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PORTI. ANE) OR 97P
(; 40,4,.l.- 1,,1-,4 (3.4 I--:tq
E, NOS IN "
; l,bU I,;.L ,3 ;S; ,VL.
PORTLAND OR 97232
(';()MP
PUD eyeing on-ramp Father charged in rape,
to 'info superhighway' ault of tiny daughter
aSS
County PUD 3 is one of :
::: ........ A 1-month-old baby who was area, according to deputies of the result of child abuse, hit her in the stomach and inject-
to access the infer-
SUperhighway in an
to use fiber optics for
and community pur-
4, the Bonneville
tion and the
Public Utility Dis-
signed an
could make fiber-
available to public
entities and the com-
Said PUD 3 Manager
last week, "we
the interest in the
THE community's
Were on hand at
B nleeting of the PUD
Voice just that in-
City Manager
Port of Shelton
Robinson, Tim Mal-
Shelton Timberland
County Com-
Bolender all ex-
for the possibility
broad-band commu-
said the city would
the ability to link its
and services with corn-
sYStems using fiber
Would allow us to ex-
increasing areas of
better ser-
McCarty
main interest, he
by the importance
COmmunications to
s like Mason
of the potential
that might be
McCarty told
can't offer the
broad-band access
.rnet and the world
world the Internet
then we're at a corn-
R Bolender
arguments. "We
Journal Tuesday.
gOVernment pays signifi-
for what's called
Service, but we'd
at reducing our cost
agency." Like
in the coun-
would benefit
of access to infer-
by broad-band
allegedly assaulted by her father
is in critical but improving condi-
tion at Mary Bridge Children's
Hospital in Tacoma, according to
Detective Nick Patterson of the
Mason County Sheriffs Office.
The baby was taken to Mary
Bridge after physicians and nurs-
es at Harrison Memorial Hospital
in Bremerton examined her for
injuries at the request of her par-
ents.
Tests conducted at Mary
Bridge found a probable skull
fracture, a hemorrhage in her ab-
domen and fluid in her pelvic
Mason County Sheriffs Office.
Justin Ryan Jennings, 18, of
6181 NE Bear Creek-Dewatto
Road, Belfair, was charged Friday
with assault in the first degree
and rape of a child in the first de-
gree. He is being held in the Ma-
son County Jail on $500,000 bail
pending arraignment scheduled
for today in Mason County Supe-
rior Court.
Jennings and Sara Torrez, the
baby's mother, were given voice
stress tests by Deputy Jim Petrai-
tis after physicians reported that
the injuries may have been the
Petraitis concluded that Torrez
had nothing to do with injuries to
the baby, according to the state-
ment of probable cause on file
with the Mason County Superior
Court Clerk.
Jennings told Petraitis he
tripped over a shoe and then
stumbled around midnight Sep-
tember 29 and the baby hit her
head on the countertop, deputies
wrote.
He then told Petraitis he was
bitter because he was taking care
of the baby and that he slapped
the child on the side of the head,
ed lamp oil into an intravenous
tube used to deliver medicine to
the baby, according to the state-
ment of probable cause. Prosecu-
tors say that he also sexually mo-
lested her.
The attacks allegedly occurred
when the baby was 17 days old.
Patterson said Detective Mike
Frank visited the child at Mary
Bridge last week and found that
she is being cuddled there by
nurses and family members.
"She is in this touch-a-baby
program where they bring people
in to hold her," he said.
Kids face
criteria '
WYLA WOOD, PUD 3 power supply manager, ponders a
sample bundle of fiber-optic lines, each of which of-
fers the equivalent capacity of 30,240 voice lines. The
60 lines in the cable Wood holds represent the ability
to transmit over a million messages instantly.
As a businessperson, Bolender
added, he sees the lack of broad-
band telecommunications as "the
greatest significant competitive
disadvantage of this area. We
can't compet for really good,
high-paying professional jobs in
the information-services industry
until we get pipes big enough to
ship the data."
Recent legislation that gives
significant tax incentives to tele-
communications businesses that
relocate to dl:tressd counties,
the commissioner said, won't do
Mason County any good "if we
don't have the foundation for
them to land on."
