Tweedell admits felonies
Terri Tweedell, former president of the Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce, agreed March 2 to plead guilty to five felony counts involving the assets of a man she had befriended.
Tweedell is scheduled to be sentenced March 27. She will face 12-14 months in prison.
The charges stem from Tweedell’s handling of the assets of Jaroslav Sedivy who died on March 8, 2006.
Prosecutors alleged that Tweedell took money from Sedivy’s checking account for her personal use and used Sedivy’s credit cards for her personal benefit.
Tweedell had obtained a power of attorney to handle Sedivy’s affairs, and at one point was the primary beneficiary of Sedivy’s estate in his will. The will was subsequently canceled.
Tweedell was arrested in June 2006 and charged with first degree theft and unlawful practice of law.
Battle Ground police searched Tweedell’s home where they reportedly found some of Sedivy’s assets. They also searched the offices of the Chamber of Commerce.
Tweedell, 55, was scheduled to be tried in October 2006 which was delayed until December 2006, then March 2007.
In November 2006, prosecutors expanded the charges to 18 counts which included two counts of first degree theft, nine counts of second degree theft, and two counts of third degree theft, plus three counts of forgery, and counts of attempted theft and the unlawful practice of law. Each count included that prosecutors would seek a sentence above the standard range because Tweedell had acted from a position of trust and the victim was vulnerable or incapable of resistance.
On March 2, Tweedell agreed to plead guilty to two counts of first degree theft and three counts of second degree theft. The other 13 counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Documents show that Tweedell attested that:
-- “I signed my name to a check, as attorney of fact, on a check for $1000 on Jaroslav Sedivy’s account. I cashed it and used the money for my own personal use.” (Feb. 13, 2006).
-- “I used the Power of Attorney and signed my name to a check, as both Payor and Payee, for $300 check from Jaroslav Sedivy. I cashed it and used the money for my own personal use.” (Feb. 16, 2006).
-- “While making Mr. Sedivy’s funeral arrangements at Layne’s Funeral Home, I used Mr. Sedivy’s credit card to pay off a $4,020.15 balance our family owed for my mother-in-law’s funeral. I later advised police that I did this by mistake, but made no efforts to correct my mistake in the months between my mistake and being confronted with it by police.” (March 8, 2006).
-- “I used the Power of Attorney to charge repairs to my car at the Les Schwab auto center, on Mr. Jaroslav Sedivy’s Chase Visa credit card. I charged over $1500 to his credit card.” (Feb. 11, 15, 20, 2006).
-- “I used his credit card without the authorization of his estate to pay $525 to the Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce benefit auction account (for a fire truck ride for my grandson).” (March 13, 2006).
Tweedell told prosecutors that she had obtained a Power of Attorney form in January 2006. “I had him sign the Power of Attorney form on January 29, 2006,” said Tweedell. “The Power of Attorney form named me as his Attorney of Fact.”
Tweedell said the Power of Attorney form included a provision that she could not benefit from the use of the power of attorney.
Tweedell also told prosecutors that “On February 10, 2006, I prepared and assisted Jaroslav Sedivy sign (sic) a will leaving all but $2 of his estate to my husband and I. On February 21, 2006, unbeknownst to us until much later, Jaroslav Sedivy signed a ‘Cancellation of All Previous Wills’ with the assistance of his daughter Patsy Sedivy and her attorney Bonnie Blair-Marino. We never hired a lawyer related to these charges until after I was charged with felony crimes, and I admit to being hopelessly ignorant of the law.”
Tweedell had contended that Sedivy was not close to his family.
“I decided to take the plea because I did violate state law regarding receiving gifts as a power of attorney,” said Tweedell. She said she was not aware that, under state law, she could not receive a gift or charge for her services as power of attorney.
“I believe people should be responsible for their actions,” said Tweedell. “The offer from the prosecutors was well within the bounds of the acts committed.”
Tweedell said all the actions she took with Sedivy’s resources occurred while he was living except mistakes made at Layne’s Funeral Home and at a movie theater.
Tweedell said she expects to serve six months in a corrections facility.
Senior deputy prosecuting attorney Jim David said Tweedell and her attorney, Todd Pascoe, came to David’s office March 2 to enter into the plea agreement.
David said Tweedell agreed to make restitution to Sedivy’s family before being incarcerated. David said Tweedell planned to sell her home and use a portion of the proceeds to pay the $17,213 owed in restitution.
If Tweedell fails to make restitution, said David, some charges may be reinstated.
