The News Tribune from Tacoma, Washington • 31

V- j- ----a'--- i-- LOCAL Obituaries C4 Insight C6 THE NEWS TRIBUNE wwwtribnetcom SUNDAY AUGUST 23 1998 Refocus called for at Chief Leschi Playing for a good cause ViaHe a former Tacoma mayor and state budget official wrote the report The school board reviewed the report Leschi schools must meet state education standards C3' In aftermath of critical report ex-Puyallup tribal chairwoman says school The tribal school system was started to better meet the needs of American Indian children Now the tribe should refocus on that goal she said last week school has achieved a she aid can do more It was intended to do more A look at pay and staffing at Chief Leschi Schools C4 penntendent Linda 1 Verna Houle interim superintendent ilph It named do for students jAf' sf i By RosTucm The News Tribune Hie ship they rode from Japan lay empty tied to the pier The cargo of tanks and Jeeps had rolled out long before dawn on flatbeda and that left us with 50 or so military trucks nmhnlnnnpN and rigs similar to the American Humvee I never did catch what they call this particular off-road vehicle in Tbkyo I looked for a nameplate but almost everything was written in Japanese Tire closest I came waa Mqjor problems surficing at the school have made the tribal council school board and the community "a little less innocent" but the removal of Rudolph will help the school system Bennett said Hie Bchool board asked for the report after the FBI and Interior Department investigation began Federal investigators originally looked into allegations Please set Apert C4 The FBI and the inspector general of thelLS Department of the Interior began investigating the school's transportation department last year Since then the school has been served with aubpoeanas requesting a variety of records and financial documents which could mean the investigation has The recent report documented wasjte and mismanagement at Chief Leschi which was intended to be a model for American Indian programs nationwide when it opened in the fall of 1996 Although run by the Puyallup Tribe the school receives federal and state tax dollars Consultants Wallace Miller and Karen Fonnor Chief Lsachi Schools A recent report and an ongoing federal investigation of Chief Leschi Schools are wakeup calls for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians says Ramona Bennett former Puyallup Tribal Council chairwoman Linda Rudolph reading my own identification badge verofa which proclaimed me the driver 100 years of Sumner High Platoon Command about ready for the ride of your life" said Jeni Gregory to the assembled volunteers as the Friday morning sky softened with its first pale light All I actually hoped to do was drive my assignment from dockside at the Port of Tacoma to the Yakima Firing Range Reserves to come to the rescue without embarrassing myself or adversely affecting relations between the governments of Japan or the United States Gregory executive director of the Orca Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls had explained Army Reserve to take over high-altitude rescue work from deactivated unit CR ROBERTS BrltamWianT The News Tribune AlocalArmy Reserve unit is ready to assume the duties of a deactivated Army unit responsible for high-altitude rescues The 214th Aviation Regiment formed in 1965 will be placed on inactive status aa of Sept 15 But a formal ceremony waa held at Fort Lewis last week and its duties already have been reassigned to Com- pany A 5th Battalion 159th Avia-' tion Regiment of the Army Reserve Both units are stationed at Fort Lewis Those duties usually involve transporting troops and equipment But the 2nd Platoon of the Army unit also has helped extinguish forest and brush fires And it gained renown as a high-altitude rescue tram that has come to the aid of stranded climbers on Mount Rainier The unit has averaged about three rescues a year since 1986 One of the most dramatic was the June 11 rea- cue of six people trapped by a landslide on the mountain One climber died but the 214th Aviation Regiment flew the survivors to Madigan Army Medical Center on a CH-47D Chinook helicopter and flew rescue workers to the seem The last rescue came July 23 when it flew News Tribune photographer Peter Haley from the mountain after he suffered a severe case of altitude sickness Duncan LmngstonThe Nora Tmune Helen Beattie left class of 1958 her mother Hilda Purvis Beattie class of 1917 center and Pat Baker class of 1957 share a laugh at the Sumner High School reunion at Emerald Downs on Saturday Hilda Beattie was honored as one of the oldest living SHS graduates 1200 share their memories at centennial event the program earlier in the week For the fifth year her organization would earn a fee by driving the visiting trucks and such to Yakima where a contingent of the Japanese Defense Force waa conducting its annual training maneuvers So there I sat waiting in line sandwiched between a medium-sized truck and another vehicle such as my own Diesel fumes rose and I quickly realized Td need all the oxygen I could find if I were to negotiate tiie dashboard before me I turned the key and the engine caught But what waa I to make of the switch asking that I choose between The toggle I eventually discovered turned on the lights But when I tried what I thought should be the turn signal a trio of windshield wipers began their dance Should I begin my journey in or Again the prominently displayed instructions were of no help to my English-only eyes Add to my confusion that I was seated on the right side of the cab where drivers sit in Japan I poured myself some coffee from a Thermos Behind me inside the back I noted a half-dozen platoon-commanding radios and various nests of cable enough communications gear I realized to call in a rocket attack against Cle Elum The truck ahead pulled out I yanked the main shifter into and flicked the turn signal Again (and not for last time) the windshield wipers deployed Thus we proceeded to Sno-qualmie Pass for a welcome break then to a rest area near Ellensburg for a snack Thatis where I met my colleagues fere and aft In the truck was Bill Stosskopf a counselor at Mann Middle School and a member of the Camp Fire board He volunteered his day help Camp Fire Children are the greatest resource my way of giving back to the