Robinson, at the port, says his
experience so far has indicated a
definite need among tenants and
potential tenants for high-speed
data transmission of some sort.
Although the scope of the project
isn't defined for the port staff and
commissioners yet, he said, the
port "enthusiastically supports a
continued feasibility study."
"DIGITAL DUSTBOWL" is
the term coined for areas left un-
linked to fiber-optic networks
that cross the country and touch
down in high-population, high-
tech areas. People in the utilities
business compare the phenome-
non to the effect of the towns and
communities around the country
when railroads arrived.
A community on a main line, or
a spur, was sure to grow and
flourish, says PUD 3 Assistant
Manager Pat McGary. For a lot of
towns, the failure to secure a rail
link sounded the death knell. To-
day, said Blakemore and McGary,
the development of fiber-optic ser-
vice offers the same opportunities
for growth or decline.
The two cited a report from
Kitsap County that Olympic
(Please turn to page 10.)
ty okays another
for road study
commissioners,
Tuesday, ap-
ar-plus con-
Skillings-
for work on en-
of the High-
Study.
a probable shortfall
a Belfair bypass,
committed
the study in their
The Highway
includes anal-
project and a
highways 3
authorized
the total for the
:Uted March 10,
The supple-
is necessary
bypass propo-
connector study
into two con-
tracts, Public Works Director Jer-
ry Hauth told the board. In May,
State Senator Tim Sheldon was
able to secure legislative funding
for the bypass project.
Hauth said the two projects
were separated to distinguish
funding for the bypass from funds
for the connector route from the
Kitsap County line to Highway
101 near Shelton. Skillings-Con-
nelly had performed work valued
at about $1.4 million up to that
time, he added.
"Now we're up against a wall
with 695," Hauth said of the ini-
tiative on the November ballot
which proposes a flat fee for vehi-
cle tabs. If 1-695 passes, he pre-
dicted, the Belfair project would
fall off of the state legislative
funding list.
If 1-695 does not pass, Hauth
continued, the Washington State
Department of Transportation
will still most likely drop the by-
pass from its list after restructur-
ing.
This third supplement adding
$1,092,956 to the consultant's
contract extends the completion
date to June 30, 2000. When the
work is completed, Hauth said,
the county "will be able to pro-
pare the environmental assess-
ment' for both the connector
route and the bypass. Thirty per-
cent of the design is included in
this contract.
Commissioner Mary Jo Cady
said she was excited about the
Belfair bypass project. "In spite of
the reluctance of the state, I feel
Mason County has the budget
where we can handle this. One
way or another, we're going to get
that road built," she said.
hurt in Thurston mishap
women were in-
critically, and
driving the wrong
was killed in
Monday evening
south of Olympia,
State Patrol re-
23, of Shel-
injuries in
was listed in
tion Wednesday
Peter Hospital
L. Rasler, 21,
in the
driven by
facial, leg and
arm injuries. She was listed in
satisfactory condition Wednesday
morning at Saint Peter Hospital.
Also injured in the three-vehi-
cle crash was a Tumwater wom-
an, Selena A. Patten, 50. She was
treated at Saint Peter Hospital
and released. She was another
passenger in the Nissan driven by
Rowton, which was totaled.
A third vehicle, a 1976 Ford
Pinto station wagon driven by
Linda L. Leggett, 50, of Olympia,
was also damaged. Leggett was
not transported to the hospital.
Killed in the crash was Vernon
L. Olson, 83, of Chehalis. The
1988 Dodge he was driving was
totaled. Olson died at the scene,
troopers reported.
According to the state patrol,
the Dodge driven by Olson drove
southbound on the northbound
off-ramp at 93rd Avenue SW, en-
tered I-5 southbound in the
northbound lane and struck the
Nissan Pathfinder head-on at
Milepost 98. The Nissan then
struck the Ford Pinto station
wagon.
Troopers reported that neither
Olson nor any of the others in-
volved in the three-vehicle crash
were wearing seat belts at the
time.
to pass
Social promotion, the passing
of students along to the next
grade level even if they don't de-
serve the promotion, is going to
be a thing of the past in the Shel-
ton School District.