David said Tweedell may be incarcerated at the corrections facility in Purdy, although that decision is made by the state Department of Corrections. He said inmates may be released for good behavior after serving 50 percent of the sentence. Inmates may request a place of incarceration, said David.
David said prosecutors had intended to seek an exceptional sentencing range had the matter gone before a jury.
The agreement reached March 2 was the same plan discussed months ago, said David.

Scores attend SR-502 corridor meeting
More meetings ahead as officials seek public comments
Bill Myers
staff reporter
About 100 citizens attended a Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) scoping meeting and open house Feb. 22 in Battle Ground on SR-502 corridor improvements between Battle Ground and I-5.
At the meeting, citizens clustered about two maps made from aerial photographs of SR-502. The maps were stretched over two 30-foot lengths of adjoined tables. Highlighted lines showed the existing SR-502 right-of-way.
Using transparent overlays containing dark lines representing the required width of a new route, WSDOT engineers said the width of the existing route must be doubled to accommodate four lanes, a center median and safe shoulders.
A scoping meeting is a necessary National Environmental Policy Act process because widening SR-502 will require an Environmental Assessment. State officials say the widening is needed because traffic will double between I-5 and Battle Ground over the next three decades.
While improvements to SR-502 are in early-planning stages, work on a new $56 million I-5/SR-502 interchange is about to begin. The interchange, scheduled for completion in 2009, is expected to ease congestion and improve safety on I-5 and at the NE 179th St. interchange.
Funding totalling $91.7 million for the SR-502 corridor project is in the governor’s current budget request to state legislators, said WSDOT spokesperson Alissa Bateman. State gas taxes approved in 2003 and 2005 are funding the interchange and SR-502 widening projects, she said.
Citizens at the meeting were asked to comment on expected impacts from widening the existing route.
Transportation engineers also sought opinions about the location of the route as some citizens wondered if it might be less costly and/or less disruptive to move the route to the north or south of the existing route.
“We encourage such questions and ideas from citizens,” said Bateman. She said a major goal of the meeting is to hear ideas and concerns about the project. Bateman said that while the official 30-day scoping period for the project runs from Feb. 6 to March 9, WSDOT officials want on-going public involvement with the project. Comments can be mailed to Chris Tams, project manager, WSDOT Southwest Region, PO Box 1709, Vancouver, WA 98668, or e-mailed to SwGorge@wsdot.wa.gov
Bateman said project leaders hope to host another meeting on the project within 30 to 60 days. She said engineers will bring several suggested alternatives to that meeting.
Real estate purchases completed for interchange project
State real estate officials paid almost $7 million for 46 parcels of land needed for the I-5/SR-502 interchange right-of-way. Properties purchased, including purchase prices, are below.
Mulford, 21401 NE 10th Ave., 12.52 acres, $328,515; Foresight, 21922 NE 4th Ave., 5.42 acres, $193,090; Sanders, 22122 NE 4th Ave., 5.02 acres, $368,000; Sanders, 22122 NE 4th Ave., .98 acres, $532,000; Currie, County parcel 216895000, .22 acres, $12,900; Kvacheva, 22024 NE 4th Ave., 5.40 acres, $500,000;
Byers, 408 NE 199th Ave., .52 acres, $39,200; Bremmer, County parcel 179393000, 2.48 acres, $64,250; Barnhart, 314 NE 209th St., 3.22 acres, $198,000; Hansen, County parcel 216906000, 15.61 acres, $522,000; March family, County parcel 216958044, .33 acres, donation; Price, County parcel 216929000, .39 acres, $31,500;
James, 21708 NE 10th Ave., .14 acres, $12,600; James, 21512 NE 10th Ave., 1.06 acres, $280,400; Shattuck, County parcel 179368000, 2.15 acres, $300,000; Goff, County parcel 216898000, .67 acres, $10,000;
KMRK LLC, 22002 NE 10th Ave., .96 acres, $76,000; KMRK LLC, 22002 NE 10th Ave., 1.89 acres, $497,200; KMRK LLC 22002 NE 10th Ave., .24 acres, $37,376; Ferraro, 21812 NE 10th Ave., 1 acre, $350,000; Zumstein, 21813 NE 10th Ave., .44 acres, $323,050;
Sheadel, 1101 NE 219th St., .19 acres, $113,100, Jensen, 1117 NE 219th St., .29 acres, $256,900; Hatcher, 1207 NE 219th St., .24 acres, $574,993; Holsinger, 1301 NE 219th St., .44 acres, $93,000; Beers, 1603 NE 219th St., .17 acres, $33,200; Beers, 1601 NE 219th St., .14 acres, $149,500; Beers, 1601 NE 219th St., .17 acres, $230,000;
Davis, 1609 NE 219th St., .07 acres, $188,100; Monahan, 1613 NE 219th St., .1 acres, $7,000; Hall, 1701 NE 219th St., .17 acres, $250,000; Roane, 1707 NE 219th St., .12 acres, $6,500; Boespflug, 1907 NE 219th St., .34 acres, $21,100; Boespflug, 1970 NE 219th St., .17 acres, $18,900;
Zumstein, 21903 NE 10th Ave., .02 acres, $127,000; Tenex, County parcel 217136000, .38 acres, $78,600; Ost, 22305 NE 10th Ave., .42 acres, $8,000; Baumgartner, County parcel 217180000, .06 acres, $2,110; Won, County parcel 217137000, 1.48 acres, $31,500; McCuistion, 1716 NE 219th St., .31 acres, $98,500; Benavidez, 22312 NE 10th Ave., .03 acres, $18,000; KMRK LLC, 22002 NE 10th Ave., .38 acres, $18,100; James, 21512 NE 10th Ave., ..12 acres, $32.000; Jen, 21416 NE 10th Ave., .07 acres, $24,200; NLCS, LLC, 21402 NE 10th Ave., .02 acres, $1,500; Holsinger, County parcel, .34 acres, $20,600.
