The News Tribune from Tacoma, Washington • 5

Local Inside: A massive power failure earlier this month in the West may be a taste of things to come as we enter the world of deregulation of the power supply B3 Weather B2 Obituaries B4 Classified B5-10 The News Tribune South King County Monday August 19 1996 Safety fear grows over crowded Lake Tapps Ignorance of rules and horseplay cited Rum CanMcfcThe News Tribune TWo flare abuctures are used to bum off gas from rotting gvbags buried at the Hkldsn Vritay LandNI south of Puyaliipb A Caffomia company hopes to convert ttie gas Into dtamatfve toL IrnniM fafsigSn) a taCstFoaO By Rob Tucker The News Tribune Statistics say Lake Tapps hasn't had an unusual number of serious hunting over the years But two in the last week including one crash that killed a 9-year-old boy -have people worried about safety on Pierce most pop-ularlake the lake overcrowded in hot weatherf Yes in places" said Dave Wakefield assistant chief of the Lake Tapps Fire District concern is with the increase in Jet Skiers and boaters then is a possible increase coming in the number of A combination of crowding ignorance of watercraft regulations and risky horseplay is endangering people on parts of the east county lake he and other officials say Ttoo danger spots are offshore from the countys Lake Tapps North Park and near Allan Yoke Park in Bonney Lake Brandon Story of Buckley died of head injuries Aug 12 after a boat traveling 60 mph collided with another boat near the county park Three days later a 19-yearold Mil-ton man suffered a fractured skull after he was hit by a swerving personal watercraft near Bankers Island Local boaters and personal watercraft users are concerned "It gets pretty nuts up here on weekends" said Robert Metz as he launched his boat into Lake Tapps late last week "Jet Skis boats running all over in all Mkz a Lake Tapps resident wishes people would use more care and common sense Water safety courses should be required for boat and personal watercraft owners as a condition of obtaining insurance he said The problem is Jet said A1 Betts a boater from Federal Way who often comes to Lake Tapps (riding them) don't pay attention to going on around them They get too dose they play see Lake ftppsB3 Firm plans plant at Pierce County landfill to convert garbage gas into methane fuel BySandl I The News Tribune finance the prqject at the landfill five qiiles south of Puyallup TbrraMeth has signed a contract with LRI to purchase the landfill gas and has obtained most of the permits it needs said executive vice president Gil Cervantez The company also has lined up customers for the methanol and has qualified for federal tax credits to promote alternative fuels The only potential roadblock is the cost of the electrical power the company will need to operate the plant The prqject fells into Puget Sound Power Light CoA territory -but just barely And that a source of frustration for Cervantez who would rather pay the lower ratee charged by Tacoma City Light whose territory begins just across the street The difference is significant Cervanteig said Electricity from Puget Power will cost 's Please see Landffl 64 The landfill gas that burbles up from buried garbage is currently burned off in flares a process that puts tons of pollutants and greenhouse gases into the air each year If the gas is used instead of burned that I nliminutnH Methanol the end product of the process would be sold for fuel in California cutting back on vehicle emissions there If the Pierce County prqject is a success the company hopes to build similar plants across the country "If kind of fun to be out there trying to prove this will work" said Dan Syrdal an attorney far Land Recovery Inc the private company that operates Hidden Valley Landfill for the county "This could be real helpful technology all around the Economic Development Finance Authority recently approved the sale million worth of tax-exempt bands to ergy benefit to this project" said Dave Kircher of the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency The agency issued a permit for the plant to TbrraMeth Industries of Wak nut Creek Calif California's South Coast Air Quality Management District a national leader in dean-air programs gave the company a half-mil- lioiidollar grant to develop the process "We see so many win-wins with this technology" said Paul Weubben dean fuels officer fix' the California air agency This is a way to literally convert an air quality problem into a solution" The prqject would cut air pollution in two ways: A byproduct of rotting garbage could put Pierce Hidden Valley Landfill at the leading edge of technology to reduce air pollution and turn trash into treasure A California company is preparing to build a plant at the dump to tap the foul-smelling gas produced as garbage decomposes ana amvert it into methanol a dean-burning alternative to gasoline and diesel fuel Air quality experts praise the (10 million enterprise which would be the first of its kind in the world a tremendous air quality and en State Reform Party delegates say goal is new kind of politics Baby born after shooting getting belter ByJameeLEng The Associated Press By RusmR Working The News Tribune Disillusioned with Democrats and disenchanted with Republicans members of Washington newest political party gathered Sunday to start a campaign they said is aimed at returning government to the people Afew dozen people showed up at a meeting hall in Shoreline for the founding convention of the Reform Party of Washington State In a room that featured a cardboard cutout of Reform Party presidential candidate Roes Perot they munched on cookies with coffee