The Shelton School Board
Tuesday night approved a policy
that holds students in the district
accountable for their own acade-
mic progress.
The Academic Accountability
Policy (formerly the promotion/re-
tention policy) requires students
to meet specified levels of acade-
mic achievement at each grade
level. At grades 5, 8 and 10, addi-
tional academic achievement
standards must be met prior to
promotion to the next grade level.
The policy was drafted during
the past year by the district's
Council for the Improvement of
Student Learning. The council in-
cludes teachers, parents and com-
munity members. Report card
grades, attel(lance records and
demonstratfns of proficiency will
be used to assess whether stu-
dents meet the standards.
Teachers will identify those
falling behind academically and
allow for intervention with in-
structional support by developing
an individualized learning plan.
Those at risk of not being promot-
ed will be identified as early as
possible and educators will work
on the learning plan with a child
and his parents or guardians.
The district, parents and
guardians all will be responsible
for certain aspects of making sure
the students meet the academic
requirements, but the students
themselves are going to be held
responsible as well for a number
of things, including:
• Assuming responsibility for
learning and attendance.
• Being aware of the exit stan-
dards for grades 5, 8 and 10.
• Putting forth their best ef-
forts on assessments to give the
most reliable, valid information
about their academic standing.
• Taking advantage of extend-
ed learning opportunities, if need-
ed, to meet the exit standards.
• Completing homework as-
signments.
The council and district next
must develop procedures on how
to work with students and bring
them along. The council hopes to
bring a proposal back to the
school board before the end of the
current school year about how to
establish the procedures.
In other school business, the
board accepted a gift of $150,000
from the trust of the late Barbara
Jean Bearden for the Robert and
Donald Drake Scholarship Fund.
The fund has been used for the
past 20 years to provide scholar-
ships for district graduates. Mrs.
Bearden was the Drakes' sister.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
On the inside
Births ..................................... 14
Classifieds ............................ 31
Community Calendar .......... 7
Crossword ......... . .................. 36
Entertainment, Dining ..... 30
Health Journal .................... 14
Journal of Record .............. 23
Obituaries ..................... ...... 10
Opinions, Letters ......... 4, 5, 6
Sports .................................... 25
Tides ...................................... 29
Weather ................................ 23
IMHHIIHIMIHII
.I
Thursday, October 14, 1999
113th Year - Number 41 4 Sections - 42 Pages
50 Cents
Lacey boy, 10, drowns
fishing at Brown Creek
A 10-year-old Lacey boy
drowned Saturday while fishing
with his father and a friend at
Brown Creek in the Olympic Na-
tional Forest.
The Pierce County Coroner is
conducting an autopsy on Shawn
Lowrance of 5913 Crimson Court
SE, Lacey. Deputy Duain Dugan
of the Mason County Sheriffs Of-
fice wrote that the boy "had a
wound to the back of his head"
when his father, John Lowrance
of the same address, found him
floating face up in the creek.
Dugan was dispatched to the
Brown Creek Campground at
6:11 p.m. and arrived there44
minutes later, according to his of-
ficial report. By then emergency
responders from Mason County
Fire District 9 in the Skokomish
Valley had taken the victim from
the scene. The boy was pro-
nounced dead at Mary Bridge
Children's Hospital in Tacoma,
Dugan wrote.
His father was taken to the
Skokomish Valley Community
Church so he could be picked up
there by his wife.
Dugan interviewed 10-year-old
Jeffrey Smith, who had gone fish-
ing with the Lorances. Jeffrey
said the three were fishing at the
campground when he and Mr.
Lowrance walked downstream to
try to find a better fishing spot,
Dugan wrote. He told Dugan that
Shawn stayed by their vehicle.
According to Dugan, Jeffrey
said that when they returned
about 20 minutes later they found
Shawn floating face up in a pool
of water about four feet, six inch-
es deep. Mr. Lowrance tied a rope
around Jeffrey and sent him into
the water to retrieve Shawn, Du-
gan wrote.
Mr. Lowrance carried his son
up to a flat space above the creek
and discovered the wound and the
fact that Shawn was not breath-
ing, Dugan wrote. Jeffrey told
Dugan he ran to another camping
spot and got help from the people
camping there.
