125 years ago
Sept. 25, 1891
Time to act — two more children attacked
Time after time has the Vidette been called attention to the fact that there were cows running at large in this city which were a menace to the lives of women and children who might be passing on the public streets, and many accounts have been published of women and children being pursued and attacked; and in one case at least, injured by some of the cows spoken of.
This week, two little girls who were quietly passing along Spruce street were chased by a large red cow which was evidently intent on injuring the little ones.
Reverend Lougheed saw them and running out clubbed the cow off. There is no knowing what extent the children might have been injured had Mr. Lougheed not been present.
100 years ago
Sept. 22, 1911
Will support football team of high school
The Montesano high school football team will have the active aid and cooperation of the businessmen of the city this season and will be free of the troubles that beset the management of the team last year. Plans are already underway to raise the funds needed to see the team through the season and secure a number of games for this city. Prospects are bright for the strongest aggregation the local school has ever known and with the business men of the city lending their encouragement, the spirit of the team should be at high pitch and a very successful campaign should be the result.
75 years ago
Sept. 25, 1941
Lost bomber seen here
The army bomber, found wrecked near the summit of Mt. Constance on Monday after having been missing since Sept. 9, is believed to have flown over Montesano on the day of its fatal crash.
About 8:30 o’clock in the morning of September 9, an army bomber was sighted by Tony Reinkens and other members of his family, flying over the Chehalis valley at a height he estimated to be about 200 feet. It circled three times, he said, and finally disappeared to the southeast. The morning was foggy and visibility poor.
Later, it was found that employees of the Clemons tree farm had heard a low-flying plane over that area, but could not see it due to the fog.
All six members of the bomber’s crew were killed, probably instantaneously, it was found by rescuers who finally made the tough climb to the scene of the crash.
50 years ago
Sept. 22, 1966
One-shot teenager bags first goat
The thrill of a lifetime came this week to 15-year-old Paul Katzer of Montesano as he bagged a 100-pound nannie goat during his second trip of the hunting season into Skykomish territory.
Firing at a distance of approximately 50 yards with a Savage 308, the Monte High sophomore felled his quarry at almost high noon last Friday. The previous weekend, he had failed in his first quest for the elusive goat.
Young Paul was hunting alone at the 2,000-foot level of the high Cascades when he made his one-shot kill. He was in a rocky area and had a difficult time getting it down. Not until 4:30 p.m. did he rejoin his father, Bud Katzer and a close friend, Elmer Peters of Skykomish, at the closest road, a distance of four miles.
When measured, the nannie showed 8 ½-inch horns. Paul said he would have the head mounted and display it proudly at the Katzer home.
The teenage hunter’s success was all the more remarkable because he was one of only 1,005 Washington gunmen who drew goat permits for the season which began Sept. 10.
25 years ago
Sept. 19, 1991
Restraining order ploy fails
An attempt to stop the county’s new $5 million maintenance shop failed Monday in a brief legal battle in Judge David Foscue’s Superior Court, but a lawsuit on the matter has yet to be heard.
Nicholas J. Kostello sought to get the judge to issue a temporary restraining order against further construction on the basis that the law which authorizes the fund the county is using to pay for the project was not meant to be used for construction purposes.
About three million dollars from the county’s ER&R fund is being used for the new building along with $1.5 million from the current expense account. Kostello, who is not an attorney but who argued his own case, said use of the fund was a clear violation of the law that would cause irreparable loss.
To get a restraining order, Kostello would have had to show that there was a compelling threat to the public welfare. He noted that there were 200 miles of roads that need repairs and 18 bridges which have restrictions. As long as the ER&R money is not spent on those projects, “my life is in danger traveling on the roads and bridges,” Kostello argued.
County officials seemed fairly confident they would prevail, but they should have taken the suit seriously, spending many hours preparing affidavits and rebuttals.
Public works director Mike Daniels told Kostello in a letter that the project is “justified on the basis that the facility is an integral part of properly maintaining the vehicles and equipment the ER&R fund owns.”
In court, Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Wiedland pointed out that the old maintenance building was built in the 1920s with the ER&R fund and that countless state and other audits since then have never made an issue of the ER&R set aside for construction.
She also said a half million dollars has already been spent. The cost of halting construction while the matter is resolved could be as much as $5,000 a day. The restraining order process would have required Kostello to come up with an estimated $1.5 million bond to protect the county from losses in the event his suit eventually failes. Kostello moved to be removed from the bond requirement.
“My determination,” the judge said is that a restraining order “would not be a maintenance of the status quo.” Although the restraining order was rejected, Foscue did grant Kostello a hearing with visiting judge on the matter of se parte representation from Stanley Trohimovich, who moved to enter the case on behalf of Kostello and to have Foscue removed because he is hearing another case that involves Trohimovich.
10 years ago
Sept. 21, 2006
Highway 107 bid awarded
An Everett company was the low bidder on a project to repair slide-damaged State Route 107 south of Montesano. It’s a project that will take up to four months to complete and will involve night-time road closures from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting sometime in October.
The state Department of Transportation is hosting an open house at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27 to explain the project at Montesano City Hall. The road was virtually wiped out last January.