lis A C' i'i siTn? system is corrupt Well they are the system and a politician that blames the system for political corruption is no better than a drug addict or an alcoholic who blames society for an Newman said Organizers of the founding convention conceded unlikely Perot will be elected president this year But they say they are laying the groundwork for fielding more Reform Party candidates on the state level in future elections Among the Reform Party's principles are: high ethical standards in elected office a balanced budget campaign reform term limits and creation of a more equitable paper-' less tax system In Washington a third-party candidate for president or statewide elected office needs to win at least 5 percent of the vote in November to gain party That designation allows the future candidates to be automatically placed cm the primary ballot Independent-minded voters have long had a strong presence in Waah- ington state Perot running as an independent garnered 24 percent of the state vote in the 1992 presidential election one of his best showings anywhere must be a conservative and a Republican We're told that if you believe in fairneee and equality you muet be a liberal and a Democrat" Hoffinan said "Well I believe in morality and economic growth and fairness and equality and I am an independent In fact I am a member of the Reform Party" Dale Wright a 72-year-old Seattle retiree said: Tm very displeased with both of the mqor parties I don't think either one of them are doing their Aside from Perot the party has only one candidate on the statewide ballot this year Shawn Newman an Olympia attorney running for lieutenant governor Newman has promised to slash the $62700-a-year salary to $26JX)0 and refase a fidl-time pension ifelected He said he would also be a advocate for reforms in campaign and tax laws among other things Tm always amazed when I hear about politicians who say that not them not corrupt the 'C jt tened to speeches and swapped of political dissatisfaction Then thqy sat down before big-screen TVs to watch a satellite feed from Valley Forge Pa of Perot accepting the nomination Members of the Reform Party stressed they were standing up not for a man but for a new way of conducting politics The Reform Party our political weapon to take back our said Harriet Hoffman a party organizer She said it would be a party of inclusiveness not ideology told that if you believe in morality and economic growth you A newborn delivered hour after her mother was fatally wounded is improving and has been been removed from a respirator family member said Sunday Shiara Alrosa Marie Blevins-fini meriy listed in serious condiGon at -Madigan Army Medical Center -was moved Friday to St Joseph Medical Center really Baid Dunham an aunt of woman no longer an arespi-rator and starting Jo feed The child was in very con- dition after her 18-year-old njother" Jamie Blevins was fatafiy shot' in the face Aug 11 at her Lakewood -I home Doctors at Madigan kept the mother alive to deliver the baby who was more than a month premature and weighed 5 pounds at birth 1 Authorities said Blevins was shot by 19-yearold Lenwood Jeffrey Me-Cullum who was her boyfriend and the father The Tacoma man said the gun discharged accidental- ly when he jumped on the bed But Pierce County prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting Court papers said the pair argued because he wanted a boy instead of a girl A Madigan spokeswoman said Sunday that Shiara no longer was there but she said she had no record of where the girl was taken St Joseph would not confirm the child was there Dunham however said Shiara -who has a 20-month-old brother was moved after she stabilized "I like to think that going to live through her she said these kids are very impor- I nun Ishsn'Ounrintnl rmnn are poated at the Reform Party's convention Sun- TTfcir Ipliis uf day In Shoreline Puyallup would funnel state funds to Chief Leschi Schools By Susan fionkm The News Tribune trict and the Indian school and allow the district to funnel state education money to Chief Leschi Chief Leschi would not receive local levy money The Puyallup Tribe of Indians runs the Indian school which serves students from preschool through grade 12 Most of the schooh operating revenue comes from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Chief Leschi students hail from 54 tribes The school opened in 1979 and until now classes were held in Tacoma where most of the 710 stu dents reside Chief Leschi is classified by the state as a private school even though it gets public money The proposed agreement requires Chief Leschi to comply with public school laws and regulations Enrollment will be open to non-Indians although the school may admit Indian students first if demand exceeds capacity seetaecMB3 ey would boost teacher salaries not signed it will create a lot more pain and she said the legal right ethical thing to do life good for kids" The Puyallup School Board is scheduled to act on the proposed agreement at a meeting tonight at 6 pm at Puyallup High School The deal already has been approved by the Chief Leschi board but also requires endorsement by the Puyallup Tribal CounciL The one-year renewable pact would create a new relationship between the school dis Chief Leschi Schools could get more than $2 million in previously untapped Btate education money if the Puyallup School Board agrees Linda Rudolph superintendent of Chief Leschi Schools is counting on the proposed agreement to help finance first-year operations at Chief Leachi's new $32 million complex which opens Sept 3 south of River Road within the Puyallup School District The i TV Tp ji I rmnrkn SL.