Dugan also talked to those
campers - Mason and Angelika
Stanhope. They told Dugan that
Mr. Stanhope attempted cardio-
pulmonary resuscitation on the
boy while Mrs. Stanhope drove
him to a telephone to call for
emergency assistance.
Mr. and Mrs. Stanhope said
they continued to attempt CPR
until the ambulance from District
9 arrived on the scene.
The autopsy reportedly should
be completed in three or four
weeks.
Meeting on clock tower set
A town meeting about the clock
tower that is being planned for
downtown Shelton will be held at
6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 21,
at the Shelton Civic Center.
Olympia architect and Shelton
area resident Bill Sloane will lead
the meeting. Sloane's firm, Masi-
ni Sanford Gabrielse & Schoen-
feldt Architects of Olympia, was
selected recently by Shelton city
commissioners to do the design
work on the 25-foot tall, four-
sided clock tower, complete with
carillon bells and bronze relief
panels. The clock tower is
planned for the southeast corner
of the Evergreen Square parking
lot near the Shelton Post Office,
The final design of the project
is planned to be done by Novem.
ber, 15.
The Shelton Arts Commission,
which is sponsoring the clock tow-
timber and shellfish industries
and others - on the panels.
The bulk of the project's cost,
estimated at $225,000, vill be
funded by private sources, includ.
ing corporations, and through the
sale of bricks, tiles and benches
which will bear the names of
er project, is seeking public corn- sponsors. It's estimated that the
ments about the tower's design bronze relief panels will cost be-
and the four relief panels that tween $12,000 and $18,000 each.
will celebrate the area's history of Arts commission plans call for
sustained resources. The arts dedicating the clock tower on July
commission is going to the corn- 4, 2000.
munity for input about what Refreshments will be served at
should be included - such as the the meeting.
Dog days of autumn at fairgrounds
Dogs by the dozens - over 1,300 of them dog shows at the fairgrounds Saturday
- and 6,000 people showed up for the and Sunday. A photo review and story
Gig Harbor Kennel Club's all-breed are on page 22.
PORTI. ANE) OR 97P
(; 40,4,.l.- 1,,1-,4 (3.4 I--:tq
E, NOS IN "
; l,bU I,;.L ,3 ;S; ,VL.
PORTLAND OR 97232
(';()MP
PUD eyeing on-ramp Father charged in rape,
to 'info superhighway' ault of tiny daughter
aSS
County PUD 3 is one of :
::: ........ A 1-month-old baby who was area, according to deputies of the result of child abuse, hit her in the stomach and inject-
to access the infer-
SUperhighway in an
to use fiber optics for
and community pur-
4, the Bonneville
tion and the
Public Utility Dis-
signed an
could make fiber-
available to public
entities and the com-
Said PUD 3 Manager
last week, "we
the interest in the
THE community's
Were on hand at
B nleeting of the PUD
Voice just that in-
City Manager
Port of Shelton
Robinson, Tim Mal-
Shelton Timberland
County Com-
Bolender all ex-
for the possibility
broad-band commu-
said the city would
the ability to link its
and services with corn-
sYStems using fiber
Would allow us to ex-
increasing areas of
better ser-
McCarty
main interest, he
by the importance
COmmunications to
s like Mason
of the potential
that might be
McCarty told
can't offer the
broad-band access
.rnet and the world
world the Internet
then we're at a corn-
R Bolender
arguments. "We
Journal Tuesday.
gOVernment pays signifi-
for what's called
Service, but we'd
at reducing our cost
agency." Like
in the coun-
would benefit
of access to infer-
by broad-band
allegedly assaulted by her father
is in critical but improving condi-
tion at Mary Bridge Children's
Hospital in Tacoma, according to
Detective Nick Patterson of the
Mason County Sheriffs Office.
The baby was taken to Mary
Bridge after physicians and nurs-
es at Harrison Memorial Hospital
in Bremerton examined her for
injuries at the request of her par-
ents.
Tests conducted at Mary
Bridge found a probable skull
fracture, a hemorrhage in her ab-
domen and fluid in her pelvic
Mason County Sheriffs Office.
