Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 2, 1999     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 1     (1 of 36 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 1     (1 of 36 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
September 2, 1999
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




:6G NIEL " ,,T AVV 8 = . jl, HARVEY HAZEN, Southside superintendent, and fifth-graders Dustin Rasmussen, left, and Lyndsey Wallace huddle beside the statue of Buddy, a neighborhood pooch who adopted the rural school. thside youngsters t a wood-beBuddy GREEN lost its Buddy SUmmer break. , a golden retriever who the years adopted the a pal who hung out played baseball and mooched their ke off every morning ame at 4 or 5 o'clock at Dan Radcliffe, whose Buddy and raised a pup. The Radcliffes a field from the court- virtually the school iy knew him," Rad- Journal. "It was during the summers all the kids." TOUGH on the kids dogs, as author Rud- noted, gnaw their hearts. e and infirmities With Buddy. Over- the young- hes, Buddy, or 14 years old, also ra arthritis and side. hardest thing a must do is to decide for the pet's suffer- Radcliffe came to that decision-making point this year. And so this summer, Buddy was put to sleep. Looking back, Southside Superintendent Harvey Hazen re- alized Buddy was struggling. "He was not feeling good at the end of the school year. He was crabby," Hazen said. Aside from his habit of barking at delivery trucks, Buddy was an incredibly gentle dog, he said. The kids would take the time to talk to him out on the play- ground. HAZEN KNEW that word of Buddy's death would be a crush- ing blow to the young students. And so, over the summer, he ar- ranged for woodcarvers in Allyn to create a cedar statue of the school's mascot. The carvers used a photo of Buddy that by coinci- dence appeared on the front page of the Southside annual last spring. On Friday, Hazen picked up the statue and brought it to the school. On Monday this week, when school started, Hazen announced at an assembly that Buddy had died. "There were a lot of tears shed," he said. "Even some of the teachers had wet eyes." And while Buddy may be gone, he certainly won't be forgotten. "I've been here since kindergarten so I've known Buddy a long time," said Lyndsey Wallace, a fifth- grader. "I used to pet him and give him water." Hazen also made a special an- nouncement during the assembly. From now on, Buddy's statue will be a symbol for the school. Each week, a class will earn the right to have the statue sit outside their classroom door. "I think the kids are really motivated," Hazen said. And at the end of the school year, there will be a special award for the class that wins the most Buddy Awards during the school year. THIS WEEK, the handsome statue stands guard outside the school library. It has already gen- erated a bit of magic. "I was pretty amazed this morning," Hazen said on Tues- day. "Three or four little girls were standing around (the statue). One petted his head and they were talking to him." Radcliffe attended the assem- bly and said the statue and award were exceptional things for the school to do to honor Buddy's memory. "Everybody loved him. He was a good dog," he said. Bay sewers near for pollution- Bay and Case step closer to re- on County commis- their intent for both the ase Inlet Sewer Col- n and the related plant to one meeting Tues- said they ard the contract for system to low Marine of Bremer- of $7,775,225.45. during the ers' meet- Construction's low bid at But during the Director of  Gary Yando said, he found a $150,000 error in the Pape & Sons bid which dropped it to third place. The commissioners also ac- knowledged their intent to accept Triton's $5.15-million bid for the sewage treatment plant or "water reclamation facility." Before final acceptance of the bids, the project must be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Agri- culture's Rural Devel°pment'Ru" ral Utilities Services, the commis- sioners noted. In related action, the commis- sioners authorized Yando and the department of community devel- opment to proceed with the pur- chase of a site for the water recla- mation facility. Yando, in a memo to the commission, identified the prospective site as 35 acres of property located a mile and a half west of Allyn, which would be purchased from the Washington Department of Natural Resources for $173,400. The land will be purchased by Mason County, but the county will use grant and loan funding provided by the Washington State Department of Ecology, Yando noted in his memo. The facility to be