Here are The Leader news staff’s picks for the top 10 new stories of 2019, in chronological order:
February 2019
First of three homeless deaths
During a historic blizzard, Cassandra Aldrich, 56, died Feb. 4 after she was found cold to the touch and barely breathing, sleeping in a tent next to her fiance Edwin Wisbey. The Jefferson County Coroner determined hypothermia was the likely cause of death. The county had just been blanketed in an inch and a half of snow and the night of Feb. 3 temperatures dropped to 20 degrees fahrenheit. Hers was just the first death of a homeless person here in 2019.
On May 3, 67-year-old Paul Gomes suffered a heart attack in the Quimper Mercantile parking lot in downtown Port Townsend. He was flown to Harborview Medical Center where he died shortly thereafter. Gomes had been suffering from a number of untreated medical issues that were exacerbated by his lack of stable housing. At the time of his death, Gomes and his common-law wife Erika Malloy were in the process of finding a place together in Sequim with the help of a veterans supportive housing voucher. Malloy said if they had had a home, it might have been different for Gomes.
On Oct. 25, Edwin Wisbey, Cassandra Aldrich’s finance, followed her to the grave when he died of alcohol related liver failure. Dallas Wisbey, Edwin’s brother, said today his ashes are spread in the same location as Aldrich’s, so they can be together forever.
MARCH 2019
Musician found dead, investigation ensues
On March 27, 43-year-old Jarrod Bramson, a fixture in the local music scene, died of an apparent drug overdose after being left unconscious in a car on the Jefferson Healthcare campus.
Investigations into his death revealed the locations of two illicit drug laboratories in Port Townsend and led to the arrest of the alleged operator, 38-year-old Adam Kelly.
Kelly awaits trial in Jefferson County Jail for the substance related homicide of Bramson as well as sale, delivery and manufacture of illicit drugs. In November he waived his right to a speedy trial and his next hearings are set for Feb. 28, 2020.
Bramson’s death rippled through the community with many mourning his loss and crediting him with the creation of the Port Townsend indie rock scene through his “DIY” music style and warm, inclusive attitude.
June 2019
Homicide death of Johnny Rowland
On June 5, Celinda LaDue was arrested for the stabbing of her boyfriend Johnny Rowland, 29. Two days later she was released from jail while Jefferson County Sheriff’s office detectives continued to investigate what led up to the stabbing.
The 23-year-old long-time Port Townsend resident has yet to face any criminal charges and was ordered to stay with her father in Sedro-Woolley Washington.
Her court-appointed defense counsel Richard Davies said at her probable cause hearing she was a victim of domestic violence, and acted in self-defense when she stabbed Rowland during an alcohol-fueled physical altercation.
“She called 911, fully cooperated with law enforcement. She’s got no criminal history,” Davies said.
JUNE 2019
Decomposing whale in Hadlock
The eyes of the world fell on Jefferson County in mid-June when a decomposing whale carcass on a Port Hadlock couple’s beachfront property made international headlines.
The adult male grey whale had starved to death and washed up in Mats Mats bay in late May.
Mario Rivera and Stephanie Warwog, a local couple who volunteer with the Marine Science Center and the Marine Mammal Stranding Network volunteered to let the whale rot on their small stretch of beachfront property. Picked clean by maggots, the bones will be displayed for educational purposes.
Their story was woven into international stories about the gray whale population boom that resulted in 30 starved whales washing up on Washington beaches. The veterinarian and her retired police officer husband were featured in stories in the New York Times and the Associated Press as well as news reports in Australia and the United Kingdom.
June 2019
The Quilcene Whistling Oyster noose
A noose, hung in the window of the old Whistling Oyster in Quilcene sparked a community discussion about free speech this summer. On June 19, The Leader reported that a noose had been hanging in the window of the closed business since April. Many members of the public believed the symbol was racially motivated, while others argued it was simply a “wild west” warning against breaking into the property. Others believed regardless of the message, the noose gave the wrong impression to visitors of Quilcene and did not reflect the community’s values.
Regardless, local officials said it was the property owner William Bacchus’ first amendment right to hang the noose. Jefferson County Sheriff Joe Nole said his office had received half a dozen calls about the noose, as did The Leader.