Justin Ryan Jennings, 18, of
6181 NE Bear Creek-Dewatto
Road, Belfair, was charged Friday
with assault in the first degree
and rape of a child in the first de-
gree. He is being held in the Ma-
son County Jail on $500,000 bail
pending arraignment scheduled
for today in Mason County Supe-
rior Court.
Jennings and Sara Torrez, the
baby's mother, were given voice
stress tests by Deputy Jim Petrai-
tis after physicians reported that
the injuries may have been the
Petraitis concluded that Torrez
had nothing to do with injuries to
the baby, according to the state-
ment of probable cause on file
with the Mason County Superior
Court Clerk.
Jennings told Petraitis he
tripped over a shoe and then
stumbled around midnight Sep-
tember 29 and the baby hit her
head on the countertop, deputies
wrote.
He then told Petraitis he was
bitter because he was taking care
of the baby and that he slapped
the child on the side of the head,
ed lamp oil into an intravenous
tube used to deliver medicine to
the baby, according to the state-
ment of probable cause. Prosecu-
tors say that he also sexually mo-
lested her.
The attacks allegedly occurred
when the baby was 17 days old.
Patterson said Detective Mike
Frank visited the child at Mary
Bridge last week and found that
she is being cuddled there by
nurses and family members.
"She is in this touch-a-baby
program where they bring people
in to hold her," he said.
Kids face
criteria '
WYLA WOOD, PUD 3 power supply manager, ponders a
sample bundle of fiber-optic lines, each of which of-
fers the equivalent capacity of 30,240 voice lines. The
60 lines in the cable Wood holds represent the ability
to transmit over a million messages instantly.
As a businessperson, Bolender
added, he sees the lack of broad-
band telecommunications as "the
greatest significant competitive
disadvantage of this area. We
can't compet for really good,
high-paying professional jobs in
the information-services industry
until we get pipes big enough to
ship the data."
Recent legislation that gives
significant tax incentives to tele-
communications businesses that
relocate to dl:tressd counties,
the commissioner said, won't do
Mason County any good "if we
don't have the foundation for
them to land on."
Robinson, at the port, says his
experience so far has indicated a
definite need among tenants and
potential tenants for high-speed
data transmission of some sort.
Although the scope of the project
isn't defined for the port staff and
commissioners yet, he said, the
port "enthusiastically supports a
continued feasibility study."
"DIGITAL DUSTBOWL" is
the term coined for areas left un-
linked to fiber-optic networks
that cross the country and touch
down in high-population, high-
tech areas. People in the utilities
business compare the phenome-
non to the effect of the towns and
communities around the country
when railroads arrived.
A community on a main line, or
a spur, was sure to grow and
flourish, says PUD 3 Assistant
Manager Pat McGary. For a lot of
towns, the failure to secure a rail
link sounded the death knell. To-
day, said Blakemore and McGary,
the development of fiber-optic ser-
vice offers the same opportunities
for growth or decline.
The two cited a report from
Kitsap County that Olympic
(Please turn to page 10.)
ty okays another
for road study
commissioners,
Tuesday, ap-
ar-plus con-
Skillings-
for work on en-
of the High-
Study.
a probable shortfall
a Belfair bypass,
committed
the study in their
The Highway
includes anal-
project and a
highways 3
authorized
the total for the
:Uted March 10,
The supple-
is necessary
bypass propo-
connector study
into two con-
tracts, Public Works Director Jer-
ry Hauth told the board. In May,
State Senator Tim Sheldon was
able to secure legislative funding
for the bypass project.
Hauth said the two projects
were separated to distinguish
funding for the bypass from funds
for the connector route from the
Kitsap County line to Highway
101 near Shelton. Skillings-Con-
nelly had performed work valued
at about $1.4 million up to that
time, he added.
"Now we're up against a wall
with 695," Hauth said of the ini-
tiative on the November ballot
which proposes a flat fee for vehi-
cle tabs. If 1-695 passes, he pre-
dicted, the Belfair project would
fall off of the state legislative
funding list.
If 1-695 does not pass, Hauth
continued, the Washington State
Department of Transportation
will still most likely drop the by-
pass from its list after restructur-
ing.
