Thursday, March 13, 2014 - Mason County Journal - Page A-25
A section of the Mason County Journal
Belfair
Thursday, March 13, 2014 -Serving the communities of Belfair, Allyn, Grapevlew, Tahuya, Mason Lake, South Shore
Commissioner: County taking on criminals
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncoun €om
It's been the Year of the
Sheriff for Mason COunty,
Mason County Commis-
sioner Randy Neatherlin
told members of the Mason
County Republican Wom-
ens Club on March 7 at the
Royal Shanghai restaurant
in Shelton.
Neatherlin pointed out
that the county increased its
sheriffs department budget
10 percent, and invested $1.2
million into its jail facility.
"We have a catastrophic
level of crime ... We€re that
bad," he said.
The commissioner lauded
the county for recently adding
a sheriffs precinct office in
Belfair. That means deputies
are starting and ending their
shifts there, instead of travel-
ing back and forth to Shelton,
he said.
Herald photo by Gordon Weeks
Mason County Commissioner Randy Neatherlin talks about
crime at a gathering of the Mason County Republican
Womens Club on March 7.
Neatherlin pushed his pro-
posal for the county to hire a
code enforcement officer, so
they can get on private prop-
erty and get probable cause to
evict law breakers.
"If you have a better idea
on how to move these drug
manufacturers and thieves
out of our community, let me
know," he said.
The Mason County Re-
publican Womens Club also
announced that Michael Rea-
gan, the eldest son of Presi-
dent Ronald Reagan, will be
the keynote speaker at the
Mason County Republicans'
inaugural Reagan Legacy
Dinner from 6:30 p.m. to 10
p.m. June 12 at the Pavilion
at Sentry Park, 190 W. Sentry
Drive, Shelton.
Tickets are available only
to Mason County residents
until April 1.
Reagan is the adopted son
of Ronald Reagan and his
first wife, Academy Award-
winning actress Jane Wyman.
He is a popular speaker on
conservative politics, adoption
and lessons learned from his
parents.
see REPUBLICAN, page A-26
Herald photo by Natalie Johnson
Sonya Kroese, who does education and outreach programs with the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, adds fake blood to North Mason Regional Fire Authority Commissioner Shelby Blackwell's
mock injury Saturday during a training exercise on Northeast Elfendahl Pass Road. Multiple agencies on
Saturday staged a mass-casualty incident to train community response team members and firefighters.
First responders stage drill
Fire authority conducts training at Elfendahl Pass
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun com
Emergency service person-
nel and volunteers rushed to the
. scene of a devastating accident
Saturday morning on Elfendahl
Pass.
They arrived to find three
crashed cars and a dozen in-
jured victims -- all covered with
fake blood and with identifica-
tion cards describing their inju-
ries.
"Stuff like this can actually hap-
pen," said North Mason Regional
Fire Authority (RFA) Commissioner
Shelby Blackwell, who acted as one
of the victims. "It's good to get mul-
tiple agencies together to do this."
see DRILL, page A-28
North
Mason
chief takes
new job
Peterson to leave for
position in Nampa
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncoun com
North Mason School Dis-
trict Superintendent David
Peterson knew the Nampa
(Idaho) School District board
of direc-
tors was
meeting
last Thurs-
day night
to decide
whether he
or Glenn
Gelbrich,
superin-
t e n d e n t Petereon
of the Ju-
neau (Alaska) School District,
would be the district's new su-
perintendent.
As the hours ticked by, Pe-
terson's hopes dimmed.
"I was convinced they were
going with the other guy," he
said.
So when the phone rang
at 8:30 p.m., Peterson said he
was "extremely ready" to hear
that Gelbrich had received the
job. The conversation seemed
to be taking that tone until
Peterson heard the words,
"We'd like you to join team
Nampa."
"I was really excited about
it," he said.
After seven years as the su-
perintendent of the North Ma-
son School District, Peterson,
59, will assume his new duties
on July 1. He was signed to a
three-year contract, and will
make $140,000 a year, reports
the Nampa School District.
Peterson said he plans to
remain "fully engaged" in his
duties in North Mason. He'll
also be focusing on the trarbs, i-
tion to Nampa, including sell-
ing his house, finding another
one in Nampa and finding a
job for his wife, Peggy Ellis.
She is an administrator in the
Central Kitsap School Dis-
trict.
Peterson said he researched
the area after spotting the job
offer online.
"It's really beautiful in
southwest Idaho, it's really
pretty," he said.
Peterson goes from a dis-
trict with 2,000 students to
one with more than 15,000.
see CHIEF, page A-26