located there, Yando indicated, will include a headworks structure, odor-control facilities, batch-reactor units, two effluent filters, a facility for ultra- violet disinfection, a plant drain pump station, bypass and wet- weather storage ponds, an opera- tional building, an equipment building and site improvements. The North Bay-Case Inlet Water Reclamation Facility, Yando add- ed, will be designed to treat just under a third of a million gallons a day. Shelton scholars score above average on SATs By JEFF GREEN Students at Shelton High School have continued their knack for scoring high on nation- al tests for college-bound seniors In just-released Scholastic Ap- titude Test scores, which showed Washington State students were the best in the nation, the mean score of 90 Shelton students tak- ing the test last school year ex- ceeded comparable scores of stu- dents at both the state and na- tional levels. The news was welcome indeed to Joan Zook, Shelton School Dis- trict's director of assessment, in- struction and curriculum. Last week Zook had the task of report- ing the district's Washington As- sessment of Student Learning test scores to the Shelton School Board. While those scores showed slight improvements in some areas, board members were dis- appointed in them. (A correction in scores reported last week ap- pears on page 2.) "We're right in there with the state. Nationally, we stack up very well," Zook said of the SAT scores. "Our top students are very competitive." THE SHELTON students who took the tests last school year averaged scores of 527 in math and 526 on the verbal part of the test, both out of a possible 800. State averages were 526 in math and 525 on the verbal, while na- tionwide the average scores were 511 in math and 505 on the ver- bal component. A year ago the mean scores of Shelton students taking the SAT also exceeded state and national averages. The Shelton students' mean score in math was 512, while the national mean score was 511 and the state score was 523. Their score for verbal was 528, compared to the national score of 505 and state score of 523. Students take the national test in the fall of their senior year in high school, Zook said. Most colleges require students to take the SAT test as an en- trance requirement. Consequent- ly, she said, more high-school stu- dents take that test than they do the American College Test (the ACT), which is required by some colleges. DURING THE 1998-1999 school year the average ACT score of 17 Shelton college-prep students was higher than both the national and state average scores. The composite average test score of Shelton's college-prep students was 24.2, compared to a national average of 22.0 and a state average of 23.4. The average score last school year of an additional 39 Shelton students who took the ACT, but who had not completed the col- lege prep curriculum, was 20.5. That score topped the national average of 19.4 but trailed the state average of 21.5. Shotgun fired on Mt. View Four people face assault charg- es after a "long-standing feud" erupted into violence in the park- ing lot of an apartment building on Mountain View in Shelton last week. The feud is between friends and members of the Powell family and another man who clashed in front of 1125 North 13th Street at about 8 p.m. on Friday, according to police. Detective Rocky Pfitzer of the Shelton Police Department is in- vestigating allegations that one man got his jaw broken with a pipe wielded by 22-year-old Y0- landa Christine Burney of 2100 Alabama Street, Bellingham, while another was injured i the shoulder by a shotgun per shots wera fired . a F THE IDENTITY of the vic- tims was not available ' although they are the subjects of no-contact orders issued Monday in Mason County Superior Court by Judge Toni Sheldon. Burney, the mother of two, is also accused of firing a shotgun after one of the victims allegedly tried to run Reggie Powell off the road as part of an ongoing dis- pute. Sheldon found probable cause for Burney's arrest on charges of assault in the first de- gree with a firearm and assault in the second degree. The judge set Burney's bail at $10,000 at the request of Deputy Prosecutor Reinhold Schuetz. "These people came here looking for an altercation," Schuetz said. Burney asked for a lower amount, citing her good record as the employee of a shop in Bel- lingham. "I've received awards for customer service, for dealing with people and friendliness," she said. ARRAIGNMENT FOR Bur- ney and three others was sched- uled for September 9. Her hus- band, Reggie Powell and another member of the Powell family