Grieving town fights racial fallout

By Florangela Davila
Seattle Times staff reporter

Bob Mars, a popular coach, was slain Sept 4.

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BENTON CITY, Benton County — If it weren't for the blue paper footballs taped to store windows, not much would seem out of the ordinary here.

Wolfie's restaurant boasts "Best Breakfast" in town. Ki-Be Market is hawking pumpkin candles as a green-tag special. The Cougar Cafe, with the front end of a red Chevrolet hanging over its doorway, revels in its WSU memorabilia and cheap coffee.

In the vegetable bin that is Eastern Washington, this community of 2,700 is typically as placid as a potato.

But that was before two out-of-town teens allegedly stabbed to death local coach and teacher Bob Mars two weeks ago.

Thus, the blue footballs that are stamped on 3-inch paper squares. For a $1 donation to benefit Mars' family, folks write their name or a message on a square. A somber quilt of them flutters on store windows.

Since the Sept. 4 slaying, locals have mourned Mars in two public memorials; they've pored over news accounts about the suspects; they've contemplated the virtue of small-town life. They've also struggled against what some say is human nature: to react negatively against one group of people, in this case Hispanics, the ethnicity of the suspects.

"You cannot take a minute portion and let them dictate how people view Hispanic society," said Vance Wing, principal at Kiona-Benton Middle School, where Mars taught sixth grade.

Sixteen-year-old Robert A. Suarez and a 14-year-old boy, both of Kennewick, have been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated first-degree murder, respectively. Suarez has been charged as an adult; the 14-year-old faces a hearing this week on whether he'll be prosecuted in juvenile or adult court.

Mars had been at the middle school to drop off a video of a football game late that Saturday night. Prosecutors think the slaying took place during a robbery, and only later became a reason to initiate the younger boy into a gang called "MSP," or "Mexicans Stand Proud."

Benton County Undersheriff Paul Hart says MSP has a handful of members in Benton City, more in East Kennewick. Dave Reardon, with the Pasco Police Department, told The Associated Press that it's been considered more of a clique than a gang.

The murder of the well-known teacher shocked locals in a town where homicides are rare. Folks also agonized over the potential explosiveness of the gang's name, wary that it would cause racial divisions. So far, it has not.

"When this murder occurred, I thought 'Uh oh, I hope the Hispanics don't get it like the Muslims did after 9-11,' " said Mayor Bryan Robinson. "Because in most communities, there are people who are prejudiced and who are racist. And there are some small towns that are prejudiced and racist. And this is a small town."

"Quiet and small"

Benton City — "Bent On Progress" reads its motto — is 100 percent country. It's hardly a "city," and until Sept. 4, it was a world apart from the Tri-Cities, which are only about a 20-minute drive away, unless you get stuck behind a slow-going flatbed lugging hay.

Locals go to Kennewick-Richland-Pasco to shop. Outsiders who come to Benton City maybe tour its wineries.

"We've got one fast-food place. Two cocktail lounges. A clinic. We're just quiet and small," said longtime resident Nadene Harris who runs a gas station, the Cougar cafe and a nursery.

Before the Mars slaying the biggest news in town, according to locals, has been disputes between the mayor and the local Chamber of Commerce, the 2000 fire on Rattlesnake Ridge, or authorities busting a meth lab.

Hispanics make up 20 percent of the population here and according to Robinson, they've always been "a quiet, humble, mostly migrant workers, largely non-English-speaking group."

They've not always been included in city pursuits, added the mayor, who is still considered a newcomer here. He moved just two years ago from Seattle, where he was a manager for the Department of Interior.

Robinson, 58, was elected mayor in January. While campaigning, he visited every house in town — "except for one with a big dog." He heard plenty from folks and it gave him a picture of what needed fixing, he said.

Some people complained about police response time. Others said they felt marginalized.

"They (Hispanics) complained they were excluded and rudely treated. That they were being treated like third-class citizens. I told them they would be treated with equal courtesy," he said.

Donavon Dorsey, who manufactures storage sheds here, said he heard similar complaints when he ran for mayor in 1999.

After Robinson took office, the self-described "trained troubleshooter" proposed axing the city's contract with the sheriff's department and broke off the city's relationship with the Chamber of Commerce, saying the chamber wasn't being inclusive, especially of Hispanic-owned businesses.

Both acts were controversial but the reaction did not discourage the new mayor.

"I call it as I see it. Most mayors wouldn't want to admit that their town is, say, a hotbed for meth and I do, I want to clean it up. And I say there's prejudice here and I do find it unacceptable," he said.

"Starting to settle in"

In recent months, Hispanic residents began attending council meetings. They also participated in two civic events: Fourth of July and Benton City Daze.

"Hispanics are starting to settle in. They had tables selling food at Benton City Daze. They're going to meetings. There's a new business chamber," said Lupe Aguilar, a teller at the town bank.

"The involvement really has to do a lot with the new mayor," added Teresa Sparks, a 10-year local. "He really wanted diversity."

But Robinson had, in fact, angered some Hispanics after he said, in a speech, that they needed to learn English. And although he'd been critical of the Chamber of Commerce, he hadn't wanted Hispanics to feel they needed their own, separate chamber or newspaper.

David Cortinas, publisher of the Spanish-language La Voz in the Tri-Cities, heard the mayor's speech, and he and others paid a visit.

"They came to see me and they learned my intentions were good. They convinced me that the first-generation Hispanics weren't going to mainstream easily and that they needed their own group," Robinson said.

In Benton City, a new "multicultural" business chamber formed five months ago. And in the last month, Cortinas launched an English version of "The Voice" in Benton City.

Its second edition hit town Sept. 9. Cortinas, who is Hispanic, addressed race and the slaying head-on.

The top story's headline read: "2 Hispanic Youth Arrested in Relation to Bob Mars Death."

"He told me he didn't want to be accused of whitewashing it," Robinson said.

Hispanics, wary because of the alleged gang connection, have approached city officials about whether they should call a town-hall meeting to air community concerns.

"The community is very anxious right now and very angry following the murder. Because the two men are Hispanic, there's bound to be a lot of emotion regarding that," said schools Superintendent Gary Henderson.

"But we can't ignore that 99 percent of our Hispanic community is good and law-abiding," Henderson said. "We can't let a few people mess that up."

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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