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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
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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