PORT ANGELES — The Homeward Bound Olympic Housing Trust elected a new board of trustees during its first board meeting Nov. 4.
Those elected include President Monica Bell, Jefferson County; Vice President Vanessa Indelicato, Clallam County; Secretary Matt Woodward, Irondale; and Treasurer Mark Cooper, Jefferson County.
The meeting also brought the new trustees up to date on the contracts and obligations of Homeward Bound.
Homeward Bound meets biweekly.
With the trust being a newly formed group, meetings are planned to be closed as members continue to organize the trust and iron out details, trust member Christine Jacobsen said.
Once the group is more established, meetings will be open to the public, Jacobsen added.
The primary goal of Homeward Bound is to increase and maintain the stock of permanently affordable housing in Jefferson and Clallam counties, according to a news release.
For more information, visit the land trust’s page on Facebook.
New firefighter
BRINNON — Scott Aguilar has assumed his new official duties at the Brinnon Fire Department as a firefighter, effective Nov. 1.
Aguilar was hired at an Oct. 20 special fire commissioners board meeting, during which Fire Chief Tim Manly and Commissioners Ken McEdwards and Meril Smith joined friends and fellow firefighters to hire Aguilar.
Aguilar is assigned to B-shift Station 41 under the supervision of the fire chief.
He studied at the University of Idaho and previously served as an emergency medical technician in Seattle.
He will be instrumental in training future firefighters and EMTs, the fire department said in a news release.
Aguilar is joined by his wife, Ann, and their dog, Didri.
Clallam corrections awarded
CHELAN — Clallam County Corrections was one of eight state agencies recognized by the state Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs with an accreditation award.
The Edmonds, Lynwood, Chehalis, Hoquiam, Sumner and University of Washington police departments and Kent Corrections Facility also received honors during the association’s Nov. 15 fall training conference.
The Clallam County jail and Kent City Corrections facility are new accredited jail facilities that complied with 148 jail standards, according to a news release.
Both Kent and Clallam County jails are the first two agencies in the state that are recognized as dual-accredited by successfully completing the accreditation requirement for both police operations and jail management, according to a news release.
Fifty-four law enforcement agencies in the state have been recognized with the association’s accreditation. Forty of the agencies are city-municipal police agencies, nine are county sheriff offices, three are jails and two are state agencies, according to the release.
New deputies
PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office recently hired Devin Dahl and Brandon Wessel as corrections deputies.
Both deputies were sworn in Nov. 27.
Dahl is a life-long county resident and worked at Clallam Bay Correctional Center prior to joining the Sheriff’s Office.
Wessel and his family moved to Port Angeles during 2017 from the southwest and are avid outdoor enthusiasts, according to a news release.
Presently, both deputies are enrolled in a month-long Field Training program, which allows them to work in the jail alongside experienced corrections deputies.
Wessel and Dahl will enter the Criminal Justice Training Commission Corrections Officers Academy within the next six months.
Sunrise student
SEQUIM — Sydney Swanson, a Sequim High School junior, was named as Sequim Sunrise Rotary’s October Career Technical Education Student of the Month.
Swanson was joined by family and her nominating high school culinary arts teacher Dana Minard.
According to a news release, Minard said: “Sydney has a unique ability to grasp work situations quickly [and] get going to solve problems or complete tasks.”
Swanson plans to enroll in a pre-dentistry program at a university after graduating in 2019.
She hopes to eventually start her own pediatric dentistry practice.
Air Force graduate
SAN ANTONIO — A former Port Angeles resident recently graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
U.S. Air Force Airman Neil B. Peppard completed an intensive eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate degree in applied science through the Community College of the Air Force.
Peppard is the son of Trent and Dara Peppard of Port Angeles.
The airman graduated in 2017 from Crescent High School.
Salmonella sickens 18
OLYMPIA — Washington state health officials say a salmonella outbreak involving pre-cut fruit sold at Washington and Oregon grocery stores has sickened 18 people.
The Washington state Department of Health said Friday that 16 people in Washington and two in Oregon have been diagnosed with salmonella.
Most of the people diagnosed were in King and Snohomish counties with one each in Mason, Pierce, Thurston and Yakima counties. Officials say in Oregon the cases were found in Multnomah and Wasco counties.
Officials say people who bought pre-cut watermelon, cantaloupe, or fruit mixes containing watermelon or cantaloupe from around Oct. 25 to Dec. 1 from QFC, Fred Meyer, Rosauers and Central Market should throw it away.
Lab results identified Salmonella Newport as the cause. The symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
People experiencing any of the symptoms should contact their health care provider.
Highway blocked
POULSBO — A two-car wreck blocked state Highway 104 for 88 minutes on Friday.
No one was injured in the 12:58 p.m. collision, the State Patrol said.
Troopers said that a 2017 Honda Civic was completely destroyed after its driver, Casey O. Wunsch, 42, of Port Ludlow, observing heavy traffic ahead, crossed the double yellow line to make a U-turn.
Unable to complete the U-turn in one move, Wunsch was preparing to back up when the car was hit in the passenger side by a 1987 Freightliner dump truck driven by Rickard C. Raber, 54, of Hansville.
Both vehicles ended up facing north blocking the westbound lane of the highway, while the trailer of the dump truck jackknifed and came to rest blocking the eastbound lane.
Wunsch was cited for making a prohibited U-turn, the State Patrol said.
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