30-plus-year APD officer retires
Aberdeen Police officer Bruce Watts retired from the force Wednesday evening at the end of his shift after more than 31 years on the force.
Serving most of his career in a patrol car, Watts was also a DARE instructor, Emergency Vehicle Operator’s Course (driving) Instructor, and sniper on the regional Crisis Response Unit — commonly referred to as the SWAT team.
”The Aberdeen Police Department wishes Bruce the best of happiness as he closes this chapter and moves to the next journey in his life. Thank you for your service Bruce!” read a statement posted Wednesday by the department.
GHC community education program gearing up
Grays Harbor College Community Education Fall 2019 registration is now open. There are over 60 personal enrichment courses being offered and several EDventure guided travel trips. Course subjects include: Art/crafts, language, tai chi, self defense, history, dance, music, photography, gardening and more. The program offers weekend pottery classes at the South Beach Art Association in Westport and at the North Beach Art Guild in Ocean Shores.
EDventure Fall 2019 Dates:
• Astoria EDventure: Saturday, Sept. 7
• Day at the Puyallup Fair: Saturday, Sept. 21
• Pike Place Market & Frye Art Museum Tour: Saturday, Oct. 5
• Seaport Sail & History Tour: Saturday, Oct. 19
• Museum of Pop Culture & MOHAI Tour: Saturday, Nov. 9
Register for classes today at ghc.edu/ce or call 360-538-4088 or 360.538.4267
Tenino’s mayor will face misdemeanor assault charge
Thurston County prosecutors have charged Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier with fourth-degree assault following an altercation at the Tenino Eagles Club last month, according to a prosecutor’s office spokesperson.
The misdemeanor charge will be heard in Thurston County District Court. His arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11, the spokesperson said.
According to a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office incident report, the altercation occurred in the early morning hours of July 28. Fournier was part of a group of men standing next to the Eagles Club bar, in an area not intended for customers, according to the report.
A female employee asked the group to move, and later a security guard asked them to leave, according to witness accounts. When the employee told the group she would call 911 if they didn’t leave and picked up a phone, Fournier allegedly hit the phone out of her hand “forcefully, striking her hand,” according to the report.
Fournier’s lawyer, Justin Kover, told The Olympian via text message Tuesday: “The Mayor denies the allegation. The evidence will show he didn’t hit anyone that night.”
Fournier is currently running unopposed for re-election in November.
While the incident happened in Tenino, that city’s police chief asked the Sheriff’s Office to investigate the case, according to the report, because the suspect was the mayor.
— The Olympian
Exams show cats recently found dead in Olympia and Lacey were killed by other animals
Necropsy results for two cats found dead this month show both were killed by other animals, according to Thurston County Animal Services Officer Erika Johnson.
The cats were found Aug. 7 in Lacey and Aug. 14 in Olympia. Both deaths were investigated as suspicious and the bodies were sent away for post-mortem examinations to determine how they died.
Last year, more than a dozen mutilated cats were found across Thurston County, sparking fears of a serial cat killer. Investigators later determined at least five were killed by other animals.
Johnson said no other suspicious cat deaths have been reported recently.
— The Olympian