Bateman said costs of real estate, appraisals, relocating citizens, and other related expenses totaled $11.7 million, under a final design budget of $12 million.

District gets fee in settlement
The Ridgefield School District was reimbursed for some of its legal fees at the conclusion of a dispute last year with a real estate company.
The lawsuit involved commission fees sought by a real estate company that had looked for land for a new school under an agreement with the District.
School District attorney Larry Ransom said that, in late 1999, the District entered into an agreement with Century 21 Cascade Pacific and its agent Larry Garcia in a search for property for a new high school.
The agreement provided that Garcia would be paid a commission if he located suitable school property in connection with a spring 2000 bond vote on the purchase, said Ransom.
Ransom said that if Garcia found property but the bond failed, then the agreement was void. Garcia said work under the agreement was dormant for a few years, but he believed the agreement remained in force.
Ransom said Garcia did not find suitable property. In addition, the bond vote failed.
Nevertheless, Century 21 and Garcia sued the school district for a commission on land the district bought years later.
Ransom said the 1999 agreement based the land purchase and 6 percent real estate commission on passage of the bond vote. Ransom said Garcia admitted in a pre-trial deposition that if the bond did not pass, Century 21 would not be entitled to a commission. Either party could terminate the agreement with 60 days notice, both sides agreed.
On March 2, 2004, the District received a letter from Garcia through attorney Michael Wynne that the 1999 agreement was still in force.
Ransom said that Wynne’s 2004 letter was a surprise to then-superintendent Mary Vagner who knew nothing of the 1999 arrangement between former superintendent Dale Scott and Century 21. Ransom said that by 2004, Garcia had performed no work under the agreement for four years.
Vagner, following consultation with the District board of directors, wrote back to Wynne and Garcia, saying District officials believed the agreement ended years prior. To remove any doubt, said Ransom, Vagner gave notice of termination in her March 24, 2004 reply.
“I was shocked she didn’t know about our agreement,” said Garcia.
Garcia said he talked to Vagner in February 2003 and provided her with market valuations on some properties, but not the “Bartel” property which the district eventually purchased.
The District subsequently purchased the Bartel property for $1.6 million in July 2004.
The Century 21 agreement contained a provision that the real estate company would not be due a commission if land was purchased 60 days after termination of the agreement. The actual purchase came after the 60-day period.
Wynne removed himself from the issue said Garcia, and, on Feb. 1, 2005, attorney Mark Passannante filed a complaint against the District stating that the 1999 agreement with Century 21 and Garcia was a binding agreement, that the District subsequently bought property for $1.6 million, and that Garcia was due a commission of $96,348 plus attorney fees.
Ransom said he entered the issue at this point. The two sides prepared for a Sept. 22, 2006, court date, said Ransom. The District filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and sought attorney fees from Century 21.
Before the matter went to Superior Court, Ransom said Passannante offered to pay the school district legal fees if the matter would be dropped.
An order dismissing the case was dated Oct. 16, 2006, and the School District was paid $12,500 to cover some of its legal fees.
The February 2005 complaint filed by Passannante included a contention that Garcia brought the Bartel property to the attention of the school district, that Garcia negotiated with the owner of the property, and that Garcia introduced the owner of the property to the school district.
