SEQUIM – A local man has a plan to simplify Sequim’s spelling: He wants to “disemvowel” it.
Clint Jones, 74, says he’s tired of people mispronouncing the town’s name. It’s “skwim” not “SEE-kwim,” and Jones, an inventor, thinks the problem could be cleared up pretty easily by deleting the e – making Sequim “Squim.”
In fact, he’s been doing it for years. His house insurance, patent application and even his bank checks list “Squim” as his residence.
“I’m sure that any newcomer here would certainly approve it,” he says.
When arguing for the change, he cites a previous change in the town’s name. It used to be Seguim, until a postal clerk accidentally replaced the “g” with a “q” in 1907. The town had been founded on the northern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in 1879.
Jones plans to petition residents to see if there’s much support for the change.
He’s not likely to find any support in longtime Sequim resident Margaret Lotzgesell.
“I think that’s just ridiculous,” she said. “The name is well established.”
“Seguim” came from a Klallam Indian word meaning “quiet waters.”
Tukwila
Drive-by shooting on I-5: A 21-year-old Seattle man was in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center after being shot twice in the face as he was driving on I-5 Sunday morning.
He was driving south on I-5 where it crosses Highway 518 at about 4 a.m. when he was shot, Tukwila police said.
The identity of the shooter, who fled the scene, was not known.
Tukwila police and the state patrol were investigating.
Idaho
Power plant opposed: Attorneys opposing a new power plant near Rathdrum, Idaho, said downstream impacts on Washington must be considered because the two states’ water supplies are inextricably linked. “The impacts in Washington will boomerang back into Idaho,” said Rachael Paschal Osborn, an attorney for groups protesting the plant’s request for a water permit. North Idaho Power LLC, a subsidiary of giant Cogentrix Energy, has proposed one of two plants planned near Rathdrum that would draw water from an aquifer shared by the two states. Last month, the company requested that the Washington water concerns not be considered in an upcoming hearing on the water permit before the Idaho Department of Water Resources. Osborn said the permit would affect not just the shared water supply but also other shared resources, including the Spokane River’s rainbow trout population.
Oregon
Motorcycle officer injured: A Portland police officer was injured Sunday when his motorcycle collided with a car during a routine patrol. Officer Christopher D. Guzman, 34, was in critical condition in the intensive care unit of a Portland hospital Sunday night with a broken leg and head injuries, police spokesman Henry Groepper said. Groepper said Guzman was heading south on SE Sandy Boulevard early Sunday morning when he was struck by a car driven by Linda K. Abeles, 21, of Lake Oswego. Investigators believe Abeles either failed to stop at a stop sign or stopped at the stop sign, but pulled into Guzman’s path, causing the collision. Abeles was lodged in Portland’s Justice Center Jail and charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, assault and reckless endangering.
From Herald news services
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