were also scheduled for arraignment on that date. "They went there with a shot- gun and a pipe as weapons and then began to act in an assaultive manner," Schuetz told the court. Other defendants charged after the brouhaha include: • William Nathaniel Powell, 21, of 940 Fairmount Avenue, Shelton. Sheldon appointed Ron Sergi to be his attorney and found probable cause for his arrest in an investigation of assault in the first degree with a weapon and assault in the second degree. Bail was set at $7,500. • Reggie Nathaniel Powell, 18, (Please turn to page 2.) IIIMMIIIIIIII|IIMIIIII|IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII|IIIIIIll, On the inside Births ..................................... 14 Classifieds ............................ 25 Community Calendar .......... 7 Crossword ............................ 29 Entertainment, Dining ..... 24 Health Journal .................... 14 Journal of Record .............. 16 Obituaries ............................ I0 Opinions, Letters .................. 4 Sports .................................... 19 Tides ...................................... 30 Weather ................ . ............... .17 ..... :_-:::X=--T ......... "--- .-=.:::::::-W Thursday, September 2, 1999 113th Year - Number 35 4 Sections . 36 Pages 50 Cents Teens held in burglaries of North Mason schools Mason County sheriffs depu- ties executed warrants on the homes of three Belfair teenagers in the early morning hours Tues- day, seeking evidence in the re- cent burglaries of three buildings in the North Mason School Dis- trict. The deputies acted after inter- viewing a person who claimed to be involved in the burglaries. The three subjects of the subsequent search warrants all live with their parents, according to Under- sheriff Gary Crane. Two juveniles were taken into custody Wednesday morning. Crane said deputies expect to make two more arrests within the next several days. One of the per- sons of interest in the case is an adult, he said. "We recovered some items last night," Sheriff Steve Whybark said on Wednesday. "But not the computer equipment. We did find some electronic scales and other items." Detectives hope to recover more property Within a few days. "We found some of the stolen items in their hands," Whybark said Wednesday. "So we know the computers are Out there." . The schools had been burglar: ized during the weekend of Au- gust 21-22. Taken were several new computers that were still in boxes and a large amount of elec- trical equipment. Assistant Superintendent Deb- bie Wing said the district lost $10,000 to $20,000 worth of com- puter equipment in burglaries at Belfair Elementary School, Haw- kins Middle School and Sand Hill Elementary School. Some of the equipment was used in technology infusion proj- ects thanks to a grant from Mi- crosoft billionaire Bill Gatcs. School officials said at least four newly purchased computers, some of them still in their boxes, were, taken from Sand Hill School. Computer equipment, batteries and keys were taken from Belfair Elementary, A classroom door was broken at Hawkins and items were rifled through. Vote by Three candidates are vying in the September 14 primary elec- tion for a seat on the Shelton City Commission. Dick Taylor, Carolyn Kerr and Kelly Buechel seek a four-year term as commissioner of finance. The top two advance to the No- vember 2 general election ballot. mail under way The winner will replace cur- rent Commissioner John Tarrant, who is unopposed for mayor. Tar- rant will succeed Scott Hilburn, who is stepping down at year's end after a single term as mayor. Ballots have already gone out to the 3,825 registered voters in Shelton in an all-mail primary, and ballots started coming back to the county elections depart- ment earlier this week. Interviews with the three city candidates are on page 12, and statements from Fire District 9 candidates are on page 13. Mary M. Knight School Board candi- dates will appear next week. SHS names vice principal Yakima native Ed Stewart is the new vice principal at Shelton High School this fall. Stewart, who has taught at SHS since 1995, replaces Pat Ena. Ena left the district to take a job in Prosser. The new administrator gradu- ated from Yakima's Eisenhower High School, then earned an asso- ciate's degree at Edmonds Com- munity College. He graduated from Saint Martin's College in Lacey in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in history and social stud- ies. Last year was a busy one for Stewart. He taught a full load of classes, including the high school's leadership class, and was Associated Student Body advisor