July 19, 2007 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 1 (1 of 44 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
July 19, 2007 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
SHELTON-
MASON COUNTY
JOURNAL
f Thursday, July 19, 2007 121st Year m Number 29 5 Sections m 44 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington 75 cents
00elfair woman'S00o00 00,00:body found with speclal needs students hangingwa
,.e 00oo- m m00r00hmaonro00athw Sh o
"She had a passion for working leagues for making lasting connec-
investigation by the coroner and graduated from Central Wash- with those kids in need and she tions with special-needs children
ased the cause of death for a
ed teacher from Belfair who
found dead hanging from a
on Monday with her feet still
lc_hing the ground.
ason County Coroner Wes
kWell said an autopsy per-
dc Tuesday afternoon on
-f t dy of Patti Rothenberg, 55,
, d that Rothenberg died from
bral anoxia as a result of
ging
.fficials say Rothenberg's body
found near her residence in
Ridge Heights by a family
sheriffs office.
DEAN BYRD, chief deputy of
operations for the Mason County
Sheriffs Office, says investigators
are "systematically interviewing
people in hopes of establishing the
manner of death."
Rothenberg was reported miss-
ing on Sunday, July 15, and post-
ers were distributed throughout
the North Mason area in an effort
to locate her.
Rothenberg grew up in Bremer-
ington University and began her
teaching career in Kennewick.
Rothenberg was a longtime
special-education teacher for the
North Mason School District and
also taught regular course work
there. She began her teaching ca-
reer at North Mason High School
in 1980 and retired from Hawkins
Middle School in 2002. Following
her retirement from the school
district, Rothenberg went to work
at Kitsap Mental Health Services'
Madrona House, again working
was really good at it," said her son,
Jeff. "She was great with kids and
adults with special needs."
ROTHENBERG'S DEATH
had a devastating impact on her
former colleagues at the North
Mason School District, who de-
scribed her as extremely friendly
and cheerful with a great sense of
humor.
Rothenberg was a popular
teacher and had a flair for style
when it came to art, decor and
and other classroom teachers.
In addition to her work, family
members say Rothenberg was an
avid gardener, enjoyed traveling,
was a great interior designer, en-
joyed crafts and loved being near
the water.
A memorial service for her will
be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July
28, at the Belfair Community Bap-
tist Church.
Arrangements are under the di-
rection of McComb Funeral Home
in Shelton.
...........
PROUD FATHER Clyde Rau of Shelton pins the nevk insignia to the
lapel of his son, Lieutenant Colonel Matt Rau, during a Marine promo-
i tion ceremony July 2 on the East Coast.
0000ur00nes promote Shelton
|tad to lieutenant colonel
.Iatt Rau, a 1982 graduate of
!lton High School, was pro-
.d to lieutenant colonel by the
ride Corps at a ceremony in
rth Carolina on July 2.
u, son of Clyde Rau of Shel-
arid the late Sonja Rau, was
Oted by Major General Den-
ejlik, commander ofU.S. Ma-
eor s es
. p Forc , Specml Opera-
COmmand, at Camp Lejeune
Jacksonville. Highlights of his
r/de career in intelligence have
[led deployments to Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Afghanistan and attended the Intelligence Offi-
Iraq. cers Course at Navy Marine In-
Rau attended Officer Candi- .telligence Training Center. Upon
date School after graduating from graduating there with distinction,
the University of Oregon in 1991 he served as the ground intel-
and was commissioned as a Ma- ligence officer in the Air Combat
rine second lieutenant in August Intelligence Branch of 3rd Marine
Aircraft Wing G-2. Upon comple-
of that year. With his latest pro-
motion, he received a transfer and tion of the Weapons Tactics In-
will be working out of Washington, structors Course at Marine Corps
D.C., for the next three years. Air Station Yuma, he joined Ma-
rine Aircraft Group 16 at the Ma-
AFTER COMPLETING the rine air station at Tustin, Califor-
basic officer school in 1991, Rau (Please turn to page 3.)