“He has a First Amendment right to display it on his private property,” Nole said. “That being said, I was surprised when I saw it. I don’t approve of it, and I don’t want outsiders who come here to think that this is what our community approves of.”
Mounting public pressure eventually resulted in the removal of the noose at the beginning of July.
August 2019
THING music and arts festival
August saw the inaugural “THING” festival, organized by Sasquatch! Music Festival founder Adam Zacks. The sold out festival at Fort Worden in Port Townsend attracted 5,000 people per day and proved Port Townsend and the fort’s infrastructure could handle large events, despite public concerns.
The Leader had received numerous letters to the editor complaining the festival would be too noisy, create congestion and stretch Port Townsend’s capacity to its limits, but it went off largely without a hitch.
The festival purposefully chose to host a wide range of music genres and shows from podcasts to live script readings.
SEPTEMBER 2019
Highway 104 Roundabout
In September, the Washington State Department of Transportation revealed plans to calm traffic at two dangerous intersections with a pair of roundabouts.
One, estimated to cost $4.6 million will be at the intersection of Highway 104 and Paradise Bay and Shine Roads, right before the Hood Canal bridge.
The second, estimated to cost $4.2 million, will be at the corner of Highway 104 and 19.
Over the past several years the state has put in flashing hazard lights and rumble strips to remind drivers to slow down on Highway 104 as it comes down the hill to the Hood Canal bridge going from a 60 mph zone to a 40 mph zone.
Critics say the roundabouts will exacerbate traffic jams when the bridge closes for marine traffic.
November 2019
Three young adults killed in car wreck
A Port Townsend man and his Port Hadlock and Bremerton passengers died when their northbound vehicle left State Route 19 and hit a tree around 3:40 a.m. Nov. 11.
Killed in the crash were driver Cameron R. Davis, 20, of Port Townsend, and passengers Lillimarie Genaw, 21, of Port Hadlock and 18-year-old Gabryel C. Mills of Bremerton. Speaking to The Leader, friends remembered them as honest and caring friends.
“This is something where nobody is going to be the same again,” Melanie Jackson of New Life Church said on Nov. 20. “It makes you want to reach out and grab ahold of people you haven’t been connected to.”
November 2019
Local elections and new city manager
November saw the election of several new faces on the Port Townsend City Council as well as on district school boards. Mickey Nagy, Kristina Mayer and Tami Robacker were elected to the Chimacum School Board at a time when enrollment is at a record low and the district budget is operating under deficit conditions. Doug Ross was elected to the Port Townsend School Board. Jessica Gossette was elected to the Quilcene School Board. Mary Fickett, Ron Stephens and Joe Baisch were elected to the Brinnon School District.
Pam Petranek was elected the first-ever female port commissioner in a highly contested race as simultaneously, city residents passed the port levy, one of the only levies of its kind to pass to Washington State.
Monica MickHager unseated Port Townsend Mayor Deborah Stinson and Owen Rowe was won unopposed for Robert Grey’s council seat. This comes at a time when the city is experiencing a major passing of the guard with the hiring of the new city John Mauro after the retirement of David Timmons, the first city manager in Port Townsend’s history.
December 2019 Continuing shooting range debates
Debate over Sequim businessman Joe D’Amico’s proposed rifle range at Tarboo Ridge reignited when Jefferson County’s planning commission proposed new rules that would ban any new outdoor shooting range.
The Board of Commissioners had created a regulatory framework in 2018, after D’Amico, owner of Fort Discovery and Security Services Northwest, proposed building a new shooting facility near Tarboo Lake in Quilcene.
Jefferson County’s Commissioners were required to take another look at two county ordinances regulating shooting ranges after a state board determined the ordinances were invalid.
In its Sept. 16 ruling, the Growth Management Hearings Board, which rules on appeals of local zoning decisions, agreed with the Tarboo Ridge Coalition, a citizen group that said two new ordinances regulating commercial shooting ranges are inconsistent with the county’s comprehensive plan goals.
The planners’ recommendations were given to the Board of Commissioners in December and they are expected to look at them, hold a public hearing and approve ordinances in 2020 to satisfy the Growth Management board’s concerns.