and activities director at SHS. "I wouldn't trade it for anything," he said. "It was long, long hours but very valuable experience." HE DIDN'T start out in edu- cation, though. "My background is in business," Stewart told The Journal. He worked as a retail outlet manager and became a troubleshooter. That is, when a store needed an interim manager, he was the one who came in and took over the operations. "I got really good at managing businesses, working with person- nel and the public," he said. "It was never enough. For me, my personal fit, it just got old. Stewart knew he needed a change, but to what? He took a battery of vocational and aptitude Ed Stewart tests to try to find out. The tests told him one of the vocations that he was suited for was athletic coach. That struck a familiar chord. To him, being a coach meant lso being a teacher and teachers were a major influence in his life. When he was young, he played football and baseball, continuing to participate in those two sports through high school. Stewart was 16 when his father died. He said he went through a rebellious peri- od when school wasn't important, but three men, teachers and ad- ministrators, refused to give up on him. They stepped up to the plate and were there for him when he needed them. THOSE MEMORIES helped to lead him back into education, Stewart said. He finished commu- nity college, then Saint Martin's. Eventually, he earned master's degrees in professional develop- ment and education administra. tion through Heritage College. He did his student teaching at SHS during the 1995-1996 school year, working under Jack Stark, who was a teacher and head coach of the Highclimbers' foot- ball team. The next year, Stewart worked as a substitute in the Shelton School District. A staff member left and he filled in on a long-term basis. The following year, he taught social studies full time. Now 37, he said he feels lucky to be a vice principal. There were a number of candidates for the job. "I'm excited to be in this posi- tion, excited to be in the school district," he said. He said he brings with him a sense of sports- manship and fair play. Stewart and his wife, Tami, have a son, Chad, age 2Y2 and are expecting a second child in March. In his time away from his job, he said he likes doing things that involve his family, and espe- cially likes going to fun things for kids. He said he's itching to take his son to a ball game at Safeco Field. He also enjoys family reun- ions. :6G NIEL " ,,T AVV 8 = . jl, HARVEY HAZEN, Southside superintendent, and fifth-graders Dustin Rasmussen, left, and Lyndsey Wallace huddle beside the statue of Buddy, a neighborhood pooch who adopted the rural school. thside youngsters t a wood-beBuddy GREEN lost its Buddy SUmmer break. , a golden retriever who the years adopted the a pal who hung out played baseball and mooched their ke off every morning ame at 4 or 5 o'clock at Dan Radcliffe, whose Buddy and raised a pup. The Radcliffes a field from the court- virtually the school iy knew him," Rad- Journal. "It was during the summers all the kids." TOUGH on the kids dogs, as author Rud- noted, gnaw their hearts. e and infirmities With Buddy. Over- the young- hes, Buddy, or 14 years old, also ra arthritis and side. hardest thing a must do is to decide for the pet's suffer- Radcliffe came to that decision-making point this year. And so this summer, Buddy was put to sleep. Looking back, Southside Superintendent Harvey Hazen re- alized Buddy was struggling. "He was not feeling good at the end of the school year. He was crabby," Hazen said. Aside from his habit of barking at delivery trucks, Buddy was an incredibly gentle dog, he said. The kids would take the time to talk to him out on the play- ground. HAZEN KNEW that word of Buddy's death would be a crush- ing blow to the young students. And so, over the summer, he ar- ranged for woodcarvers in Allyn to create a cedar statue of the school's mascot. The carvers used a photo of Buddy that by coinci- dence appeared on the front page of the Southside annual last spring. On Friday, Hazen picked up the statue and brought it to the school. On Monday this week, when school started, Hazen announced at an assembly that Buddy had died. "There were a lot of tears shed," he said. "Even some of the teachers had wet eyes." And while Buddy may be gone, he certainly won't be forgotten. "I've been here since kindergarten so I've known Buddy a long time," said Lyndsey Wallace, a fifth- grader. "I used to pet him and give him water." Hazen also made a special an- nouncement during the assembly. From now on, Buddy's statue will be a