Shelton
Invitational
turns 54
Mason County
Thursday, May 8, 2014 - Week 19 - The Voice ofMason County since 1886 -- $1
Fair
receives
1 -year
reprieve
FAA approves use
of fairgrounds
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun com
The Mason Area Fair and
Rodeo will have a home this
summer at the Port of Shel-
ton's fairgrounds.
Port Executive Director
John Dobson said the Feder-
al Aviation Administration-
has agreed to allow events
see FAIR, page A-28
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.j --
INSIDE TODAY
Opinion
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Obituaries
Belfair Herald
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Crossword
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Page A-4
• Page A.15
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Page A-25
Page B-1
Page B-10
Page 13-12
Page B-14
Page B-14
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SCHOOL NIGHT STORYTIME
Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
Emma Cook, 5, left, and Justine Richardson, 6, pass a stuffed snake as they listen to a stow at Hood Canal School
annual Family Night on April 30.
Chamber to city: $9M
water plan hurts business
Commissioner Olsen says
business group 'misinformed"
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncounty, com
The Shelton Mason County
Chamber of Commerce states it
"(does) not believe the state will
simply leave cities and counties
to fend for themselves" when it
comes to funding required water
systems.
Shelton City. Commissioner
Mike Olsen disagrees.
The chamber is "misinformed,"
Olsen said at the commission's
regular meeting Monday.
"The state won't be there to pick
up the slack," he said.
The commission is considering
two public water system plans,
and is scheduled to pick one at its
work session at 2 p.m. Monday in
the Shelton Civic Center.
Olsen and fellow Commissioner
Tracy Moore say they favor the
$9 million option proposed by the
city's staff. That option includes a
$2.1 million grant from the state
Department of Health (DOH) and
an application for a $6.9 million
loan from the same department.
That money would be spent on
many projects in the city's 20-year
water plan, including extending
water service to the Washington
State Patrol Academy, finishing
the Angleside booster pump proj-
ect, completing parts of the other
major projects and adding several
system improvements.
The chamber and Mayor Gary
Cronce, the third commissioner,
say they favor the $4.2 million
plan: a $2.1 million grant from
DOH and a required matching
$2.1 million loan from that depart-
ment.
That amount provides service
to the WSP Academy, finishes the
Angleside booster pump project
and adds a few system improve-
ments.
The city's staff recommends the
$9 million plan, saying the pack-
age take§ care of long-term water
demands and gives the city the op-
portunity to take advantage of an
interest rate of i percent and save
an estimated $7.8 million in inter-
est costs.
The city's water system im-
provement plans are driven by
state and federal requirements for
safe and reliable water. The city
must build everything in its water
system plan by 2028.
With both options, the city esti-
mates water rates will need to be
increased 3 percent to 5 percent
annually beginning in 2016.
see WATER, page A-28
Bombing suspect
found dead in. cell
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun com
A Shelton man was found dead in his prison cell
two days after trying to set offbombs and rob three
banks in Shelton last week.
Larry Ray Gillette, 53, was in custody at the
Federal Correctional Complex in SeaTac. Complex
staff found him unresponsive in his cell April 30,
and began "life-saving measures," according to a
release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Gillette was transported to
a medical center for care, the
release stated, but was pro-
nounced dead at 5:37 p.m.
The FBI is investigating the in-
cident as an apparent suicide and
foul play is not suspected. No oth-
er information has been released.
Gillette was charged April 29
in U.S. District Court in Tacoma
with solicitation to commit a Gillette
crime of violence and unlawful
possession of a firearm by a felon. The first count
charged him specifically with plotting to use weap-
ons of mass destruction.
Gillette faced up to 30 years in prison if con-
victed.
He was accused of planning to set off bombs at
Walmart and two gasoline stations in Shelton. The
bombs were intended to kill as many people as pos-
sible and to be a distraction for law enforcement
and emergency services while Gillette robbed
three banks in Shelton, according to documents
from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western
District of Washington.
see SUSPECT, page A-13
