Home News Blogs Sports Entertainment Business Lifestyles Community Opinion About UsJobs Autos Homes Rentals Foreclosures Classifieds Coupons Special Sections Legal Notices Buy Photo Reprints

John Chelminiak

Courtesy PhotoBuy Photo Reprints

Bellevue council member instable condition after bear attack |UPDATEBy NAT LEVYBellevue Reporter Staff Writer Sep 20 2010

City council member John Chelminiak remains instable condition at Harborview Medical Center inSeattle after suffering a bear attack last Fridayevening near his vacation home near LakeWenatchee

Chelminiak has been in the hospital since he wasairlifted there Sept 17 and he underwent severalreconstructive surgeries to heal puncture wounds inthe face and head caused by the attack

Hes certainly doing better fellow council memberGrant Degginger said Monday He went through alot of surgery on Saturday He was able to talk tothe family and crack a few jokes

Chelminiak was attacked by an 8-to-10-year-old 149-pound femaleblack bear in the driveway of his vacation home said Mike Cencideputy chief of field operations for the Department of Fish andWildlifes enforcement division

Chelminiaks wife Lynn Semler said Monday no timetable for a fullrecovery has been set He was moved out of the intensive care unitTuesday but he will remain in the hospital so doctors can monitorhis progress

Were just taking it day-by-day she said They are watching socarefully so theres no infection

Chelminiak will remain absent from the council while he recuperatesThe remaining council members unanimously voted Monday night togrant him excused absences from meetings up to Oct 25 with the possibility of extension should therecovery take longer

Semler said her husband remains in good spirits and he just needs time and rest to heal She said peoplehave consistently reached out to the family for support since the attack which has really helped them duringthis difficult period Chelminiak cannot see visitors or take calls at this time so she urged people to contacthim through his Facebook page

The attack occurred in the driveway of the home while Chelminiak was walking his dogs around 845 pmSemler heard cries of bear bear from outside She handed the phone to her 11-year-old daughter to dial911 while she prepared to go outside and find Chelminiak In her attempt to check on her wounded husbandSemler scared the bear off until medical assistance could arrive

Im just headed down that driveway and I did confront the bear she said I thought it was a big black dogWhen I got down there my reaction was just to stay on the phone and tell them what was going on I wasjust hoping for those EMTs to come quickly

While waiting for assistance and tending to her husband Semler continued to look for the bear

I was scared she said I knew I needed to keep an eye on where that bear was

When officials arrived on the scene they tracked the bear which was pacing around about 100 yards awayfrom the attack site and killed it

Cenci said the events surrounding the attack remain unclear as officials have not had a chance to interviewChelminiak Cenci said Fish and Wildlife doesnt believe the attack occurred because Chelminiak or his dogsprovoked the bear The bear exhibited very strange behavior following the attack

I dont see this as the bear being in the wrong place at the wrong time or dogs in the wrong place at thewrong time he said I think this bears behavior was out of the norm and I dont think these folks didanything to cause the attack

Typically Cenci said the bear would flee the area following any sort of confrontation Based on its irregularbehavior it was determined that the bear would likely attempt to attack someone else he said

When officials examined the bear it became clear that it was underweight for the beginning of the long winterseason a time when bears consume extra food to build layers of fat for warmth It had worn teeth and wasmissing a canine tooth as well The bear had bird seed in the contents of its stomach Cenci said so it mayhave been desperate for food

This bear very well could have seen this individual as prey he said When black bears attack people thatsgenerally the case they see people as prey

Service Unavailable

HTTP Error 503 The service is unavailable

FRIDAY 05132011

Search News

0 COMMENTS EMAIL LETTER PRINT FOLLOW SHARE

RELATED STORIESBellevue Reporter

Bellevue City Council member JohnChelminiak attacked by bearBellevue council member mauled bybear has eye removedRecovering Bellevue City Councilmember releases first statement |UPDATEFormer Bellevue council member torun for county council seatJohn Chelminiak attends first in-personCity Council meeting since bear attackin September