communi- Behind rode John Miles who has taken a year away from teaching to work with Parkland First Baptist Church Hie trip like he told me So it was More than once passing the wilderness I fantasized a treasonous turn into the forest How quickly I wondered would it take us to successfully invade Roslyn or Salmon Id Sac? I was playing Army without having to wear a uniform Except for a few screwy looks from drivers of civilian vehicles the four-hour trip was uneventful and By Mssv Samara The News Tribune have come to depend on Col Jacob McFerren through the picnic area at Emerald Downs Of course there also was talk about the high Bchool years Diane Barks class of 65 brought a photo album filled with snapshots of high school dances and parties and new memories from recent reunions my Banks exclaimed always wore a A more recent photograph taken in 1985 can ask anyone The Dairy Freeze was synonymous with Sumner High School Everyone went there You could get a burger shake and fries for 65 showed a basketball game between longtime he players rivals Sumner and Puyallup but the When Hilda Purvis Beattie was a child she waa nicknamed because die had so much energy Judging by the fact she gave birth to 11 children the name would appear appropriate And Saturday the spirited 98-year-old was honored as one of the oldest living graduates of Sumner High School at the Centennial Reunion at Emerald Downs Beat-tie graduated in 1917 More than 1200 Sumnfer High School graduates attended the event taking up two floors of banquet apace at the Auburn race track The event marked the 100th anniversary of the first graduating class -five students mho the 10th grade in 1898 class of commander told Boldiers of the 214th during ceremony have always been CapL Stew Stanton executive officer of the Army Reserve unit that will assume the duties said two crews already have been trained for high-altitude rescues The remaining aviation crew members will be trained over the next year The 5th159th has 210 reservists and six active-duty Reserve noncommissioned officers It also has 17 Chinook helicopters and i fitting fires It assumed i firefighting duties July 1 and has since logged 29 hours extinguishing fires at the Yakima TYaining Center Stanton doesn't see any difficulty in taking over the high-altitude rescues TVvo of the 5th159thk reservists participated in a high-altitude rescue in June 1997 Stanton also foresee any difference in response time because Pkasesee Rsaarw C2 you looked a little old to be in high school Class of graduates and past members of the boys basketball team had organized the game as part of their 20-year reunion Aid tiie Sumner grads won waa a great day for us" said Steve Shireman who organized the game "We all put on the high Bchool uniforms got out there and actually won We looked great It was a lot of Shireman said many of his high school memories centered around his restaurant the Dairy Freeze Linda Sader dan of 62 agreed can ask anyone The Dairy Freeze was synonymous with Sumner High Sad-Pteasesex Marias C2 On Saturday some graduates traveled from Brazil and Mexico to ab for away as Guam I Perry said Beattie's children used to walk through her yard on their way to schooL Similar scenes played out throughout the day by graduates catching up with old high school friends and acquaintances some of whom they didn't recognize after so many years apart Conversations about marriages children careera divorces and vacations hummed as tend the reunion Gloria Thoren Perry class of excitedly grabbed Beattie's hand when she saw her me Perry said one of the Thoren twins" yes!" Beattie laughed nice to see All the trucks large and small the tnd MLRS Platoon ambulances and Judge dismisses suit over illegal drug search The AssoeuniB Press ter heater at Phillips home in November 1995 released Phillips without arresting him Phillips is an amateur photographer But man still free to police He said the tape waa hearsay and would not be admissible aa evidence when the case goes to trial Nov 30 Felnagle also rejected claim that police violated his rights when they detained him On Friday Felnagle granted in full the City motion to dii to dismiss all federal constitutional claims that pursue a defamation A judge has dismissed most of a law-Buit brought by a man who alleged that Tacoma police conspired with furnace installers to illegally search his home for a drug lab But Pierce County Superior Court During the job workers alerted po- lice they suspected Phillips of having a methamphetamine lab because of a bung chemical smell glass bottles with chemicals surgical tubing a scale and glass vials Command Vehicles were safely delivered into the care of a group of men who looked to be colonels ait least Then we rode home on a bus In a few weeks volunteers wifi drive in the oppoHile direction delivering the convoy back to the Port fora brat ride home And for all their work serving 15000 youngsters in six Western Washington counties The Orca Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls will stand $24700 richer CR column appears Sundays Tuesdays and Thursdays He can be reached at 253-697-8535 or by fax at 253-597-8274 Address e-mail to cn4iptribnetcom Phillips made in his lawsuit against the city and its police officers State tort was a complete victory for the city re two-thirds of the way and I think we're city case against heating company Judge Thomas Felnagle ruled Friday that George Joseph Philli lipa could those as well Police got a search warrant and sent in officers with helmets gas masks and protective suits Phillips was held handcuffed in the baik of a police car for four hours pursue claims of defamation and negligent infliction of emotional distress against Washington Energy Services and Northwest Water Heater there on ours" said Stephanie Bloom' field lawyer fin the two companies Both the city and the companies maintained Tacoma police never asked Northwest Water Heater employees to search home Phillips said he was with the rulings The judge also ruled that a tape recording of a conversation between Phillips and a Northwest employee did not unequivocally show that the workers looked for evidence at the request of The two companies now merged Police determined that the home contained only darkroom chemicals and were hired to install a furnace and wa- anwEf mnr 5 ft: ru'-i SSI.