The Olympian from Olympia, Washington • 15

South Sound Stocks plummet A bad report on unemployment halts Wall Street's 2004 rally with the Dow dropping 134 points BACK OF THIS SECTION SATURDAY JANUARY 10 2004 SECTION $J)e Olympian REGIONAL NEWS Port folfy to raise poSe ait plaza Commissioners expected to endorse panels choice the words of the minority opinion on the paneL The artisan in question is Doug Tobin a Squaxin Island tribal member who learned to carve with the help of tribal members while serving an eight-year prison term for aiding in the March 1986 murder of The Evergreen State College employee Joanne Jirovec He was arrested again in March 2002 as the ringleader of a Puget Sound shellfish poaching ring four years after he received a $66400 contract from the Port of Olympia to carve the pole for placement in the Port Plaza He was sentenced last month to a 14-year prison term for his role in the poaching ring that stole nearly $15 million in geoducks and crab A number of carvers worked on the pole and share of the work is estimated at 15 per- BY JOHN DODGE THE OLYMPIAN The Port of Olympia is likely to erect in its Port Plaza a 36-foot-tall Salish welcome pole carved in part by a man convicted of multiple felonies including manslaughter for his role in a murder-for-hire case that took the life of a Thurston County woman The pole has been languishing in a port warehouse for years the subject of a sharp community debke over whether it is valuable or a contaminated piece of public art Aport advisory panel voted 4-2 Thursday in favor of placing the pole in the port's lower Budd Inlet waterfront park Hie three port commissioners will consider the advisory panel recommendation when they meet Jan 26 Port commissioner Robert Van Schoorl said Friday he would abide by the panel's vote "I will accept the Van Schoori said "It's a very valuable piece of art this community deserves to see" Port Commissioner Steve Pottle could not be reached for comment Friday But he said in October 2003 that he would accept whatever recommendation the panel made Port Commissioner Paul Telford said he support raising of the pole should dispose of it for whatever we can get it's too he said echoing Otympian file photo Artist Doug Tobin works on the nose of the Mother Earth figure on the controversial 36-foot Salish welcome pole In March 1999 A panel advised the Port of Olympia to display the pole despite criminal history erect the welcome pole saying it would make a mockery of her life and serve as a painful reminder of her murder See WELCOME POLE Page C2 cent A pole Tobin and other inmates carved stands outside the tribes Little Creek Casino It was after his poaching arrest that friends and family of Jirovec urged the port not to Image is not everything Judge delays murder trial chastises prosecutor SHELTON Propane tank leak results in closure of 3 blocks A leak in a i morning led hr three blocks 2 streets No one was injured and there was no damage to property said Dave Salzer assistant fire chief Snow was being removed from the fire station's parking lot about 10:45 am when a 250-gallon propane tank was bumped Salzer said It separated from one of the fittings prompting the leak Officials shut off ana secured the tank A three-block radius was evacuated and traffic diverted from the area as aprecaution Salzer said The incident was resolved in about 30 minutes he said OLYMPIA Two from Olympia named to state board positions Two Olympia residents were appointed to state boards the governor announced this week John Crawford executive director of Washington Counties Risk Pool was appointedto the Property and Liability Advisory Board which assists the state risk manager in adopting rules governing the operation and management of individual and joint self-insurance programs It also assists in reviewing and approving the creation of joint self-insurance programs covering property and liability risks term runs through 2006 Elise Greef of Olympia was appointed to the Public Hospital District Project Review Board which reviews proposals submitted by public hospital districts to use alternative public works contracting procedures Her term ends July 27 2006 SOUTH SOUND 8 orcas spotted Friday swimming in Sound Up to eight orcas were seen swimming south Friday afternoon between SteUacoom and McNeil Island according to a report filed with Orca Network's whale sighting network Ifs not clear if the orcas are members of one of the Puget Sound resident pods or transient killer whales said John Calambokidis a marine mammal researcher with Cascadia Research of Olympia Ifs die farthest south that orcas have been spotted since a Dec 23 report to Cascadia of 24 orcas off McNeil Island Calambokidis said Line spotting whales in South is asked to report the sighting to Cascadia at 360-943-7325 Library board meeting on tax levy was canceled Umberland Regional Library board meeting on a new property tax levy rate was canceled Officials still are waiting to receive more information before they can calculate what the rate will be for next year and will reschedule the meeting once they are ready The levy rate is projected to drop 26 percent within the library distract to 469 cents per SL000 of assessed value Olympian staff BY SCOTT GUTIERREZ THE OLYMPIAN OLYMPIA A judge granted a prosecutor's request Friday to postpone the trial of a former high school teacher accused of murdering a teenage girL The trial for Stephan Kaufman 44 was tentatively scheduled for early March during a hearing in Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee said a specific date would be set at a later time possibly next week Kaufman of Olympia a former part-time drafting teacher at North Thurston High School is accused of killing 16-year-old Ashley Parks a wayward Bellingham teen he met in an Internet chat room He is charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of third-degree child rape He has pleaded innocent Parks' decomposing body was found by hikers Aug 28 in a wooded area along Chehalis Western Trail less than a mile from his apartment She'd been struck with a blunt object