Thursday, July 17, 2014 -Mason County Journal- Page A-13
NEWS BRIEFS
Cushman meeting
scheduled for July
17 in Hoodsport
Tacoma Power has scheduled an
informational meeting from to 5:30
to 7:30 p.m. on July 17 in Hoodsport
to discuss current projects associ-
ated with its Cushman Hydroelectric
Project.
The meeting will take place at the
Mason County Fire Protection 18
office at 240 N. Standstill Drive in
Hoodsport.
It will include a presentation and
an open house. Refreshments will be
provided.
Topics on the agenda include fish-
eries and hatchery construction proj-
ects and recreation projects.
For more information, email
cushmanfeedback@ci.tacoma.
wa.us.
Rail container
catches fire on
Johns Prairie
A rail container on train tracks
at the Port of Shelton's Johns Prai-
rie Industrial Site spontaneously
caught fire Monday morning, ac-
cording to Central Mason Fire &
EMS. i
Firefighters were called to the
scene at 6:34 a.m. to find smoke
coming from the raft container,
owned by Waste Management. The
container was en route from Mason
County to a facility in Arlington,
Oregon.
Central Mason crews assisted
as a Railroad Emergency Re-
sponse Team from Puget Sound
and Pacific Railroad extinguished
the fire.
County
budget
releases
instructions
Mason County elected officials
and department heads can now
begin work on their 2015 bud-
gets.
The county commission sent out
its annual budget instruction letter
to departments Monday.
The letter instructs departments
to budget to 2014 revenue and ex-
penses.
It also asks departments to
draft a list of "goals, objectives,
issues, concerns and constraints
for 2015."
The budgets will also include
wage increases for union and non-
union employees that will be ab-
sorbed into departments' status quo
budgets.
The preliminary budgets are due
Aug. 11.
Judge considers
county garbage
A judge will soon issue a ruling on
a lawsuit against Mason County re-
garding garbage hauling.
Judge Michael Sullivan of Pacific
County presided over a hearing for
the lawsuit Monday afternoon and
told parties he would consider the
matter and give a ruling soon, said
Tim Whitehead, Mason County chief
deputy prosecutor.
"I would expect it any time," he
said.
The lawsuit, filed by Belfair group
Advocates for Responsible Govern-
ment, argues that Mason County vio-
lated state law in 2012 when it nego-
tiated the terms of a garbage-hauling
contract with Allied Waste, rather
than going out to bid. The lawsuit
has been filed in Grays Harbor Supe-
rior Court.
The lawsuit was previously heard
in 2012, when a Grays Harbor Coun-
ty judge ruled that the county did
violate state bidding law. In 2013, a
Washington state Court of Appeals
panel ruled the Belfair group did not
have standing to sue the county over
garbage hauling, and dismissed the
case. The group was allowed to refile
their lawsuit, and did so earlier this
year.
Second chance
to comment on
zoning change
The Mason County Board of Com-
missioners had the first half of a
public hearing to consider changing a
portion of its zoning codes regarding
performance housing subdivisions
Tuesday.
The hearing was scheduled to con-
tinue to 6:30 p.m. July 22 in Mason
County Commission Chambers at
411 N. Fifth St.
The proposed amendment to chap-
ter 16.08 of the county code would
revise the definition of the word
"cluster" to allow for larger perfor-
mance subdivisions.
Green Diamond Resource Co.
asked for the change to allow it to
prepare residentially zoned land
for potential development of perfor-
mance subdivisions, in which homes
are grouped in one part of a larger
property, leaving open space for rec-
reation, timber harvest or conserva-
tion.
For more information, call
Barbara Adkins at 427-9670, ext.
286.
County continues
hearing on low-
income housing
A public hearing Tuesday on
targeted areas for low-income,
multi-family housing in the county
has been extended to 6:30 p.m.
July 22.
The proposed ordinance would
designate areas in the county's
urban growth areas as residential
target areas. Builders of low-income,
multi-family housing in these resi-
dential target areas would be eligible
for tax breaks.
The county extended the hearing
to research requirements for devel-
opers to hook up to sewer systems
and to allow the city of Shelton to
review residential targeted areas in
the Shelton Urban Growth Area, said
Mason County Commission chair
Terri Jeffreys.
• Compiled by reporter Natalie
Johnson
SCHOOL BRIEFS
PoSition open
on school board
The Shelton School District Board
of Directors is accepting applications
for an open school board position,
The term ends November 2015.
To be eligible for the appointment,
applicants must live in District No.
1, which includes voter precincts in
Union, Northside, Airport, Bayshore,
Capitol Hill and Shelton precincts 1, 2,
3, 10, 14 and 16. To find out if you live
in the district, call the Mason County
Elections Office at 427-9670, ext. 470.
The deadline to submit an applica-
tion is July 17. Applications are avail-
able at the Shelton School District
administration building at 700 S. First
St., by calling Alison Nutt at 426-8231
and online at sheltonschools.org.
Free meals, snacks
for kids in Shelton
The Shelton School District offers
free meals and snacks to all children
New Patient Special
Exam & X-Rays
With Coupon • Shelton Dental Center
Expires 7/31/2014
I
I
I
I
I
/
DENTAL
(360) 861-8318/410 West Main Street, Elma WA 98541
www:ElmaFamilyDental.com
(360) 426-8401 / 360.GO.BRUSH (462-7874)
www'Shelt°nDentalCenter'c°rn
Jefferson Street Shelton WA, 98584
ages 18 and younger this summer. Franklin St., offers breakfasts from'
The Seamless Summer Feeding 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., and lunch from
Program is funded by the U.S. Depart- noon to 12:30 p.m. weekdays July 21
ment of Agriculture. through Aug. 8.
For more information, call 426- CHOICE Alternative School,
2533. 807 W. Pine St., offers snacks from
Shelton High School, 3737 N. Shel- 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Tuesdays
ton Springs Road, offers snacks from and Thursdays July 8 through Aug.
10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., and lunch from 21.
noon to 12:30 p.m. weekdays July 7
through Aug. 8. • Compiled by reporter Gordon
Evergreen Elementary, 900 W. Weeks
mergency Manag nt
Starting this fall, Olympic College wilt offer
NEW online certificate and degree programs.
OLYMPIC COLLEGE www.olympic.edu/HSEM
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