be made entirely of dirt, it See BMX, Page 11