Prosecutors asked to postpone the trial which was scheduled to begin Monday to allow more time to complete forensic work on DNA samples collected from the body and the scene and to finish other tests to better estimate when she died Judge McPhee said he was irritated that the scientists wouldn't be finished in time for the Monday trial "What you've proposed here is hardly he said The evidence could be useful to both sides in the case and Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tinheim said he feared moving forward without it because doing so could raise issues for an appeal in the future However Kaufman's defense attorney Michael Hanbey had concerns about having a chance to review the evidence before the trial and whether he would have time to hire an independent expert to analyze the findings The trial is expected to last seven to 10 days Tony OvcrmanThe Olympian Juanita Brown manager coordinator at the Bread Roses Community Rest Shelter talks with John Roe who was recuperating at the shelter Friday evening Brown was homeless when her Involvement with the Justice (Me provided the opportunity for her to manage the shelter giving Brown a job and permanent address Women group addresses homeless stereotypes as obstacle The women without a home of their own live together in a women's shelter run by Bread Roses They decided they needed to tell their life stories to put a face on homeless women Their stories expose abusive relationships joblessness addictions and mental health problems They also reveal an incredible resiliency and optimism "I became mentally ill but I had many children and they kept me alive and fighting" Kathryn Manners said drugs to regain custody of her son When she lost him she "went back to drugs to cover the pain and I have been running ever since she said praying by Feb 1 2004 1 have a home so I can say I'm retiring of the streets and being stable clean sober and starting a street said Eckard who says she gave her life to Christ five years ago became homeless because I could not find a job to keep up with my Juanita Brown said "The job situation in Oly is poor and my age is against me I have no car and do not always have bus But Brown continues to look for her job and said "eventually it will come See IMAGE Page C2 BY SHARON MICHAEL THE OLYMPIAN OLYMPIA About half of the women sitting in the circle are homeless The others are young mothers religious women and advocates for the poor no way to tell them apart until they begin to tell their stories All erf the women are determined to demolish the stereotype of homeless women as shiftless people who don't want to work and are satisfied with their lives The group came together when the women of St Parish formed a Women's Justice Circle an eight-week program to bring women in the community together to attack housing problems facing poor women Her children are Manners grown and she is for a "new future" in Olympia Georgia Eckard said she kicked WE WANTYTO KNOW SOUTH SOUND DEATHS Hstai Davis Chehalls Barbara Jean Hopkins Tumwater Robart A lotzanhisar Olympia Euia (Norton) Montgomery Lacey Wayne Mlchaal Richard Buckley Eleanor Amelia Vandarhyda Olympia Obituaries C2 CORRECTIONS The Jan 8 issue of Weekend contained a mini-review of Westside Diner that was originally written in August As of November the restaurant changed ownership and is now known as Jordan Emily's It Is The Olympian's policy to correct all significant errors that are brought to the editors' attention If you think we have made such an error please call our newsroom at 360-754-5420 after 8 am on weekdays or e-mail us at theolympiarucom State lauds innovative employees Awards recognize upgrades in service savings Alex SeRman an engineer at the Department of Transportation wrote What will be the legacy of Gov Gaiy Locke? Gov Gary Locke has begun the last year of his last term In office We want to know what readers think his legacy will be Is there something you think he should work on this year to make his mark on history? You can e-mail your thoughts to newstheoiympiancom fax them to 360-357-0202 or write to P0 Box 1219 Olympia WA 98507-1219 Please include the following information: Name: Town: Age: Phone number (not for publication): a computer program mat increases the speed at which information needed by surveyors is processed "The section process would take hours and my frustration level led to writing Sellman said The same amount of work now takes seconds with his program Han DcttHng Office of the Secretary of State realized that duplicate business application packets were mailed to business owners from both die Department of Licensing and the Department of Transportation The documents are now available online saving $4792L See INNOVATIVE Page C2 ernment Awards ceremony at the Department of Labor and Industries Fifteen individuals were recognized for their suggestions that saved money increased efficiency or improved work processes Suggestions with die highest impacts: Tim Feist Department of Social and Health Services warehouse supervisor proposed dial food-handling training he incorporated in the annual train-ing for caregivers at Western State Hospital who might serve foods to patients Feist's suggestion expected to be implemented this month will improve patient care by reducing the risk of infection officials said BY KATIE WARD THE OLYMPIAN Moneysaving suggestions from several stale employees saved die state taxpayers more than $565400 last year Secretary of State Sam Reed said Friday One employee found two state departments were mailing the same paperwork to business owners Another found a way for some disabled people to qualify for federal instead of state benefits A third wrote a computer program that eliminated hours of work Reed and State Auditor Brian Sonntag honored those employees and others Friday at an Innovation in State Gov City editor: Barry inter 360-754-5423 newstheolympiancom Go online to www theoJymplancom for local news obituaries and community events 3 3E i a lifillfii I CHEHALIS TRIBES IvM TONIGHT AT 8PM1 nFf? 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