Western Front - 2000 July 11

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TUESDAY, July 11, 2000 The Western Front Western Washington University Volume 113 Issue 4 Bellingham, Washington
Whatcom Creek
dedicated to Wood
Olympic pipeline victim remembered
as fisherman, restoration volunteer
By Mike Dashiell
THE WESTERN FRONT
Liam Wood was a great fisher­man.
At least, that's how friend
Evan Scoboria sees it. Scoboria,
a crowd of friends, family and
volunteers helped dedicate the
Whatcom Creek Wayside Park
Saturday morning in memory of
Wood, who died while fishing in
Whatcom Creek June 9,1999.
Fumes from the Olympic Pipe
Line Co. pipeline rupture last
June 9 caused Wood to pass out
and drown in the creek.
"It is so good to see this place
reclaimed," Wood's mother
Marlene Robinson said.
In a tearful tribute to her son,
Robinson thanked the communi­ty
she has spent every Thursday
for the past year with restoring
the creek.
"You've given me and Bruce
comfort.," she said. "It's been a
wonderful gift for me, being
involved with this park."
"(Liam's) life was too short,
but it was blessed," Robinson
said.
The Wayside Park restoration
was spearheaded by the
Nooksack Salmon Enhancement
Association in the fall of 1998.
NSEA board member Mike
McRory coordinated the plan­ning
and construction of the
park with Liam's family and the
city.
The ceremony was really a
celebration, bringing to comple-
See WOOD, page 3
Chris Fuller/The Western Front
One of the salmon sculptures at Whatcom Creek Wayside
Park gains a young admirer after its unveiling Saturday.
Professor Morse
recovering from
May stroke,
pushing quickly
through therapy
By Kathryn Ellis
THE WESTERN FRONT
Western chemistry professor
Joseph Morse is undergoing
intense physical and speech
therapy at St. Joseph's Hospital
after suffering a stroke May 30
in his campus office.
Professor Morse is the- hus­band
of Western President
Karen Morse.
"Professor Morse is recover­ing
very well," said Buff
Schoenfeld,' the president's
assistant. "He is surpassing the
expectations of the therapist."
President Morse extended her
two-week vacation to assist her
spouse in recovery. She is cur­rently
back full time and finds
space in her busy schedule to
See MORSE, page 3
Papineau loses lawsuit against Western
Plaintiff's claim that AS violated his civil rights in 1998 student election is denied
By Sara Ballenger
THE WESTERN FRONT
The Washing­ton
State Court of
Appeals unani­mously
upheld
the decision that
disqualified 1999
Western gradu­ate
Caleb
Papineau from the
1998 race for stu­dent
body presi-
Caleb
Papineau
dent. The opinion, written by
Judge Susan R. Agid,. was
released June 19.
Papineau was disqualified
from Western's Associated
Students election April 28,1998.
The A.S. elections committee
said Papineau did not comply
with a sanction against him for
an election rule violation, and he
filed a financial disclosure form
two hours late.
Earlier that election day,
Papineau won nine more votes
than opponent Sarah Steves in a
run-off election. Soon after,
Steves won a new run-off vote
against K.C. Bodily.
Papineau filed a lawsuit in
Whatcom County Superior
Court against .the A.S. and
Steves in July of 1999. He
claimed that his disqualification
violated his constitutional rights
to speech and association, and
asked the court to replace him
as president.
Superior Court Judge Steven
Mura ruled that Papineau's dis­qualification
for filing a late dis­closure
form was constitutional.
Washington State Court of
Appeals judges heard case argu­ments
May 4.
"It's difficult to see how this
general requirement that all
candidates file routine financial
disclosure statements on the
last day of the election raises
free-speech concerns," Agid
wrote.
"No visible election or election
body would take a candidate out
of office for filing a disclosure
form late," said Philip Buri, one
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B Sex offender found living
under Bellingham bridge
By Levi Pulkkinen
THE WESTERN FRONT
Steven Griffith is an unusual
man. He spends his nights
under a bridge near Maritime
Heritage Park and works as a
laborer during the day. His par­ents
would take him in, but
their landlord will not allow him
in the trailer park.
Griffith is a Level Three
Registered Sex Offender, one of
12 in Bellingham, said Detective
Carlotta Jarratt of the
Bellingham Police Department.
A Level Three Registered Sex
Offender is a person who is con­sidered
extremely liable to
offend again.
Currently, 300 registered sex
offenders are in Whatcom
County, and 110 live within
Bellingham city limits, accord­ing
"to statistics from the
Bellingham Police Department.
"There is one in every neigh­borhood,"
Jarratt said.
According to a bulletin pub­lished
by the Bellingham Police
Department, Griffith was con­victed
in 1985 for taking
Indecent Liberties with a 6-
year-old girl. Indecent Liberties
is defined by Washington State
Law as "the touching of another
person through the use of physi­cal
force, or when the victim is
physically helpless, or doesn't
understand."
Griffith was convicted in 1987
of the rape of a disabled 23-year-old
woman, and again in 1991
for the molestation of a 6-year-old
girl.
He has admitted to sexually
abusing up to 20 females
between the ages of 5 months
old and 13 years old, leaving
See OFFENDER, page 3
of Papineau's lawyers.
Papineau said he is still talk­ing
with his lawyers about a pos­sible
appeal.
"It's a matter of principle,"
Papineau said in The
Bellingham Herald June 23.
"The Associated Students did
something that was wrong and
something that I think they
might do again."
He said the A.S. violated his
rights and the rights of the stu­dents
who voted for him.
IN THIS ISSUE
Lakewood give
students cheap ride
Bored? Broke? Lakewood
offers student's kayaking,
canoeing, sailing and wind
surfing for $1.
See story page 7.
A Bite of Bellingham
Dine outside in the summer
sun, buy fresh
fruit and veg­etables
fr.om
Fairhaven
Farmers mar­ket
or just
relax with a
glass of Mt.
Baker Vineyard wine.
See page 4 and 5.
k
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