00ire starts in Shelton Valley
and blackens 25 acres
re that started in a mowed some firefighters were on the though the fire threatened hves
and Clallam counties last that the cause of the fire involved are a main feeder serving sever-
,Sda evening, the machine cutting the hay," al counties. PUD 3 worked with
'rews were dispatched to the Salzer said. Bonneville Power to handle the
around 3 p.m. Thursday and Wind-driven, the fire spread situation.
and eventually split, a portion Joel Myer, PUD 3 spokesman,
heading north under the power- said the fire threatened the four
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII[IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlll lines, parallel to Highway 101, BPA transmission lines, offi-
pJ00n th--e inside and a portion heading east, to- cials, worried that smoke from
ward West Deegan Road and the the blaze could cause the lines
highway. There are homes on to begin arcing, decided to shut
" iths ........................ ...... 18 Deegan Road. down two of the four lines at 5
I lsifleds ....... . ['i.
, ................ 32 Salzer said some residents P'm'Thursday'whileflrefighting
unity Calendar ....... 17 evacuated their homes, removing efforts were going on. The lines
SWord ........................... 37 animals from thei r properties in were switched back on by 7:30
the process, that evening.
ttainment, Dining ..... 30 When Salzer left the scene at There were between 60 and
alth Journal ................. 18 8 p.m. Thursday, the north-burn- 80 flrefighters from a number of
oura
t al of Record ........... ;. 25 ing fire was under control. Crews departments, including fire dis-
rQitaries .... ................. 140 were on the scene of the east- tricts4,6, 11, 13, 16, SheltonFire
biaions, Letters ................. heading fire all night. Department, Thurston County
l t8 ................................... 21 Salzer said that while the fire Fire District 13 (Griffin) and the
][s ............................... 27 was headed toward West Deegan Washington State Department of
iather ........................... 12 Road, it never crossed it. And of Natural Resources. Some crews
Illlllll,llll,l,llll;liiHlllll,miHlll,liHl,,i,ill,i the homes and people there, he worked all weekend, making sure
said, "To my understanding, they hot spots didn't flare up.
l[Jl!l! [!]!![ll!I!!I!I!IuII were never endangered." Also, a helicopter from the
Salzer notes that there were DNR attacked the fire with a
no injuries reported and no re- large bucketofwaterdrawnfrom
2 port of structural damage even Lake Isabella.
FAA official
warns port
about drags
By JEFF GREEN
The future of drag racing at
Sanderson Field may be in jeop-
ardy despite two successful week-
ends of racing there earlier this
month.
In a letter dated July 10 to
Bob Robinson, managing direc-
tor of the Port of Shelton, an of-
ficial with the Federal Aviation
Administration warned the port
may risk losing the federal agen-
cy's future approval for the non-
aviation activity and put grant
funding for the local airport in
question.
"We would caution you from
entering into any arrangement
that would give the community
an expectation that racing events
can always take place on the air-
port," Jeffrey W. Winter, a civil
engineer with the FAA's Wash-
ington Section, wrote in an e-mail
message to Robinson on June 11,
which was reiterated in Winter's
July 10 letter.
"We have allowed interim uses
of closed runways for non-avia-
tion uses, including drag racing,
provided we can review and ap-
prove the proposed arrangement,"
Winter's letter read.
THE RACING should go in the
direction away from the airport's
operational area, the federal offi-
cial wrote, adding that the area
adjacent to the operational area
should be fenced to keep vehicles
and people out, and the fencing
should be outside the object-free
area for the airport taxiway.
Winter wrote that Robinson
had not responded to his June 11
e-mail. He phoned Robinson after
hearing on Friday, July 6, that
racing was scheduled for that
weekend and the next.
"You said the racing would be
heading toward the runway area,
though we had asked that it go
the other way. According to re-
ports we heard about the event
last weekend (July 7 and 8), one
car went through some hay bales,
which were put just before the
parallel taxiway," Winter wrote.
"Apparently they (race spon-
sors) had removed the perimeter
fencing, which crossed the closed
runway, but no other fencing or
barriers were used except these
hay bales. More is needed to keep
the race cars and unauthorized
persons from getting into the air-
craft operational areas."
IT IS APPARENT from news-
paper coverage and the turnout
that the community may easily
develop an expectation that rac-
ing on airport property will con-
tinue, Winter noted.
"It is important to establish the
operating rules that protect the
aircraft oPerational areas during
an event, rather than giving the
operators the impression they can
do what they want to do or that the
public expects the event to look a
certain way, which may be unsafe
for the airport," Winter wrote. "It
is also important that the airport
receive appropriate revenue for
the use of the ground.
