Jamestown S’Klallam tribal council member dies

Kurt Grinnell.

Kurt Grinnell.

BLYN — Kurt Grinnell, a Jamestown S’Klallam tribal council member and tribal aquaculture manager, has died.

The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said he died in a single-vehicle wreck on Mount Pleasant Road at about 4:12 p.m. Tuesday.

Grinnell, 57, was pronounced dead at the scene, said Chief Deputy Brian King.

His car had tracked off the road, through a fence and hit a tree, King said.

Grinnell was traveling alone.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“We’re still looking into the cause,” King said when reached by cell phone Wednesday.

“Drugs and/or alcohol are not a factor.”

Tribal members are in mourning, according to Betty Oppenheimer, the tribe’s communication specialist, who said the tribe would comment and provide more information at a later date.

Grinnell was elected to the council in October 2004, according to his biography on the tribe’s website at jamestowntribe.org/tribal-council.

A longtime fisherman, he and his wife, Terri, owned Jamestown Seafood.

He had served on the Hunting and Fishing Committee for 33 years.

He was the policy liaison for the tribe’s Natural Resource Department and chaired the Natural Resource Committee.

In the 1980s, he attended fin-fish negotiation meetings with the Makah and Point Elliot Treaty tribes.

In the early ’90s, he served as the Indian Child Welfare case worker, chemical dependency counselor and social worker.

He served the tribe in the areas of education, housing and culture, the biography said.

More in News

Port Angeles sends letter to governor

Requests a progressive tax code

Courtesy of Rep. Emily Randall's office
Rep. Emily Randall to hold town hall in Port Townsend

Congresswoman will field questions from constituents

Joshua Wright, program director for the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition, stands in a forest plot named "Dungeness and Dragons," which is managed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Currently, the DNR is evaluating Wright's claim that there is a rare plant community in one of the units, which would qualify the parcel for automatic protection from logging. Locating rare plant communities is just one of the methods environmental activists use to protect what they call "legacy forests." (Joshua Wright)
Activists answer call to protect forests

Advocacy continues beyond timber auctions

Port of Port Angeles talks project status

Marine Trade Center work close to completion

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
The Rayonier #4 logging locomotive on display at Chase Street and Lauridsen Boulevard in Port Angeles, is the focus of a fundraising drive to restore the engine and further develop the site.
Locomotive viewing event scheduled for Sunday

“Restore the 4” project underway

Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News
Port Townsend High School culinary arts student Jasper Ziese, left, watches as fellow students Emil Brown sauces the dish and Raivyn Johnson, right, waits to box it up. The students prepared and served a free lunch from the program's food truck, Culinary Cruiser, for a senior project on Saturday.
Culinary Cruiser delivers practical experience for Port Townsend students

Part of Career and Technical Education culinary arts program

PC’s enrollment rates show steady growth

Numbers reverse ten-year trend

Pink House will see repairs in 2025

Siding, deck planks, support beams on list

Clallam County gets Legislative update

Property tax bills still in play

Investigators find faulty fridge cause of trailer fire

A fire inside a fifth-wheel trailer that claimed the life… Continue reading

Danielle Fodor of Irondale cavorts as a dancing tree during Saturday’s World Water Day festivities at Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles. The international event served as a call to action to advocate for sustainable management of fresh water resources and environmental conservation. In Port Angeles, the celebration included a water blessing and guided hikes on local trails in the Elwha River watershed. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
World water day

Danielle Fodor of Irondale cavorts as a dancing tree during Saturday’s World… Continue reading

Opinions differ on cultural tax funds

Public engagement next step in process