This third supplement adding
$1,092,956 to the consultant's
contract extends the completion
date to June 30, 2000. When the
work is completed, Hauth said,
the county "will be able to pro-
pare the environmental assess-
ment' for both the connector
route and the bypass. Thirty per-
cent of the design is included in
this contract.
Commissioner Mary Jo Cady
said she was excited about the
Belfair bypass project. "In spite of
the reluctance of the state, I feel
Mason County has the budget
where we can handle this. One
way or another, we're going to get
that road built," she said.
hurt in Thurston mishap
women were in-
critically, and
driving the wrong
was killed in
Monday evening
south of Olympia,
State Patrol re-
23, of Shel-
injuries in
was listed in
tion Wednesday
Peter Hospital
L. Rasler, 21,
in the
driven by
facial, leg and
arm injuries. She was listed in
satisfactory condition Wednesday
morning at Saint Peter Hospital.
Also injured in the three-vehi-
cle crash was a Tumwater wom-
an, Selena A. Patten, 50. She was
treated at Saint Peter Hospital
and released. She was another
passenger in the Nissan driven by
Rowton, which was totaled.
A third vehicle, a 1976 Ford
Pinto station wagon driven by
Linda L. Leggett, 50, of Olympia,
was also damaged. Leggett was
not transported to the hospital.
Killed in the crash was Vernon
L. Olson, 83, of Chehalis. The
1988 Dodge he was driving was
totaled. Olson died at the scene,
troopers reported.
According to the state patrol,
the Dodge driven by Olson drove
southbound on the northbound
off-ramp at 93rd Avenue SW, en-
tered I-5 southbound in the
northbound lane and struck the
Nissan Pathfinder head-on at
Milepost 98. The Nissan then
struck the Ford Pinto station
wagon.
Troopers reported that neither
Olson nor any of the others in-
volved in the three-vehicle crash
were wearing seat belts at the
time.
to pass
Social promotion, the passing
of students along to the next
grade level even if they don't de-
serve the promotion, is going to
be a thing of the past in the Shel-
ton School District.
The Shelton School Board
Tuesday night approved a policy
that holds students in the district
accountable for their own acade-
mic progress.
The Academic Accountability
Policy (formerly the promotion/re-
tention policy) requires students
to meet specified levels of acade-
mic achievement at each grade
level. At grades 5, 8 and 10, addi-
tional academic achievement
standards must be met prior to
promotion to the next grade level.
The policy was drafted during
the past year by the district's
Council for the Improvement of
Student Learning. The council in-
cludes teachers, parents and com-
munity members. Report card
grades, attel(lance records and
demonstratfns of proficiency will
be used to assess whether stu-
dents meet the standards.
Teachers will identify those
falling behind academically and
allow for intervention with in-
structional support by developing
an individualized learning plan.
Those at risk of not being promot-
ed will be identified as early as
possible and educators will work
on the learning plan with a child
and his parents or guardians.
The district, parents and
guardians all will be responsible
for certain aspects of making sure
the students meet the academic
requirements, but the students
themselves are going to be held
responsible as well for a number
of things, including:
• Assuming responsibility for
learning and attendance.
• Being aware of the exit stan-
dards for grades 5, 8 and 10.
• Putting forth their best ef-
forts on assessments to give the
most reliable, valid information
about their academic standing.
• Taking advantage of extend-
ed learning opportunities, if need-
ed, to meet the exit standards.
• Completing homework as-
signments.
The council and district next
must develop procedures on how
to work with students and bring
them along. The council hopes to
bring a proposal back to the
school board before the end of the
current school year about how to
establish the procedures.
In other school business, the
board accepted a gift of $150,000
from the trust of the late Barbara
Jean Bearden for the Robert and
Donald Drake Scholarship Fund.
The fund has been used for the
past 20 years to provide scholar-
ships for district graduates. Mrs.