"Unless you can show us an op-
erational plan for these events in
advance that we can accept, you
are risking losing our approval
for these non-aviation activities.
This could lead to non-compli-
ance with the grant and surplus
property obligations and thus put
future grant funding in question
for projects you wish to do," Win-
ter wrote.
Winter's concerns were set off
by an e-mail that Robinson sent
him on June 5 about drag racing
at the airport.
"WE HAVE BEEN under some
local pressure to facilitate, to a
greater extent, drag racing activ-
ity on the inactive runway here at
Sanderson Field," Robinson wrote.
"To date, our commissioners have
resisted this pressure as it relates
to structural modifications to the
runway and to granting a long-
term lease for the purpose of drag
racing. They currently advocate,
somewhat hesitantly, dealing
with (the) issue on an occasional
event basis.
"We are very aware of our pri-
mary mission, aviation, and of the
deed restrictions that exist," Rob-
inson wrote.
As the port's managing direc-
tor, he wrote he needed some con-
(Please turn to page 2.)
Park conunents sought
Local residents are invited to
express their preferences for the
design and uses of the county's
new park on Oakland Bay at a
workshop next week.
The Mason County Parks and
Trails Department and the Capi-
tol Land Trust will conduct the
public workshop starting at 6 p.m.
on Wednesday, July 25, at Memo-
rial Hall in Shelton, Second and
Franklin streets.
Officials hope the public will
provide the county and land trust
with information regarding the
future planning and usage of Oak-
land Bay Historical County Park.
The Capitol Land Trust and the
county partnered to purchase the
80-acre park in 2005. The county
has retained the services of Rob-
ert Droll, Landscape Architect to
prepare a master site plan for the
park.
Oakland Bay Historical Park
is accessed from Agate Road. It is
primarily undeveloped with the
exception of a former homestead
with a house built in the early
1900s. The park provides won-
derful views of Oakland Bay, and
Melaney Creek meanders through
the property.
Anyone with questions about
the Oakland Bay Park public
workshop may contact John Ke-
ates at Mason County Parks,
42%9670, Extension 669, or at:
johnk@co.muon.wa.us by e-
mail.
SHELTON-
MASON COUNTY
JOURNAL
f Thursday, July 19, 2007 121st Year m Number 29 5 Sections m 44 Pages Published in Shelton, Washington 75 cents
00elfair woman'S00o00 00,00:body found with speclal needs students hangingwa
,.e 00oo- m m00r00hmaonro00athw Sh o
"She had a passion for working leagues for making lasting connec-
investigation by the coroner and graduated from Central Wash- with those kids in need and she tions with special-needs children
ased the cause of death for a
ed teacher from Belfair who
found dead hanging from a
on Monday with her feet still
lc_hing the ground.
ason County Coroner Wes
kWell said an autopsy per-
dc Tuesday afternoon on
-f t dy of Patti Rothenberg, 55,
, d that Rothenberg died from
bral anoxia as a result of
ging
.fficials say Rothenberg's body
found near her residence in
Ridge Heights by a family
sheriffs office.
DEAN BYRD, chief deputy of
operations for the Mason County
Sheriffs Office, says investigators
are "systematically interviewing
people in hopes of establishing the
manner of death."
Rothenberg was reported miss-
ing on Sunday, July 15, and post-
ers were distributed throughout
the North Mason area in an effort
to locate her.
Rothenberg grew up in Bremer-
ington University and began her
teaching career in Kennewick.
Rothenberg was a longtime
special-education teacher for the
North Mason School District and
also taught regular course work
there. She began her teaching ca-
reer at North Mason High School
in 1980 and retired from Hawkins
Middle School in 2002. Following
her retirement from the school
district, Rothenberg went to work
at Kitsap Mental Health Services'
Madrona House, again working
was really good at it," said her son,
Jeff. "She was great with kids and
adults with special needs."
ROTHENBERG'S DEATH
had a devastating impact on her
former colleagues at the North
Mason School District, who de-
scribed her as extremely friendly
and cheerful with a great sense of
humor.
Rothenberg was a popular
teacher and had a flair for style
when it came to art, decor and
and other classroom teachers.
In addition to her work, family
members say Rothenberg was an
avid gardener, enjoyed traveling,
was a great interior designer, en-
joyed crafts and loved being near
the water.