symbol for the school. Each week, a class will earn the right to have the statue sit outside their classroom door. "I think the kids are really motivated," Hazen said. And at the end of the school year, there will be a special award for the class that wins the most Buddy Awards during the school year. THIS WEEK, the handsome statue stands guard outside the school library. It has already gen- erated a bit of magic. "I was pretty amazed this morning," Hazen said on Tues- day. "Three or four little girls were standing around (the statue). One petted his head and they were talking to him." Radcliffe attended the assem- bly and said the statue and award were exceptional things for the school to do to honor Buddy's memory. "Everybody loved him. He was a good dog," he said. Bay sewers near for pollution- Bay and Case step closer to re- on County commis- their intent for both the ase Inlet Sewer Col- n and the related plant to one meeting Tues- said they ard the contract for system to low Marine of Bremer- of $7,775,225.45. during the ers' meet- Construction's low bid at But during the Director of  Gary Yando said, he found a $150,000 error in the Pape & Sons bid which dropped it to third place. The commissioners also ac- knowledged their intent to accept Triton's $5.15-million bid for the sewage treatment plant or "water reclamation facility." Before final acceptance of the bids, the project must be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Agri- culture's Rural Devel°pment'Ru" ral Utilities Services, the commis- sioners noted. In related action, the commis- sioners authorized Yando and the department of community devel- opment to proceed with the pur- chase of a site for the water recla- mation facility. Yando, in a memo to the commission, identified the prospective site as 35 acres of property located a mile and a half west of Allyn, which would be purchased from the Washington Department of Natural Resources for $173,400. The land will be purchased by Mason County, but the county will use grant and loan funding provided by the Washington State Department of Ecology, Yando noted in his memo. The facility to be located there, Yando indicated, will include a headworks structure, odor-control facilities, batch-reactor units, two effluent filters, a facility for ultra- violet disinfection, a plant drain pump station, bypass and wet- weather storage ponds, an opera- tional building, an equipment building and site improvements. The North Bay-Case Inlet Water Reclamation Facility, Yando add- ed, will be designed to treat just under a third of a million gallons a day. Shelton scholars score above average on SATs By JEFF GREEN Students at Shelton High School have continued their knack for scoring high on nation- al tests for college-bound seniors In just-released Scholastic Ap- titude Test scores, which showed Washington State students were the best in the nation, the mean score of 90 Shelton students tak- ing the test last school year ex- ceeded comparable scores of stu- dents at both the state and na- tional levels. The news was welcome indeed to Joan Zook, Shelton School Dis- trict's director of assessment, in- struction and curriculum. Last week Zook had the task of report- ing the district's Washington As- sessment of Student Learning test scores to the Shelton School Board. While those scores showed slight improvements in some areas, board members were dis- appointed in them. (A correction in scores reported last week ap- pears on page 2.) "We're right in there with the state. Nationally, we stack up very well," Zook said of the SAT scores. "Our top students are very competitive." THE SHELTON students who took the tests last school year averaged scores of 527 in math and 526 on the verbal part of the test, both out of a possible 800. State averages were 526 in math and 525 on the verbal, while na- tionwide the average scores were 511 in math and 505 on the ver- bal component. A year ago the mean scores of Shelton students taking the SAT also exceeded state and national averages. The Shelton students' mean score in math was 512, while the national mean score was 511 and the state score was 523. Their score for verbal was 528, compared to the national score of 505 and state score of 523. Students take the national test in the fall of their senior year in high school, Zook said. Most colleges require students to take the SAT test as an en- trance requirement. Consequent- ly, she said, more high-school stu- dents take that test than they do the American College Test (the ACT), which is required by some colleges. DURING THE 1998-1999 school year the