Bearden was the Drakes' sister.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
On the inside
Births ..................................... 14
Classifieds ............................ 31
Community Calendar .......... 7
Crossword ......... . .................. 36
Entertainment, Dining ..... 30
Health Journal .................... 14
Journal of Record .............. 23
Obituaries ..................... ...... 10
Opinions, Letters ......... 4, 5, 6
Sports .................................... 25
Tides ...................................... 29
Weather ................................ 23
IMHHIIHIMIHII
.I
Thursday, October 14, 1999
113th Year - Number 41 4 Sections - 42 Pages
50 Cents
Lacey boy, 10, drowns
fishing at Brown Creek
A 10-year-old Lacey boy
drowned Saturday while fishing
with his father and a friend at
Brown Creek in the Olympic Na-
tional Forest.
The Pierce County Coroner is
conducting an autopsy on Shawn
Lowrance of 5913 Crimson Court
SE, Lacey. Deputy Duain Dugan
of the Mason County Sheriffs Of-
fice wrote that the boy "had a
wound to the back of his head"
when his father, John Lowrance
of the same address, found him
floating face up in the creek.
Dugan was dispatched to the
Brown Creek Campground at
6:11 p.m. and arrived there44
minutes later, according to his of-
ficial report. By then emergency
responders from Mason County
Fire District 9 in the Skokomish
Valley had taken the victim from
the scene. The boy was pro-
nounced dead at Mary Bridge
Children's Hospital in Tacoma,
Dugan wrote.
His father was taken to the
Skokomish Valley Community
Church so he could be picked up
there by his wife.
Dugan interviewed 10-year-old
Jeffrey Smith, who had gone fish-
ing with the Lorances. Jeffrey
said the three were fishing at the
campground when he and Mr.
Lowrance walked downstream to
try to find a better fishing spot,
Dugan wrote. He told Dugan that
Shawn stayed by their vehicle.
According to Dugan, Jeffrey
said that when they returned
about 20 minutes later they found
Shawn floating face up in a pool
of water about four feet, six inch-
es deep. Mr. Lowrance tied a rope
around Jeffrey and sent him into
the water to retrieve Shawn, Du-
gan wrote.
Mr. Lowrance carried his son
up to a flat space above the creek
and discovered the wound and the
fact that Shawn was not breath-
ing, Dugan wrote. Jeffrey told
Dugan he ran to another camping
spot and got help from the people
camping there.
Dugan also talked to those
campers - Mason and Angelika
Stanhope. They told Dugan that
Mr. Stanhope attempted cardio-
pulmonary resuscitation on the
boy while Mrs. Stanhope drove
him to a telephone to call for
emergency assistance.
Mr. and Mrs. Stanhope said
they continued to attempt CPR
until the ambulance from District
9 arrived on the scene.
The autopsy reportedly should
be completed in three or four
weeks.
Meeting on clock tower set
A town meeting about the clock
tower that is being planned for
downtown Shelton will be held at
6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 21,
at the Shelton Civic Center.
Olympia architect and Shelton
area resident Bill Sloane will lead
the meeting. Sloane's firm, Masi-
ni Sanford Gabrielse & Schoen-
feldt Architects of Olympia, was
selected recently by Shelton city
commissioners to do the design
work on the 25-foot tall, four-
sided clock tower, complete with
carillon bells and bronze relief
panels. The clock tower is
planned for the southeast corner
of the Evergreen Square parking
lot near the Shelton Post Office,
The final design of the project
is planned to be done by Novem.
ber, 15.
The Shelton Arts Commission,
which is sponsoring the clock tow-
timber and shellfish industries
and others - on the panels.
The bulk of the project's cost,
estimated at $225,000, vill be
funded by private sources, includ.
ing corporations, and through the
sale of bricks, tiles and benches
which will bear the names of
er project, is seeking public corn- sponsors. It's estimated that the
ments about the tower's design bronze relief panels will cost be-
and the four relief panels that tween $12,000 and $18,000 each.
will celebrate the area's history of Arts commission plans call for
sustained resources. The arts dedicating the clock tower on July
commission is going to the corn- 4, 2000.
munity for input about what Refreshments will be served at
should be included - such as the the meeting.
Dog days of autumn at fairgrounds
Dogs by the dozens - over 1,300 of them dog shows at the fairgrounds Saturday
- and 6,000 people showed up for the and Sunday. A photo review and story
Gig Harbor Kennel Club's all-breed are on page 22.