Bill Bartel, who sold his property to the school district in July 2004, adamantly denied that Garcia played a role in the property transaction. “He’s a dammed liar,” said Bartel. “I have never spoken to (Garcia). Absolutely not.”
Bartel said he had never spoken to former superintendent Dale Scott about the property or any other matter. Bartel said he was clear throughout the process that no real estate agents were to be involved in the transaction.
Garcia said the complaint filed by Passannante was not accurate. “As soon as I saw it, I told Passannante that it was not right,” said Garcia, “and not the way it took place.”
Still, both Garcia and Bill Kinkade, who owns Century 21 Cascade Pacific, noted the extensive work that was done under the agreement with the District. Kinkade said the change in superintendents and some board members interrupted that work.
“I did the work we were hired to do,” said Garcia, noting that the agreement did not include an hourly or daily fee, but rather was based on a sales commission. The work done included evaluating several pieces of property, including “Kennedy Land,” “Walker Land,” “Wells Land,” and the Bartel property. Garcia also said he worked with city officials on growth boundary issues. “I was able to establish a good relationship with lots of city and county officials and through this process would get good, sometimes unsolicited, advice,” he said.
“We had recommended that piece (Bartel property) of land,” said Kinkade.
In pre-trial testimony, Scott said Garcia never presented the school district with property suitable for a new high school.
Scott said he was familiar with the Bartel property, but because it was outside Ridgefield’s urban growth boundary and zoned for agriculture, he thought it unlikely that the site could be used for a school. Scott said he was never introduced by Garcia to Bill Bartel, and never talked to Bartel about purchase of the property.
Ransom said that, before Scott signed the 1999 agreement with Century 21, Scott told Garcia about the Bartel property, and that Scott had talked to Bartel’s son, Larry Bartel, about the property.
Testimony showed Garcia had talked to Larry Bartel twice. “Larry Bartel never represented to Garcia that he had the authority to negotiate the sale of the land on his father’s behalf,” Ransom wrote in the Motion for Summary Judgment.
Garcia said he met not only with Scott but with the school board to discuss property matters. “The school board did not understand all this real estate stuff,” said Garcia. “Price per square foot was foreign to them.”
Garcia said Scott had entertained the idea of using eminent domain to acquire the Bartel property.
Kinkade said he reviewed the lawsuit matter and learned from Passannante that “on legal grounds, he was not optimistic” about success. So the decision was reached not to proceed. “We did a lot of work and we didn’t get paid,” he said.
Garcia said mounting legal fees and the risk of losing led to the decision to settle. He said the $12,500 payment to the School District was split three ways--Century 21, Passannante, and himself.
Bill Bartel said his father, Henry Bartel, acquired the 51 acre site in 1904, and added 160 contiguous acres in 1921. Bill Bartel grew up on the property in a home built in 1912. He built a home on the 160 acres in 1966, and continued farming. He built another home in 2005.
Bartel sold the original 51 acres to the school district in 2004. Portions of the 160 acre parcel were deeded to Bartel’s siblings. Bill and Bernice Bartel now live on 61 acres.

PHS Falcon mascot swiped from student
Brandy Slagle
Staff reporter
There are a limited number of places where a person is capable of running down the street with books, an iPod and a gigantic falcon mascot in their arms, and not be noticed.
Unfortunately for Jeremy Kenney, Portland is one of those places.
The Prairie High School senior, associated student body president and school mascot-wearer had gone through the routine process to check out the $2,200 costume.
His only mistake was leaving it in his car.
The 17-year-old student said he parked his Ford Explorer in front of Trader Joe’s near 21st Avenue and NW Glisan Street in Portland’s Pearl District. The incident occurred Fri., Feb. 16, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
“I’m sure the person would have had to carry it with both their arms,” he said. “It was a big costume. It was pretty conspicuous.”
Kenney looked for witnesses, but he said nobody claimed to have seen the enormous, fluffy maroon and yellow bird.
When he arrived back at his car after visiting a friend he was instantly bewildered, he said. At first, it didn’t appear to Kenney that someone broke into his car. He said that at first he didn’t think there had been a forced entry. Then he noticed the contents of his glove compartment were strewn throughout the vehicle.
“My first thought was how am I going to make this better,” he said. “I began calling everyone.”
Kenney filed a report with the Portland Police Department and began to notify fellow students and Prairie High School coaches.
Kelly O’Brien, public information officer for Battle Ground Schools, said the school owns another mascot costume, but it is much older and is in need of repairs.
“It’s a shame because the mascot really can set a tone for the games,” she said.
Kenney said he checked out the mascot costume that week.