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Diehl's struggles cross state line
(Continued from page 25.)
the person whose project Diehl
was disputing before the Shore-
lines }Iearings Board after the
person received a permit from
Mason County. Diehl's filing
with the court in California
states that Kim Johannes-
sen received a copy of a e-mail
which French sent the day af-
ter his arrest "with obvious per-
sonal animus" to the office of
Mason County Prosecutor Gary
Burleson.
According to Diehl's filing
with the court, French's e-mail
indicated the Crescent City at-
torney had spoken with Johan-
nessen and suggested it would
be "nice" if Diehl were picked
up befbre his scheduled appear-
ance with the hearings board
"so he would be unable to press
a bogus claim against an in-
nocent landowner" and French
expressed the hope that "the
jail will keep him, in light of
his blatant efforts to ignore my-
self."
DIEHL SPENT TWO weeks
in the Thurston County Jail be-
fore deciding not to fight his ex-
tradition to California. He faced
one felony count and 108 misde-
meanor charges and maintains
that the felony charge was filed
merely to secure his extradition.
The felony charge was dropped
last year, and half of the misde-
meanor charges were dropped
last month. Diehl said the other
misdemeanor charges were dis-
missed in Del Norte County Su-
perior Court in response to his
filing in the case.
That filing alleges that
French broke the rules of pro-
fessional conduct which guide
attorneys in California and
violated Diehl's constitutional
rights to due process and equal
protection under the law. It
also describes the sequence of
events that brought them to
this pass.
The property at 475 K Street
in Crescent City was a fbrmer
lumberyard and hardware
store that had been owned by
L.C. Bliss & Soils Livestock
Corporation since 1976. The
firm sold the site in 1994 and
began a cleanup of the property
required by the presence of un-
derground storage tanks that
had leaked petroleum. The last
of three underground storage
tanks was removed in 1995 un-
der the terms of an agreement
with the buyers, an employee
stock ownership trust. How-
ever, the soil excavated from
around the tanks remains on-
site, safely stacked in mounds
deposited on an impermeable
surface, protected from erosion
by a roof.
Diehl acquired the property
through foreclosure after the
buyers declared bankruptcy
and defaulted on his loan to
them. qhe Bliss family then
stopped working on the clean-
up, leaving Diehl in possession
of the contaminated soil. As his
court filing tells it, he was sub-
jected to pressure by-French to
sell the property at a loss and
named in an action by the Cali-
forni0 Regional Water Qual-
ity Control Board alleging that
the site was an environmental
hazard that has contaminated
the groundwater. This cast a
pall over Diehl's efforts to sell
the property and might have
obliged him to cough up more
than $300,000 to finish the
cleanup job the Blisses had be-
gun.
ALL THAT IS according to
Diehl's filing with the court.
Prior to the sale which closed
last month, he alleged that
French and others tried to pres-
sure him to sell the property
at a loss. He makes the point
that he and another attorney
employed by Crescent City
threatened him with criminal
prosecution in the same week
he received an offer to purchase
the subject property. Richard
Littlefield, a businessman who
operates a food market there,
offered Diehl a price the latter
described as "much less than
what I believed to be a fair mar-
ket value."
Pressure mounted when city
officials took a couple of local
journalists on a tour of the old
lumberyard. Added to the mix
were complaints that the place
was littered with garbage, over-
run with weeds and home'to a
runaway blackberry bush. Die-
hl stated that in conversations
and e-mails French urged him
to "sell your property to some-
one who cares" and stated that
the city "would go away" if "you
would just sell your property."
With the passage of time,
Diehrs estimate of the price the
property would have to fetch if
he was to get out of Crescent
City without losing his shirt
was rising. With taxes, interest
and fees related to the foreclo-
sure and an attorney, the cost
of making good on the $560,000
loan had risen to $712,564.51.
His filing with the court also
conjures up the specter of Wal-
Mart in response to the corn-
plaint that his mana
the property was
the central business
Crescent City.
"If I may be blamed
ing out for a price that
me to protect my security
est and recover most of
have spent on the
city bears responsibility for',
have reduced de !:"
icies that
for downtown commercial
erty, most notably in allo /
development of a
new co
cial center on the outs
town, centered around a
Mart store," he stated, i
Weather spotters
needed in rural
The Mason County Division of
Emergency Management is host-
ing a training session for persons
interested in the Skywarn Weath-
er Spotter program of the National
Weather Service.
Training will be from 6 to 8:30
p.m. on Thursday, September 27,
at 410 West Business Park Road.
The location is just north of the
Shelton city limits off Highwy 101
at the Sanderson Field Airport and
Industrial Park. Instruction is for
new or veteran spotters including
interested citizens, amateur radio
enthusiasts, emergency respond-
ers, members of the Community
Emergency Response Team and
others.