A memorial service for her will
be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July
28, at the Belfair Community Bap-
tist Church.
Arrangements are under the di-
rection of McComb Funeral Home
in Shelton.
...........
PROUD FATHER Clyde Rau of Shelton pins the nevk insignia to the
lapel of his son, Lieutenant Colonel Matt Rau, during a Marine promo-
i tion ceremony July 2 on the East Coast.
0000ur00nes promote Shelton
|tad to lieutenant colonel
.Iatt Rau, a 1982 graduate of
!lton High School, was pro-
.d to lieutenant colonel by the
ride Corps at a ceremony in
rth Carolina on July 2.
u, son of Clyde Rau of Shel-
arid the late Sonja Rau, was
Oted by Major General Den-
ejlik, commander ofU.S. Ma-
eor s es
. p Forc , Specml Opera-
COmmand, at Camp Lejeune
Jacksonville. Highlights of his
r/de career in intelligence have
[led deployments to Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Afghanistan and attended the Intelligence Offi-
Iraq. cers Course at Navy Marine In-
Rau attended Officer Candi- .telligence Training Center. Upon
date School after graduating from graduating there with distinction,
the University of Oregon in 1991 he served as the ground intel-
and was commissioned as a Ma- ligence officer in the Air Combat
rine second lieutenant in August Intelligence Branch of 3rd Marine
Aircraft Wing G-2. Upon comple-
of that year. With his latest pro-
motion, he received a transfer and tion of the Weapons Tactics In-
will be working out of Washington, structors Course at Marine Corps
D.C., for the next three years. Air Station Yuma, he joined Ma-
rine Aircraft Group 16 at the Ma-
AFTER COMPLETING the rine air station at Tustin, Califor-
basic officer school in 1991, Rau (Please turn to page 3.)
00ire starts in Shelton Valley
and blackens 25 acres
re that started in a mowed some firefighters were on the though the fire threatened hves
and Clallam counties last that the cause of the fire involved are a main feeder serving sever-
,Sda evening, the machine cutting the hay," al counties. PUD 3 worked with
'rews were dispatched to the Salzer said. Bonneville Power to handle the
around 3 p.m. Thursday and Wind-driven, the fire spread situation.
and eventually split, a portion Joel Myer, PUD 3 spokesman,
heading north under the power- said the fire threatened the four
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII[IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlll lines, parallel to Highway 101, BPA transmission lines, offi-
pJ00n th--e inside and a portion heading east, to- cials, worried that smoke from
ward West Deegan Road and the the blaze could cause the lines
highway. There are homes on to begin arcing, decided to shut
" iths ........................ ...... 18 Deegan Road. down two of the four lines at 5
I lsifleds ....... . ['i.
, ................ 32 Salzer said some residents P'm'Thursday'whileflrefighting
unity Calendar ....... 17 evacuated their homes, removing efforts were going on. The lines
SWord ........................... 37 animals from thei r properties in were switched back on by 7:30
the process, that evening.
ttainment, Dining ..... 30 When Salzer left the scene at There were between 60 and
alth Journal ................. 18 8 p.m. Thursday, the north-burn- 80 flrefighters from a number of
oura
t al of Record ........... ;. 25 ing fire was under control. Crews departments, including fire dis-
rQitaries .... ................. 140 were on the scene of the east- tricts4,6, 11, 13, 16, SheltonFire
biaions, Letters ................. heading fire all night. Department, Thurston County
l t8 ................................... 21 Salzer said that while the fire Fire District 13 (Griffin) and the
][s ............................... 27 was headed toward West Deegan Washington State Department of
iather ........................... 12 Road, it never crossed it. And of Natural Resources. Some crews
Illlllll,llll,l,llll;liiHlllll,miHlll,liHl,,i,ill,i the homes and people there, he worked all weekend, making sure
said, "To my understanding, they hot spots didn't flare up.
l[Jl!l! [!]!![ll!I!!I!I!IuII were never endangered." Also, a helicopter from the
Salzer notes that there were DNR attacked the fire with a
no injuries reported and no re- large bucketofwaterdrawnfrom
2 port of structural damage even Lake Isabella.
FAA official
warns port
about drags
By JEFF GREEN
The future of drag racing at
Sanderson Field may be in jeop-
ardy despite two successful week-
ends of racing there earlier this
month.
