Friday, September 5, 2008

ALGER, WA: ISAAC ZAMORA LEFT A COMMUNITY IN PAIN AND SORROW

Isaac Zamora, 28: suspect in six slayings...and more wounded.

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The motorcade escorting Deputy Anne Jackson travels south along Riverside Drive on its way to the Hawthorne Funeral Home in Mount Vernon Wednesday afternoon.

THOMAS JAMES HURST / THE SEATTLE TIMES
"Right now, people are just reeling. It still seems unreal," says Rich Deruiter, a local pastor and chaplain for the Alger community's volunteer fire department.


Alger residents wonder if the pain will ever fade
By Sara Jean Green / Seattle Times staff reporter
Friday, September 5, 2008

The Skagit County community of Alger has been stunned by two horrific crimes: the April slaying of Ferndale high school track coach Jeremy Scully and Tuesday's rampage by alleged gunman Isaac Zamora that left six dead. The people of Alger now wonder if things can ever return to normal.

ALGER, Skagit County — There's no post office here, no community center and no schools.

Though it's one of the oldest communities in Skagit County, Alger isn't even a town. Here, the local tavern — strategically located on the northwest corner of what is essentially a rural crossroads — is the main hub where people gather to swap news and share gossip.

Folks here are largely independent sorts who know their neighbors yet respect each other's privacy. The quiet and solitude are what drew so many to this wooded area that's dotted with lakes but is still just a quick jaunt from the nearest freeway onramp.

In less than five months, though, Alger has been stunned by two horrific crimes: In late April, the body of a popular Ferndale high-school track coach was found on nearby Blanchard Mountain and an Alger man is the prime suspect. Salacious talk about online swingers, an extramarital affair and the yet-unsolved homicide had switched back to more mundane topics when alleged gunman Isaac Zamora went on a shooting rampage earlier this week, killing six people — including a Skagit County sheriff's deputy — and injuring four others.

READ MORE...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008159754_alger05m.html

A candlelight vigil to mourn those killed in Tuesday's shooting rampage will be held at 8 tonight at Alger Community Church. The church is at 1475 Silver Run Lane, about a quarter-mile north of Lake Samish Road off Old Highway 99. Everyone is welcome.

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