Training includes
and video demonstrations cove8!
how to look for and report si1 =
event-driven weather e
cant
to the Mason County DivisiO I
Emergency Management an I
National Weather Service. /
tern are needed, especially i
rural parts of the county.
HI
weather instrumentation,
an anemometer, is a plus
not required to take the
Class size is limited to
sons. Those who are
attend are asked to res
September 21 by sending an
to Sandi Kvarnstrom at
co.mason.wa.us or calling
427-9670 Extension 801.
Comcast Demo Locations
TA£ 0 H A H A L L Visit the Comcast kiosk in front of Macy's for a demo today!
Comcast Cable Store Locations
Aberdeen 600 West Wishkah St., 98520 M-F 9am-6pm (closed daily 1:30-2:30)
SOUTH HILL MALL Visit the Comcast kiosk near the Food Court for a demo today!
Bremerton 1225 Sylvan Way, 98310 M-F 10am-6pm
Olympia 440 Yauger Way SW, 98502-8153 M-Sat. 9am-5pm Tacoma 5401 6th Ave., Ste. 505, 98406-2645 M-Sat. 9am-6pm
Nasdaq: CMCSA
Offers end 9/21/07. After promotional period regular monthly rate (currently $32.43-$50.25 for Enhanced Cable and $15.99 for HBO) depending on area, level of service and equipment, apply. Equipment cbages may apply. Offer good for new customers only. Installation
charges apply. Offer available in participating Comcast systems (and may not be transferred) and is limited to new residential customers who do not currently subscribe or have not subscribed during the past 60 days to the service offered, located in Comcast serviceable
areas (and is not available to former Comcast customers with unpaid balances). Prices shown do not include applicable taxes, franchise and FCC fees. Services are subject to Comcast's standard terms and conditions of service. Call Comcast for restrictions, minimum
requirements and complete details about services and prices. HBO '.' is a service mark of Home Box Office, Inc. ©2007 Comcast. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner. llb "rY: Certain services are available separately
or as a part of other levels of service. Basic Service subscription is required to receive other levels of service. A converter, remote control and other equipment is required to receive certain services, Not all programming and services are avaUable in all areas. Pricing
alld programming may change. On Demand requires subscription to a qualifying digital cable package, available On Demand content vades based on the digital cable tier subscdloed to, and certain On Demand selections subject to charge indicated at time of purchase.
O307 SEPTROP VID
Page 30 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 13, 2007
Diehl's struggles cross state line
(Continued from page 25.)
the person whose project Diehl
was disputing before the Shore-
lines }Iearings Board after the
person received a permit from
Mason County. Diehl's filing
with the court in California
states that Kim Johannes-
sen received a copy of a e-mail
which French sent the day af-
ter his arrest "with obvious per-
sonal animus" to the office of
Mason County Prosecutor Gary
Burleson.
According to Diehl's filing
with the court, French's e-mail
indicated the Crescent City at-
torney had spoken with Johan-
nessen and suggested it would
be "nice" if Diehl were picked
up befbre his scheduled appear-
ance with the hearings board
"so he would be unable to press
a bogus claim against an in-
nocent landowner" and French
expressed the hope that "the
jail will keep him, in light of
his blatant efforts to ignore my-
self."
DIEHL SPENT TWO weeks
in the Thurston County Jail be-
fore deciding not to fight his ex-
tradition to California. He faced
one felony count and 108 misde-
meanor charges and maintains
that the felony charge was filed
merely to secure his extradition.
The felony charge was dropped
last year, and half of the misde-
meanor charges were dropped
last month. Diehl said the other
misdemeanor charges were dis-
missed in Del Norte County Su-
perior Court in response to his
filing in the case.
That filing alleges that
French broke the rules of pro-
fessional conduct which guide
attorneys in California and
violated Diehl's constitutional
rights to due process and equal
protection under the law. It
also describes the sequence of
events that brought them to
this pass.
The property at 475 K Street
in Crescent City was a fbrmer
lumberyard and hardware
store that had been owned by
L.C. Bliss & Soils Livestock
Corporation since 1976. The
firm sold the site in 1994 and
began a cleanup of the property
required by the presence of un-
derground storage tanks that
had leaked petroleum. The last
of three underground storage
tanks was removed in 1995 un-
der the terms of an agreement
with the buyers, an employee
stock ownership trust. How-
ever, the soil excavated from
around the tanks remains on-
site, safely stacked in mounds
deposited on an impermeable
surface, protected from erosion
by a roof.
Diehl acquired the property
through foreclosure after the
buyers declared bankruptcy
and defaulted on his loan to
them. qhe Bliss family then
stopped working on the clean-
up, leaving Diehl in possession
of the contaminated soil. As his
court filing tells it, he was sub-
jected to pressure by-French to
sell the property at a loss and
named in an action by the Cali-
forni0 Regional Water Qual-
ity Control Board alleging that
the site was an environmental
hazard that has contaminated
the groundwater. This cast a
pall over Diehl's efforts to sell
the property and might have
obliged him to cough up more
than $300,000 to finish the
cleanup job the Blisses had be-
gun.
