Nude dancing controversy comes to close
Rachel Cavanaugh
News Editor
After more than three months of heated controversy, the Goldendale City Council ushered an adult entertainment ordinance through its second and final reading Monday night.
Ordinance Number 1376, which establishes a new licensing section (5.24) and zoning rules (17.37) for adult entertainment, sets guidelines for issuing permits.
Council members stressed no laws were changed — the matter had simply never come up before.
One of the big issues at hand was First Amendment rights.
“We cannot adopt an ordinance that restricts or prohibits across the entire community,” said City Administrator Larry Bellamy. “We have to allow it in some places.
“What we have done is establish an 800-foot zone around churches, public buildings, days cares, residential districts.”
The specifications, he said, are based on similar ordinances in other parts of the state. Licensing fees, for example, which call for an initial $2500 down and $1000 in annual renewals, were modeled after Tacoma, Yakima, Port Townsend, Seatac, and other fee structures within Goldendale.
The ordinance covers what types of activities are permitted and what are not. For example, nudity must be restricted to stage areas and zones at least eight feet from patrons.
Business hours are restricted between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. and a licensed manager must be on the premises whenever entertainment is taking place.
City Treasurer Tracy Hansen said she has been approached in places like the supermarket by concerned residents.
The idea of the final ordinance this week, she said, was to strike a balance between safety concerns and constitutional rights.
“At this point I think – I would like to think – the citizens realize the council did the best they could with a very difficult situation,” Hansen said. “It’s just not that simple.”
The issue came to light in February when a local bar asked for an exotic dancing permit, launching a series of outcries and a 369-name petition seeking total prohibition in Goldendale.
That move was met with an anti-censorship petition, grabbing 189 voices in opposition to any ordinance at all, and thus dividing the community.
Kim Methe, who owns the Goldendale General Store, said the 800-foot zone will prohibit entertainment on Main Street, which she believes violates freedom of expression.
“I don’t like it in any way shape or form,” said Methe, who had an anti-ordinance petition at her business. “It means a road to censorship and to me, that’s wrong.
“The Bible was banned at one point in time. So was Huckleberry Finn. It’s wrong. They shouldn’t do that.”
Alex Gorrod, youth pastor at the New Life Assembly of God church, handed out petitions in favor of total prohibition.
He spoke Monday night:
“I was disappointed to hear the petition that was given to the city council asking for a ban on adult entertainment in the city of Goldendale was not followed,” Gorrod told the council.
He said he realized, however, after reviewing superior court rulings, that further efforts would be “expensive and futile.” The youth pastor nevertheless made a final plea to change certain stipulations.
“My biggest objections obviously are moral objections because of my beliefs in Christianity and the Bible,” he said after the meeting. “There’s always the worry that other businesses would move in and with those businesses would come crime and other things that cause families to break down.”
Yet council members said further restrictions would make the ordinance “prohibitive” to someone trying to open a business, which is against the law.
Despite objections, Gorrod said he remained confident in his local government.
“I’m satisfied they did the restrictions they needed to do and passed what they needed to that is both lawful but is also going to protect the safety of the town,” he said.
Police plan sweeps for graduation night
Goldendale law enforcement agents will double their patrol force this weekend in an effort to break up parties rumored to be set for graduation night.
The primary targets will not just be teenagers, however, but parents or other adults caught supplying alcohol.
According to police, they have received tips about parent-sponsored parties and will be on the lookout for these types of activities. Any adult found giving alcohol to a minor, they said, will be arrested on the spot and taken to jail.
Furthermore, they will face a fine of up to $1,500 for furnishing alcohol to a minor, considered a gross misdemeanor in Klickitat County.
“A lot of the parents are throwing parties and we’ve heard a lot of them are going to be drinking parties,” said Lt. Reggie Bartkowski. “If we get there and parents are supplying other teens with alcohol, they’re going to be the ones going to jail.”
The lieutenant stressed they will not simply receive a citation but will physically be taken in. They will also “write up every person at the party.”
According to Bartkowski, graduation is one of the deadliest nights of the year for teenagers. Clay Henry, principal of Goldendale High School, agreed, saying the season between prom and graduation always has elevated risks.
“These next two to three weeks in the country are the highest teen death time of the year and it’s due to not making good choices,” Henry said.
The school, he said, does not want to preach to parents about their kids, but emphasized teen drinking is not condoned in any way.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the state of Washington saw 30 motor vehicle fatalities for adolescents (age 16 to 20 years) in the months of April, May and June in 2006. Of those deaths, 55 percent were alcohol-related.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) report over 6,000 young people dying yearly due to alcohol-related causes including traffic collisions. In 2005, 1,387 youths age 15 to 20 died in crashes involving a 15 to 20-year-old alcohol-impaired driver or motorcycle operator.