In a letter dated July 10 to
Bob Robinson, managing direc-
tor of the Port of Shelton, an of-
ficial with the Federal Aviation
Administration warned the port
may risk losing the federal agen-
cy's future approval for the non-
aviation activity and put grant
funding for the local airport in
question.
"We would caution you from
entering into any arrangement
that would give the community
an expectation that racing events
can always take place on the air-
port," Jeffrey W. Winter, a civil
engineer with the FAA's Wash-
ington Section, wrote in an e-mail
message to Robinson on June 11,
which was reiterated in Winter's
July 10 letter.
"We have allowed interim uses
of closed runways for non-avia-
tion uses, including drag racing,
provided we can review and ap-
prove the proposed arrangement,"
Winter's letter read.
THE RACING should go in the
direction away from the airport's
operational area, the federal offi-
cial wrote, adding that the area
adjacent to the operational area
should be fenced to keep vehicles
and people out, and the fencing
should be outside the object-free
area for the airport taxiway.
Winter wrote that Robinson
had not responded to his June 11
e-mail. He phoned Robinson after
hearing on Friday, July 6, that
racing was scheduled for that
weekend and the next.
"You said the racing would be
heading toward the runway area,
though we had asked that it go
the other way. According to re-
ports we heard about the event
last weekend (July 7 and 8), one
car went through some hay bales,
which were put just before the
parallel taxiway," Winter wrote.
"Apparently they (race spon-
sors) had removed the perimeter
fencing, which crossed the closed
runway, but no other fencing or
barriers were used except these
hay bales. More is needed to keep
the race cars and unauthorized
persons from getting into the air-
craft operational areas."
IT IS APPARENT from news-
paper coverage and the turnout
that the community may easily
develop an expectation that rac-
ing on airport property will con-
tinue, Winter noted.
"It is important to establish the
operating rules that protect the
aircraft oPerational areas during
an event, rather than giving the
operators the impression they can
do what they want to do or that the
public expects the event to look a
certain way, which may be unsafe
for the airport," Winter wrote. "It
is also important that the airport
receive appropriate revenue for
the use of the ground.
"Unless you can show us an op-
erational plan for these events in
advance that we can accept, you
are risking losing our approval
for these non-aviation activities.
This could lead to non-compli-
ance with the grant and surplus
property obligations and thus put
future grant funding in question
for projects you wish to do," Win-
ter wrote.
Winter's concerns were set off
by an e-mail that Robinson sent
him on June 5 about drag racing
at the airport.
"WE HAVE BEEN under some
local pressure to facilitate, to a
greater extent, drag racing activ-
ity on the inactive runway here at
Sanderson Field," Robinson wrote.
"To date, our commissioners have
resisted this pressure as it relates
to structural modifications to the
runway and to granting a long-
term lease for the purpose of drag
racing. They currently advocate,
somewhat hesitantly, dealing
with (the) issue on an occasional
event basis.
"We are very aware of our pri-
mary mission, aviation, and of the
deed restrictions that exist," Rob-
inson wrote.
As the port's managing direc-
tor, he wrote he needed some con-
(Please turn to page 2.)
Park conunents sought
Local residents are invited to
express their preferences for the
design and uses of the county's
new park on Oakland Bay at a
workshop next week.
The Mason County Parks and
Trails Department and the Capi-
tol Land Trust will conduct the
public workshop starting at 6 p.m.
on Wednesday, July 25, at Memo-
rial Hall in Shelton, Second and
Franklin streets.
Officials hope the public will
provide the county and land trust
with information regarding the
future planning and usage of Oak-
land Bay Historical County Park.
The Capitol Land Trust and the
county partnered to purchase the
80-acre park in 2005. The county
has retained the services of Rob-
ert Droll, Landscape Architect to
prepare a master site plan for the
park.
Oakland Bay Historical Park
is accessed from Agate Road. It is
primarily undeveloped with the
exception of a former homestead
with a house built in the early
1900s. The park provides won-
derful views of Oakland Bay, and
Melaney Creek meanders through
the property.
Anyone with questions about
the Oakland Bay Park public
workshop may contact John Ke-
ates at Mason County Parks,
42%9670, Extension 669, or at:
johnk@co.muon.wa.us by e-
mail.