average ACT score of 17 Shelton college-prep students was higher than both the national and state average scores. The composite average test score of Shelton's college-prep students was 24.2, compared to a national average of 22.0 and a state average of 23.4. The average score last school year of an additional 39 Shelton students who took the ACT, but who had not completed the col- lege prep curriculum, was 20.5. That score topped the national average of 19.4 but trailed the state average of 21.5. Shotgun fired on Mt. View Four people face assault charg- es after a "long-standing feud" erupted into violence in the park- ing lot of an apartment building on Mountain View in Shelton last week. The feud is between friends and members of the Powell family and another man who clashed in front of 1125 North 13th Street at about 8 p.m. on Friday, according to police. Detective Rocky Pfitzer of the Shelton Police Department is in- vestigating allegations that one man got his jaw broken with a pipe wielded by 22-year-old Y0- landa Christine Burney of 2100 Alabama Street, Bellingham, while another was injured i the shoulder by a shotgun per shots wera fired . a F THE IDENTITY of the vic- tims was not available ' although they are the subjects of no-contact orders issued Monday in Mason County Superior Court by Judge Toni Sheldon. Burney, the mother of two, is also accused of firing a shotgun after one of the victims allegedly tried to run Reggie Powell off the road as part of an ongoing dis- pute. Sheldon found probable cause for Burney's arrest on charges of assault in the first de- gree with a firearm and assault in the second degree. The judge set Burney's bail at $10,000 at the request of Deputy Prosecutor Reinhold Schuetz. "These people came here looking for an altercation," Schuetz said. Burney asked for a lower amount, citing her good record as the employee of a shop in Bel- lingham. "I've received awards for customer service, for dealing with people and friendliness," she said. ARRAIGNMENT FOR Bur- ney and three others was sched- uled for September 9. Her hus- band, Reggie Powell and another member of the Powell family were also scheduled for arraignment on that date. "They went there with a shot- gun and a pipe as weapons and then began to act in an assaultive manner," Schuetz told the court. Other defendants charged after the brouhaha include: • William Nathaniel Powell, 21, of 940 Fairmount Avenue, Shelton. Sheldon appointed Ron Sergi to be his attorney and found probable cause for his arrest in an investigation of assault in the first degree with a weapon and assault in the second degree. Bail was set at $7,500. • Reggie Nathaniel Powell, 18, (Please turn to page 2.) IIIMMIIIIIIII|IIMIIIII|IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII|IIIIIIll, On the inside Births ..................................... 14 Classifieds ............................ 25 Community Calendar .......... 7 Crossword ............................ 29 Entertainment, Dining ..... 24 Health Journal .................... 14 Journal of Record .............. 16 Obituaries ............................ I0 Opinions, Letters .................. 4 Sports .................................... 19 Tides ...................................... 30 Weather ................ . ............... .17 ..... :_-:::X=--T ......... "--- .-=.:::::::-W Thursday, September 2, 1999 113th Year - Number 35 4 Sections . 36 Pages 50 Cents Teens held in burglaries of North Mason schools Mason County sheriffs depu- ties executed warrants on the homes of three Belfair teenagers in the early morning hours Tues- day, seeking evidence in the re- cent burglaries of three buildings in the North Mason School Dis- trict. The deputies acted after inter- viewing a person who claimed to be involved in the burglaries. The three subjects of the subsequent search warrants all live with their parents, according to Under- sheriff Gary Crane. Two juveniles were taken into custody Wednesday morning. Crane said deputies expect to make two more arrests within the next several days. One of the per- sons of interest in the case is an adult, he said. "We recovered some items last night," Sheriff Steve Whybark said on Wednesday. "But not the computer equipment. We did find some electronic scales and other items." Detectives hope to recover more property Within a few days. "We found some of the stolen items in their hands," Whybark said Wednesday. "So we know the computers are Out there." . The schools had been burglar: ized during the weekend of Au- gust 21-22. Taken were several new computers that were still in boxes and a large amount