Bartkowski said the patrol initiative, which will cost the department an estimated $1,000, is partly due to the absence of an organized senior party this year.
Often, he said, parents and students collaborate on an event and, while it is not school-sponsored, the activities are generally promoted as drug and alcohol-free. Past examples have included laser tag venues or trips to nearby theme parks.
This year, however, inadequate funding and organization squandered efforts.
“This year the group didn’t raise enough for that to happen,” said Superintendent Mark Heid.
According to Goldendale Police Chief Rick Johnson, there is misinformation about alcohol-related laws. It is illegal, for instance, to give alcohol to any minor except your own child, even with specific permission.
The chief said between January and May this year, the Goldendale Police Department recorded six cases totaling 28 minors cited with alcohol. The number is up from last year when just two cases surfaced during the same time period involving 17 minors.
Even with figures up, he and Bartkowski noted there were fewer parties overall throughout the school year. Moreover, the number of DUIs has been down.
Both officers pointed to bolstered education as a possible reason.
One education initiative has been a program through the school called Every Fifteen Minutes (an allusion to how often someone is killed in an alcohol-related collision.)
The emotionally-charged curriculum teaches kids and parents the dangers of drinking and driving through interactive exercises. Student deaths are simulated and parents receive visits from authorities.
The experience is described as eerily authentic, with details like personal effects included. Last year, Tracy Hansen, mother of Goldendale High School student Holly Hansen, was chosen for the exercise.
“Your mind is all set for it,” the mother said. “Yet when a coroner and the state patrol show up at your home, it starts to mess with your mind.
“I can still remember as if it were yesterday…The tears just started falling. I couldn’t hold them back.”
Hansen’s daughter is graduating this year and she said, partly because of that program, she would never personally provide alcohol to her kids.
Lyle Ferch, who has twin boys graduating this year, agreed, saying he thinks it is an “endorsement.”
“As a parent I absolutely, positively, under no circumstances feel it is okay to be providing booze for kids,” Ferch said. “It’s caving in and saying: ‘I have no control and I haven’t raised them right.’
“You have to be a parent to them. You have to be involved in their lives and you have to be an example.”
Bartkowski said he believes many parents who provide liquor do it because they think they can at least provide a safe place for their kids to drink.
“I think their intentions are trying to be good,” he said. “But what they’re not understanding is they are still breaking the law.”
According to Bartkowski, the Every Fifteen Minutes program has been effective, but only happens every other year. This year is an off year.
“I always worry on the odd years because it’s not right in their face,” he said.
Chief Johnson said his biggest piece of advice to parents on graduation night is to “know where they are.”
Bottom line? “Get them home safely,” the police chief said.
The boosted patrols will run both June 6 and June 15.
Top Two hopefuls file party preferences
Washington’s first Top Two election season opened Monday with candidates marking party preferences for the first time.
Secretary of State Sam Reed, who had urged “no funny business” during filing week, said state and local election officials reported strong compliance.
“I’m pleased that we’re off to a good start with Filing Week as we get ready for an intriguing new election system in the state of Washington,” Reed said Monday in a written statement. “I’m convinced that voters will really like this new system, which will allow people to vote for the person, not the party.
“Washington has a long and rich tradition of voter independence and carefully weighing their best choices for each and every office. Ticket-splitting is part of our heritage.”
Under the new system created by the voters and recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, candidates must declare a party preference.
Candidates had 16 letters to describe their preference and most signed up as democrats or republicans, leaving adjectives or further political messages to their campaigns.
A few filed as independents by expressing no party preference.
Although most candidates have been campaigning for months and have filed financial reports with the Public Disclosure Commission, the official filing with the Secretary of State or County Auditor is necessary to gain a place on the Aug. 19 primary ballot.
The two candidates with the most primary votes for each office will advance to the November general election, regardless of party preference.
It’s possible that primary voters will advance two people from the same party to the November election for some offices.
The political parties have the option of holding nominating conventions to anoint their favored candidate for each office.
The new Top Two system is considered a “winnowing” primary to narrow the field to two finalists for each office.
Previously, it was a nominating primary that chose the November nominees for the major parties.
The filing period is earlier than usual, following the Legislature’s decision to move the primary forward about a month to allow more time between the primary and general elections.
The primary is Aug. 19 and all but Pierce and King counties are voting by mail. Ballots must be postmarked by Aug. 19.
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