Jungers covers PUD news on Web site

Farm, Internet service company, online newspaper owner opens up

MOSES LAKE — Craig Jungers enjoys learning new skills, working hard to master them and moving on to new challenges. Over the years, he's become a man of many hats.

Today, he's the owner and operator of Network Essentials, an Internet service provider and computer consulting firm in Moses Lake. His educational background is in engineering and electronics. He began running the ISP in 2000, providing service to schools and businesses throughout Central Washington.

Meanwhile, Jungers also owns a farm in Royal City. He grew up in Eastern Washington and spent time working on farms when he was younger. Now, he runs one of his own. His family currently grows cherries and leases land to another farmer.

"I think agriculture is the heart and soul of Grant County," Jungers said from his Moses Lake home Friday.

But for the 63-year-old Jungers, his career has included more than being a farmer and computer wiz.

In the 60s and 70s, Jungers worked overseas as a staff officer for the Central Intelligence Agency. Later, he became a commercial salmon fisherman in Western Washington.

In the 80s, he built a sailboat. He spent a couple years cruising throughout the South Pacific.

And he's a pilot, flying mostly glider planes.

Jungers stays physically fit, despite suffering a debilitating knee injury in 1989. He's a cross-country ski instructor in winter and an avid kayaker in summer.

In the little spare time he has, Jungers follows the actions of the Grant County Public Utility District.

"The PUD is the largest economic engine in this county," he said, explaining why he finds the utility so important.

Because of the PUD's significance, Jungers has been reporting on the latest news at the district since 2002. Jungers writes news articles and posts them on Sliderule.net, the Web site for his ISP. He says the site has become an online newspaper. Now, Jungers can add journalism to his diverse resume.

"I'm certainly not above drawing a conclusion," Jungers said of his stories, which are intended to "amplify" the documents he obtains from the PUD through public disclosure requests. Jungers posts internal PUD memos, employee salary charts, e-mails, reports and other documents on his Web site.

"The documents are right there, and if someone doesn't agree with me on something they certainly have a chance to look at the documents," he said.

"Right now, the big issue is the pro-industrial growth candidates for PUD commissioner," Jungers said, referring to this fall's elections. "While I don't see there's a problem with a pro-industrial growth commissioner, I wouldn't want to stack the commissioners up with pro-industrial growth people. I'm not sure the majority of people in Grant County are highly pro-industrial growth."

He predicts most Grant County residents would prefer slower, more moderate growth.

"I think it's important, too, that we have a mix of industry, irrigation, private business and government entities, for people to have jobs," Jungers said. "If anything gets the upper hand, I'd be very upset. I'll work hard to make sure everyone understands my position."

Jungers hasn't made any announcements yet, but becoming a politician may be his next career move.