of elec- trical equipment. Assistant Superintendent Deb- bie Wing said the district lost $10,000 to $20,000 worth of com- puter equipment in burglaries at Belfair Elementary School, Haw- kins Middle School and Sand Hill Elementary School. Some of the equipment was used in technology infusion proj- ects thanks to a grant from Mi- crosoft billionaire Bill Gatcs. School officials said at least four newly purchased computers, some of them still in their boxes, were, taken from Sand Hill School. Computer equipment, batteries and keys were taken from Belfair Elementary, A classroom door was broken at Hawkins and items were rifled through. Vote by Three candidates are vying in the September 14 primary elec- tion for a seat on the Shelton City Commission. Dick Taylor, Carolyn Kerr and Kelly Buechel seek a four-year term as commissioner of finance. The top two advance to the No- vember 2 general election ballot. mail under way The winner will replace cur- rent Commissioner John Tarrant, who is unopposed for mayor. Tar- rant will succeed Scott Hilburn, who is stepping down at year's end after a single term as mayor. Ballots have already gone out to the 3,825 registered voters in Shelton in an all-mail primary, and ballots started coming back to the county elections depart- ment earlier this week. Interviews with the three city candidates are on page 12, and statements from Fire District 9 candidates are on page 13. Mary M. Knight School Board candi- dates will appear next week. SHS names vice principal Yakima native Ed Stewart is the new vice principal at Shelton High School this fall. Stewart, who has taught at SHS since 1995, replaces Pat Ena. Ena left the district to take a job in Prosser. The new administrator gradu- ated from Yakima's Eisenhower High School, then earned an asso- ciate's degree at Edmonds Com- munity College. He graduated from Saint Martin's College in Lacey in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in history and social stud- ies. Last year was a busy one for Stewart. He taught a full load of classes, including the high school's leadership class, and was Associated Student Body advisor and activities director at SHS. "I wouldn't trade it for anything," he said. "It was long, long hours but very valuable experience." HE DIDN'T start out in edu- cation, though. "My background is in business," Stewart told The Journal. He worked as a retail outlet manager and became a troubleshooter. That is, when a store needed an interim manager, he was the one who came in and took over the operations. "I got really good at managing businesses, working with person- nel and the public," he said. "It was never enough. For me, my personal fit, it just got old. Stewart knew he needed a change, but to what? He took a battery of vocational and aptitude Ed Stewart tests to try to find out. The tests told him one of the vocations that he was suited for was athletic coach. That struck a familiar chord. To him, being a coach meant lso being a teacher and teachers were a major influence in his life. When he was young, he played football and baseball, continuing to participate in those two sports through high school. Stewart was 16 when his father died. He said he went through a rebellious peri- od when school wasn't important, but three men, teachers and ad- ministrators, refused to give up on him. They stepped up to the plate and were there for him when he needed them. THOSE MEMORIES helped to lead him back into education, Stewart said. He finished commu- nity college, then Saint Martin's. Eventually, he earned master's degrees in professional develop- ment and education administra. tion through Heritage College. He did his student teaching at SHS during the 1995-1996 school year, working under Jack Stark, who was a teacher and head coach of the Highclimbers' foot- ball team. The next year, Stewart worked as a substitute in the Shelton School District. A staff member left and he filled in on a long-term basis. The following year, he taught social studies full time. Now 37, he said he feels lucky to be a vice principal. There were a number of candidates for the job. "I'm excited to be in this posi- tion, excited to be in the school district," he said. He said he brings with him a sense of sports- manship and fair play. Stewart and his wife, Tami, have a son, Chad, age 2Y2 and are expecting a second child in March. In his time away from his job, he said he likes doing things that involve his family, and espe- cially likes going to fun things for kids. He said he's itching to take his son to a ball game at Safeco Field. He also enjoys family reun- ions.