ALL THAT IS according to
Diehl's filing with the court.
Prior to the sale which closed
last month, he alleged that
French and others tried to pres-
sure him to sell the property
at a loss. He makes the point
that he and another attorney
employed by Crescent City
threatened him with criminal
prosecution in the same week
he received an offer to purchase
the subject property. Richard
Littlefield, a businessman who
operates a food market there,
offered Diehl a price the latter
described as "much less than
what I believed to be a fair mar-
ket value."
Pressure mounted when city
officials took a couple of local
journalists on a tour of the old
lumberyard. Added to the mix
were complaints that the place
was littered with garbage, over-
run with weeds and home'to a
runaway blackberry bush. Die-
hl stated that in conversations
and e-mails French urged him
to "sell your property to some-
one who cares" and stated that
the city "would go away" if "you
would just sell your property."
With the passage of time,
Diehrs estimate of the price the
property would have to fetch if
he was to get out of Crescent
City without losing his shirt
was rising. With taxes, interest
and fees related to the foreclo-
sure and an attorney, the cost
of making good on the $560,000
loan had risen to $712,564.51.
His filing with the court also
conjures up the specter of Wal-
Mart in response to the corn-
plaint that his mana
the property was
the central business
Crescent City.
"If I may be blamed
ing out for a price that
me to protect my security
est and recover most of
have spent on the
city bears responsibility for',
have reduced de !:"
icies that
for downtown commercial
erty, most notably in allo /
development of a
new co
cial center on the outs
town, centered around a
Mart store," he stated, i
Weather spotters
needed in rural
The Mason County Division of
Emergency Management is host-
ing a training session for persons
interested in the Skywarn Weath-
er Spotter program of the National
Weather Service.
Training will be from 6 to 8:30
p.m. on Thursday, September 27,
at 410 West Business Park Road.
The location is just north of the
Shelton city limits off Highwy 101
at the Sanderson Field Airport and
Industrial Park. Instruction is for
new or veteran spotters including
interested citizens, amateur radio
enthusiasts, emergency respond-
ers, members of the Community
Emergency Response Team and
others.
Training includes
and video demonstrations cove8!
how to look for and report si1 =
event-driven weather e
cant
to the Mason County DivisiO I
Emergency Management an I
National Weather Service. /
tern are needed, especially i
rural parts of the county.
HI
weather instrumentation,
an anemometer, is a plus
not required to take the
Class size is limited to
sons. Those who are
attend are asked to res
September 21 by sending an
to Sandi Kvarnstrom at
co.mason.wa.us or calling
427-9670 Extension 801.
Comcast Demo Locations
TA£ 0 H A H A L L Visit the Comcast kiosk in front of Macy's for a demo today!
Comcast Cable Store Locations
Aberdeen 600 West Wishkah St., 98520 M-F 9am-6pm (closed daily 1:30-2:30)
SOUTH HILL MALL Visit the Comcast kiosk near the Food Court for a demo today!
Bremerton 1225 Sylvan Way, 98310 M-F 10am-6pm
Olympia 440 Yauger Way SW, 98502-8153 M-Sat. 9am-5pm Tacoma 5401 6th Ave., Ste. 505, 98406-2645 M-Sat. 9am-6pm
Nasdaq: CMCSA
Offers end 9/21/07. After promotional period regular monthly rate (currently $32.43-$50.25 for Enhanced Cable and $15.99 for HBO) depending on area, level of service and equipment, apply. Equipment cbages may apply. Offer good for new customers only. Installation
charges apply. Offer available in participating Comcast systems (and may not be transferred) and is limited to new residential customers who do not currently subscribe or have not subscribed during the past 60 days to the service offered, located in Comcast serviceable
areas (and is not available to former Comcast customers with unpaid balances). Prices shown do not include applicable taxes, franchise and FCC fees. Services are subject to Comcast's standard terms and conditions of service. Call Comcast for restrictions, minimum
requirements and complete details about services and prices. HBO '.' is a service mark of Home Box Office, Inc. ©2007 Comcast. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner. llb "rY: Certain services are available separately
or as a part of other levels of service. Basic Service subscription is required to receive other levels of service. A converter, remote control and other equipment is required to receive certain services, Not all programming and services are avaUable in all areas. Pricing
alld programming may change. On Demand requires subscription to a qualifying digital cable package, available On Demand content vades based on the digital cable tier subscdloed to, and certain On Demand selections subject to charge indicated at time of purchase.
O307 SEPTROP VID
Page 30 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, September 13, 2007