EastsideNone at this time

Yushen A ngie Stephen Matt Joelle

Ray Jason C harlotte Narmin Marily n

Bellevue Reporter on Facebook

168 people like Bellevue Reporter

Like

Facebook social plugin

converted by Web2PDFConvertcom

The injured council member was taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee before later beingairlifted to Harborview to receive access to superior reconstructive surgeons

Chelminiak was first elected to the Bellevue City Council in November 2003 and served as deputy mayor fortwo years until 2007 He served as chief of staff for both the King and Snohomish county councils andworked as a reporter and manager at KIRO-AM radio

Cenci said Monday bears are no strangers to the area around the Chelminiak vacation home But attackshave not been a problem

Semler said she and her husband have owned the vacation home for six years and never encountered a bear

We had not personally seen bears anywhere near the cabin she said There are bears that come andknock down garbage cans They come and go but nothing of this nature

Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer Nat Levy can be reached at nlevybellevuereportercom or 425-453-4290

COMMENTING RULES We encourage an open exchange of ideas in the PNWLocalNewscomcommunity but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards In anutshell dont say anything you wouldnt want your mother to read

Add New Comment

Showing 0 comments

Sort by Subscribe by email Subscribe by RSS

Real-time updating is enabled (Pause)

blog comments powered by DISQUS

Most Read Stories This week | Last week

Bellevue ReporterThree Bellevue teenagers arrested for Redmond break-in could be connected to other EastsideburglariesWSDOT offering incentives in attempt to finish SR-520 bridge on timeSeattle-area minister and Bellevue Boys and Girls Club employee charged with child molestationMedina residents rally around fired police chiefKirkland residents slap city Puget Sound Energy with $27 million lawsuit over substationBellevue releases consultant analysis of its preferred light-rail alignmentRidiculous freshman tosses Totems into KingCo semis

EastsideThree Bellevue teenagers arrested forRedmond break-in could be connected toother Eastside burglariesWSDOT offering incentives in attempt to finishSR-520 bridge on timeSeattle-area minister and Bellevue Boys andGirls Club employee charged with childmolestationMedina residents rally around fired policechiefApplications for Section 8 waiting list availableat Kirkland Library May 25Jazzercize flash mob strikes at RedmondTown CenterSeattle men charged in Bellevue Redmondand Kirkland burglaries could also facecharges in Sony Online Entertainment servertheftKirkland residents slap city Puget SoundEnergy with $27 million lawsuit oversubstation

WashingtonDaughter of ex-NFL quarterback Mark Rypiento lead Seattle Mist in Lingerie FootballLeague in KentEx-postal worker from Tukwila sentenced forfraudulently claiming injured worker benefitsThree Bellevue teenagers arrested forRedmond break-in could be connected toother Eastside burglaries14-year-old shot in parking lot of soon-to-close Big 5 store in downtown RentonWSDOT offering incentives in attempt to finishSR-520 bridge on timeWhidbey General Hospital rejects privatetakeoverOak Harbor man seriously injured in one-carhigh-speed crashTalk to your kids about SampM | Amy Johnson

more local news from around Washington raquo

ApartmentsAttorney sAuto DealersAuto PartsAuto RepairBeauty SalonsCar RentalDentists

DoctorsFlowersHotelsInsuranceLoansMortgagesMov ersPizza

RealtorsRestaurantsStorageTaxPreparationTrav elMore

Bellevue Yellow Pages

0 COMMENTS EMAIL LETTER PRINT FOLLOW SHARE

Defensive Driving OnlineDVD CD-ROM or Online Expert Truck Driver ProgramswwwJJKellercom

FULL RULES

Post as hellipImage

Oldest first

Sign Up Create an account or log in to see whatyour friends like

Bellevue Reporter on Facebook

Like 168

Bellevue Reporter Last night the first piece ofanalysis from an independent study on the East LinkB7 route was released httppnwcc4U3j4

Bellevue releasesconsultant analysis of itspreferred light-railpnwccThe Bellevue City Councilspreferred south Bellevue EastLink light-rail alignment is a

3 hours ago middot via HootSuite

Bellevue Reporter Three Bellevue teens werearrested for a burglary in Redmond yesterday Policesay they may be connected with other burglaries onthe Eastside httppnwcc4Tkz8

Facebook social plugin

converted by Web2PDFConvertcom